Where Next?

Traveling to Kansas a couple of weeks ago made me realize that aside from trips to Temecula to say overnight at my parents’ house, we really haven’t gone anywhere since we moved here! No wonder I have been feeling so antsy. I need to see a new city!

When we got married we made a plan to visit somewhere cool for each anniversary. Traveling and having new experiences is simply a priority for us! For our first anniversary we visited St. Louis and last year we took an epic Europe vacation!

Where should we go this year? With our anniversary in just a few short weeks, we’re thinking of places to visit that aren’t very far from home, so a quick two or three day trip can be squeezed in.

The Ace Hotel, by Elsie Larson, A Beautiful Mess

First choice is a place that it seems like every blogger has gone to recently–Palm Springs! It seems like the place to be is the Ace Hotel, but that’s much too pricey–right now, anyway–and I found a couple of steals on priceline.com for places just as cool, like The Saguaro, recently documented by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess.

The cabins at Twin Oaks, Big Sur. Photo by Trey Ratcliff, Stuck in Customs

Secondly, last year’s West Elm catalogs and various articles in Sunset make me want to go glamping (glamorous camping) …possibly in a cabin or a yurt at Big Sur? I love the great outdoors–especially forests–but I’ve never been much of a camper… we don’t own a tent and I think we only have one sleeping bag between the two of us, so a luxurious cabin with a real bed seems like my style of camping.

Las Vegas, Wikimedia Commons

Many So Cal people take advantage of our proximity to Las Vegas for a quick getaway–stay somewhere cool, gawk at the interiors of each strip hotel, shop, take in a show–eat sushi unreasonably late, etc. It seems like every time I turn around I hear of someone gearing up for a Vegas weekend or just getting back from one!

Keep Portland Weird, photo by Barry Caruth on flickr

Lastly, it would be really neat to fly up to Portland, if we found a steal of a ticket. With a few friends in/near Portland, we could see friendly faces, check out all the must-see stores and restaurants, and reenact our favorites scenes from Portlandia.

*All photos used under Creative Commons. 
Click to be taken to photographer's gallery.

A Quick Day in Lawrence, KS

It’s crazy to think that one week ago we were leaving Kansas after a whirlwind trip for Doug’s little brother’s graduation in the center of the state. Isn’t it crazy how quickly time goes by once you return from vacation? Anyway, the relative passage of time is neither here nor there. When we arrived at the Kansas City airport we picked up our rental car, met with a friend for lunch, and then high-tailed it to our favorite city in the Sunflower State: Lawrence. To be honest, I can’t believe I haven’t done a profile on Lawrence yet!

lawrence

One thing I’ve noticed in life is this: If you want to find the best donuts in town, find out where the senior citizen crowd goes. You certainly won’t find the most aesthetically pleasing joint, but you will find the best donuts. Start your day in Lawrence out at Munchers Bakery. The cream cheese donuts were highly recommended, but I loved my blueberry and apple fritters.

Munchers Donuts

Once your’e hopped up on sugar and caffeine, burn off some of that energy by heading over to Clinton Lake for some fresh air and pretty scenery, or take a stroll around KU–the University of Kansas.

Then, head over to the most popular part of town– Massachusets St (called Mass St). If you truly wanted to, it would be easy to spend the entire day on Mass, poking around each and every shop–varying from big chains like Gap, to antique stores, music stores, and more.

Arriving at Mass Street, you’re probably ready for lunch. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there is a great restaurant to fit the bill.

Notable shops include…

Love Garden Sounds, a music store with a wide variety of CDs and Vinyl, including some hard-to-finds. Since I’ve been visiting Lawrence the shop has been in three different locations, but the loyal customers take it all in stride. The shopfront they’re in now has a primo location so I don’t anticipate any shakeups for a while. Isn’t the deconstructed piano in their front window incredible?

Love Garden

Love Garden

Wild Man Vintage is a clothing store dealing in (you guessed it) vintage. It rules, but we’re biased because our buddy works here. But really, look at that amazing selection of vintage boots!

Wild Man Vintage

Wild Man Vintage

In the evening, catch a show at Liberty Hall, The Granada, The Bottleneck, or even Jackpot!  I’ve seen several shops at Liberty Hall and they have been some of the best ones I’ve ever been to. It’s easy to get really close to the stage!

After the show head back to your friend’s apartment–you are staying with a college buddy, right? And partake in a time-tested tradition–ordering a midnight pizza from Fat Freddy’s. Their delivery hours are insanely late: up to 3 and 4 AM!

Anyway… that’s what I’d do! ;)

Inspiration for a Monday

Monday already?! Blerg! To be honest, that sentiment is little uttered around here, since I’ve mentioned before that Doug’s “weekend” is Weds-Thurs and I work retail with a few days on, a few days off, and no true weekend at all. Anyway, I’m sure that those of you who have President’s day off are enjoying the extra day of relaxation, and those of us who are at work (or going to work in about an hour, like me) will shake our fists but put our heads down and do the best we can at our jobs.

I have a few cool posts in the works but nothing ready to share just yet. So, I decided to corral some things that were inspiring to me this weekend!

Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities— The first Dickens book I’ve ever managed to make my way through, and despite his meandering sentences paragraphs chapters, I really liked it! In full disclosure, however, I did listen to it on audiobook. My second audiobook experience! If you liked the themes of redemption in Les Misérables, I highly recommend this (shorter) classic.

Island Beneath the Sea

As long as we are talking about books, I read Island Beneath the Sea, a historical fiction novel about the Haitian slave Revolution months ago and it is still haunting me! I can’t wait to give it a re-read and I picked up another work by author Isabel Allende, this one grabbed my interest as it begins in Chile–in the town of Angela’s birth!

Downtown Encinitas

Encinitas, CA– It had been far too long since I visited this laid-back beach town. I surprised Doug with a quick trip up the coast to shop at Lou’s Records. After that, we walked up and down the shops on Pacific Highway even though it was cold and windy! Can’t wait to get back up there on a nicer day, camera in hand.

The album we picked up at Lou’s was Local Natives’ Hummingbird, which you can listen to here if you have Spotify:

PS- Check out this awesome BBC article about Sherry & John from Young House Love! They never cease to be an inspiration to me!