SoCal with the 'rents

It was so fun to spend several days with my parents in southern California! They stayed a few days after a work trip to hangout with us which was so perfect because we love an excuse to go down to SoCal. 

We met up with them in Santa Barbara, one of our favorite places, and stayed at the Bacara Resort with this view from our balcony. Great way to start the trip, right? 

We just love SB. It's so quiet and peaceful but not out in the boondocks. It has good food and is close to LA. (Someday I will post my suggestions for the ultimate SoCal vacation). We had a fun time taking the 'rents around to a few of our favorite restaurants in SB and then headed for L.A. 

No trip to L.A. is complete without a Diddy Reese ice cream sandwich. Mom's a superstar with her sunglasses on inside. When in Rome right...

Probably the most unique experience of the trip was visiting the Magic Castle. This place was so odd and really indescribable. I wish they allowed pics because I could do a better job of describing it that way. 

It is an exclusive magic club with an old school strict dress code (yes believe it or not we did not choose to dress this way). For example, men can share their jacket with a lady when seated but when walking around the castle men have to wear their jacket. Very specific right?

One of my dad's childhood friends performs at the castle from time to time and was able to get us in. Unfortunately he wasn't performing that night which is probably just as well because I'm almost certain he would have embarrassed me. 

My parents still love to talk about when I was his assistant as a kid and how funny it was to watch me try so hard to separate these metal rings. He would separate them like it was nothing then hand them to me and I tried so hard and couldn't do it.

Since you aren't allowed to take pics inside this was the last pic we got. The first 3 magic shows were amazing. The last one was terrifying because, once again, I was selected to be the assistant during the show...it was just like the old days. No rings this time just pure Linds stagefright. If you know me very well you know that being in front of an audience is about the worst thing that could happen to me. My only saving grace was that the other girls asked to assist was drunk and made me look a little better. I guess my calling in life is not to be a magicians assistant and I'm ok with that. 

After the Magic Castle we headed to our rental house about 45 minutes south of LA in Laguna Nigel. The house had lots of space to hangout and enjoy life. It was so peaceful and relaxing and perfect. 

Mom and Dad were in CA for a work trip and one of their events was a Great Gatsby themed party. Aren't they cute!

Our last meal was in Venice Beach at Baby Blues BBQ. Good BBQ and the best banana pudding I've ever had. 

We stayed a few extra days in LA after the 'rents left. We got lucky that the weekend we were in town was the same weekend as our friend Grace's art show. To make matters better it was in an ice cream shop. Sold!

And it's always fun to see these guys. Chris and Jared took us around LA and kept us entertained.

Also, they took pics for us so we didn't have to take selfies. 

Still no Kardashian sighting. What's up with that?  Maybe next time. 

OKC Couchmans

We had a great time visiting the OKC Couchmans earlier this year. It was our first trip to Oklahoma City so we tried all of Bryan & Jill's local favorites and had some good quality time with the fam. 

 I think everyone's tweeting about how much fun we were having. 

Bryan had a lucky night at the Casino. The rest of us were praying for the gamblers souls outside. 

We had some good ole' fashioned fun! You're never too old to play on the playground! 

 And, as a bonus, I got to meet Graham and see Kat! Graham is full of personality. He's such a calm and cool kid with style. He's way cooler than I am. Wish I had a daughter to prearrange their marriage. 

Weekend Getaway: Seattle

Brent had a business trip to Seattle so I joined him for the weekend. It worked out well for me because by the time I got there he already knew his way around town and exactly how to get to the best donut shop in town, Top Pot. He has a talent for finding them.

I am not usually a donut person but it was my first time to have sugar in 4 weeks (more on that later). So I ate every sweet I could like it was my last meal. 

SUGGAARRRR!

more SUGGAARRRR! 

couldn't stop myself...

Seattle is a beautiful city and the weather was just perfect, clear and warm. We did tons of walking. Tons! It was easy enough to get to almost everywhere we went by either walking or taking public transportation.

Our weekend in a nutshell:

Friday I arrived in the late afternoon and rode the Sound Transit lightrail to meet Brent downtown. It was clean, safe, and super easy to figure out...much nicer than SF's subway. We walked to our hotel and found a nice restaurant on the water, Daniel's Broiler.

Saturday we ate breakfast at Lola's, walked to Pike Place Market, the Olympic Sculpture Garden, and Kerry Park for an amazing view of the city. Dinner at Crush. 

Didn't get any pics of the sculpture garden but did get this cool art on the wall inside. 

I don't think I'd go back to the Pike Place Market. It was touristy and the things for sale weren't anything we would buy although their flower bouquets and groceries (produce, fish, meats, etc) looked really good. I was glad we experienced it though. 

Sunday we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and ate sandwiches on the island at Hitchcock's. We didn't find much more that interested us on the island but the ferry ride back to Seattle has a great view of the Seattle skyline. Afterwards we headed over to Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood, walked around, shopped and found some really good BBQ at Bitterroot and dessert at Hot Cakes. 

The Happiest Place On Earth

And we're back to LA...

Since we do enjoy LA and Brent LOVES Disneyland, it only made sense that when our good college friends Jared and Chris called on Saturday to see if we wanted to go to Disneyland on Sunday, we hopped in the car and 5 hours later it was a friend reunion. Maybe some nerding out going on. I think Batman was mentioned a few times. Yada yada. 

And back to Disneyland...

The guys enjoyed planning their picture moments. I was just trying to keep my head attached to my neck. Roller coasters aren't the same when you're (almost) thirty. Chris was doing a bit for his tumblr, I'll Sleep On It. 

The couples at the back seem to have the same idea. 

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. Lots of smiling that day. 

And laughing with old friends.  

Yes, we watched Captain EO. Michael Jackson and weird monsters...IN 3-D! What's not to like.  

                            

The tiki room was fun. It was the first time for me. Loved the pineapple juice while we waited for the show. 

Our favorite restaurant is Blue Bayou. This is the view you get while you eat as the Pirates of the Caribbean boats float by and the food is delicious. 

Brent and I rode the carousel. We have to hold on to our youth...since we're THIRTY now. Jared and Chris were too cool for school. They had to talk about retirement funds and capital gains I guess. 

The guys enjoy watching robot Abe Lincoln before we go. I DO NOT enjoy it! All I want to do is take a shower and sleep, it does feel good to sit though. 

It was a very happy (Easter) day even considering all the the screaming kids and frustrated parents! I can see why they call it the happiest place on earth. 

Ahhh, 30...

It sounds SO old. 

We had a great time celebrating Brent's 30th birthday. (I'm still in my 20's by the way.) Taking a trip made getting older a little easier to swallow. 

We love driving down to L.A. and Santa Barbara is one of our favorite stops along the way. It's a laid back town with lots of great food and warmer weather than we get in San Francisco with a great beach vibe. And home to one of our favorite Tex-Mex and Italian restaurants (Los Arroyos & Tre Lune. Can you guess which is which?). Since our trips revolve around food, we choose our destinations based on their proximity to good food. We saw Carol Burnett at Tre Lune, bonus.

Our good college friend, Jared, drove up for the day and we got to enjoy the pool and good food together. 

After a couple days in Santa Barbara we continued on our way to L.A. Brent's birthday present was front row seats to the Clippers/Thunder game. 

I had convinced myself that I would be sitting next to a celebrity. They're always at NBA games. I would get a picture with them and maybe share some laughs and small talk. They would ask Brent to brand one of their companies. I thought maybe Eva Longoria or a Kardashian. Didn't happen though....surprised right? We did see a very old Billy Crystal..and the players, that was cool. They're so tall!

Jared joined us for breakfast & dinner. We had a great breakfast at Nickel Diner. This pop tart inspired me to make my own pop tarts. These are on my to do list. 

We didn't take many pictures. Well, Brent took a bizillion pictures of the beach but I'll spare you. That's his thing...taking pics of the beach. Check out his instagram if you don't believe me. 

Dinner was at Mastro's and it was amazing. We still talk about it. Did I mention our trips revolve around food? We are going back in June. It was that good!

Happy 30th Brent!

Christmas 2012

First stop, Houston. 

When we pulled into the driveway Santa and his reindeer were waiting for us to arrive.  I'm sure the neighbors were also glad for us to arrive as it was 2am and the Clark Griswold Christmas lights were probably keeping some people up.

Dad spent all month drawing, painting, cutting, & hanging the perfect Christmas scene to welcome us home. What a sweet Dad! The reindeer even sprung to life Christmas night when a strong cold front came through and knocked one through a window.

Christmas Day with the whole gang.

Cousin Kelley joined us for Christmas this year. It was so fun!

Henry was the highlight of Christmas this year. It was so fun to be with him for his very first Christmas! 

That face could get away with anything!

Next stop, Boerne. 

We had such a great time at Couchman Christmas that we didn't stop to take any pictures except this one with Brent's Grandmother JoJo. Next years Christmas goal is to take more pictures at the Couchman's Christmas! 

In closing, I would like to give myself a pat on the back for reaching my 2012 New Years Resolution of visiting Texas more. We came to Texas 5 (or 6?) times in 2012. I'm not sure if I can match that in 2013 but I sure hope so.