Category Archives: travel
Although I definitely consider myself an Angeleno, the East Bay will always be my second home. I was born in Berkeley and lived in Oakland until my mother and stepdad migrated our family to the MidWest. My Dad has remained in the Bay Area, and now my eldest sister and her husband have settled back into the Oakland Hills after years of living on the East Coast. This is the view from their home, and as much as I love Los Angeles, I have to admit that there is no prettier view in the world than this view of the Bay Bridge, the Bay, San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Heaven on earth.
Image by Lauryl Lane.
About an hour from Denver, nestled into the mountains, lies the quaint, historical mining town of Georgetown. When two of my best friends visited over the holidays, I was quick to suggest that we make for the mountains, despite the cold and falling snow.
When I first agreed to move to Denver for {lovah}’s job, I thought Denver was IN the mountains. Imagine my surprise when we landed at the Denver International Airport, which is in the middle of a barren, depressing flatscape. I thought we’d accidentally landed in Kansas. I was very disappointed to find that Denver is about as flat as my home neighborhood of Silver Lake is hilly. So the obvious response? Head to the mountains as frequently as possible!!!
As {lovah} and I are fascinated by history and nostalgia, we find Georgetown to be particularly endearing. The facade of main street is almost untouched by modernity, apart from the ability to string colorful holiday lights across the street, which is, of course, utterly charming.
We visited just a week before Christmas, and with the snow falling softly, the little town really did appear to be a magic winter wonderland.
My favorite destination in Georgetown is the tea room. On a little side street, it is also home to a store full of miniatures– the type of miniatures you’d use for making dollhouses! The tea room is kitschy but delightful, with beautiful mis-matched china, funky lace linens, and, thankfully, individual space heaters for each table!
With a very wide selection of teas to choose from, each of the four people in our party decided on something different. Four pots of wonderful tea led to hours of sipping and conversation…
We also enjoyed delicious tea sandwiches, in traditional English style, along with scones and clotted cream, and other wonderful delicacies.
The potato soup was the most flavorful I’d ever had! I am now determined to replicate this soup because it really was extraordinarily good.
My favorite tea ended up being the White Avalanche, which has the unusual added element of coconut, a flavor I’d never had in tea before. Erin was the one who chose this particular blend, and I’m ever so glad she did. She also purchased a tin of the loose tea for me, and I’ve been enjoying it for months now.
By the time we finished our tea time, it was dark out and we set out to begin the rather treacherous and nerve-wracking drive home, as the snow had picked up a bit and I’m not a fan of driving in the snow… but we made it home safe and sound, and I’m already pining for another little excursion to Georgetown and the Saint James Tea Room!
Saint James Tea Room
614 Rose Street
Georgetown, CO 80444
303-569-3100
Yesterday I awoke to another eight inches of snow. On top of the 2+ feet that still remained from the last snowstorm, everything seems devastatingly snowy to me. I find it both funny and sad how quickly the novelty-aspect wears off. The sun is shining today, so hopefully it will melt, melt, melt the aforementioned snow. In the meantime, I’ve been going through pictures and remembering times when I was warm!
When I needed an escape from Los Angeles smog (which I now miss, believe it or not!), my favorite excursion was to drive the two hours up into the mountains, and rent a cabin in Big Bear. Whether getting a bit of color on the porch, or sitting in front of the fire on a cooler evening, everything about Big Bear is relaxing. I love the hustle and bustle of urban living, but sometimes it’s nice to take a break, breath the fresh air, revel in the beauty of nature, and recharge.
A view like this is a tremendous stress reliever!
And besides my own home, there isn’t anything more cozy than a cabin.
Nothing says “relax” like a beer tasting.
Alpine sledding? Sure, why not!
Hiking? Yeah, I dig that!
Taking the ski lift to drink in the gorgeous scenery? Yes, please!
And it’s pretty magical to look up at the night sky and see it filled with stars!
Big Bear is a skiing destination during the winter and it’s quite lovely to visit then, but I prefer it during the off-season, when it’s perfectly sunny and warm, wonderfully green and blue, less crowded, and exceptionally serene.
Images by Lauryl Lane.
I am still trying to get caught up on business + life after traveling for the past two weeks. For Memorial Day weekend, {lovah} and I drove up to the Bay Area to visit with my family. My oldest sister and her husband are moving back to Berkeley after many years out East, so we went house-hunting with them. It was such an enjoyable, relaxing weekend. Here’s a little peek at our adventures, courtesy of my iPhone!
Brunch at Crepevine in Oakland | House-hunting in Berkeley & Oakland | Breakfast (twice!) at Fat Apple’s, an institution for my family | Exploring the beautiful Berkeley campus, where my brother-in-law will be teaching | Book-buying at Pegasus in Berkeley (the book thing runs in the family, too!) | A Pear Sage Martini at The Claremont in Berkeley | Watching my Dad compete in the Marin Memorial Day 5k Race!
Images by Lauryl Lane.I’ve been feeling restless lately, hoping to take some time to travel after the wedding season… I haven’t been to Europe in five years, and am definitely experiencing some withdrawal! Here are just a few photos from my first visit to Paris, back in the year 2000, taken with my old point-and-shoot film camera.
Ah, Laduree, you won my heart with your delectable omlettes & pistachio macaroons!
And you, oh gorgeous Louvre, you are one of my favorite places in the world!
It is definitely time to go back!
Happy First Day of Autumn! Los Angeles is being delightfully obliging today- it’s overcast out, and the breeze blowing through my open windows is positively chilly! Oh Autumn, how I adore you! Autumn is hands-down my favorite season of the year. Here’s to hoping it will stay cloudy and cold all season long… last year we had a nasty little heat surge in late September & early October, and I’d really appreciate it if we could avoid an encore.
I spent the Labor Day weekend up at Big Bear Lake. Oh my, it is so gorgeous up there! I didn’t spend much time in the mountains growing up, so I didn’t discover my love for the mountains until recent years– but I am, unequivocally, a mountain girl!
Some people love the ocean, but I love the forests full of pine trees, the lakes full of shimmering water, the hikes that end with awe-inspiring look out points. I love the crisp, fresh air, the sounds of wolves and coyotes howling, and the billions of stars that glitter in the night.
I’m not a “roughing it” type of girl, so I don’t do any extreme outdoorsy stuff like camping, but I’ll take a rustic log cabin with a crackling fireplace any day as a respite from city living.
It does seem serendipitous that the cool temps of the mountains traveled back down to the city with us last night. I don’t have to give up my hot tea, in fact…
…hot tea was the first order of the morning for me! While catching up on blog subs, I sipped Irish Cream Black tea, with a little milk and sugar. Mmm.
I have a new favorite place for tea, it’s the Spice Station near the Silver Lake-Sunset Junction. They have an incredible assortment of teas, including many special blends. I’m just thrilled to have found a local tea supplier. I’d always rather give my money to local small businesses than Teavana!
I picked up this little teacup and saucer at a thrift store up in Crestline yesterday. Aren’t the leaves perfect? As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to add it to my teacup collection.
Oh! Did I mention that I had my first bowl of oatmeal of the season, too? Over the weekend, I watched my friend Erin make her oatmeal with milk instead of water, so I had to try it. Yum! So deliciously creamy! And with some homemade fresh fig preserves on top, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the beginning of my favorite season!
I’ll be catching up on Quotidian Captures later today, and I’ve got a great recipe to share with you tomorrow, so check back soon!
P.S. I know it’s not technically the first day of Autumn… that’s not till later in the month. But I always consider Labor Day to be the last day of Summer, so in my mind, Autumn is here!!!
Talking about traveling the other day (and spending a lot of time on the phone this week with my travel agent!) reminded me of our last get-away. We went up to Lake Arrowhead at the New Year to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were only away for two days, but there was snow! And it was magical! I love snow– as long as it’s not where I live! We are very fortunate to live in an ideal climate, within easy driving distance of snow, ocean, desert…. basically anything our hearts desire. But seeing these photos again is definitely making me pine for the mountains…
We stayed at a private cabin in the woods, complete with fire!
Brunch at Belgian Waffle Works is a “must” for visitors to Lake Arrowhead.
Let’s not even go there…
My view as I sipped coffee!
These gorgeous forests remind me of the Pacific Northwest. Right here in SoCal!
{lovah} and I are trying to plan a little vacation get-away in September. We haven’t been able to leave the city thus far this year except for work… so a retreat is much overdue. At the top of my list of destinations is Europe. I’d love to relax in Florence or Paris and wear chic dresses and sip on Kir Royales. Unfortunately, our available “vacation time” is limited, so I imagine we’ll head up to Tahoe or take a weekend cruise from Long Beach. In the meantime, I’ll daydream about a European adventure (it’s been over four years since we were in Europe… and that is much, much too long an absence!)
Perfect for toting about Italy or France, no?
This would be my day dress, for macaroons at Laduree & shopping on Avenue des Champs-Élysées!
In the evening, this diaphanous gown gown would suit me well. Kir Royale, s’il vous plaît?
Aren’t the details on this gown exquisite? It’s perfect for a visit to the Louvre.
