Santa Cruz, CA: Travel guide

Ocean view Hi there! I’m so excited to share with you my travel guide to Santa Cruz, California. As you may know, back in November Paul and I went to Santa Cruz on a road trip. We only spent about three days there (two nights), but we got a good feel for the city. This trip will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s when we got engaged.

We had both been to Santa Cruz before but not together. I visited once on a road trip up the coast with my sister Katie and our aunt Grace.

I hope to go back again sometime, so I included a short list of places I want to go next time.

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Wedding food

heres-to-forever

I guess I like the idea of options because all my favorite food ideas for the wedding involve the words “bar” or “buffet.” I’d be totally fine if the wedding ended up with just one of these elements. But I thought I would just share some food images that have been inspiring me in the planning process. People say you barely have time to eat on your wedding day and that time flies by. Even so, I think it could be cool to serve our guests some of our favorite foods like dougnuts, tacos, craft beer, and juices.

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Proposal photos

 

I’ve been away from this blog for a little bit and I forgot to announce on here that I’m engaged. Yay! My guy proposed when we went on our road trip up to Capitola and Santa Cruz.

We’re planning on getting married next fall. I’ve started planning already.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already heard the news because I blasted it on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter a month ago. I hope you don’t get sick of me talking about wedding stuff. I’ll still post baking, cooking, and the occasional fashion post on Modern Notebook. But I’ll also happily share wedding planning updates too.

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How to pack for a California road trip

how-to-pack-for-a-california-road-trip

Packing for a road trip in California can be a bit tricky. I suppose that goes for any destination or road trip but I know this to be true from much experience on California road trips. The weather can be quite varied, especially if you’re going from inland to a beach city or the mountains, and so on.

I did so many trips up and down California when I was in my formative years that I’ve lost track of how many exactly.

I remember my middle sister and I going on our trip with or parents to see the Sequoia National Forest when I was a surly pre-teen. I went up to Sacramento twice to visit family around the same time period. My family went on several trips to visit my brother in Washington when I was in junior high and high school. Most were by plane, but I once road-tripped it up with my parents in a car.

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3 tips for small kitchen living

kitchen-cabinets

I’ve lived in my apartment for almost two years now and spend a lot of my time in the kitchen, so I thought it was about time to share my top 3 tips for working with a small kitchen space.

If you’re moving out on your own for the first time, moving into a new space, or organizing your existing space don’t feel like you have to organize and buy all the kitchen tools at once. That’s certainly not what I did. You can add on naturally according to your needs and lifestyle.

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5 simple tips for getting dishes done

empty-sink

I love cooking and baking and pretty much everything related to that, EXCEPT doing the dishes. Does anyone love washing dishes? Sometimes it can be relaxing. But more than anything it’s a chore that can’t be ignored.

When I was a kid (and even teenager and young adult), I wasn’t always the best about doing the dishes. My mom was not happy about that. She had to remind me to clear my plate from the table. I would sometimes rather do homework that wasn’t due soon instead of do the dishes. And that was back when I lived in a home with a dishwasher.

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What are you looking forward to this fall?

Sun through the trees
hello-fall
(source)

I was inspired to write this post after reading this post on In Honor of Design. I’m happy it’s fall, my favorite season, so to celebrate I’m sharing a fall checklist of sorts. It should be fairly easy to get all these things accomplished, and fairly fun too. :)

The ten things I’m excited to do this fall: 

  1. Make apple crisp using my mom’s recipe.
  2. Reorganize my closet and donate clothes to our local Goodwill
  3. Road trip with my guy to Capitola
  4. Walk the family dog who lives at my mom’s house.
  5. Make devil’s food cake (annual tradition)
  6. Make something special for Thanksgiving
  7. Spend quality time with my sister’s kids. (new baby on the way)
  8. Go to a new-to-me restaurant.
  9. Go on a hike. Maybe walk the Santa Monica stairs
  10. Finish reading Walter Cronkite’s biography, Walter Cronkite: A Reporter’s Life

Is there anything you’re looking forward to this season?