It feels like forever since I saw my boyfriend! I was really looking forward to today’s date! 🙂 But first off, I woke up early to go to church with my mommy at 7am… It made her really happy so that alone made it worth it!

Then it was time to meet with my babe halfway. He picked Coffee For 2 in Huntington for us to meet up for some morning coffee. We went here before sometime last year and we loved it!

I got the black and white gold vanilla latte while Vince got the Spanish latte. His had a splash of cinnamon while mine was sweet from the vanilla yet kinda chalky from the charcoal. I kind of like that texture. It makes me subconsciously chew on my coffee.

After a morning catch up while we stared out of the windows, we walked down the street to Bed Bath & Beyond because I wanted to see if they had Royal Albert chinaware in stock to show Vince how cute they are in person. They didn’t.. 🙁

But the day only gets better! My boyfriend found a small Spanish restaurant called Pueblo in Costa Mesa that features many tapas (hot and cold) and paella.

This place was pretty cute with an outside patio. The service was very good. And the food?? Was all delicious..

We made reservations ahead of time through Yelp. It was a Sunday brunch and I didn’t want to risk having to wait. Well, we had nothing to worry about!! This place could be more crowded!

My boyfriend got the Sergio Smash (sabe whiskey, muddled mint, simple syrup, fresh lemon) and I got the Sangria Blanco (refreshing white sangria, pear liquor, elderflower). As always, his drink is always stronger than mine! I liked mine more: more sweet and fruity; easy to drink and enjoy.

Pulpo a la Gallego. Seared Spanish octopus, paprika potato chips, Romesco. This was very yummy octopus!!! It is cooked but served cold. The octopus was very tender and soft. The meat was just so tender. The romesco sauce was even better with a tiny kick! The chips are crunchy. I enjoyed the chips on the side after smearing the octopus in sauce and eating it.

Piquillo Relleno. Stuffed roasted peppers, organic chicken, chimichurri. Vince picked this tapa only for the chimichurri sauce than the main items. He loved the sauce. I LOVED the chicken. We both loved the peppers. This was my favorite tapa. The chicken was stuffed shredded and soft, very savory and rich in sauce.

Queso Fundido. Charred goat cheese spread, honey, truffle oil, crostinis. Everyone on yelp said this was a must-try so we tried it. While it was served bubbling hot and charred at the top, it was great.. but not AMAZING. There is that hint of goat smell, which I just love. The crostini was perfectly crunchy.

Montadito de Costilla. Slow braised and seared rare short rib, dill toast, relish. This was my favorite tapa also! It was so fun to eat. Definitely more interactive and every element was cooked perfectly. Also, presentation was on point.

There was already a pre-made toast in the upper right hand corner. The waiter told us they made one for us as a demo to show us how it’s done. How cute!

The short rib was very tender, very soft and full of flavor. My favorite part that you can kinda see is the mustard mayo sauce underneath the toast to contrast with all the savory flavors from the short rib. It was so fun to eat!

For my early 30th birthday, they served a very delicious goat cheese dessert that was kind of like a flan. It was topped with small raspberries and a purée. The sprinkled oats added a perfect crunchy texture. This dessert was sooooo good… we both gobbled this dessert up real fast!

I really wanted to take an ootd picture today because I was so proud of myself for putting this outfit together. There was no pretty background in the plaza we were at so I settled for this quote in a store.

This is the same plaza that has SusieCakes, my favorite place to get red velvet.

I just wanted one mini red velvet cupcake to eat right away. The lady was so kind, she told me it was on the house this time. That is so sweet!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me love SusieCakes even more!!!! This location is my favorite automatically!

The cake batter was so soft, so fluffy. The cheesecake frosting was deliciously thick and sweet. I loveeeeeee it!

We found a store called Gear Coop that also had an outlet store across the street. New place for outdoor gear! New place for awesome Darn Tough socks for 60% off.

We walked around the South Coast mall for a few hours. It was then and there that Vince told me I finally met my hero. We went to Christian Louboutin to try on these nude suede red bottoms, but my legs didn’t compliment the shoes! The shoes looked too fragile for my legs and my legs were too buff for the shoes. I am so disappointed and sad. 🙁

For dinner, we re-visited Halves Boiling Pot and Grill.

This is where you can have half hot pot and half grill. We chose Chinese spicy broth.

We chose 4 different meats total: beef toro and USDA prime angus ribeye for the hot pot portion and 3 meat combo (prime shortrib, premium beef tongue, USDA angus beef) and double brand prime ribeye for the grill.

Everything was marbled and fatty and tender.

They forgot my free edamame for my Yelp check-in But by the time I realized it, we were too full. I even got the iced sweetened green tea, which was so refreshing.

Looking back, today was a good day! It is always nice to spend a whole day with the boyfriend. It is even a better day that time went by so fast!! I miss my boo already while writing this..

And today was a good day full of food, which I doubly enjoy ever since working two jobs. I feel like I don’t have as much time to try new places as I used to.

Today was a good day. 🙂