#20: Lucy Oliva

Meet Lucy!

#20 on our list is "Rescue a Puppy" and although we did not rescue a puppy from a shelter, we will not be getting another puppy within our 1,001 days, so Lucy will just have to do. 

Lucy was given to us by one of our favorite waterski families, The Pattons, after their 1 year old yellow lab, Ginger, had puppies. Many of our waterski friends got to meet the puppies when they were smaller than the size of a burrito, and I could not resist when I saw the photos. Lucy became ours when she was a little less than two months old. She was about 10 pounds, ridiculously soft, full of love, and absolutely adorable- I could not let go of her. She and Nick immediately clicked when he found out they shared a taste in beer. 

In her first few months with us, Lucy loved: peeing on the carpet, pretending my arms were chew toys, tearing holes in all of my yoga pants, chewing my tennis shoes, going on walks, pooping in the middle of the street on our walks, spoonfuls of peanut butter, apple slices, growling at herself in the mirror, shopping at Unleashed, and snuggling.

Today, Lucy is about 8 1./2 months old. Lucy loves: attention, destroying tennis balls, playing in the sprinkler at the Hayes house, long walks, playing tug-of-war, snuggling, jumping up to give hugs, racing with Leo in the Hanten's backyard, trips to the park, exercising with me at Leash Your Fitness, watching birds, chewing on her toys, going for car rides, going to restaurants, pizza bones, and so much more.

 

We decided to name her Lucy Oliva because we thought the name fit her well.. Nick loves to say, "Lucyyy... you've got some 'splanin' to do!!!" Oliva means olive in Italian, and Lucy was born on the Patton's olive ranch in Northern California. 

This little lady has captured our hearts and I'm so glad that she is ours. 

More posts coming soon.

Anno nuovo, vita nuova...

#76: Join a CSA

On Sunday T and I received our first CSA box:

Say hello to our new vegetable supplier: Suzie's Farm.

Suzie's is an organic farming operation operating here in San Diego (in fact, Google maps informs me that they are located between 15.7 and 17.1 miles from my house depending on the freeways that I take). The sell their produce to lots of local restaurants, at farmer's markets, and through their CSA .

"But what is a CSA, and what's in the basket?" I hear you asking.

Allow me to answer those questions one at a time.

1. CSA=community supported agriculture. CSA programs put local farmers in direct contact with their customer base. These programs generally work as such... the customer pays a flat fee for a certain number of produce deliveries and every week (or in our case, every other week) the farmer supplies said customer with a box of produce.  These types of programs are helpful in supporting local farms because it guarantees the farmers a customer base and gives them the capital that they need for planting and other big projects on the farm. And in exchange for their pledge of support, the customers are supplied with a variety of high quality veggies without having to pay assorted middle men, and with the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where your veggies come from and your money goes.

2. This week our CSA box contained the following:

• Tomatillos (1 lb)
• Cabbage
• Zucchini
• Onion Fennel
• Tomatos (2lbs..... delicious San Marzanos)
• Padron Peppers
• Lettuce
• Okra
• Onion Sprouts
• Cilantro

While we don't get to pick what comes in our box each week, we do varied an assortment of different produce depending on what is ripe at the farm. I find this to be one of the most compelling reasons for joining the CSA.... It puts people back in touch with seasonal eating, an experience very different from the standard supermarket produce section.

All Local Salad

If you're interested in what we're making with our produce just check in on T's food blog. I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty money shots of Suzie's amazing vegetables over there before too long.

Cheers,
Nick

#5: The Hillcrest Farmer's Market

Farmer's Market #3

It was our bikes first outing in San Diego and our first time at our closest farmer's market... such a solid Sunday afternoon. We picked up fresh corn, teas, lentils, wild rice, Pesto Bitchin' Sauce, mint, dragons tongue snap beans (SO good), peppers, an assortment of mushrooms, fresh orange juice, AND joined Suzie's Farm's CSA!!! (#76- Join a CSA, so more about that soon.) 

We <3 the Hillcrest Farmers Market. 

#2: Bargain Music

It has officially been (approximately) a month an a half since I attended the best show that I have ever seen in my life... the Bargain Music 15th Anniversary Show at DiPiazza's in Long Beach.

(I have been procrastination about writing up this post because I know that I can never really do justice to the show with mere words on the page.... but here it goes)

Before I get into the show... let me give you a brief description of my personal history with Bargain Music. I was originally turned on to the band by my good friend/former roommate, Woodrow McPants. Over the years the band has gone through numerous personnel changes surrounding the back bone of the band: Josh Fischel ("a six foot four troubadour who can barely play guitar" but can melt your face with his vocal power and range). If I was forced to describe their style I would have to call it punk rock and reggae, with folk, country, heavy metal, and countless other influences. Unfortunately, by the time of my introduction to Bargain, they band had essentially called it quits, thus nixing the potential for me to see the band in concert (or so I thought). I dug my way through the band's back catalog and they quickly became my favorite band. Fischel's vocals and songwriting are some of the best I've ever encountered. While I had seen Josh perform solo (which is, don't get me wrong, absolutely astounding), I had long wished that I had been able to see the whole band play. Thus, when Woody told me that the original Bargain Music line-up would be playing a one night anniversary show, I was there.

And so it was that Woody, Smalls, Panda, Chow, T and I found ourselves at DiPiazza's on the night of July 30th.

Prior to the night's main attraction, Josh opened (for himself) with his new band Josh Fischel and the Fiction. The Fiction kicked ass... Josh's singing was epic as always, their bassist was tight and funky, the guitarist shreds, keys were holding it down, and don't even get me started on their drummer. Their version of Cripple Creek was one of the best I've ever heard (no disrespect to The Band). The Fiction alone would have been an amazing show unto themselves, but... then came the original lineup of Bargain Music.

I only managed to snag this one crappy photo because I was too busy having  my socks rocked off

I was seriously not kidding when I said that this was the best show I've ever seen. They played all of my favorites: "Black Eye", "Long Beach Millennium", "It's Called Fucking". Sure, they were a little bit rusty having not played together for more or less a decade, but seeing all of those songs played live was incredible. And the energy of the show was amazing, DiPiazza's was packed with people who had been fans since the beginning; many of them knew Josh and the band personally... hell... some of them were even the subjects of song lyrics. Everyone in the entire building sang along the entire time. My face was literally melting with the awesomeness of the entire spectacle. It was a life changing experience.

In the end, it was an evening full of songs that I never thought I'd see performed and will never forget having seen.

#79 Make Homemade Orange Juice

Simple and delicious. Nothing beats homemade OJ. 

Oranges: From Nick's parent's CSA box

Juicer: From Ikea

Super cute napkin: Anthropology 

#5: Little Italy's Mercato

Sunset Magazine recently hosted a "food fight" between Northern California and Southern California. (Check it out here.) They compared the many aspects of food in each area- new ideas, locality, markets, booze, diversity, etc. This hit home for me- being a LA native and having lived in the Bay Area for four years- I was torn between which I thought was the best. Although Northern California has Alice Waters, Southern California won the food fight! (Stoked... especially since I'm living in So Cal again.)

Within a week of living here, I've noticed that the craft food and slow food movements Northern California sometimes claims as their own are also in full force here in San Diego. Two small examples 1.)- The Linkery (these guys have vegan options and the BEST sangria). Their food is locally grown, and the restaurant has great connections with the farmers. Oh, and it's also delicious. 2.) There are a TON of farmers markets every week in the many neighborhoods of San Diego. We might be able to complete all 20 on our list within our new city.

This past Saturday, Nick and I made it to our first San Diego farmers market- Little Italy's Mercato, which I also found out about through Sunset. Date Street was lined with over 100 booths and it quickly became my new favorite farmers market... I could see the ocean, there were two great bands playing on opposite ends of the market, there were vegan treats, fresh zucchini flowers, succulents for sale, and a green smoothie booth.

The Mercato's end, over looking the ocean :)

Mmm... greens.

We also found our future CSA. ( #76!) Suzie's Organic Farm at the Mercato. Their booth was awesome.... my favorites- they have legumes and squash blossoms, and their farm is just about 15 minutes away from our neighborhood. 

Our purchases at the Mercato:

my green smoothie, and vegan chocolate and butterscotch brownie, 

Nick's citrus cranberry scone, and goat's cheese, our zucchini flowers, micro greens, and dates.

Not in the photo: Mango, chili popsicle.  

Dates for our vegan date shakes... find the recipe here: www.vegalicioustee.blogspot.com

If you're in the area, I highly recommend Little Italy's Mercato, just be prepared to search for parking for a while. A lot of our favorite vendors at the Mercato told us that they also have booths at our neighborhood's FM, so we're planning on biking to that one this weekend. But- I'm sure we'll be back in Little Italy very soon for some good eats. 

Mangia Bene!!!
- T

#65: I've Joined the Club...

I've been approved.

I'll be good, I swear.

(And yes, it supports UC Davis because a. my alma mater was not on the list of college options (surprise, surprise) b. USD was not on the list?! c. most of my favorites are Aggies d. Davis is freaking awesome)

#2: G.Love & Special Sauce

I love my friends. I love good music. And, I love summer nights. 

What happens when you put all three together? 

Pure bliss. 

Who: G.Love & Special Sauce (.. and Nick, Devo, and me)

What: Crowd surfing, a harmonica, a kick-drum, and amazing tunes

When: the evening of July 22nd

Where: San Diego, Del Mar Race Tracks' outdoor venue

Why: Many reasons... 

1. our good friend Devo works at the Del Mar tracks and hooked it up (thanks again Devo!)

2. I love G.Love & Special Sauce's unique style, and rhythm 

3. when G.Love plays that harmonica... I melt

4. G.Love (Garret Dutton) plays with the Avett Brothers, Jack Johnson, and Tristan Prettyman (love them all)

5. the Avett Brothers are his producers and Brushfire Records produced his older albums

6. each of their songs sound different than the other (...this goes for their records too) 

7. basically... he's a seriously talented artist 

This show brought such a wide variety of people together to simply enjoy life for a few hours... It was awesome. Music is powerful. 

Best song of the night: Booty Call

Never heard of G.Love & Special Sauce? Check them out here. 

Milk and Sugar

Fixin' to Die

XO- Theresa

#73: Eat at Native Foods

Well, hello there. Long time no see... I don't think I've posted on here in about 3 months, but it feels good to be back.

This weekend was a busy list weekend for T and me, in addition to visiting the Long Beach Farmer's Market we managed to cross an additional item off of our list... Eating at Native Foods in Costa Mesa.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, Native Foods is an all vegan restaurant that first opened back in 1994. They have a lot of fusion dishes combining flavors from different regional cuisines as well as the veganization of some old favorites. Theresa has been in love with the place for a long while now, and has been dying to take me there.

Theresa had the Oklahoma Bacon Burger (which she is apparently unable to resist whenever she goes there), featuring seitan, BBQ sauce, tofu bacon an assortment of veggies and fried pickles. I opted for the Scorpion Burger: a blackened tempeh patty with chipotle sauce and avo. We also decided to split a side of sweet potato fries and a strawberry shortcake parfait. Everything was quite delectable... particularly the fried pickles. One of the things that I really enjoyed is that all of the "meats" are made in house, so the quality is much better than the standard Gardenburger.

I definitely recommend a stop by Native Foods if you find yourself in the area. (Even if you aren't veg, the food is still worth it. Their menu even points out items that are recommended for first time diners)

Until next time.

-Nick