Goodbye Orange County-Part III

We made a few more stops during our last day in Irvine. Not to eat, but simply to take pictures of some of our favorite places. : )

The token Taiwanese bakery in Irvine known as 85 Degrees . The long lines, self-serve buttery breads and the yummy dessert counter will surely be missed.

The only decent Thai food place in all of Irvine-Thai Ritz Cuisine. The monstrous portions were a steal for the low price to pay!

My favorite supermarket, H-Mart. This place allowed me to stretch my $20/week grocery budget beyond limits!

I love how clean it is inside plus the assortment of produce was always fresh and very affordable. Where else can you get 5 bunches of spinach for $1. Yes, I did say bunches.

Goodbye Orange County-Part II

This post should really be titled as "An ode to Yogurtland." Yogurtland kept me sane during my long days at work, especially during the hot summer. Thankfully, there was one within a few blocks from my office. Every Friday, Marc and I would religiously reward ourselves with a cup of fro-yo for getting through the week. Naturally, we had to make a stop at Yogurtland before making our final 'exit' out of Irvine. On our way to our usual branch by campus, we stumbled upon the grand opening of another branch just down the street from our former apartment. What a pleasant surprise! Since it was closer, we stopped here and as always, our taste buds were satisfied with yogurty goodness! I'm sure there will be another one of these at our next place of residence. However, this post is just to prove how severe our obsession is with Yogurtland. Sorry, Pinkberry. I think we'd love you more if you were self-serve. : )

New flavors always entice me!

Goodbye Orange County-Part I

One of the things we have been wanting to do in our now previous hometown of Irvine is to ride the orange passenger balloon at the developing Orange County Great Park. After turning in our apartment keys, we spent the rest of the day bidding farewell to our favorite places. In addition, we finally made the flight on the orange balloon. The sunny skies combined with the beautiful weather allowed for a wonderful flight!

Helium passenger balloons require boarding passes too! :)

We were fortunate enough to get a pair of tickets instantly; unlike our last attempt.

Our ride up to the sky

Lifted off!

The balloon's shadow.

The view from 400 ft. The OC Great Park used to be a Marine base/airstrip

It was a happy flight indeed! Can't wait to see how this park turns out in the next decade. It's supposed to be larger than NYC's Central Park.

Another early Christmas

A few years ago, a group of friends got together and started a tradition known as 'game night.' It used to be that once every 2 or 3 months, we would all get together and bond over board games. Cranium became our signature game and to date, we have played about 4 different versions. Due to people moving away and the clashing of schedules, we have had less game nights in the past year. Despite that, we all make it a point to get together at least every December around since that's when everyone seems to be home. I will always treasure game nights as it was the perfect disguise to our surprise engagement party last year. :)

Claudine hosted this year's Cranium match and it was a success!

A new icebreaker game was introduced by the beautiful Mariel. It's like the game 'telephone' except with pen and paper. It was so much fun to see how a 'hobo' turned into Janet Jackson somewhere down the line.
Games get pretty intense especially when you have to draw with your eyes closed....
...or if you're given a tough piece of trivia to solve...
...but the best part is watching your friends in their attempt to act.
Thanks for hosting Claudine! 'Til next time!
*note to self: i desperately need a hair cut*

We leave for Playa del Carmen tomorrow morning and I cannot be anymore excited! Last night, I took out all my cameras to prepare for the trip. I had a few mishaps.

1) I realized I was low on Polaroid film. Made the trip to Urban Outfitters only to find out that they stopped selling the film as soon as they ran out last month.I knew I should've stocked up.
2) Broke the winder of my Chaika 3 as I tried to figure out how to load the film properly.

I guess I'll have to make do with 2 cameras instead of 4 this time. :) Oh how I love vacations! Wishing you all a fun and safe weekend! I will be back by Christmas Eve so the posts will continue thereafter. Take care dear readers!

Freedom!

It's time for us to have some fun!

I am DONE with my classes! I did not enroll for any next semester and have decided not to pursue my Graphic Design Certificate. Instead, I plan to enjoy my free time by doing the things I love. It will be a nice break from academia as I have habitually tortured myself by jumping from one academic goal to another. I've realized that I can't keep running away from reality by constantly immersing myself in the familiarity of homework, quizzes, and projects. Besides, I have tons of stuff on my agenda that involves the word FUN. With that being said, I've got a full weekend up ahead.
If you're in the LA area, there's another craft fair going on tomorrow! Click the picture above for more info!

Thanks to Ella & Shelby for coming out to visit us last night! It was fun to catch up, just like old times. = )
Want one of these + holiday cookies? Melissa at Lovely Little Life is having a giveaway and there will be 2 lucky winners! I suggest you enter now. I promise you, the cookies will not disappoint!

Enjoy your weekend!