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third wheeling

0 In lifestyle/ los angeles

a disneyland date

Walt Disney said it best, “Disneyland is a work of love.”

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And when spring flowers are in bloom and the sun is shining bright, it’s hard not to feel the magic in the air! A few weeks ago (when I was still a brunette), we drove to Anaheim for a weekday Disneyland date, and it was a super fun time.

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We’re fortunate enough to go to Disneyland several times a year, since we live only about an hour away.  We’re no fans of theme park lines (like anyone is?) so we also wander, people watch, and eat.  And when it comes to Disneyland food, Dole whip floats (pineapple soft serve and pineapple juice) are my absolute favorite.

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I’m generally pretty flexible about which rides we hit- I’m up for whatever lines aren’t too obnoxious. But I’m a total five-year-old at heart, and I have a total weak spot for the teacups.  It’s a must-ride, every time. David spins it so fast, and I love it!

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And no day is complete without some shenanigans.  No luck at hitchhiking in Cars Land, but some skipping and dipping made me giggle.

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We had our cute friend Nicole join us, and we had such a good time with her- we always do! When she wasn’t cracking me up, she was behind the camera for the majority of this post’s images.  But we were Minnie twinning, so I made sure to have David grab some shots of us, too.

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We made sure to instagram a shot of our ears, to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Every hashtag of #shareyourears garnered a $5 donation, in honor of Disneyland’s 60th birthday. A total of 2 million dollars was raised to grant wishes for terminal kids, and it’s nice to have played even the tiniest part.

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SHOP THIS LOOK: asos leather leggings,  similar Minnie shirt, converse, kate spade bag (similar)

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loveRavayna

April 8, 2016
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0 In lifestyle/ los angeles

a malibu beach day

Despite a scorching SoCal summer, a full agenda and travel schedule have kept us running, with minimal time for relaxing. Though we’re into October, the weather’s not been reflecting that at all- it broke 100` this weekend. So last week, we played hooky one day and headed up to Malibu for a day at the seaside.

We loaded up bags and coolers,  packing charcuterie and salads, watermelon and wine, and carefully hiked along the cliff path down to the cove. I unpacked our picnic as David mixed mimosas and managed a little music, and we had a lovely little lunch by the sea.

  

Though it directly disobeys posted rules, I almost always bring sturdy glass and stoneware on a beach picnic. We pack it back out and take it home to wash- so we’re never leaving broken glass behind and I feel better about not adding disposables to overflowing landfills.

    

Despite the gorgeous weather, the beach was just about deserted. It was so lovely to feel like we had the whole seashore to ourselves. It’s rare that you get to escape the crowds in Los Angeles, so I treasure these moments of peace among the madness.

  

The summer heat wave means that our section of the Pacific is the warmest it’s been in decades.  For the past few years, I’ve barely gone past wading in the chilly waves, but it was warm enough for this cold water wimp to enjoy.

  

As a frank side note, part of me thinks it’s crazy that I’m sharing unretouched bikini photos here. As a former pageant girl who used to care an unhealthy amount about other’s opinions of my body, I spent most of my adult life horrifically insecure about my figure. But I’ve reached a point where I literally could not care less- if a lump or bump or lack thereof offends you, just keep scrolling past. In this way, I’m beyond grateful for the wisdom of age- and the cognizance that strong is far sexier than skinny, and to know that insecurity is a waste of time. I work out and eat (mostly) healthy to fuel my body and be fit enough to handle my crazy life, but #badonkadonk. ?

You know the best way to get a bikini body? Put on a bikini and smile.

So that’s exactly what I do, and on days like this gorgeous one- it makes for a beautiful time reveling in the seaside sunshine.

These are the moments…
loveRavayna 

October 12, 2015
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0 In los angeles

ramen and romance

Over a dozen years after we first got together, I still take dating my husband pretty seriously.  What I mean is that I love claiming a mutually free chunk of time and declaring it a date! Let’s be real- I’ll buy into any excuse to get a bit fun or fancy, eat good food, and steal smooches. While I was on the road this summer, I had long-term major cravings for tsukemen (dip) ramen.  The best in the city is hands down at  Tsujita LA– my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Since I’ve dragged David all the way across the city for several recent dates, I wanted to share our typical Sawtelle Japantown date with you.

The crowd at Tsujita can be insane, so we try to go at off hours. If the wait is still long, I kill time by crossing the street to shop at Daiso or browsing Asian skincare and beauty products at Make Asobi. (Much, much more on my Asian skincare routine coming soon.) Fortunately, service is brisk once seated and food arrives before I get hangry.

I always, always get char siu tsukemen. Other menu items are yummy, but that is my spicy savory dream. And romance goes out the window when this ramen is in the picture- I won’t even share it with David! It’s too delicious to let away from my greedy little fingers- to have and to hold, but get your own bowl.

The same goes for dessert. I’m significantly more interested in any outing that involves sweets of some sort, and Blockheads Shavery is just around the corner. They serve snow cream there, ice cream shaved off big blocks into light fluffy frozen deliciousness.

I love treats of all kind, but especially get excited about more unusual, less-sweet flavors. At Blockheads, I dress my black sesame snow cream with red beans, rice cakes, and condensed milk, and am a happy piggie. David likes his dessert properly sweet, so he covers his coffee malt snow cream with brownies, fudge, and sliced almonds.

With full bellies and full hearts, we head off into the sunset… And by that I mean head off to sit in traffic on the way home. LA traffic is perpetually blech, but it’s more pleasant when your sweet husband is driving you home after a date.  I’ll take what I can get!

dress SheIn | ballet flats Zara kids similar | Kate Spade purse | earrings, aviators Charming Charlie | bracelet Hadaya bracelet One of a Kind

loveRavayna

August 25, 2015
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