Friends + Family = A Super Fun Filled Weekend

Dana and I had a busy weekend away from the house, but we surely couldn't allow ourselves to leave without doing a little housework.  Dana did the usual plant and tree watering and catering to his garden as I cleaned, cooked, and organized.   On top of that though, we painted the last room in the house that needed our little special touch.  We were sick of looking at the wood paneling in our extra room and decided enough was enough.  Dana set out to find some suitable paint and away we went.  It is hard to believe how much of a difference the paint made, and it turned out really nice painting over the paneling.  Once we get carpet and furniture you'll see what I mean.  Dana and I were very happy with the end result.

So once we finished up with our painting project, we decided to treat ourselves to some fun with friends and family.  We started out on Saturday by attending our friend, Jack's birthday party, hosted by his girlfriend, Jennafer and her wonderful family.  We had a great time hanging out and making friends.  For the occasion, I handed down my favorite lion piece from my lion collection to Jack, who is a Leo and also loved this special piece.  After moving to our new house, I had no place for it and had a hard time parting with it.  But, I knew someone who would appreciate it possibly even more than myself and so I gave it to him as gift.  He was extremely stoked about it and showed much gratitude for it.  It definitely made me feel good and I knew I made the right choice by giving it to him.

We also fell in love with a new band, Little Hurricane, which played a set while we were there.  Celeste and Anthony, of Little Hurricane, met just less than a year ago and already they are a huge hit in San Diego.  After hearing them play, we knew exactly why.  They are a super dynamic duo. (The guy to the left was an addition just for the night.  He was a friend who joined the group just for Jack's party)

On Sunday, we were excited to see many people that we haven't seen in a long time.  We started off by driving up to Oceanside (about 45 min. North) to see Dana's Aunt Jean and cousin, Amy.  They are family who live in New Mexico, but frequent San Diego so I have had the opportunity to become very close to them.  I get so excited every time I hear they are in town.  As soon as Amy and I get together I just can't seem to stop talking.  While blabbing and catching up, the four of us walked on the beach, got some food at the food stands, and took a walk along the pier.

And, lucky for us, we will be blessed with their presence again this week when they come over to see our house and have dinner.  This time Dana's other cousin, Jessica, will be joining us (she doesn't fly in until today).  It will be so great to catch up with Jessica and show them all our new house.  :)

After meeting them on Sunday, we wrapped up our day by driving south just a few miles to visit with our friends, Jen and Carlos.  We checked out their new apartment and got to meet their new dog, Elvis (whom I completely fell in love with--he's adorable!!).  Then we went to Pizza Port, a well-known pizza place that brews their own infamous Microbrews.  Dana fell in love with this place the first time we went there a while back and just couldn't stop thinking about it since then.  So, we finally arranged plans to go there and eat.  And, now I remember why he loved it so much.  Yummy!  Although I couldn't try any of their beers (which Dana can atest to being very delicious), the pizza was also made to perfection.  Here's Dana and Los showing off the menu:

Now comes a busy week of entertaining, working hard, and gearing up for next weekend--Our One Year Anniversary!!!  :)