We’re getting the hang of this whole family vacation thing. Pre baby, we would travel on planes, drink all day and dance the night away in concerts or pubs. Now, bedtime is 11pm at the latest, and good food is the priority. Guaranteed we’ll make it to the early bird special for waffles at Perry’s Cafe SD. Waffle me. We commence our fist vacation of 2018 with a trip to Old Town San Diego but not before making a stop in our hometown of Yuma. It’s not exactly home. It’s like an old boyfriend who you’re still cool with. Is there such a thing though? Here, I’m able to spend time with my high school besties and laugh about how ridiculous we were at 17. We dined at a local spot called “Takos and Beer” and were very impressed by the food, the presentation, the service and the salsas! For me, the condiment queen, if the sauces and salsas aren’t good, you’ve lost me. I’m all about adding hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, salsa, or lemon to everything and anything. If we go to a Mexican restaurant and the complementary chips and salsa are bad, I’m going to assume the entire meal is mediocre. If you can’t be bothered to put out good salsa then how much are you really trying here? Takos and Beer had it all and we loved it! We will definitely be back.

In SD we spent time in the marina and little Italy. If actual Italy is anything like this, I need to go. ASAP. There was literally people speaking Italian in the streets, there was pizza, there was pasta,there were endless desserts, gelato and coffee shops. My new favorite place in SD is a place called Filipies Pizza Grotto.There are several in town, but we went to the original. Initially an Italian market this place has been in business since 1950! The restaurant is now run by members of the DeFilipis family. I love the history and charm of this place. The loyalty is written in the brick walls. You have to walk through an actual Italian import market to get to the restaurant in the back. We order a margherita pizza, a clam linguine and a side of marinara sauce. Give me all the sauce! We washed it down with a 2012 Pinot Grigio.I also had my first cannoli. It surprised me. I always pictured a cannoli to be soft, like an egg roll with some sweet filling. I was wrong. It’s a hard cookie rolled up and filled with sweet cream and topped with chocolate and pistachios. It was deliciously surprising.

The next day we enjoy an afternoon of Margarita tasting. We walk 1 mile to our dinner destination and have Margaritas along the way. We had everything from pomegranate Margaritas to jalapeño Margaritas. The winning margarita for me came from our favorite restaurant in San Diego. The Old Town Café. I ordered a cucumber margarita with organic tequila and added muddled jalapeños. Winner Winner, Carnitas dinner. We squeezed in a little kid time by taking the kiddo to Sea World. No, we haven’t seen the documentary. All I know is the kid ran around the splash pad, played with the sea otters and had a great freaggin time.

I’ve been known to plan trips around food. It’s not unheard of for us to drive across state lines or across the border for a good meal.I talked the hubby into going to the beach in La Jolla solely for the purpose of visiting Sprinkles cupcakes. Along with my obsession for sauces, cake is always my number one dessert of choice. Cake is my homeboy.I’ve wanted to get married my whole life only so that I can have a four tiered red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I’ve had a love affair with cake for a long time. Sprinkles gets it right. Every.Single.Time. It’s Magical. Each and every flavor tastes like happiness. It’s like somebody figured out a way to make a wedding cake in cupcake form. They only use the best quality vanilla. I know this because I’ve researched it. (Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract.)The obsession is real.They’re rich, they’re sweet. They’re literally perfection. Candace Nelson, the creator of Sprinkles Cupcakes opened the very first cupcake shop in the US in 2002. She’s a bad ass woman entrepreneur and the day she followed me on Instagram made my life.

We ended the trip with a couple of green juices and açaí bowls. A little Uber Eats hotel breakfast at our doorstep. Reset, detox time and damage control. It was almost serendipitous that I got home to a case of Apple Cider Vinegar shots from the Compnay Vermont Village! Their company began in 1975 as a producer of gourmet high acid foods. Their specialty is apple sauce made with wild apples. In 1985 the company was sold to the employees and became a co-op. The company now belongs to a couple in Woodstock, Vermont. Apple cider vinegar is the cure all, great for detoxing and great after too much good food and too many drinks. The health benefits include rebalancing PH and alkalinity in the body. Amazing. It’s great for digestion, skin, hair, the benefits are endless! I’m a big believer in ACV. These single shots of apple cider vinegar are mixed with honey and fruit and taste amazing with just water! So far, I love all the flavors, but I am really in love with the blueberry. I’m thinking about making some ACV cocktails. Yum! They’re even coming out with activated charcoal, collagen and matcha blends. I’m excited. With their gourmet products made with love and their great customer service, they’ve made a customer for life.

Before taking this vacation, we worked way too much and crammed in way too much. I ended up working 34 days straight. My hubby worked tons of days at home and on his business.Overworked, my immune system crashed and I had a cold for a week( ACV saved me).The learning lesson here is don’t do that again. Take time for yourself, take days off. Take vacations, plan vacations. Get facials, book massages. Pick up lunch, pick up a coffee. Sleep in, leave the laundry.Take days where you don’t do anything. Take time to hang out on the couch watching the Jersey shore reboot, read a book, throw on a face mask. It’s fine you’ve earned it, you deserve it. Practice self care, and do it with zero guilt.