And GO!!!
This last week has been one of those "I'll sleep when I'm dead" weeks. Non-stop, crazy, fun stuff going on! This post is going to be all over the place because it is a reflection of our life right now and we really are all over the place. But in the best way possible because this place, this quaint little town we call home, is our happy place. Here is what's making us so happy...
Let's start with the bonfires. Nothing says Summer like s'mores! We are fully embracing this sunny and 70 degree weather by spending as much time outdoors as possible. You can see the doggies are loving every minute of it. Especially the marshmallows!
Speaking of dessert for dinner, when we got home my little sister, Melissa, greeted us with these delicacies:
Maddie supervised, as usual. We got the paint to do the letters but haven't gotten around to it yet. So just close your eyes and imagine cute little pillows that say Mr. & Mrs.
Along with all of those crafts, Andrew and I decided it was a good idea to paint my parent's dining set. It was old and needed some TLC. I happened to have 17 a few cans of paint leftover from my own furniture make-over projects so we spent the day shabby chic-ing their dining room. My dad calls it shabby $hit (jokingly). To each his own :)
On our outing, we saw a bald eagle and a family of deer. Throw in a couple grizzlies and a moose and it was just like our Alaska trip last July.
Let's talk beaches... we grew up on the central coast of California and here the beach is like your backyard. I think we have gone to at least one beach every day that we have been home. We are definitely making up for lost time these last 3 beach-less years. Don't be too jealous though, the water is something like fifty degrees and there's a 20 + foot great white shark that is often seen cruising around, so it's not all tropical resort like in these parts. If I were to actually swim in this ocean I would wear a double thick wet suit and one of those metal cages they sport on Shark Week. You can never be too cautious. And yes, I am a fraidy cat. Just to clarify, when I talk about going to the beach I mean walking on the beach. At least 50 feet from the shoreline just in case old Jaws decides to jump really far out of the water. And now I'm going to have nightmares about land shark. ::shivers::
Moving on.
We went hiking at Montana De Oro a few days ago. Montana De Oro means "mountain of gold". It was a beautiful beach side stroll, but apparently the gold rush is over so the gold was gone, and here I was hoping for a new bangle bracelet. It wasn't a total loss, we did get to see our local version of Cabo San Lucas' "El Arco".
We have also celebrated a couple birthdays. My Uncle Chris turned 44 the other day and he and my mom have been passing the same birthday card back and forth for the last 30 years. Isn't that crazy?!
They used to scratch the other person's name out on the envelope and over the years they had to add extra paper in the card to accommodate for all of the birthday messages. The card is actually kind of tacky; it says "A surefire way to feel happy on your birthday" and then you open it and the inside has the word Happy embossed so that you can really feel it. Wow hallmark, just wow. This card is one of those silly traditions that always makes me smile.
We also celebrated Andrew's birthday with his family tonight at McLintock's Steakhouse.
That's it for bonfires, birthdays, beaches, and burlap. But here's a few other things we've been up to:
Also funny to me was the recycle/compost area notably lacking a plain old "trash can". Oh, commie-fornia and your dirty hippies!
Yesterday I got a call about interviewing for sub jobs in San Diego early next week so today I had to get a current TB test and valid CA driver's license. It sounds simple in theory, but it took the ENTIRE day. The TB test took all but 2 minutes. The DMV took 3 hours.
Seriously, they even made Andrew take the written driving test we all had to take when we were 15 to obtain a learner's permit. I mean, come on! Nerd that he is, he aced it.
After dinner tonight we walked around our cute little historic Arroyo Grande Village and did some self timer pics. One of my favorite things about Andrew is that he always obliges my photographic impulses and never complains.
This last week has been one of those "I'll sleep when I'm dead" weeks. Non-stop, crazy, fun stuff going on! This post is going to be all over the place because it is a reflection of our life right now and we really are all over the place. But in the best way possible because this place, this quaint little town we call home, is our happy place. Here is what's making us so happy...
Let's start with the bonfires. Nothing says Summer like s'mores! We are fully embracing this sunny and 70 degree weather by spending as much time outdoors as possible. You can see the doggies are loving every minute of it. Especially the marshmallows!
Imagine the delicious s'mores those would make!
Now for the burlap portion of the week.
My other little sister (the middle one), Kristie, is getting married in 7 short weeks. This week was all about getting invites made and sent as well as planning her bridal shower. The wedding theme is burlap-boho-teal-beach-chumash (turtles)-vintage-anything goes (?) It's an outdoor park wedding and I'm sure it will be fabulous, but I'm not sure how it will all come together. This wedding will be unique :) Kristie is an artist and actually hand drew and designed all of the invitations and envelopes. Each one is a work of art!
My mom and I bought about 300 yards of burlap in LA last week for table runners, banners, invites, and other decorations for Kristie's wedding
(and perhaps potato sack races with whatever is leftover?).
We're currently working on this cute pillow idea.
Well, I found it on pinterest and my mom did all the work.
Mr. & Mrs. Pillow source
Kristie also made these gorgeous headbands for us gals to wear.
When my mom and I were shopping in Tucson last week (yeah, there was a monsoon while we were driving through Arizona but the stores were still open late so we shopped all night. Don't act surprised, it's way safer to be indoors during a storm and better yet, inside a mall!) we found the perfect teal dresses and cowgirl boots to wear for the big day. I can't believe this wedding is coming up so soon. It's nice to finally be here to be part of the planning and fun!
Along with all of those crafts, Andrew and I decided it was a good idea to paint my parent's dining set. It was old and needed some TLC. I happened to have
It's a little blinding, but a nice change for Summer and very bridal. All this wedding stuff has gone to my head. Also the paint fumes!
When we weren't doing projects, we were hanging out with the Hoags.
Andrew's parents love to go for hikes almost everyday and in the last week we have joined them on two beautiful local trails.
These pictures are from this morning at Lopez Lake. This particular hike is one Andrew went on many times growing up as a boy scout. I never did cub scouts or any rugged thing really, so this was a fun adventure for me. I think I should earn some kind of badge for being such a good sport, but it wouldn't quite go with my juicy couture jacket.
*Warning: if you do not like birds (Erika, I am speaking to you!) blink five times fast and scroll down a few pics)
Let's talk beaches... we grew up on the central coast of California and here the beach is like your backyard. I think we have gone to at least one beach every day that we have been home. We are definitely making up for lost time these last 3 beach-less years. Don't be too jealous though, the water is something like fifty degrees and there's a 20 + foot great white shark that is often seen cruising around, so it's not all tropical resort like in these parts. If I were to actually swim in this ocean I would wear a double thick wet suit and one of those metal cages they sport on Shark Week. You can never be too cautious. And yes, I am a fraidy cat. Just to clarify, when I talk about going to the beach I mean walking on the beach. At least 50 feet from the shoreline just in case old Jaws decides to jump really far out of the water. And now I'm going to have nightmares about land shark. ::shivers::
Moving on.
We went hiking at Montana De Oro a few days ago. Montana De Oro means "mountain of gold". It was a beautiful beach side stroll, but apparently the gold rush is over so the gold was gone, and here I was hoping for a new bangle bracelet. It wasn't a total loss, we did get to see our local version of Cabo San Lucas' "El Arco".
Check out those natural arch rock formations. Pretty cool.
We also went to Shell Beach for lunch yesterday and took pictures at Dinosaur Caves Park.
I ate a salmon burger. Andrew had a chowder sourdough bowl.
It was just as good as we remembered.
We have also celebrated a couple birthdays. My Uncle Chris turned 44 the other day and he and my mom have been passing the same birthday card back and forth for the last 30 years. Isn't that crazy?!
They used to scratch the other person's name out on the envelope and over the years they had to add extra paper in the card to accommodate for all of the birthday messages. The card is actually kind of tacky; it says "A surefire way to feel happy on your birthday" and then you open it and the inside has the word Happy embossed so that you can really feel it. Wow hallmark, just wow. This card is one of those silly traditions that always makes me smile.
We also celebrated Andrew's birthday with his family tonight at McLintock's Steakhouse.
Texas has the best brisket, but California has the best tri-tip.
That's it for bonfires, birthdays, beaches, and burlap. But here's a few other things we've been up to:
visits with friends.
Bruce Hornsby concert at a winery in Paso Robles.
The concert was great, but equally entertaining was watching all the old people try to dance to the bluegrass-jazz fusion that the bands were playing.
Yesterday I got a call about interviewing for sub jobs in San Diego early next week so today I had to get a current TB test and valid CA driver's license. It sounds simple in theory, but it took the ENTIRE day. The TB test took all but 2 minutes. The DMV took 3 hours.
Seriously, they even made Andrew take the written driving test we all had to take when we were 15 to obtain a learner's permit. I mean, come on! Nerd that he is, he aced it.
Thus far, marriage year #7 is off to a great start. Plus, my TB test was negative so that's always good!
Whoa!! You have been busy!! Thanks for the bird warning, I def skipped those.
ReplyDeleteThings I Love:
1) The bday card of 30 years??!! That is SO awesome!!! What a fun tradition! Also a true money saver! Think of how much they've saved on cards over the years!!
2) The wedding invitations??! Ridiculously awesome. I can't wait to see how the whole wedding turns out. I expect picture overload.
3) That you shabby chic-ed your parents' furniture. I would expect nothing less from you.
I think you've been to the beach more times in the last week than I've been in my life... actually I think you've done more things in a week than I've done this whole year... girl, you are BUSY. And I love that you document EVERYTHING. Sam and I could go on vacation and forget to take a single picture!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a busy transition back home but a fun one!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, not sure if you were reading my blog at the time, but I most definitely did get a positive TB test once upon a time, so getting a negative one is a real victory if you ask me :) Congrats!
You are living the dream!
ReplyDelete