Last week was Joséphine’s BIG day. She turned O N E. Yes…. one year ago we became a family of six.
The little extra wonder that entered the world. The sunshine that makes everyone smile. The little girl that we all love!
Was celebrated!
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For parties I always love to check out Little Lulubel – Natalie has the best kits, inspiration and lots of little extras like party bags and dressing up stuff.
I wanted something a little soft and girly – the Belle and Boo kit is perfect, we just added a tassel garland {that truly makes such a great difference to the set up} and some cupcake liners.
We baked some very simple vanilla cupcakes – or better Romy did – something easy to eat and hold for the birthday girl.
See the happy birthday girl. This is her. Always happy, always smiling – pure joy, bliss and happiness. Amazing!
And that cute little pointy hat… believe it or not… she was wearing for every meal the two next days… love her to bits!
Our kitchen has this beautiful wooden floor. And our kitchen is home to a little lady who only enjoys food she can eat all by herself…
Which means we cover the floor to keep things a little in check. And have a look, there is an alternative to the boring see through plastic thingies. There is Beija Flor!
High quality vinyl mats that re-introduce the beauty of ancient tiles. The patterns are based on authentic tiles rediscovered from the past, each of them very eye-catching and also very modern in their own way. Created in their design studio, each mat is built to last from extra durable and strong PVC resulting in easy maintenance.
They truly have the best vinyl mats. The best. It is so hard to choose just one believe me…
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These mats instantly enhance and beautify any living space. When I put ours in the kitchen it made such a difference and still makes me smile all the time. It reminds me of the South, the sun and happy days. It is perfect!
The mats are available in 8 different sizes and in over 60 designs. Use them as a kitchen mat {like we do}, bathroom rug, an area mat or even a full size ‘carpet’. The mats are super practical, stay completely flat and do not move or wrinkle.
Beija Flor is based in Israel and was founded by Maya Kounievsky in 2007. They do ship worldwide!
This is the first post from home and the last one about the trip. Kinda. This is the last part. In my head I plan to write a little ’round up’ – like a top ten list and things that stood out A LOT and so on…. working on it. But the reality is: We are back. It is 5 am here in Sweden, the jet lag is playing with me, I am sitting in my own kitchen and it makes me happy to see the pictures. It makes me happy that we did this amazing trip. I actually already ordered a few prints from my Instagram pictures so we can have them up in the house and look at them…
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But lets get back to Santa Cruz for a moment. One of our last stops. And actually part of the Monterey Bay area so it was a really short drive from our last stop ( the ranch) over to Soquel just outside Santa Cruz and 2 min. from Capitola.
We left Corralitos in the morning, stopped for lunch and groceries and arrived in the early afternoon at our new home. A little up with a beautiful view over the ocean and (!!!) with a pool. I think the kids hardly slept the night before – a pool makes room for a lot of excitement (and makes you wonder why you told them… haha).
Unloading the car, clothes off, swimsuits on… pool time!
The next day it was boardwalk time. (I think we managed quite a lovely ending – with the pool and amusement park). We stay here for 4 days so our options were Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Mon&Tue are the 1 dollar days, every ride is a dollar and we were warned to avoid these days BY ALL MEANS. So we were left witht he week end.
First we strolled around the city a little, had lunch & ice cream and then it was boardwalk time. Sunny day (hot!!!), lots of people yet so fun… right next to the beach with rides for all ages!
On our war back to the car we had tacos at Las Palmas. An institution and very good!
Day 2 – Seacliff State Beach. The beach is most known for the concrete ship SS Palo Alto lying in the water. Home to many sea lions … one had a little swim very close to where we were sitting and the kids were so surprised and amused when his head made an appearance.
(There is a little kiosk at the beach and they have Marianne’s ice cream – no need to queue at their original shop before or after the beach just get it right here – it is really good!)
On Monday we finally went to Capitola. We were warned to go during the week end. It is too packed (the beach is really not that big) and parking is a nightmare. Monday it was. And wow… what a beautiful spot. You feel a little like in Italy with the colourful houses and the terraces by the water… Very cute!
In the evening we had to pack. Intelligent packing. One little suitcase with stuff for our 2 last days in San Francisco. On Tuesday we took the car and drove back to our origin destination and it was so strange. Back to where it all started. We dropped off the car. Checked in at the hotel. Hotel again… also felt a bit strange after all the houses we had, and off to the Yerba Buena Gardens (did you know that Yerba Buena was the original name of the Spanish settlement that would later become San Francisco, California?) and a stop at the Modern Museum of Art… well the shop.
On Wednesday we had breakfast at Picnic on Third (amazing house made Granola) and then went to Dolores Park. Very cool playground over there and a great neighborhood. Lots of little cafes and independent shops.
From here we went back to Market because I wanted to have a stroll through Anthropologie before we leave (a very successful one btw)…
We left Santa Barbara and took the train again and for the last time. The journey from SB to San Luis Obispo takes you along the ocean for most of the time – it is absolutely stunning. Plus the train has ‘sight wagons’ – where you sit like in a glass house. There was even a person that was speaking and shared lots of historical infos about the places etc…
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Arrived in San Luis Obispo short SLO in the afternoon we checked into our hotel, little toilet tour for everyone and off we went into town.
The same evening, lucky us, was the day of the weekly farmers market / food festival. Diner was sorted and we tried a Tri Tip Sandwich.
We stayed for 2 nights. The next day we had breakfast at Scout, stopped at the Bubble Gum alley, had a good break at a brilliant playground, afternoon tea at Cafe Kreuzberg, found some books and a rare LP at Barnes & Nobles …
And then we tried a new method of transportation. We picked up a car or better mini van in our case! Next stop was Pacific Grove in the Monterey Bay area buuuut before we hit the road we had to stop at the Madonna Inn just outside SLO!
And what a fun place. Several people recommended a stop here… all for a different reason: cake, toilets, shop, glasses… put it all together, add a whole lotta kitsch and colour and you got it!
Arrived in Pacific Grove we learned that it was the biggest night of the village – it was Lantern Festival showdown with party and fireworks by the beach!
Lovely start to our 3 days stay.
Day one: We went to Carmel by the sea. A very cute little town with lots of galleries and a great beach. From there we entered the 17 miles drive. A scenic drive along the Monterey Bay Area and 17 stops – cliffs, beaches, sea lions, views etc… fabulous!
Day two: BIG SUR! Most amazing place but also a sad ride at this moment. Big wildfire going on and we were not even sure if we could (wanted) to go. We did and had an extraordinary day. A day were we realised just how man things we saw and did during the trip… Our big stop was Pfeiffer Beach!
Then it was time to change locations again. Quite a few stops for the last weeks. This time we changed into a ranch in the mountains. Totally different, super quiet and special.
But before we stopped at Elkhorn Slough/Moss Landing State Wildlife Area to watch some seals and sea lions.
And then we arrived in another form of paradise! In the woods. Just us…
(Still in the Monterey Bay area and the coast was a 15 min drive away)
Hidden Beach & Playground – a germ, and just as the name says… hidden… only 8 parking slots… beautiful beach.
We then took off to Santa Cruz. Our last week… soon more here!
After we did a looooot of city sightseeing at the beginning of the trip we are now in real ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’ mode… sun, beach, strolling around, little stop here and there, playing and and and….
Encinitas was great for that and so was Santa Barbara!
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We took the train again – directly from Encinitas to Santa Barbara, checked into our house (very close to downtown), went out for a drink and then the supermarket. Diner in the little garden and everyone happy.
The next day, Friday, was a very hot day and we decided to try out the public pool. Just right next to the beach. There are cute little shuttles bringing you from the main street down to the waterfront. Very convenient and fun for the kids too. After a slow morning we took one of those, walked along the beach and went for a nice swim in the pool. Then slowly walked back to the house – little ice cream stop on the way.
On Saturday we went to a playground called Kids World. Huge spot with a great play structure that looks like a castle. There was a clown showing some tricks and the whole place was surrounded by pink and blue balloons…. baby showers all the way…. after that we stopped at Crushcakes for a little afternoon treat.
On Sunday the temperatures went down a little and we decided to try out the beach. You will laugh but for me the idea of sitting at the beach, grilling in the heat… no thank you and especially not with a baby.
We had lunch at Lucky Penny which was fab – super yummy and interesting pizza as well as salads and home made popsicles! We went to East Beach. And realised – Encinitas had spoiled us. Soooo much. It was ok, the water was OK… but it was ‘not the same’…
Monday was late breakfast, hanging out in the garden, little lunch and checking out Santa Barbara Downtown aka State Street. Little stop at the beach. Nothing more, nothing less….
Best ice cream in Santa Barbara: RORI. That is where we went on Tuesday (again), then up to Kids World with a stop at Diani (including shopping for me and the baby)…
On Wednesday we took the shuttle to the beach, checked out Stearns Wharf, walked over to the harbor which was really cool and had lunch at On The Alley (Tacos!) and went to the beach – Lead Better Beach this time. More remote, more inviting… fun place!
We did a lot of BBQ’s in the garden and in the evenings we enjoyed some US Netflix. Like I said… easy peasy…
