eating and shopping in the OC

sunday was spent hanging out at the beach - newport, to be exact. it was brother wan's birthday, and he wanted to have dinner down by the water. originally, we were going to duke's in huntington beach, but when we called for a reservation, we were told that the u.s. open of surfing was going on this weekend. hence, they were completely booked. gah! so instead, we decided on tommy bahama's island grille cafe. yummy, safe, and more importantly, available.

the day started out gloomy as hell, even sprinkling on us a bit on our way down, but it was way better than the heat and humidity at home. we put the bean in the stroller and i covered her up with my new juicy hoodie to keep her warm.

as usual, we'd skipped breakfast and were hungry, so we decided to park and eat at rockin' baja lobster. we've been to their san diego location before, many many moons ago. brother wan and his friends, who'd arrived at the beach earlier (like, 7am. crazy boys), joined us for lunch.

after plowing through my surf and turf bucket - shrimp, crab legs, grilled chicken, and carne asada - sharing all-you-can-eat caesar salad, and slathering several fresh tortillas with their delish chile-honey butter, we decided to walk along the bike path and enjoy the sun, which had finally burned through the cloud cover.

the bean enjoyed rolling along in her comfy stroller and peoplewatching.

i ended up with some faaaabulous tan lines after that stroll along the beach. like, i'm still wearing a tank top...even when i'm not. joy. that's gonna be hawt on the shores of waikiki beach, yes?

we decided to head over to fashion island and stroll the shops for a while. i was half hoping to get to the apple store and sweet-talk the hub into picking up iPhones, but we were greeted by a sign that said "sorry, the iPhone 3G is not available today." boo.

instead, i drowned my sorrows in a nice cup of pinkberry. the hub shared his with the bean, who wrinkled her nose (but continued to open up like a little bird for more) with every spoonful.

i was powerless against the lure of another juicy couture store, so close by, and when i sheepishly admitted that i'd neglected to pack a jacket for the bean, he plucked one from the sale racks. um, and an adorable little terry dress, too. ha! she totally scored.

and then it was time to meet up with the wan family for brother wan's birthday dinner.

the bean knocked out in the 3 minute drive over from fashion island, and the waterfall next to her helped keep her asleep through most of dinner.

i debated between a cup of crab bisque and a nice salad (my usual), or the lobster grilled cheese and a cup of heirloom tomato soup. the latter won out, and it was delicious.

the dessert tray came out, and the hub made the executive decision of ordering one of each to pass around the table. yum!

the bean finally woke up, and everyone played "pass the baby." note how perfectly her new hoodie matched her grandma's top.

and that was that. we got home and crashed on the couch, all three of us. a wonderful weekend, indeed.