I had such a wonderful weekend!
It started Thursday night when we went to see The Get Up Kids at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. They are one of our favorite bands since high school and always put on the best show. It was so great to sing my little heart out to some old favorites ('I'm a loner Dottie, a rebel' being the greatest!). This picture is terrible, but it gives a good idea of how close we were and how intimate the Troubadour is, making it my favorite LA venue. James and I collect screen printed posters from the shows we've been to over the years, this time we were able to buy a poster and get it signed by Matt & Jim. It was a great night.
For the remainder of our weekend, James and I decided to treat ourselves to a weekend get away to beautiful Santa Barbara. We have been such busy bees lately, so a get away was much needed. We stood in a beach front hotel and spent two sunny days enjoying ocean breezes and clear skies. Only in California can you vacation at the beach in the dead of winter! It was not until this morning that the season caught up to us, as we awoke to the pitter-patter of rain drops against our hotel room window. We adjusted our route home to avoid Pacific Coast Highway and luckily the rain died down before we made our way back home to Los Angeles.
The beautiful thing about Santa Barbara is that you can experience the beauty of both the coastal region and mountain valleys... both so overwhelmingly beautiful.
This trip will be most remembered for it's spectacular views.
On saturday we planned a day trip to Solvang, a quaint Danish village founded in 1911, located just 45 minutes away from Santa Barbara. We started the day with a delicious Danish pancake breakfast. They may not look so big in the photo, but Danish pancakes really are the giants of the pancake world!
We visited a few antique stores where we hunted for a souvenir.
This wooden victrola was spectacular. James and I both agreed that it definitely would have been our dream souvenir - dream being the key word as it cost over $2000!
However, we did achieved our goal when I spotted a $16 treasure at a small antique mall on State Street in Downtown Santa Barbara. At the very back of the store, on the upper most shelf, was a brass bird cage with a tiny feathered yellow bird propped inside. To my surprise, it was not just vintage home decor, but a working music box! Once wound up it played a song and the little bird hopped back and forth from perch to perch... a definite treat that I could not leave without! I thought that the only thing that would have made this bird even dreamier would be if it chirped rather than played music. Funny enough, the very next day at a toy store I found a wooden bird cage wind up toy with a pink feathered bird who chirps and rocks once wound up. Of course I snatched that up too! The two birdies look divine next to each other and now my collection is complete!
Unfortunately I don't have a picture right now and I don't mean to tease, but I'll post one as soon as I get the old brass cage cleaned up a bit (it's very dusty & grimmy!).
This is a silly picture of a three shelf display of weenier dog figurines that James came across at a tourist shop in Solvang. We are huge Dachshund lovers, having raised a beloved doxie for 8 years. Anything Dachshund related always catches our attention.
James did the majority of the planning for this trip and he did it all because he wanted to bring some cheer back into my exhausted little self and so that we could experience something new together. When I got home today I felt so happy and well rested. Bravo, boyfriend! Thanks to my love for such a wonderful weekend away.
I hope you all did something this weekend that brought a smile to your face!
xoxo. nadia
