Road Trip Diary / Day 4 & 5

Day 4
We finally got to sleep in on Saturday. Sleeping in til 8am, is a big deal when you have 2 kids. Then we helped my sister prep for a BBQ we had at her house that day. We made a ton of delicious food! Avocado and Grapefruit salad, (definitely have to make that one again) Bison steaks, Salmon, Potato salad and the yummiest cheese plate ever with my favorite, Manchego cheese. We basically just feasted, partied and visited with friends. It was so fun to just relax in her cozy backyard. And the girls loved having a break from the confining car. I could spend so much time out there. Its the perfect little haven hidden in the hillside. Flowers, lemon trees and rosemary growing all around. Hummingbirds would come and steal bits of nectar from the garden and you could hear the sound of owls protesting our presence. I could spend hours out there (and in fact we were out there most of the day). Its an ideal quiet writing space. Maybe I'll have to visit my sister again if I ever need a place to write the world's next great novel. :) After our friends left and the girls went to bed, my sister, brother and I (the husband fell asleep....BBQing is hard work!) sat outside on the old weather worn chairs and talked deep into the night.

Day 5
We went to an amazing breakfast place in LA called Joan's on 3rd. Its like a half market, half restaurant and all their food is so yummy. Now whenever I go, I have to pick up a container of their Alphabet Gummies, which I give to Princess to help with learning her letters. You can learn anything when there is candy involved! Their Eggs Benedict has to be one of my favorites and I've tried a lot of Eggs Benes in my day. After stuffing ourselves with deliciousness (and keeping an eye out for celebrities....Nope. Didn't see any) we shopped along 3rd street. We found an adorable little kids boutique. It was spendy for us, but it was fun to look at. And it just happened to give me an idea for an upcoming project that I will show you probably next week. We got some cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery. And let me tell you, they are the best cupcakes I. Have. Ever. Tasted. Even my husband, who not normally a big dessert guy, was loving them. I have seen the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook all over the place, so it made me want to buy it and try out their recipes now. I got a gorgeous Free People-esque (love FPesque stuff) shirt from a boutique where everything in the store was under $100. Love that idea! More stores should do that! Then of course we had to get our first LA parking ticket. What's a trip to LA without a parking ticket, right?
Then we visited the TOMS headquarters where my sister works.

It was so amazing. The whole environment was so creative and fun. Chalkboard walls, slides that go from one floor to another and an in house barista. Tough working environment right? Plus, shoes are everywhere.....a shoe lover's dream for sure.

Princess loved the slide.

Its such a great company. One for One! Every single product they sell, they give something back to someone in need. And all their giving is 100% responsible, which is an important factor that not all companies think about. I'm really glad we got to see the place where so much good happens. Got this cute pic from one of their meeting areas.

I'm gonna bawl like a crazy woman when this little girl has to go to school.

After that we walked around Venice on Abbot-Kinney (a great shopping and restaurant area), grabbed lunch and fresh juices from a place called Kreation (there were juices everywhere. No wonder everyone in LA is so skinny. Its so easy to be healthy down there because the options are endless).
Then we said goodbye to the mildly warm weather of LA and drove 6 hours to my parents house in Arizona (where the 100 degree weather awaited us). We drove through Palm Springs where thousands of wind turbines littered the area. It is pretty cool to see those things up close if you have never seen one. And seeing thousands at once is crazy!

We arrived around midnight and went straight to sleep.

To Be Continued...

P.S. Princess's big birthday party is this weekend. So you'll be seeing the BIG party reveal, coming soon!