Vibrant Art in Arizona

Roosevelt Row was my favorite area in Phoenix, Arizona.

I fell in love with all the wall art I saw around the area. Everything was so colorful and message positive.

A cool old cotton trailer converted into a stage area for the community. The woodwork is amazing!

This particular wall art was my favorite! I just thought it was so cute! I had J swing back around and
I jumped out of the car to take this shot. To me it reflected a beautiful and simple lifestyle....

<<- : Road trip ! : ->>

And we're off to Arizona!

via Shiny Squirrel

There's nothing like a roadtrip with the family! The journey is just as adventurous as the destination...

via Miss Moss

Looking forward to new discoveries....

A Day In San Diego Part 2

After the San Diego Zoo we took a stroll over to the Spanish Village Art Center. Its a beautiful historic place housing hundreds of local artists' work. 

We took Maya to the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society museum and store located within the village, so that she can see all the beautiful gems and stones on display. It's a little place, but just enough "museum" for kids. They sold loose stones in bins and Maya walked away with a handful of semi-precious stones to add to her collection. 

I must say the most beautiful thing about this place is that the whole village has these amazing colorful walkways.

All the shops are so cute! I really loved the rounded doorways and pops of color everywhere! 

We did not get to walk into every single shop and see all the artists' work on display, but it still was definitely a beautiful place to visit. The kids were pretty pooped at this point, so we walked over to the trams and took a free ride around Balboa Park. My kids love tram rides, and so do I! It's such a great way to see the whole park, especially if you are tired of walking....and if you know Balboa Park it is pretty huge. 

It was an awesome day!    

A day in San Diego Part 1

The kids are on Spring Break so we decided to take a day trip to San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. 

The zoo was Jaxon's idea since he's our little animal lover. Maya on the otherhand wanted to visit a Gem Museum or similar since she's very drawn to stones and gems....she collects them! 

I thought San Diego would be perfect! The San Diego Zoo is right alongside Balboa Park with its tons of museums. The Spanish Village Art Center located within Balboa Park is literally a short walk from the zoo and happens to have the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society museum and store right in the village.   

We woke up at 6am in the morning and took the 2 hour drive....  

Mr. Polar Bear

Images of a 9 year old girl

A gift from Uncle JJ. Feeding her fishy for the first time....and with a tiny spoon. 

Photos from Maya's birthday weekend.

Road trip ( Part 4 )

After checking out the amazing farmers market at Marin Country Mart, we planned to take a hike to Point Bonita Lighthouse. It was a nice 30 minutes drive or so from where we were at.

Roadtrip (Part 3)

 Have you ever been to the Marin Country Mart Farmer's Market held every Saturday morning in Larkspur, California? If you live in the Bay Area, I highly recommend it. This is the best farmer's market I have ever been to. Everything is truly locally grown, and every single thing we had was delicious!

We came here mainly to buy fruits and indulge in some breakfast and to also buy lunch for our after hike picnic. We were going to hike up to  Point Bonitas Lighthouse later that day.

Rustic Bakery stand

We grabbed croissants from Rustic Bakery  and they were to die for! I would say the best croissants I've had in my life! I was in heaven. My kids devoured the ham and cheese croissant too. I also had bites of their homemade bread pudding my father-in-law purchased, and it was oh so yummy! They even served coffee from Stumptown Roasters originally from Portland, Oregon. What a great compliments to our pastries!

We also nibbled on fresh fruits and tomatoes too and they were so so sweet! The juices from Pressed Juicery had the best combinations, such as watermelon mint lime.  They tout 5 pounds of produce in every 16-ounce bottle! No wonder I felt so rejuvenated! My mother-in-law got the meyer lemon yogurt from St. Benoit Creamery which makes French-style yogurt from organic milk. Their yogurts are served in the cutest old-fashioned style glass containers.

Roadtrip (Part 2)

 We started off the second morning with the much anticipated Heath Ceramics tour

in Sausalito, California.

This was my thing, so I was very excited!
My daughter Maya took this photo....

Road trip ( Part 1 )

We had an amazing time with family during our vacation! We took our road trip up north, cruising through many cities with all different vibes! My in-laws flew in from Hawaii to join us on our little adventure! We experienced quite a bit for a 7 day trip.

LAX - - > San Jose. (first stop)

Our first stop was the Willow Glen area of San Jose, California. It is a beautiful tree lined neighborhood with cute little shops with an old town feel. We had to take the kids to Powell's Sweet Shoppe. 

They carry all the old school candy we grew up eating!

Heath Ceramics Tour

Our road trip to Northern California is fast approaching as we are working really hard to wrap up work before we leave! We were originally planning to make it all the way up to Oregon, but unfortunately we do not have that kind of time before the kids start school! However, we are very excited to be able to take a different kind of trip visiting places that our new to us since we've done all the city stuff already! One of our stops will be Sausalito, CA which I have never been. This is also home to the original Heath Ceramics factory. My favorite! I am very excited for the tour I was able to book for us.

Every aspect of their tile and tableware production, from clay-making to kiln-firing, is done right there in their Sausalito factory. The building was built in 1959 for Heath Ceramics. It was designed by the mid-century architecture firm Marquis & Stoller in collaboration with Edith Heath.

California Coast

Eek! I cannot believe we are heading into June already!
The past few months have been hectic around here with Jaxon's
T-ball games, Maya's dance, award ceremonies,
open houses, and birthdays....on top of craziness at work
and late night home improvement projects! June is even worse
with back-to-back schedules, our calendar is virtually full capacity!
After the kids get out of school, we are in much need of a summer vacation.
This year we are planning a road trip along the California Coast, eventually
ending up in Portland, Oregon. This trip will be about the
journey not just the destination. We cannot wait!

photo via Jetsetter

Have a nice weekend!



  

Charming Side Streets

The World Geography ran a cute little article today called "15 Charming Side Streets".
Below were some of my favorites! Its like straight out of a fairytale!

Street in Antibes, France

The Table

I was in San Jose, CA with J for one night for business, and we were able to squeeze in a very nice dinner at The Table.We really enjoyed their 'farm to table' concept, with simple yet 'fine dining' quality meals made with locally sourced ingredients. Can you believe they even make their own juices and syrups for their cocktails? Yum! But more than anything, we were really impressed with the warm and friendly service and atmosphere, that made the whole experience very relaxing and special.

Crystal Cove Charm

J and I had the pleasure of visiting the historic Crystal Cove over the weekend with neighbors and friends.
It's an amazing little place rich with history and charm!

The Zoo

We took the kids to the Los Angeles Zoo this weekend. I highly recommend visiting the zoo when it first opens. Its cooler, the animals are well rested and active, and you'll have the rest of your afternoon to do other things!

Mr. Meerkat was really photogenic!

Stay: Domus Civita

This is where I want to be right now!

 Domus Civita , Civita Bagnoregio, Lazio, Italy.

Dream Picnic

I hope I can picnic here one day! Cameron Highland Resort Pahang, Malaysia