Merry Christmas Eve

Spent my afternoon in Old Town celebrating a Christmas Eve lunch with a friend and thought I'd share the sights with you.

We started with lunch at Cafe Coyote and I had tamales. Forget fruitcake (many people do!) but the making of and finally eating tamales is a Christmas tradition in many Mexican families. I decided to forgo my usual carnitas or enchiladas for chicken tamales and I was not disappointed, it was soooooo yummy. I topped it off with a Margartia blended to perfection.

Cafe Coyote y Cantina

A wonderful meal like that needed to be walked off so we headed to the many shops that help to make up Old Town San Diego.

I know a lot of cities have their versions of an "Old Town." Our Old Town is considered the birthplace of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California.

I always have to visit the Wells Fargo Museum because I find it so fascinating. It is so Wild Wild West! Can you imagine traveling by stagecoach?

The marketplace in Old Town all decked out for the Christmas holiday.

I was so happy to see an actual nativity scene without any controversy surrounding it

Festive Mexicanpaper cutout banners line the walkways

Cute water feature

Some of the gorgeous landscaping

The interior of a friend's garden shop

An interior shot of the Whaley House according to the Travel Channel's America's Most Haunted, the house is the number one most haunted house in the United States.

You can see it's a clear day in San Diego BUT it was chilly!

I love Victorian houses and there are a few in Old Town in a section called Heritage Park

The Immaculate Conception church built in 1917

Beautiful, isn't it?

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Hope you are taking time to enjoy the holiday and Holy Day with your friends and loved ones.

Peace, love and happiness from Bonnie, Sadie & Kitty

Christmas Chick Flicks

Oh, how I adore a good chick flick especially during the holidays! Here are two Christmas themed chick flicks that I heartily recommend.

Love Actually...

...which I loved, actually! The movie takes place the frantic few weeks before Christmas and is made up of several love stories and most have a happy ending but true to life, sometimes love doesn't always work out. The stories are inter-related, loosely related and some of them unrelated to each other. One of my favorites is Bill Nighy as an aging rock star and the other is Hugh Grant as the unmarried prime minister.

Love Actually

The story culminates with a children's Christmas pageant and a mad dash to the airport. You'll have to see the movie to find out what happens at the airport!

The Holiday

I never saw The Holiday at the movies and in fact only caught it in drips and drabs whenever it appeared on TV. I didn't care much for it but that was probably because I had never seen the whole movie in one sitting. And then, one day, it happened! I saw the film from beginning to end and fell in love with it!

So it goes something like this: two women trade residences (one in California and one in England) over the holidays. Although they are strangers they each find themselves in pretty much the same predicament, meaning of course, problems in the romance department.

I know you'll like it, who doesn't love a good love story? Add the fact that part of it takes place in a snowy cottage in England with Jude Law and, well, I was hooked.

The Holiday


I might also add that I found Jack Black quite the cuddly teddy bear in this movie as well!

Christmas at Nigella's!

And now to Part 3 of Nigella Lawson's Christmas Kitchen. On having a stress free holiday, Nigella recently said...People are predisposed to have a great time, you almost have to go out of your way to have a horrible time. Nigella loves being in her kitchen, but even more so during Christmas where she "wallows" in the holiday. She loves her house to smell of gingerbread - cloves, cinnamon, ginger and orange. Her mother always did a ham and so the tradition continues. What Nigella tries most to do is create the nostalgia for her children and remember the magic.

Nigella's Christmas Kitchen - Part 3

In a recent interview Nigella said she'll be spending Christmas in London. Anyone up for a quick trip?

Merry Christmas!

Hallelujah and Pass the Cheese Grits!

My niece Jamie and I spent a fun Sunday morning (yes, I know I'm a little late in posting) at the House of Blues Gospel Brunch. It was an awesome way to spend the morning. Take a look...

Jamie and me at the House of Blues

Oh, yummy...the omelette station!

The closest I will probably get to a gospel service. The music and voices raised the roof!

There is a rolicking finale where you are invited onstage.

Visit the House of Blues to find a Gospel Brunch near you!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, some of the awesome artwork at the House of Blues

A portrait of Frida Kahlo

Scenes of downtown San Diego


The San Diego trolley

And lest I forget it is the holiday season which means the continuation of Nigella Lawson's Christmas Kitchen. You can't help but feel festive with Part 2!

Have a holly, jolly Christmas!