The Perfect Girls' Weekend in Santa Barbara

Sometimes I forget that I can be quite graceful under pressure, like for instance, when my car stalls in the middle lane of the 5 freeway on a Saturday morning at 70mph. It had also stalled the night before on Wilshire Blvd., - thank god for Rob who talked me through turning on the bloody thing and got me home. (Also saw Hunger Games, which was so meh, it barely deserves a mention. I still love you, J.Lawr.)

To add to the level of absurdity, 25 mins into the trip to SB, Aline's car suffered a surprise flat tire, so back we went to Glendale to switch cars. We finally made it to SB and it's 76 degree, light breeze, blue skies and gorgeous ocean, by around 3pm.

DAY 1:

Do:

The View at Sterns

The Urban Wine Trail: Tens of winery tasting rooms, walking distance from each other, just off State Street, very often including cheese plates and live music (and if not, I was eager to provide my renditions). We checked out Sterns (on the pier, with 360 ocean views - worth it just for that and not really the wine); Oreana (generous pours and a live band); Santa Barbara Wineries (solid choice), and Pali wines (a little hazy on this one, but I got peed on by a puppy so that was cool). Each tasting is about $10-15 and there are tons of food trucks and little restaurants to grab a bite at.

Eat:
Julienne: Farm to table cuisine/industrial chic (tots my cup of tea), about a mile away from those initial wineries. We did the four course "tasting" menu with the pairing, which was far more food than we needed. We actually skipped dessert (gasp) and had to take the last course home. (We inhaled it at 2am in bed, like ravenous wolves.) Julienne was legit one of the best meals I have had. Fresh, well-executed, and interesting. The standouts were the tuna tartare as well as the pork belly with brussels. Aline and I discussed another trip just to go back to this restaurant.

Petros

Stay:
The Agave Inn: Midcentury modern vibe - clean, but with beds harder than army cots. Super cute and insta worthy, and a good deal for a weekend stay.

DAY 2:

Visit:
ALL THE WINERIES - we stuck to Los Olivos.
Our favorite was Beckmen. They specialize in reds, their TLB was my favorite. A full-bodied,  bold, earthy red. All the vineyards we visited were so idyllic and picturesque. The changing colors of the vines in bright yellow, red and orange actually alerted me to the fact seasons do exist. Picnicking outside at all of them with a cheese plate from Gelsons and an array of farm animals wandering around was a perfect Sunday.


Eat:
Petros: A really beautiful and elegant Greek restaurant in the posh Fess Parker hotel in the Los Olivos village proper. It was recommended by a man at Beckmen and did not disappoint. We had the dipping plate (including taramsalata - one my favorites) and fried calamari, plus wine made just for the restaurant (I recommend the Oinos.)

Aline and I discussed staying in Los Olivos on another girls' trip with a few more of us. Everything is so sweet and walkable. Despite the massive car issues and perhaps a bit too much wine at times, the weekend was a much needed respite from back to back court days.

Before and After

Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

Yep. So that's my favorite Adele song, next to Hello, I Miss You, When We Were Young, Remedy, Water Under The Bridge, River Lea, Love In The Dark, Million Years Ago, All I Ask and Sweetest Devotion. (And yes, that's all of them).

*Update: I also love "Water Under the Bridge": If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently/Don't pretend that you don't want me/Our love ain't water under the bridge/If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently. 

OMG CHILLS.

--> So then Sam was like, "apparently it's about her bf - she was like waiting for him to fuck up but he never did and she was like oh, this is new." [lololol].

I obviously needed to take a break from my social media cleanse (no FB posting, no Insta, no Snap) to sing the praises of the goddess that is Adele. (I don't even care that this is like the most #basic thing ever, bc like Adele.) 

Once I go back on social media, Imma just post videos of me singing all the songs. Forever. It'll just be me in my snowflake pajamas tearing this shit upppp. PS I've also only had shots of espresso and pecan pie today, so I am AMPED.

Adele really inspires my most terrifyingly dramatic moments, i.e. ill-founded texts to the guys I'm dating with ambiguous and simultaneously empty threats of abandonment and irritation. [God forbid I leave a voicemail.]

Last night's outfit

So in other news, hit up an opera last night. There is no way to make this sound less geriatric: as soon as the curtain went up for Moby Dick, I was asleep, wrapped in Aline's soft AF scarf. We met up with my old friend, Devon, and his charming husband last night -  (Peter might be my new favorite person) - for some (insert grimace) white wine and cheese. 

So before I harp too much on the utter boredom that is Moby Dick, I am so excited for the LA Opera's 30 Under 30. Just the best deal, the best seats. But Moby Dick. I never was able to make it through the bloody book. I don't know why I thought I could the the opera. Best sleep I've gotten since my preschool naps.

In other news, this week has been a challenge. Between MIA clients, settlement negotiations up the wazoo, and wayyyy to many mornings in court, I am so excited for this weekend, including happy hour plans, Hunger Games and Santa Barbara with Aline for a quick girls weekend. 

This photo summarizes my life right now. 

Love this face

Gift Guide #1 AKA...

... Things I bought for other people but then kept for myself. Whoops.

[Insert theoretical and poetic spiel about being a mindful consumer] OR rather, we all spend too much money on things we don't need. We might as well purchase high quality goods that won't hurt the world, and gasp, might even help someone else. AKA don't be an ass. Any little bit helps.

1. Grounds and Hounds Coffee Co. ($15) -> fair trade organic coffee. My favorite blend so far is, Paper and Slippers, a medium roast, with notes of chocolate and blackberry. 20% of proceeds go to no-kill rescue shelters. (I may have teared up reading their website.)

2. Juniper Ridge Campfire Incense in White Sage ($12) -> a self-named "wilderness distillery," all products are sustainably harvested. It reminds me of summers in the desert and oddly enough, my yoga studio. Perfectly calming and not sweet.

3.  Krochet Kids Headband ($24) - Besides being founded by three attractive males, the tenets of this company include empowerment and employment helping individuals in Peru and Uganda create and sell handmade products. They also help in mentorship and education.

4. Neal's Yard Dairy Cheese (varies) - My favorite dairy with my favorite cheese: stilchelton, but it's a seasonal cheese. I just picked up some Adrahan - a bold Irish cheese. Soft and stinky. Yum. (I just ate it for breakfast as my desk).

ALSO I REALLY REALLY WANT THIS vase + docking stand - THATS A HINT.

In other news, I'm trying out the Pomodoro Technique at work, deleted social media accts from my phone for the week - as close as I'm going to get to a cleanse, and have decided to not wear makeup at work when I'm not in court and don't have a depo scheduled. Caking my face with shit when all I do is stare at a computer is rather useless and I'm far happier naked (faced).

The Rundown

I've just finished my seventh court day in 12 business days, which is about six more than I'm generally used to. Trial on hearing conferences on expedited trials plus depositions, conferences, luncheons, and seminars. This lawyering thing is really impinging on the whole yoga/coffee/hike/puppy cuddle/wine routine I'd been honing.

But I've been learning so much and having a great time in addition to attending at least 2-3 networking events a week - these range from lunches with filmmakers to speed networking (sort of like online dating) to alumni events. Hopefully, all the running around will pay off soon.

In the meantime, I've been challenging myself in cooking, traveling a lot, and keeping up with my writing.

THE RUNDOWN:

Three weekends ago, I hit up Oregon with my mom to visit my brother and dad. Highlights - hot yoga with my brother and a visit to the waterfalls with my mom.

The next weekend, in SF, I was lucky enough to see El Vy at the Independent, plus the regular routine of Four Barrel, Dolores, Zeitgeist and a visit to Mission Cheese (with my loves - Rob, Feliz, Tawsh, Will, Ladi and Christable). A satisfying and well-executed dinner at Aster with Joe was a beautiful way to end the trip. (Actually tho, the McGriddle with Christable in the car on the way to the airport was pretty epic). Also saw Art Garfunkel with the family that weekend.

Last week, aside from lovely dinner with Jaimie and Jeff and Ellie's too fast, but amazing, visit, I also saw Gloria Steinem in conversation with Melissa McCarthy. I do think MM was a bit out of her league, but she was endearing while Steinem was effortlessly cool and inspirational.

This weekend was yoga, wine and oysters with Anthony, chillin with Jeff, bloody Marys and 90s singalong with Lexi (visiting from NYC!), Nathalie and Joanna, and the Farmers Market and Silverlake walking tour with Jaimie. The weekend culminated in an organic farmers market feast for Evan and Michael with pan seared salmon, miso quinoa, quail eggs, ginger/garlic brussels and Szechwan carrots. It was an experimental comfort food meets asian fusion meets healthy sort of.

THE FUTURE:

So what's next? Aside from battling the loud winds at night, I have two court days this week, an opera of Moby Dick, a trip to Santa Barbara, and Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving before I launch into my holiday party planning :)

I'm also in a nesting mood and feeling rather content with everything right now. That isn't to say I'm not going to sign up for that pottery class or that I'll stop networking, but my anxiety has sort of stabilized. The panic about where I'll be in six months has worn off a more centered focus in efforts to get "there."

I've been thinking a lot recently on the topic of self-presentation/preservation. I very often laugh off things or crack jokes to avoid hard conversations. Then after going with the flow for probably too long, I blow a gasket over a misused semi-colon and then boom: World War III. And there are topics that I'm naturally evasive about and if I am caught off guard about them, I shut down (or crack a joke about rainbows or something equally inane). Now I'm skilled in my defense mechanisms, but I think it's time to calm down on that front. I'm far more fun when I'm not dissecting yours and my id, ego, and superego.

Instead, I'll be playing with the interactive meal planner by the NY Times and planning my next trip. xx.