June is typically a beautiful month in Santa Barbara, and this past Sunday was no exception. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and spent much of the day at the beach. I’d like to share what we did and perhaps give you some ideas for creating your own perfect and relaxing Sunday. Our day ended with an unexpected twist (don’t worry, all turned out ok)… and hopefully you can avoid that part of this tale!
Continue reading “Relaxing Sunday in Santa Barbara with friends”
I may not have been spending much on gas, eating out, or travel for the last few months, but somehow I still find a way to spend money! Everyone deserves a few treats during a pandemic.
Continue reading “I can always find something to spend money on …”Like everyone else in the Bay Area, we freaked out a little bit when we were ordered to shelter-in-place and rarely venture out for groceries and other essentials. Online food shopping was a large source of our groceries from the start.
My husband has more patience than I do- so he was drafted to mask up, stand in line right when the stores opened, and scour the shelves of the local Safeway, Diablo Foods and Trader Joes for (pretty much) anything he could find- and that’s why we have a motley assortment of 50+ cans of beans, soups, chili and other staples (not exaggerating), filling the pantry and the garage (not too far from our home gym actually!)
Continue reading “Best sources for specialty online food shopping”Around the third week of sheltering in place, I realized that we were going to be in this situation for a lot longer than I originally thought. And after a period of denial and trying to live as normally as possible, I gave myself permission to try some new things, to try doing things in a new way. I want to share what some of those things were and how it’s working out. I’ve given each one a thumbs up or down based on whether I recommend it or not.
Continue reading “Trying new things during the pandemic”An update on how Kate is faring in working from home from Santa Barbara…
It has been a slow progression.
Continue reading “Adapting to working from home in Santa Barbara”It was a real shock to go from a 7-day-a-week gym routine to working out in our garage, as I suppose it was for most people. And of course, by the time I figured out that we were going to need more than a foam roller and a couple of infrequently used yoga mats in order to keep up our routines, many items were sold out all over the internet. Apparently everyone else was building their stay-at-home gyms too!
I’ve managed to piece together enough equipment to get in a decent workout. Although a lot of things are still sold out at Amazon, Target, and sporting goods stores, I’ve found that if you order 3-4 different varieties of the same item (e.g. 3 different 15 lb kettlebells from Amazon), eventually one will become available and it will be on its way to your house. Just don’t forget to cancel the orders for the other 2 kettlebells! There’s not much you can do with three kettlebells at one time 🙂
Continue reading “Building our stay-at-home gym for fantastic garage workouts”
Thanks for checking out our site! We are so excited to share all the adventures (and misadventures) of our California life. Kate and I have many of the same interests (like fitness/health, the joys of growing older, travel, food), but we’ll also be sharing our own passions and expertise as well. Kate has a lot more to say on the topic of wine than Amy does! And Amy goes a bit nuts for stationery (sorry, not sorry)
And now, a little about the two of us.
I’m a pretty lucky person to live in Santa Barbara, California, also known as the American Riviera. If you have been here, you’ll know why- it’s a bit like being on vacation all year round! And I hope that my posts will encourage you to plan a visit- whether for the first time or the twelfth.
My husband Steve and I moved to Santa Barbara from Seattle for my job, and after five years of a California life, we have never looked back.
We make the most of living in central California in a beach community. Our miniature Australian Shephards, Lolly and Zoe, run on the area beaches at least 3 times a week.
We also love the proximity of Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez Valley with its wonderful wines and restaurants. With everything this area has to offer, you would think we would never leave! Alas, we love to travel, and I’ll be posting updates on our trips near and far.
I look forward to sharing more about the area and what makes it so special, as well as cool things and places I discover along the way. Cheers!
I’m the older sister and made the move out to the Bay Area after Kate settled here. In our twenties, we lived together for a few crazy years, but now we’re in different parts of the state. The Bay Area isn’t quite as “vacation-like” as Santa Barbara, but it’s still a gorgeous spot and I love living here. California life is easy to get used to!
I live in the East Bay with my daughter, husband, and sweet doggie Cheddar. We discovered a lot of nearby hikes when we adopted him- we had no idea how much exercise a border collie needs!
I love spending my time exercising, cooking, reading and planning a trip. I’ve also rediscovered a love of stationery, fountain pens and pen pals. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in our normal vacation plans, but we’re still hoping for a few jaunts here and there that I’ll share with you.
Let us know if there are topics that you are interested in- we want to make this enjoyable and helpful to our readers. We’re looking forward to connecting and sharing our experiences and opinions (and boy do we have a lot of those!) over the days and weeks to come.
