full bellies. full hearts.

mmmmm.

vacation.

food.

my husband.

food.

window shopping.

no kids.

sleep.

food.

jeff & i just got back from a little getaway to san diego

for our eleven year anniversary 

(just 2 months late :)

we'd had the date on the calendar for awhile,

but we couldn't find a place to stay.

then, a week before our scheduled date,

we finally found a living social deal for san diego.

woot!

we spent thursday-saturday of this last week

exploring and eating our way through san diego.

it was so fantastic.

i also just discovered instagram

(i know.  i'm a bit late to the party)

and decided to use that to chronicle our weekend 

instead of my big fancy camera.

it was fun.

sorry to everyone following me for posting WAY too many times!

we got to stay in little italy.

i was pretty pumped about eating some legit italian food!

we stayed at the porto vista hotel.

it was not too bad,

minus this wallpaper in our hotel room.

dear hotel decorator....

i know you want to be cool and european, 

but giant, scantily-clad women in my hotel room

does not make me happy.

i should be the skinniest girl in my hotel room, right?

anyhoo.

we started out on thursday afternoon 

with some walking & sightseeing.

we went to a super-lame mall in the gaslamp district.

but luckily, right across the street was a great little restaurant,

the lincoln room.

the ambiance was awesome.

the food was delicious.

(fried green tomato stack!  deconstructed pizza!)

we had a great time.

we headed back to our hotel, parked our car,

and walked to extraordinary desserts.

 apparently the chef is from the food network (i think?)

and the desserts were CRAZY amazing.

along with the line.

we ended up taking our dulce de leche cake to-go,

stopped at 7-11 for some coffee to drink with it,

and ate amazing cake on our hotel room bed 

while watching the modern family finale on hulu.

good times. 

i slept until 8:34am.

okay.  i actually woke up at 7:00 

and FORCED myself to lay there and go back to sleep.

remember when you could sleep until noon?

my children have ruined me.

we got ready and headed to the breakfast place

recommended by pretty much everyone,

hash house a go-go.

most of san diego was already there waiting in line,

but after sitting down,

i totally understood why.

holy breakfast, batman!

the plates were GIGANTIC.

and the food was incredible.

oh man.

we got a bacon waffle

(like actual strips of bacon in the waffle.  right?)

and a crazy-good eggs benedict.

i'm hungry just thinking about it.

 

after breakfast

(more like lunch since it was noon by the time we ate)

we walked around and did some window shopping.

then we headed to la jolla.

my amazing, beautiful cousin graduated high school on friday.

we were able to go to her open house afterwards.

we couldn't be prouder of her.

congrats annabelle!

we have no doubt god has big plans for your life!

(totally stole this pic off her facebook.

she's headed to cal poly this fall!)

after the open house we headed back to get ready for dinner.

bring on the italian!

there had been a lot of opinions about where we should eat.

but between tara's (former san-diego-an) insistence & the crazy-long line outside,

we knew there was really only one option.

filippi's won.

the line goes all the way through their deli and to the street.

of course, my sweet & friendly husband made friends while we waited,

super-nice pediatric dentists from kansas, in san diego for a convention.

i love how nice he is.

side note: accordion player serenading the line.

bonus.

after a long wait,

we finally made it to our table.

it was EXACTLY what i was hoping for.

i felt like i was in italy.

or at least what i picture.

if nothing else, new york's little italy.

checkered tablecloths.

simple menu of lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli & pizza.

yes.

 

my favorite was the bottles of chianti hanging from the ceiling.

diners could decorate them to hang as a memento from their visit.

i have never ordered a bottle of wine at dinner before.

but you bet your bottom dollar it was happening!

we decorated our bottle and watched them hang it.

(and shared the wine with our new-found kansas friends :)

happiness.

the next morning we headed to the famers market

literally on our street.

i love me a farmers market.

this one had live sea urchins (what?), gorgeous flowers,

lots of yummy produce and tons of other fun things.

you know, like dogs riding in remote-control cars.

i walked away with some salted caramels & a new necklace.

we ate pizza slices and loaded up the car.

 

for our last stop,

we went out to coronado island.

i have always wanted to go there.

someday, i'd love to stay at the hotel del coronado.

it is straight-up beautiful.

we walked the hotel, 

headed out to the beach and the tide pools

(we spotted some big crabs & saw a few dolphins)

and just soaked in the sun.

and the quiet.

and each other.

after two days away,

it was great to come home to these little people.

(HUGE shout out to rose for taking fabulous care of them while we were gone!)

i'm always amazed that for how much i want a break,

the minute i'm away from them, i miss these kids like crazy.

but mostly,

it was wonderful to know that after eleven years of marriage,

i am still crazy for this guy.

he is my best friend.

he makes me laugh.

i have the most fun with him.

i love, love, love him.

so i returned with a very full belly.

but an even fuller heart.

i was reminded just how blessed i am

to be a mommy,

and to be married to this wonderful man.

i love la!

i've had an itch to travel.

so on saturday, we packed up the swagger wagon and 

headed to LA!

we've lived here almost nine months 

and still hadn't headed up to explore the county to the north of us. 

it was time.

we were ready to be full-out tourists for a day,

something that i just love to do ;)

we started at the grove

(side note- they film extra there on the weekdays.  but, sadly, no celebrity sightings for us.  nine months... i am just waiting to see someone!  jeff peed next to topper grace at a concert... but none for me ;)

and went to the farmers market.

this farmers market was not at all what i was expecting...

no booths with produce and kettle corn.

instead, it was alleyways with little mini-restaurants.

yum!  

my picky children said no to jambalaya or shawarma,

so we went to the place that served waffles.

after a yummy breakfast,

we browsed the shops, and took in the awesome fountain.

jackson, our resident 'fountain finder' was very excited about this one.

one of the vendors had bubble guns going.

excitement ensued.

crazy-bubble-face.

we grabbed a quick lunch at chipotle

(jackson's favorite)

and got back in the car.

while we were driving, 

i spotted the hollywood sign.

jackson was super excited to see it,

so we decided we needed a photo.

thirty minutes later, we finally found a spot ;)

the girls were both asleep, but our big boy was all for it.

 

it's tiny, but the hollywood sign is there in the background :)

then we drove by hollywood & highland to see all the crazy people dressed up.

like spiderman.  with a fanny pack.

from there we headed to rodeo drive.

no pictures.  too busy looking in the windows ;)

we continued down santa monica boulevard and into westwood.

upon the recommendation of our friend bryan, 

we ended up at diddy riese.

oh. my. amazingness.

they make homemade ice cream sandwiches.

for like $1.85

what?

okay.

the hardest part was choosing flavors.

my crazy son only wanted a cookie.

he's a cheap date.

bella wanted strawberry ice cream.

in a cone.

i kept telling her she got ice cream and a cookie.

but she wanted the cone.

ok.

charlotte, apparently my smartest child,

went for the sandwich.

but with the first bite, 

all the ice cream fell out.

poor kid.

she didn't seem to mind.

we sat in front of a little movie theater,

eating treats, 

laughing,

and just being a family.

it was perfect.

i had to capture the moment.

i love my big boy.

six years old.

i especially love the chocolate and cookie still on his mouth ;)

four years going on fourteen.

this is the smile of a little girl who is potty trained.

whoo hoo!

we had such a sweet day as a family.

we needed that.

it was perfect.

and the fun continues!

tonight my awesome friend, rose, is coming down on the train.

she's watching the kids so jeff & i can go to san diego for a belated-anniversary-trip.

yipee!

excited for some time with my boo.

let's hear it for good friends, groupons, and cool cities just an hour away :)

i know there is a lot more to see,

but so far...

i love LA! 

(but i love living in orange county :)

wanderlust

exactly one year ago today,

i was on a plane,

headed toward the most amazing week of my life.

for our ten year anniversary, 

we traveled to the riviera maya in mexico and stayed at the secrets maroma resort.

heaven i say.  heaven.

all inclusive perfection.

today i just cleaned charlotte's vomit off my kitchen floor.

if i'm lucky, i'll make a trip to target.

i admit it.  i am sad today.

i want to go somewhere.

i've had a major travel bug for awhile now.

i have this incredible desire to see the world,

but life (and silly little things like finances) just keeps it from happening.

my sweet grandad always called it wanderlust.

yep. i've got a bad case of it.

and today it's especially itchy.

a few weeks ago, i was with some girlfriends having the conversation

'what is your favorite country you've been to'?  

i had very little input,

other than what i've seen on the amazing race.

so i thought,

on the anniversary of my best trip ever,

i'd make my top-six-places-i-want-to-travel list.

(i could have done ten, but that seemed boring for you. so.... i narrowed it to six.  but i do have ten places :)

in order:

the mediterranean.

i am super fascinated by the italy/greece region.

i want to see all the ancient ruins,

ride on a real gondola (not one of those around balboa harbor)

and stay in one of those cities on the hillside,

like in sisterhood of the traveling pants 2.

(yes.  i saw it.  what?)

it looks like the perfect combination of beautiful & historical.

not to mention... i like me some italian food.

paris.

this one seems like kind of a 'duh'.

i mean, who doesn't want to go to the most romantic city on earth?

the closest i've gotten to paris is walking through the paris hotel in las vegas.

i'm guessing the real thing is a little better, eh?

i want to sit on a sidewalk eating cheese & bread.

marvel at the eiffel tower.

walk along the seine at sunset.

pretend i'm cultured and discuss paintings at the louvre.

fiji {somewhere tropical}

my trip to the riviera maya gave me a taste for the tropical.

laying on a beach sipping a delicious drink?

yes please!

i'm not even totally sure if it's fiji.  i'm not up on my 

'where-is-the-best-place-to-get-all-tropical',

but i'm thinking fiji is pretty great.

i want to stay in one of those huts right on the water.

for reals.

(but how do you use the bathroom in one of those things?)

prague {old europe}

i saw them go to prague in an episode of the amazing race.

i decided at that moment it had to be added to my bucket list.

it just looks like one of those magical cities.

(although if i'm going to prague, i'd like to stay for awhile and tour the rest of europe, too.

so tack on switzerland, germany, england, etc ;)

and i'm not sure what that castle is. but i want to go to a castle.

because this girl has some inner-princess issues.

(it's probably a church or something, but i know there are castles around there, and i will find them!)

rio {south america}

i think south america looks pretty amazing.  

costa rica, brazil... i'd love to see all of it.

but at the top of that list is rio de janeiro.

i'm not sure if it was the movie rio or the clip from breaking dawn

(i need to start watching better movies)

but i want to go there.

hawaii

sometimes i think i'm the last person on the planet that hasn't been there.

i want to go to a luau.

hula dance.

hike up a volcano.

and yes.  lay on the beach. with warm water lapping my feet.

and i wouldn't say no to a tropical drink ;)

so there you go.

places i wish i was on a plane to today.

(although i would be overjoyed to be on a plane back to secrets maroma, too!)

don't get me wrong... 

i LOVE my life.

i love where i live, my family, and all god has blessed me with.

but let's be honest...

life with three kids is rarely glamorous.

 it is really nice to get away.

see all that god has created on this earth.

and come back refreshed and ready for everyday life.

i really do want to see the world.

i realize there is a lot more history & culture than orange county has to offer.

so someday.

i'm going.

who wants to come along?

where are your dream vacations?

where have you been that was just amazing?

today, let's all have a little wanderlust.