I know you miss me ...

It won't be long now ... !

C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A ...

New blog ... not a replacement to this blog, but rather an addition. Feel free to take a cue from Janice and pop by (Janice, you need a hobby - seriously!) Leave a comment, if you wish, or just lurk - I'm used to that from my admirers as well ...

Your work day begins ...

Ummm ... do you really not have something else that you should be doing?

Californication ...

Another fabulous visit to Cali! Nothing's better than arriving in the land of heat sans humidity and having the handsomest man in the whole airport waiting for me. 

The next day, I found a hairdresser that I adore - he's not too far from home and really knows what he's doing. Despite it being a first visit, he understood exactly what I wanted and delivered in spades. Lainey is a happy girl!

K and I celebrated Canada Day with poutine. Hahaha, who are we kidding? Everyone knows that you can't find any poutine worth celebrating anywhere outside la belle province! We spent a lot of my time there cooking - it's lovely being able to walk to the grocery store, pick out the ingredients for that night's dinner, and then head back to cook together. 

Spent my first July 4th stateside. Well, I may have done so as a child but I don't remember. This one, I will remember! We headed to Whole Foods and picked up some paiche, which we baked with some lime, ginger, olive oil, and garlic. We plated it up alongside a salad and headed up to dine alfresco on the loft balcony. Our dinner at dusk was delicious, the wine was cold and crisp, and we could hear some of the neighbours heading to the park to watch the fireworks.

Sippin' under the stars

Then, it was dark ... and it became loud. 

And the rocket's red glare, indeed!

With the weekend came a road trip/getaway. We headed to Three Rivers for a meeting with the Veep. 

The drive up was hot, hot, hot ... but at least it wasn't humid!

My chauffeur ... also hot, hot, hot!

Konrad and I made seafood risotto for Linda and Martin, and Linda made a juicy strawberry tart. It was a perfect evening. (The dinner was originally slated to be a Lobster Risotto. Unlike here, where almost every supermarket has a lobster tank, the crunchy people of California seem to only stock frozen lobster because stocking fresh lobster is "cruel and inhumane". Hmmm. They DO realize that frozen lobster was once alive? And that someone had to kill it? Geeze, they tout everything else being so fresh but are willing to settle for frozen crustaceans!)

Dessert was soooooo good!

The next morning, we were spoiled with a buffet of homemade blueberry scones, scrambled eggs and spinach, bacon, sausage, and coffee. Before leaving, we watched a deer munching on apples that it had swiped off the apple tree. It was a lovely visit and one that I look forward to repeating. 

The drive back was overcast but still really enjoyable. We do love a good road trip!

Kameah River

Here, they pronounce it LA-vle!

That night, we found a great lil Thai place in the neighbourhood. The food was really good and we decided it's a keeper. 

The next day, it was time for us both to pack up and head out. At the airport, I found out that the woman in line behind me was also Canadian and had moved to Cali for love. Small world! *wink*

It was a great visit - more time to unload stuff and settle into our new place, some alone time with K, and a chance to meet some really great people. Can't wait to get back there again!

Check!

So much to do! I have made lists ... and then I've made lists of lists that I have to make ... and just when I manage to scratch an item off a list, I'll get a text or call from either Julia or K and have to add another item (or more!) to one list or another. Got a few things knocked out last week and several just this morning alone ... then I spoke to K ... and I'm back to adding to one of the lists again! Oh well, this has been in the plans for so long; if I could pack up a household and move an entire family to Europe in the span of 3 months, this should be a cakewalk!

... and I do so love cake!

Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice ...

The last time that Julia and I were on an airplane together was fourteen years ago. 9-11 had not yet occurred, so air travel was very different; Julia was 7 and obeyed me more often than not; and the excitement level was high - we were moving home and family from one continent to another ... to be home again and with family again. 

Things were a little different this time around. Airport security dictates that we allocate more time and effort to be screened, and Julia is now almost 21 and definitely has a mind of her own. The excitement level, however, was still high - this was a trip that she had been anticipating for quite some time now. The flight to LAX was fun - we watched a movie on the laptop, her cellphone got a workout from the pics and videos that she poured into Snapchat non-stop, and things must have gone well since we were still speaking to each other by the time we landed, both our sanities intact!

K met us at the airport and we headed to the new digs. Despite having shopped for condos online and having K sending me pics of the place, it was way nicer than what I had imagined. It's a gated community (something that was very important to both K and me), is walking distance to many things like the supermarket, the drugstore, the mall ... and (most importantly to K) Starbucks. A garage for my car, a parking stall for K, and a pool and hot tub for Julia. Two bedrooms (with lots of closet space), two washrooms, and a circular staircase that you take to go up to the loft. The condo also has three balconies: the front balcony (also accessible form the kitchen), the back balcony (accessible from both the living room and our bedroom), and one off of the loft (for those romantic evenings spent sipping wine and gazing at the stars). It immediately felt like home and having K stock the pantry with some of my favourites like Jif (only the best peanut butter in the US North America the world!) and oyster crackers from Trader Joe's (they should just call them oyster crack and be done with it!) didn't hurt. K even bought bed sheets in my favourite colour! The furniture that we had picked out was delivered and set up and while there are still things to get and personal touches to make, the place was just perfect. K cooked dinner for us that first night and we all had such a lovely evening. Julia really seemed to like the place and her new room; I don't think settling will be a problem for her. The cherry on the sundae? This gated community borders on Summit Park, a beautifully maintained enclosed park with tennis courts, a walking/jogging track, loads of space for Jack to explore ... and it opens to several trails to hike. BONUS!

I had a chance to meet one of our neighbours while I was there. Kate came by with her daughter in search of their cat. She welcomed us to the neighbourhood and we promised that we would keep an eye out for her stray. That night, while taking a walk after dinner, we came upon a cat who fit the description that we had been given. While K and Julia stayed there to keep an eye on the cat, I headed back to the condo to get Kate. On my way there, I ran into another cat who could just as easily have been the lost kitty. He seemed friendly so I coaxed him toward me and scooped him up, then raced back to the condo. Opening the door, Kate took a look at the cat in my arms, laughed and said, "Oh no, that's Bentley (or some other strange, non-catlike name). We found our cat!" I turned and went to place Bentley (or whoever he was) back where I'd found him, all the while feeling like the world's biggest cat napper!

Julia had a couple of goals that she wanted to fulfill on this trip - to work on her tan and to hit the beach. She managed to do both - she tanned every day and one afternoon, we drove down to Zuma Beach ... where she tanned some more. Another goal of the trip was to visit College of the Canyons, where Julia is planning to apply for the fall session. I had booked a tour before she and I left for the trip; the woman who took us around was gracious enough to spend a full two hours with us, walking us around the campus and explaining a plethora of things as she went along. Julia really enjoyed the visit; the campus is really beautiful, the college has a lot to offer its students, and it's extremely close to the condo. Julia and I hit the mall another afternoon, and she got to spend loads of time at the pool back at the condo. Then there was the day that we went to The Cheesecake Factory and were seated in a booth behind the booth where Brandy was having lunch. Yeah, all in all, it was a really gruelling trip for her!

Julia's first meeting with the Pacific - Zuma Beach

It wouldn't be a visit to Cali without a visit to In-N-Out

We celebrated our last night in California with an outing to the Salt Creek Grille. This place has THE best bruschetta EVER. We all gorged ourselves on steak (I've never seen my daughter inhale meat like that ... she is definitely her father's daughter!) and we barely had time for dessert. It was a lovely evening and we all had a wonderful time.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake. Trust me, it looked more appetizing on the plate!

The next afternoon, it was time to leave out home-away-from-home and head back north. And now, the wait begins ... waiting to hear back from the college and waiting for out next trip back. In the meantime, I'll be sending K links and following the ones that he sends me ... who knew that long-distance furniture shopping could be this much fun?!?


"Best way to live in California is to be from somewheres else."
- Cormac McCarthy, No Place for Old Men

∞ ∞ ∞  ¡ ! ¡   * * *  UPDATE * * *    ¡ ! ¡  ∞ ∞ ∞

Julia has been accepted at COC for the fall semester! We are Cali bound, baby!!!