Thursday - SUPER Target and a Date

I know it may not seem like a big deal to most, but before we came out to CA, Gigi had told me of a wonderful place in Ventura. A Super Target that is TWO STORIES, with an escalator just for your cart!!! Not only that, but this Target is attached to a mall! Seriously, it does not get much better than that! You don't know how many times I have wished to have a Target attached to our mall! How convenient! Denny wouldn't see me all day if we had one of these in Frisco! I think I will write the executives at Target and petition for one!

Breathtaking isn't it?

There goes the little cart.

Olivia and I both thought the Target was super cool! We are such nerds!!! We even ate in the little cafe, how gourmet... popcorn, a pretzel and a hot dog to top off our visit!

Since I will be gone for the next three days, getting some QT with my hubby, I thought it would be nice to spend some QT with my sweet girl before I go. When Bumpa and Gigi are around, Mommy gets no love! So I had to steal her away! I enticed her with the park and a pizza dinner! I had fun and really enjoyed our time together, I think she actually did too!


I trust that B&G will take good care of my angels while we are away! Can't wait to share the details of me and Denny's weekend getaway! LA here we come!!!

Wednesday - The Santa Barbara Zoo

Wednesday morning after Jack's nap we visited the Santa Barbara Zoo. As you can imagine it is a beautiful zoo! The grounds are immaculate and the habitats for the animals are so nice! There is tons of open space for picnics, as well as tables, an outdoor storytelling stage, a play area, and amazing views of the hills and ocean. If I lived here I would be here all the time! It is small and really intimate! Another plus, there was hardly anybody there!

One of Olivia's fav - the flamingos! They are seriously stinky birds though!

My personal fav were the elephants. There were two and we were so close to them! We also got to see them eat, which was fun! They were really entertaining!

The penguins - They have a new baby, but he isn't out yet, so we didn't get to see the latest addition.

Break for a picnic lunch!

Then onto the giraffes, which were pretty cool too. In the background you can see the beach and ocean across the street! Not a bad place to call home! :) Gigi bought food for Olivia to feed them, but she was scared so Gigi did it for her.

It was freezing! Jack had on his hoodie and was wrapped in a blanket! Not quite like a visit to the Ft. Worth zoo this time of year!

In person the view behind Olivia is gorgeous. It's the hills dotted with fabulous homes!

All aboard! Jack is ready for the train ride!

Just a trip to the gift shop and we were done! I asked Olivia what her favorite part of the zoo was and she said, "the gift shop"! Of course!

Tuesday - Paseo Nuevo

We continued to take it easy on Tuesday as well! We went back to State St. to the Paseo Nuevo, the outdoor shopping mall in downtown Santa Barbara. We did a little shopping (well, I did a lotta shopping and Gigi was kind enough to entertain the kids for me!!!) before heading into Nordstrom for lunch! I love their cafe and so does Gigi. We decided to eat alfresco and sat overlooking the hills! Gigi and I had a glass of wine with our lunch, and between that, the food, and the view, it was wonderful!!

Gettin' her groove on in the elevator!

Not many pictures from our outing, but don't worry, Wednesday we hit the zoo and I have lots from there! ;)

Monday - Whodidily Cupcakes

I think after our busy weekend we all needed a relaxing Monday! Gigi so sweet to treat Olivia to her very first mani/pedi. I don't ever go and get my nails or toes done, so Olivia has never had the pleasure of a spa day! I stupidly forgot to send the camera with Gigi, so I just have the "after" of the toes! But Olivia had so much fun! She felt like a princess and Gigi said she was so good and still.

To keep in line with our princess-themed day Gigi had a very special place for us to visit. Whodidily Cupcakes is located in downtown Montecito and I swear they have the VERY BEST cupcakes I have ever eaten! Move over Sprinkles, you've got nothin' on this place! Not only were the cupcakes to die for, the shop was absolutely precious! You can somewhat see the store in the pic below. You can also see the package of half a dozen cupcakes I had to have! They all had cute names and were seriously out of this world! They had cupcakes with peanut butter cups and chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle. And they had a waffle cupcake, a Happy Birthday cupcake, and several others. But I have to say that my favorite was the plain ole chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting, Chocolate Fluff. And the Happy Birthday cupcake Liv got! YUM!!!!!

Even Jack had a little taste. I think he enjoyed!

I had my eyes peeled for Oprah or some other famous resident of Montecito, but no sitings. Oh well, the cupcakes more than made up for it! I can't wait to go back!!!!

I almost forgot...

To post this cute video from our lunch on Saturday! Jack's newest trick is his roar! When we ask him, "what does a tiger say?" he responds accordingly! And he will say "hi" and wave! Such a doll!!! :)

Sunday - Brunch at Longboards and East Beach!

For Father's Day we made Bumpa decide where we would go out to lunch. He chose an awesome restaurant out on the pier (Stearn's Wharf) called Longboards!

In the car on the ride there I looked over and Jack and Olivia were holding hands, it was just so sweet!

We sat up on the deck at Longboards and enjoyed the beautiful weather! I don't think we could have asked for a prettier day! They have a windowed wall that protects you from the breeze so you could really feel the sun! It was glorious!
I don't know if you can read Jack's shirt but it says, "I still live at home". I think it is so cute! :)


View from the pier, unlike the view on Friday when the June Gloom had taken over! I'm not a huge fan of pictures without people, but I just had to include this one!

And at the beach later in the day!

Jack wasn't so sure of the sand at first, but it didn't take him long and he warmed right up!

Bumpa, we hope you had a wonderful Father's Day guiding us around your new home, we are loving it! :)

Saturday - Chase Palm Park and the Beach!

I can't even tell you how many pictures I have taken in one week! I am really trying to just hit the highlights, but it's tough not to post all 200! :) I will do my best not to bore you! At least I know Denny is appreciating since he can't be here to join in on the fun...yet!

Saturday morning Bumpa suggested we go to this awesome (and huge) park near downtown and the Wharf. First stop, the carousel of course!

Then we went and explored this gorgeous park! It stretched on for blocks, and I tried to get as many pictures as I could to capture how beautiful this park was, but my subject has not been so cooperative, as I may have mentioned just once or twice!

Here is a more willing participant! I posted this picture to show his feet! He wanted them nowhere near the grass, so they were raised like this just about the whole time we sat there, and it was quite a while. It was so funny! He was so enthralled with the grass, leaves, flowers, etc, as long as they were in his hands, not on his feet. He just sat and studied them all! We may have a horticulturist on our hands.

Our silly 'lil Jack!

After the park we walked back up near the Wharf for lunch.
We stopped at a great Mexican food place on Shoreline Dr. and Olivia ordered a side of beans for lunch. The "side" of beans was literally as big as my plate of food. Thankfully she did not eat them all!
We then went home to put Jack down for his nap and since it was warm and sunny we decided that Bumpa, Liv and I would head out to the beach!

The harbor in the background

Bumpa and Liv's sandcastle!
And Shoreline Dr. in the background.

Thank you Bumpa and Gigi for another fun-filled day!

Friday - Stearn's Wharf

Friday afternoon after Jack's nap we went down the pier here in SB, Stearn's Wharf. It was a little freaky as you can actually drive out onto the pier and park your car out on it. As one who is afraid of bridges, you can imagine my anxiety! I kept imagining an earthquake and us all plunging into the freezing water... in the car. I wish my mind did not go to the worst case scenario with every situation! ;)

But it was really neat once we got out there! There are lots of restaurants that overlook the ocean and the shoreline, and some cute little shops! The views are breathtaking!

The marine layer has been moving on and off shore and you can see it is more inland in this picture!

There are so many boats in and around the harbor.

Gigi had told Liv about a great candy store on the pier. And we literally hid the motherload at Mother Stearn's Candy Co. Needless to say, it was tough for Liv to make a decision, so we ended up with a $9 variety bag!

We had a lot of fun on the pier, and I know we will be going back (we have already been back once already)!

Thursday - Our first day in Paradise

So, Thursday was our first full day to take in Santa Barbara, and full it was! Bumpa had to go into work, so it was up to Gigi to be our tour guide and she did a fabulous job!

I was trying to get a pic of Liv on one of their many patios, but it didn't turn out very good. Behind those trees, behind Olivia, is the ocean! You can see it from almost every room in their house. Their house is built into the hillside so it is multi-level and there is a patio and/or balcony on every level, not to mention tons of windows! The view is gorgeous! The picture does not even come close to doing it justice!

For our first outing, Gigi took us down to State St., the center of their downtown area that has tons of little (and big) shops! We went into several unique shops and found a cute courtyard area to take some pics! *Beware, Olivia has not been a happy subject, so I did the best I could!* :)

Jack had lots of fun - he was just happy to be out in the fresh air vs. a small, enclosed airplane.

After our stroll down State St. we came home for lunch and I got lots of cute photos of my bubby! Here are just a couple that I couldn't resist!

And after lunch and naps, we headed, where else but to the beach! I am not used to the cool air in the middle of summer, so the beach was a little chilly, but it was great!

Doesn't Gigi look like she fits right in on the beach! I love her hat!

Then after dinner it was off to the playset in the backyard! As we were walking in from playing, Olivia said to me, "Mommy, I like this house better than their old house." Gee... I wonder why?

Like I said, it was a full day, but tons of fun! There is so much to this city, every day we do something new and different! We are having a great time, Bumpa and Gigi are the ultimate hosts!