Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The weekend, briefly

Quite a bit of running around this weekend, but weather and traffic cooperated beautifully, making it a good kind of hectic.

The orange tree back home is so full that several of the branches are starting to drag on the ground. Thus commences January in southern California - soon people will resort to leaving full bags on porches at night. Circe has discovered that she loves oranges and she won't leave you alone when you start peeling. She's even convinced the little guy to beg for them, although he isn't as wild about them.

sink, oranges
{sink, oranges}

circe, orange
{circe, orange}

pups, orange
{pups, orange}

We did some venue hunting (here and here), following each visit with a food + drinks session.

san juan capistrano
{san juan capistrano}

Haven is a newish restaurant in Orange, with an excellent rotating beer menu. The hamburger, topped with roasted red bells, pickled red onion and arugula, was seriously good. 

haven - custom beer flight
{haven - custom beer flight}

haven - beer flight finished
{haven - beer flight finished}

Sunsets have been gorgeous this week - definitely makes the freeway driving more fun.

driving
{driving}

january sunset
{january sunset}

25 comments:

  1. Ha! I love that Circe loves oranges. My dog used to adore toast with marmalade!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh man I would have loved to have had Haven in Orange when I was at Chapman. I'll have to give it a go next time I visit!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I DO miss having Cali oranges available at the drop of a hat! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. i love those orange shots. living in place where oranges grow on trees sounds almost as fantastical as trees sprouting money. i think new england winter blues are setting in...

    ReplyDelete
  5. at some point i started missing california traffic. not all of it, mind you, and even in my sentimental state i'd probably only want to teleport out for ten minutes of it - but there's something about being swamped on the 405 around costa mesa at dusk, nothing to do but seat-dance and sing along with, like, dramarama on KROQ, that speaks to me.

    good luck with venues! i can't wait to see where you alight.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The thought of an orange fairy leaving a bundle of fresh fruit on my doorstep sounds fantastic. If only it weren't currently spitting freezing rain and snow here in Virginia. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  7. venue hunting! beer flights! one of our favorite ale houses makes a pesto pizza with arugula and pickled red onions. yummmm.

    manyray goes CRAZY for mandarin oranges. you open a can, he is ON you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i adore the citrus season of california

    ReplyDelete
  9. The little one is still with you! I'm glad to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beer flights and gorgeous sunsets. Sounds pretty fantastic.

    Hope the venue hunting went well!

    ReplyDelete
  11. starting and ending with orange...so, what did you think of either venue?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aww your pups are adorable! How cool is it that they like to eat oranges? My kind of dogs. Hope the venue hunting was successful, those sunsets ARE beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Haha my dogs love fruit too! Especially Nina, she goes crazy if she sees you eating an apple and don't offer her any.

    ReplyDelete
  14. both great venues, rachel! autumn was married at the french estate, and el adobe has amazing food. and sjc is the most wonderful backdrop for wedding photos. looks like you're off to a great start! my dogs are repulsed by citrus. it's strange, considering they'll eat poop and dirt. haha

    ReplyDelete
  15. love the picture of the oranges in the sink...good luck with picking the venue...it's all down-hill after that!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Feel free to send some of those lovely oranges this way ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I was in Orange recently! I ate at a really cool raw food restaurant and then went to Disneyland :)
    Bisous,
    Rachel
    lovealamode.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. i looove oranges (and all citrus, really), especially blood oranges. i recently discovered cara cara oranges (pink flesh navels that are super sweet... almost a raspberryish taste) and am head over heels. hope the venue hunting is going well! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  19. ha! pups and oranges and beer tastings- sounds mighty fine to me.

    ReplyDelete
  20. mmmm. I envy you, just a little bit. Here, it is cold and the sun sets are quite early (before I leave from work), and citrus probably doesn't taste as fresh. And, my pup is not longer a pup. But, at least I have beer and hamburgers. And tobogganing :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Any recipe suggestions for using up oranges? I'm new to LA and we have an orange tree in our backyard too. Despite eating orange slices at every meal and snack, we still have sooo many left!

    ReplyDelete
  22. My dogs love oranges too! They both get right up in my husband's space when he starts peeling. They aren't really allowed to do that, so we have lots and lots of training moments during citrus season.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Old Town Orange would be soooo cute for a wedding! Hope you find something you love. :) And the sunsets have definitely been amazing, I've been trying very hard not to sideswipe people as I try to get shots on my way home. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  24. @ lauren - I can see having that nostalgia. It's a very socal experience, so it takes you right back. BUT, I'm betting 10 minutes would be enough to sate you. Whenever we're away from here for any length of time, there's something comforting about being back in a car on the freeway. Sick, right?

    @ Amanda - The little one was left unclaimed and he's now fully integrated. I think there would be a dog revolt from Circe if he ever left. They're hilarious together.

    @ Char - We're not totally sure about either venue. The venue hunt is turning out to be kind of painful, which I expected. We're trying to stay optimistic, but I'll probably post about it soon!

    @ Katie - Orange usage is on my mind too - I'll try to do some brainstorming and maybe post suggestions if I find anything. For now, we're just eating (and giving) as fast as we can.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I must disagree with Modanuovo. It's not all downhill after picking the venue! :)
    I adore every picture you share of Circe. What breed is she? her rapt attention to the orange is precious and I love that "the little one" is learning from her.

    ReplyDelete

Trying captchas this time - better or worse than having to log in to comment? Let me know! Sorry for all the hoops but the spam has been terrible lately!