Olive Harvest

We are fortunate to have friends that own this beautiful property, which just happens to have an olive grove on it. It isn't a huge grove, but it yielded 360 lbs of olives this harvest, which is being pressed into olive oil. I'm all about new experiences, and this one was so fun and educational for us.

The kids had their own little kid party, that did not include picking olives :) while the adults picked. Call it therapy, tranquility, being with nature...there was something about picking the fruit on these trees that just made every little problem not exist for a few hours. We also met some more amazing people and had great conversation. It truly felt great to UNPLUG. (Even though I did have my phone in my pocket for documentation) :) 

The view from atop of a ladder

I was convinced the olives would be green, but lo and behold, they were black. I have never picked an olive, let alone seen one growing on a tree. These new "California" experiences are so refreshing and fulfilling for me.

Just getting started

The olive bucket was very useful

Olives pick pretty easily. You can "strip" them from the branches. The branches are very flexible and strong. There are some olives that weep, I guess that means they are over-ripe. The added bonus in picking is that the weeping olives make hands very soft. 

It doesn't look full here, but....

Here's what I was looking at.

Eric and Phil sorting the bad olives. 

Another new and fun experience in our memory book. 

I am beginning to wonder if 2013 can be topped. ???

Thirty.Seven.

Rambling reflections on my 37th birthday.....

In all honesty, I never thought:

1. 37 would feel so good

2. I would be more fit at 37 than 27

3. I would be a Californian

4. I would love being a Californian

5. I would have 2 boys

6. I would love my husband more now than the day I married him

7. I would be playing volleyball again

8. I would be considering making brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving

9. I would buy a pair of skinny jeans

10. I would wear a pair of skinny jeans

11. I would be starting my own business (soon)

12. I would win the friend lottery

13. I would celebrate my 37th with new friends eating fondue

14. I would live 950 miles away from my family

15. I would have so much to be thankful for!

In my spare time...

I need 2 additional end chairs for my dining room table but didn't want to fork out $200 a chair. 

My friend had 2 ladder back chairs in her garage and was wonderful enough to let me have them. (Thanks Selene!) 

I have been wanting to experiment with chalk paint and thanks to my good friend Sarah Hartman with Dirt Road Decor, who passed along her chalk paint formula, I was able to turn these outdated chairs into bright, fun pieces.

My first project (completely experimental) was this:

$5 end table. Ugly, but has potential, right?

This was the perfect practice piece. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 

Chalk paint is fun to work with and covers pretty much any surface. I have many more things I'm anxious to paint but just haven't found the time. 

But I did pick up some fun upholstery fabric for $10/yard, and this is my next inspiration.....

Stay tuned!

Monterey Bay

Kaleb had a week off for fall break and Eric was able to take 3 days off of work so we could turn a weekend into a long weekend at the ocean. 

We really had no intention of going to Monterey to begin with, but everyone I have talked with have told me Monterey Bay is a must-see and the Aquarium is amazing, especially for kids. So we started looking at motels in the area. Surprisingly, we found rooms for $69 a night - that weren't a dive and decided to go for it. Very, very glad we did!

The history of Monterey is fascinating. It originally was centered around a sardine canning company. Now, they have turned this into a huge tourist attraction called Cannery Row. 

Part of the aquarium is actually in the old sardine factory. 

There's tons of neat shops and restaurants on Cannery Row. 

Like Ghirardelli Chocolate - where they were handing out free samples!

Of course the boys wanted to check out the ocean right away so we found a beach, which is not hard to find in Monterey. 

They had been in the car for 5 hours so we let them run, but it was getting close to dinner time and we could smell the aromas of some amazing food. So we promised them we would spend 1 entire day at the beach, cleaned the sand off of them and went in search of seafood.

Which of course is not hard to find around these parts. 

We ate at Bubba Gump's - look how cool the kids meals are - served up in a boat. 

This was a fun place to eat, not to mention we had a ocean view at our table and watched a sea otter playing around in the ocean while we ate.

We started our first whole day with the aquarium because the boys were too excited to wait. They knew there were sharks and that's all that mattered from that point forward.

Creepy eels. 

Nemo fish

Sea horse

JELLY FISH. (My favorite)

We spent about 5 hours in the aquarium. We packed a lunch and rented a locker to keep it in, so the $113 we spent to see the aquarium was not bad and well worth it. (The food at he aquarium was very expensive.) 

There was SO much to experience and it was highly educational for the boys. 

I could have taken 100 pictures in the aquarium, but had to limit myself. 

They also have a viewing deck and after we saw everything inside, we went outside and saw dolphins swimming and playing in the ocean. There had been some whale sightings the past few days, but we didn't get so lucky.

Highlights:

* sharks, hammer heads and leapard sharks

* watching the feeding of the penguins

* jellyfish

* sting and bat rays

* sea horses

* kids play area amongst all the tropical fish aquariums (so mom and dad could sit and chill)

* touching the star fish

* watching a documentary on sharks in the amphitheater

* looking through the telescopes on the viewing dock

* the gift shop, of course, which included the purchases of 2 more stuffed animals, ugh!

Day 2: Carmel by the Sea (located just below Pebble Beach Golf Course, where the rich and famous play, $350 green fee, is all)

See the golfer (probably rich, ha ha, maybe famous)

And look what the little treasure hunter found: a famous golf ball!!

Do not go to the beach without a plastic bag for shells, otherwise they end up in your pocket. 

Weather was PERFECT. A balmy 72.

Sand bomb in hand.

We had to drive the famous stretch of coastal road called 17 Mile Drive. This, for my Montana friends, is equivalent to the Yellowstone Club. The homes are immaculate and big and beautiful. I didn't get any pictures of the houses, because quite frankly, who cares about ultra-wealthy people's big houses. We were there for the sea and the air and the sea lions.

Hard to really see, but take my word for it, the rock island was COVERED in sea lions, and there was a lot of barking going on. They are noisy creatures. We ate a picnic lunch here.  So cool!

More shells and nearby, the discovery of barnacles on rocks. (See, they learned something from the aquarium)

We went through 2 change of clothing between sand and water. They were covered!

LITERALLY!

Cypress trees, these trees are so beautiful.

The Warf:

The warf is smelly, but you get use to it.

These guys were so fun to watch. Notice the 2 laying up on the railing. How on earth do they get up there and how can that be comfy?

Was getting dark, but directly behind the boys down 2 steps was a lone sea lion, barking like crazy. The boys could have spent all evening watching him, bu clam chowder was calling.

Lo and behold, we found a place on the warf to have chowder - lol! Almost every restaurant on the Warf is competing for business. They stand outside and hand out chowder samples claiming to have the best, most original recipes. We got enticed into one place that offered a free calamari appetizer. The chowder was amazing. Any chowder is going to taste better in a clam shell bowl though.

Saying goodbye to Monterey the next morning. We went back to the Warf for the famous crepes we had heard about, and then strolled down the beach nearby for one last hurrah. 

We will go back, with one agenda, to go out on a whale watching tour. 

There were many whales spotted on the tours and we know that would be worth seeing.