...kissing 2010 goodbye...

Every year for the last 6 years(well, minus one year in between) we have celebrated New Years in San Diego, and this year was no different. We started the night's festivities off with tapas and cocktails at Glass Door, a beautiful Mediterranean Restaurant in Little Italy. Afterwards, we headed to one of our favorite San Diego bars, Craft & Commerce for a celebratory night of craft style drinks and great conversation. This was definitely one of our more mellow New Year's, but it was perfect! Here are a few photos from our night...

[starting the night with dinner]

[the very unique decor of craft & commerce]

[the cocktails are designed uniquely to your taste and preferences]



[my mojito like concoction]



[the boys and their daquri style drinks, they're honestly not as girly as they sound]

[cheers-ing to a new year]

We hope your New Years was full of friends, love and fun. Here's to a fabulous 2011!

xoxo,

R+M

...first day of hanukkah...

As mentioned here, Mikis and I are in an interfaith marriage, which means a lot of things throughout the year, but in December it means we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Yep, we get the best of both worlds and traditions. Unlike traditional Hanukkah celebrations, we don't celebrate all 8 day's with family, but do light our menorah each night. Tonight, we will be lighting our first candle, and wishing our family and friend's across the U.S. a very happy and joyous Hanukkah. We invite you to celebrate with us by making this Hanukkah must-have, Potato Latkes. Enjoy with Applesauce, they are delish!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 2 pounds of 5 medium peeled potatoes
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• applesauce and sour cream, for serving

Directions  

1. Heat oven to 450° F. Brush 2 baking sheets with 1 tablespoon of the oil and set aside.
2. Using a box grater or a food processor fitted with a shredding blade, coarsely grate the potatoes. Place the grated potatoes in a large bowl with the onion, flour, salt, pepper, eggs, and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Toss to mix well.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets and press lightly to make patties. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the latkes with a metal spatula and rotate the baking sheets. Bake another 5 minutes or until golden.
4. Transfer to a platter and serve with the applesauce and sour cream.
    This recipe makes 2 dozen latkes.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

R+M

...birthday wishes for papa stevenson...

Today we are sending special birthday wishes to my dad, Perry Stevenson. Growing up I always was a daddy's girl finding new ways to make my dad's birthday present's more meaningful and thoughtful. Nowaday's a handmade frame might not be as cute, but the love and thought are still behind each year's new gift and birthday wish. Here's to another fabulous year dad! Hope your celebrating with a steak and a shot of patron! We look forward to celebrating with you soon!

xoxo,

R+M

...birthday wishes x 4...

October is an extra special month when it comes to birthday celebrations. Four of our close friends, Gen, Christine, Tina and Coty, all have birthday's within days/weeks of each other, with two of them being on the same day. With this comes extra special birthday celebrations which we celebrated over the past weekend. We started the night with a birthday party at Gen's sister's house and continued the celebrations at Ernie's. Happy birthday ladies, here's to many more years and memories together. We feel so lucky to be apart of your special day's.

Here's a few photos from the night...

[two of the bday girls]

[birthday love]

[the other two bday girls]

[i guess something was funny...]

[gavin karaoking at ernie's]

[andrew decided to sing-along]

xoxo,

R+M

...celebrating kristina...

This past weekend we celebrated a friend's birthday who is near and dear to our heart, Kristina! We initially were co-workers (rachel & kristina), but quickly became close friends and our lives have been intertwined ever since. This year we wanted to celebrate Kristina's birthday in an extra special way, since she was out of town for her actual day. We started with dinner at Jalapeno Inferno, then headed to Wolfley's Neighborhood Grill for drinks and ended the night at Blue Martini Lounge (a.k.a cougar town). It was the perfect night of fun, friends, drinks and of course dancing. Kristina, I hope you had a great time ringing in 29. Thank you for being an amazing friend and including us in your celebrations.

Now for the photos...

[the dinner location]

[dinner to kick the bday celebration off]

[make a wish]

[the girls]

[cheers to another year]

[the boys talking shop]

[andrew busting a move]

[giving some birthday love]

xoxo,

R+M

...happy rosh hashanana...

Society likes to define our marriage as an "interfaith" one (he is jewish and I was raised catholic), but we look at it as two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. Initially when we started dating it was definitely different being with someone who didn't celebrate the same holiday's as you, or even have similar church memories. I can recall the first time I was going to meet Mikis' parents, and was scared to death they were going to hate the blonde haired catholic girl, thankfully I was over-reacting and they couldn't have been more lovely and accepting. Now we look at it as a just another attribute that makes our relationship unique. We think of it as a positive; it allows us the opportunity to participate in many different religious and cultural holiday's, and truly let's us experience the best of two worlds. Today we are celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanana.We will be celebrating by enjoying dinner with the Troyan family and close friends. We thought you could join the celebration with us by making one of my fav Rosh Hashanana sides-Noodle Kugel.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound wide egg noodles
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 pound cottage cheese
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Boil noodles in salted water for 4 minutes. 

Strain noodles from water. 

In large mixing bowl, combine noodles with remaining ingredients 

and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. 

Bake for about 30-45 minutes, when custard is set and top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

R+M