Happy 16th Birthday Lauren: Apples, Apple Butters, Apple Pies and... Sushi?

First off, my little sister is SIXTEEN!!!! 

Crazy, I am 10 years older than her so that means I am almost 26... does that mean I am soon to be in my late 20s... OH NO! 

Anyways I can't believe she is now old enough to drive! I am so impressed with the young lady she has grown to be, but she will always be little Lo Lo to me. 

When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday she said, go midnight black friday shopping, then join us up to apple hill, and then sushi for dinner! And we did exactly that. 

No pictures from shopping, thank God. 

But after we "napped" we headed up to Apple Hill for some delicious treats, great scenery, and a brief visit with some Santa Barbara friends. 

  

THIS IS THE WINNER OF THE DAY: WALKING PIE! 

(below)

Who wouldn't want a pie that is completely surrounded by crispy, flaky, buttery crust? And free ice cream, we scored!

After we ate dessert for lunch we headed home for a bit to relax before we went to Mikuni for dinner. 

This has been my favorite sushi restaurant since I was about 16! And I couldn't pass up getting a picture with my little brother and my favorite dishes, Citrus Blossom and the Incredible Roll.  

So long for now Sacramento, watch out Lauren Craig is on the road! 

Heidi & Scott's Santa Barbara must haves!

Heidi and Scott are two of our best friends from college at UCSB and they love coming back to visit any chance they get, LUCKY US.  Every time they come to visit they have their list of Santa Barbara must haves and we love tagging along!

First stop! South Coast Deli!  Ummm I have something called work so I missed out on a Chinese Chicken Salad, or Tri-tip Sammie or Turkey Sandwich, but they were full when they arrived at my house.

NO PICTURES...:( I WASN'T THERE!

Once I finished up with work, we headed over to do some early evening wine tasting at Corks & Crowns.  It is quite the treat to be a member because you and 3 of your friends get a free tasting or discounted upgraded tasting.  For the special occasion, I decided to upgrade to the Pinot Trio, Heidi tried the Platinum, and Scott did the beer.  Honestly, as long as you like beer, wine, or pizza you will be happy at C&C. Yes, I said pizza, they have Full of Life Flatbread Pizza make flatbread pizzas on Thursday nights! I must say, they smelled absolutely delicious, but we were saving room for dinner. 

Next: Arigato! Last time Heidi and Scott were in town we went to Arigato for some sushi and well, too many drinks before and too much saki left the night a little fuzzy in our memories so we wanted to try it again, this time we were planning on remembering dinner. 

Popcorn Shrimp: The best you will find!  They are perfectly cooked, perfectly breaded, and perfectly sauced... Seriously, we ordered 4! Who does that... umm us and it was totally worth it!

Some of the other items we ordered were seared kobe beef, salmon with gorgonzola sauce, ahi carpaccio, jalapeno yellowtail, locals only.  Ohhhh My God....  Soooooooo Gooooood!

And once again, we ended the night with some delicious cocktails at The Marquee!  Check out my blog from last time we were there!