dance party at the fair

our second trip to the l.a. county fair this year was for a different reason - this time, to watch the bean perform with their dance team on one of the many stages on the fairgrounds.  we got there early and got to use a back entrance so that we would be right by the plaza stage:

with the giant king taco mascot on the roof, it was easy to explain where we were to the old lady and the old man.

the dance group that performed before the bean's team was huge, with probably 15 different dances and a crapton of friends and family that took up every seat in the audience.  once they were done the place was cleaned out, making it super easy to find a good seat.

i'm not allowed to post video, but i did get clearance for one still photo that i took while the bean was in the groove during their solo section.  i really do love watching my kid perform on stage.

afterwards, the old lady and the old man bid us farewell and headed off to meet up with friends while the three of us decided to walk through the rest of the fair.  the hub wanted to do fun stuff with the bean, and we bought ride tickets and did this first:

while my fairly recently acquired fear of heights had my anxiety going a little, i just tried to concentrate on the cool views of the fairgrounds below us.

of course, we hit up the bean's favorite kiosk for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.  i promise they really enjoyed them despite the looks on their faces here.

i was really sad to find that one of my favorite fair-exclusive treats is apparently no longer available.  i used to love to come to the hot dog on a stick kiosks to pick up deep-fried cream cheese, served with a sweet chili sauce.  sounds really weird, i know, but it was SO GOOD.

true to his word, the hub took the bean into a fun house, down the super slide and played a handful of games.

our final stop was in the barn to see some of the animals:

and by then it was getting hot and crowded, so we made a quick exit out the back.  the hub isn't a huge fan of the fair anyway, so he'd filled his quota for the year.  usually he goes just once with us to see how my cookies fared in the contest, eat a few bad-for-you things and split.  at least this year, with the bean's performance, he had an extra added incentive to come.  

he'll be back in 2023.

even MORE k-pop

the bean was pretty excited when i told them that i was able to score tickets for twice, which is one of their other favorite k-pop groups.  the group is made up of nine female members, and we've listened to their music together a lot in the last couple of years.  the concert was at the banc of california stadium, which we'd never been to before.  and as we found out later, it was the group's first stadium performance too, so it was bound to be a fun show.  the hub drove us down there and dropped us off before heading off to hang out at a cigar lounge nearby, and it was warm and bustling with activity when we arrived.

there was a pretty long line for merchandise, but you know we had to get something.  we'd given ourselves plenty of time, and the line actually moved pretty fast so it wasn't too bad.  and we got a glimpse of the coliseum as we made our way through.

with merchandise in hand, we finally headed into the venue to find our seats and get settled.

the show was fully sold out and we were surrounded by lots of mega fans, which is always entertaining.  there were costumes and light sticks and signs, and people were super excited when the ladies finally made their entrance onstage.

the bean has one of their official light sticks as well, and they waved it along with the other fans as the group performed song after song.

the girls took a final bow together onstage, and then we were all treated to fireworks before leaving the arena.

with no news on whether BTS will be touring again anytime soon, we're now awaiting updates on a possible tour from blackpink.  i guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.  in the meantime, the bean already has their lightstick at the ready.

strawberry cake forever

coming right off the heels of her wedding, the old lady was quite content with keeping her birthday quiet and low-key this year.  she's not one for attention (i don't know where THAT came from), so i think that quota had been fulfilled...and then some.

of course, we still celebrated that day - and that morning, the bean and i kicked it off by pulling out the ingredients for her sister's most favorite cake ever:

we don't do anything special to it at all...just follow the directions on the box and go from there.  i did, however, divide the frosting and add some color to it.  i'm not very good at decorating cakes, but the bean had a blast adding their own embellishments to it.

between the two of us, this is what we ended up with:

comedy.

later that evening, we all headed out to one of our favorite italian restaurants in the area for dinner.  while we used to trek out to the valley for pasta on the old lady's birthday, it's a little tough to do during the week.  i promised her that we'd go another day, and in the meantime she was perfectly happy with staying local for her birthday dinner.  the server brought her a nice bowl of ice cream while we sang the song to her at the end of the meal.

and when we got home...

we squeezed all 27 candles on that bad boy.

and there were, of course, presents.

and that was that.  i still can't believe my baby is 27.  and married.  sigh.

lady whistledown would approve

this year for mother's day, the old lady and the bean and i headed back to the biltmore for something super fun:

the tea was set up in the room we'd seen the last time we were there for the bridgerton experience, and it looked really lovely.

i was allowed just one selfie before we headed downstairs to check in and be seated.

there was a really nice selection of flavored teas, and we opted to try them all in whichever order our server suggested.  

the amuse bouche consisted of a "spiced pineapple flummery," and you know i wasn't really all about it but it was pretty.  the old lady took the fruit off the top of mine and i found that the cream underneath was really tasty, so it was still a win in my book.

the rest of our tea was served in this pretty little three-tiered tray.  there were freshly baked scones with jam and clotted cream and pieces of queen's cake on top, with sweets on the second tier.  there was a pistachio cake, a rose-flavored macaron, a piece of chocolate cake, a meringue-topped fruit tart and a lilac petit four.  and the savory sandwiches included salmon on pumpernickel with a dollop of caviar, a chicken tartelette with truffle essence, an egg salad sandwich, ham & cheese and of course, a cucumber sandwich made with boursin cheese.

we got the server to take a better picture of us afterwards, and yes - i am wearing the same dress i wore to the bridgerton experience and the bean is taller than both me and her sister.  heh.

back at home, there were flowers and presents and a sweet card - and then later, dinner by the hub, who did all the shopping, prepping, cooking and cleanup.  

it was a really nice day spent with my family - quiet and relaxing and exactly the way i like it.  happy mother's day, indeed.