A Weekend in Puerto Vallarta

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Destiny and I needed a little R&R from our daily routine. We took advantage of the July 4th weekend holiday.

So what did we do? 

Eat, drink, sleep, oh yeah, and hit 70 mph down a zip line in superman position. That's basically the cliff notes to our great stay in beautiful Mexico. I really have to thank Destiny for being the brains behind the whole operation. I really consider her my personal travel agent because she did her homework and found the perfect getaway. We stayed at an all inclusive resort at the edge of Puerto Vallarta called Amber Now Resort & Spa. Our stay was nothing short of amazing and relaxing for the most part (but we'll get to that). 

Ah, the beauty of all inclusive resorts, great food and beverages! A mini fridge stocked with mini Coronas, most importantly Mexican coke. There was an array of fine dining restaurants within the resort and all you can eat buffets, basically whatever your little heart desires. I particularly liked the unlimited whiskey (maybe a little too much). The view from our balcony was breathtaking, not to mention the great tropical weather. Every day was nice and sunny, every night was warm and breezy.

The eve of July 4th was a spectacle. We were able to lounge and soak in the view of a lightning storm out in the distance. The resort had their own fire works, which was expected, considering all the illegal fireworks we get here in Cali is from Mexico anyway lol. There's something about having a nice cold drink looking over a infinity pool that makes you think ain't life grand sometimes? Throwing back a couple of cucumber martinis probably helped. 

The funny thing is, it was rather inexpensive, the resort was affordable and a definite must for anyone that wants to "vacay" vs "travel". We even got to do a little archery. The "instructor" was not that great though, I had to show her a thing or two ;) #katnissflow 

Destiny's actually a much better shot. 

We tried most of the restaurants, there was a Habachi BBQ, Italian, Japanese, which we thought were great. However, the one that stood out the most was a French restaurant called Bordeux. It was pretty swanky, collared shirts and cocktail dress type of steeze. For appetizers, we got some great steamed mussels. Destiny had the steak and I had the lamb chops for the entreè, both tasty as hell. We typically don't have an sweet tooth, however the dessert menu drew us in. Destiny ordered a Pompe aux Pommes du Perigord, which was was an apple and almond flaky pastry that was not overly sweet and robust in flavor. I had something that was a fancy version of a pizookie lol. And for the finalè, the waiter swung a bar cart to our table and offered us some dessert tequila, however being a whiskey man, I went with the Gentleman's Jack. 

Now what's a vacation without some adventure? Well, I didn't expect the "Extreme" zip lining to be that extreme, if anything, most of these activities are pretty tame. However, little did I know we would be flying down a mountain at a little over the legal highway speed limit! The package that Destiny got for us actually included Off-Roading through the Jungle with zero speed limit! Destiny was pretty scared at my asian driving.

The zip lining, repelling, hiking was pretty exhilarating, I can't believe these guys do this for a living! The only part that really got me scared was the "crazy ladder." It was the tallest, most sketch latter I have ever climbed, sure you're strapped into the safety rope, but that doesn't take away from the wobbly nature of the latter itself. Destiny was freaking out when the gentleman scaling it behind her was sending waves up her hands with every step. I felt like a Lost Boy/Monkey in this forest. 

Below is a video of me screaming like a little girl for your enjoyment :) 

All in all, it was a great weekend getaway. A little relaxation and a little adventure, couldn't have asked for more.

You can find more information regarding the zip lining here.

A day at Dwell On Design

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Every year, Dwell, a magazine company dedicated to modern architecture and design, hosts a convention entitled "Dwell On Design" to showcase all that the magazine stands for. Whether it be sustainable architecture and consumer products, or designers of pre-fabricated houses, there is definitely something for everyone to see. This has been the third year of visiting the Los Angeles Convention Center for this event and every year I go, Dwell continues to awe me.  

A custom furniture and lighting designer showed me the new OLED technology that is currently being developed by Philips. Instead of individual LED bulbs, there is a surface conductor sheet that illuminates completely. So imagine the entire surface area of a thin slice of paper being illuminated. This is definitely the next gen of lighting technology. From the pictures below you can see how he designed a pendant chandelier using only this technology. It was 5 Grand! Yes, the technology is expensive, however, so were cellphones, now everyone has one, this will definitely be everyone's household at some point in the future. 

Lumiblade is an all-in-one lighting system. Add in a potential lifetime of 15,000 of hours, an excellent energy efficiency, the different shapes, colors and sizes and it's clear why many see Lumiblade as a fit-and-forget solution that's good for the lifetime of an object or interior design.

They even had a couple of food truck vendors post up inside the convention. Destiny and I really enjoyed the coolHaus ice cream desserts. We're typically not dessert fans, however, their Dirty Mint Chip ice cream was seriously crack in a cup. According to their website, the Dirty Mint Chip is:

Fresh mint infused ice cream with semisweet chocolate chips and a hint of brown sugar (no mint extract or flavoring used); 

I seldom eat a whole cup of sweet ice cream that was not sorbet, but this was the exception. They offer this ice cream at Whole Foods and I will be stocking this shortly in my fridge for all my guests to try. 

We stumbled upon a fascinating "social experiment" started by Paper Punk. It was an interesting collaboration between all of the attenders of the event. We all basically worked together to create a paper sticker metropolis, I can't explain why I found this cool, but folding and designing a piece of "architecture" in this city was amusing and meditative. 

We finished the night in LA at The Stinking Rose in North Los Angeles, where their motto is:

"We Sprinkle Our Garlic With Food" 

I always love the ambiance here, the service is superb, the decor is quirky, and the food is "flavorful" to say the least. Destiny got the Black Linguini with seafood (mussels, shrimp, calamari, crab and salmon. It is one of the best dishes here, I highly recommend it. I had the Garlic Filet Mignon with their amazing Garlic mash potato side and creamy garlic spinach. 

Each table comes with their own Extra Virgin Garlic Olive Oil and when paired with their complimentary garlic roll, it feels like Christmas on my tastebuds. 

I always <3 LA adventures.