Dreaming of California ~ Driving the Big Sur Coast

No more "California dreamin', California dreamin', On such a winter day". (Can you hear The Mamas and The Papas singing?)

Now, I'm just reminiscing about the two amazingly beautiful trips we've taken to California, this past year.
 

Today, I have been thinking about driving the famous Highway 1, down the Big Sur coastline. 

Here are some of the highlights that I would recommend:

• Just south of Carmel is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, the "crown jewel of the California State Parks system".  There are plenty of hiking trails and numerous views of the Pacific.

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

• Bixby Bridge is 13 miles south of Carmel and is one of the most photographed bridges along the Pacific coast.

Bixby Bridge

• Pfieffer Beach is a really fun beach area.  It is a little tough to find, so check the website for directions and watch closely for signs.  If you have time, plan to stay a couple of hours to play in the sand and waves.

Pfieffer Beach

• Nepenthe Restaurant has beautiful views, but it was too pricey to take the kids.  We enjoyed it on our anniversary trip last year.

Nepenthe

• Partington Cove is Josh's favorite spot along this stretch of Highway 1.  It is free to enter and there is a mile long trail that has three branches; one to a stream in the Redwoods, one through a tunnel and one to the beach area.  It has an interesting history, too!

 

• Keep your eyes open for California Condors flying overhead through the Big Sur area.  It is one of North America's largest birds.  We were able to spot a few.

California Condors

• McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is absolutely stunning!

McWay Falls

 

•  Ragged Point is a fun place to stop and explore, stretch your legs and have a snack.

Ragged Point

• And don't forget to stop and see the seals at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Beaches!

There are so many places to stop along this scenic drive, that it takes books to list them all.  I just listed a few of my favorites. What are some of your favorites?

Disneyland ~ Ultimate Park Bag!!!

 

We just made our first (and already planning a second) family trip to Disneyland in California!  We may never do Disney World again, but more about that later. 

Being the planner and organizer that I am, everyone had a park bag ready to go. I believe that anyone over the age of five is big enough and responsible enough to carry their own things, so each of the girls (8 and 10) had their own backpacks, but little mister (3) got to keep his things in Daddy's backpack.  I carried a backpack purse. 

Our Disneyland trip required each of us to have a light jacket, because the mornings and evenings were chilly, so all of the park bags had enough room to put the jacket in during the warmer part of the day. 

 

GIRLS' PARK BAGS

 

• Water bottle

• Rain Poncho (purchased ahead of time; they are more expensive in the park)

• Snacks (park snacks can get expensive, and snacks make standing in line more fun)

• Sunglasses

 

DAD'S PARK BAG

• Water bottles (his and little man's)

• Rain ponchos

• Matador picnic blanket (to stake out your parade viewing area)

• Wallet (in front pocket, where tickets and fast passes were kept)

• iPhone

And bonus, this Hikpro backpack folds up nicely to fit into the carry-on suitcase. 

 

MOM' S PARK BAG

Okay, I know, this doesn't work for those of you who like to travel minimalist style, but for the rest of us, who like to have it all, here's my must have list:

• DSLR Camera in a padded pouch (this is only a must-have for some, I know iPhones are great, too)

• Water bottle

• Rain poncho

• iPhone 

• Sunglasses

• Wet wipes 

• Sunscreen

• Chapstick

• Gum (Disney doesn't sell gum)

• Wallet

• Kleenex

• First aid pouch (Excederin, Advil, childrens ibuprofen and bandaids)

I hope this list is helpful. Let me know what your must-haves are for a Disney day!

Dreaming of California ~ Carmel-By-The-Sea

 

Carmel-By-The-Sea is a charming, European-style village, with a Mediterranean climate, overlooking the gorgeous white sands of Carmel Beach.  Everything in town is within walking distance.  There are many fabulous boutiques and delicious restaurants and family owned coffee houses all within the one-square mile downtown area.

A few interesting facts about Carmel-By-The-Sea:

1.  There are no street addresses.
     Locations are "the corner of Ocean Avenue and Mission Street" or "look for the Tuck Box".

 

2.  No chain restaurants are found within Carmel.

3.  There is a law that bans the wearing of high heels.
     Local police no longer enforce this code that was passed in the 1920's.

4.  Carmel is home to more than 20 "fairytale" cottages that are nearly one hundred years old.

5.  When exploring Carmel, look for the more than 40 unique secret passageways and courtyards.

While there are all kinds of hotel options in Carmel, many luxurious, there are also some very nice, budget friendly places to stay, too.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Comfort Inn Carmel-By-The-Sea.  Every room has a Dutch door that opens onto a beautiful courtyard, and breakfast is served by a cozy fireplace.

 



I could have wandered the city for days, browsing the quaint boutiques and taking pictures.  I look forward to being able to visit Carmel again one day!

Dreaming of California ~ Carmel Beach

The sight and the sound of the ocean speaks to my soul.

I am reminded of passages in Romans 11:33, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out!" and Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead".  How can we look at the ocean and not think of the power and majesty of our Lord?

Carmel Beach is where I fell in love with the ocean.  It is the place I go to in my mind to find calm;  I see the waves rolling in and folding over themselves, and hear the rushing and crashing sounds that they make.  I can not wait to experience that again.

 

With its curved mile of white sand, Pebble Beach to the North and Point Lobos to the South, Carmel Beach is a beautiful beach.  It is a perfect place to jog, fly a kite, build a sand castle or just relax and enjoy the views!

 

 

And don't forget to stay for the lovely sunset!

 



 

 

Dreaming of California!

On this cold and wet January day, I am warm and happy at home, but I am also thinking of warmer, sunny days in California!

My husband and I have not been avid travelers.  We simply haven't always been able to afford to travel.  Our honeymoon was spent at Toledo Bend Reservoir, because that is all we could afford, and that was a gift from Grandpa and Grandma Stevens!  The next five years were spent just getting by while Josh went to Texas A & M University (Whoop!).  He graduated in December of 2005, started his job in January and our first baby was born on January 10, 2006.  We bought a house and then baby number two came in October 2007.  We were able to squeeze in three snowboarding trips during this time, thanks to the generosity of family and friends, but we did not take our first big trip together until our ten year anniversary in 2010, when we went to New York City.

This past summer marked our fifteenth anniversary and we were able to make another big trip together.  I wanted to see the ocean, and I mean a REAL ocean...Galveston does not count!  Josh wanted to see the big redwood trees and we both wanted to see the Big Sur coastline, so we decided to fly into San Francisco and drive to Carmel and stay a few days.  It was amazing!

 

We landed at the San Francisco airport, got a rental car and headed into the city for a VERY quick sight seeing tour on our way north to Muir Woods.  We saw Alamo Square Park (seen in the Full House opener), Lombard Street (the "crookedest street in the world") and the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

We ate lunch north of the Golden Gate Bridge at a Greek Seafood restaurant that was delicious, and then on to Muir Woods to see the biggest trees we have ever seen! (I know that there are bigger, but to us, this was amazing.)  It made us think about what the Cedars of Lebanon must have been like in the days of King Solomon.

 

 

From here we turned back south for the drive to Carmel-By-The-Sea.  For those of you unfamiliar with San Francisco, as we were, there is NO HIGHWAY through town.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It's city streets and stop lights all the way through.  This was unexpected, but it did give us a chance to really see the city.

 

We arrived in Carmel just after sunset.  Our hotel, Comfort Inn Carmel By The Sea, was easy to find and so cute!  Every room has a Dutch door and there is a lovely courtyard.  The breakfast buffet is served by a cozy wood burning fireplace and the owners are very friendly and helpful.

 



 

We spent our days exploring beaches and trails, driving the Pebble Beach 17 mile scenic drive and Highway 1 along the Big Sur coastline, enjoying the sights of Carmel and visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Fisherman's Wharf.

 

Stay tuned for more about Carmel By The Sea!



Mistle"Toes"

 

One of my favorite Christmas ornaments is my little Mistle"toes" that I made when my little boy was a baby.

 

To make your own, use two packs of green oven baking clay from a craft store, flattened to the size of the baby's foot.  Press the foot firmly into the clay to make a good impression.  After you have the impression, use a sharp knife to cut around the edges of the impression and an ice pick to make a hole in each heel.  Follow the baking instructions on the package of clay.  After baking and cooling, use a hot glue gun to glue the feet together, making sure to match up the holes.  Add some tiny red berries or a little red bow to decorate and put some jute twine through the hole to hang.

 
Now you can reminisce on how tiny your little ones feet once were each Christmas!

Make Your Own "Chalkboard" Ornament

Last month, I saw these ornaments at Bealls in Tyler. I thought that they were really cute, but didn't want to spend $6 a piece on them. I decided that I could make my own. 

I looked for black shatterproof ornaments (who wants glass ornaments in a house full of kids??), but couldn't find any at a reasonable price. 

Finally, I found these clear plastic ornaments at Walmart for $.97 each; just my price!

All I needed was a can of black satin spray paint and I was ready to make my own black ornaments. 

First, I removed the silver ornament toppers to keep them from being painted. Next, I found a piece of cardboard and placed push pins into it to hold the ornaments upside down for painting. Then, it was time to paint. 

Once the paint was dry, I replaced the silver ornament toppers and the ornaments were ready to be decorated with my white chalk pen. 

I had a basket full of these black ornaments at a Christmas party for my girls' Destination Imagination team. Each of the girls on the team got to decorate an ornament to take home as a party favor. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the girls at the party (which is so unlike me; I must have been very distracted that night).

At the end of my ornament project, I had ten ornaments for about the same price that I would have paid for two of those I had seen at the store. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome!

Love to Decorate: One Wreath ~ Three Ways

I found this great wreath at Hobby Lobby at the end of August. I was instantly drawn to it's sparkly simplicity. 

For the two fall wreaths, I used a cream and grey chevron burlap ribbon for the hanger with a natural burlap bow.  

The first occasion that I needed to decorate for was a gender reveal party. I found some sweet, little boy and girl silhouettes on Pinterest and added them to red and teal burlap ribbon. Then I made the "boy or girl" pennant sign and strung it across the middle. 

Once the reveal party was over, it was time for a fall wreath. I really tend to be a "less is more" kind of girl, so I just wrapped a felt leaf garland around the wreath. 

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over, it is time for a Christmas wreath. I decided to change the cream, gray and natural hanger ribbon for some gold glitter chevron burlap ribbon. Then I wrapped a red berry garland around the wreath and "voila", all ready to welcome guests for the Christmas holidays!

So there you have it, one wreath, three ways. It is still to be decided if there will be new life for this wreath in the new year. Who knows what will greet guests at our home in 2016.