Texas Bluebonnets

Greetings!  Just a once-in-a-blue-moon update from bluebonnet scouting in April in North Texas.

Enjoy!

To my California friends

I am missing California like crazy this weekend! I miss the beach so much I can almost taste it. And so many other wonderful things that I like to think I didn’t take for granted, but halfway across the country, all seem so much better than anything there is to do here right now. 

 California friends, please, for me, squeeze all of the goodness you can out of summer. 

Go to the beach (and try new ones!) as often as you can–even on non-sweltering days. 

Hit the National Parks, especially Yosemite, and wander around the beautiful sites. 

Go to museums and outdoor movies and outdoor concerts. 

Bask in the glorious weather–even that super hot one-week-per-summer that LA gets (above 90°) and everyone complains and hates it, and a week later, it’s back in the 70s and breezy again. 
Hike anywhere you can–mountains, canyons, Runyon, whatever. All we have here are hills or lakes to walk around, and it is not the same. And did I mention it’s always 100°+?

Roadtrip anywhere–up the coast, down the coast. Find somewhere new to spend a weekend. Try new restaurants and bars and coffee shops and locals’ spots. 

Go camping. I miss camping on the beach in Malibu so much right now. Just a small strip of sand–but all the way down to the water–and a fire ring, and a picnic table, and cooking over fire and making smores and looking for constellations and setting up the tent as close to the high tide line as we dared and waking up to seabirds and waves. 

Eat all the good things.  Enough said. 

And finally, just generally embrace that you live in a crazy, expensive, crowded, wonderful, beautiful place literally surrounded by wonderful things to do. 

Please, for me, go out and do them. 

I’m still alive…

… and we’re leaving LA. Here’s a long exposure we took in Yosemite last weekend.

Putting that new camera to work!  It may take a while to load.  It’s a big file.

More coming someday….

Boozy Summer Recipe: The Easiest Piña Colada

Hello readers, assuming y’all still exist.  We’ll ignore, for the moment, that I haven’t blogged in like, a year.  I haven’t died.  I’ve just been busy.  And my iPhoto hated me.  And this Photos program and I are still working it out.  Insert more excuses here.  

Because everything’s better with sausage: Ryan’s Thanksgiving stuffing “recipe”

I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving as we had.  It was the least stressful I’ve experienced since moving here.  We celebrated with my Grandma (whose birthday is today) and my uncle.  Unfortunately, my uncle’s boyfriend was sick and couldn’t come, so we were down one, but as far as family gatherings go, it went really well.  

I made it to the Saturday before Thanksgiving this year…

Gorgeous pops of orange at my bus stop

…before caving to all the Christmas decorations going up in stores and Christmas sales and panettone populating the grocery stores.  That’s right.  I’m about to put up our tree.  I almost made it to Thanksgiving, which is Ryan’s general “rule” (I’d put our tree up after Halloween if it wasn’t generally considered crazy, plus I’d probably get tired of it by Christmas).  

A day off!

Today I had an accidental-planned day off.  Yes, mid-week.  Which NEVER happens, except on the ultra-rare (too many hyphens, sorry) Monday off from the law firm when I’m not recruited by Grandma for a day of chores/errands/laundry/cleaning/miscellany.  How did this happen, you ask?

Catching up: Spring and Snackies

One of many gorgeous beach sunsets

I feel like I am forever playing catch up.  But I also love looking through pictures after the fact.  I take so many pictures all of the time that I never get to slow down and look through and really appreciate the images I have.

These shots are some of my standouts from the month of March.  Spring in southern California is so overwhelmingly beautiful.

It’s Mother’s Day, yo

It’s Mother’s Day today (or it is for another hour or so on the west coast), and social media and the internets have been chock full of the obligatory “I have the best mother ever” posts.  And I have no doubt these folks have awesome mothers.  Hooray, mothers!  I do not contest their awesomeness, but rather, present my own mum as a kickass mother.

Stomach Viruses and Beach Camping : Valentine’s Day 2014

Valentine’s Card from my lovely friend Lisa

Ryan and I had a bit of a roller coaster ride in early February.  We had decided to go beach camping for Valentine’s Day, and then, less than 2 weeks before hand, I came down with a crazy stomach virus.