Every morning I wake up to this. Yes, it’s fog but I think it’s rather beautiful. I love going out with the dogs in the morning and smelling the fresh, cold air. The fog is so majestic and peaceful.
Silent mornings like this make me want to wake up earlier and enjoy a cup of coffee cuddled up in a blanket on our back patio. What do you see when you wake up? Please share a pic if you would!
On a Thursday Rob sent me an email that said he had a surprise for me on Saturday. I normally HATE being surprised and have to know EVERYTHING that’s going on. Even as a child I’d snoop into my Christmas gifts or raid my mom’s purse for receipts before my birthday. But since my weekends are pretty wide open now, I let Rob take me for a surprise ride and didn’t put up a fight. I didn’t find out what we were doing until I sat in the car. And to my delight, I pulled out a piece of paper from the glove department to discover that we were going horse-back riding on the beach in Big Sur! I think I smiled the entire drive there.
The drive was absolutely beautiful. It felt like we were on the coastline of some exotic island:
We stopped for a quick picnic in one of the parks in Big Sur.
Then we went to the stables! We signed up for the “Afternoon Delight” tour, which took us riding through the redwoods, colorful meadows, hills, the Big Sur river, {poison oak} and last but not least – the beach!
Thumbs up {again}!
My stallion ;)
I’m glad my horse liked to gallop a lot – I couldn’t stop laughing!
Somewhere in the blogosphere Heather saw a post on making a summer bucket list. But can we find what blog it was now? Noooooo. Well regardless, we thought it was brilliant and decided to make our own! With this being my first summer living in California, mine is pretty aggressive {see below}.
As a little girl I used to write in a journal all the time. I even had one on my old Packard Bell computer {the beginning of my blog obsession obviously}. After junior high, my entries really died down. I bought another journal during my first year of marriage and maybe wrote in it 5 times {and I’ve been married for over 4 years now}. I then turned it into a gratitude journal, jotting down a few things I was thankful for each day, here and there.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my friend Dee from Toastmasters, who started a business of bringing to life someone’s story through their journals and life experiences {a.k.a. the Life Story Lady}. She meets with you and helps you go back through your journals, interviews you, revisits pictures with you – then helps you write a story for future generations to read. She keeps your same dialogue throughout most but ensures it flows. I so wish I could read the life story of my great grandmother, or even my mother – in her own words.
This makes me want to write in my journal more often – and not just use it as a gratitude journal. I want to leave behind documentation of the life I lived and give my children something to peruse at a {WAY} later time. Plus, it’s fun to look back to see how I was feeling during a particular time or date.
Kristin gave me a travel journal last year before our trip to Europe and I’m so glad she did. I love to look back and read what I was feeling after a day in Venice or afternoon on the beach in Santorini. I will DEFINITELY be saving this travel journal for my future trips to Ireland, Kauai and St. Bart’s {always visualizing}.
Heather also recently bought me a creative writing journal which I’m really excited to start writing in! 642 Things to Write About is by the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto and challenges you to open up your creative side. The questions are so interesting!
Lately I’ve been daydreaming about becoming a writer and working for a publication like Good Magazine {he.he.} I really want to improve my writing skills by practicing more every day. This journal, along with my regular journal and Cher Joy will be my landscape to do so!
Happy writing to those who journal, too!
I found these adorable print-ready Mother’s Day cards on Nellie Design and thought they were the perfect Cali-themed cards for our mommas {and free}! Mailing these reminded me that I really need to buy an anchor stamp…
You can find some other fun Mother’s Day ideas via Frugal Coupon Living – LOVE this site!