A great weekend in the Bay with some of my favorite folks! Friday my baby sister Alison graduated with her ABSN (Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from Samuel Merritt University!! It had been a grueling year with lots of sacrifice, but now she’s an RN!! Here I am placing a (graduation) lei on her before the ceremony!
Following her “pinning we had a dinner at Kincaid’s in Jack London Square – their crab and artichoke dip is our FAV!! Check out this photo of Alison giving a speech..she gets “emotional! hehe
Here she is with her crew..they’ve been her close friends since she her age was a single digit!
What’s a celebration without some sweets? Ordered these “nurse” themed cupcakes from Marley’s Treats…
Alison’s proud fan club – Ade, me, T and my Dad!
Saturday was the “We Believe vs. Dubs” charity reunion game (aka GS Warriors game) at SJSU…
Day 1 to London, I traveled to Washington-Dulles to meet up with my PR rep who was traveling with me (and T) to the UK. So, we set off early from Florida, before arriving at Dulles and we headed straight for the infamous Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse!
We had about a 4-5 hour layover, but let me tell you, the time flew by hanging out inside the very chic Clubhouse while waiting for the flight…the best part, the food! Uh, I sampled just about everything on the menu…Chicken Corn Chowder, Shrimp Cocktail, Italian Sausage Pasta, Berries and Cream dessert and a Lemon one as well… 0_O
Soon enough, our “ride” arrived…
Once on flight we relaxed and even had a drink at “the bar!”
It was a quick flight into London, and we hit the ground running, coming off of a red-eye flight from IAD to LHR! Now, for many people, a “red eye” isn’t the most ideal, but actually, flying on Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy was super comfortable and upon arrival at Heathrow, I was able to utilize their (VIP) Revivals Lounge, which is where I was able to shower and freshen up with all the amenities of a luxe hotel!
Our first stop of the day was Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice at the Pennyhill Park Hotel (and Spa) and after practice I had the opportunity to interview a few of the players.
I have fresh footage that I will be editing On The Flipside, but for now here’s the clip of me and the most veteran Buc, Ronde Barber, talking about the experience of being in London to play American Football!!
After hanging out with the Bucs, we headed over to “The Oval” aka the Surrey County Cricket Club where the Chicago Bears would be practicing. This venue is considered the Yankee Stadium of cricket, and as luck would have it, a few cricket players were on hand to demo the game, so a few of the Bears tried it out before their practice!
Below a picture of Chicago Bears – Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher and Matt Forte taking in the sights.
Lance Briggs takes a swing at cricket…
I also snapped a photo with Coach Lovie Smith
And — I talked one on one with Charles Tillman! Here’s a snippet, more to come OTF.
After we wrapped at Bears practice we checked into the St. Martins Lane Hotel in central London! I can’t tell you how exciting it was to take a “breather,” as the 2 days of travel and attending events, actually felt like one LONG day, running on pure adrenaline, fighting the time change, etc..! BUT — did I mention the in-room cupcakes!?!?
We had a free evening Friday, so T and I met up with my friend Christian (an Australian living in London), he took up to the Skylon restaurant for dinner overlooking the Thames, then we did a quick walking tour to see Big Ben and Parliament as well as Westminster Abbey and the London Eye, etc…
Tomorrow I will post my Day 2 RECAP…and stay tuned for NEW footage which will be On The Flipside soon!!
I celebrated another year of my life last week…on both coasts! And, without a doubt, my 2011 birthday has been one of the best EVER. I guess it gets better with age!! hehe I began my week in Miami…where I was greeted by these chocolate covered goodies…
Then surprisingly my cousin Marie just happened to be on layover in the Magic City, so I got to see her on my way to my first pre-bday dinner.
And then, me & my “favorite” headed to Makoto in Bal Harbour to meet up with my Deco Peeps!
Here I am with the Deco crew – Eli, Odette and Samantha.
This is where I also got to make my first birthday wish…blowing out the candle on a decadent chocolate lava, fudge cake dessert..YUM!!
The following afternoon I had my pre-bday lunch #2 with my 305 girls…
(l-r) Constance, Rene, Dara (with baby D), Neki and me!
We feasted on a slice of Red Velvet Cheesecake courtesy of Cherisse…so GOOD it’s BAD! ha
On my actually birthDAY I was in LA LA land…and I started my day with yummy banana pancakes at Vivian’s in Studio City…
Then for dinner I feasted on delicious crab and garlic noodles at Crustacean’s…this picture is actually of Tiffany’s Lobster and garlic noodles, it was more “visual” than my dish…but it was ALL delicious!!
And here I am with Tiffany and Abe who joined me for dinner… my bro the “Sneaker Sensei” gets the photo credit.
When I got back to the Bay…the now (post) bday party continued with my 408 girls in downtown San Jose at the newly opened San Pedro Square Market…we had a nice pizza brunch on the patio at Pizza Bocca Lupo!
GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD FOOD, GOOD TIMES..what more could a girl ask for on her birthday!?!?
I’m so THANKFUL to be blessed with another year…surrounded by my loved ones!!
Next year, I will start my birthday on an empty stomach…did you see all the food I just talked about!?!? lol
I’ve been hearing so much about “The Boiling Crab,” so it was nice to finally be able to experience it! All I had heard is it’s a bit messy and basically they put wax paper down on the table and serve you your food in plastic bags…no utensils! lol
And — so true…I def got down and dirty!! I opted for the Snow Crab Legs at the “mild” level…uh, well mild is pretty darn spicy! Then, my baby sis, Bologna, came up with this thing that she is allergic to the shells of shellfish, not eating the meat. So basically, that meant I had to crack all the crab for her! LOL I totally didn’t mind, but I couldn’t crack the crab fast enough..haha We also chowed down on a bucket of deep fried shrimp, corn on the cob and cajun fries — ALL GOOD!!
As you can see…I went INNNN! This is not the place to be all dainty and proper…they throw it down on the table, the you throw it down on the table!
Alison stayed pretty “clean” because I was doing all the crackin’ for her…and my Mom managed to not get too dirty herself, going through her bag of clams – she said the “MED” spice was a bit much for her…haha We had lots of water.
I started this new feature segment on KRON called “Aubrey About Town” and it’s about fun, hip and cool things to do in the Bay…you know stuff to explore, try and get into….
Here’s one of my newest and latest installments featuring The WOW Truck!
This week I fulfilled one of my civic duties as a celebrity judge for a cooking competition!! This was an iron chef style contest put on by an organization called “Real Options for City Kids” or ROCK. Now, I can be pretty indecisive, but you know this time there was food involved how could I say no!?! Actually, I was pretty flattered to be asked to be a “judge” for this cooking contest that pitted 2 teams of middle school students against each other…..and I was thoroughly impressed at their skills!!
So, the two teams were the All Starbursts (above) and The Fooders (below)…the challenge was for them to create a 3 course meal, plus a beverage using a secret ingredient, which in this case was SHRIMP!
The All-Starbursts created a menu of Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp Jumbalaya and Funnel Cake with fresh fruit & chocolate syrup for dessert! They also concocted a refreshing fresh watermelon with mint drink!!
Now The Fooders whipped up a feast with a Thai theme. They served me fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls with a 2 dipping sauces (fish and hoisin), Shrimp Pad Thai and a scrumptous banana ice cream dessert..along with a homemade Thai Ice Tea to wash it all down!!
Each team took turns presenting each item to the panel of judges, explaining each dish and putting lots of effort into the presentation…while I just sat, ate and listened! I as just so impressed with not only the dishes they had cooked, but all the careful thought planning and creativity they showed. I don’t recall being so “skilled” in cooking at their age…PB&J suit me just fine! haha But really, such a wonderful program teaching them team work, following directions, budgeting and more… I particularly liked the Coconut Shrimp and Pad Thai…the funnel cake, and bananas with ice cream & cinnamon laced whip cream wasn’t bad either!
However, at the end of the day there could only be 1 winner…and bragging rights went to the All Star Bursts! They edged the other team ever so slightly with a bit more “flare” in their clarity, presentation and organization. They also were overall the most consistent… The prize they were awarded was $70 to spend on groceries for their next assignment. The runner-up got $30…BUT the “judges’ pitched in an extra $40, so they too would have the same amount of money to shop for the next meal. Good job to all involved!
It’s been a full month since I left Miami and while I have been having withdrawals – mostly due to temperature changes, I’ve been settling in, adjusting, eating great food and most importantly getting time to visit with my family and friends! So, I thought I’d share a few pictures I’ve snapped during the first 30 days back….
I just got back from a few fun-filled days in Ocho Rios, Jamaica…and for once it was purely vacay! It was my 3rd visit to Jamaica, first time in Ocho Rios. Ya mon!
My friend Anny managed to escape the cold of DC to come hang with me in paradise and it was very relaxing…
We stayed at the Sandals resort which was great because we were among a handful of “non-couples!” LOL It was nice though, no one was hitting on us or disturbing our peace, other than the staff… And – being an all-inclusive resort, we could eat and drink at will!! So, I spent the majority of my time, sleeping, eating and taking in the sun…
We did venture out…just a little, stopping at a roadside fruit stand to check out the local offerings. Here I am sampling a fresh coconut…
…while Anny ate the fruit!
We also went horseback riding (courtesy Hooves) in the ocean which was VERY cool…
…sans the “sea biscuits” …. NO BUENO!!
The name of my horse was Mr. Meticulous. All the horses they use are former race horses…kinda cool to play “jockey!” ha
One night…I was even put on the spot during the beach party where the “fire-man” picked me out of the crowd to stand in this ring of fire and stare at with his intense facials! lol
It was actually kinda cool to get picked, since I’ve never been chosen at the luau’s in Hawaii – I think I look too much like a local girl! Anyway, he left a bunch of grease or something on my arm after touching me with fire…
So, prefect weather, low humidity and loved the soft-serve ice cream machine… All in all, nice trip with the right amount of R&R!
