encinitas mini weekend beach vacay {day 2}

day 2 of our Encinitas mini weekend beach vacay 

was a total accident. 

M left something at the beach the day before

& was pretty upset about it. 

there was a slim to none chance we were going to find it

& i was happy to replace it,

but she still wanted to at least try.

it's a short drive, couldn't hurt...ummm ok!

day 2 in our favie place! 

another beautifully sunny day

at Moonlight Beach

{happy place...happy girl}

 i got to do this (by my happy little self) for a few hours 

while the girlies did this...

lunchtime!

i love Whole Foods...

but lunch on a sunny Whole Foods patio

  by the beach takes the cake!

delish little gluten free pizza.

my fave without red sauce.

i was such a happy girl to have pizza again. 

super cool artwork at the coffee bar.

we walked around & explored some shops after lunch.

this was a fun little art gallery full of local art.

another one of my new fave stores deserves its own post

(coming soon!)

rainy-day-in-the-mood-to-create aka i got to paint!

 

inspiration

practice

finished product

*happy girl*

(terrible pic)

rainy-day-in-the-mood-to-create music

i was a little worried that this weekend cold, dreary, rainy weekend would send me right back into my grumpy slump.

but much to my surprise it did quite the opposite.

it stoked a (old & constant) yearning itch to create art!

i used to be very artistic & make a lot of art.

of course years ago in college, like everyone else.

& like a lot of other creative college kids i was "advised" to put the fun aside to pursue "serious" grown-up goals.

but this itch to express & create has never gone away.

ever.

i saw this guys shorts on the beach after our hike.

nothing special to look at but for some reason i LOVED them.

they reminded me of the natural elements we just hiked thru. yellow ocre sandstone, grey fog & pines, blue ocean water, black & red rock, soil, native flowers...so many connections.

i asked the guy if i could take a pic of his shorts because i wanted to paint them.

& that was that...but 3 months ago.

Saturday, He left to work for the weekend.

 i had very little precious painting me time,

but i was so super determined. 

the girls snuggled up on the couch & turned on a movie.

i turned on some rainy-day-in-the-mood-to-create music: 

Zee Avi, Ernie Halter & Otis Redding on Pandora.

 i immediately got in my creative zone & found my stride.

i practiced with the colors & decided to brighten them up a bit. for some reason i couldn't help but adding more blue than grey. 

i'm think i may try painting it again with lighter colors & more grey, which i really do like...but maybe in the sunny summer.

seriously, i dont even know how to draw really anymore 

& even my painting skills are super rusty.

but ahhhh i could care less!

so there it is...nothing too fancy,

un-named & maybe even waiting for a frame.

i'm super happy with it,

myself 

& that finally,

even if briefly,

 i got to satisfy the creative itch in my soul.

*happy girl*...for now :) 

encinitas mini weekend beach vacay {day 1}

grounded is one of THE coolest stores!

fab mod furniture & cool accessories PLUS they were playing one of my fave Jack Johnson songs as i walked in..

absolute dream for me...not so much for

a certain touch-y, bouncy, loud 6 1/2 yo.

but still super fun & i'm def going back alone! 

beach grub from the little organic cafe in the Lumberyard Shops that of course now i cant remember the name of ha!

later in the afternoon the girls & i walked a few blocks up from the beach for one of my favie treats.

her English accent alone makes me such a happy girl...

but add the fact that she was making me my favie organic latte on the planet! SWOON!

i used to be such a Starbucks girl until i had The Lofty Bean!

i love their delish coffee, their location 

& everything they stand for.

(OK THEY MAKE THEIR OWN FAB VANILLA BEAN SYRUP & OMG!!!)

remember this post last week when i went on totally overload freak out & almost ran away from home & reality? scary.

but then i kinda came to my senses & decided to put off running away until spring break.

 we still needed to get away from it all & take a mini weekend beach vacay instead.

the beach really is the only place besides mama's house that does the trick for me.

love that our favie beach town Encinitas & our favie beach Moonlight Beach is only a short 45 min drive from our house.

saturday morning the girls & i headed out,
but this time we explored on foot.

exploring local communities is one of my favie things to do, but

even though we go there all the time, we've never really leisurely strolled around & explored.

partly because we are always just so anxious to hit the beach & we end up spending the entire day in the water 

& partly because He HATES strolling, shopping, etc...

(GRUMPUS. so not fun!)

but this weekend He had to work.

can't even begin to describe how therapeutic it was for my entire being (all of us really) to get away from school work. chores. home. responsibilities. everything.

& just wandering around a new environment. meeting new people. being & breathing in the beach air.

yes of course our same reality was still here when we returned,

but this relaxing weekend made it so much easier to cope with it all. 

current love...{fantastic bargains}

totally need a break from talking about u-know-what (homeschooling)

so...
a fun post of some of my fave subjects 
*thrifting.bargains.clothes.shopping...oh yes & Target*

one of the local horse stables was having a fundraiser & offering a 20 % discount on this particular day.

 i got this super cute, warm & cozy Eddie Bauer wool sweater for $3.98!!!

 it has quickly become one of my new faves!

i haven't been doing too much thrifting

(no time lately & sorta on purpose because we are really trying to simplify (more later) & being super careful about bringing in more stuff aka clutter),

BUT! BUT! i have recently found some amazing finds at Target

 that i just could not resist!

super cute & bright spring flats for the girlies.

$7.48 each pair!!!

couldn't help it.

(in my defense i just HEAVILY purged our closets)

super cute nickel free jewelry

(which is all i can wear)

@ $5 or less each.

MUCH needed wardrobe sprucing.

the black pair of earrings in the second pic

i'm pairing with... 

THESE BABIES!

I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THESE HEELS! 

i wanted these sooooooo badly the week before,

but when i got to the register i realized i brought the wrong size up

& i was too rushed to go back & get the correct size.

this week i went back not only were they on sale for $14.98 (originally $29.99),

 but this was the only pair left in my size!

to go with this $14.99 dress.

i didn't do a great job with the pic,

but the silver & black detail is amazing.

bad pic,

but the entire FAB outfit

...LESS THAN $40.

*happy girl*

In celebration...

Ok so we are still super excited about our 1st cute little egg from this morning.
it's still in the fridge.
we keep taking it out & looking at it...
& doing little happy dances :)

The beginning...

YAAAAAY!!! FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY! After about nine months we were coming to the conclusion that Marshmallow was just never ever going to lay...ever. It's THE cutest little pink egg we've ever seen.
She's a x between a few breeds, so who knows the variety of shell colors we will have. But for now...WE ARE LOVING PINK!
SPRING & HOPE ARE IN THE AIR Y'ALL!!!
*we are currently down to only one hen & one rooster. We've been going gaga over all the new baby chicks in the feed stores & trying to wait patiently until after our long spring break trip. Ahhh!

running away. recharging batteries. my mama's house :)

brownsugarhoney via instagram

life has been CRAZY busy & these past few weeks.

Hubby has been working days, nights & out of town weekends.

i've been trying to keep up with everything...

girlies, house, never ending chores, yard, pets, homeschooling, mama taxi(the list is endless)...

with no break or support

& it has left me completely done & overwhelmed.

& OH MY GOODNESS 

add a bad case of spring fever to top it all off...

NO BUENO!

so at the last minute i have decided to pack the girls up, run away from it all &

head on the long trip to the perfect place to recharge my batteries:

{MY MAMA'S HOUSE}

this post by Bianca pretty much sums it all up...

no matter what age, we all still need our mamas.

*post edit* ok so i thought things out a little further & decided to hang in there a few more weeks until spring break. i can do this.

we'll lighten up on the schoolbooks, let some other things go a little bit, find some local fun things to do (like the Balboa Park rummage sale this weekend) & spend 2 weeks away at spring break instead (part of it in SF with my sister, neice & nephew).

reality check.