SoCal adventuring: our final days

As March comes to an end, so do the posts about our SoCal trip. (I don't think I'm ready for it to end!) 

Monday, we spent the day in Hollywood & Beverly Hills!

But that morning, we had breakfast with Becky! It honestly felt like seeing family, and I'm already excited about living close to her after so many years!

our first stop was at the Griffith Observatory 

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel where they filmed Pretty Woman

& the Oscar for best real life hubby goes to....Guilherme Oliveira!!! (you're always a winner to me babe)

The Walk of Fame

This is the home of Tia Ro's friends that live on the hills of Beverly Hills. You can actually see their place driving up to the conservatory. Their home is a dream and this picture does not do it justice. The couple that lives here spends most of their year living in other countries. They have spent their lives traveling together (they married in Fiji!) and have been to over 130 countries so their home is filled with art & treasures from around the world. One of their favorite places is Rio (of course!), where they met my aunt many years ago. 

Driving up the hills, we got to a dead end and encountered a huge gate you couldn't see through. I don't know who's living behind that gate but we loved their view. 

Tuesday, g's birthday! We wen't downtown in the morning to get him a couple jersey's and after we left we knew we had to stop at In-N-Out because we were leaving Cali that night (& you know we stopped at Marshalls!)

Our opinion about In-N-Out: not worth the hype.Yes, it's a must visit when you're in the west coast but in our opinion, we'd choose M Burger or Portillo's (Chicago favorites) over their burger any day. Sorry Californians! Please don't throw stones. :)

I am very proud of this family portrait! Getting a hyper dog to look at you while taking her photo is no small thing!

debuting my first Anthropologie dress for hubby's day!

the owner of the bike they were posing with wanted to get in the picture too! lol

We had dinner on Huntington Beach at Duke's. Duke was a famous surfer in Hawaii, so the dishes are inspired by Hawaiian cuisine! We definitely recommend eating here if you're in the area!

look at this view!

 

It was so fun getting to reminisce on these days in California with our family & friends through these SoCal posts. More than ever (thanks to the never ending bipolar weather we've been having) we hope it call it home soon. Thanks for reading!

eating: spinach salad

Do you struggle with making healthy food choices? I have always tended to, unless there are healthier options I can make that are absolutely delicious! This is so true for me when it comes to salads. I've gone through stages of loving salads, then avoiding them for months. But after creating this one I had to share it because it is so tasty, I actually crave it and I haven't craved one in a long time! After eating it for lunch or dinner many days this week, I hope this is only the beginning of my love for salads (again) and another step towards a healthier lifestyle. I hope you can try it & enjoy!

 Ingredients:

Spinach

an Avocado (+ salt)

Feta Cheese

Nuts (I use pecans)

Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette

Eat it with your favorite fruit smoothie & you're good to go! You can also add fish or chicken to make it more filling for dinner.

Cheers to eating well & thanks for reading!

SoCal adventuring: part San Diego

Look at this view! We loved the feeling of being surrounded my mountains everywhere we looked during our time in San Diego. It is a gorgeous place! We got up before the sun on Sunday morning for a two hour drive to Chula Vista. We were so excited to get to visit some long time friends who moved from Jersey to San Diego, and also get to explore this city in SoCal. g & I were really surprised to find that it was one of the places we enjoyed the most on our trip. There's so much to do & see, and not to mention all the beauty in the greenery & Mexico in sight. We could totally see why our friends moved here & why they want to stay! We're definitely excited about making many more visits here in the future. I feel like the saying "west is best" will be ours to hold soon. 

 as we were getting ready we noticed the most vibrant oranges & yellows shining through the windows. when I looked outside my breath was taken away. I think it's amazing how the glorious sun tends to remind me of the Glorious Son.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, 

but will have the Light of life." John 8:12

preach PC!

g: "babe, you know there could be a snake in there." t: "we got this yo!" (I have no idea where that came from. lol)

the boys wanted to play games with g as soon as we walked in. it was so cute!

brazilian bbq at PC & Liz's!

cheers for timer cam!

Elimar & Julia showed us around their new town! our first stop was Coronado beach 

LOVE this photo of g!

our next stop was La Jolla to watch the sunset. Can you see the seals along the shore?

we stopped by Old Town, the cutest little Mexican town filled with goodies & authentic food(ies)?  lol

I had to join Elimar in the hilariousness!

we ended our day in Little Italy! Elimar took us to this little pizza shop he likes that didn't look at all as amazing as it actually was! We can't wait to visit San Diego again!

Thank you PC, Elimar & family for welcoming us into your homes & sharing some good times with us! We are so thankful to have you as life-long friends no matter where our lives take us. Hopefully, we'll be closer to you soon! :)

thanks for reading!