Checking In

*taps mic* Is this thing on?

Well hello out there! I have clearly been neglecting my blog (this is par for the course, sadly), and I thought I should try and get back onto a regular-ish schedule. Johanna from Making it Well makes a very good point about being okay with "un-Pinteresty" pictures. This is never going to be a Pinterest-content-mill blog and why should it be? You all are just going to have to be happy with the pictures I am able to get.

I also wanted to try and set some time aside to blog each week because I think I'm developing RSI in my right hand. So, I thought I'd give it a break from the constant knitting and sewing. We'll see how things develop, I may soon be sporting a super sexy wrist brace (or is it a knitter's glove?).

Anyways, things have been super busy for me, so it's a bit of a crapshoot whether or not this blog resurrection is going to stick.

Have some pictures of a bird from the San Diego Wild Animal Park :)





Isn't it gorgeous?

Oh, and here's how close I was standing to it!


And a sneak peak of a soon to be blogged top!

Pets on Parade

If you are in need of the best pick-me-up this (cold) winter, then save the date for the annual Gaslamp Pet Parade.  This Sunday, December 8, parade starts at 2:30 pm! More information at their website.  Free to watch! You know you want to :)

If you really need more convincing, I took a couple pictures at last year's parade.  It's mostly doggies, but there's a few kitties and horses thrown in for good measure.  It's just fun to see all the little costumes.



I think this fluffy little guy ended up being best in show. His human was controlling the car with his iPad, isn't that an incredible setup?



Lots of sweet dogs dressed up, mostly in Christmas gear, but a few standouts like these in "other" genres.  I love the lion haircut, so funny!



I guess this is officially a thing now, cute dogs in toy vehicles?

Free Flight in Del Mar, CA

I have to say, this was a pretty cool little place just down the street from the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  It's tucked away back into this weird shopping center, but Free Flight is a really neat exotic bird sanctuary that let's you get up close and personal with (mostly) friendly birds.  The friendliest birds are out on perches and can be pet and fed with fruits if you want to buy some from the staff (I recommend it). 

One caveat: the staff are not going to babysit you, so if you don't have any experience with birds, they're not going to watch and keep you from getting bitten.  However, there are plenty of bird enthusiasts who come by to hang out with their favorite birds and are usually happy to answer questions. 

There's also a cool Koi fish pond to boot.

Definitely a pretty neat little place to spend an hour or two when in Del Mar.

See more reviews at TripAdvisor here.

Mission Trails in January

Don't let the pretty autumn colors fool you, but we hiked the Mission Trails in early January after several days of rain so that we could see if the cacti were blooming.  We just hiked around for 4 hours enjoying the scenery, but not really picking any particular trail.  We ended up way out by the northern perimeter and Shepherd's Pond.

This is a really excellent regional park with great hiking trails of all skill/effort levels.



This is a seasonal crossing, so we actually had to wade through the water a bit to get over to the trails. Normally, it isn't quite so wet here.








"It's like the English countryside, except for the cacti."

Julian, CA

We visited Julian at the beginning of the apple picking season. Around here, Julian is known for their apple pies, so what better place to pick apples?



We found the greatest orchard that specialized in dwarf apple trees and weird metal sculptures.  Why are miniature apple trees cool?  Because tiny people like me can reach the apples!



Our small-looking bag of apples actually ended up being made into 2 apple pies (recipe previously made here) and a loaf of apple cinnamon pull apart bread.





Isn't this the cutest sign?  It was on the door of the cutest tea house :)


And look at all the yummy teas they had!  We've officially become loose tea drinkers.




And this book house was amazing.  5 rooms with floor to ceiling bookcases, full of books of pretty much every genre.


Julian has this really sweet quaint town feeling mixed with extreme touristy-ness.  There was some kind of Western skit on the main street every hour.  You know, the kind with fake gun fights between the sheriff and some outlaw?  Anyways, it was a nice place to go for the day, but it's definitely a hike from San Diego proper.  Not exactly the easiest place to get to (in a car with no AC, no less).

Requisite Sunset at the Beach Pictures

Everyone who gets a new camera has the sudden urge to go to the beach at sunset and take artsy pictures.  Myself not excluded.  It just took me 2 years to get here.

On a related note, I have absolutely no idea how to edit pictures so that they actually look good.  Maybe I should look into that.




I love this picture (regardless of any actual photographic merit).  I like how the seagull in the foreground waiting for a snack is lit against the dark rocks.





Piers make good geometric focal points, don't they?



Funnily enough, there was a couple taking professional engagement/couple shots standing right at the water line, they must have been freezing!

Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo National Monument is one of those things that you do when you say, "Hey, I've lived in San Diego for 4 years, and I haven't really been anywhere historic/landmark/cool/touristy lately."  Mostly, though, we just used this opportunity to get out of the house and scramble around on the rocks/tide pool area.  We did hit the ranger station and read a little about the monument and see an interesting little film on whales, so going to the actual monument wasn't a waste.

It looks like an anatomical heart, complete with aorta!


Loved the pretty blue, green, and purple colors in this anemone.


The cliffs were very layered and square-ish.. I liked the look of this piece of rectangular prism piece of rock jutting out.

Santa Fe Train Depot

I'm actually not sure why this is called the Santa Fe train depot because it's actually in the middle of downtown San Diego..



I was mostly inspired to stop by and see the pretty building because of a pretty photoshoot done there.  A Hunger Games inspired photoshoot.  With handmade Girl on Fire dress by one of my favorite sewing bloggers, Cindy from Cation Designs.  I have to say, I kind of aspire to sew as well (and be as geeky awesome as Cindy :) haha)

And a gratuitous picture of me inside the train station.