Happy Campers

I can personally attest that I am not the most outdoorsy person in the world.  As a kid, I went camping pretty often but camping in Texas is far from fun when you factor in the heat, humidity, and man eating insects.  After camping or "glamping" as my friends who have voluntarily put themselves in Man vs Wild situations call it, I have a new found appreciation for nature. Yay for:  fresh air, hiking, campfire, smores, and playing in the sparking blue Tahoe waters, but what I really LOVED most was being able to unplug from the rest of the world even for just a few days. No email, no phone, no facebook.  Sooo refreshing and exactly what I needed.  I think another camping trip is in my future.

Fourth and Family

I spent the holiday weekend with my mom's side of the family in Southern California.   Family time has been a rarity over the years.  With everyone's crazy work schedules and living situations, it's tough to get us all in one place.  This time we managed to get 9 out of 12 cousins, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, and 8 dogs together.  That is a lot of estrogen and canine.

There's really something special about being with your family.  You can let your guard down and just be you.  Seriously, like the day when you wake up and realize you only have two cents to your name, they're all you've got... and really all you need.

Photos above taken in Los Angeles, CA
Bottega Louie
The Bradbury Building (as seen in 500 Days of Summer)
The Getty 

Don't Mess with Texas

What can I say... our trip was short but definitely sweet. One thing my friends learned is that everything is always BIGGER in Texas, including our waistlines which expanded exponentially over the course of a weekend. We ate and did as much as we could, but didn't have enough time to do everything. What a perfect excuse to come back again next year right?

Authentic Texas Backyard BBQ @ Rudy's

Don't mss with Texas yo

want bread? They'll give you a loaf


Trudy's Mexican Margaritas- This is enough to make you all kinds of loco



@ Trudy's

The injured travelers.


cupcakes from an airstream trailer @ Hey Cupcake

Yummy Amy's Ice Cream

Jo's coffee will make you feel like a cool hipster

This mom was super chic- pushing a stroller dressed to kill


Marco and Mabel happy finishers!

Kjersti and Greg ran together the whole way =) that's love!

The injured with all the champs


Real Southern Cooking @ Hoover's with Chef Hoover himself. What a sweetheart.

This is what I'm talking about. I can feel my arteries clogging and heart swelling with love.

Vacation from a Vacation

Week 3 of mission Getbettersoon is approaching and my unintentional vacation is becoming well, kinda boring. As much as I love the boob tube, I quickly discovered that you can only watch so much reality t.v. before you officially fry every intelligent brain cell left in your head. The only thing I really enjoy about being confined to the house is having my dogs snuggled next to me all day long. These furry love muffins are the best medicine I could ever ask for.

Tomorrow I get a nice break from all the resting and am heading Austin, Texas, one of my favorite cities ever where I spent a good part of my college hay days running around till the wee hours of the night painting the town red. I'm stoked to be able to show my friends around one of the greatest cities ever. After all my bragging, I hope I don't let them down. Lots of picture sharing to come. Have a good weekend ya'll.

Tahoe on my mind

Right before the holidays I made a short but sweet getaway to Tahoe with my girlfriends Nathalie, Mabel, and Karla. Fast forward a month later and I'll be back on the Tahoe slopes this weekend. I just couldn't stay away. There's just too much good stuff to be had, and not to mention, i'm kinda tired of this little thing called work. Work hard, play hard right?

Hope you all have a spectacular holiday weekend =) Stay warm!

City by the Sea

all the yummy sweet stuff

a little vino never hurt anyone =)

the bustling cannery row

ran into a classic car show- 1960's porsche

depression era house in a recession

this reminds me of the beach boys song "surfin USA"

soaking up the sun

eagerly waiting for a yummy brunch @ From Scratch (foodie post on little crumbs of sunshine to come)

The best thing about living in the Bay, is the ability to escape to beautiful places close to home that make you feel like you're on a vacation far far away. This weekend, Carmel was the place to be. This quaint, sleepy, town that promptly shuts down at 6pm was the perfect place to relax, get some fresh air, and of course eat some good food. I'm a city girl through and through, but even crazy city girls like me can use a breather now and then. Beautiful way to spend a weekend =)