Sunset Trip Archives

Speaking of Sunset, have you guys cruised all of their Western Trip Destinations? I get lost all the time dreaming about the gorgeous places they feature. This year I've been dying to get more travel in, so I'm bookmarking some of my favorites. Among them Fall California Trips including a trip up the 395 to the Eastern Sierra (pictured). This is one of my favorite drives and in the right season camping near lone pine is absolutely magical. I'm also really raring to go to some of the National Parks I haven't seen yet.

Here are some other favorites. I'm planning to sit down with a calendar and plan in some trips so the year doesn't escape me!

9 Great Fall Trips in the NorthWest

Plan A National Park Tour including Golden Season in Yosemite (which I caught last year, spectacular!)

Palm Springs: Rent a House, Not a Hotel Room. I also did this last year and it was awesome.

6 Winter Escapes that look serene and gorgeous.

Joshua Tree

Went camping over the weekend in Joshua Tree. Oh how I had forgotten how much I love to camp! Scrambling over rocks, eating hot dogs and s'mores, freezing in your sleeping bag and getting as dirty as you want. What a lovely break. Can't wait to do more this summer. You can see a bunch of the photos here.

We camped in Jumbo Rocks campground (don't need a reservation) and it's right dab in the center of the park. We mainly just climbed around and enjoyed the scenery. The park was packed because of Spring Break, but luckily we were able to find a campsite.

I adore these Fire Posters

I was inspired and checked out the link from the post below. I love these posters. Maybe because I love california.

Craftsman Bungalow of my Dreams

Reader Rowena (winner of my one and only giveaway so far) has sent in pictures of her amazing craftsman bungalow here in LA. To say that I'm jealous would be an understatement!








Thanks for sharing Rowena!

A trip to Solvang

So for Valentine's Day I got taken to Solvang, a little Danish town inland from Santa Barbara (more or less). Also, I think until now I haven't mentioned that my boyfriend is a pilot. And has a little Cessna. Um, and a helicopter. Yeah, so we flew to Solvang. I present to you some photos:







Solvang is tiny and full of Danish things and except for all the Americans, feels a little bit like you took a trip to Europe (if you don't look too hard at thngs like stop signs and signals...)








If you go, you have to eat at Olsen's, it's a staple. You can also buy their Danish Butter cookies online and they'll ship them anywhere. Yum.




Overall, highly recommended and quite enjoyable. The End.
The end.

June Lake Getaway

If you're in California (or I guess even if you aren't) and want to go for a nice little jaunt into the snow I totally recommend checking out June Lake up the 395, just north of the turn-off to Mammoth. For one thing, it's small and kind of secluded even though it's only about 2 miles off the highway. The lake is beautiful, the mountain is open for skiing and you can stay in a number of really cute (and I mean CUTE, like stepping back in time cute) places like June Lake Pines which has individual cabins that appear to accommodate 2-4 people and Boulder Lodge which is the only resort with an indoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna (though the sauna wasn't working when I was there). Boulder Lodge also has individual cabins that don't seem to be nearly as warm as the 'motel' area.

Whoah

I won't be checking in the next couple of days because I'm at the happiest place on earth. For reals.

My chair and the woes of picking a fabric

I was this close to nailing down a fabric choice for my matching danish modern sofa and chair set. So close. And then I started thinking that maybe I should go for more of a pattern. That a solid would be too boring and heavy. Especially a dark color like i was thinking. So even though I had been thinking a solid blue or green, when I went to buy the fabric, I randomly thought about stripes and now I'm considering all manner of prints.



I like these, maybe not for a whole sofa and chair but...
From Sew Mama Sew:

this one:


this one:


and this one:


and from purl:
this one:


and this one:


I also know better than to go for a pink couch, but it's really calling to me. Another option is to stick with one of the solids and just make a bunch of throw pillows out of these different fabrics. Any thoughts?

Oh and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about this fabric as a point of reference. I'd want more color, but I like the pattern...

Nature!

So 4 days spent north of Sacramento. Ahhh, nature. Doing less, cooler air. I'm pretty sure I was born into the wrong climate given how much I love gray days and brisk weather. So this was wonderful. Saw my cousins and some horses and went for a hike.


We were closest to the little town of Auburn:



On our way down we stopped to see the state capital. Man I love california:

I heart Jacarandas

Did you know that Jacarandas are some of the only trees that have 2 blooming cycles each year? Nothing reminds me of summer more than a street lined with these beauties.

Container Gardening

I live on the second floor and have an itty bitty balcony so I'm always looking out for great container gardens. I took a little trip to Descanso the other day and was most impressed with the design and planting of these containers:

Vacation Home Away From Home

Let me introduce you to Hope Springs in Desert Hot Springs.

I stayed here with E in December of last year. Three hot springs, varying hot-ness, no tv's, beautiful breakfast spread, far enough from palm springs that you can really relax and soak in the weird desert vibe, but close enough that you can go out for a great dinner.


Every room has slightly different mid century modern details like this pottery in the lobby.


Here's breakfast and a blue chair.