Happiness...

SLO was voted the happiest place in the nation! Oprah had a show on happiness, and in it they visited SLO & toured all around. It was so exciting to see places I actually knew. They decided it was the happiest place because it was commuter friendly, people knew their neighbors, people worked for themselves, and there were wineries & beaches nearby! I would have to agree with all of those reasons. It's great to live 15 minutes away from the nations happiest city.

Moving

The move has officially begun!

We are SO HAPPY with our house.

The painting is almost finished.

Now it's time to move all of our junk :(

Luckily we have 2 weeks.

Let the exhaustion begin!

Farm Fresh

I thought I'd become pretty accustomed to life in the central coast these past few months, but sometimes I am still amazed that I actually live in a place like this. Today, my dad went out to get eggs (to make delicious gluten free pancakes!), so he went down the street to Windmill Farms. I think it is truly amazing that the first place we think to get produce & other products is no longer just the store. I also think it's amazing that there are farms this close to us! The best part of the story is that there were no eggs in stock, so the owner went outside, grabbed a few, washed them off, and gave them to us. I honestly don't think it could get any fresher. They were so beautiful too! My cell phone picture doesn't do them justice. Today was just another reminder that I have so much to learn & get used to up here.

Coastal Christmas...

We were lucky enough this year to celebrate part of Christmas up on the central coast. Andrew flew into Santa Barbara so he would be able to spend a little more time up here before we went to down to LA to spend Christmas with the family. Andrew said he's jealous we moved here after he had already moved out :) It had been raining for what seemed like weeks, so when we had one clear day we definitely took full advantage of it. We ate at Giovanni's in Morro Bay, went wine tasting, and explored of bit of Montana de Oro.

The tide was low enough we were able to go see some of the caves! We had to cross through some water & it was FREEZING, but the caves were so amazing.

We took the scenic route home and came upon this breathtaking view! I definitely live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Smith Family Christmas Party

We survived the Smith Family Christmas Party! We went down to southern California for a little over a week to fit in all our Christmas festivities. Sunday started with grandma's birthday. The next week consisted of days & days filled with family get togethers :) The biggest Christmas event we have is the Smith Family Christmas Party. I think we figured out we've been having this party for over 50 years! Pretty impressive. The party was a huge success though. We had 55 people, my aunt won the quilt, and I walked away with some ridiculous bingo gifts... That's what I call a successful party!

Ceramics.

Last night was our last ceramics class. It felt like elementary school because we had a little party! Everyone finished off any glazing they had left & just snacked a visited. All in all it was a really great experience. Unfortunately every good thing I made broke :( I guess that's the name of the game with ceramics. Our teacher had all of his work out for us to browse/buy. He's SO GOOD with colors & glazing. My mom and I each bought a piece (we couldn't control ourselves!). My choice is the green & blue vase... Isn't it great! I think it would take a few more classes for me to be able to do that :)

New Frontiers

While the central coast is severely lacking in decent regular shopping, we're actually doing pretty well in the grocery shopping department. It just got much much better though! A New Frontiers opened in SLO! New Frontiers is very similar to Whole Foods. It's basically heaven for those with any type of food allergy! They also have a really amazing ready made food area & coffee/juice bar. They have gluten free sandwiches, pastas, cupcakes, soups, salads... It's so tasty!


One of the things I have missed the most since giving up gluten is ravioli. I finally found someone who makes really good gluten free ravioli! Is it sad to say that a grocery store is my new favorite restaurant?