Part II: Stuffing My Face in Solvang

Contrary to popular belief, I did not go to Europe for the weekend. Unfortunately, I do not live the life of a rich person. It's ok... I am rich in love, life, and food. ::cue the strings:: I traveled 3 1/2 hours North to Solvang, California and I STUFFED my mouth hole with sweets of all kinds, meats of all kinds, and I threw in some vegetables  for good measure. Here are just a few things we did up in this little Danish town.

We arrived at our Hotel on Friday night. It was very simple and IKEA-ish, with a dash of a Hostel sort of feel. Sure, I wanted to slap myself for not booking a hotel, say, with amenities and a room a bit bigger so that doo-doo smells wouldn't attack the WHOLE hotel room when someone is in the toilet room, or a place that offers more than two pillows. But hey, it was decent enough for showering, sleeping, and other bed activities.

The best part of the hotel was that it came with complementary bikes...

We rode them with pride around the town, showing off our Danish filled guts.

And the other great thing about our Hotel was that it was a matter of steps to the best eatery in Solvang. That's not just my opinion, that's a FACT! Look it up on Wikipedia in about an hour.

Their Danish pancakes were LEGENDARY!! The service was impeccable, the line was out the door, the place was clean, and the bacon was thick as fruit leather. If those aren't true stamps to a good place, I don't know what to tell you.

After we ate the best meals of our lives, we moseyed on over to spend about a good hour in this odd spot.

This store reminded me of my childhood in Germany. I had a wonderful nostalgic feeling and I didn't want to leave. Good thing Hubby kept himself busy by finding the only pair of Boobie Stein glasses in the store.

And, the lady at the counter thought we were billionaires and kept trying to sell us one of these $500 clocks. She should've looked at our Hamlet Inn bikes.

The rest of the trip consisted of food... because that was my main goal after all...to gain a ridiculous amount of weight in my buttocks area.

    

 

I ate real food, too.

 Day two, we rode our bikes again. Do you think a few hours pedaling cancels out all this food?

Don't worry, I was in fact wearing shorts under my dress. I don't know how the Danes feel about Hello Kitty Chonies and I wasn't about to find out.

Back to the eats...

Chipmunk Cheeks courtesy of all the sweets....glorious glorious sweets. 

And lastly, I searched for my childhood fav, Weinershnizel. It was sadly a disappointment. Not as good as I remembered it. The little fat girl inside me wept. 

While in my food depression, Hubby enjoyed his AMAZING Chicken Fried Steak.

I gave him puppy dog eyes the WHOLE meal and all he gave me was a measly 4 bites! Can you believe that? And he vowed to be with me through good times and bad.... pshhh.... lies. (Love you, Hubs!)

It was the best birthday I've had all year. wait... yeah... best one.

• How was your weekend?

Red, White, and Blue in the Face

This weekend (and every other weekend) I do this thing where I let everything about myself go on rest mode. I sleep in, I don't do any hardcore cleaning, and I pretend that calories are some made-up lie that the devil created to make us unhappy. I eat to my little tummy's content...well... I eat until my little tummy is about to throw up my insides. ::le sigh::

I love food. I hate food. I love food. I hate food.

This weekend I over did it. I didn't think you could feel DRUNK off of food, but leave it to me to get NOM NOM WASTED! I saw, I ate, I conquered and now I feel like that little hussy doing the walk of shame home at 8 in the morning, hair a-frazzled, feeling regret, guilt, and like a food whore.

Here's what I remember before I blacked out from my self-induced food binge.

I am ashamed. (I didn't eat this all in one sitting, btw)

But the good thing about this thing we call life, is that we have more days that the Lord has blessed us with, to recoup and repent.

Here is what I do to make up for a food filled weekend:

1. Forgive myself and move on. Can't feel sorry for myself for too long or I will eat myself into a depression. No lie. I'm an emotional eater.

2. Plan for the days ahead. I sit down with my planner and stuff each day silly with fruits and vegetables and things that will make my body happy and healthy. I plan each meal to the very last morsel so I will be less likely to stray.

3. Workout. UGH! Boy do I hate working out when I feel guilty. I cried this morning when Jillian on the DVD yelled at me. I must work off the bad food vibes that I put in my body!

4. Load up on Green Monsters. Spinach is a super food that can help your body recover!

5. No punishment. I don't believe in self-abuse. I'm not going to deprive myself of anything. Eat in moderation. We all know exactly what we need to do to make our bodies strong and healthy. Do your best.

Let's hope for a healthy week. I hope I don't have a hangover.

• Tell me one thing you do to recover from eating WAY too much.
• Tell me one of your yummy guilty pleasures.

I Got Shaved

Monday...grrrr....

I hope you all had a great weekend! I sure did, you know, because the world didn't end.

Truth be told, I was a bit scaredy cat about it. I am a Christian and I know that I shouldn't be scared, but when everyone is yappin' about it...I can't help but feel a bit anxious. Heck, there was even a man who said that he was going to euthanize all his pets when the rapture came. Yes, I understand he was probably a crazy koo-koo, but that still put a twinge of anxiety in me. I gave Sonic an extra BIG HUG that day. 

In the meantime, Hubby and I went on another Double Date adventure with Ed and Kristin! We went to stroll around Old Town Pasadena to find a place for dinner.

Our adventure included: Getting lost ::cough:: boys fault ::cough::

People trying to convert us into Scientology...

And finally, finding a new place to dine.

Bar Celona- Tapas Restaurant.

It was a small, eclectic place with different types of people. That's always a good sign.

The boys started with a couple of Spanish Beers, while I settled for a glass of White Sangria.

THEN, it was time for the food....amazing food...unique food...and flavorfully fun food.

Garlic Shrimp....Tangy goodness



Pork Croquetas... Grenade of flavor



Short Rib Empanada- Yum Bomb



Serrano Ham- Delicate but flavor kick to the buds



Spanish Flatbread with THREE types of Sausage. BOOM.

THE GRAND FINALE...the one that made us food-gasm all the way home...

Braised Pork Belly. PERIOD.

This pork belly was incredibly tender, flavorful, and that creamy egg BLEW MY MIND! It sat on top of shredded brussel sprouts, heirloom tomatoes, and bacon, all drizzled with a balsamic sauce. I can't put into words how superb this dish was. I mean, I used the word SUPERB! That should tell you something.

After this masterpiece of a meal, we got shaved. All of us. At the same time.

Shaved Ice Truck. Need I say more? Check out this glorious menu.

It's nothing like a snow cone...the ice is shaved so much finer than that and the syrups aren't too sweet. It was JUST LIKE HAWAII!

The prices are amazing...and as it should be...it's only ICE and JUICE! Ludacris!

I chose  half Tiger's Blood (Pina Colada-ish), half Orange Dreamsicle with sweet cream on top, and a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on the bottom.  I ran the morning after... no worries.

But Ed won with this amazing creation.

 Two pillowy soft Macadamia Cookies hugging Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. It was the best ice cream sandwich we've ever tasted. We voted that.

• How was your weekend? Tell me one good thing.
• Have you ever been to a Tapas restaurant?
• Fan of Shaved Ice?