Trailer for "Half the Sky"

I've talked about my support of the "Half the Sky" movement before and today I just watched a trailer about a movie being released about it in October. Goose bumps! Can't wait for it . . .

US Open of Surfing

In late July, Pops came down for a visit and we decided to spend a day at  US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Unfortunately, the waves weren't very good, so it didn't turn out to be that great of a show. We definitely enjoyed walking around and hanging out in the sun. Maybe next year, we'll actually get to watch some good waves!

Sun in San Diego and Solvang - Part Two

After I finished up work in San Diego we headed up north for a weekend in the Santa Ynez Valley. Although  traffic was horrendous, it also happened to be the opening day of the Del Mar fair in San Diego, we eventually made our way to a lovely little cottage that I had rented for the weekend. I found it on VBRO.com, as all of the hotels in the area were sold out or way too expensive. It is a great website that allows access to vacation rentals directly to the owners and cutting out those pesky middlemen. I found an adorable cottage on a working horse ranch, that also happened to be attached to a barn. It included a small kitchen, living room area, a bathroom, and a small bedroom. A perfect size for the three of us and the owners were so sweet!

Our Neighbors for the Weekend

Our first morning there, we were woken by the "neighs" of one of our neighbors. We decided to spend the morning in Solvang and get breakfast at a spot known for their danish pancakes. After a delectable breakfast, we wondered around town and browsed the various storefronts. Even got Baby J a new sun hat! 

Some people may think that the Danish-themed town as kitschy or too touristy, but D and I love it! The town reminds me of Europe and I love the friendly "small-town" feel of the area. As we were sauntering around town, we spotted an older gentleman sitting on a bench that looked oddly familiar. The gentleman looked up at us and asked D if he would take a picture of him and his friend. D took a picture of the pair and we started walking on the street again. D turned to me and said "Do you know who that was?!" I nodded and we both said at the same time "Martin Sheen!!" We considered going back and asking to take a picture with J, but decided to leave him alone. He was very friendly and was kind of cool running in to him at a random street in Solvang.

J and his new hat!

The weather heated up pretty quickly and reached 90 degrees by 11 am, so we decided to take shelter in the air conditioning of our car and to drive to a couple local wineries. We weren't sure what the protocol would be with bringing a baby to a winery, but, to our surprise, everyone just fawned all over him. J was a trooper and dutifully smiled at most of the strangers who came up to him and tried to hold his hand or tickle his foot. 

On our way home to the cottage, we stopped at a local organic grocery store and picked up supplies to make cold sandwiches. Once we had finished our dinner, we decided to walk around the ranch and say hello to our neighbors. J got a little excited during the walk and his dinner had a reappearance, but that didn't stop him from having a ball!  

We left the cottage on Sunday morning and headed back home to LA. We had so much fun and I think our first family vacation was a big success! Hopefully we can turn this trip into an annual tradition!!  We'll be back soon Solvang!

Sun in San Diego and Solvang - Part One

Luckily, my first week back at work, D started his two-week vacation. Although it would have been nice to have had to whole vacation off together, we made good use of the time we had!  I was excited that my first assignment back at work was in San Diego. Since D was off of work and it wasn't too far of a trip from LA, D and J decided to accompany me to San Diego. After that, we planned to spend the weekend in Solvang, so needless to say we had a lot of driving ahead of us.

Off to San Diego we went! Drove down Thursday morning and were greeted by lots of sunshine in Mission Bay. As I worked, D and J wandered around the hotel and were troopers hanging out in the heat. After I finished up work, the three of us headed to Ocean Beach to go to Pizza Port. The food and brews were delicious, but it got pretty crowded especially since several pee wee soccer teams were having their celebration dinner parties there too. We headed back to our hotel and all got into our PJs to watch the sunset from the hotel room patio. It was a gorgeous sunset as the sun sank contently and slowly over ocean. As the darkness of the night crept up, we continued to sit and enjoy the view of the water. I don't think we even turned any of the lights on in the room until about 9pm or so. Lovely end to a busy day.

Coming up next, I finished up work in San Diego and the three of us head to Solvang, for our first family vacation together!

Oppaaaa!!

My last weekend before maternity leave over, D and I decided to go to the Redondo Beach Greek Festival. I heard about it from the community board at a local Starbucks and thought it would be a fun “family friendly” event. The three of us headed out, and upon arrival at the Redondo Beach Greek Orthodox Church, we were a little overwhelmed by how people were there. The festival included a gift shop area, filled with Greek-themed and blue/white trinkets; a large food court; and a spacious dance floor with a loud live band. As we walked past the food court, we couldn’t help but admire the wafting smells of cooking lamb, herbs, and gyro meat, with a hint of honey, sweetly floating from the Baklava tent. D and I agreed to sample a Gyro, Greek sausage, and a vegetarian plate. We also thought it would be appropriate to try a Greek beer paired with a shot of Ouzo, a Greek licorice flavored liqueur. However, we were both a little shocked with how strong the Ouzo tasted. I asked Dan if he wanted the rest of my Ouzo, but he respectfully declined my offer. As we consumed our scrumptious Greek foods, we sat by the dance floor and enjoyed watching the dancers and Greek band. As the sun began to set, the three of us started to head home and picked up a piece of Baklava for the trip home. That buttery honey delight was the best Baklava I’ve ever tasted. I definitely think we’ll be at next year’s festival. Hopefully little J will be ready to jump on the dance floor by then.