SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 54
Happy Sundays With Celia Vol 54. Thanks for visiting After Orange County today. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful, long President’s Day Weekend.
Looking Back On Sunday
This week I took you with me for a visit to the iconic Mission Inn Hotel and Spa, a real treasure of a place located in my own backyard here in Riverside, California. It’s hard to believe that such a special and historic place exists right here in Southern California. You don’t have to spend the night to enjoy the Inn. I often meet friends and family there for lunch in the beautiful garden. While there plan to take a docent-led tour of the hotel or have a spa treatment at Kelly’s Spa. And for dessert pick up a yummy cupcake at Casey’s Cupcakes. In fact, a few years ago my son used a cupcake from Casey’s to invite his date to the Prom.
Eating Healthy On Sunday
This week my Healthy Cooking Group got together for our monthly healthy dinner. The hostess chooses a theme and we all prepare a dish to contribute to a healthy dinner.
This month our hostess Maureen chose the subject of the “Health Benefits of the Avocado” as our theme. Avocados are rich in antioxidants, are full of vitamins & minerals, are a source of healthy fat to help reduce cholesterol, are high in fiber and much more. For our avocado rich dinner I volunteered to bring a healthy “avocado” appetizer and decided to prepare a delicious recipe already on my blog for Ceviche on Corn Crisps with Avocado and Red Onion. It is a fresh and tangy combination of raw halibut, avocado, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, lime juice & olive oil.
My friend and real estate agent Lynne prepared a nutritious fruit salad with black beans and avocado and ingeniously served it on Mexican Corn Sopes.
Our next course was a departure from avocado but healthy just the same. Brenda prepared a Roasted Tomato Soup simply made but roasting fresh plum tomatoes that were then put through a food mill, resulting in a pleasing texture. Chicken stock, fresh basil, salt & pepper were the only other ingredients. It was wonderful and served as a healthy compliment to our avocado rich meal!
Our hostess, Maureen, prepared a delicious Zucchini Pasta with a creamy Avocado Sauce. The julienned zucchini looked and almost tasted like real pasta, and the sauce made from creamy avocados, asparagus and garnished with toasted walnuts was absolutely delicious!
Our dessert, prepared by my friend Gloria was an assortment of Chocolate Avocado Truffles. They were yummy and I’m so sad I failed to photograph them. That’s because we suddenly discovered that it was snowing pretty hard and we were forced to make a speedy departure in order to insure that we could all get home safely. Arriving home I took a short video of the snow blanketing my front porch.
The next morning I awoke to a beautiful winter wonderland. We’ve had an unusually mild winter this year but more snow is expected tonight and I couldn’t be happier.
What Did You Do For Valentine’s Day?
This week we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I started the day by whipping up a batch of Valentine Cut-Out Cookies.
Valentine Cut-Out Cookies Ready for the Oven
That night we enjoyed a delicious & decadent Valentine’s Day Dinner at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club. I hope you too enjoyed a wonderful Valentine’s Day with those you love.
Weddings On Sunday
With my son planning his nuptials to take place at our home in September, we’ve got weddings top-of-the-mind around our house. I’m of the age when not only my son, but the children of several of my friends are also getting married this summer. In fact, yesterday we attended a pre-wedding celebration of a best friend’s daughter that took place on beautiful Coronado Island.
And speaking of weddings, England’s Prince Harry is getting married on May 19th. After a short 1 year courtship, he’s not wasting any time sealing the deal only 6 months after becoming engaged! That doesn’t give the palace much time to plan a wedding that will be attended by 800 of their closest friends. This week Livingly.com published an article entitled “Everything We Know About Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding So Far.” I think it’s fun to follow the English Royals and found this photo-rich article to be an interesting read.
Image Via (November 30, 2017 – Image Source: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe)
A Sad Sunday
Sadly, as we enjoy our Sunday, 17 families in Lakeland, Florida are mourning the loss of their loved ones after the horrific school shooting that so senselessly ended lives in such a tragic way. I have some strong feelings on the subject but can not express them better than my friend Tina of The Enchanted Home did on her blog earlier this week. I encourage you to visit her blog and read her brave and beautiful essay on the subject. In closing, here’s a video from USA Today that helps remember the lives that were taken far too soon.
So there you have it: SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 54
Thanks so much for dropping in!
Express Yourself!
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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
