148.2...A Palm Desert Getaway

Last Wednesday was my annual Swap Party. 

Just in case you’re not sure what a swap party is…you bring all your clothes/shoes/accessories that you don’t want or wear anymore and let everyone have at it! No rules….just take what you want. New clothes for free! :)

Besides clothes, I also have everyone bring a heavy appetizer to share. I was in a super hurry that day so I just put out a cheese plate and some goodies for dessert. 

Thursday’s breakfast:

After school drop off, Alicia and Kate came over and we were off to Palm Desert for the weekend. We arrived at my house, dropped off our stuff, then headed out to lunch. We were in the mood for sushi so I found Dragon Sushi online and decided to give it a try. 

 Not impressed. Everything was pretty flavorless. :( I would not go back.

After our unsatisfying lunch, we went to Trader Joe’s to get some snacks for the house. 

Here are just a few of the things we got. We broke into most of it when we got home. None of it disappointed. 

We went to Castelli’s for dinner. 

We shared a few things: Eggplant Parmesan, Veal Piccata, Fettuccine Alfredo and veggies. Everything was excellent!!

Friday morning we ordered breakfast from the club.

Eggs over easy, hash browns with onions and jalapeños, bacon and sourdough toast. 

We hung out until the rest of our crew of friends arrived. We went to Fresh Agave for lunch. Besides enjoying their awesome margaritas and table-side guacamole, I had the ceviche which was fabulous. 

 We came back home and hung out at the pool until it was time to get ready for dinner. 

Off we went to The Nest. My dinner started with a wedge salad:

I ordered the Weiner Schnitzel (lightly breaded veal cutlet with mashed potatoes and porcini sauce):

It was pretty good! 

The Nest has a room with a DJ so we hung out there after dinner for a bit of dancing before heading home. 

Breakfast Saturday was a repeat:

Pool time! 

We had so much food at the house so we ate that for lunch. Lots of cheese, crackers and yummy dips!

For dinner we went to Mitch’s on El Paseo. Alicia and I shared a bunch of sushi. 

Jalapeno Poppers:

Sushi:

Everything was SO good!

Cheers!

Sunday’s breakfast was a repeat of the other days. Lunch was a repeat of all the snacks too! We had to pack up so it was just easier to eat everything than bring it home. :) 

Such a fun weekend with friends. It went by too fast!

For dinner, I went with my family to Burger Night. 

Good way to end a perfect weekend!

Monday’s breakfast:

My husband took the kids to school because I had an appointment to have my windshield on my car replaced. It got hit with a home run baseball at my son’s baseball game last week (the other team, sadly). Turns out they brought the wrong windshield so I’m still driving around with a huge dent in my windshield. 

I ran some errands and stopped at Greenspot Salad Company for lunch. I tried one of their new bowls: Za’atar Chicken (citrus grilled chicken breast, shredded kale, brown rice, grape tomatoes, red onion, grilled zucchini, roasted carrots, Za’atar spices, lemon wedges, red wine vinegar, olive oil):

It was pretty tasty. I think it needed some tzatziki or similar sauce.

I brought the kids home from school. My son’s basketball practice got cancelled so we had a free evening at home. My husband wasn’t home for dinner so I roasted some salmon and made a salad for myself:

Breakfast today:

After school drop off, I went to spin class. That class never gets easier. I can barley wobble my sweaty body out of there.

Next up was a cooking class with Phillis Carey. Today’s class was called “California Cinco de Mayo Celebration”. The first recipe was Fresh Strawberry Margaritas:

This was good..not too sweet! And I like the recipe for homemade margarita mix….so much better!

The second recipe was Mexican Street Corn Dip:

I’m in love with this. I need to make this ASAP!

The third recipe was Triple Layer BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Wedges:

This was a fun dish! Lots of great flavors!

Next was Southwestern Skirt Steak with Roasted Chilies and Tomatoes on Cheese Grits with Black Bean Sauce:

Everything was good about this! The grits were especially good!

Dessert was Mayan Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream:

So rich and delicious! 

Now that Bar Mitzvah tutoring is over (normally on Tuesdays), we have another free afternoon! Love it! Too bad the rest of the week doesn’t look that way….

Technorati Tags: Burger Night, Castelli's, Dragon Sushi, Every Day, Fresh Agave, Green Spot Salad Company, Palm Desert, Phillis Carey, Swap Party, The Nest, Mitch's on El Paseo