Hiking under the Hollywood sign.

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Usually on the weekends we have a couple of adventures in mind, even before Saturday morning is upon us. Throughout the week we’ll talk about what we want to do, and then once the weekend is here we don’t waste any precious family time making plans.

This past weekend we drove over to the Hollywood hills and went on a little hike. And I type “hike” loosely because I wore sandals. Even though it was uphill the way there, the path was easy.

We loaded up the Jeep with our stroller, the pup, water and plenty of snacks. And a couple pair of sunglasses! :)

The breeze was cool, the sun was at full peak, and the famous Hollywood sign was HUGE as we stood underneath it. We even saw tiny-looking people scurrying around under the sign as they were being told to get away from the sign (the police via intercom, perhaps?). It made me think of an episode of The Bachelorette/Bachelor and one of the dates where they sat under the letters. Ha! Any way, apparently it’s a huge penalty if you trespass around the Hollywood sign.

It took us about two hours to walk up the mountain to the sign, then come back down. Once we were home, the smell of beef stew in the crockpot greeted us… I’ve never been so happy to have dinner prepared. We were all starving!

We ended the evening with memories of a fun but exhausting day, and the next morning we woke up suuuuper early for an Easter sunrise service on the beach.

Spending a Saturday afternoon outside with family reminds me of my childhood… It was beyond amazing.

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Our life has been nothing short of adventurous since we were married, six years ago this coming June. Instead of focusing on how different or hard or flexible we need to be, I embrace it. It makes our day to day life that much sweeter.

On getting off-track, and self-care.

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the constant pull of the waves on Easter Sunday, taken just after sunrise

Even though I’ve been blogging for more years than I can count on one hand, there are still times when I get super off track when I sit down to write a blog post. And even though I always have a running “things I should work on when I have a spare moment” list, also known as a to-do list, sometimes I get off track. I don’t know about you, but knowing these kind of things about my favorite people encourages me. Knowing my friends aren’t perfect? Yes, let’s chat about that over a big bowl of homemade macaroni & cheese. (She writes, perhaps from experience.)

So this morning started out on the best foot possible, considering I was up more times that usual with Maxwell. I’m sure it has everything to do with waking up at 5am yesterday for an Easter sunrise service on the beach, but really it could be that plus he’s getting a few more teeth. Regardless, last night was super un-restful (is that a word? I’m getting a red squiggly line) for me. But cinnamon rolls in the oven, hot from the oven, and a cup of coffee made it so much better.

And so as Maxwell takes his morning nap and I sit down to type out this post, I’m reminded of my random thoughts and how easy it is to get off track. Like how instead of writing a post I should be doing ______ , when really writing this post is what would be the most refreshing for me.

Lately I’ve been focusing on more self-care for myself. Not fu-fu self-care, but practical/necessary/important self-care.

Getting a haircut (this actually helps me spend less time on my hair in the morning (because when it’s cut well my hair curls 100x better, and then all that’s really required is a spritz from the water bottle)).

Sitting down to prep our meals for the week and buying yummy produce and energy-giving snacks.

Reading a devotional in the morning, before the day really starts.

Making plans to meet with my girls, so conversations with volume can be had.

Reading this (again).

Learning how to embroider.

OK. I can feel myself getting off-track here ;) If you’re interested in even more self-care chatter leave me a comment below, or join the conversation happening over here.

Enjoy your Monday, for real.

 

Walking in Venice.

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Sometimes, when the days seem to all mesh together and you know doing something totally different is in order… you drive over to Venice in the morning for a long walk.

You walk with the dog, walk with the baby, walk with your sunglasses on. You walk with your hair blowing in the ocean’s breeze, as it’s soaking up the scent of sunshine and coconut oil and salt.

You walk by shop owners setting up their tee shirts and sunglasses stands, and henna artists are sitting in what’s left of the morning shade, ready for a full day of work.

You walk men passing out CD’s (uhhh, no thanks) and hear the sound of skateboarders grinding up ahead. You walk past the smell hot dogs cooking and whooooooooo, a biker speeds by.

Oh, and hello little blue lifeguard stand.

I can always tell the locals from the tourists. The locals are bundled up during the morning hours (or anytime it’s below 68*), chilled by the breeze that whips around them. (Kinda makes me giggle. They don’t know what cold really feels like.) The tourists look quite the opposite, wearing flip flops and short shorts and tanks, trying to soak up the warmth as if they can bottle it and bring it back home.

One of my favorite things about living in Los Angeles is how many different places there are to walk, but no matter where I go I can usually always see the ocean, the mountains, or the cityscape. And always the gorgeous flowers. Growing up in Michigan we didn’t have these kinds of views, so walking in Venice is a real treat.

I need to drive over there more often. Venice is just a few miles from where we live, but walking their beach front is so refreshing…