Magical Weekending!

Hi.
How is everyone?
It's already Wednesday Saturday, and I haven't been able to recap my latest weekending. However, the good news is my weekend ended yesterday Tuesday. The bad news is my weekend ended yesterday Tuesday. (Edit: I started this blog on Wednesday, and am finishing it on Saturday, oops!)

Let's just start off by saying, I'd been looking forward to this past weekend for MONTHS.
A while back Katy invited me to come visit, and that visit parlayed into a quick trip down to the land of all things Mickey and Mouse.

I'd been looking forward to it so much, I had a countdown rolling on an app on my phone.

Sometimes when I look forward to things so much, I come back disappointed.
With my visit with Katy, this was not the case. Not even close.

Instead, I wish I was still rolling shotgun by her side. Holding her sweet kiddo's squishy hands and watching some Curious George with a cup of coffee and a pumpkin muffin loaded with pumpkin butter.

Doing life. That's what Katy and I did.
Well, except for the quick visit to Sleeping Beauty's castle.
Still doing life, just the really magical kind. 

I left town early on Saturday AM, surprisingly containing my packing to one suitcase and one backpack.
I grabbed a grande Blonde Roast, 2 pumps of sugar free vanilla, and started cruising down to the middle of the Golden State.

Ahead of time, Katy had sent me the most awesome infinity scarf from our cute friend Cory's awesome shop. Temps were scheduled to be in the 80's all weekend, so it was now or never to keep my neck warm.
(Thankfully, back at home things are nice and cool, and that scarf will be reappearing soon).

About a half hour into my ride, I rolled up next to this orange blob. Which, to an untrained eye, would just be an orange blob. But, it actually was one of the contenders from last week's World Pumpkin Championship! A lot of the pumps come from Gilroy, so I have a feeling that is where he was headed. To be pulverized and deseeded (I'm making that word up) to become a happy pumpkin dad to maybe the 2014 pumpkin champion.

A few repeats of The Civil Wars, The Rend Collective, and a really awesome sermon later, I arrived at katygirl's kingdom. There were some excited squeals from young and old, and before I knew it we were back out the door on our way to the Diz.

But not without a quick stop into Oh, Hello Friend.
So cute.

I got a couple of things I had been wanting, and happened upon the most awesome Give Thanks sign - which just so happened to be made by a friend of mine! (I didn't even know until I turned it over).

After that, we were on our way.
Katygirl found us a sweet little place to stay, complete with a Starbucks on site.
Well done, Katygirl, well done.

We checked in and headed out to D-town Diz.

The sights, sounds, and smells. All magical.
We grabbed dinner and a drink. And ate some magical chips and salsa.

Walked around for a bit. I probably stood in front of the caramel apple window for a bit too long.
I am obsessed with how they are made. They are just so cute. I just want to bite a marshmallow ear off of a Minnie apple and run away.

And we perused the shops. And navigated the Saturday night crowds.
Then headed back to our kingdom for the night and slept under the watchful eye of this carousel horse.

First thing in the morning we were bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for a full day of mousing around.

And mouse around, we did.

 Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Indy.

Matterhorn, Alice, Buzz, Space Mountain.

Katy takes Buzz pretty seriously.
I, on the other hand, look like I saw an alien.

We explored the Halloween Tree (which is the coolest, BTW), and checked out the day of the dead exhibit.

And grabbed lunch while some one shot some commercial or music video in front of us.
No clue who though.

And after that we decided to Adventure. California Style.

We swung, we screamed, we soared, we were terrified.
And not the way you'd think.

I dragged Katy on Mickey's Adventure Wheel, where she was terrified.

And then we went on the Symphony Swings, where I thought I was going to die for a full 30 seconds.

And after we adventured our heart out, we returned to the land of Diz. 

Where we dined solely on Mickey shaped cuisine.

And as the Diz transitioned from day to night, the castle glowed in the background.

And we returned to the ever awesome Halloween Tree.
Where jack-o-lanterns grow, and twinkle lights glow.

And ate the ears off our Mickey ice creams. First.
Because that's how it's done.

And reflected on a beautiful day hanging out with one of my favorite people at the Magic Kingdom.

That night, we drove back to the katykingdom, and I got to sleep in this beaut of a bed.

And woke up to this beaut of a babe.

And enjoyed coffee with the sweetest critters in all the land.

And got to see a little behind the scenes of @katykristin's #mondaychalks

A few errands.
Katy, you are my hero.

And a little more behind the scenes of katygirl designs.

Where often times, I'm on the otherside of that computer screen, this time, I got to be right there in the flesh.

And after naps, Katy and I, and the critters headed to the park.
And this neighborhood creature of death came to meet and greet me.

And then the kiddos got baths.
And I got a little evening snuggle in with my good buddy Miles.
One of my favorite moments of the day.

And who needs bed head when you have bath head.
OMG. Right?

And soon it was bedtime, and Katy and I enjoyed a little bit of Catfish.
Okay, a lot bit of Catfish.

I woke up to news of Kimye's engagement, and pumpkin muffins. And coffee.

And a quick hug and hello to Lorieloo & two of her three littles.

Followed by some errands/entertaining Cammie.

And then soon, way, way too soon, it was time to say goodbye.
Thank goodness for rearview mirrors and big waving hands.
And a heart full of love and sunshine.

Thank you Katygirl (& Scottyboy too), you are truly the hostess with the mostess.
Thank you for the incredible day at the Diz, and the even more special days with you and your posse.
You are a rockstar mom, and I admire your love for your husband and kidlets, and the passion you have for all you do. You are gentle, and patient and kind. You are thoughtful.  You love big.
And most importantly, you live out the gospel daily, in so, so many ways.

A {Central} California Adventure: Part 2

After a fabulous first two days of reconnecting and adventuring with Cari & Betsy, you would think it could not get any better.
But you would think wrong.

On our third day together, we woke up early, got ready and headed into a funny little area of SLO, a bit off the beaten path, to Sally Loo's Wholesome Cafe. Thanks to Lisa's fun blog post about local hot spots, we knew it had to be a great find.

A sweet space full of personal touches, awesome hand lettering, and fantastically delicious coffee.

I enjoyed the most fabulous pourover.

It was so. freaking. good.

And ate the Hippy Breakfast.
Cute name.
Delicious bagel.

And got one more cup of coffee for the road.
The cutest little cup.
With a drawing of the cutest little pup, Sally Loo herself.

And as we headed to the car, we soaked in our surroundings for a moment, and realized we were right on the tracks.
Green mountains in the background.
Perfect photo shoot op.

We took a few snaps and hit the road.
Night Nurse Betsy took a nap in the backseat while Cari and I caught up during the hour drive to the little Danish town of Solvang.

Before we knew it we were getting off 101, and before our eyes was none other than
OSTRICH LAND.

You read that right.

For just a couple bucks you could have your own ostrich experience, including feeding them.
I had driven by Ostrich Land many times as a kid, and was always curious, but never thought of stopping.
But now I'm a grown up. And I was driving. So I steered my little car into the gravel parking lot, and we woke up Betsy. We were going to feed Ostriches.
(She was thrilled.)

I mean, who wouldn't jump at the chance to feed the world's largest bird.

We were greeted by these lovelies.

Regal, but pesky, for sure.

These ladies (and gents) have some fabulous lashes.

And then we got to feeding.

Which is an extreme sport in itself.

You want to keep an eye on your fingers.

These guys are intense when it comes to feeding time. 

Arms extended, fingers protected.

Cautious smiles.

Ostrich Land also has emus. 

Yes, emus. 

They have bright orange eyes.

Me and this guy had quite a staredown.

While Betsy fed these guys a snack.
Slightly more gentle than their ostrich friends.

Check out how huge these ostriches are next to Cari.

Their feet were something else.

 And welp, when we ran out of food, we were done with the ostriches as much as they were done with us.

After the insanity that was Ostrich Land, we continued on our crazy day towards Solvang, to rent a quintessential Surrey.

There is just something about that red and white canopy lined with fringe that stirs my heart.

You can't help but smile as you ride around town waving at other surreys and apologizing to the traffic going around you.

We all took turns driving.
And yes, we were this squished on that contraption.
Whoever was on the passenger side was holding on for dear life, especially during left and u-turns.
It was more terrifying than the ostrich feeding.

To get an idea of how ridiculously hilarious the whole experience is, Betsy recorded us coming up one of the streets.  I can't stop laughing everytime I see this video.



And this one - where I don't stop talking and I'm super excited about the wind in my hair.
(I apologize).

After our hour was up and we circled the town three or four times, we happily returned our Surrey, and continued on foot.

Cari looked on Yelp for our lunch options, and suggested the Succulent Cafe.
And my, oh my, this was the best find all week.
Not what I was expecting to eat while in Danish Solvang, but so, so, so good.
Like to-die-for good.

I started with a Prickly Pear Lemonade.
In front of a windmill.

And then had BBQ Pork Tacos.
Blogging about food can be risky, but I can't not share these tacos.

I ate every bite.

And after we were done, we did a little more window shopping.

I mean, Solvang is just so stinking adorable.
I love this friendly little town.

By this time, we were exhausted, and hitting an afternoon slump.
So we packed up and headed back towards SLO.
But Cari and her Yelp app had another great idea, how about finding a place to go wine tasting.

We did a u-turn on 101 (also, SCARY) and ended up in the cutest town of Los Olivos.

The tiniest town, with one street, lined with tasting rooms.
All different, with their own style and vibe.

Most of them had adirondack chairs, picnic benches, and firepits out front or back, allowing for leisurely tastings.

We ended up at the first room at one end of town, Saarloos, where I surprised myself with a random photobooth.

And made Cari join me for the retake.

They were advertising cupcakes. But sold their very last one as we walked in.
RUDE.

Cari and I had a quick tasting across the street at a Yelp 5 Star tasting room, Carhart Vineyards, and after that then explored the rest of the town.

Total Main St, USA.

And then it was time to head back to SLO.
We had a nice dinner, and headed back to the Inn.
I wanted to pick up a few souvenirs, and they actually offer their own wines.
So the three of us split a tasting. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst.
Kind of a fun little experience.

The next morning, we woke up and wanted to cram in a few last ideas.
Breakfast at the Madonna Inn's Copper Cafe.

And down the road for a hike.

The hills were smattered with gorgeous purple flowers.

Everything was green, and lush, and there were cows mooing in the distance, bees buzzing in the trees.

Our short little hike even crossed the tiniest little creek.

It was a quick little jaunt in the hills just south of the Madonna Inn.

After we squeezed in our last adventure together, we headed back to check out.
And grab some Pink Champagne Cake to take home.

And our time together was complete.

Until next time.
10 years behind us, as friends, to celebrate and cherish, and Lord willing, many, many more.