Earth day

Well I'm a little late with this post seeing that Earth Day was April 22nd.
But really, shouldn't every day be earth day?
The kids at school were asked to dress in blue or green- why not brown?
Earth is technically brown right?
They also did a bunch of cute projects about recycling and being more environmentally friendly.
Now when I'm prepping dinner, Lulu keeps a watchful eye in the back ground to let me know if I'm running the water too long while washing the veggies.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing....
And we all know the saying if it's yellow let it mellow- if it's brown flush it down.
But do we really need to sing it at the dinner table?
Okay to be honest, she really doesn't sing that at the dinner table- but she does in fact live by that particular motto- which I'm still not sure how I feel about.
Okay enough about that subject.
Anyhow I'm so glad that hopefully this new generation will be more mindful about the earth.
It's about time.

What are you doing to be more environmentally friendly these days?

happy birthday sweet lulu

Every year on Lulu's birthday I usually get a bit choked up that she is yet another year older.
She's no longer my baby, toddler or Pre-schooler.
She's now officially a little girl.
oh sure she's sill my baby- and always will be- but it's so surreal that I now have a 5 year old kid!
How did that happen so quickly?
teething, potty training & nap time feel like a life time ago.
This year has been by far the most fun year to date.
I have loved watching Lulu grow and learn in new ways now that she is in school and making new friends.
I love that she is so bright and clever and loves to learn all about the world around her.
I'm just glad I get to still be such a big part of her world.

So Happy Birthday Sweet Lulu- you are such a big girl now- but don't forget that you will always be my sweet baby.
love mommy xo

Oh and I hope you had fun with 15 of your friends yesterday for your flower power birthday party at the Royal Botanical Gardens.
I know I did.



oh and one of my favourite bloggers whose little girl is turning 5 as well, wrote one of my favourite posts about turning five.
I only wish I could be half as eloquent.
but- ditto.

sushi samba

Where the heck does the time go these days?
For some reason things seem a bit more hectic than usual around here and our mini vacay in South Beach feels like forever ago.
But that's not to say that I'm still not salivating when I think about one of the most delicious dinners I've had in a while when we were there.
Sushi Samba.
There is a plethora of patios and restaurants along Lincoln Road and it can be a bit daunting trying to decide where to eat.
But when I saw all the bright orange umbrellas, funky chairs and great menu I was sold.
Bonus that big daddy has been to the New York location and gave it a thumbs up.
Mind you, I have to admit, I was a tad sceptical about the Japanese/ Brazilian combo menu.
Not two cultures I would have paired up together.
Boy was I wrong.
So So good.
We started with the tuna tataki white asparagus, fresh heart of palm, avocado, tatsoi, citrus soy 15.00
so fresh and so delicious.

And the green bean tempura with black truffle alioli 7.50
I almost licked the black truffle bowl clean.
We then moved onto the most delectable morsels of yumminess..

sushi samba “taquitos” (minimum 2 per order) served with spicy aji panca sauce and fresh lime
yellowtail seviche 6.00
Oh g-d were they good.
We ordered two different handrolls,

green envy wasabi pea crust, tuna, salmon, asparagus, aji amarillo-key lime mayo 12.00
and the ezo 24 hour soy marinated salmon, asparagus, red onion, chive, sesame, tempura flake wrapped in yellow soy paper with wasabi maionese 11.50
so incredibly fresh and delish.
am I starting to sound like a broken record?
Lulu wanted some dumplings along with her usual edemamme and Tobiko and avocado sushi.
So we ordered these...


pan steamed pork gyozas sweet onion compote and spicy ponzu 16.00
Yum.
Honestly we could have kept eating- we wanted to try everything on the menu it was THAT good.
So in addition to Lulu's green tea ice cream our waiter suggested this for something sweet to finish off our fabulous meal..



Antichichos-sea bass and miso 12.00 & peruvian corn 6.00
Okay not what you would normally consider a dessert- but it was sweet and caramelized.
And the peruvian corn was to die for.
I'd never had it before and I can honestly say I am now hooked.
Wonder where I can get in in T.O.?
The table next to us ordered 4 bowls of it and were just eating that to start.
Now I get it.
Anyhow we had such a great meal.
Our waiter was so awesome and made our night.
The lovely cocktails didn't hurt either...



Yemanja vodka, Domaine de Canton, mint, lemongrass
and the most fantastic sake I've ever had.



So much so that we had two bottles of it!
But there's nothing better than a sake buzz in my opinion.
well maybe a good sushi buzz...
and we definitely had that.
Lulu chilled in her stroller after she ate and let us enjoy the Saki and the best people watching I've done in a while.
South beach is really a trip.



We didn't notice at the time, but they have an amazing kid's menu.
So not only is Sushi Samba hip, has great service, phenomenal food & resonably priced and in the perfect location- it's family friendly!
The perfect restaurant in my opinion.
10 out of 10 for sure.
can't wait to go back again.

SAMBAKIDS MENU
$12.00 including dessert // $5.00 SambaKids Juice

baby bento
grilled organic chicken, steak or salmon
served with purple potato mash, veggie roll, seasonal fruit

samba sliders
two mini burgers served with sweet potato fries and seasonal fruit

anticuchos
grilled organic chicken, beef, or vegetable skewers
served with jumbo corn on the cob and seasonal fruit


sushi bites
four bite-sized rice balls topped with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, cucumber
served with a veggie roll and seasonal fruit

mochi
soft japanese rice cakes filled with ice cream and sprinkled with candy confetti

samba sundae
warm chocolate brownie topped with homemade vanilla ice cream served with
chocolate dipping sauce and a mini strawberry shake

***

coco leite
coconut milk, pineapple, mango juice

watermelon mojo
watermelon, lime, guava juice

berry fizz
raspberry, blackberry, lime, splash of soda juice

Now that's what I call a kid's menu- not a chicken finger in sight..

south beach easter

Is it me, or is this easter bunny a tad bit creepy looking?
Not only that but he kept "hopping" around the pool hugging all the hot chicks in bikinis.
Is that a carrot in your pocket Mr. Easter Bunny or are you just happy to see me?
And who knew that the Easter bunny spoke spanish?
Humph.
But in all seriousness- we just got back from a fun weekend in Miami.
Lulu had a complete blast.
She learned how to swim, jumped the waves, made sand castles, had a super fun easter egg hunt, made new friends and most importantly had some nice quality time with her Daddy whom she missed a bunch while he was away so much in March.

It was a nice break for me too-we ate at some incredible restaurants-more to follow on that.
Stayed in a great hotel with a nice view of the ocean.
And also got to hold hands on the beach with big daddy.


Oh and the killer mojitos by the pool didn't hurt either.
A very happy easter indeed...