Giving

I got this from my friend Mallory. I think it is so cute. Let's keep the love going.

Here is the deal: The first four people to comment on this post will get something made by me.

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography, I may sew or paint something. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely creative.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 4 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 4 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.

Ariels Grotto

I didn't take pictures of the food. Sorry. Ariel's Grotto is fantastic with a 4 year old. Ariel is at the bottom of the stairs when you walk in. You get to take pictures with her. Multiple princesses come out to visit. We saw Cinderella, Aurora (that's Sleeping Beauty to all you non-princess peeps), Snow White and Belle. The Princesses take time at each table. It's really very sweet.

As far as the food, it started out looking promising. They sent out a 3 tiered anti pasta plate with salami and cheese, salad, jello for the kiddo's. My husband and I both got some sort of pasta. It was "fancy Hamburger Helper". My friend Mike got steak...that was not a wise move. All the food is just well presented Disney food. Disney is not known for their fine dining. I have been to PCH Grill for breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. That was buffet style and really not bad. I went for the breakfast buffet and it was not a bad price. Ariel's Grotto is not as good as PCH Grill.

Pricing...there is NO pricing on any menus, drink menus, websites, etc. I knew it was going to be pricey so I wasn't really surprised at the bill. Adult prices are $31.99 and children's prices are $17.99. That does not include the 18% gratuity that Disney charges. Will I go again? I'm not sure. It just depends on what my own little princess wants :)

I suck

I haven't eaten food in the last two weeks. Wait, no. That's not entirely true, but I'm surviving purely on Juice it Up, and anything that only requires me to re-heat/boil it for dinner. I friggin love Costco's flautas, potstickers and ravioli. I always thought it was really tacky to heat up a jar of Prego in the microwave like a college student and pour it over my pasta. But alas, this is what my foodie life has boiled down to in the past couple weeks.

I'm going to Ariel's Grotto on Monday for the Princesses birthday. Maybe I'll review that. I wonder what the mouse will think?

Sea Smoke

I work close to Sea Smoke (no website...WTH) in San Clemente. This restaurant is created by Chef Abe who is also behind Bluefin in Newport Beach and Izakaya Zero in Huntington Beach. I have started going there over the last month for lunch. I get the kids bento to go and I take it back to my office to work/eat. I'm a HUGE fan of the kids bento. It's perfect with a nice portion of teriyaki chicken, fresh fruit, rice, wasabi mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and a tempura shrimp. It's just the right size and it's $6.95. I don't like fish so this really hasn't been a place I've been dying to go to.

Lets start with the service. We got lucky, we had Jennifer as our waitress. Normally, someone else waits on me and lets just say that she's a touch rude. You would think if I own a business nearby that sees 200ish families a week, you may want me to sing your praises. I will praise about the food, but not the service.

My husband got the Sea Smoke roll which was Filet mignon wrapped over rice and tempura shrimp with avocado and cucumber, topped with horseradish. The husband says it was pretty good, but he's had better. Next time he's going to stick to fish. I had a bite. I forgot I hate sea weed! Eww.


I got the adult bento size this time. I worked all day and was rather hungry. It had a salad with a nice sweet dressing, california rolls which were good for having seaweed. There was teriyaki chicken and beef. My daughter ate most of the chicken which is great and I've had it before. The beef was tender and delicious. The wasabi mashed potatoes are not overpowering and are light (for mashed potatoes). I also got the tempura shrimp and veggies. The tempura batter is light and tastes so good.

Pricing was good. I hear a lot of people saying that it's really expensive. My Bento was $18 and my husband's roll was $16. Its' a lot of food. They also have drink specials so I had a glass of Chardonnay for $4. After the day of work I had, the wine was well received! I feel the menu is appropriately priced. We'll be back...maybe I'll even try something new :)