life is sweet...the OC trip

 

If you don't like looking at other people's vacation pictures you might wanna move on;)  Just sayin' this one is obnoxiously filled to the brim:))  HA!!!  Okay so girls I feel like I've been to a far away planet.  One filled with strange beautiful creatures, lush plants, over the top restaurants and shopping that just doesn't seem possible...of course that foreign land is actually LA and Orange County and if you haven't been there you really need to see it with your own eyes.  It's so very much like what you see on TV but magnified 100 percent. 

As I was sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to take off I was mentally counting how many times I've been to Cali.  TWELVE!  I've been there twelve times!  And as much as I love the weather and the unbelievable amount of things to do and see I always, ALWAYS feel a little out of my element.  Like I just don't belong.  Maybe on the 13th visit it will feel like home;)


**Little side note...stalker Becky comes out the second my feet hit the LAX airport.  I become "tuned" into all things celebrity and make eye contact with every person I see.  It's weird.  Can't help it.  My dorky side just comes out guns full blaring.  This last time I didn't see anyone that I recognized, but two "important" people got off the plane at the gate I was sitting at.  I didn't know them, but I could just tell they were different.  There was an air.  Anyhoo...they had a driver at the gate!  That means they actually had to pay for him to get past security.  Can you imagine??  Okay so the important people get off the plane and immediately drop their carry-ons without so much as a hello to this poor servant person and walk on ahead with the guy scrambling to grab the bags and catch up.  Can you say rude?  It was slighty disgusting and very much what I imagine is the norm for a lot of these famous people.  Just had to share.

My girlfriend Tracy who lives out there picked me up and she showed me the town while we waited on Lissa to come later in the day.  We walked Rodeo Drive (gawking at the valet drivers)...ate at Sprinkles and then she took me to Pink's.  Pink's Hotdogs is a local legend.  I read about it years ago.  It's a hotdog stand that's been there forever.  People stand in line for long periods of time to get one of their crazy hotdogs.  Imagine avocado and caramelized onion and chili and sauerkraut and all sorts of weird things on a bun.  That's what it was.  I got mustard, ketchup and onion.  I'm boring like that.  It was good.  Different, but good.  The casing was firmer than normal hotdogs.  Okay enough about that;)

After our LA tour Tracy took me home.  This is her sweet place. She loves cloches, crowns and lots of sparkle.  She has a great style, and I have to say she's way up there on my list of best hostess'.  I had chocolate covered nuts by my bed and a bathrobe and slippers to wear.  I felt very pampered. 

And her sweeeeet dog HANK! Oh how he made me feel right at home too.  Kinda fell in love with him.  He would sit right by your arm and keep nudging you until you petted him and when you stopped he'd do it again...and again.  I miss Hank;)  Then he'd curl up on the couch and cuddle with his momma.  Beyond sweet!

Late that first night Lissa finally came.  Come on girl!  She'd been at Disney all day with her parents.  How much fun would that be?  Anyhoo by the time she got there I was TOAST.  I'd been up since 4 am EST...which means 21 hours with the time difference.  That first night was short.  But the next morning more than made up for it.  Tracy took us to the Ramos House in San Juan Capistrano.  Talk about a picture perfect, all things California restaurant AND we got to meet Tracy's beautiful momma.  If you ever get a chance go there!  Beyond good.  GO THERE!

We also went antiquing...she loves me.

 

 

Tracy kept asking us throughout the weekend what our favorite part was and even though I have lots more to show you THIS was my favorite.  One night we just got cozy. 

 

 

Tracy showed me how to make her delicious caprese salad.  We popped some wine and had our own little tasting.  We lit candles and shared what God had been doing in our lives.  It was beautiful and intimate and very very special.  It's really what the whole weekend centered around and I'll never forget that night.  I love these girls.

The next day we hit Newport Beach.  Think mansions and cottages and lots of moolah all on the bay.  Absolutely stunning beauty.  My favorite memory is singing Chicago's Being Without You at the top of our lungs with the windows down.  Oblivious to all the bikers and walkers:)  Oh and Lissa sitting in the back with her sad mopey I'm freezing face;)  Good times!
 

Newport came with a whole lot of excitement.  Tracy signed us up for Timree Gold's painting class.  I'd never done anything like that before.  SO MUCH FUN!!!  She walked us through step by step and at the end we had our own little...BIG masterpiece.  I think we nailed it. 

That night we hit the uber swanky Javier's.  Uh can you say fabulous!  This is one of the places that made me feel out of my comfort zone though.  Very adult.  Posh.  Fancy people.  Fancy food.  It was so beautiful.  SOOOO luxurious.  They even had a bathroom attendant!! 

 

Is it just me or is that a super weird job.  I can grab my own towel thank you:)  Having someone do something for me that I can easily do myself...like a Valet holding the door open...or two servers at the table at once is uncomfortable.  Is that just my Midwest upbringing coming out?!  I appreciate the attention, but it makes me feel awkward. 

Sunday pretty much blew my mind.  For years I've had the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea on my bucket list.  I'd seen so many shows on HGTV filmed there and I knew celebrities walked the aisles and I'm a dork I know, but I just HAD TO GO!  Tracy kindly obliged.  It didn't disappoint.  Within five steps in I found a belt gal that literally had leather that I was swooning over.  It was incredible.  I spent more than I would have if I'd done all the thrifting myself, but the leather was gold.  You guys will DIE!  I went not expecting that at all.  Talk about a major blessing.

The only downside to the flea is that most of the vendor only accept cash.  I didn't know that.  And since I never use an ATM I couldn't figure out which card and how to do it.  So I had to bum money off Lissa.  I hated doing that.  I was like WHY GOD WHY...I'm at the flea and I can't spend freely.  This is torture.  But it all worked out.  Trust me.  I found my treasures.  The ones I was supposed to get and nothing more:)  And it was a good thing because nothing more would fit in my suitcases.  My carry on (which was filled with belts) alone weighed 42 pounds.  He knew when to cut me off;)

Oh and right after we hit the Luggage Room (SO GOOD) for lunch and drove by the Father of the Bride house!!!  How fun is that!!! 

 

One of my favorite parts of visiting a friend is seeing the familiar, the intimate...cue momma's house.  This is Tracy's childhood home.  Needless to say she gets her beautiful style from her sweet momma:) We also got to drive by her brother's home and her old house in Pasadena. LOVE!

Okay so last day finally.  If you're still with me you deserve a macaroon...just sayin;)

We had to drop Lissa off for an early flight (cue sad face:/), so we hit the amazing Bottega Louie in downtown LA for brunch while we waited for my flight.  Again another impossibly beautiful restaurant with amazing food and gorgeous waiters.  It was straight up out of a movie.  Very French.  Best breakfast I've ever had!  No lie.  That top left picture was a potato cake with buratta cheese, prosciutto and basil.  Sounds weird, but it was perfection on a plate.  Add a little lemon ricotta pancake on the side, and roasted potatoes with asparagus and this girl who really doesn't think about food much at all is all of a sudden a major FOODIE;) 

So there you have it, a beautiful weekend all tied up with string.  Beyond grateful my honey lets me travel.  These occasional mini trips are like an oasis for this homebody farmgirl.  I've been so blessed to spend quality time with my far away friends, to see some amazing things I'll never forget, and to experience Gods goodness in the most unlikely of ways.  Now it's back to work...I've got some CUFFIN' to do!!

Be a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

**to see more pics of the weekend find
Tracy @lvngprtythings and Lissa @hawaiimama808 on Instagram

 

 

 

Chicago lyrics

avocados, heirloom tomatoes and buratta cheese

laughing til it hurts

sunshine and palm trees

jo Malone orange blossom cologne

treasure hunting

leather GOLD

getting pampered

stories of God's handiwork in a dark cozy living room

HANK

friends who listen to you dream

luggage that made it home

 

Leesburg, Lucketts and obedience

Recently the girls and I went up to DC with daddy for the weekend.  Almost a year ago he started a new job in Tyson's Corner, which is a city right next to DC.  It's a good 2 1/2 hour drive from our house, so they had an arrangement that he would drive up every week and spend 2 nights/3 days in a hotel and work from home the other two. 


We knew it would be a challenge.  We weren't too keen on being apart.  My honey is a family man all the way and I knew deep down it wasn't going to be easy, but in life you just kind of do what you need to do.

So we went up to see where daddy worked...for the first time;)  While he was working we needed to entertain ourselves, so what's a girl to do but call up an "almost" complete stranger from IG and arrange a day:))  Brilliant idea I might add.  I'd been wanting to meet Christy (christymcox on IG) ever since she sweetly sent me a utube video on how to knit a fancy stitch.  Amazing how technology can hook you up.

 

 

Before I start telling you about our day let me tell you that this appointment with Christy was divine.  It was meant for me to be with her that day.  It was meant for me to know this special girl.  I'm so very thankful that we got the opportunity.  We made some important memories we'll never forget.  Love you friend.
 

She kindly offered to pick the girls and I up at our hotel and we took off on our adventure.  I'd been to the DC area once before, but never up to the more rural Northern areas.  It was beautiful.  We headed straight for the Leesburg/Luckett's area.

I'd heard of Luckett's before.  There's an awesome store there appropriately titled Luckett's and I remember Miss Mustard Seed used to have a booth or something there.  So when she said that's where we were going my head kind of exploded and I did a little happy dance on the inside.  It was right up my junk lovin' heart.  Old shutters and doors, rusted out metal galore...repurposed old things made beautiful.   Bliss:))

After Luckett's we headed into the super cute, OLD town of Leesburg.  Talk about charm galore and GOOD shopping.  It was just what I didn't think existed on the east coast.  I fell in love. 

By the time we got there we were all starving and didn't really know where to eat.  So we read a few menus along the sidewalk, and finally decided to just make a decision and try one.  Immediately when we walked in the door we knew it was a mistake.  It was old and musty and we were the ONLY ones in there. 

We sat down and the waiter handed us menus.  He slipped off to the side and turned on some cheesy music.  For some reason it was strange and felt off.  I just didn't have peace about the menu, the atmosphere...anything.  And since life is short and a meal out is something to be savored I looked across the table at Christy and mouthed the words...I don't want to eat here.  And she looked back and I think she said what do we do??  And I may or may not have said RUN!!!  HA!  Oh goodness it's hilarious even thinking back on it.  We packed up our stuff lickety split and bolted out the door...with the waiter shouting something at us as we left.  EEEEEK!

We got to the sidewalk all out of breath, giggling, and I realized I'd left my favorite pair of sunglasses on the table.  CRUD!  Little chick bravely decided she was going in.  She was going to gallantly save my sunglasses:)  And she did...with the waiter right there...embarrassing as that must have been, and she saved them for me!!

 

Okay so I'm relaying this lengthy story for a reason.  We walked down the street and decided to try another restaurant we had passed earlier.  It was cute.  The outdoor space was down a long brick lined alley and it had a charming patio area just waiting for us.  It was fine. 

 

 

We place our order and I pulled out my wallet ready to pay, and the counter person casually tells us that it's free today.  Say what???  It's FREE!  Like we didn't have to pay a dime free!!!!  I've never in my 40 years had that happen.  They technically weren't even open to the public yet, it was a friends and family trial run:)  Eeeeek! 

 

So we skipped over to our table glowing in God's favor and grace, and spent the rest of the meal basking in the fact that because we were obedient to that urging...because we listened to our spirit man...even in the little things like where you eat for lunch...our socks were BLESSED right off!!!!  It was good.  Like really good...and I'm so glad my girls were there to witness it.  Because that's what God has in store for them if they follow His leading.  Even if it's embarrassing, and you look a little silly;)

 

 

This is part one of that weekend.  There's another story to tell.  To be continued...

 

 

 

 

 

Be a blessing.

 

 

 

Christy

rural land...goats, chickens and all things farmy

old houses turned into stores

rusty goodness

free meals

life lessons 

swept away...whatever craft weekend THE BARN!

Kansas...oh how I've never really liked you before.  Hours and hours I've spent driving through your desolate parts, but this time you charmed me.  THIS time...I fell in love with your wide open fields.  Your windmills standing tall and shiny in the afternoon chill.

 

Okay so enough with the ode' to Kansas I guess.  It did really win me over though.  I've driven through many times heading to my sister-in-law's house in Colorado over the years.  It's barren along the interstate.  You could run out of gas between stations.  I've often wondered what in the world people do to live.  Why would they choose to be there?  Of course this is my perspective from a passenger side window and hours of nothing but tumbleweeds to look at. 

 

Obviously there's so much more.  Like views of this.

 

And with a little Lightroom magic there are barns that look ALIVE!!  And trees that make me want to cry they are so beautiful.

We were driving along and happened across this old abandoned farmhouse.  Megan was squealing...stop the car!!!...and before the van had even stopped rolling my soul sister friend was jumping out...snapping pictures like a crazy person.  And I know for a fact she's crazy because if there wasn't an entire van load of crafters waiting I would have jumped out too!  I know crazy. 


If left alone we would have stomped through broken glass, trudged up rotten stairs, pulling cobwebs out of our hair as we explored.  We have that similar adventurous spirit.  She's got wanderlust and I do too.  Now if we only had unlimited resources and all the time in the world...watch OUT!

She's gonna growl at me for posting this, but how awesome is this picture??  It looks like she's running backwards!!!  Oh my sweet wanderlusty friend;)

 

This was the day I was looking forward to the most.  I love creating, but a lot of that goes along with hunting for treasures.  Finding the perfect thing to repurpose...to decorate with.  It makes my mind go bananas.  So when we drove up to these buildings and all the stuff was laying out in the field...I seriously had heart palpitations.  


Before I could even get out of the car Megan had vanished.  I was yelling into the crazy wind...MEGGGGAAANNN!  She was gone....poof!  Like vapor;)  So off I went exploring.

There was almost too much rusty goodness to take in.  It was old things overload. 

 

 

See that door or whatever it is hanging by a thread off the building??  Well it was banging in the wind over and over again against the metal building.  Kansas didn't let us down.  It was exactly as you imagine.  I was just waiting for a twister to pop down from the sky and carry us away.  Wish my blog had sound effects;)  It was the Wizard of OZ in rusty technicolor.  Fabulous!

Finally we found each other.  We ran up and with bated breath in unison we were like "where were you??"... it was straight out of a sitcom or something. 

 

And when I say found each other I really mean FOUND EACH OTHER.  Before this weekend we had never even spoken on the phone.  I'd read her blog, but I didn't really know her.  It was a little risky running off to room with a stranger.  I'd done it before (remember this?) though, and I knew the payoff could be big.   

 

 

I'm so glad I jumped in with that adventurous spirit of mine.  What a blessing I would have missed out on if I hadn't.  Megan was incredible.  I didn't once feel nervous with her.  She's fun, down to earth...real!  She's the check in with you a couple of times a day friend.  That remembers to pray for you friend.  That has your back.  I know this about her and we only had a few days.  Magical days...

My MN Amy;)

 

So that was the barn experience.  Mind blowing! 

(Megan and Jill)

Then we headed to Sonic.  It's a tradition on Whatever Craft Weekends.  We were starving.  Or maybe I should say I WAS STARVING!  I'm always starving.  You need to know that about me;)  Anyway we ordered tons of junk food...mozzarella sticks, tator tots, popcorn chicken and my new favorite...diet coke with vanilla...YUM!  Thanks Kimberlee for that tip:)  Operation Zip Those Pants was takin' a back seat.  Yikes! 

Once we got home we spread out all our goodies on the table and took in everyone's treasures.  How fun is that?  This is what I got at a little antique store in Marion called Bearly Makin' It.  Just thinking about that store with it's stacks and stacks of quilts and bedding about makes a tear pop out!  WHY can't we have reasonable antiquing in VA?  Why God Why??  Shoot I'd settle for expensive antiquing with stuff as good as this!  It was crazy good.  I found so many good things. 


I got this quilt for $30!!!!!  I know.  Stop hatin'.  It's a little messed up, but I'm going to make pillows and a slipcover for my ottoman out of it.  It's gonna make my ugly brown basement couch look so pretty:)  Oh and that owl HAD to come home with me.  I've been looking for one that sweet for years.  It was meant to be.

(Bethany, Shan, ME, Jill, Angela)

So now I'm wrapping it up.  It's almost time to officially end my most surreal weekend experience ever!  Oh and these girls made it even more surreal.  They knew me!  EEEEK!!  They either read my blog or followed me on Instagram (farmgirlpaints) before I got there.  Love that!!  They were so sweet and didn't stare at all... like I'm sure I did with Meg;) 

Here's all of us...the November 2012 Whatever Craft Weekenders.  Feeling all sassy in our aprons that we MADE!  And truly feeling blessed for an amazing, amazing weekend away.  Swept away... 

**If you haven't...go sign up:)  It's based on a lottery random draw. 

Everyone has the same shot at getting to go. SO FUN! 

Have a blessed day.

879.  windmills

880. cows

 881.  i made stuff

 

882.  i'm on the map!

883.  peanut butter knots...man i wish i had one right now!!