Downtown Disney Weekend Recap

DEAR GOD my left knee hurts! Come to think of it my right knee hurts too. I did the elliptical yesterday and 20 minutes elliptical today followed by 10 minutes of running/walking on the treadmill. I thought cutting back on the running would help but what can I say? My knees HAAAATE me.

Anyway rant over.



After breakfast and a gym workout, Andy and I headed over to Downtown Disney. Before checking into our hotel for the night, we stopped by Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen so I could get my favorite...Chicken Caesar Wrap with parmesan garlic fries.

Um...can you saw holy fries?



This wrap is obviously not a "health" food but it is so dang good! Seasoned grilled chicken breast with caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, bacon, tomatoes and romaine lettuce.



Andy ordered a pulled pork sandwich with the tastiest potato salad. I HATE mayo-y potato salads but this one? YUM!



So I loved my wrap but only half about 1/3 of the fries. (That's with Andy's help!) I hate how huge portions at restaurants are. It drives me insane. And I'll admit there were definitely days in my past where I could finish those fries off. Not anymore though!



Still Brennan's has great food. Next time, I might have to try a shrimp po' boy!



After Brennan's Andy and I walked around the shops at Downtown Disney to digest. We even managed to find a Minnie and Mickey Christmas "Just Married" ornament for half price. I was pretty stoked! It was actually pretty warm at Disneyland, so we drove to our hotel and checked in. And took a nap.



After the nap, I needed an alcoholic beverage. My first of 2010! We walked from our hotel to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. I love the rustic feel of the lobby.





And the bar inside the hotel has all sorts of cute touches to it.



I usually order a sangria but I was in the mood for something tropical and full of rum!



Along with some snacks, it totally hit the spot. Andy ordered a Newcastle. I didn't take a picture.



After more walking and window-shopping, Andy and I decided to grab dinner before the show. We headed over to the La Brea Bakery. Where they gave us fresh baked sourdough to start with.



And soup in a bread bowl for dinner. I ordered the tomato & red bell pepper.



And Andy had clam chowder. Both were delicious without being too filling.

As for the concert. It was an awesome show. Andy and I really wanted to see both Anthony Raneri (of the band Bayside) and Chris Conley (Saves the Day) so it was nice that they both played first. Anthony has such an amazing voice! It's just nice to go to concerts with Andy and relax a little bit.



Lunch this afternoon was some cream of broccoli soup from Natural Cafe. (My sister gave us a gift card for Christmas! Thanks Emily!)



And a turkey burger with avocado.



Andy ordered a Natural Caesar salad with grilled chicken.

Now we're back home. I have to go in to fill out paperwork at my new job tomorrow and I'm kind of stressed out about it. I guess going back to reality is tough. That and starting school January 19th. I will totally miss my free time!

How was your weekend?

School is taking over my life!

I haven't had anytime to dedicate to the blog. I've been sitting at my laptop FOREVER working on an annotated bibliography and a research paper. Ugh! It's enough to make me want to rip my hair out. So over school! It's crazy to think that I have to go back for Grad School eventually. (I want to get my teaching credential.)

Some of my recent eats



A strawberry-mango-banana smoothie. With Pom of course.



An amazing salad from Sharkey's. With plenty of veggies to fill me up.



Vanilla froyo with strawberries, dark chocolate chips, 2 caramel corn jelly beans and roasted almonds.

Today we went to Natural Cafe. Natural Cafe is one of the biggest perks of living where we live. It's a chain but it's limited to our area. I'd miss it terribly if we ever relocated.



I got a bowl of vegan tomato spinach red potato soup. The flavors were great! This soup tasted pretty light too.



The sandwich is called "The Local Favorite" and comes with red onions, avocados, tomatoes, sprouts (blech!) and lettuce. It is so fabulous. My little sister Sarah and I always order this. Avocados are my weakness and it seems to be a family curse. Guacamole never lasted long in my parent's house.



Andy got a Natural Caesar salad with their homemade croutons, avocado!!!, tomatoes, romaine, parmesan cheese and grilled chicken. I love this salad so I stole plenty of his croutons. They are soooo good!

My other little sister, Emily is lucky enough to work at Natural Cafe. I'm jealous of her because I bet she gets to eat some fantastic stuff.

I promise to come back to blogging soon! I've been reading blogs but not commenting too much!

Nat Cafe again and again!

I have to hurry with this post because we have plans to go out for sushi with friends tonight!

I had a whole wheat mini bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. I had a banana as well but forgot to take a picture!

(I really need to redo my nails!)
Lunch was Natural Café again!! I had a Greek salad with chicken and a bowl of soup. The soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom.

I apologize for the blurriness!

The lemon-herb dressing on the side of this was stellar. I hope it wasn’t fatty…it tasted pretty light.

Andy had a quesadilla. I sampled a bite or two. J


Love how they use whole wheat chapati instead of tortillas!

Last but not least! A picture of my yummy salad. They used spinach instead of lettuce. Every bite had cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and red onions. I could live off this salad!
Better go to sushi now! I hate sushi!!! Andy loves it though. I am going to have him blog about this one. J

Natural Cafe...my love.

Natural Café is my favorite quick place to eat. Andy and I went on Monday before facing the outlets. It was delish as usual!



I had a turkey burger with avocado. It came with red onions, tomato, lettuce, sprouts and blue corn chips!



Here’s another shot of it just in case you didn’t get enough the first time.



Andy got a baked potato with guacamole, sour cream and shredded chicken that was simmered in some sort of tasty sauce. I was really jealous of his food. That salad had way too much jicama for me though. I hate jicama!

If you live in Ventura or Santa Barbara county, I suggest you check a Natural Café out!