The Arslains: February 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Valentines Lunch at Tart

For Valentine's day I invited Katie to have lunch with me at Tart, a place she has been dying to go to. It has an adorable patio and the food was good. I think Katie's Ahi salad was worth the price but my garden burger was not. It was lovely to sit out in the sun with my sister and friend Kristin though!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Diane's Baby Shower

Diane and Brian are expecting their first and she is a girl! We both cannot wait to meet her and here are pictures from her beautiful baby shower.

Di & I

Here are the baby booties I made her

It will be any day now!

Chambord Tasting at the SLS Hotel

A friend invited me to a Chambord tasting event. I had never tasted this liqueur but recognized the beautiful bottle. I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious this was with champagne, vodka, hot cocoa - pretty much anything. Plus it makes every drink this beautiful blush color. I am bringing our gift bottle with us camping in Joshua Tree so Tracey can add to this review! I am going to try and do more event/restaurant reviews because I love reading other people's. The hotel SLS was beautiful and very cool inside. It was a little Marie Antoinette, hunting lodge and modern lounge all in one. I would love to go back for cocktails in the main lounge. This is the entrance to the lobby & side restaurant where the event was held:

Here is a pic inside the event.

Afterward we had dinner at Tres restaurant. Their salads were delicious and they put Tabasco in their ketchup. I highly recommend it for french fries!

Their main restaurant was amazing but PACKED.

Overall I would definitely go back for drinks! I am definitely going to continue adding Chambord to my cocktails. Here is a recipe for the drink called La Celebration

Chambord is inspired by a unique raspberry liqueur produced in the Loire Valley of France during the late 17th Century. The liqueur was said to have been introduced to King Louis XIV during one of his visits to the Chateau de Chambord. Chambord is crafted from the world's finest raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac to create a delicious all-natural Black Raspberry liqueur.

I promise I don't work for them. I just really like it! xoxo c&a

The New Baby

For Chris' 30th birthday all he wanted was a 4x5 camera. He diligently did his research and thanks to a lot of ebay shopping was able to find a great body and lens. From there he stripped the camera down, repainted the body red and added additional elements that really make it his own. It is a gorgeous camera and I can't wait to see his new work.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

January Recap

We had a great time celebrating Chris' birthday. Mer & Meg were in town with little Evan while Win had surgery so it was even more of a party!

The awesome giant ice cream cookie cake

So cute

The weekend after Chris' bday Brian & Diane took him out to dinner at Lares the best mexican food in the city

This is just a beautiful LA night

There is an amazing non-profit group called TreePeople here that gathers volunteers to plant and care for trees on school campuses, city streets, parks and the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. So Chris and I signed up to volunteer our time in Topanga Canyon on a beautiful Saturday morning. I volunteered us for the pulling group as they said it was where they needed the most help. So for three hours we pulled an invasive species while others planted grasses and trees. Our next adventure will be in March but Chris says that he wants to plant trees. After 6 spider bites I will not argue with him. :) It was great giving back to the city we love!

The group working hard

See all of those green plants? They were gone once Chris was through with them!

We used the plants that we pulled to provide cover for the newly planted trees. You can see them to my right and left. My mom and dad sent us these great gloves that saved our hands!