Ben and I were able to sneak away for a tiny flea market date this past Sunday. One of my fave markets is the Long Beach Antique Market every third Sunday of the month. These days, I usually don’t get there until 2pm, when it’s free to walk in, and I just peruse the stalls to find some treasures. I’m not looking for big furniture pieces, since our house is pretty full, I just like to see if there are any unique baskets, decorative, or clothing goods to bring home.

The market has changed so much since we started going over 10 years ago, and prices have definitely gone higher too. One thing that hasn’t changed is the excitement you get as you walk through each aisle searching for old treasures. There’s this anticipation in the unknown that I love so much. You never know what you’ll find, but if you don’t find anything, and it’s a bust, you walk out a teensy bit disappointed. My wallet is for sure happy though! No matter if you find something or not, the antique market is such an inspiring place to be. I love seeing all the random things people buy; I think that’s part of the fun.

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Yesterday, I took my four little galentines on a Galentine’s Day date. We woke up and finished up school by noon, ate lunch, then went out for some sunshine and cupcakes. I wanted to check out the new Baked Dessert Bar location, and of course, I knew my sweet tooth loving gals wouldn’t mind that one bit. On Mondays, they have $1 mini cupcakes, so each of us picked one. True and Soul picked out strawberry cheesecake cupcakes, Brave and I went for a salted caramel pretzel cupcakes, and Glow went for s’mores. Each cupcake was moist and absolutely delicious. Their new location is nice and spacious, so I think we’re going to come back one day to do a little homeschooling there, and nibble on desserts on our break. As much as I love staying home (I’m such a homebody and I hate traffic, which is hard to avoid in SoCal), it is really wonderful to get out and enjoy a beautiful day with my sweet galentines. It reminds me I need to take them out on more adventures!

The Golden Years Market in Downtown Santa Ana happened this past Saturday, and I went with my two biggest girls in tow. It’s a vintage clothing/record market that happens a couple times a year, and this was my first time going. It was a last minute decision to go, since Ben was sick, I decided it would be fun to get out of the house for a little bit. Plus, while I can’t do malls (oh how my high school/college self would have never believed it), I can definitely do vintage market shopping. I will take a vintage market and thrift store over a mall any day. The market hosted some of my favorite online vintage shops, so I really couldn’t wait to see some of their goods in person.

The girls and I walked through the whole market, making mental notes of what we loved. There were a few hats, shoes (sadly not my size, but good for my wallet), scarves, and a vintage kid jumpsuit we loved, but what I did come home with was some vintage bell bottom overalls from Fair Season. She had a couple other pairs of jeans I was eyeing, but I stuck to the overalls, since those are really hard to find in my size. I was really excited to meet Toni too, since I have been following her shop and Instagram forever. She’s one cool gal with such good, laid back vintage style. The girls brought their own money, and while they found things they liked, they didn’t want to spend. On the way home, I said, “We didn’t get you guys anything.” They replied, “Yeah you did. The overalls will be ours one day.” Yep, that is true, so I guess I did get them something.

The girls have outgrown a lot of their clothes, so we’ve been thrift hunting and altering some of my old clothes to fit them. I can see their individual styles developing, and even though they share clothes, they style things differently. I’ve been teaching them to read labels and identify fabrics, so it’s really special for me to be able to pass down this love for vintage. At the market, I’d pull out an item and say, “Would I wear this?” And they know if I would or wouldn’t, so I listen to them. It helps eliminate unnecessary purchases because they know what I would wear every day and what I like with my eyes, but wouldn’t really wear.

While there, I also got to meet thrift/vintage guru Beth from BJonesStyle. She’s just as fun and bubbly in real life as she comes across on video. The girls and I thought this gal was coolest dressed at the market, and True and Brave especially loved going inside Blossom Vintage’s trailer. I’ve followed Taylor’s depop shop, who we happened to meet at Anthro a few weeks back, and the girls recognized her at the market. It was fun going through her stall of stuff and we’re still thinking about one thing of hers we passed on at the market.  The girls and I ooh-ed and ahh-ed at all the one of a kind things, and all the people dressed to the nines in their vintage clothes. Even if you don’t buy anything, the market is an energizing place to be, so don’t miss out the next time one comes around!

on me: vintage top, bottom, and jacket (similar denim blazer here, and skirt, and bandana). shoes, rachel comey. birkin basket, space rocket store. on true: vintage denim jacket, similar here. vintage tee and skirt. pair of thieves socks, target. shoes, new balance. vintage bag, ms. tips. on brave: denim dress, thrifted (similar here). flares, old navy. doc martens, zappos, mini birkin basket, space rocket store.

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Our date got started later than we originally planned, so we ended up having a late lunch at Alcomar. I had been craving oysters, so I went with the oyster platter and ceviche for my meal, while Ben got the scallops veracruzana style. He wasn’t so impressed with his dish, though the cauliflower flan was tasty, but we both gave thumbs up to my ceviche and oysters. We were blessed with fantastic weather, so we opted to sit outside and enjoy it. I don’t think we’d come back here to eat again, but I am glad we tried it.

From where I was sitting for lunch, I saw Frond plant shop across the way, so we made a stop in after our meal. I came looking for the pilea peperomioides (they didn’t have it), but left with a farfugium japonicum. I loved this little plant shop, though most plants were pretty common types, they had a nice stock of pretty pots and baskets. Good thing this isn’t close to my house, otherwise, a lot of my pennies would be spent here on baskets.

Of course, we ventured over to Uncommon Objects and some of the other vintage clothing shops we frequent when we’re in town. Uncommon Objects is so good for ogling over quirky curiosities. There were many things I loved and would love to take home, but our home is pretty full, so there’s not too many things we need. Nevertheless, it’s still fun to peek around the museum-like shop. My favorite is how they color coordinate the sections.

We had time to kill before our dinner reservations, and because Churro Co. was closed (NBD, I was only waiting a year for our visit to finally try one of the churros I constantly drool over on their instagram), so we headed over to Kick Pleat and Olive. My favorite shoe designer is Rachel Comey, so I wanted to go a store and see her shoes in person. I have a few pairs of Rachel Comeys, but I’ve only ordered online. Even though I didn’t make a purchase, it was seriously so fun for me to go see them and try them on in a store. I was looking for a particular style, but it’s an older one, so it’s pretty hard to find a stockist who has any left in my size.

Finally, the highlight of our date, besides being with each other and actually holding hands, was eating at Uchi. Last time, we ate at Uchiko, and we didn’t know you had to make reservations, but we were lucky enough to be able to sit at the bar since we came right when they opened. This time, we made sure to make reservations for Uchi (made about 3 weeks prior), so our tummies were eagerly anticipating being filled with Uchi’s yumminess. And the good news is that Uchi did not disappoint. We ordered what seemed like a million things, and I even had room for not only 1, but 2 of their desserts. We ordered one, but they were so kind to bring us another one too. They also brought us like 3 other dishes we didn’t order to try out… that place not only excels in food, but also customer service. I know it sounds funny considering we are from California and sushi places abound, but this sushi place in Austin beat out any sushi place I’ve tried here at home. So if you’re in Austin, and love sushi, go to Uchi or Uchiko! The only difference I think we will do next time is sit at the bar. I think we really enjoyed the interaction with the sushi chef from our first visit, so I think next time, we’d like to sit at the bar again. Plus, that means we get to sit side by side, which means more cuddling.

After Uchi, and the 2 desserts I had there, we went to Prohibition Creamery so I could try their ice cream. It was a tough choice between the butter pecan rum and the spicy chocolate, but I went with the spicy chocolate. Hey! It’s our special day date, so I went buck wild with dessert.

We have plenty of friends who are very disciplined about their weekly date nights out. Us, not so much. We are both pretty content with our Friday nights having a homemade meal on the floor of our bedroom while we watch a movie. Sure, the kids are in their rooms right around the corner, but it’s intimate enough to allow us time to relax and connect together. It’s intentional time and we treasure it. Plus, we just aren’t weekly date nights out type of people, and then when we actually do go on a date, we go all out.

Like I said here, no matter if we are out and about or simply at home, I love just being with him (unless I’m mad, that’s a different story

I had no clue how the Michaels team would top last year’s summit, but they certainly did. The backdrop this year was at the gorgeous Carmel Valley Ranch, and I was not prepared for how amazing it was all going to be. The moment I stepped into my room, which had a living room, two televisions, fireplace in my bedroom, and a balcony overlooking deer and wild turkey roaming around… I was in hotel heaven. Immediately, I felt a little guilty that I was enjoying this without Ben and the girls, so I tried to convince them to drive up, but he said, “You need this break, just enjoy it.” So enjoy it I did! I went to sleep every night under the soft glow of the fireplace (it turned off by itself after two hours) and I came home wishing my bedroom had a fire place too.

In addition to the location being pretty heavenly, they made sure to pack our days with lots of inspiring classes and delicious meals. We took mixed media, shibori dyeing, cricut, wood burning (where I burned my arm and have a permanent scar), watercolor, jewelry making, tablescape creating, and macrame. My fave classes were mixed media with Jane Davenport and macrame with Annabel Wrigley. Then, there was the food. Oh the food! Yes, the main dishes were excellent, but I really miss the churros drizzled with dulce de leche, crème brûlée, and chocolate mousse cake. I’m a sweets gal all the way (and yes, I’m married to a dietitian too). Also, I loved the gorgeous styling at each meal. All of it was simply divine.

And yes, Sarah Michelle Gellar was there to share about her making journey with her family and Food Stirs. My high school self was freaking out inside because I so wanted to be Buffy (and was in love with Angel).

Not only was it nice to get spoiled a bit, but it was so great to nerd out with other makers. Part of the fun is meeting other makers and learning about what they specialize in. You had paper flower artists, party planners, hand lettering artists, painters, interior designers, fiber artists, jewelry designers, and the variety of specialties could go on and on. We were all joined together because we have a love for making. Sure, what we make might not always come out perfect, but it’s the whole process of creating that is so enjoyable. I added some new friends to Instagram and love that I get to continue watching their creative journey.

On the last day, I got to explore the ranch a bit and went for a guide-led nature hike. It was a perfect end to a wonderful craft-cation. I came home super inspired to teach the girls some new making techniques, but we’ll probably skip the wood burning.

Thank you Michaels for such an beautiful Michaels Makers event and I’m definitely inspired to keep on making!

We went camping with friends on Labor Day weekend and we had such a good time. While Ben and I both grew up camping (he went pretty much every summer), this is the first time we’ve taken our own family on a camping adventure. Our friends have this beautiful property a few hours away, so that was the special spot we got to experience our first camping trip. We were armed with a super large tent, a bucket for all our potty needs, sleeping bags, chairs, and cooler full of food. Thankfully, we were able to borrow all the gear from friends and family. Not knowing how it would go, or if we’d like it, we didn’t want to invest in things from the get go.

The weekend was spent hiking, eating, chatting, playing (we rode quads for the first time!), eating some more, and a whole lot of relaxing. In case you thought we were just eating cold cut sandwiches all weekend, we certainly were not. Our friends do this sort of gourmet camping and we stuffed ourselves with so much delicious food. I was inspired by how they got this camping thing down and do it in style. They are legit and they’re even building their own tiny house for weekends just like this when they want to go “off the grid.”

I was just in awe at the beauty that surrounded us, from the early morning sun peeking through the mountain and casting the most perfect golden light, to the bowl of stars shining brightly over our head at night. Clearly, nature was declaring God’s glory. The first night the girls looked up and said, “Mommy, the stars look fake.” On the second night, I spotted 3 shooting stars. THREE! These are things we miss out on due to all the light pollution out in suburbia.

The girls came home with treasures (rocks, sticks, and wildflowers) and a whole bunch of pictures captured on their Fuji Instax. Ben and I were so thankful to our friends for opening up their second home like that and allowing us to experience it. It was a such a magnificent weekend and I didn’t mind roughin’ it one bit. As long as I have my own bucket for our potty business, I am good to go. We’ve got one camping adventure under our belt, and I’m ready for another!