cloud 9.

"snow ice is a delicious frozen treat that can be described as a cross between ice cream & shaved ice. it has a fluffy texture much like cotton candy, but melts like creamy ice cream."

have you ever had snow ice? or even heard of it?

because i hadn't until i came across cloud 9.

once i found out it was in chicago i had to go.

irv & i tried mango snow w/ strawberry & mango sauce and chocolate snow w/ strawberry sauce.

and you know what? the texture really is like cotton candy, frozen cotton candy that is!

i'm back from chicago!

is it really november already?
if you told me it was august i would completely believe you. how is it november?

i have so many adventures from my trip to chicago to share with you, but while i go through all of my photos i'll leave you with a few images from one of my fave restaurants. 

sultan's market! 

"if it's not our falafel, it's freakin' awful!"

oh how i miss sultan's market when i'm not in chicago. they have the best falafel i've ever had, seriously. 

they've done a lot of remodeling since the last time i was there. 

look at these photos compared to these photos i took 2 yrs ago. 

the next time you're in chicago. go here. it's cheap & delicious. what more could you possibly ask for? 

wknd edition.

my weekend was filled with balloon animals, face painting,
moon jumpers, a piñata, cake & lots of kids.
it was irv's niece's 1st birthday party yesterday
& it was definitely a blast.

more photos to come.

*thanks matthew for the photos 

jet plane.

i'm in chicago!

i got here yesterday afternoon. 

looking forward to..

seeing family + familiar faces, meeting new ones, eating, relaxing & embracing some fall weather. 

if you so happen to be interested, follow me here, on twitter for a glimpse of what i'm eating. 

that is if i can remember to tweet before i eat haha ;)

happy friday!

sitcm5.

johnny cupcakes there's something in the cupcake mix! 

have you heard of it? 

if you haven't then you should definitely go check it out.

we go every year & each time it does not disappoint! 

click to see photos from '08 & '09.

dinner at tomato pie

cake balls from lil rae cakes. delish.

i honestly cannot emphasize enough what an incredible guy johnny is. 

if everyone approached running their business in the way that he does, 

the world would be a better place, i'm sure of it :)

photo sesh.

is it really thursday already? i don't know about you, but this week flew by for me!

i've been trying to keep myself extra busy lately. unfortunately those quite moments with nothing to do or think about aren't as enjoyable for me {right now at least} as they used to be.

one of my brother's friends recently contacted me about doing a quick photo shoot of her sister's daughter and i have to say, it was difficult {to say the least} for me to see one of dustin's friends, but i'm glad it happened. it was also nice to have that buffer that looking through a lens creates. sometimes i really like that my camera becomes a sort of security blanket that i can hide behind if i want.

needless to say, once i started shooting i couldn't help but smile, she's just adorable. 

❤ . . .

a photo booth photo 

of a photo booth photo. 

wknd edition.

brunch at auntie em's,

ice cream & taco food truck hunting,

la county fair food & photo booths.

my weekend was surprisingly eventful & restful.

let's hope this week is the same...here's to a productive, yet restful week!