Solvang / Santa Barbara Vacation

Over Ryan's spring break week last week, we decided to take a long weekend trip over to Santa Barbara and Solvang. It was so much fun!!!

One highlite of our trip: Ostrich Land.

It's exactly what it sounds like - a land full of ostriches. You could even feed them (albeit carefully to avoid them biting you). I love the expression on Ryan's face here, it's like he's having a moment with the ostrich. Precious. 

It was fun to feed them! They also had ostrich eggs you could buy and they were huge!

We stopped in Santa Ynez one morning and had this magnificent view.

This was on our way to Kalyra Winery where Ryan got to do a fun tasting and we bought a bottle that we can both partake in once the babe is born!

On the patio of Kalyra Winery:

And we of course hit up Solvang everyday for fika! We had some great treats everyday, my favorite was this almond-raspberry tart from Olson's Bakery. It was sooooo good. 

And another major highlight of the trip was going to this grand place: Village Spinning & Weaving Shop in Solvang. 

Guess what you guys....I bought my very first spinning wheel!!! This is my trying it out in the shop. I bought an unfinished one, so I need to stain, seal, and assemble it at home. It will be a work in progress, but such a fun one! 

Goodbye Solvang, thanks for the fun trip!

We took a trip

Ryan and I took a lovely long weekend to San Diego over President's Day. We had beautiful weather the entire time and had a wonderful time relaxing, sightseeing, and eating some fun food!

One of the highlights was going to the San Diego Maritime Museum on the water. It consists of 6 different historic ships you can tour, each with their own exhibits. If you've already toured the Midway in San Diego (and enjoyed it), then I'd definitely recommend the Maritime Museum.

Other highlights included eating fresh seafood, going to the outlet mall, seeing the San Diego Museum of Art, and walking and relaxing at the beach. It was glorious! We're considering this our babymoon, part 1. Over Ryan's spring break at the end of March, we're planning on taking the 2nd part to our babymoon over in Santa Barbara and Solvang. I can't wait!

It's hard to believe little baby Sterrenberg will be here in just 3 short months. This pregnancy has flown by! We still have a lot to do to get ready for Baby Sterrenberg (or SterrenSpawn as Ryan likes to refer to him/her), but next weekend we have plans to start tackling the baby room. If my memory allows it, I'll try to post some before and after shots of the nursery. I can't wait to meet our little nugget! 

Weekend Getaway

Ryan and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Chicago! We were there for exactly 24 hours. Red-eye flight on Friday, followed by sister-hangout-time, followed by an awesome wedding, then trip back to the airport to catch our 5:00 AM flight back home on Sunday. Phew. We. Are. Tired. But we had so much fun!

Got to have some sister hangout time! It was so good to see her sweet face. 

And then got to see these crazy kids!

It was so great to spend some BFF time with this girl. Wish we lived closer!

We also got to play some bocce ball! The reception was at Pinstripes, a really neat venue that had outdoor bocce ball courts and everything!

Bocce action shot!

The wedding was perfect. The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was so much fun, and seeing your friends get hitched and so happy is priceless. I just love weddings. I can't believe I forgot to get a picture of the bride and groom! What was I thinking?!

It was quite the trip! And it was so worth it.

Always remember: Memories > Sleep

Scandinavia Trip: Norway

The final leg of our trip was checking out Oslo and heading on the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo to Bergen. 

While in Oslo, we took a boat over to Bygdøy peninsula and saw the Viking Ship Museum and the Nordic Folk Museum. Both were great! 

We also walked around Akershus Fortress which was pretty cool.

On our journey to Bergen we got to see some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen! We saw waterfall after waterfall and the fjords were breathtaking. Not to mention we had the perfect weather - bountiful sunshine.

We saw lots of this:

And tons of waterfalls:

It was just beautiful.

I just loved the little houses in the hills:

Oh look, another waterfall!

After a full day of traveling and drinking in the beautiful Norwegian fjords, we arrived in Bergen. I highly recommend seeing the fjords of Norway someday if you haven't already. 

The wharf in Bergen was pretty spectacular as well.

And here we all are in Bergen, Norway!

All in all, we had a fantastic trip and saw tons of Scandinavia! Now all I need to do is print out a few photos so I can frame a couple and constantly think about vacation! I love being on vacation.

Happy weekend!!

Scandinavia Trip: Stockholm

Be warned - I will be posting crazy amounts of pictures from our Scandinavian trip this week! 

Ok, now that you've been warned, let's begin! :)

Here is Ryan's very first official fika in Sweden!! Yes, we have had numerous fikas in Los Angeles, but I consider this his first real fika. We were in Gamla Stan at this adorable outdoor cafe and we got coffee (duh), a slice of princess cake, and a vanilla heart. All were quite delicious.

The very first thing we did once we arrived in Sweden, was take a boat over to see the Drottningholm Palace. It was neat and we got to take a tour and see part of the inside of the castle.

The boat ride there was pretty cool too. We saw quite a few cute little towns on the water.

And here is the amazing fika cabinet at our hotel! Best idea ever. 

We did quite a bit of walking around Gamla Stan and soaked in all its cuteness.

Ryan especially loved the square. I especially loved all the shopping at the square.

We also saw the Vasa Museum (great!), the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan, the Icebar, and various other tourist spots. Overall, Stockholm was grand!

Back from the Motherland!

You guys! Scandinavia was amazing!!! 

We arrived in Stockholm and checked right into our hotel in Gamla Stan. And - oh. my. stars. Guess what our hotel had? A fika cabinet! That's right folks, an entire cabinet designated for fika! You opened the cabinet door just expecting a plain cabinet...then bam! Carafes of coffee and fika treats await! It was definitely a highlight of mine in Stockholm. Since we've been home, I've been trying to convince Ryan we need one for our apartment. 

We had a wonderful time in Stockholm and packed a ton into just the two days we were there! We then drove to Gränna and Jönköping and spent the night there. Then we drove to Växjö to see the glassworks (we saw Kosta Boda, Orrefors, and Pukeberg) and got to watch some serious glassblowing. Then off to Denmark we went! We spent 1 whirlwind of a day in Copenhagen before we flew to Oslo. We got see some sweet museums in Oslo and then took off on the Norway in a Nutshell tour to Bergen. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen - it left me in awe. We then spent a day in Bergen and before we knew it we were flying back home. 

Overall, the trip was amazing and went by way too fast. I'm so thankful we got this great opportunity to celebrate with my in-laws (40 years of marriage - woo!) on this fun trip!

I'm still working on uploading all my pictures, but in the meantime here a a few pictures of our trip. Here are me, Ryan, and his mom at the Brahehus Ruins in Gränna, Sweden

Bryggen Wharf in Bergen, Norway

Dinner in Oslo, Norway

The Round Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark

Me and Ryan and Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm (we are so jet-legged in this picture - awake for 30 + hours at this point!)

And last, but not least, a glimpse of our fjord tour in Norway (I have soooo many fjord pictures!)

The trip was perfect (with the exception of the airline loosing my luggage for 5 days...) and I can't wait to go back someday!

Wedding Weekend

Ryan and I just returned from Michigan, where we had been for a week to celebrate my little sister's wedding!!

Aren't they just the cutest!?

It was so much fun to celebrate with the entire family and be all together. The wedding was just beautiful and I cried a lot [surprise, surprise]. I'm so thankful for my new brother-in-law!

I just love my sisters!!!

And this dude is pretty okay too. We will celebrate our 3rd Annivesary in about 2 weeks...my how time flies! 

Happy almost weekend!!