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Laguna Beach, a Tour of this Quaint Li'l Town

 
There are many reasons why I love to go to Laguna Beach, this little artist community in Southern California. The architecture of the shops and restaurants pulls at my heart strings.  There is quite a few Tudor Cottage Style buildings as well as Spanish architecture, it's eye candy for the home décor stalker like me.

I mean look at that brick work!!  Artistry and creativity....and a whole lot of patience put that together.

So many of the shops have a unique brick pattern on the façade.

There is a lot of brickwork, even if it is not all fancy there are other elements in the nooks and crannies of Laguna to feast your eyes upon.

This is looking back at the opening of this little hallway.

I loved these doors in this building that was built in 1934. 

So very charming, eh?

This was the staircase over the little shop in the above picture.

It smelt so good as we walked by the Chocolate Store and a Ice Cream Store, the waffle cones smelled heavenly.  I'm sure this kids could attest as they devour their ice cream.

There are so many great restaurants to choose from when dying in Laguna.  The Watermarc is a famous one even though we didn't eat there we went to a little place over looking the water a favorite of our friend who treated us to lunch at The Cliff.

 

I had the Ahi with a glass of wine...I love a good Ahi sandwich and chocolate cake for dessert.

We did a little bit of shopping.  I would love to have this vintage bathtub in my garden.

Now, look at this Seashell outfit...man.....oh man I'd love to have that as a décor piece in my home...

So unique and beautiful for the Beach Lover.  Yes, Laguna is know for the artsy fartsy types and for the yearly Sawdust Festival.  You can pick up some neat artwork for your home.  I usually head into Tuvalu when I'm there.

It's rather expensive but I love to see all the beach style décor and I really, really liked this nautical lamp.  I'm not in the market for one but if I was this would be on my wish list.

This cute little café with the vintage bathing suits was in the Tommy Bahama store where I did mange to pick up some flip flops in coral with a seashell on it. 

My 2017 summer flip flops.  I don't think you can ever have to many of them.  My go to shoe in the summertime. 

Now like I said at the beginning of my post there is also quite a few buildings that are done with a Spanish flair.  In fact most of California has the mission influence in it's architecture. 

Beautiful white adobe buildings with red tile roofs and black wrought iron railings can be seen all over little towns in Southern California including Laguna Beach.  Yep the Spanish influence is strong all over.  Now it was this garden that really caught my eye.  Look at all the California Native species planted in this courtyard.

 

If you ever come to Southern California and visit this darlin' little town, you need to meander of the beaten path there are lots of little jewels in the nooks and crannies, a try feast for the eyes.   Hope you are having a wonderful summer so far, because I know it won't be long until going back to school will be here.  Enjoy! 

 

Have you ever been BOOed?

No no, not that kind of booing where the audience boos you for a bad stage performance.  This is the good kind of BOOing were you give or get treats..that kind of  BOOing. I'll tell you how...right now.

Well it has been around for about 20 years according to this BEEN BOOed website  and there are so many versions of it, office BOOing, neighborhood BOOing and school BOOing.  The school I work at has been BOOing for the last several years now.  One teacher starts it and leaves a bag or a bucket of treats for a class at the school and maybe a little something for the teacher too {wine is always nice, Oh I didn't just say that} by the door. They put the "We've Been BOOed" sign out by their door and they in turn find another classroom who has not been BOOed by seeing if they have the sign out or not.  It's also very popular in neighborhoods across the country and I'll share a couple of versions with you if you want to start this fun Halloween tradition in your neighborhood.  This poem is probably one of the originals where I found at the above website which had quite a bit of info on the subject of BOOing. A ghost or phantom usually accompanies the Boo Bucket and that's where the whole "booing" thing came from. Here is the poem but their are lots of other versions floating around the internet.

                                                              Here to Download this version

You are supposed to put together a few treats in a container of your choice; a bucket, a seasonal decorated bag anything that will add to the spirit of Halloween and contain all your treats you've made or bought.  I've seen cones you can hang on  doorknobs, I've seen decorated boxes, anything that will hold some goodies will do.  There is also an adult beverage version, where you drop off a bottle of alcohol or wine, NOW that's right up my alley.  Then the sign says "We've been BOOZED"...Haha!!  World Market and Trader Joe's have so many Halloween themed labeled wines you'd have a great selection to choose from to do the "We've been BOOZEd version here. But out of all the printables out there this BOO printable for my neighbors was just perfect.  It had the cutest graphics of Frankie and the li'l red haired witch and I really liked all the detail that when into it, perfect for a family with small children.

 I have some "littles" who live across the street that I  have gotten to know quite well and they are also fellow teachers too.  I've written about them on my blog several times. Once when I gave them a "Welcome to the Neighborhood Gift" and several birthday parties that our family have been invited to. Recently, I shared the Country Living's Blue Truck Pumpkin I carved for them for their son's birthday in September on my Instagram.  It came out really cute and I love looking out my kitchen window seeing it on their porch as I do the dishes.  That's WIN WIN in my book!

Their children LOVE to read books and this little Apples and Pumpkins book by Anne Rockwell is one of my favorites to read to small children, I read it every year to the students at school.  I have quite the collection of Halloween books, my newest one is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.  Yes, I have a thing for Witches, some people Mackenzie who will remain nameless feel that my Witch obsession is becoming disturbing. Humph...I say to that!

Did I tell you how cute this  little "We've Been BOOed" Free Printable is?  Oh I did, I found it on Pinterest but go here if you want more of a selection to choose from.   Pinterest is loaded with great ideas, there are now "We've Been Elfed" and "We've Been Pinched" for St. Patrick's Day and a "We've Been Egged" for Easter.    Anyways...this FREE printable was perfect for my need especially since it matched the Frankie cookie I found at Homegoods. Next time I think I'd like to make some homemade sugar cookies for the BOO baskets instead of store bought.  I saw this cute Owl Sugar Cookie I've been wanting to bake and decorate.

Here is the breakdown of items I used to put together for the "We've Been BOOed" Jack O'Lantern Bucket.....

I had this Jack O'Lantern bucket already from the last time we got BOOed in our old neighborhood and it fit all of our chosen treats perfectly, so free is always good. 

The Apples and Pumpkins book I found at the my local bookstore, since they are 2 and 3 this cardboard version is very sturdy for little hands.

The sugar cookie Frankenstein and Jack O'Lanterns I got at Homegoods.  Like I said, I'll have to make my own sugar cookies next year or take on another BOO recipient in the "hood" in the next couple of weeks. Halloween is just two weeks away! But isn't Frankie cute?  Oh how I love his sweet face.  One year my eldest daughter was The Bride of Frankenstein, it was homemade costume and was one of my favorite costumes to date...I think she should do it again this year, her boyfriend is 6'5", he would make a great Frankenstein, it would make a great couple costume in my opinion but they never ask for my opinion.

The Glow in the Dark Saucer Flyer, the Vampire Gummies, and the Dia De Los Muertos measuring spoons { a li'l something for the cook in the house} I got at Cost Plus World Market.  They have a great selection of Halloween treats and décor, my go to store for all seasonal items. 

Don't you want to start this tradition in your neighborhood or school or even your office, it brings out the kid in all of us.  It can fit any budget or your creativity as you see fit.   Just make sure you ring the doorbell and leave your li'l surprise and run like a Bat out of Hell!!  Happy BOOing everyone!!  BWWWHAAAAA!!!!

 

Concrete Hands with Planted Succulents

 

I shared in my last post about the Concrete Hand Planters we made for a Celebration of Life event.  It was a joint effort between 2 of my girlfriends.  We needed to make about 20 of them for the tables so as the old saying goes, "Many hands make light work."  They all came out unique in their own way, no two were exactly the same.

We used a variety of mosses and succulents to achieve their unique look.  So how did we make them, would you like to know? We first saw the video on Nifty on Facebook and decided succulents with shells would be the best representation of Brandon, whose life we were celebrating on this day.  He was a lover of nature and all things to do with the Ocean, succulents and shells say Beach to me so we went to work.

This is my BFF Mary Jo since high school, we are sometimes like an old married couple.  Ha!  Anyways she is mixing a combination of quick-set cement and regular cement with water.  The regular cement takes 24 hours to harden so we went with the combo, we didn't have that kind of time. We used medium strength gloves, you can get at Home Depot and filled them with the cement mixture and milked the cement in the fingers as well as tapping the air out of them, we didn't want air bubbles. This was the most tedious process. 

This is Monica, I've known her since Kindergarten.  She was filling the gloves with the cement mixture and after she milked the cement into the fingers and tapped out the air bubbles she then tied them at the bottom with twisty ties.  She then formed the gloves into a small bowl for the one hand or if they are two hands into a bigger bowl as she separated and shaped the fingers into the correct shape. They took about 2 hours to harden, you can feel them they are warm to the touch but once they are cool they are good to go.  We cut and pulled the gloves off and this is what they look like.

As you can see its very smooth and you can see the glove indentations where so we "muddy" them up by adding some cement on the edges, you don't see the inside when the plants are in them so no need to add it to that part.

See how rough for  they look now?  Now for the fun part!  As you can see we used a variety of materials such as different colored and textured mosses and succulents.

You fill the bottom with rocks for drainage otherwise they get root rot. 

You then start filling the hand in with the succulents, I like to put the longer taller ones in towards the back and the ones that trail such as String of Pearls off to the side.  I wanted them to have different shapes and textures that's how I chose the succulents, some tall, some spikey some short and squatty.  Ours were on sale at Home Depot , $12.00 for 3 five gallon buckets but I also put in some of the Echeveria because I like how they remind me of roses. 

Here is a little chart of some of them, so many different varieties, I really like Helveticum, it's common name of Hens and Chicks.  They are too cute to me.  Monica liked the spikey ones and Mary Jo liked the tall or trailing ones, we all had a different preference.

You fill in the empty spaces with Reindeer or Spanish moss and then you add a few shells here and there.  You could add rocks instead if you wanted or sand it all depended on what look you want.

Then you have a unique garden piece which requires minimal watering and looks great!  It took us about 2 days to make 20 of them.

So I would only take you a few hours to make one or two.  Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  You can go HERE  or HERE to my Pinterest Boards and you can see I see I may have a slight Succulent Fetish!!  I know..but they are too cute and it's something I can't kill!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrariums and Succulents, Faux and Real

Aren't these terrariums adorable?  I'm planning {or maybe teaching Madison how to make them}  to sit on her very high shelf in her new Boho Chic bedroom redo.  Now, I'm sure she doesn't want to get a ladder every time she needs to water them but guess what she won't have to, they are Faux Succulents!!  That's right peeps, faux.  That is a maintenance free terrarium. If you would like a NO maintanence option to add a little greenery and nature to your décor this is the way to go.  And it so happens if you live in or near Brea, California I'll be teaching you how to put them together this Saturday from 2-4 p.m at World Market.  So I hope you'll be able to join me in this class as I demonstrate how easy they are to put together you'll be so very happy you came.

In other succulent news...

I've created these concrete hands in conjunction with a few friends for some centerpieces for a Celebration of Life that took place on Wednesday for a dear friend's son who passed away, way too soon. He will be missed and leave a whole in everyone's hearts. He was a gentle spirt with a giving heart.

Here are the concrete hands that we made, filled with succulents and shells sitting on the tables.

 

 They all came out different with the different variety of succulents planted in them and depending on what filler you put in to help keep the soil moist.  We added seashells since he was a big lover of the beach and anything to do with nature.  I'm very pleased how they came out and will have a tutorial on the blog next week on how we put them together and tips and tricks we learned.  HERE is a great website that has a quite a bit of info on plants and a guide to succulent care, please check it out!

 

 

 

Laguna.....it Just Feels So Good

 

This is such a beautiful beach to go to and it's my daughter MacKenzie's favorite beach...

As evidenced by the amount of selfie's she takes down there with her friends, ahhhh to be independent, have your own car and 16! Boy do I remember those days, smile.

Yep, I've been doing the selfie thing a bit more...better watch out Kim Kardashian, there is a new selfie queen in town.

The water is the most perfect temperature this time of the year and so refreshing, it feels great on you skin, the warm sand on your toes.  Relaxing.

Even a couple of seals were super close to shore,  it was so adorable seeing their little heads bopping up and down in the surf all day.

Then they were lounging on the rocks taking a break from swimming and looking for lunch.

Even the cottontails were looking for lunch, they were the cutest, most adorable bunnies with their fluffy white tails.

Yep, might of been a relative of Peter's in the restaurants' garden searching for some Kale.

This quite doesn't look like Mr. McGreogors garden, however these little rabbits have the best view, don't they?

This is the entrance where the non-animals enter The Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.  Look at THAT color of the shingles, I wonder how they get this shade of shingle?  It's like a mottled, blueish-gray, the most perfect shade and so unique, I would be over the moon to paint my little Cottage on Cullen this color.

This cottage white paint on the pergolas and all the trim matches the blueish-gray shingles perfectly, very soothing and so coastal chic.  This resort if very expensive but your allowed to go down on the beach in front of it and that's what we do, we truck the long step stairs to the little cove.

This is the back side of the restaurant called, the Studio. 

 

Here is the front of the Studio Restaurant, I love all the foliage along the paths, to the left lots of fragrant lavender, colorful bougainvillea, lots of palms, and so many different types of succulents! The succulents are all blooming with flowers this time of the year so it's very colorful.

This day they were getting an altar set up near the restaurant and it looked like a bright and colorful wedding and indeed it was because as I was leaving I got caught in the middle of the groom's group as he was riding up on a white horse to meet his bride and they were all dressed in their Indian finery. So gorgeous and I couldn't help but join in a little bit with the Bollywood Dancing as the danced along the pathway.  {I have a video on my Facebook page}

What a beautiful place to get married, huh?  Very lucky I must say, $$$$

Yes, it does feel really good...that's me swimming in the sea....with the Seals and feeling the cool water on my hot skin. 

The Montage in Laguna is a favorite of ours..for snorkeling, swimming in the sea or just sitting back and watching the sunset with friends. 

 

 

 

Bring on Summer, Celebrating with Celebs and World Market!

So much has been going on since my last post of my daughters' Senior Prom , her 18th birthday, her high school graduation, but I was able to squeeze in a fabulous outdoor party hosted by World Market to Celebrate the Outdoors and usher in Summer!

The venue was this darling little 1920's Spanish Colonial where the party was located, steps away from Santa Monica Beach.  This little Spanish coloial has quite the history surrounding it, think John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe {the ron-de-vu villa} and it was once owned by Douglas Fairbanks but today it is owned by a family in Santa Barbara. You know I'm always interested in the history of homes and not only that I was a lucky girl to attend this World Market event with my long time and close friend, T. What could of been better than that? An old home with character and history, tasty food and drinks, designer celebs, T.V. personalities,  and sharing it with my girlfriend, my idea of a perfect day!

There was a little photo prop booth set up right on the beach, what a perfect back drop for pictures.

The weather was great and so was the company.

Yes the awesome designer Sabrina Soto from HGTV, oh my gosh, was she the sweetest thing, so pretty and down to earth.

The talented Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey fame, Lesley Nicol {you might of seen her on The Catch recently} What a doll she was! 

Not only I did I get to "hobnob" with T.V. celebs but Blogger Celebs too! 

Cori George from Let's Make Stuff blog and April Liewer from illistyle  were manning the Make Your Own Terrarium station.  So fun to do and mine came out great, perfect for my Cottage on Cullen.

Here is mine and it is now residing on my front porch and looking fabulous!

                                                                         {photo by Cori George}

Everyone got to create one and they could choose from 3 different types of terrarium bases and beachy materials, all unique in their own way.

The "party house" was styled inside and out by two AWESOME  designers, Justina Blakeney , from the blog The Jungalow and Anne Sage. 

Come on in, lets take a look at this fabulous Boho Chic home, these beautiful French doors lead out to the pool area and behind that is the Santa Monica beach.

This is just to the right, oh I could see myself sipping a glass of Sangria looking at the beautiful and tranquil Pacific Ocean.

This couch sits behind the chair and ottoman and this family room is opened up to the kitchen and optimized for social interaction and conversation.

Of course I loved all the white slipcovered sofas and chairs, very beachy with a splash of  boho chic. Even the dining room table was all decked out and decorated for summer. Let's go check it out, shall we?

                                                                  {photo by Michelle Stewart}

 
Michelle Stewart from the blog Michelle's Party Plan it did and awesome job styling the table, not only was the beach house décor calling my name so was all the yummy appetizers and desserts.

All this tastiness was from World Market and all sooo delish.  I had to sample quite a few of the desserts.  Would you just stop at one?

 

Loving the wood sailboat, the buoy, the hurricane holder wrapped in jute with a white candle nesting in sand all surrounding the rustic crate with a white ceramic octopus to stand guard over the bites.  Love it!

Look at this pool, the Spanish tile was so pretty!  I didn't want to go...but I suppose all good things must come to an end.

 

                                                                 {photo by Michael Kovac/ Getty Images}

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Decor 2015

This little top hat from Pier 1 inspired the Christmas décor this year.  I thought it was adorable and it made itself right at home on top of our Snowman themed Christmas tree this year.

I wrapped the gifts this year in a red, black and craft paper color scheme. 

 The craft colored gift wrap is your generic shipping roll and I picked up a couple of black and white striped ribbon at the Target dollar bins as well as the chalkboard gift wrap.  The washi tape was from Michaels that I had from the after Christmas sales last year and it came in handy this year while wrapping up the gifts.  I also picked up a couple of rolls of polka dotted paper in red and white and craft with white polka dots, I think it was from Homegoods or Target.  Lots of patterns were going on under the tree, with polka dots, stripes and chalkboard lettering.

I brought in my rusty old milk jug from the backyard to sit next to the fireplace and tied the upholstery webbing around it and added a bit of holly from the front yard to make it more festive.  The birch logs in the galvanized bucket got some little starry lights wrapped around them, the lights came from World Market.  The snowman on the mantel I've had forever and I changed out his scarf to go with the color theme.  The burlap stockings are hung up this year, I love how well made they are and they are very generous in size. Some red and cream candy canes are tucked in the metal bucket for a pop of color and pattern. The match the stripes on the min stocking I go from Roger's Gardens, I'm kind of regretting that I didn't buy more than just the one.  I love these Lanterns I picked up from Homegoods awhile ago, one of my favorite buys ever. The white twig wreath with the red berries that I tied with some soft linen ribbon from World Market.  

I used the linen ribbon to tie a bow on my galvanized carry-all,  some white votives in the ball jars and some sprigs of greenery, some real and some faux, looks cottagy or farmhousey.

Above my farmhouse table is my candelier that also gets changed out with the seasons, I wanted to put more fresh greenery on it too, but since I didn't want to burn down the Cottage on Cullen I went with the cream ornaments  instead and they added a bit of sparkle.  Yes the dining/living room was more sparkle then the family room. 

Sparkle and shine, the hutch was all done up with German glass glitter snowflakes and silvery mercury glass with pops of Robins Egg blue.  My blue and white glittered houses resided on the top shelf and a new addition to the décor is the Robin's Egg blue VW bus from Homegoods.

 I made the bottle brush tree and church snow globes a few years back as well as the white glittered house on the top shelf. 

The blue church ornaments inside the jars were from Target several years ago.  

This box house I made a long time ago as well and filled it with sweet treats, some years I have more time than others to get crafty with my gifts.

Because time was on short supply our neighborhood friends got a sweet treats of Peanut-butter balls and Sugar Cookies with Broguieres's Egg Nog, a local favorite and a must to get this time of the year, it is the BEST!  I loved these cute little plates I picked up at Homegoods {I hear we are getting a Homegoods a couple a blocks away from my house, oh yes} 

That good be a good thing or a very bad thing depending how you see it! These two pillows also came from there...yowza!  Alright Mr. Incredible would say it is a very bad thing.  For some more glow I added a lighted garland to the wire laundry basket. 

Here is our entryway...velveteen stockings filled with a variety of pine branches sticking out. 

I added a ball jar filled with some lights for some glow along with my abalone filled with turquoise mercury glass ornaments and a glittered Robin that stands guard.

 
This door picture frame I tied a tree mercury glass ornament to it's frame.  These turquoise ornaments came from Anthropology.  I can't believe I didn't step foot in that store this year!

 

Another little corner of the dining room got a little glittered white bottle brush tree from  Target with my little collection of Abalone shells.

The Dutch door got in the German glass glitter act too, this is an old Wendy Addison piece.   

 

The bathroom also got some holiday touches with a mini ironstone pitcher with a pine branch and a milk glass jar is filled with mini silver and cream ornaments. I don't usually decorate the bathroom but this was simple and easy.

 I had to share my little polka dotted towels I got as a Christmas gift from my neighbor in the last post, the one that had the "ONEderland Birthday Party for her twin girls. 

Out on the porch we have some white Poinsettias in the window boxes with a basket full of winter flowers from Trader Joes.

Can you see my little Snowman peeking out the window?  Ready to greet the New Year!  And that is how the li'l Cottage on Cullen got decorated for the Christmas season 2015!  We had a wonderful New Years celebrating a dear friends 40th Birthday...she had the most fabulous party.....

Lots of bling, bling, bling for my "Extra" friend.  Have you heard that term yet, I have teenagers so if you area girl who leaves a little bit of Sparkle wherever you go...your Extra! 

 
Happy Birthday Shar!!!  Loved her cake!!!  It was as beautiful as my friend is!  Happy New Year Everyone!!

 

About 10 Miles from Avalon....is White's Landing

 

Years ago I was a camp counselor in White's Landing on Catalina Island, off the coast of California. I describe that summer as "THE BEST SUMMER OF MY LIFE".  I was 19 years old and my adult life was just beginning. 

 
It was a CRAZY summer and so much fun!  I met so many wonderful people and so many memories that I cherish to this day.  We "camped" for about two months in those canvas tents in the picture above and we taught our campers many things as they came to experience Camp White's Landing, which was a Girl Scout Camp at the time.  We taught them to windsurf, sail a boat, canoe, snorkel, and we hiked many trails around the camp.  We taught them the Girl Scout way of doing things, we sung many songs around the campfire and many s'mores were eaten around those fires. I can still hear the strumming of the guitar of the musically inclined counselors. We could identify the constellations in the sky, the stars were plentiful to see in the night sky they did not have to compete with the city lights. 

 
We would get a day off, once in while and we would take the Boston Whaler into Avalon for the whole day....and boy did we have a great time in Avalon. So many memories were made in town.  Going to see bands in the Casino, hanging out at the pier, meeting new people to add to our memories. This past weekend I had the opportunity to go back and be a camper again, it was a Counselors reunion trip.

Camp White's landing has changed a bit but not much.  Hurricane Marie last season wiped out the Pier so we couldn't land in Avalon and take the boat into White's so we ended up going by a charter boat and landing at the Isthmus.

 The Isthmus is actually called Two Harbors...this is the harbor where our boat docked and we came ashore.

The water was the prettiest shade of blue and so clear you could see the bottom.

There were lots and lots of sailboats.  I would love to sail over and drop anchor here and just live here for about a month.  Just floating on the water and snorkeling every day.

Or I wouldn't mind renting a little bungalow on the shore, I wouldn't be too picky.

There were lots and lots of palm trees swaying in the wind.

The visitors that are moored in the harbor take their zodiacs or smaller boat to town to hit the one and only bar or the general store.....

or they might get a bite to eat in the restaurant or grab an ice cream cone at the general store.

Looking from the bar you look back and can see the harbor.  You can rent kayaks to tootle around the harbor or ride around the itty bitty town.

As I was walking to meet my van, that was going to take me into White's Landing...this cute little house was calling my name..."Tiny Mite"!  {that was my camp name, everyone gets a camp name at White's}.

You know I was in love with this house the minute I saw it, with the shell wreath and the beach sign that says, "Life is better at the Beach"...oh I couldn't agree more. Wouldn't you love to live here or just rent this cottage for a week? Where do I sign on the dotted line?

This darling, little shingled house painted blue with red geraniums in terracotta pots and succulents in a wire basket on the wall..I wonder if the owner of the General Store lives here? The general store had the cutest merchandise and I did pick something up for the Cottage on Cullen as a small souvenir.

Just to the left of the French Blue Cottage is the other side of the island, the other Harbor, that's why it's called Two Harbors {the Isthmus}. You can stand in this spot and see both sides of the island..isn't that cool?

Leaving the Isthmus we are on the road to White's Landing on a very bumpy, dusty road.  Many of my pictures came out blurry from all that bouncing.

On the backside of the island, here is a campground, not sure which one it is though.

Finally, arriving to White's Landing, this is where we eat at with the gorgeous ocean front view.

It is a bit of a rocky beach but taking a swim in the ocean was so refreshing. 

From the beach looking  into the campground you can see buildings where you can check out equipment and the tents where you sleep or you can haul your sleeping bag and sleep on the beach too, which is what we did the first night and woke up to this...

this beautiful  sunrise!  Sleeping under all those stars at night was so blissful, falling asleep to the lapping of the waves on the shore.

It was a beautiful, beautiful morning.

I enjoyed myself this past weekend: snorkeling in the sea, kayaking in the ocean, paddle boarding, reuniting with old counselors and meeting new friends. 

Goodbye White's Landing until I see you again!  There is a special place in my heart with new memories and new friendships gained on this beautiful trip.

The Flora of Santa Barbara

One of the things I love most about any city or town has to be their abundance of flowers and plants.  I think when a city is lush with foilage it makes it so beautiful.

It can be colorful red geraniums or tall Palm Trees...

...cascading plants in terracotta pots or prickly succulents...

I think this is agave or maybe aloe vera....not quite sure...

I especially like them planted in galvanized buckets...

...or on a trellis over some smokey blue garage doors.

Climbing ficus against the white stucco of buildings and terracotta style roofs looks very pretty, very Spanish. 

It abounds in downtown near outdoor restaurants, near pathways or climbing up walls.

Isn't this clay planter pretty with the creeping vine all around it?

 

Not only did I find the flowers and plants intriguing but the People Statues was such a neat added touch to downtown Santa Barbara's landscape.

 

Not only do the hotels, shops and restaurants have well kept flora in the gardens or in planters, so do lots of the home owners.  Their gardens were so pretty and in all different styles of plants.

This home had lots of hydrangeas under the windows and succulents in two galvanzied buckets..

Loved this little cottage with a wrap around picket fence....just a block from the beach.

A Craftsmen style home with a garden full of California Natives...{my Mother's favorite}.

Spanish Style homes are plentiful in the area...with lots and lots of planted succulents.

I even spotted an English Cottage home..with slate shutters.

But my favorite Santa Barbara home was the one with shingles and the gambrel roof...

...it had a little dormer over the front door.

With a sundeck above the front door and a fragrant hedge to block peeking eyes {who me?}. Don't you love the eyebrow window up top? 

Santa Barbara..you are a beautiful place....I picked up some momentos..

to remember this California town, a bamboo surfboard-shaped cutting board and a Santa Barbara Mission Hand towel that I'm going to sew into a pillow.   I've always wanted to have different pillows all over my home with all the destinations that we've visited as a family.  So begins another collection.....until we meat again Santa Barbara.

My Favorite Places to Eat and Shop in Santa Barbara

This post is going to be dedicated to almost all the shopping and eateries that we were able to get to on our Girls Getaway.  State Street is the main drag in downtown Santa Barbara where most of the places are but there are plenty off the beaten path too. I can't tell you how many times we walked up and down State St. to go shopping or go have lunch or dinner.  I sure did put in my walking quota for the whole year!  There were so many shops...some old favorites like Restoration Hardware and some unique to the Santa Barbara area shops. One of my favorite shops was Rooms and Gardens for it's California Casual Decor.

When I think of a California Beach Home...I can see plenty of elements found in this shop that you would decorate with.  From the stripy rugs to the rattan chairs and all the warm woods.

Lots of kitchen products, blue and white china, as well as squishy pillows and deep set slipcovered couches!

Speaking of pottery, they had one of my favorite type of terracotta pots with the scalloped edges with moss encrusted on the outside. I bought one a few years ago and a soccer ball killed it!

Perfect for a ivy topiary from Trader Joes.  Take a look at this wood door...perfect patina with the wrought iron hardware!

This anchor American flag was my very favorite piece in the whole store..I wish I could of taken it home with me....but it was pricey and not in my budget at this time.  I think it would look perfect over my fireplace mantel. It's she a beauty? 

Going out their backdoor you come into this cobblestone courtyard...

 with chickens!!!  Can you believe it...the cutest little courtyard with a henhouse out back..I bet they love their view...they can see that cute little anchor flag from their coop. 

Another great piece of architextural salvage are the white shutters and the cylinder birdhouse painted in my favorite color with a shingled roof. 

I think it would of been nice if they had a few more plants in cute pots for sale..that would of taken this store up a notch or two. 

They had Dash and Albert rugs and I was really, really tempted to pick one up for my kitchen, but I was not inclinded to carry that sucker up and down State. St.  I should just order one online. 

The BEST Mai {MEAN} Tai ever was found on the pier at Longborder's Grill. It had a great view of the pier and the ocean on both sides.  It also came with cute little hibiscus flower skewers, it's all in the presentation. 

 This li'l cupcake shop off of State. St. we had to go to because my fellow Square Peg had seen them on Cupcake Wars, it also had a cafe attached to it and was darling so I had to snap up a few pictures of the cafe.

It was very homey with the iron stove and brick fireplace. 

We got there at the end of the day so most of the cupcakes were gone I really like Red Velvet ones so I was disappointed that they were out so I got a lemon one which was good.  Moist but it was at the end of the day so not the freshest.   

They also have a shop in Carpenteria and I took this picture when we went on our vacay last time.

I liked this shop better with the industrial edge it had, the concreate floors the metal chairs and it was a lot bigger...but I did not get to taste one of the cupcakes, next time.

This little shop called PUNCH was packed with  a lot of retro style things, it was like a trip back in time!!  Very fun store to shop in and browse going back several decades.

This is a new restaurant opened this past month called the Benchmar, they had some great appetizers and I liked the Sangria, it was very fruity and refreshing.

They had this in the outdoor patio area....don't those plants look fake...nope they are the real deal.

You know I'm all about "cute things", those little darling red striped napkins had my name all over them...as well as those aqua blue water bottles, they say it's "devil in the details".

Had to take a zip into Restoration Hardware. Wow!  Look in awe at that chandelier, the reclaimed wood with the iron,  I think that would make a perfect fit in the family room over the sofa. I did need to pick up my Crack { No Crack Cream from RH in Belgian Linen} too so that was my reason for paying a visit to this shop.  I can't always afford their beautiful merchandise but I gleam ideas from there decor. 

Just looking at that white urn with succulents looks perfect on this vanity. I love the moodiness of this store with the dark gray walls and the wood finishes. I know my home is a lot different than this style but I can take the parts of it and use it in my home.  The juxtaposition of the crystal chandelier with the rusticness of the wood or the rusted iron.  That is what I'm drawn to. 

We didn't stop here to eat or drink but when I walked by I thought it looked like a neat place...so I snapped a quick picture.

This restaurant by far was voted hands down by all my Square Pegs {Friends from HS}  as the best food we ever had in our life!! The stuffed Squash Blossoms...to die for we ordered as an appetizer.  I had Scallops as my main encourse....oh my gosh it was orgasmic, yes it was!  And I'll say that here on the internet because it truely was!! 

Sorry for the bad Cell phone picture I was enjoying my food too much to haul out my camera. 

Toma is just North of the pier about 3 or 4 blocks.  I highly recommend this place if you are looking for ambiance and GREAT GREAT Food!!  It was so delish that I will definitely be back the next time I'm in Santa Barbara.  That's my recount of our trip on the food and shopping part.  One more post on SB to go.  It is a must see town if you are in California, there is also Solvang that you should visit too.