Big Sur, San Simeon and Cambria

After grabbing breakfast at the adorable Mariposa Inn we headed off to Pfeiffer Park to see some redwoods. The views on this leg of the trip were so amazing. I can't even really describe it. We stopped on the side of the road whenever we felt like it, to snap some pics. I know the photos can't even do it justice! For most of the ride, the fog was entirely over the ocean so it felt like we were above a cloud.

We reached Pfeiffer park and I hiked! You guys! Like 3 miles and that is A LOT for me, as you probably know. But I did it, after just a tiiiny bit of complaining. They have a cute little waterfall there so I got some pics for posterity. At this point I feel the need to give a shout-out to my friend, Kate and the Born Susanne boots. Kate is a friend and one of my fashion inspirations, so when I saw her rocking the Born boots I knew I wanted to copy her and get some of my own. I hiked in these and they were awesome. There is no "breaking in" period for these boots. You put them on and they are comfortable for all day wear. It's crazy but I'm SO glad I got them and then bought another pair in black. Ha! Thanks, Kate! I will be copying you more from now on. Twins!

After grabbing a post-hike snack, we headed further south to San Simeon for the Hearst Castle tour. It was really fun and the house is amazing. I wish I could live there. We got to see several rooms inside and spend as much time outside on the grounds as we wanted. The tour guide was so awesome and knowledgeable that it would have been great to be able to see more rooms inside and learn more about the house. I think I saw at least two carpets that look just like the ones my parents have. The outdoor pool was really something spectacular. The tour guide made all of us jealous when she explained that the pool was going to be closed off for an employee swim that evening. Lucky!!

After we had gotten our fill of the Hearst Castle we hopped in the car for a very short trip to our hotel, Moonstone Landing, in Cambria. Cambria! Who knew? It's such a cute little seaside town with a ton of boutiques, shops and restaurants. You could really spend some time here exploring. The front desk lady at our hotel nailed it with her restaurant recommendation. She even called them right up and made our reservation. The place is called Robin's and it was so fantastic. Amazing service and phenomenal food. I'm really glad we got this recommendation because I had done a little research and found a place that I wasn't really excited about.

Moonstone Landing is also another great find. Our room is super nice and has a lot of perks. Technically this place and Mariposa Inn are motels because the room doors are on the outside, but I'm really feeling it. This is totally the way to go because they are super convenient to get in and out of with luggage, are much cheaper than hotels, and come with a lot more charm and perks!

San Francisco and Monterey

We had a great evening in San Francisco - our friend Lyndsey took us to Shalimar, an awesome hole-in-the-wall, authentic Indian place. After that, Dan and I hit The Utah for a Jonny Corndawg show. The venue was divey and intimate. Jonny put on an amazing show and it was nice to chat with him afterward. I'm really glad we went.

The next morning we headed to Brenda's Cafe for brunch. Their menu of French soul food was really unique and we were super excited. We weren't too stoked about the 40 minute wait for food but my granola pancakes with fruit were delish. There was granola covering the top of the cakes, which gave it a really nice texture.

After exploring some coffee shops, clothing stores, and book shops in the Mission we hit the road for Monterey! We headed straight to the Monterey Aquarium and it was so, so fantastic. One of the best "museums" I've ever been to. The seahorses exhibit was especially fantastic. 

After walking around for a while we headed over to check into the Mariposa Inn. This place was totally fantastic - nice big rooms with H20 bath products (my fave!), fireplace and a huge comfy bed. I wish we could bring this place with us on our travels. They have a pool and a hot tub, too. Dan found this place and it was way cheaper than a lot of places in Monterey.

Dinner was one of my finds, Lalla Grill. They have a big menu and the food was really great. Dan got a steak and twice baked potato with crab and gorgonzola. The steak is buried under there somewhere!

I got two small plates, which were really filling. The sweet potato gnocchi and goat cheese ravioli.

I think tonight we'll relax in our awesome hotel and watch some Breaking Bad. Ahhh, vacation!

San Francisco

It's that time of year again, when I turn my craft blog into a travel blog. This time, Dan and I flew out to California to road trip it! We flew into California, picked up our rental car, and checked into our hotel in San Francisco. It was a really long day of travel so, after we settled in, our first stop was the highly recommended, Burma Superstar. I got a ginger lemonade, the burmese samusas, tea leaf salad (aka crack salad), and the Superstar vegetarian noodles. Everything was so fantastic and I wish I could bring this place back to Milwaukee.

This morning we headed over the bay to Emeryville for brunch at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe. The food was fantastic! I got a pomegranate lemonade and the California Blackstone special (toasted ciabatta, tomato, avocado, two poached eggs, hollandaise and chives). It was really cool to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, too. After brunch, we drove up some crazy winding roads to Muir Woods but it was so insanely packed we would have had to walk a couple of miles just to get to the woods. 


Next up is dinner with friends at an Indian place and a Jonny Corndawg show at The Utah. The scenery here is amazing, believe me, but I have a feeling this trip is going to be ALL about the food. Blogging might be a little tricky, though because I forgot the cord for my digital camera. For now, I'll have to rely on the sub-par photos from my phone. Maybe I can blog as much as I can on the go (so I don't forget!) and then supplement all of the entries later with better photos, once I get home.  

Furoshiki 2

Here's a more fashion-y pose with one of my furoshiki bags after we hit the town for a fancy dinner at Moto:

Furoshiki Purse

This project is definitely one of my favorites. It involves the Japanese technique of folding fabric, Furoshiki. It can be used to wrap anything: gifts, groceries, and even wine bottles. My aunt found several YouTube video tutorials for me and my friends and we all picked it up in a snap. My aunt has a legendary fabric stash, so as soon as we decided to make purses, the sky was the limit!

Here's a great tutorial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7MH3EzBWM

A stylish handbag with no sewing! What could be better than that? 

Here are the three (showing restraint!!) purses I made:

These bags were so easy and quick to make. I can't wait to make more!

Hex Nut Bracelets

I hosted a little crafting get together at my place today and we attempted this project. I love projects that use things you can find around the house or the hardware store! All you need is twine and small hex nuts. I would have loved to use gold, but could only find silver.

I love how mine turned out! Kind of a Skeletor angle, but you get the idea:

Special bonus "craft" - I tried out a new cocktail, the Diamond Fizz!  

2 oz gin

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

chilled champagne

1. Pour the gin, lemon juice and sugar into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake, shake, shake!

3. Strain into a highball glass (with ice optional and also I used wine glasses?)

4. top with champagne

Braided Bracelets

A couple of friends and I got together to tackle this project. This is a great craft if you have some old t-shirts that you don't wear anymore. The tutorial was a little confusing, so we looked for a YouTube video and that helped a lot.

Here are all the ones we made piled together (mine are the three in front, olive, gray, and teal):

I normally don't wear bracelets because they get in my way or clank around, but these are perfect and comfortable.