Tag Archives: California

WFW ~ 1 Corinthians 13

I Corinthians 12:31b, 13:1, 13:4, 13:7 ~

“And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Colossians 3:12 ~

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday head over to The 160 Acre Woods.

Pampering Myself ~ How to Eat Out Alone

I have learned over the years to pamper myself when the time is right. I also can rationalize a dinner out any day of the week. So…because Dear has been in Seattle at a Pharmacy conference since Friday and I’ve been home alone, I decided to have a treat and go out to dinner on my last night alone. I started the eating out alone experience when I was out of town at sports tournaments, etc. I learned that it’s OK to eat out alone. The first couple times it was awkward but I’m “way over it”. I like to eat early so Happy Hours are ideal for me. You can eat at a nice restaurant instead of a Fast Food Joint!

Tonight I hopped into my car and drove a short distance to the Safire American Bistro in Camarillo. The bar has great tables for two for a single person to feel comfortable at. These tables were out of the main hub bub and not real conspicuous. They have what they think are deals on their happy hour menu. I’ve had better deals elsewhere but this was nice never-the-less. (Is that one word?) I ordered their Safire Salad which was wonderful at $5.00. I love that it had garbanzo beans (chickpeas) in the salad and Parmesan shavings. The tomatoes were grape tomatoes and not the scary salmonella tomatoes that are causing havoc across the US right now. Sheesh the $7.00 gourmet pizza was a medium size not a personal size so I brought 3/4 of it home. I suppose $7.00 for a medium gourmet pizza at a nice restaurant is a good Happy Hour price…

Ummm, I wasn’t going to mention it but since it’s in the photo collage the gin martini was $6.00.  And since you are eating out alone, only have one drink please. 🙂 Now how do I rationalize this meal that cost me $23.00 with tip you ask, I generally tip 20%. I figure since Dear’s company is paying for all his meals the last 5 days we’re way ahead even though I splurged. Do you see my reasoning?

The pampering didn’t stop with dinner. When I got home I brewed myself a cup of tea and had a slice of Amish Friendship Bread that Willow sent home with me yesterday. Very yummy, Willow!

This is a new brand of tea I’m trying from St. Petersbourg, actually made in France. A Russian blend of China, Ceylon and India teas with natural scents of bergamot, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin, and flowers. (Earl Grey, citrus fruits and flowers). I love the little muslin tea bags.

Dear comes home tomorrow, yippee!

Fun Monday ~ Happy Childhood Memory

Molly is hosting Fun Monday this week. She says…

I have the great honor of hosting Fun Monday this coming Monday, June 9th. For your assignment tell us about a happy memory from your childhood. If you have pictures, please show us your pictures.

When I was little the cousins would all pile into one car and head up to Big Bear, California or another mountain destination and camp. I’m the one sitting on the table. These were happy childhood memories.

On the bench in front: Valia my cousin, my sister Vera, my cousin Walter, my cousin Alex, me on the table, across the table on the bench- my Uncle Paul, my Father, my brother Fred, my sister Kathy standing on the bench. Behind the bench – Mrs. Dorofeiv, Mike Dorofeiv and their child.

Here I am with my father who loved to put jigsaw puzzles together. My sister Kathy is standing behind my dad and me. These days my favorite kind of camping is at the Hilton but I know that the best memories for our kids are the real camping experiences out in the great outdoors. I wish I would have taken my kids on more camping excursions…

 

This is my cousin Valia and me. We spent a lot of time with each other while we were growing up. My maternal grandmother lived with them so we visited often. This photo was taken at Easter.

Here’s that same cousin with her daughter and granddaughter. I got to see her this last Saturday at a baby shower for her DIL. One of our projects while at the shower was to create something on a onesie for the baby that’s due in July. Yikes I’m not really artistic or crafty but here is what I came up with. Good thing babies wear onesies under their regular outer wear!

For more Fun Monday Happy Memories visit Molly.

Project Blue ~ Take Seven

My friend Willow from Willow’s Cottage has a friend with a Blueberry Farm and when she gets to pick blueberries on the farm she’s sweet enough to share some with me. So I found my blue rimmed platter to put my blueberries in and then I enjoyed my high fiber cereal with my daily banana and the lovely blueberry treat. Then it dawned on me that we are in the midst of project blue so I put this collage together filled with my yummy blue…

For more Project Blue click over to Anna Carson Photography.

ABC Wednesday ~ S is for…

S is for Santa Barbara, California.

Some people call Santa Barbara “The American Riviera”. This beautiful city on the Pacific Ocean has so much style and charm.  Along State St. you have many eating and shopping options. You get a very international feel when you catch several different languages being spoken. Santa Barbara is about 300 miles South of San Francisco and 90 miles North of Los Angeles. Just 40 miles North from my home.

State Street and the whole downtown area is very pedestrian friendly. There are many wonderful open air arcades for shopping and people watching.

Here are just a few of the Arcades.

Some of the Arcades have Sculptures to enjoy.

The Santa Barbara Art Museum is also located on State Street and of course you can view some great old relics and Statues or a Monet.

You’ll also find the Mission Santa Barbara up against the mountains. Some call this mission the “Queen” of the California historic Missions.

If you ever travel to California make sure and put Santa Barbara on your “must see” list but be aware that it can be very pricey to stay here.

S is also for

Seagulls at the Seashore

Sand at the Seashore

Shells from this same Seashore.

Now back to my hometown. Horses and ranches have great historical significance in Camarillo. Camarillo is named after Adolfo Camarillo. He was a rancher and is known for his famous White Horse which now is called the Camarillo White Horse. You’ll see these famous horses ridden in the Rose Parade. These are some of the Silver saddles from the Camarillo Ranch House Estate…

S is for a Silver Saddles

 

And S is for Spinning Wheel.

The Silver Saddles and the Spinning wheel are in the Historic Camarillo Ranch House.

For more ABC Wednesday posts please visit Mrs. Nesbitt’s.

Santa Barbara

So on Saturday I decided to head North 40 miles to Santa Barbara to take care of some business at Nordstrom and then have a leisurely walk around town.

I headed up State Street to find the Nordstrom. Santa Barbara has some great Mission Architecture.

Even the Nordstrom here is designed to fit into the neighborhood. I love the architecture and feel of the downtown Santa Barbara area. Once I purchased what I needed at Nordstrom I wandered the downtown main drag popping into stores that looked interesting.

This Lewis & Clark store was one of my favorites with a great variety of stuff shown in the next collage.

Lots of china, silver, vintage aprons, vintage ware, and whimsy. Time to find some lunch…

I chose Barcliff & Bair. It was a nice spot right on State Street with outdoor tables. I chose the inside because it was overcast and sprinkly at this point in the day. I had Harney and Sons Earl Grey Supreme, a grilled chicken and brie sandwich with peppers and onions, and a cup of 3 bean soup. Very nice. I then went to do a little more shopping.

I found a consignment shop on State that I’d come back to in the future. I thought this china cup and saucer would be a good mate to my Royal Albert one I found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. This one is Cambridge, Pink Mist, made in England. I think those are Dogwood blooms which I love. This beauty was $10.00. That is not my usual thrift store bargain price but I was happy to spend it anyway for this sweet cup and saucer.

I also made a side trip to the Santa Barbara Art Museum and the Santa Barbara Mission but I’ll leave that for another post…

I got home and found out that Dear had made it to our home in the Seattle area safe and sound. He flies home tomorrow morning and I’ll pick him up at the airport. He and our daughter were on their way to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Kirkland because there was no food in the house :0)