san diego
DIY Kitchen Backsplash
Wednesday, January 17 • california, design, farmhouse, fashion, how to, interior decor, san diego, san diego blogger, style
Backsory: I am a part of a Facebook group called White Walls (if you're a military spouse and aren't in the group you need to go join it now). It is a group for military spouses to show how they decorate their "white walls" in base housing or in rental housing. Since we all move around a lot, we can't really make each house our own. However, some of the people in the group have done amazing things to their rental houses that have completely changed the look! One of them being the removable wallpaper that I'm going to explain in the post!
Last weekend, I went to Target and saw this wallpaper for about $30. I had seen it on the Facebook page awhile back and it sparked my interest. I wasn't going to buy it but my friend told me that she would help me put it up if I got it... so I left Target that day with something I didn't go in there to buy (story of my life LOL).
On a Saturday night, two of my good friends came over and we ate pizza, drank wine and put up wallpaper! (You know you're getting older when ladies night turns into decorating your kitchen.) The wallpaper was a bit challenging to put up because you had to line the tiles up just right and make sure the fake grout colors matched. Lucky for me, my friends were pro at it and they had a system down so that they could line it up perfectly! Overall it took us the whole roll of wallpaper and about 2 hours start to finish.
I highly recommend this to pretty much anyone who wants to make their kitchen more "Joanna Gaines" without it being permanent. We did have to take a couple pieces off after we put them on and the pieces peeled right off the wall with absolutely no damage at all! I was throughly surprised with how real the subway tiles looked and I am absolutely obsessed with the way it turned out. It makes my kitchen look like a whole new kitchen!
Target also has a lot of other patterns so if subway tile isn't your thing or you are looking to do a whole wall, they have you covered! Let me know if you try this wallpaper and what you think of it :)
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Wednesday, November 22 • california, cooking, diy, how to, quick guide, recipe, san diego, san diego blogger
Pumpkin Pie
1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
2 large eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (plus a little extra because I spilt it in the mix lol)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pillsbury pie crust (no, I didn't make my own crust)
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1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Whisk together the pumpkin, condensed milk and eggs (it is very easy if you throw it all into your Kitchen Aid on level 3, like I did).
3. Stir in the spices - you can add more if you want your pie to taste a certain way.
4. Lay pie crust in the dish and pinch sides to create the crust design.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into crust.
6. Bake at 425 for 15 min. Then, lower temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 min or until the pie is baked all the way through.
7. Serve with a dollop of cool whip on the top and a glass of milk on the side!
I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving full of happiness!
Adventure is Out There: San Diego Edition
Friday, October 27 • adventure, advice, california, hiking, quick guide, round up, san diego, san diego blogger, travel
About six months ago, my husband and I moved to San Diego and have been exploring something new whenever we have the chance! So, in today’s post I want to share a few tourist things I have done recently that have been a lot of fun.
One of the best things about moving around is all the new experiences and adventures you get to go on. I can’t stress enough how you need to get out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you. It will definitely give you a new perspective and change your life. Moving to San Diego was quite a drastic change from our little town of Milton, FL and it was really hard to adapt to the change at first. We didn’t know what to do on the weekends or where to get our groceries, and we were definitely not used to the “Cali lifestyle.” So, we got out and we explored! We have already made so many new memories and are determined to leave here saying "wow, San Diego was great!"
So without further adu, here are 4 things to do while visiting San Diego:
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| Enjoying Disneyland with my amazing friends Katie and Jill while they visited from Washington. |
Disneyland – Okay, so I know this one isn’t in San Diego but its my favorite place on Earth! It is about an hour and a half drive up to Anaheim from San Diego so it isn’t too bad for a day trip. Usually I try to get there 30 min before the park opens and stay to watch World of Color or the fireworks and then head home. It does make for a long day but it is 100% worth it.
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| Biking riding and getting smoothies with Ryan, Hannah and Daniel while Ryan and Hannah were visiting over Spring Break. |
Bike Riding on Coronado Island – This is an activity that I have actually done three times now because I love it so much. My favorite place to rent bikes is Kruiser King in downtown Coronado. Their beach bike rental is $7 per hour or $20 per day. I really love renting bikes because you can ride them down to the Hotel Del Coronado and then along the beach, or you can ride through the neighborhoods and see the beautiful houses. As some of you know, I’m obsessed with HGTV so riding around and looking at houses is the highlight of my day!
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| Enjoyed a delicious meal at Cafe Gratitude with my Military Spouse friends. |
Eat – There are soooooo many good places to eat here! I could make a whole post on my favorite places to eat here but I’ll try to keep it to my top 3 (that I have tried so far). In no particular order, I have loved eating at: Buon Appetito in Little Italy, Café Gratitude in Little Italy and Havana Grill in Clairemont. Each restaurant is quite different so it really depends on the type of food you're looking for; but they are all delicious!
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| Hanging out on Potato Chip Rock with my friend Rachel when she was visiting from Pensacola. |
Hike - San Diego has some great trails to hike! There are trails for everything from a nice walk along the cliffs to a 7 mile trek up the mountains. For beginners, Torrey Pines is great! It offers beautiful views while not being too challenging of a hike. On the other hand, Potato Chip Rock is pretty tough. If you do the backside of the hike you gain about 2,000 ft in elevation in just 2-3 miles (it was killer on the legs)! My personal favorite hike is Cowles Mountain. It is a good workout while not being too strenuous; and offers beautiful views of the entire city at the top. I think no matter what trail you do, you won't be disappointed by hiking in San Diego!
I’m know there are more places that I haven’t explored yet, so I’ll keep you all updated as I explore more! Next on my list to do here is Balboa Park, the Zoo, skiing and camping!
Big Bear Lake - California
Sunday, September 10 • adventure, big bear lake, california, quick guide, review, san diego, san diego blogger, travel
This past weekend Daniel and I ventured up to Big Bear Mountain to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary and we had such a perfect weekend!
As soon as we got up there, we went to Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain. The alpine slides are really fun because you get to act like a little kid again! You get to ride the chair lift up to the top and then climb into a bright yellow sled and race down the hill. It was a blast! I also loved the view from the top of the slides. You could see the lake peeking through the trees with the bright blue sky. I wish I had gotten a better photo of it because this photo below doesn't do it justice.
After the slides, we headed down to the lake for lunch. I had packed a picnic lunch for the day so we sat and ate it under the pine trees. After lunch, we walked around the village and did a little shopping while waiting for our hotel room to be cleaned for check in. While in the village, we went to a really cute little coffee shop called The Tea and Coffee Exchange. I think we have officially earned the title of "old married couple" because we sat and played chess while enjoying our coffees!
We finally checked into our hotel (we stayed at The Lodge at Big Bear Lake) at 3pm. Our room was really cute with a fireplace and balcony. However, the room was a little on the older side and had an odd smell to it. Other than the smell, every thing was really clean and nice! The hotel was in a great location because it was only a couple blocks to the heart of the village and about four blocks away from the lake. If When we go back, we would definitely stay there again.
We took a couple hours to just relax and watch tv in the room before going to dinner since we got up pretty early that morning. Also, we were not able to have our wedding cake topper on our anniversary like tradition states - but, I was able to order these adorable sugar cookies from a local baker in San Diego (Amy's Cakery)!
We went out to dinner that night at The Peppercorn Grille. The restaurant food was okay.. it wasn't anything overly special. However, the atmosphere was perfect. It was a small place that had fire heating lamps set up on the patio - which made it feel so romantic. Also, the manager gave us a free chocolate cake (that I "accidentally" devoured before Daniel could have 3 bites LOL). After dinner we went right next door to Big Bear Lake Brewing Company. Neither of us had ever been to a brewery so it was a fun experience! We sat at the bar and ordered two flights of their house beers. My favorite was the Honey Blonde and Daniel's favorite was the Goldmine Pale Ale.
The next morning we had to head home unfortunately; but we left feeling rejuvenated after a night in the mountains! I think it is super important to spend time with the ones you love, experience new things together and most of all, cherish the little moments in life! I also HIGHLY reccomend Big Bear Mountain to those who are looking for a cute little mountain lake in California.
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a good week ahead!
Hiking: Cowels Mountain
Friday, August 18 • adventure, hiking, north face, packing list, photography, quick guide, san diego, san diego blogger
This weekend Daniel and I went to Cowles Mountian for a hike! We wanted to get to the top before the clouds burnt off and the sun came out so we started our hike around 7:30am. While it was really hard to get up early, it was so worth it to watch the clouds slowly disintegrate to show the beautiful mountains. We got some beautiful photos at the top and had the chance to just sit and relax after a long week. Once we got down the mountain, it was only 10:00am so we decided to stop and grab some juice! I was never a "juice person" but since moving to San Diego I have grown to love it. Daniel got a green juice that had mango, kale, agave and some other delicious stuff and I got a pink juice that had a lot of fresh fruit in it! By the time we got home it was only about 11am and we still had the whole day to get house stuff done. Starting our Sunday morning by hiking was definitely perfect!
For hiking, I always wear my hat to keep the sun off my face! I also like to wear a tank top and bring a 1/4 zip pullover in case it is a little chilly. I recommend wearing a light pair of leggings or pants when you go hiking to protect your legs from overgrown nature! Also, the hiking boots I picked up at REI were a lifesaver! They have a lot of grip on the bottom and added ankle support so I wasn't worried about rolling my ankles on rocks (especially when going back down the mountain). I will link some of my favorite hiking attire at the end of the post if you're in the market for new gear!
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| The trail we hiked up! |
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Thanks for reading! Check back for more hiking posts in the future (since this is becoming my new favorite hobby)!
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