daddy-daughter date at disneyland

You + Dad + fun outing of your choice = Daddy-daughter date
Daddy-daughter dates were the bomb when I was little. My choices were always the same three things:
1. Petco
2. Cold Stone Creamery
3. Orchard Supply Hardware
Don't judge. They were my favorite places and my indecisive self I could never choose between them. I loved Petco. We would watch puppy training lessons because hello so many puppies all in one place! No brainer for a puppy lover like me. I know, pathetic, but having a puppy was my birthday, half birthday, and Christmas wish since I was 4. And c'mon everyone loves Cold Stone or at least I did pre lactose intolerance. And OSH as we called it, was perfect for my little green thumb. Dad and I would buy flowers at the hardware store and then go home and plant them.

This daddy-daughter date included a few days in Anaheim, California for a Farmers Insurance business trip. After the welcome ceremony there was an outdoor dinner party at the Convention Center. There were food trucks galore (20 to be exact), magicians, face painters, DJs. It just felt like a big block party and it was so fun!

The best thing about our trip was that we got to go to the happiest place on Earth! And the best best part, at 7:30pm California Adventure was shut down for a Farmers Insurance private party. Free food, drinks, and the park all to ourselves. No lines, no wait, and it was magical. 

Past 

Present

farmers logo at the end of world of color

#thanksdad

|| Erin 

solana shrooms and succulents

The weekend might have included some trespassing and shrooms. Come on I know what you are probably thinking. As you know, I have a great lawyer....well soon to be lawyer so I figured this post was alright even if it included some incriminating evidence of the weekend's happenings. (Look at me, turning into the wife of lawyer using words like incriminating) And just for the record, said "shrooms" are referring to the Mushroom Caves in Solana Beach.

The sole purpose of our venture to Solana Beach was for the Mushroom Caves. However, starting off an adventure not knowing the exact location of your ending point can either be very spontaneous or in our case very trying. We had no idea where the caves were actually located and neither did anyone else for that matter. After about an hour of driving around while scanning google maps, blogs, and websites, we parked and hoped for the best. We took a trail along the San Elijo Lagoon Reserve and a few pit stops later, 

Boom Bam! We found them!! 

On the way home we stopped at the cutest little succulent garden. I was minding my own business as I moseyed down the isles.  I looked up just expecting to see a cute cactus. Nope. What the!! There was an iguana/ lizard 2 inches from my face! I got out of there real quick. But stayed just long enough to snap a pic and read her name plaque.

lucy was scarier than she looks 

We ended the day at Solana Beach and it was lovely. 

|| Erin 

torrey pines to forget torts

We live for the weekend. Samuel works really hard every week so he doesn't have to study on the weekend. Eleven to 12 hour school days are hard but they make the weekend even more enjoyable without the stresses of law school. From Friday at 5 until Sunday night it's party time. We squeeze in as many fun things as we can. Last week after countless hours of Torts and Crim we adventured to Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla. Talk about a little nature to get your mind off things. It was beautiful and just what our weekend needed. There are so many trails and hikes to choose from. We hiked the Beach Trail which led down to the beach so we could spend the rest of the afternoon there.

Sam's favorite part was definitely jumping off the cliff into the wave. He can't get enough of the ocean. When I make fun of him he always says some philosophical remark about how the ocean's force and strength is so amazing.  

I just love being with Samuel 24/7. And for me that is what the weekend is all about.

|| Erin

life in limbo

I am stuck. Stuck in the stage right between graduation and looking for a job. I check the mail regularly for any sign of my dental hygiene license. But until it comes, which in reality is about a week and a half, I am in limbo.

I must admit, life in limbo is pretty great. I have no commitments, no plans, no anything for that matter! Without plans or requirements to get done there is no need for a list, but "To Do Lists" are my thing! So here's my daily schedule as follows:

1. Wake up
2. Pack Samuel's lunch for the day
3. Drive Samuel to campus
4. Do the dishes (not having a dishwasher is the worst! but I've found doing the dishes makes me feel semi-productive for the day)
5. Make dinner
6. Leave for the days adventures

Let me explain #5. It might seem out of order, it's not. San Diego is great and all but there is one thing wrong with it. People don't believe in air conditioning! Our cute little apartment is on the second floor so all the heat rises leaving our bedroom a constant 90 degrees. Uncool. Literally! We have recently resorted to pulling our mattress into the living room because it is about ten degrees cooler. Why does everyone say San Diego weather is a dream? Live in San Diego they said. The weather is perfect they said. Wrong! So naturally I have to cook dinner in the early hours of the morning before the dreaded heat kicks in. But no matter how hard I try I can not escape this heat. Hence "To Do" #6.

living room bed

#6 basically means leave the house as fast as possible and don't come back until 7:30pm. And I do just that. I don't have much of a problem deciding what to do because hello! I live 2 minutes from Fashion Valley. Every girls' shopping dream. I mean look at it! And that line up though! It would knock any other mall out of the park! But I live in limbo remember? Unemployed means no money but that doesn't stop me from a day of dress up. Am I right or am I right? The employees glare as I walk into the store because how dare I enter; let alone try on any clothes!! But I smile right back because soon enough I will be rollin' in the hundies. (Hopefully) 

fashion valley. the stores just go on and on forever

Just yesterday on my Fashion Valley adventure as I was walking out of Anthropologie, a Greenpeace guy (If you're not sure what a Greenpeace guy looks like just type that into google images) stopped me and said, "Save the whales and have lunch with me?" Clever, but I didn't fall for it and instead gave him a nice no thank you....The people you run into at the mall. Gotta love 'em! 

|| Erin