Feast Day, Earrings and Birthday Surprises

For Thanksgiving, Isaac participated in a Thanksgiving feast at his school. It was really cute. The kids all had different hat s on; Isaac's was a turkey on both sides with feathers glued on. They sang a song, said a prayer and then feasted on preschool friendly Thanksgiving items. Think cubed turkey, cheese, fruit mini rolls, mini cornbread muffins, etc.


I have always wanted to get Elizabeth's ears pierced but Jim has always been a bit more apprehensive about it. Well, we finally did it! I took the kids to the mall and had Elizabeth's ears pierced. Isaac was so excited that he was able to pick out the earrings that she would wear. he picked some crystal flowers. Elizabeth cried for about a minute and then she was fine sucking on her lolly pop. She always looked adorable but now I think she is even more so!

Jim turned 30 on the 18th and since Jim isn't the party type, I planned a couple outings to celebrate his Dirty Thirty. On his birthday we kept things simple and the kids gave him a cupcake cook book since he really enjoys decorating cakes. On Friday Jim and I went to the Oaks mall and bought VIP tickets to see HP7P1. We ordered lunch and ate it in our big love seat during the moving. We then went to the outlets in Camarillo where Jim was able top buy some shorts and running shoes. Lastly, on Saturday, it was the big event. I booked reservations for us to eat at the Gordon Ramsey at the London West Hollywood. Jim has been wanting to eat there for a few years so I thought this was an appropriate time. It was so nice to actually put a dress on, curl my hair and wear make up to go out with my husband. Below is what we ate. It didn't disappoint!!!! It was some of the best food I have ever eaten! After dinner we went up to the rooftop pool to look at the panoramic view of L.A. We enjoyed the view and the warm fire before leaving to go home. 3.5 hours later, we turned back into pumpkins and headed home with full bellies.

We started off with:
artisan bread and butter
toasted crackers with ricotta, mascarpone, truffle oil, extra virgin olive oil

Then we moved into the many courses of our dinner

Amuse Bouche
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Pork with blue cheese and sauteed figs
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Seared Hamachi
Ras el hanout spices | compressed watermelon | avocado | ponzu
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Potato Dumplings
Chanterelle mushrooms | foie gras | roasted tomato
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Sweet Butter Poached Lobster Tail
Summer corn | Baby Blue Lake green beans | sugar snap peas (It also came with potato crisps with truffle oil...so good!)
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Filet Mignon
Onion Jam, Chanterelle Mushrooms, SherryWine
mashed potato | piquillo pepper | tarragon sauce
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Artisanal Cheeses
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Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse
Praline crunch | caramelized banana | sudachi sorbet
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Pumpkin Soufflé
Gingerbread Ice Cream