Happy Dirty Thirty, Britt Britt!

Well today is the day that marks 30 years since God gave us Ms. Britt Sanborn to make the earth a more joyful place. I knew I wouldn't be able to spend the actual day with her this year as my vacation time is slim post-Maui time, so I started brainstorming early in the year. Turns out (one of) our favorite singer/song-writers, Ingrid Michaelson was touring on the west coast early May. Britt's stomping grounds are currently SoCal (and I hadn't visited since before Owen!!!), so the timing and events just fell right.in.to.place.

 

 I flew in to LA on a Thursday night after work, ate a pint of kale and spinach dip from TJs with a glass of red and my best friend!

 

On the way to breakfast in Santa Monica Friday a.m... palm trees just never get old to me.

Breakfast & Lunch at Huckleberry Café in Santa Monica. On the left is featured a maple bacon scone. Please sir, May I have another. These are a post-night shift @ UCLA favorite of hers. My sustenance for the day was a delicious fried egg sandwich with spicy arugula. We were so full after breakfast that we didn't eat till dinner!

  

Next up was paddle boarding in Malibu. It's Britt's new Zen. Now there are certain people in your life that can get you do things you never would otherwise. Britt sincerely knows my lack of athletic ability, balance, courage, and anything else required to try to athletic things. She's seen my stop an entire chair lift because I fell off of it at the top of the mountain. She knows my capabilities and still thought I could do it, so we gave it a go. She even let me borrow her hip Athleta Rash guard. So even if I was soaking wet, I'd still look cool.

 

She gave me a personal lesson, and God blessed me with a nice calm ocean.  I spent a good amount of time on my knees and fell a few times on to my board but overall survived and loved it!

After paddle boarding we made the (too) long trek from San Diego to LA. I think it's only 120 miles or so but it took about 4 hours. That traffic is impressive! We spent some time on the PCH to get a reprieve from I-5's break lights. This view was much preferred, as well.

When we got to LA, we had just enough time to shower, grab dinner, and make it to the concert. We missed most of the opening acts.. and they were VERY good, but the concert in general did not disappoint!

View from the venue! Only in San Diego can you watch Ingrid from your sailboat.

We are so happy because we have red wine in our hands! We are also so happy because Ingrid is amazing. I've been listening to her new album since I've been home, and Owen remarks, 'It's your favorite song, again!'.

 

Here's a little snip-it of the Wade wedding song... live!

 

Saturday a.m. we woke up, grabbed some coffee, took a little stroll down one of the (many) marinas in SD....

 

... and ended up in a delightful farm-to-table restaurant in San Diego's Gas Lamp quarter. What you see featured here is a 'bag tree' provided by the host, Jason. We were, apparently, on a first name basis!

 

Hey, it was noon somewhere, so we had a drink. We already had coffee, so what else is there to order?

 

OOh my, a chai and fig roasted Korean short rib omelet.

I had some delicious shrimp eggs benny. Just FYI, I usually get some sort of eggs benny at a nice brunch place. It's just my fave. That's all.

So then we from SD back to LA and stopped at a fancy little place called Marina Del Rey, the home of Britt's sailboat. No, I am not lying. She's got a sailboat with a soundtrack... she's installing it in this pic.

I was told to sit back & relax. And so I did! And also, we saw a seal in the bay.

 

This is a picture of a really.big.deal.

 

We finished the quick, whirlwind, wonder of a weekend off with the most delicious sushi I have ever.ever.ever consumed. The name of our order was the 'Trust Me'. It was so much sushi I almost made myself sick...but warm rice, crispy and soft seaweed, lots and lots of nigiri...mmmm.

I've made it sound like all we did was eat. Well that's mostly true. My body was a bit peeved, but I regret nothing! Also, who knew LA was chilly?! I promise I brought more than the gray sweater I am wearing in every picture, but those were the only long sleeves I had!

 

Dearest Britt, I remember celebrating your 21st birthday (that was a fun weekend!). Since that time, you've grown in to an even more joyful, selfless, hard-working, passionate, creative, talented young woman. I'm so proud and honored to know you and have you in my life. Your 30s better watch out... you're gonna take them by storm! xo, Coop