San Diego

We just returned from a long weekend down in San Diego visiting my family. We didn't really do much, but we did go to the beach, eat fish tacos, eat amazing pizza, chill at the coffee shop, and sit in the hot tub. So it was a good visit!

We were also enjoyed two parties. First, at sunset on Saturday, our friend Harriet threw a big beach party. One of the nicest things about this beach party was that it wasn't actually on the beach, but on the bluffs overlooking the beach - so we got all of the beautiful views with none of the sand in our food. We also got to see baby Emma, who has grown so much since I last saw her in October 2006!Another great thing about the beach party was that Harriet made the cake [sorry, no picture because I was too busy eating]. The cake is chocolately-fudgey goodness that can bring tears to your eyes [see? I spared you!].

The second party was a birthday party for my grandfather. Although it's not polite to disclose other people's ages, I will state that he was celebrating a birthday that is a dime short of a century. Interestingly, my grandmother also hit that milestone in June, and Mike's grandfather will get there in October - apparently 1917 was a very good year!

We held my grandfather's birthday party at his house, on the cool front deck. Eric and I made different salsas (my grandfather, dubiously, on my mango-jicama salsa: "you people think this is good?"). For dinner, Eric grilled salmon, I made orzo, and my mom made a green salad. I made the birthday cake - my new favorite summer recipe: blackberry-lemon upside down cake (only change: I put the lemon zest in the cake batter, not directly on top of the blackberries). Here's a tip, though, if you're baking at my grandmother's (or making said cake at home): baking powder that expired in January of 2004 won't do the trick, even if you hope against hope that it will. It won't. You heard it here first.