California Recap

We had a good friend get married in Malibu this past weekend, and sort of last minute, decided we would take advantage of Drew being a free flyer, and bring her along for the ride. 

She hadn't met a lot of our family and friends out in California, and I figured it would be easier for my parents to just keep Leo while we were gone, so it was sort of a win-win. 

Thankfully our friends in California have everything we needed - strollers, pack and plays, etc. so I shipped out some diapers and food, and we took our small carry-on's and went to LA for a quick weekend getaway. 

The flight to LA, we gave Drew a B+. She slept a bit, ate a bit, was a happy for a bit, and fussed for a bit. The flight time to LA from Chicago is closer to 4 hours, so it's a long ride, but for all things considered, she did well, and I had a few mimosas so I didn't really mind either way. ;) 

My best friend in LA, Shelby, picked us up at LAX and then we decided to hit up the grocery store and In'N'Out for a quick lunch.

I bathed Drew, let her crawl around for a bit, and then hit the ground running and went to happy hour at our old favorite wine bar Esters. 

We met up with my cousins Erin and Danny, who just had a baby a few weeks ago and then the six of us went to dinner at Cassia. We sat outside, Drew took a catnap in Baby Emmett's bassinet, and then Joel was nice enough to take her home so I could hang out with everyone for one more drink after dinner.

Drew never really adjusted to the time change, so she was always up before 6...but we are both pretty early risers so it didn't matter too much. Joel went out for a run, and then Shelby and I started the day at our old favorite yoga studio for Sculpt. 

We came home, showered, and then headed to the Westfield Century Mall. I used to go to this mall three or four times a week. It was me and Leo's spot. It's an outdoor mall, was always very stroller friendly, but right before we moved, they closed it down for a MAJOR overhaul. It is SO beautiful now, and Javier's (a really great Mexican restaurant in Newport Beach) opened up, so we went there for lunch.

A maragrita at lunch signifies vacation to me. 

 

 

 

When we got home, Joel had some work to do, so Shelby and I snuck away for a thai foot massage. They have a few foot spas here in Chicago, but I have never been, and they're SO good in LA (and only $35!). 

After the massage, we visited with our girlfriend Juli who came by for a beer and then we headed to our friend Brent and Dawn's for the evening.

 

 

They were so nice to host everyone and their kids for dinner - and it was probably the most fun night of the entire trip, because it truly felt like old times. 

 

Drew fell asleep at their house, so we stayed late on the deck, opened a few too many bottles of wine, and just had the best time. 

Saturday morning Joel went for a long mountain run with his old running group, and Shelby and I decided to do the Santa Monica stairs....except I had to do them with Drew strapped into the Ergo.

And no joke, my calves are still sore. 

We went to lunch on Saturday at Plan Check for Joel's favorite burger in LA, and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging at Shelbys and watching our babies play together.

Saturday afternoon, we had a babysitter come to the house so that we could head up to Malibu for our friends wedding.

The wedding was spectacular - and it was so much fun to see all of our old friends. 

 

Somehow, Sunday morning arrived bright and early, and we were on the first flight out of Los Angeles. 

As sad as I was to leave, I was so ready to get home to Leo. He did fantastic, but finally on Sunday when I facetimed him from the airport, he asked me to bring his sister home. 

10 Things I miss about living in LA

I'll be honest, overall, both Joel and I (and Leo) have honestly loved our move back to Illinois. The feeling of being "home" is something that I missed in LA every year we were there. I like having my family rooted and have not one single regret about our move. Although...while I don't have any regrets...I have started to look back on our time in LA and collect things that I really, really miss. Some things, I miss because nostalgia has set in, but either way, this was a fun list (in no particular order) to come up and think fondly back on our life back in California.

1. Not ever thinking about the weather - and, I have to preface this because I'm sure my California friends will call me out on this but I actually didn't love the constant 75 and sunny weather of California. I longed for crisp, fall days, thunderstorms, and blizzards that closed school and work BUT - I did take for granted how you really could depend on the weather in California. Having an outside wedding shower? Not a care in the world. Planning a trip to the zoo on Sunday.....cool. Here - you always need a back up plan and that does get annoying. 

 2. Hiking - The sport in general doesn't exist here because there is no where near to actually hike. I miss the beauty and the views hikes 15 minutes from our house offered. Plus, it was a solid workout, outside, that really refreshed my soul in a way I didn't really realize until the option was no longer.



3. Not being official grown ups - Now that we own a house and live in the suburbs, I do feel like we've really - and I mean this in a pretty lame way - grown up. Not that Joel and I have ever really been "willy nilly", but, we have adopted some real old people habits since moving here - like staying in most nights, going to bed really early, and spending most of our weekends doing house things and shopping at home depot. 

4. Fresh Brothers - I know we are in pizza territory here in Chicago, but I miss Fresh Brothers every single weekend! 

5. Celebrity Sightings - A little tongue in cheek, but it was really fun to run into Victoria Beckham at Soul Cycle or walk down the street with Jamie Foxx or run a 5k with Ben and Jen. That aint happening any time soon here! 



6. Lunch with Joel during the week - And if this was Joel's list, he would say his commute. In LA, Joel worked 10 minutes from our house, and Leo and I would meet him every Wednesday to have lunch in the garden at The Montage in Beverly Hills. It was a fun outing for all of us, and something that we all looked forward to each week. Joel's commute here is at least 40 minutes, and that's just too long and there is no beautiful garden at the Montage near his office! 

7. Bouginvillas - There is nothing more beautiful and vibrant and they bring me so many California memories.

8. Santa Barbara - I really miss our day trips up to Santa Barbara. It was our favorite little home away from home and whenever we had a free Saturday we would take the dog and the baby up for a day of beautiful walks, great easy lunches, and tons of relaxing wineries that we would just sit at and catch up. 



9. Walking....most everywhere - I do miss the ability to walk 3 blocks up the road and have a great grocery store and coffee shop right there....a few more blocks and ending up in Westwood Village where I could pop in and out of stores, stop at Target, or pick up lunch. The vastness of my options of things to do was just so much bigger and while I did take advantage of it while we lived there, I SO wish that came with us here.

10.  Our friends - I really can't think about LA without thinking about all of the people we left behind. Especially my tight girlfriends. It's going to take years to recreate those kind of friendships here in Crystal Lake, and that breaks my heart a little. We all still stay in close touch, sometimes every day, but there is a big, big, gap in my life without them....no doubt of that. 

And the reality is, I could come up with many more things that I miss. And an entire list of things I don't. 

We knew what we were giving up and gaining when we moved, and more than anything, I'm glad to have all of it under my list of experiences lived.  

 

California Getaway

Isn't it funny that when you don't fly with a baby, the airplane part becomes part of the vacation? We pulled out of our house in the uber and felt like we were free as birds!

We had been flying a ton of Virgin America when we were flying back and forth to Chicago and LA, and since now the airline is merging with Alaska, we cashed in a few points so that we could upgrade ourselves. It was such a fun, relaxing flight, and kicked off our vacation on the right foot.

As soon as we landed, my best friend Shelby picked us up from the airport and took us right to Joel's favorite LA restaurant, Fishing with Dynamite. 

We indulged in tons of rose, oysters, dessert....we just took a long, leisure lunch and enjoyed every second. 

 

 

 

We stayed with Shelby, who happens to live in our old building. It was so fun/weird/amazing/sad/etc. to be back in our old building, but we rallied, and really just enjoyed feeling back home.

Friday night was honestly perfect. We put it put it out to a few friends that we would be in LA and met up for happy hour.

Being with these girls was just what I needed. It is like no time has passed at all, we pick up from where we left off, and we can all be our true selves. 

Happy hour moved into dinner, and we all drank way too much catching up back at Shelby's, soaking in every minute together that we could. 

Saturday morning, Shelby and I started the morning off right with 8 sets of the Santa Monica stairs. 

Not kidding, my calves are still killing me. 

We had coffee back with Shelby and her sweet baby Tucker that I miss everyday, and just had the best time ever.

Joel and I snuck away for a lunch date at A.O.C. which was so much fun. 

If you live in LA, their brunch is bomb.  

We got back to Shelby's right before 2:30pm, spent some time hanging, and then got ready for our dear friend Ami and Alex's spectacular wedding in Bel Air.

The wedding location was breathtaking, and I was so glad we got plenty of time to soak in the ocean.

The wedding was so lovely (personal vows get my every time), Ami's dad's speech was on of the best I've ever heard, we met such cool people at the wedding, and we had just an amazing time in the company of such kindness and love.

 

 

 

Sunday morning was a little brutal but after coffee and bagels, we rallied with Shelby and Tucker and drove down to San Diego so we could spend some time with Joel's brother's family. They welcomes a new baby in January and we couldn't wait to get our hands on her.

We spent the day relaxing, soaking in baby cuddles, and being together. 

The four of us, and our sweet niece Evie, snuck away for a really, really nice dinner in San Diego. 

 

We loved being together, even though it was way too short, and somehow, Monday morning rolled and we were en route to the airport. 

We had the absolute worst flight home of my life. The last 45 minutes I actually thought our flight was going to crash. A few people were throwing up in front of us, I was hysterically crying, and grown men were hollering out every time we tipped, dipped, and whipped. It sucked so. horribly. bad. 

I honestly kissed the ground when we touched down - and was even that much more thankful to get my baby Leo in my arms.

A good weekend away, good for Joel and I, and so, so good to get home.