sleepy hollow

 when i found out we were going on our sunny l.a trip in october, a small part of me was hesitant. october in ohio is the most beautiful and i didn't want to miss even a week of the leaves changing or jacket and scarf weather or picking more pumpkins (i do not need to pick anymore pumpkins. i might have a problem.)

 the irony is that the weather in l.a ended up being on the chilly side and on our last day in town, kate and her husband isaac took us to the most amazing apple orchard outside of the city. it was tucked between mountains and was bursting with pumpkins and apples and hayriding and animals. 

(we learned, quite graphically, a bit of the birds and the bees from a large gal horse and a small boy donkey. it was shocking. there was some screaming going on. and i think it's safe to say everyone witnessing it was altered in some small, gross way)

that aside, the farm made me feel right at home. 

we stayed for dinner in the barn, where they had a family bluegrass band playing and put on a production of "sleepy hollow". there was warm apple cider and pumpkin seed spitting and square dancing. and i instantly became the most homesick i had been all trip.

it was the perfect way to end our getaway...with a little taste of home. 

california-part 2 huntington botanicals

we all agreed that the gardens at the huntington would be the most ideal place for a blanket, a book, and a snack. it was definitely a place i wished i could have packed away and taken home with me. we only planned on stopping in for a bit but ended up staying half the day...walking through the gardens, sitting under shade trees, laying in the grass.

and now that i'm home, i've got my memories of the sun and the gardens there stowed away to save for a cold and snowy ohio day.

california-part 1

before amy had her birthday this past june, she made a list of things she wanted to do after she turned 30...things to help make her look forward to a year most people dread. on the list was a girl's trip away somewhere, even if only for a weekend. and so her sweet husband nate gave her a plane ticket tucked away in a vintage suitcase for her birthday present. a whole week away with me and our friend beth on the other side of the country to visit old friends and warm sunshine.

this trip was about celebrating our girl...spreading our wings...seeing new sights...and being together.

i've had since june to prepare myself for the flight. i've always had these silly romantic ideas about the airport and flying on airplanes. when matt and i first became friends, he used to take me to the airport for coffee and people watching. it's always fascinated me....how everyone at the airport seems to move with such a purpose. but i never once got to see past security. getting to go beyond it this past week was a bit of an odd dream...it was like a secret world opened up! restaurants and bookstores and hustling and bustling.
who knew?! (all of you, that's who...haha...this gal is behind the times for real)

anyways, i hope i always get a little bit excited about these sorts of things.

once we landed in los angeles it was all palm trees and breathing in different air....amazing mexican food for dinner and late night girl talks. it was so good getting to stay with sarah and kate! they are the sweetest, most talented, ohio girls (sisters even) who have made such good lives for themselves in los angeles. they are true californians now. we stayed with sarah the first part of the week and spent the rest in los feliz with kate and her husband. for the most part we laid low...the name of the game was to relax. 

we strolled the santa monica pier, took a drive through malibu, shopped and museumed, ate amazing food, bought records at ameba music, saw moby at cafe graditude! (our lone celebrity siting), spent the day in pasadena, hiked canyons, and took in all sorts of tourity sites and old hollywood whatnots.

i think my favorite part of los angeles is her ethnic centers...places like olvera street and little tokyo. (we heard a street karaoke rendition of "the phantom of the opera" by two men while in little tokyo that forever sealed the deal for me and that part of town.) 

but really it might be unfair of me to choose. the whole city, and all of what i got to take in of southern california, i'm completely smitten with.

it was such an amazing trip! getting to be with beautiful friends (old and new), my amazing sister, and getting to flex a bit of independence in a wonderful city. we just might have to do it again for my 30th.

tomorrow i'll have pictures from the huntington gardens in pasadena! it was too beautiful to not get its very own post.

p.s. i have more pictures of our trip up on my facebook! go take a peak!

sunkissed

we made it home safely from our week away! california and los angeles did not disappoint one bit...a girl could get used to such sun!

i have lots and lots of pictures and stories to sort through...much more tomorrow hopefully! and it's back to regular blogging for me this week! i can't wait to catch up on what everyone has been up to.

i blow an ohio goodnight kiss to you, california.
 you were real swell.

 

california- joni mitchell