el matador state beach

from a little road trip we took down the coast, through topanga and malibu canyon to el matador state beach in malibu while cassie was here for a visit this pas weekend. i think the pictures speak for themselves. i really loved having cassie here and getting to show her around. we have known each other since 6th grade and she is one of those wonderful friends that you can just pick up where ever you left off and i always love having her around. this last picture we look like superheroes [really we are watching a seal play in the waves].

oscar + ocean = happiest

we went up to santa barbara yesterday to bring the doggies to the beach. oscar had never been out on the beach and although he hates being wet and hates taking a bath ... he LOVED the ocean so much! i think it was the happiest i have seen him! he was running and diving into the water and having the best time. he was so sandy and exhausted after ... can't wait to take him again.

dad's visit : trout meuniere

last monday night my dad and i made wedge salads, fried eggplant, and trout meuniere. i miss cooking with my dad. when we cook together it resembles a well rehearsed dance. we can cook complex dishes with such ease because we move together, knowing exactly what the other needs before they need to ask. my dad has a real passion for cooking that he got from his mother, and has passed on to my sister, ashley, and myself. the best times with my dad include food and cooking.

dad's visit : redondo beach pier

on the third day my dad was here, we finally slept in a little! we then drove around manhattan beach, hermosa beach and redondo beach ... the places we would like to move to. one thing my dad really wanted while he was here was fresh dungeness crab. so we went to the redondo beach pier where they have live dungeness crab. we made a little picnic on the pier.

dad's visit : catalina island

the second day my dad was here we drove to newport beach and took the catalina flyer to catalina island. the boat ride is about an hour, and we mainly rested on the way there and back. once on the island we walked around and had a really delicious lunch of fried calamari, blackened ahi tuna and dungeness crab cakes. there was barely a spot to sit down on the beach. the beaches are very small and there are lots of people, but we finally found a little spot and got to enjoy the beach and water. it was actually quite hot out, so the water felt really nice. then we had a pile of carne asada nachos with beer and margaritas as a snack before heading back to the main land. on the drive home my dad called my mom to tell her about our day and explained that we saw three very large fish out in the ocean that had these huge blow holes ... my mom yelled so bad on the phone "y'all saw WHALES!!?" my mom wants to see whales so badly ... so we are already planning a spring trip when the grey whales make their journey back to alaska. [ note: i know whales are mammals and not fish ... i know my little friend addison would correct me on this. ]

Catalina Island on Dwellable

dad's visit : wine

last weekend my dad came to visit by himself, and we had quality time to do some things that we both love together. the first of these was going on a wine tour ... a first for us both. our tour guide was so great. her name is dee, and her company is Deetours. she was so sweet and picked us up in santa barbara after we had a great breakfast at sambo's and took us to the santa ynez valley. we went to 4 wineries:  

Shoestring  .  Brander  .  Bridlewood  .  Dascomb 

we ate a great lunch outside at Brander with some of their delicious white wine, and snacked on the sweetest strawberries that dee stopped to pick up at her favorite stand on the side of the road. we also got to see a zonkey, a field of marigolds, and taste olive oils and vinegars. [ my new priced possession is a bottle of blood orange vinegar ] we got to see solvang and tried some of their delicious desserts and pastries. we had a great time with the others on the tour and i highly recommend going on a tour with dee. the very best part was just being with my dad and seeing a huge grin on his face ... he has text me multiple time this week after he got back home to tell me he still has that grin on his face. 

see that big grin :)