A Central Coast Weekend

I mentioned last week that we took a quick road trip down to the Central Coast before our big New Mexico adventure.  My old roommate and good friend Sarah lives down there now so we packed our bags, hopped in the car, and headed down to spend the weekend with her and her boyfriend Nick.  Aren't they cute?  And such good hosts, those two!

 

We drove down Friday morning, though if I were making a recommendation I would insist you go down on a Thursday night.  The San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market is a fairly legendary and everyone should stroll up and down the streets looking at the shops, perusing the local produce and smelling the BBQ at least once.  

Speaking of legendary, we ended up enjoying a late dinner on Friday at Jocko's in Nipomo, which has not only its own local history but perhaps the best beans in town.  Garrett has a minor obsession with these beans, and I say minor to be polite.  Every time we head down to visit Sarah Little Jocko's is one of our last stops on the way out of town so we can pick up a gallon To Go.  Yes, I said a gallon.  And sometimes we even make it home with some beans.  Jocko's has a giant oak fired grill outside that you can smell a mile away and the menu is full of the kind of grilled deliciousness that one can only replicate over a wide open fire.  Everything we ordered was awesome, and so was everything that the people who sat next to ordered, seeing as they made us pass over our forks for bites of their pork chops.  It's just that kind of place, you know?

Saturday, after recovering from our meat hangover and a wild morning enjoying the 80 degree weather at the dog park (yeah, we get crazy on vacation, what?) we headed up to San Luis Obispo to do some shopping and some Olive Oil Tasting.  I was on a mission to find the perfect red lipstick and an olive oil that I want to eat with a spoon.  As for the former, I'm still searching.  As for the latter, our stop at We Olive on Higuera St left me with not only a wealth of information about the different types of oils (love: buttery/fruity oils, hate: peppery oils) but a bag full of goodies as well.  I left with a new olive oil that's good enough to drink, a golden balsamic vinegar, and a blackberry roasted red pepper vinegar.  My salads will never be the same again.  I am still dreaming about the fig balsamic vinegar that we tasted (drizzled over cream cheese with crackers...how good does that sound?!?) and I think the next time we are down there it may have to come home with me.   It is one of those stores that has a sample of almost everything so even if olive oil isn't your bag, I'm sure there is a bruschetta or tapenade with your name on it. After our shopping and people watching extravaganza we had a late lunch at Firestone Grill, watched some football and called it a night -- which is the best part of visiting a good friend -- not having to be going, going, going every single minute!  

Sunday we got up and had a lazy breakfast at Cowgirl Cafe where Garrett discovered his other new obsession -- The Pepper Plant hot sauces.  We may have picked up a few bottles of the habanero sauce on our way out of town.  In general I stay away from most habanero things, but I have to agree with Garrett that this particular sauce would be a great way to spice up bloody marys and now I'm just looking for an excuse to make some.  Because the weather continued to be beautiful we packed up the truck full of bikes and headed over to the Bob Jones Bike Trail for an afternoon ride down to Avila Beach.  I think we made a pretty cute bike gang if I do say so myself!  

It was a gorgeous day and of course the beach was packed!  I kept having to pinch myself because, hello -- it was JANUARY.  

We dipped our toes in the water, looked at the shops along the boardwalk, and then of course rewarded ourselves for all that hard work with some waffle cones!  

I mean how could you not, right?

Post ice cream, we hopped back on our bikes and rode out to Port San Luis where we may have had a few cocktails and appetizers because man can not bike on ice cream alone!  It's all about staying nourished, my friends.  

That evening after biking home we rewarded ourselves with a soak at Sycamore Mineral Springs.  Along with the Thursday SLO Farmer's Market, I have to say this is an absolute must to complete the perfect Central Coast weekend.  These tubs are nestled on a hillside, piping hot, and totally relaxing.  It's a relatively inexpensive treat, and after a day of biking to the beach, it was just what the doctor ordered.

photo credit

Monday morning we headed out early to make the journey back home.  After stopping for beans (of course!) Garrett and cruised through San Luis one last time and took a little trip down memory lane.  I wanted to go by my old Starbucks stomping grounds since that was my first real job in college and Garrett wanted to cruise by the house where his buddy lived when he was in college.  Good memories in both spots (but let me tell you I am sure that house did NOT look like that when it was full of college boys renting, if the stories Garrett tells are any indicator!)

We took the scenic route home, stopped by two bookstores that we love, and made it home just in time to repack our suitcases, sleep for a bit, and catch a plane to New Mexico.  It was a whirlwind weekend but totally worth it.  It was full of old friends and new, beautiful scenery, and tons of fun.  Just the way a road trip should be, dontcha think?

The rest of the photos are here if you are interested.  


 

     

I'm Baaaaaaaaack

So we are back from our Great Road Trip That Wasn't!

Oh, hadn't I mentioned that?  Yes, we ended up having to scrap The Great Southwest Road Trip of 2011.  Well, sort of.  

(And it wasn't for any lack of fabulous suggestions mind you, because many of you got a A+ when it came to making recommendations for that trip and I thank you for that.  They are stored in my little idea book for the future!)

The short story is that the whole thing ended up being much more complicated (read: expensive) than we originally anticipated.  Especially when you are trying to drive SUV rentals over 2 state lines.  We were Last Minute Larrys about the whole thing and in the end we realized that we were looking to drive about 2900 miles in 5 days (we wanted to make sure we had about 5 days to spend with The Parents before flying home) and after that realization the trip just started looking more like a comedy of errors and less like a vacation.  We ended up just buying plane tickets to New Mexico and hanging with Garrett's parents for 6 of those 10 days instead, and can I tell you -- buying last minute plane tickets saved us like $1,000 compared to renting a car (not to mention all that time) so seriously -- YOU ARE RIDICULOUS, RENTAL CAR COMPANIES!  But that is another story for another time.  


For the 4 day weekend that preceded our New Mexico adventure, we ended up scratching the Road Trip Itch by driving down to the Central Coast to visit with my good friend Sarah which turned out to be a fantastic idea.  There were scenic drives, ice cream at the beach, steaks and sunshine, bike gangs and olive oil tastings.  I mean, it basically had all the fantastic things you need for a fun mini-weekend getaway.  We took a scenic route home that included trips to two different bookstores, repacked our suitcases, slept for a few hours and then flew our tired tookuses out to New Mexico.   

The sacrifice of flying there for 6 days was that we ended up having to save the northern part of the state for our next trip (Oh Taos, I will see you one day!)  Since Garrett's parents live about 3 hours South of the Albuquerque Airport we concentrated our exploration in the Southeast part of the Southwest.  It was a more relaxed trip than we would have had trying to do all that driving so in the end I'm so glad we made that decision.  I guess I am getting old because there is just something so alluring about a vacation where you just get to go home.  Even when it's not your home.  Having Garrett's parents cook for us, laying around and chit chatting in person instead of on the phone, reading books, hiking and playing with the animals was just awesome.  And we even squeezed in some touristy things to boot, which I will totally tell you all about once I have the energy to upload the pictures.  
 
Obviously we are still in the recovery phase of vacationing you know?  Monday was all about getting back to work and just surviving (Note to self:  Stop schedule flights that land at 10pm on Sunday night when you have to go to work Monday morning.)  Yesterday afternoon our house turned into a ceremonious post-vacation laundry jungle, and last night I went to the Grocery Store around 9:30 and absolutely filled my cart to overflowing levels because otherwise we were going to be eating toothpicks and wilted spinach for breakfast today.  Though I was smugly proud of going through all of our perishables before we left, our kitchen was a bit post-apocalyptic when we got home, which was inconvenient since we immediately jumped back into CrossFit and started our Half Marathon Training.  Obviously, it was only a matter of time before we starting eating each other. 

Even though it was freezing ass cold last night I diligently looked at my weekly grocery sale papers, created a menu plan and made a grocery list.  Of course then I got to the eerily deserted store last night (duh! It was almost 10 at night!) and realized that all of the sales that I had just carefully ogled didn't actually start until TODAY.  Which, really? Is such a rookie mistake.  The upside is I did manage to make it home with some food so we are no longer eyeballing each other post workout like those scary cannibal gangs in The Road. 

So ANYWAY, this is my long winded way of saying Hello!  I'm back!  I can't wait to sit down and chat and tell you about my adventures!  But a girl has got to catch her breath a minute and since Garrett is having dinner with a friend tonight, I plan to spend the evening ignoring The Internet and making out with my DVR if that's alright with you?  I hope you will forgive me but I may just go a little crazy if I don't confirm that Camille Grammar is still a nut-job.  We all have our quirks. 

It feels good to be home.  

Greetings from Deserts of New Mexico ...

...where we are hanging out with:


5 horses
10 Chickens
15 Goats
4 Cats
1 Dog


Oh, and also?  Garrett's parents.  


The weather has been lovely and cooperative (clear skies with absolutely crisp air) but the elevation has done a number on us and we've literally been sleeping 12 hours a night like drunken teenagers.  


His parents have a ranch on 200 acres out in the middle of nowhere the state and it has been peaceful and full of adventure all at the same time.  Today I got a lesson on guns.  I'm hoping there isn't a test later because I will fail miserably, but it has been fun learning the paces of a totally different lifestyle.  I feel like Pioneer Woman but less internet famous.  


It's been a blast.  When I have the patience to upload some pics I will, but out here in the Wild West the internet is dial up, so don't hold your breath.  Hope you all are having great weeks as well! 

The Travel Bug Has Bitten

Because I love clean cut beginnings and endings, and mostly because I love to do big picture planning, the end of the year always appeals to me.  For the same reasons Mondays actually appeal to me also, but I know I am slightly in the minority on that, so let's forget about that for a minute.  I think this makes sense to a lot of people -- the love for planning, but in practice I am slightly crazy at the end of the year, just ask Garrett.  I have been following him around for last couple of weeks talking about our 2011 travel plans and he keeps looking at me like, "Woman, can we get through Christmas already?" 

BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE TRAVEL DEALS THAT ARE PASSING US BY???  

Anyway, we have a few trips that we have already agreed upon, plus a wishlist that I'm just putting out to the Universe in case it wants to drop some fabulous opportunity in my lap or something.    

January -- The Great Southwest Road Trip 2011

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Since Garrett is back working the retail circuit, vacay in November and December is not an option.  His parents live on a ranch in New Mexico though and we really want to go see them.  I've never been to there house in the 5 years we've been dating if you can believe that?!?  So we've finally marked off two weeks in January to road trip our way out there, spent some quality time, and then fly home.  I'm really looking forward to it.  We are currently planning tentative stops in central/so-cal, and Arizona (his grandma lives there) plus 5 or 6 days in NM with the parentals.  I'm pretty excited about it seeing as I've never been to either state ever!  I'm definitely down for some suggestions of places to stop so if you have any let me know.

May -- Playa del Carmen, Mexico with Garrett and his friends

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The boys are planning this one and I'm just showing up, which could be genius or a total nightmare.  I'm thinking it will be genius though and am getting pretty excited.  Mexico is another place I've never really been (Tijuana soooo doesn't count!)  Also, it has been great workout motivation, if nothing else.  Can't wait to be lying on a Carribbean beach with a giant drink in hand hanging out with fun people that know how to have a good time! 

August -- San Diego for the BlogHer?

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Right now this is a maybe.  It's so close so I feel like I should go, but honestly the thought of a million people I don't know is sort of socially overwhelming.  Are you going?  Tell me you are going.  It will make me feel much better.  Besides I have gone to San Diego every year for the last 3 or 4 years, so it's kind of A Must, I think or I may have withdrawals.

Fall 2011 -- The Blathering, Austin TX
Both Garrett and I are OBSESSED with going to Austin, so I will have to figure out how the two of are going to travel there together plus have a girls weekend.  It can happen, I'm sure of it. 

Probable other trips with no determined time:
Seattle Again -- Seattle and I fell in love at first sight and I am convinced we must return! 
Portland -- why not just squeeze it in with another Pacific Northwest adventure?

Trips to find time for (and hey,  money!  Universe do you hear me?): 
Boston -- How have I not been here yet?
Maui Again -- I know nothing will compare to the first time, but I would really like to get back there again for some beaching and frosty umbrella drinks. 

Where do you want to go in 2011?

How We Ate Our Way Through Seattle, and other sordid details...

So I guess I should probably tell you about Seattle, eh?

(That's 4 days of Canadian influence right there for you.)


Well for starters -- the light in that town is beautiful. Well, actually everything is beautiful.  Yards full of weeds seem more beautiful when that purple hazed light shines all over everything dewy.  It was amazing, and there were times when I looked over at Garrett and said, "Am I really seeing this?"  and truly meant every bewildered word.  




We ran the gamut of weather while we were there -- sunny and cool, damp and dewy, sunny and warm, and then also - my personal favorite - Sky Unfurling Wrath.  That felt the most stereotypical, but I hear it's not always like that.
  


But do you know what the weird thing was?  I didn't see a single umbrella the entire time we were there.  Weird, right? Seattle peeps -- how do you stay dry with no umbrellas?  It's a mystery.


Anyway, when we arrived on Friday we headed over to Lunchbox Laboratory in Ballard for some burgers and let me just tell you, they are not messing around.  We ate part of this for lunch and then the leftovers for dinner since it was that epic and huge! 





Of course 2 meals from one restaurant threw off my already overflowing spreadsheet of restaurants to visit, so I have to acknowledge that we failed miserably at getting through 47 restaurants in 4 days, but fret not we gave it our best effort at eating our way through town just as promised.


Saturday we hit up Pike Place - Crab Sandwiches, Mac and Cheese, Seared Scallop Chowder, Donuts - OH MY! -  (More like Oh Mylanta! ay yay yay.)



 And then for some reason (food coma, perhaps?) we ended up back at home watching a huge marathon of Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel.  I am usually firmly against sitting and staring at the television when I'm on vacation, but our condo was so cute (and well, really, so is Bear Grylls) so I just kind of went with it. We stayed in and explored Capitol Hill that night (which is so cute, I'm kind of in love!) and had dinner at a local Pizza place which was just perfect.



On Sunday we decided to take it easy.  After sleeping late, we met Maggie and Phillip for Dim Sum in the International District -- and as someone who has never had a Dim Sum experience before, I will DEFINITELY be partaking again!  Man there was just so! much! stuff!  I wish I could have shut my pie-hole for just a second and sampled every single thing, but as it turns out I was being kind of a blabbermouth so I only kind of know what I like for next time.  I'm so game to experiment though -- it was scrumptious!  Also, can I tell you how nice it is to see a familiar face?  After a few days of planning and scheming and executing, it was so nice to just sit down and chit chat with great people and relax for a minute!  I'm soooo incredibly glad we got to see them. 

Afterward (totally stuffed!) we hopped on the ferry over to Bainbridge Island (ok we might have had some Ice Cream while we there).  It was a beautiful day and the sun was out and if you can believe it I got a crazy sunburn!  

We spent another evening in Capitol Hill -- this time having a simple dinner at Broadway Grill.  It was a GORGEOUS night and their patio had been calling to me pretty much since the first night we arrived so we finally sat down and enjoyed some stiff cocktails and grub.  A walk over to Cal Anderson Park afterward was just what the doctor ordered and we (and the rest of the neighborhood) continued to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.  

Monday came a bit too quick and it was time to hit the road, but not before seeing and lunching with Jessica, who I used to work with.  Another familiar face was fabulous and she took Garrett and I to have basically the best meatball sliders I've ever had in my life at Palomino.  Hands down. 

When it came time to head home both Garrett and I were sad to say goodbye.  We had a great time, saw beautiful sights, met up with fun friends, and stayed in an adorable condo in a cute neighborhood.  I really couldn't have asked for a better vacation!  But with that same zeal, I also  couldn't decline those peanuts on the flight home quick enough!  It's nice to be back home and back to eating like a normal person, but Seattle definitely left a great impression.

If you're interested, the rest of our pics are over here.

Phoning It In For The Sake Of My Laundry

So tonight I could sit down and blog, or I could get my laundry done, and return some long overdue emails, and pack like an adult since we will be on a plane in slightly more than two days (and in this rainy weather I swear that's how long it is going to take my jeans to air dry so I better get to washing unless I want to resort to the dryer and look like a flood warning is in full effect the entire time I'm in Seattle.)

Anyway, since I obviously have like 900 things to do before this trip -- which technically is a trip for Garrett's Birthday (even though his actual birthday is not until May) -- I thought I would post a few snapshots of the first birthday trip we ever took together up to Humboldt County way back when we were just babies in love.  I think I may have washed my face and brushed my teeth first thing every morning on that trip.  Ok, I probably wasn't that crazy, but when I look at these pictures I just remember how excitedly new everything felt!

We spent a day driving up the coast, checked in to the World's Cutest Cabin and then spent a few days eating crazy-hot hot wings, drinking Lost Coast brew (if you see their Tangerine Wheat beer -- drink it immediately!), and meandering up and down North Coast beaches hand in hand being super sappy.  Did you just barf a little?  I know, that was pretty sickening, but it was quite blissful actually.  And I have the same hopes for this birthday vacation!  



Created with flickr slideshow.

 

Ah, San Diego...

Yeah, it was pretty much just like that. 

It was a quick weekend.  It was a full weekend.  But man-oh-man, was it a good weekend.

It started off a little rocky though on Friday night.  We had both worked full days on gone straight to the airport so we were a little bit early for our flight.  We checked in with no delay and headed immediately to the bar because, well we were on vacation and what else were we going to do?   After an hour and half of unwinding we decided to make our way to the gate since it would probably be boarding soon only to find out that our flight?  IT WAS CANCELLED.

Okay.  

Luckily they were able to get all of us on the 9:00 flight, but needless to say this put us a bit behind schedule.  We finally got to our hotel -- which by the way I can not recommend highly enough (cute! conveniently located! clean! dog friendly!) -- and crapped out immediately.  The following morning we were due at a 9am wedding, so we needed to get some serious beauty rest after our travel ordeal!

The wedding was and intimate ceremony in Balboa Park (which, WOW!) and then the reception was at an awesome local brewing company.  And I'm starting to think you just can't go wrong with that.  Love, Holy Matrimony, Beer Garden -- it's really quite the wedding trifecta, in my opinion.  After the wedding we headed back to the hotel to relax before going out for a bite to eat, and if you don't think this looks like a damn good start to a Saturday night, well then I don't even know you AT ALL:

  
So after dinner we met up with my cousin Jenny at a bar for drinks, because really, what's a vacation without some excessive imbibing? And then somehow we ended up at a random club...let me rephrase...at DA CLUB but ohmygod it was so fun and we danced like absolute fools.  Garrett and I stayed only a short time though, because I was wearing an acrylic sweater.  Yes, a sweater, and have you ever tried to dance in a club in a long sleeved acrylic sweater?  Well let me assure you, you would also not hang out for long -- it was HOT!  And not in a cute way.  So we started to head back to the hotel but got distracted by another fun looking bar, so we said what the heck! And got a drink and of course our groove on once again, which says alot for the evening, since Garrett usually hates to dance.  I will let you do the mental math about how much beer we had enjoyed to make dancing sound like the best idea ever, but I will give you a hint.  It involved the following variables:

So when we had had enough of dancing to songs that we enjoyed but most of the bar seemed too young to recognize (Hello, Bust-a-move? C'mon, really, youngins?) it was about 2am, so the next logical step was obviously to head to a hot dog shop, right?  Right.  Glad we are on the same page about that.  And in case you are wondering, it was pretty much the best hot dog ever in the moment.  

Sunday we headed out to Vista for a BBQ with all of Garrett's family who were in town and it was such a good time to just enjoy the amazing weather out in his aunt and uncle's backyard (hello, it's January! And in Sacramento?  It feels like January) and chat the afternoon away.  We couldn't have asked for a better day and when we got home Sunday night we were beat! 

Monday was the day we checked out and headed home, but  more importantly it was also the day we had breakfast at Brians24.  And god knows the the weight of the world was on my shoulders about that!.  The Monte Cristo?  Well, it was just okay.  I can't say it is the answer to the sweet/salty conundrum, but it hit the spot all the same.  Afterwards we made sure to enjoy every last drop of the San Diego sunshine by heading over to Coronado, making our way up to La Jolla, and finishing our day with pretty much the the best bacon burger on the planet (New Year's Resolutions...whaaaaaat?)  or at least in Ocean Beach.  Then it was time to make our way to the airport and back to Sacramento. 

After a day frolicking on the beach in the 78 degree sun, it was a bit of a rude awakening to have to go to work in the pouring rain on Tuesday morning.  But hey, you take the good with the bad, and this trip was definitely a refreshing dose of goodness!  Family, friends, great conversations, a wedding, too much good food, the ocean, sunshine on your back...I really couldn't have asked for a better beginning to 2010!

I can't wait to do it again!

You can find the rest of our photos here.

I Love A Good Weekender

On Friday night Garrett and I are officially San Diego bound.  It is our first weekender of 2010 and I'm pretty darn excited about it.  Our official reason is to head down for a Saturday morning wedding (interesting, right? I've never been to a morning wedding, I'm intrigued)  but we extended our stay a bit so that we could have some time to just wander around another city and enjoy each other's company and I really can't wait! 

I've written here numerous times about my unquenchable wanderlust, and I'm looking forward with great anticipation to another year of weekend adventures.  I'm kind of weird in my travel preferences -- I've only been out of the country once, and I'm totally okay with that.  I don't really have a pressing urge to "backpack through Europe" or visit "exotic locales" or whatever (I mean, if someone wanted to treat me to a trip through the Mediterranean I'd be hard pressed to say no) but I guess I just feel so lucky living here in such a diverse place (California, The West Coast, The United States) where it is so convenient to get away.  My travel desires are pretty simple -- Let's go somewhere fun, somewhere different (or of course somewhere the same that we love in San Diego's case), and preferably to a somewhere that we can enjoy over a long weekend.  I mean I'm all for 2 week long trips to Maui (sigh) but to me, the perfect weekend away is just so easily obtainable, that my pursuit of it is almost gluttonous. 

San Diego is a special place for us (I lived there a bit when I was small and my dad was playing for the (Super!) Chargers and my cousin is currently living there, and a good portion of Garrett's family lives down there) and every time we visit we discover something new.  Miles of beautiful coastline, big city-eats, and well, then of course there is this:

I'll take 76 degrees in the middle of winter for $1000, Alex!

(um...parts of my company today are closing today due to snowstorms...)

Needless to say I am giddy and excited and looking forward to a little adventure.  We are thinking of having breakfast here but wish us luck because apparently you need reservations???  Anyway, it should be a good time.  I'm looking forward to seeing the ocean, taking some pictures, and spending some relaxing down time with my love. 

Hope you all have lovely weekends wherever you are and whatever you do!

Where to go? What to do?

Sadly, this morning I got out the white out to update our home calendar where we post all of our comings and goings. We had purchased tickets to head up to Portland for a long weekend in a few weeks for our Anniversary, but with all the instability surrounding Garrett's job and just the general funk that we have both been in, neither of us really felt like travelling, so we cancelled them. Kind of a bummer, but definitely indicative of my mood as of late. It is crazy when you think about it, because generally there is not much that can quell my wanderlust, but something about a trip in a couple weeks just doesn't feel right.

But all is not lost, and I actually don't mean this to be a whiny post at all so don't fret. What this means is that between the credit we now have for our Portland tickets, another $100 Southwest credit that I had lying around, and the $200 Southwest credit I got for recently getting off a too-full flight down to Anaheim -- we basically have to figure out where the hell we are going to go because this Southwest money isn't going to just spend itself. And that, my friends perks that wanderlust right back up.

So...where do we go?

Well, first of all we aren't planning to go anywhere until probably February or March. Hopefully things will calm down and get a bit normalized by then, so we are looking to do some late Winter/early Spring travel. Topping the list is perhaps a weeklong trip to Seattle and then maybe up to Canada. But also, I can't forget that Portland still excites me so I want to make that trip happen at some point. Oooh, but what about Chicago? That is one of Garrett's favorite places, so it is definitely on the list (though I am guessing it will be cold as all get out!) Austin, TX? How fun! Boston? So much to see! Georgia? Southern Comfort! New Orleans? Denver? New York? Do we wait until Summer and rent a cabin by a lake up in Wyoming or Montana?

WE COULD GO ANYWHERE....ack! The decision sort of paralyzes my little Libra brain.

So what do you think, peeps? My favorite thing in the world is to research potential vacation destinations. Where do you think I should start looking?

Weekend: At A Glance

I think this weekend at The Cabin can be summed up best in a few pictures.

Good Food:



Good Drinks:



Good Friends:







Good Times:









Oh and by the way...



You all know how much I (don't) love Ed Hardy, and Sarah was kind enough to grab me a cup to drink out of all weekend.

Such insightful advice, Ed Hardy. hahahahahahaha

Summer Reading List

Heading to The Treehouse for a weekend of reading and relaxing. I've got a ton of magazines in tow and of course a few choice selections from my stack of Summer Reading books.

Best Food Writing 2008 by Holly Hughes
Things I Learned About My Dad (In Therapy) by Heather Armstrong
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Testimony by Anita Shreve
The Likeness by Tana French
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberger

Can't wait for the relaxing to begin!

The Surreal Life

So I'm currently sitting in a terminal in LAX across from Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia from Heroes. (And for the record, they are not doing that weird man embrace like in the picture, but strangely enough they are wearing suits.)

I'm amused that I can be in an airport and yet also blogging about this as I keep making sporadic eye contact with them (You know, in between all the text messages that I'm sending EVERYONE I KNOW WHO MIGHT THINK IT'S INTERESTING). It's so cyber-meta. Ah, technology! So wonderful! So creepy!

I actually would not have even noticed them at all because they are rather diminutive figures, which in my experience is always the way it is with celebs, but as I was making my way up to the LAX Security Line there were a ton of paparazzi stalking away with all of their flashbulbs. It wasn't even a huge group but I thought to myself gee, that must get so old. Can you imagine? One camera guy had even gone through security and gotten upstairs into to the carry-on scanning area (Great job, TSA). I wondered to myself if he had bought a ticket just to get up there and get a shot, or if he actually had a plane to catch and this was just a coincidence? What a bizarre lifestyle when you think about it. And one of the photogs was a girl just like me -- in her 30's, smartly dressed, looking like she just got off work at her office job.

LA is a surreal place sometime.

When I first walked into to the Southwest terminal it was like 90 degrees inside and of course I was juggling a suitcase, a giant purse, and a carryon and my sunglasses kept falling off my head and I really had to pee. It was starting to get so hot that I thought my face must be glowing, so I basically dropped everything, peeled off my jacket, and started to fan myself with my boarding pass (Operation Cool Down, by the way? TOTAL FAIL. Confidential to LAX: It's 79 degrees outside. The heat inside? It isn't doing anyone any favors). What I'm trying to tell you is that in that exact moment, I was so graceful and put together you could have called me Posh Fucking Spice. In fact, you should have called me that because I'm sure I also looked slightly anorexic, incredibly tan, and with perfectly coiffed hair (as usual).

So anyway, it occurred to me right then in that moment of absolute glamor, that I am so grateful that I have the luxury to be my giant mess of a self in anonymity. Did any of you catch that Britney Spears documentary (excuse me, "documentary") on MTV the other night? What a shitshow, right? Her photog situation is unreal! I feel sorry for those having to live under a microscope. I know everyone says "Bah! They're rich, that's what you sign up for." But honestly, is it worth it for millions of dollars to have your every move documented?

I'm gonna say no thanks. I mean, it never stops! If it's not the paparrazi being all flash-bulby and annoying, then it's some random Sacramento girl blogging about how you are wearing a suit while eating McDonald's french fries-- LIKE IT IS ACTUALLY NEWSWORTHY -- all while she stares at you coyly across an airline terminal secretly wanting to know if Hayden Panettiere is as stumpy and weird looking in real life?

Surreal, I say. Surreal.

Overstimulated much?

I'm generally not a huge fan of travelling for work. When I was younger I loved it -- the glamour of driving a rental car (ha!), having a whole hotel room to myself, a new town to explore, and no one to answer to.

Though I'm now happily attached to my daily routines and don't find travelling quite as glamorous as I once did, I still thoroughly enjoy having a whole hotel room to myself in which to indulge.

Exhibit A:

I'm blogging right now under the covers of my King Size bed as I listen to my favorite crafting podcast, watching Showbiz Tonight in the background on Mute on this ginormous flat screen TV, nibbling on some tasty munchies from Bristol Farms while reading bits and pieces of a fun new book in between it all.

Who says you can't get a million things done while curling up under the sheets?

Now If You Will Excuse Me, I'm Going to Roll Myself to Bed

I'm in LA until Friday for work, and as such I scheduled in a quickie visit with my old roommate Fredo who lives out in Hollywood. As my plane was touching down at LAX I got a text that said "Making rezzies at restaurant in Beverly Hills for tonight" and as soon as I got over my initial "I have nothing to wear" anxiety, I thought we might actually have a damn good time. Fredo is one of my favorite people from back when I lived in Los Angeles and whenever we get together hilarity ALWAYS ensues. And to no one's surprise we had such a fun time!

Can I tell you how fun?

Actually, you know, now that I think about it, I think that only a list will do this evening justice. So without further ado, please enjoy:

The list of things that (I swear only) two of us consumed at the restaurant Crustacean this evening:

Lemon, Grapefruit and Rosemary Martinis
Extra Dirty Martini
Lavendar Cosmopolitan
Iron Horse Chardonnay
Lobster Lollipops
Salt and Pepper Calamari
Yellowtail Sashimi
Garlic Noodles
Chilean Sea Bass
Porcini Crusted Chicken in Black Truffle Peppercorn Sauce
Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream
Coconut Cake

I did a rough calculation and I am pretty sure that tonight's dinner contained oh, about ninety bajillion calories, which you know, is no big deal since it's the holidays and I'm really keeping it light this time of year (Right).

I think that translates to like THE REST OF MY GOD GIVEN LIFE on the StairMaster.

But, damn, it was all so good it might have been worth it!

To My Disapointment, Christopher Cross Did Not Make An Appearance

So I realized I never told you all how sailing was -- and I'm delighted to report that it was TOTALLY AWESOME!



On the ride down, all the girls in my department were just goofing around and having fun (I love these ladies -- they make my job fun!)


When we got there the weather was absolutely perfect -- sunny skies, a light breeze, and calm water.



I crossed my fingers, climbed aboard, and prayed that the Bonine would work it's magic...and it did! I was happy as a clam all day, and didn't feel seasick even once!



We hit a few waves in passing other boats, but we took them all in stride...nothing scary about it -- just like ridin' a rollercoaster!



We had some sandwiches around lunchtime which were delicious and it was so peaceful on the water -- although when you are on a sailboat using both hands for your sandwich, you have to come up with a creative way for holding your drink.



Thank god for lifejackets! Though not fashionable at all -- they save lives! and hold iced tea!

Overall we had so much fun. My coworker Ellen and I took over the front of the boat for a while and the view was FANTASTIC! I got so comfortable up there I almost wanted to do a swashbuckling pirate jig when other boats passed by. (Oh, fear not, I realized that this was a professional excursion for my job and refrained from any and all pirate antics! But I was tempted, let me tell you...)



Unfortunately, being the Forgetful Fran that I am, I forgot to charge my camera battery the night before (oops!)and it died right as we got close to the Golden Gate Bridge (naturally). This was best picture I took, but it was so much more beautiful in real life!



If you ever have the chance to take a sail out on the bay I would HIGHLY recommend it. I had so much more fun than I thought I would (which I'm sure had ALOT to do with the weather) and the company was fantastic...way better than a day at work, we all agreed.



And if nothing else, I got to snap this picture -- which I found amusing because it was in a stall in the Men's Public Bathroom!?!?!



Why was I in the Men's Public Restroom at the Marina, you ask? Well Shiver Me Timbers, If I told you, I'd have to send you down to Davy Jones Locker!

Argh!

Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous!

Is their really anything better than family?

Garrett and I spent the long weekend down in Monterey visiting my cousin Sara and her boyfriend Paul; however, we were also joined by my cousin Jim, his girlfriend Gina, my cousin Jeff and one of his friends. I want to tell you about all the crazy things we did (including dancing to Hulk Hogan Anthems, watching Jem videos on You Tube, re-enacting Hall & Oats performances) but seriously, I spent 99.9% of the time trying NOT to spit my beverage out of my mouth or pee my pants from laughing so hard!

Is it any wonder I'm exhausted?


Jim and Paul during quieter and calmer times

We headed down Thursday after work and I swear when I got to Castroville I could just SMELL the ocean! The climate was so insanely different than the ridiculous heat up here in Sacramento and I was totally jazzed. Friday morning Jim and Gina joined us:

Jim and Gina getting in some quality lounge time

And Jeff followed shortly thereafter. We BBQ'd some hotlinks, enjoyed some adult beverages, lounged, watched the Giants game, and generally enjoyed each other's company. I discovered that Bud Light Lime isn't even as disgusting as I had previously thought, and that shots of Bourbon are eerily similar to drinking A BLOW TORCH! I would not recommend this to others. Then it was time to head out for fireworks in downtown Monterey and do you know what the best part about the fireworks were? That I got to wear this:

That's right! I had to wear a scarf, folks! So that I wouldn't freeze my ass off and I LOVED IT! Ok technically it was a pashmina that Sara has been using as decoration in her guest bedroom, but Tim Gunn would be proud 'cuz I think I Made it Work!

But even better than my newfound love of Bud Light Lime, or that my Winterwear was not at all out of place, I think hands down the best part of the fireworks was this:


I mean seriously? How can that not make you feel like you live in the best country ever!?!

Afterwards we headed to a couple of bars in downtown Monterey. A friend of Jim's was having a cd release party for their band Yell or Trolley so we caught their show.


All in all -- a FABULOUS Fourth of July! I Hope yours was equally exciting!