avila beach

unintentionally, this blog is turning into something like a road trip/travel blog. in the last few months we've definitely done quite a bit of traveling! obviously we love doing this & realize how lucky we are to be able to do this right now in our lives.


last week we went to avila beach (near san luis obispo & pismo beach).
we went with my sister & her husband. weekend trips are no stranger to us, but for them it was something new! they have two (beautiful) kiddos who got to stay the night with their cousins:)

so basically, on the trip, we all stayed out as late as we wanted and walked around the beach & shops all day.

we stayed at a cute spanish inspired hotel, where they treated us so nice!  they have wine hour & pie hour & chips and salsa hour, oh & they serve intelligentsia coffee...so everyone was happy.


(woohoo found an old oversized bag at a funny little second hand store in town)

if you're in that area, be sure and at least get a drink at the madonna inn! we went after dinner & even danced to live old-timey toons played by actual old timers, my favorite!
at gardens of avila, we enjoyed a visually beautiful (& delicious) (but very tiny portions...for me, he he) dinner. we will consider staying at one of these other places next time!

thanks for stopping by here!

valentine's day bike ride

when we moved to california, we only brought one helmet with us. (?)  i refused to wear it on our bike ride, since nate didn't have one. how good would i feel if something bad happened, & i survived b/c i wore the helmet but not nate...i'd rather be dead, seriously. [ill logic, i know]

a nice morbid intro for ya there! :)

we rode our bikes to a fruit stand, to find a junkyard & then to find a winery with an olden times theme, with wine tasting. score!
we also found an orange grove & took a few oranges (that were on the side of the road).
however, we did trespass for a few photos...who can resist? so pretty!

on our way back, we watched the sun set (romantic lolz),  met (yet another) horse, saw a gansta smoking weed with his girlfriend along the creek on a blanket & eating sandwiches (hello? romantic!)
made it home just before it got too dark. & then we dressed up & went out for indian food.  the end.

life in fresno

one of my favorite things to do, is go to a market, and pick out fresh veggies. i like to imagine what i will make with them as i buy them. i got some romenesco a few days ago, & knew it was going to be a part of a salad with the horseradish. the purple chard i knew was going to be either the "tortilla" for a wrap, or maybe part of a tofu scramble. (it was the latter).

it's nice that in fresno, i can do the things i love, so frequently.

farmers markets check
flea markets/thrift/estate sales check check check
country music (for nate! lolz) check. 

roadtrips (i guess ya can do those anywhere, but still feels like we do those more often nowadays)

that's me scoring a pendtleton blanket at an estate sale! yeah!

so far we've found a few dive bars/pubs where we can enjoy some good, ol timey, music. last weekend nate even joined the band for a johnny cash cover. everyone is just so nice there & they love a good song!

(that's not nate in the picture singing, ha ha, just some other guy.)

 ok. i really want to post more recipes... mostly for my own sake. so often i make something on the fly & we say things like "oh yeah, gotta remember this one!" but then we never remember that one.
so that will be my valentines resolution (so... i know it's not a real thing).
at least a recipe a month (or more!) deal? deal.

thanks for looking, as per ushje. ush...yoush? (what's short for usual!?)

see ya!

photography pal

last month, when we went to visit new york, we met up with my friend simbarashe. he is behind the style blog, lord ashbury. he asked to take my picture, &, well,  nate got roped in too- story of his life!
 
now we have some cute pictures together.

it was saturday, & highline park was pretty busy. it's impressive he was able to get so many isolated shots.! yeah, i guess he's ok at taking photos ;)

hi february

the next four months in fresno are going to be beautiful. cool weather & sunny. & hopefully with some of those foggy mornings, everyone who lives here complains about. & hopefully we'll keep taking those bikes out that nate bought for us as xmas gifts. he bought them off a guy who was selling several different bikes, on the corner near our house.
i suspect that is how someone who stole my bike, a few years back, sold my bike too. ha ha.

this month, i have plans to start my tomato seedlings indoors. using seeds that were passed along to me, from my grandma's last year's crop. what's sweet & so sad is she passed away a couple months ago...but on the brighter side (totally not bright enough, but hey) her garden will (hopefully) grow on, in california.

well, hope your february is off to a good one & treats you kindly. don't forget to plan something fun for yourself & don't get caught up, for-e-ver, in the daily grind... because well, that's just no fun.

ok love you guys, bye!