Monthly Archives: September 2013

around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

the cutest little mexican spot: ranchos cocina in ocean beach

September 11, 2013

If your restaurant has a cute outdoor patio, I’m probably going to like it. If your restaurant has quality rolled tacos, I’m going to love it. Those two criteria came together for me recently at Ranchos Cocina, a Mexican spot in Ocean Beach with the most darling outdoor space. (Oddly enough, the other diners sat inside! What the what?) The space is more like a home backyard with tons of hanging plants and casual seating. There were even little birdies chirping by our table side. It was basically the enchanted forest from Sleeping Beauty — with margaritas.

The menu is, in a word, large. But they also seem to have the most vegetarian options I’ve ever seen at a Mexican restaurant in San Diego. My cousin found the veg fajitas pretty bland, but I’m curious how the tofu options taste. On my end, I loved my beef rolled tacos and Eaman’s enchilada-taco plate was happily devoured. That said, this place wins more in the ambiance department than in the food department, but it’s certainly a solid choice, especially if you have vegetarian diners.

Oh, and the margarita glasses are all sorts of kitschy wonderful. Check it out:

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Life

3 ideas for de-stressing, detoxing and getting yourself together

September 9, 2013

As I mentioned on Friday, it’s always amusing to make my monthly video recaps because it paints such a perfect portrait of life. But we all know life is filled with just as much anxiety, trouble, frustration and tears as it is smiles, laughs, skips, hops and jumps. So to balance out the perfection I portrayed I Friday, I thought it was only fair to be totally honest about something that’s been bugging me lately.

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Life

video recap: august 2013

September 6, 2013

The funny thing is that this week was kind of terrible on a few accounts — work-wise, heat wave-wise, even stomach ache-wise. Yet here I am with a video that makes life seem perfect. Keep in mind 1.) It’s not and 2.) This just goes to show you that even though things can suck, you should focus on the positive. I actually think it’d be very therapeutic for everyone to at least once visually recap the happiest moments in one month. It’s a fabulous reminder of all the good in life.

This month I checked out the open streets event known as CicloSDias, hiked a bit (Torrey Pines, Mt. Woodson), finally saw the zoo, hit up San Diego Magazine‘s Best of San Diego party, introduced one of my best friend’s to my favorite fish taco, rode in a helicopter and went paragliding and welcomed my cousin to San Diego. Oh, and you’ll also see our new favorite weekday tradition: Getting ice cream for each of us at South Park’s A Daily Scoop — even special dog ice cream for Teddy. He loves it.

Music: “California Rain” by Madeleine Peyroux

around san diego

san diego by helicopter and paraglide

September 4, 2013

I’ve been skydiving, bungee-jumping, surfing, rafting, scuba diving and cliff-diving, so you could say I have a penchant for the extreme. And just a couple weeks ago I got to tick two more off that list: paragliding and a helicopter ride. Toyota invited me to a presentation of their 2014 Corolla and day of outdoor fun in line with their new campaign, which is all about elevating your drive. Elevate you drive, elevate your outdoor activities — get it?

The day began with a helicopter ride around inland San Diego, the Del Mar racetrack, Lake Hodges, Torrey Pines, La Jolla, Mission Bay and downtown San Diego. Riding in a chopper is unlike anything I’ve ever done: You’re high enough to get a bird’s eye view but also low enough to see action like reef sharks in La Jolla Cove. It just so happened to be a brilliant day so San Diego was at its most glitter-y, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for living in a place that’s so drop-dead gorgeous. But what’s beauty without the rich and the famous? We saw a lot of ridiculously wealthy homes in Rancho Santa Fe and you should definitely click ahead to see what I’m talking about.

Then it was onto paragliding at Black’s Beach, a beautiful area lined with dramatic bluffs and naked folks. (It’s a nude beach.) Running off cliffs, flying like the wind and landing next to old naked men — what could be better?

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