California Dreamin'

Made a trip to Orange County last month. The ocean, the agriculture, the sunsets... I am most definitely a west coast girl at heart. We stopped in San Diego first and had that awesomely memorable Surfin' California burrito from Lucha Libre that still haunts my dreams. A weekend full of quality family time is a great cure for when you feel like you need to feel the earth beneath your feet. Plus it didn't hurt that we hit up the farmers market, had some home-cooked filipino food, fit in some salon time, the beach, AND an hourlong, $15 (PG-rated) massage. Good, efficient times. 

More photos and talk about SoCal goodies after the jump... 

The farmers markets alone make me swoon. I mean, just look at those squash blossoms! I wanted to grab handfuls of them, stuff them with goat cheese, batter them with panko, and throw them into the fryer right there at the stand. We went to the Irvine market right next to UCI and I was able to get my hands of a few of these puppies:

A rainbow table of pound cake! I got some red velvet, peanut butter chocolate, lemon coconut, and raspberry chocolate. They're really buttery and rich, so I can only consume maybe one a month calorically. As advised by the owner, I threw them in the freezer and have them as a treat after a really, really long workout. 

Had to grab a picture of this. The "ugly but sweet" made me LOL. There were also these super tasty oranges one of the farms had for sampling that were A-MAZING. They were named a common white-girl name like "Cammie Oranges" or "Suzie Oranges" that I can't recall, but the flesh inside the orange was slightly darker than a normal orange and were MUCH sweeter than a blood orange. I will find this magical orange one day. ::insert gameface emoticon::

My cousin brought home some mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes so we had that for dessert after a good ol' fashioned Filipino Fish Friday feast. Nothing like super dense and sweet pound cake to counterbalance all that patis. 

My mom carrying a bundle of sweet potato leaves to buy from the farmers market. 

The view from Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach. We went during sunset, which is always the best time to be at the beach. Corona Del Mar is one of my favorite places in the richer areas of Orange County and is like a little secret for when you want to have a quickie visit with the beach. Then we took pictures and gawked at super rich peoples' houses that we dream of owning someday.  Always fun.

And flowers. 

Man, I can't wait to go back. I love the transition from Spring to Summer.