A Great Escape

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.”

--Isak Dinesen

I am particularly fond of the quote above... while the true cure for things is found in the loving arms of the Lord, I must admit that the salt water philosophy makes perfect sense to me. Sometimes in order to cure stress some people turn to sweat aspect of the gym (I know--can you believe it? :0)), others respond to difficulty through tears, and then we have the sea.

For as long as I can remember, the beach has held such a special place near and dear to my heart. Growing up with a pool and a yearly vacation to Carpinteria-- the water was my oasis in so many different ways. To be perfectly honest there isn't a time I wouldn't love to be at the beach...

(Andrew & I actually get to head off on vacation in a couple of weeks to my old stomping grounds in Ventura-- I am so excited to share this long running tradition with him!)

...anyways... there is just something so calming about watching the waves and enjoying all aspects of this magnificent part of the Lord's creation.

I was able to make the great escape this weekend with my future hubby to Santa Monica. It was so nice just to have time together away from everything... I was just itching to get out of the valley--while it is indeed home, it can sometimes be a bit suffocating, if that makes sense?

As you can see--the beach did not disappoint, sailboats and all. We first attempted to boogie board, mind you I have been doing this since I was a little girl, but for whatever reason I was having issues. After ditching the boards we had fun just being in the waves. Andrew enjoyed tackling me when presented with the proper opportunity (there were many). I'd like to say that I was able to get him back but at a match up of 5'3" vs 6'2" the odds were not in my favor!

We were all smiles on the sand after our water play--there was an unusual amount of slimy seaweed that we couldn't seem to shake.

After one adventure, it was onto the next. We headed up towards the lovely Santa Monica Pier, followed by lunch at Johnny Rockets and browsing on 3rd Street Promenade.

As you can tell, we weren't the only ones who thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach! After Santa Monica we stopped off at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. This was EXTRA special because Andrew had yet to experience the sweet slices of heaven found here. With a little wait time to blow, we walked next door to Urban Home. I had never heard of this store, but was pleasantly surprised by what they had to offer. Similar in style to that of Pottery Barn, UH had some really nice furniture at reasonable prices! Check them out at www.shopurbanhome.net

All together-- the day was spent at my favorite place, with my favorite person + some good food...

PERFECT!