Last weekend my friend Hillary and I met our friend Caroline in Venice for lunch (at my favorite restaurant, Lemonade) and decided to finally seek out the Venice canals. Since moving to LA, I’ve wanted to see the canals, but I don’t come to Venice very often and thus it’s taken me 2 1/2 years to finally visit the canals.
Our first stop, or course, was food! We dined at one of my favorite restaurants, Lemonade. There are several locations throughout Southern California, but we ate at the one on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice. Lemonade is set-up buffet style, in a way, in which you pick out sides, sandwiches, soups, meats and/or dessert and you can either dine in our take to go. Lemonade is described on their website as “seasonal Southern California comfort food” which is a pretty good description. My favorite is their chicken chili! And the reasons I love Lemonade are all the healthy options AND its affordable! Win! Obviously they also offer delicious and unique lemonades to drink, such as Blueberry Mint, Pineapple Coriander, Passion Fruit Pepper or my favorite, Blood-Orange. If you are feeling less adventurous they also offer classic old-fashioned lemonade.
Once called the Riviera of America, Malibu is a beautiful coastal city that consists of a 21-mile strip of winding Pacific coastline. Malibu provides a unique scene to California because it is approximately the location where the coastal landscape changes from wide open beaches to more rocky terrain and also where the beach climate significantly cools. A historic landmark of this idyllic California beach town is the Malibu Pier, which I had the opportunity to revisit last weekend. And a storm was rolling in when I visited the pier so the clouds provided an amazing view!
For those who prefer pictures over words, then this is the post for you! I spent a few days in NYC around New Years to visit my best friend Kat and had an amazing trip! Since most of my time in New York was spent walking and visiting various landmarks, it seems fitting for this post to be more of a photo gallery than my normal paragraph + accompanying photo(s) format. (Psst, or maybe I’m just feeling lazy this week and I don’t want to write as much haha.) Regardless of the reason, the following pictures will showcase chronologically my vacation in NYC! Enjoy!
Santa Barbara = one of my favorite cities in California. I’m lucky to have a good friend, Gina (who I’ve known since the 2nd grade), living in the Santa Barbara area while attending grad school at UCSB. And so I get to simultaneously visit my friend and a favorite city a few times a year! A pretty good deal :). Of the numerous times I’ve traveled to Santa Barbara in my 2 1/2 years in California, I had never visited the Santa Barbara Mission. So before Christmas, Gina and I checked that off my list of things to do in SB.
My favorite part about the Santa Barbara Mission (aka Mission Santa Barbara) was feeling like I was transported to Spain. Though I’ve never actually visited Spain, the Mission had a definite European vibe. It was established in 1786 by the Franciscans and is the only mission still under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars since its founding.
Many of you who grew up in St. Joseph, MO have probably heard of, and maybe even visited, Felix’s Grave in the 70s and 80s when it was a popular teenage hang out. Well ever since my mom first told me about Felix’s Grave and all the spooky stories and legends surrounding the sight I have wanted to visit! Finally this past weekend I got to go! My family and our good friends the Diaz’s took a trip to Felix’s Grave late afternoon on Saturday.
We drove to the North End of St. Joe and turned onto Huntoon Road after passing over I-229. There’s a parking area for Sun Bridge Conservation Area off Huntoon Road and this is where it all begins. Mom and dad have never visited Felix’s Grave during the day, so this was a new experience for them. It’s less spooky in the daylight yet the quietness of the deserted forested area maintains that creepy charade. After passing through the first gate, it’s about a 1/4 of a mile walk until you reach a second gate. Then another 1/4 of a mile walk until you reach the rusted and deteriorating gates of the long abandoned cemetery. There’s about 10 headstones left at “Felix’s Grave” and most have fallen off or been pushed off their bases. They lay across the ground with weeds threatening to overcome them like tossed away rubbish.
[Check out my podcast episode all about Felix’s Grave!]
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cJXEYyq2UwkOXyjswQCP9?si=dxi2yk-CSgGTDszgNZR7ig
A couple Sundays ago my friends Andrew, Sara and I drove to Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, CA for their annual Fall Harvest Festival. It was a beautiful 45 min drive northeast of Los Angeles through the Rocky Peak Park mountains in Simi Valley. It’s always nice to get out of the busy city for a day.
Welcome to the West Bottoms in October!
Last weekend I made a crazy 30 hour trip to Kansas City to surprise my best friend Laura at her baby shower. It was so fun to surprise her and totally worth the back-to-back flying days to see her! In my very short time in KC, I managed to fit a lot of activities into my schedule. One of those being a visit to Kansas City’s nationally known haunted houses in the West Bottoms.
Hola, Avocado Festival!
This past weekend my gal pals and I took a mini road trip up the Californian coast to Carpenteria. Carpenteria is a charming beachside town located just south of Santa Barbara, and is home to California’s annual Avocado Festival. This year is the Avofest’s 26th year, and it’s the largest free street festival in California occurring every first full weekend in October.
Welcome to Laguna Beach, CA!
A few weekends ago my lovely friends, Andrew and Sara (newlyweds – woohoo!), invited me to join them on a day trip to Laguna Beach, CA. It’s a good drive from the Los Angeles area, especially since we live in the north eastern parts, but on a Sunday morning it’s a nice and easy drive.
Exploring Southern California!
A couple weekends ago my friend Gina came down from Santa Barbara to visit. When I was in Fort Worth last month, our tour guide at the Ball-Eddleman-McFarland house mentioned that California’s apple orchards are great to visit. So I brought the idea up to Gina and she was game for going! Sweet action!
After using The Google to research apple orchards in Southern California, one of the best reviewed ones I found was Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen, CA. There are a ton of orchards in this area of California, but Riley’s Farm was one of the few that included almost year round fruit picking (not just apples). And though this time of year is not apple season, it is great for rasberries, blackberries, and strawberries! Once we made the one and a half hour trek east of Los Angeles, Gina and I arrived at the winding gravel road of Riley’s Farm tucked at the base of mountains. It immediately gives off this charming rustic vibe and I knew we had found a great place to spend the afternoon.
Wherever Life Takes Me 