Aroha's New Years Eve Menu & Our Special Announcement!

I can't believe in just a few weeks 2015 will be coming to a close! This past year has been such a life changing experience for both my husband and I and I truly can't believe how far we have come.

We are so thankful for the amazing customers we've had so far at Aroha. There are so many large corporate owned restaurants that we compete with daily and as a small family owned restaurant, we are beyond grateful to those of you who continue to spread the word about us and support our small business and family! We look forward to providing you with more quality food and service as we continue to grow in the Westlake Village community.

As for Aroha's New Years Eve plans...we have just released our six course 2016 Countdown Menu which offers many of my husband's most delicious dishes including the New Zealand Venison Loin with cherry gel, vanilla parsnip, pistachio, and micro licorice greens; Ceviche of Tua Tua Cloudy Bay Clams with lime, cilantro, chili, and tomato; and Jelly Tip Ice Cream with fresh berry jello, mixed berries, and house made vanilla ice cream encased in chocolate! If you would like to view the entire menu (as well as the wine pairings!), click here. We are proud to say our Countdown Menu is 100% gluten free/gluten free optional. We will also have separate available menu options for vegetarians dining with us, and, as always, if you have any specific allergies, we are happy to make changes to the dishes to meet your needs!

We will also be offering some giveaways throughout the evening, including $100 gift certificates and bottles of wines!

We hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season thus far and look forward to spending New Years Eve with you!

Reserve Now For New Years Eve at Aroha

On another exciting note, I would like to officially announce, with a photo and short video, the arrival of our baby boy, Bailey! He arrived in this world on October 17th and Gwith and I have been soaking up every second since.

Throughout the nine months of my pregnancy, I wrote a song for Bailey and I sang it almost every day. I'm happy to say that since he's been born, it almost always relaxes him and puts him to sleep! The video below features both the song and footage of Bailey shortly after he was born! Enjoy! ("Hey Little Baby" by Justine Thomas is available on iTunes.)

Once again, thank you everyone for your support! It means the world to us!

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2015 Aroha Restaurant.

Aroha Restaurant: This Valentine's Day...

As the weeks countdown, I am getting more and more excited for Valentine's Day at Aroha. It's strange because I'm normally such a traditionalist when it comes to the holidays, and I partially expect myself to feel bummed out that I don't get to have my own romantic dinner with my hubby. However, reservations are already filling up and I'm incredibly excited for our special menu.

Gwith has been working with his molecular gastronomy set that I bought him for Christmas to learn some cool new things to do like making foams and sugar-glass shells. I've been encouraging him to practice these methods in hopes that he can use some on the Valentine's Day menu.

Speaking of which, we will be releasing our full Valentine's Day menu tomorrow online! At the moment, our menu includes some delicious (and romantic) options including Oysters with a citrus foam and micro basil, and my personal favorite dessert option, Dark Chocolate Kiss incased with white chocolate mousse sprinkled with gold leaf and rose crystals. For those with allergies and dietary restrictions, you'll be happy to know that our pre-fix menu is 100% Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Optional, and Vegetarian Optional as well. Each dish is also paired with a delectable New Zealand wine.

I'm going to start working on a romantic music playlist for that Saturday evening and I'm definitely brainstorming on decor ideas to make the restaurant even more romantic.

To finish off the evening, every guest will also receive a copy of my CD single, "Stepping Stone", the love song I wrote for Gwithyen before we married. The single will come with a small booklet telling our own personal Aroha story of how we met and fell in love. I am incredibly excited to share my music with everyone on this special day!

For those of you who won't be joining us for Valentine's Day, and would like to listen, please visit my music page or find me on iTunes. If you'd like to hear one of my more recent live recorded songs, listen below to "Hideaway".

If you haven't made a reservation yet for Valentine's Day and do plan on joining us, I highly suggest making a reservation now, as we're already 50% booked for the evening!

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

"Hideaway" - My Newest Song!

I've never been brave enough before to post my rough song recordings anywhere public (other than to my Facebook friends) but I figured it was about time I broke my fear.

For the past few months, the clouds in my head have finally parted and I've been able to write new songs again...and I've written quite a few lately. It also helps that I've been getting much better at the guitar!

My latest song, "Hideaway", is dedicated to my amazing husband, Gwith, who is with me even in our darkest hours and is always there to pull me through. I don't know where I would be in life without him and I am grateful every day to have him in my life.

"Hideaway" Lyrics:

My love for you grows stronger everyday
and when I'm with you, you take my breath away
If I just close my eyes
will we be dancing in the skies?
If we just fly away
We can sway for eternity, hey hey.

CHORUS
I wanna hide away with you tonight
I wanna let my heart feel free to fly
I wanna curl into your arms and know
that with you, there's no place I'd rather go.

The days go by and all I want is you.
You're my everything, you're with me through and through.
If we just find a cave, will we be snuggling through the night?
If we just misbehave, we just might be brave enough tonight!

CHORUS

You hold me close, we're blowing in the wind.
Oh, the water rose, we didn't seem to mind...
If you just brush my face
Will I be melting in your embrace?
If we just feel the tide,
we can sail worldwide.

CHORUS x2

That with you, there's no place I'd rather go. x2