McBrides in San Diego!

  The last stop on our California excursion took us down to San Diego for the weekend to visit my cousin/god-mother, Dawn, and her husband John. We had SUCH a great time and were so fortunate to have the two best tour guides in town! Dawn and John even let us in on their favorite coffee shop/breakfast locale - so tasty!

  We toured the sites, and had great food! Here are a few of our favorite pics!

Went to visit the seals!

a stop to visit John's Cop-Shop on Shelter Island!

checking out the Police boats with the Chief himself! Don't mess with John...

Thanks so much John & Dawn!!

McBrides in Huntington Beach!

  Our next stop on my work shopping trip with Kevin was Huntington Beach! Kevin says he prefers it in Huntington Beach by FAR: "Every one's so laid back and dresses like me, and I'm not hacking up smog!" + Temps in the high 70's =  exactly what these two Minnesotans needed.

  Here's a few of our favorite pics:

McBrides in LA!

   Kevin recently accompanied me to Los Angeles/Santa Monica on a shopping trip for work - and thank goodness! I don't think I would do so well driving in that LA traffic!

What we did - Feb. 13, 14:
- sat in traffic
- shopped cute boutiques
- took photos
- had sushi with friends
- more shopping
- a few purchases
- sat in traffic some more
- tasty Italian food for Valentine's Day!
- a romantic walk on the pier...until the fog rolled in and it got really cold!

Here's our fav shots from where we stayed in Santa Monica (courtesy of Kevin of course!)

our hotel - right on the beach!

and here comes the fog...

Next stop Huntington Beach! Our fav pics soon!

I Heart SF! - Part 2

  So one of the sweet shops we visited was Paxton Gate. My co-worker Alyssa was SO pumped to visit this store - it was super cool and really fascinating :)  I lifted this from their site, but it pretty much sums it up "...Treasures and Oddities inspired by the Garden and the Natural Sciences. We're known for our mix of neo-Victorian delights, eclectic animal and plant ephemera, taxidermy, bones and skulls, framed and mounted insects, jewelry, affordable art, fossils & minerals, and more..."
  Its a must visit when in San Fran :) Check it out!

Loads of crazy taxidermy

Stones, corals, taxidermy eyeballs, beakers, test tubes, under the sea finds + a PIRANHA!! Scary!

Everything for your terrarium needs + a sweet backyard garden area full of succulents and cool plants we can't grow outside in MN...

Bugs and skulls and fossils...

+ these cool lamps - one made with an alligator head (far right side)

If you find yourself in San Fran - def check it out!

I Heart SF! - Part 1

  It's been a few weeks since my visit to San Francisco - and we've been so busy, I haven't had a chance to share some of the great shopping and sites!
- Shopping - check!
- Eating - double check!
- President Obama was in town - it's true!
+ a tour of Chronicle Books HQ! So cool!

  Here is Part 1 of my San Fran trip highlights!

Walking *down the steep hills wasn't so bad.....it was the walking up that just about did me in.
For real: I almost died

The Painted Ladies!! The most famous row of houses ever!

LOVED all the San Fran Style homes - even this Barn roof style home was quirky and fun!
 PLUS! My favorite part = the sweet whale weather vane!

So much good food - including a quick lunch at Elsy's - a Salvadorian restaurant where I had my first Pupusa!
( a thick, hand-made corn biscuit-like flat bread that is stuffed with good stuff - Mine included carnitas + cheese!)

We grabbed some late night ice cream from Smitten  in Hayes Valley - an ice cream shop within a huge cargo-shipping container. The owner developed this great technology they call "kelvin" to make the BEST ice cream in 5 minutes. They keep it simple: only 3 flavors available at a time - I had Salted Carmel - YUM! - and it was packed with people! But the great part is, it's not a long wait, and you get to watch them concoct your batch right before your eyes! Only 3 - 6 ingredients total (depending on the flavor) and ALL locally sourced.

Random I know. In one shop, there was a little back room gallery space where I found this great needle-point sushi artwork. It made me smile :)

I picked these out for Kevin! A seemingly ordinary stool from the front & side - but Storm Trooper business in the back!

and I opened up a health spa - no. that's not true at all - but it's funny to see my name out there. I can't even find it on a souvenir shop key chain - so I take what I can get!

I did a lot of shopping while in SF - look for my I Heart SF! Part 2 and Part 3 posts soon!