Parcels

Initially I was going to have a go at USPS for losing another parcel but surprise surprise, after nearly four weeks of travelling, it actually arrived. Not just one, 3!

Table runner and candle holder from my mum, lipgloss from the in laws!

Just in time for Palm Springs, a new swim suit for Emily

It was mum's parcel which I thought had gone missing. Now I would have been quite peed had I not received that candle holder. I love love Stockholm Design house and I have had my eyes in this particulary one for quite some time. The table runner is typical Swedish I guess, Gavin always wonders if we only have half table cloths in Sweden. Ordered the swimsuit from Hanna Andersson, I was a little worried whether it would arrive in time and I am so happy it did. It is really hard to find this kind of swimsuit, which you don't pull over the head. I much more prefer the one piece and it has SPF 50 too. People are soo conservative here, you never see naked kids run around on the beach. They all - even the smallest toddlers - wear bikinis etc. I actually forgot some weeks ago how touchy they are about nudity. We are at Emily's swimming school and about to get changed in the family changing rooms where I took my clothes off. All of them. When I saw I guy coming out of the shower wrapped in his towel, and so were his younger ones, I realized my mistake. Guess I am still used to Germany where people have no problem whatsoever with nudity. Guess I should consider myself lucky no one took offense.

Massage

Yesterday we decided to treat ourselves with a massage, so we had the masseuse come to the house. Luckily I know a Swedish masseuse so it wasn't so weird having her come to the house. Katarina was great! I had been to the bootcamp in the morning so a massage was exactly what I needed. The Swedish massage is still my favourite, last year I tried a Chinese one in Shanghai, I ached for about a week and it was jsut a little too painful. Definitely needs to become a habit to get one once in a while!

Batman & Denver

While I am looking forward watching the new film when my parents (= baby sitters), hardly anyone can have avoided to read about the shooting in Denver. I have incidents like this in the back of my head constantly. It is so easy to get hold of weapon here that such a thing can happen anywhere in the US really. Scary scary scary. I feel super safe in general in Orange County -  much safer than both in Sweden and Germany - but there lack of gun control really freaks me out. I had a look at the website spotcrime.com where you can check reported crime in any area in the US. It shows hardly any crime in Irvine and most surrounding areas but something like the shooting in Denver is not related to any particular area, and that is the scary part. Hopefully this will lead to gun control being a hot topic during the upcoming election (I believe Romney's comment was, death penalty and faster trials are even more important now...).

Patio Furniture

Can someone please tell me why patio furniture is so expensive in the US? I mean, it is just not expensive, it is SUPER expensive. Bedlinen is another thing too, being super expensive. Two things we should have brought with us from Germany. All of a sudden Bauhaus and Obi seem really cheap, and even the bedlinen and towels seam quite reasonable. Can't get my head around it, is there a special import tax on all three things? We have struggled soooo much with buying towels. Once upon a time I bought towels (not cheap) at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are now falling apart. The ones from Bloomingdales are still looking great but my old towels bought in Sweden at Hemtex and in Germany at Habitat are still looking fabolous after 8 years plus. So much about unnecessary cost.  As you might have guessed, we spent the day yesterday looking at patio furniture, no luck whatsoever. So we are back looking online.The retail market in the US is definitely taking place online. Amazon has become my best friend! Anything can be bought and shipped within 2-3 days, easy to return if it doesn't fit. However, when it comes to certain furniture, I am the kind of person who likes to touch and sit on the chairs I am going to buy. Hence the furniture hunting in the stores. Even went to IKEA to have a peek but there selection was extremely poor (and I couldn't even buy some Swedish food to cheer me up, however, I did spot the original Kalles again so maybe baby the original brands are sneaking their way in again). We ended up going to Fashion Island for lunch and some baby clothes shopping.

Now to something so much more delightful - we are going to Palm Springs next week!! It will be a long weekend, leaving Friday morning doing a detour via the outlet mall and back Sunday night. Pool time, some sightseeing and in general just take it easy - that's the plan!

Fun Friday

Passed my behind the vehicle driving test this morning. Finally got that out of the way (insurance company will be happy)! Easy peasy. Apparently I was a little too fast around the corners (trust me, had I been driving any slowers I would have been parking..). All done within the hour. Got 8 points deduction for not turning around and looking over my shoulder while reversing (or backing, as they call it here), one thing I had to do was park up next to the curb without hitting it and then reverse. Well sweethearts, I can revers park on a stamp so no need to turn around and look, rear mirrors do the job. Scary scary though, knowing that that little 20 minute drive is all you have to do to get on the road here.

After all that fun, me and babs went to Gymboree for our weekly fun - minus the baby football where tears came down thos rosy baby cheeks. Decided to gamble and do some food shopping at Costco afterwards. What was it going to be. kicking and screaming or happy baby? Happy baby of course, she loved sitting in the trolley. First time in a while we've been to Costco. You always end up spending more than planned (at least $ 100) but I give in. Folks, Costco has the best steaks and the best salmon.

Decided to turn into super mum for a short moment and made tons of baby food, baby chicken risotto and chicken with broccoli and pear. Slightly over did it, the whole freezer is jammed packed now. But I am ever so proud of myself!

Play Date with a View

Went to the Swedish school's play date the other day. This time we went to the park "top of the world", and yes, that's how you felt up there. In one direction, view over the canyons, the other, of the Pacific ocean.

Getting to know all the play grounds around here. And running out of options for upcoming play dates with the school. Since it is getting hot, it may just be pool dates.

Talking about the pool. Yesterday I went swimming with Emily here at the complex. Thought I'd meet some nice people to chat with but it ended up being me and all the nannies. Trust me, I would never hire any of those nannies I keep bumping into here. Chatting away on the phone, texting and not once looking at the kids in the pool. We're talking baby pool here, so little ones.

Park Fun and Beautiful Summer Night

Went to Barry's this morning, first and unfortunately only time this week. With all the lack of sleeping, I have been way to tired to go. Looks like I am used to the sleep deprivation because this morning I managed to roll out of bed feeling alive at 7.30. I must have the weakest arms! Or I simply suck at push ups. And we are talking about push ups on the knees. Didn't even have that many alpha femals around me, somehow they were all pushing away on their toes though, and there I was dripping of sweat (not in the corner, no need to hide anymore!) with my arms shaking. Anyway, good start of the day!

Went to the park this afternoon to watch hubby play footie, met a nice couple from France, hopefully they will be back for the footie tournament in a few weeks.

You have no idea how much effort it was to get that hat to stay on

Had it been Swedenm it would have been a perfect summer evening tonight and everyone would have been sitting outside. Here it was just another evening and as usual there was no sight of any other neighbours. Being a true Swede, you have to take advantage of the weather and be outside as much as possible, meaning BBQ time!

Delicious italian hot sausage, corn on the cob

New gadget from sur la table, get ready for those quesadillas!

Lovely summer evening

Teething

Found out why Emily's sleeping pattern has changed..she is teething! We discovered two teeth yesterday and another one tonight. How long is this going to go on for?? She didn't fall asleep until 9pm last night, woke up at midnight, and then again at 5am..She hasn't slept like this since she was 4 weeks old!! Know I realise how spoiled we must have been. Geez folks, how do you survive? Pleeeeeaaase teeth, hurry and come out soon, I need my sleep back!

San Diego Zoo

We decided to go to San Diego Zoo this morning. After being in stuck in traffic this morning, we finally arrived around noon. What a zoo! I had already heard it was big so we bought a one year membership for both of us ($ 109, one admission was $ 42), it gives us free admission to both the zoo and the safari park for one year plus a lot of coupons. Since we had the pram with us we decided to walk and not get on any of the buses. I reckon we saw 2/3 of the zoo in 4.5 hours. Who needs the bootcamp when you can walk around the zoo huh! Add boiling hot sun to that and you might get the feeling how we felt today. All in all it was a gorgeous day, such a nice, spacious zoo.

The zoo offers free parking, and since it is so big, it didn't feel crowded

Emily wasn't too interested in the animals,

Having a peek at the elephants

Major attraction was of course the pandas

Initially we planned to go to Palm Springs since weekend but realized it would be too hot so we postponed it. Second option was Mission Bay outside San Diego but all hotels were fully booked.. The zoo turned out to be a pretty good third option, we will definitely be back!

Miserable Weather

Not only did it rain yesterday, the miserable weather continues today. We were supposed to go to the pool this morning but it had to be cancelled due to the weather, now that's a first! So we were stuck indoors all day.

We decided to go to a fairly new restaurant, fancy Katsuya in Laguna Beach tonight. Fancy as in fancy sushi! Perhaps a little too trendy and over friendly staff for us. Nice food, but basic sushi does the job too. And I am not a fan of places with loud music in the background. Must be getting old:)

Edamame and miso soup, a must!

Crab rolls, california roll with baked scallops, tuna, salmon, yellowtail wrapped in mahi and cucumber

We were there at 5.30 already so the place was still fairly empty

Dentist and Other Fun

Yesterday I learnt some new stuff. Flowers are delivered in boxes here. And dentists offer a whole new experience.

When I came back from the dentist yesterday and found a nice little surprise on the doorstep - a box of flowers. Thanks honung! Never seen flowers being delivered in a box before but I am in the country of wrappings so why not. Was kind of wondering how they survive in the dark but hey, they still look great so apparently they didn't mind.

Now to the dentist. Just like my OB, when stepping inside the office, it doesn't give you the feeling being at the doc's. In typical Southern California style, there are signed framed pictures on the wall of celebrities who have been to the office, Reese Witherspoon is one of them. No waiting time, I get to sit down in the dentist chair immediately. The hygienist tells me they need to take 18 x-rays since it is my first visit. I notice the whole office is lokking very chic. Everything in beige, white and brown. Staff are dressed in black uniforms. The doc comes and introduces himslef, promises to take good care of me, and shows off the biggest, whitest smile ever. It feels like I am watching Dr. 92010 for a brief moment. I notice there is no water fountain to drink water, nor anywhere to spit. A little weird. What was even weirder was the removal of the plaque. In Germany I have experienced two methods, ultra sound and airflow. Here they hygienist scraped it off. No wonder I sat there for nearly two hours!!

The dentist really took his time to chat afterwards and go through everything, which was nice, but I felt a little as if I had gone back to the future. At the end of the visit I got a little goodie bag and a folder with payment options, my bill and also what my next visit will cost (this is really nice). Now, I never found a dentist I truly liked in Germany so I expect it will take me some time here too. Not so sure about this one. He even showed me his gold filling. His gold filling!!! Who wants to have a gold filling??

Folder with payment options, bill and quote for my next visit

Goodie bag

Happy Birthday to Me!

12 July - yet another year older. I feel nowhere near 38! Yep, you read it, 38, in two years time I will have spent half my life outside Sweden, Wowowow. Got myself into a little situation a while back. I was chatting to this girl and then she told me she was 25 I went "no way, I thought we were the same age". Kind of realized later on, she may not have taken it the right way, haha. Probably though, what, is she telling me I am looking old?  Is it like this for you too? I constantly feel like I am in my early thirties. The twneties, well, I can barely remember them It was like an orientation seminar, lasting for ten years or so. But the thirties have been truly great in every sense. 37 felt like 35, just a year or so earlier, now 38 is leaning towards 40. Bring it on!

So today I have organized Mikaela to come and baby sit for four hours in the morning while I go food shopping at Costco and then head off to the dentist. Might treat babs and myself to a nice lunch afterwards, depending how it goes at the dentist's. And I can finally unwrap the Soma bag, since I got hubby to pay for it. It is always good to give hubby a helping hand when it is your birthday so you don't end up with something you don't like, remember that gals :)

Soma

When moving to a new place, it takes time to find some new favourite shops. For quite some time I thought Victoria Secret was the place to buy underwear. How wrong was I. Bad bad quality...I have been spoilt, buying Marie Jo in Germany (though it is French). The other day I googled (google is your best friend right) and found Soma at South Coast Plaza. Not fantastic, but decent prices, so let's see what the quality is like.

I am starting to regret selling our patio furniture before moving here. Who would have realized patio furniture would be some expensive in the US! Also, I wanted to buy the same TV cabinet as we had in Germany, from Bo Concept, but it is twice as expensive as in Germany (and Sweden!). What's going on!

Chilling by the Pool

We have been having some early mornings lately. Emily - who so far has been the perfect sleeper - has started waking up early. We're talking 4-5 am. 4-5! Folks, it is painful early. So we are back to early bed times around 10 pm. We woke up at 4 am this morning by a da-da-da-da-da-da. Then the owls outside the window woke up and took over...ho ho ho.and after that, the sprinklers started..(The other night I thought it was raining outside. Raining! What was I thinking! As if it ever rains here!! Of course, the noisy sprinklers seem to go on and off all night.)  Once we were awake it was mission impossible to go back to sleep. Emily will only go back to sleep in our bed once she is awake that early and that means, we are getting beaten up, getting kicked all over the place, she literally takes over the bed, rolling all over it. She has a big crib, obviously not big enough though :).  I, however, did manage to roll out of bed at 7.45 to go to Barry's, third time this week! Aching is getting addictive, yaay! Best way to get motivated is to buy new sports clothes. That tank top yesterday msut have done its job!

Around lunch time we decided to go to the pool and chill a little. We walked up to the mainpool where they have the baby pool and floated around a little with the babs. There were a few other kids there and some parents. Hubby chatted to the other dad in the pool who after finding out that hubby is from Liverpool, claimed to be a soccer fan. That of course makes hubby all excited since he doesn't get to chat footie that often. Quite amusing, hubby is namely just not a football fan, he is a hardcore footie fan and the Americanos kind of get lost. Not just by his accent (I keep telling him, SLOOOOW DOWN and use "easy" words, no idioms or typical British colloquial lingo.), context wise too. They jsut can't keep up. All in all, we had a super nice afternoon by the pool and a very chilled Sunday. Now, time to watch Longmire and Falling Skies!

Pretty Quiet...

We have not been up to so much lately. Fourth of July meant another bank holiday to us..we took it very easy. Beth came down from Santa Monica and we had a BBQ in the afternoon. It was nice to have hubby home for a day in the middle of the week.

On Friday I popped down to Laguna Beach and discovered a new baby boutique, Hillary. What a gem, how could I have missed this one before. Only reason I discovered it was because I decided to park in a different street. as you know, when it comes to cute little baby clothes, I can shop till I drop.

Baby boutique Hillary

Charming Laguna Beach

San Juan Capistrano

Yesterday morning we drove down to Zoomars Petting Zoo which is in San Juan Capistrano. It only takes about 30 minutes to deive there from Irvine and the petting zoo is in the old part of SJC, Los Rios. San Juan Capistrano is the site of a Catholic mission for which it is named, Mission San Juan Capistrano and the city has been created around the mission. Many of the homes and strip malls resemble the Spanish architecture that compose the building. Los Rios is with buildings dating to 1794, is the oldest continually occupied neighborhood in the state. I came here back in 2004 for the first time, it is very quaint and nice just to stroll around. If you get the chance to come here, there is also the Ramos House, voted one of the top restaurants on Orange County. We have been here a few times and apart from that you cannot make reservations in advance, it is quite a little gem.

There are plenty if small little cafe's around

The Hummingbird Cafe

Along the Los Rios Street

The petting zoo was a little disappointing. I knew it was going to be expensive but it was also tiny! Not impressed, and it will take some time before we go back. They had guinea pigs, rabbits, turkey, pumas, horses, ostriches, sheep and goats. And some kind of a donkey. Zoonkey?

Food Tray, $ 3!

This little fellow came and sat next to us for a while. So dissapointed we didn't get to play with any rabbits. Too many kids running ater them!

In this part the rabbits and guinea pigs ran around. And a hen or two.

Zoomar's Petting Zoo.

See, I have a little soft spot for animals. Not cats or reptiles. Not hens either (can't be trusted). Or rats. But pretty much all other animals (note: no insects!) have a HUGE space in my heart. So if I say, it is not worth going there, it really isn't. The had some sheep - three or two - and blimey, is this the American version of a sheep or were they on steroids? Humongous! Unfortunately I couldn't take a picture, I was too busy keeping Emily high enough so the goats couldn't jump up on her (which would have resulteed in a life time fear of goats, I am sure) and make sure no hens or monster sheep could come too close.

Luckily we will in animal heaven here. Not only do we have Orange County Zoo here in Irvine (focuses on plants and animals native to the southwestern United States, we have Santa Ana Zoo just up the road (famous for monkeys, and I LOVE monkeys), we have the wild animal park and Sn Diego Zoo just an hour away. This will be a zoo summer!

Shopping

I am back nearly back to my pre pregnancy weight. Just a few more kilos, hurrah! Time to go to the mall and have a nose. Back to medium in tops and I can wear jeans again. Hallelujah! I was going to wait until Friday when Anthropolgie open its doors at South Coast Plaza but I can't wait that long. Plus, I am meeting some friends so why not combine pleasure with pleasure!

Bought some play mats for Emily yesterday, clearly is is not on her way of taking over the lounge, she has taken over it.

Who would ever have thought I would have a living room full of toys and a cute little girl sitting among them?

Wholefoods

Took a trip to my favourite supermarket this morning. THIS is the place where you want to do your food shopping.

People outside the US always think Americans eat unhealthy. It so depends where in the US you are. Eating out, yes, it can be a little tricky. Most salads have more calories than any cheeseburger, but thanks to the impeccable customer service, you can swap and change anything on the menu. And looking around, yes, there are fast food places everywhere. I am still astonished when seeing families at Chicken filet and all those places having a family meal and eating all that junk. I do miss fine dining, sitting at a cozy restaurants where they don't have burgers, sandwiches and wings on the menu.
The food shopping, however, is such a delight, I can walk around at Wholefoods for hours. Now that is something we would need in both Sweden and Germany. Unbeatable!

Fantastic Bread

Coconut Water is still trendy

So much fruit and veggies

Alternativ milk - long way head of Europe. In general, if you are vegan, are gluten allergic or like raw food, this is the place to shop

Who said you can't get good sausages in the US?

The veggies have vitamin points, the higher point, the better they are for you!

Christening of the BBQ

First steaks on the Weber..plenty more to come!