L.A. wanderings

Just a few more pics of our trip to L.A. last weekend. We ended up doing everything I had on my list, and lots of other things, like spending the day cruising down the PCH and checking out Venice and Huntington.

We were there for four days, and didn't have any real concrete plans so it was very relaxing. We ate lots of yummy food, and found hoards of 49ers fans in Huntington beach to watch the football game with on Sunday. The niners lost, but it was a beautiful day, and it was $3 mimosas so I wasn't too upset.

Also I read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) on the trip and at the beach, and loved every second of it. Mindy Kaling is my spirit animal.

It made me endlessly happy that there is a restaurant called Pink Taco and that their sangria was basically the nectar of the Gods

Santa Monica pier at night

Kt von D's tattoo shop. I was very excited, her eyeliner makes my life complete

Grauman's Chinese theater, the Harry Potter cast

south

Happy long weekend!

We are driving down to L.A. tonight, leaving right after work. I'd much rather drive down at night, it's just 6 hours of singing and sleeping and then I wake up and we are there (sorry Derek).

We don't have a lot of plans, we're going to tour a few universities tomorrow, but other than that we're just going to creep around and explore, and try to decide if it's somewhere we'd want to live.

Other tentative plans include:

A visit to the Santa Monica pier (and the Brandy Melville store right beside it)
Breakfast at Toast Bakery
A hike at Runyon Canyon
Dessert at Bottega Louie
The beach
Visiting with Derek's family

And we found a really neat place to stay on AirBnB, it used to be a Catholic rectory so it has really neat architecture and stained glass windows, and a huge garden. And also a claw footed tub. I may never leave.

I'm prettttttty excited to get going, is it 5 o'clock yet?

pipe

 This video of the Bonzai Pipeline on Oahu makes my heart hurt. Hopefully I get to go home soon.


Pipeline Winter 2013 from Eric Sterman on Vimeo.

viva mexico

We booked our tickets for Christmas in Mazatlan with my family yesterday. I am so excited to go, my grandpa has a house there and I used to go all the time, but I haven't been since I was 18.

Most of the memories I have of being a kid are in Mazatlan, and it's kind of weird to think I'll be going back there and bringing my husband. I still very clearly remember stealing quietly from my bed and creeping down the stairs in my Aladdin night gown to see if Santa had found us in Mexico.

Lazy beach day, before I realized that I should be scared of sharks

I remember swimming at the Granada pool and playing mermaids with my sister, and then stretching out on a lounger to eat Oreos and Ritz crackers that my grandma stocked by the closet-full when we came to visit.

A palm tree started on fire and we forcibly adopted two iguanas. Mine was named Princess. I was terrified of her.

I loved driving my grandpa's golf cart, visiting the crocodiles that lived on the first hole, and spending days at the beach jumping over the waves until I was too exhausted to move and then laying on the beach looking at the wares of the beach vendors and trying on jewellery.

The money keeper around my neck is both a great place to keep your pesos, and a stylish fashion accessory

My sister and I would creep around the house at dusk and try to catch iguanas and geckos, and spend our days trying to sneak into the pool at the El Morro so we could jump off the highest rock in the waterfall, and then reward ourselves with a dip in the hot tub.

As we got older we'd go out drinking and dancing and maybe to a foam party or two. I know people who won't go to Mexico because they are scared, but I've only had wonderful memories and met great people there.

I can't wait to be back there with my family again and to show all of 5 year old me's favourite places to 26 year old me's favourite guy.

solstice

Today is the longest day of the  year, and the official first day of summer. Even though I live in California, and it doesn't get that cold here in the winter, there is just something about summer.

It goes by so fast though, before you know it it'll be September, so I plan to cram as much fun as possible into every moment of it, and I hope you do the same.

mermaid

I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living. - Anais Nin

 

sun soaked

Salty. Sun soaked. Satisfied.

twirl

I bought this Billabong dress a few weeks ago, mostly because I loved the colour, but also because I secretly suspected it was one of those dresses whose soul purpose is to be twirled in.

It turns out I was right, and I had lots of fun twirling around on the beach the first time I wore it. It also happened to be an extremely windy day so I spent not an insignificant amount of time with the dress blown up over my head. Luckily there were no children around, just one little old man flying his kite.

half moon bay

I finally made it to Half Moon Bay last weekend, I've been wanting to go since we moved here. It was so beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day. We didn't get to the Ritz Carlton or any of the little shops, we literally plunked ourselves down on the beach and laid there for hours. I did put my toes in the water, it was absolutely freezing.

I could spend every second of my life beside the ocean if I could.

“She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar.”- White Oleander.

I like that you can see my dress in these :)

It was such a beautiful day