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?

bent

The last few days have been kind of a blur, Thanksgiving was lovely but I was too sick to be hungry so I consoled myself with tequila and cheesecake. The next morning I got up at 3 am to drive 7 1/2 hours to Oregon to see my best girl.

The good thing about being an adult is that for the most part you are completely in control of everything you do, there is nobody that can tell you not to do something, but that's not always a good thing.

When I was in high school and was too sick to move but would still try to get up to go out to a party, it was annoying, but nice in a way to have my dad there to say "You are sick, you aren't going anywhere," whereas now there is nobody but me to tell me not to do things when I'm sick, and I clearly won't be listening to anything I have to say.

Aside from waking up in a panic on Saturday morning because I felt like I couldn't breathe, it was a great weekend. It was really nice to be back in the "winter", well it was plus 12 most of the time I was there, but it's as close to actual winter as I'm going to get for awhile.

We went skating, sat by the fire, drank Caesar's with pickle juice and ate at some of Bend's adorable and delicious local restaurants. Why more restaurants don't have a chicken fettucine alfredo burrito on the menu is a mystery that will never be solved.

Oregon is sooooo lovely

gracefullll

brunch at CHOW in Bend. Go. For real.

guava mimosas by the fire. I usually have some kind of make up on my hand, but that's what life is like sometimes

old books in an antique shop

there should always be cupcake cafes

way too many craft beer to choose from

new boyfriend Koa

cute store in Bend called Gypsy Soul. I want everything.

birthday plans

Next week is Derek's birthday, I've been trying to decide what to get him. Last year, we went on a road trip down the coast and just kind of crept around Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel exploring. It was really fun and spontaneous.

I'd really like to do something like that again this year, I was thinking Morro Bay. There is so much beautiful coast line in this state, and I'd like to see as much of it as possible while we're here. We even bought a tent this summer that hasn't been used once as I bought it for a camping trip and then ended up sleeping in the boat under the stars.

We're so busy this month that we wouldn't be able to go until November, but it's California, how cold can it be by then, really? I've camped many a May long weekend in Canada where there was snow on the ground and nothing but red Sourpuss and Sky Blue coolers to keep me warm.

There is something so romantic and wonderful about just getting in the car and driving with no real plans. Maybe we'll make it to the campgrounds, maybe we won't. Maybe we'll visit Hearst Castle, maybe we'll get mugged on the beach. It's a mystery, but I bet you it will be a memorable weekend.

We're seeing Matt Nathanson at the Fox Theater in Oakland tonight, I saw him last year at Now and Zen and he is great live, so great that I am willing to overlook his nose ring. Also on the agenda for this weekend, a massage, book club, and making perogies for Thanksgiving next Sunday while I creep all over the internet trying to find season 4 of Downton Abbey because it doesn't air in 'merica until January.

el eh

We had a really wonderful long weekend in LA, in addition to the Hollywood Sign hike, we got to see some of Derek's family, spent a day at Universal Studios, and did some sight seeing and spent some time at the beach.

There is so much to do there, and we were only in town for a couple days, so I've already started planning our next trip which will hopefully include a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a tour of the WB studios, and brunch on the beach.

How excited are you to be at Universal Studios?

I think I win

You can't have everything in life

Don't worry, it's not a real shark

Gabrielle's house from Desperate Housewives

Whoville

It's probably not a coincidence that Whoville is directly behind the Bates Motel

it was mutual

Starstruck

Venice beach

The single greatest tree in the history of the world

art on Venice beach

date night in Long Beach

free front row tickets

I touched his hand, we're basically best friends

hollywood

I had a seriously fun weekend in LA, and one of the highlights was hiking to the Hollywood sign. Ever since I was little I always thought the Hollywood sign was the coolest thing around, and then a few years ago I found out you can actually hike to it, and I've wanted to do it ever since.

We had a gorgeous day for it, the trail is about 4 miles, and you can hike it, or go on horseback. The view from the top was amazing, and it was pretty neat to be that close to such an iconic piece of history.

You can learn more about the Hollywood sign hike here.

I wore new shoes for some inexplicable reason, and ended up walking on the backs so I wouldn't get blisters

Carmelllllll

For that one guy's birthday a few weeks ago we went on a "lost weekend" road trip. We just jumped in the car early on a Saturday morning, and took off driving, with no idea where we would end up. We headed south, and jumped on Highway 1 south, right along the coast, and enjoyed the amazing views, and stopped at every beach along the way. It was soo good to be near the ocean again, I know I'm really not that far from it, but it feels like it sometimes.

Heavennnn

In Hawaii, whenever I was having a bad day, or something would happen to upset me, I always just went to the beach. Something about sitting there with the sun shining down on me watching the waves come in reminds me that my life is actually pretty great. Just being on the beach gets me out of my head, and makes me appreciate all of the good things in life, plus, to me, it smells like home.

 

Frolicking in the ocean

We drove down the coast through Santa Cruz, Monterey and ended up in Carmel. I don't know why, but I've always wanted to go there, despite knowing absolutely nothing about it. I am pretty sure it's because of the movie "Charlie's Angels" where Cameron Diaz detects the call of pygmy nuthatch, which leads them to the only place in the world they live, Carmel.. which is embarrassing, and also reminds me that I need to watch fewer movies.

My new house

We  toured around Carmel which is the cutest little town ever, and also happens to be home to some of the most amazing mansions I've ever seen. The town was full of super adorable little shops, all I wanted to do was drink wine and purchase artwork, or possibly open up a sweet shop like the lady from Chocolat (again, fewer movies). 

Entry to the Thomas Kincaid Gallery in Carmel

We toured around the Seventeen Mile Road by the Pebble Beach golf course which was so stunning that I almost wished I was a golfer, rather than just someone who likes to drink Mike's Hard in the golf cart, and so many of the trees are covered in Spanish moss, it was gorgeous.

Pebble Beach Golf Course

We had beach picnics, went shopping, stopped at a crazy cool farmer's market and got a week's worth of fresh produce for like $5.00. We stayed in a terrifying motel that was kind of dirty and in between 3 liquor stores. We stopped at our favourite brunch place in Capitola for breakfast and mimosas. It was a really great weekend.

 

At Capitola

We are definitely going to be doing more trips like this in the future. Sometimes I get so caught up in all of the places I want to see in the world, Europe, Thailand, Brazil, etc. etc., that I forget to take advantage of the really neat places that are only a few hours away, or even right in my own backyard.

Sunset in Carmel