Memorial Day Weekend.

A day at the lake.  And as always, lots of rosy cherub faces and diaper wrapped bottoms. Basically one big Gerber commercial. 

The mansions I'll never live in.

$3.7 million of exquisite charm and roses. 

Coronado

Coronado.  We walked, a lot. We accidentally passed the ice cream shop. We were too tired to turn around.  

We enjoyed a beautiful lunch of fancy hotdogs and hamburgers on the patio of the Hotel del Coronado. 

We explored the beach where Marilyn Monroe frolicked with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. We (or at least I and my active imagination) felt lost in time wandering the grounds of this famed and elegant Victorian beach resort.  

Manhattan Beach

We spent five warm and lovely days in Southern California, the first of which we dedicated to Manhattan Beach. The city of my father's childhood and and the home of my grandmother. My family spent many holidays and vacations retreating to this alluring and old-fashioned beach town. So it was only natural that I was excited to share it with my husband. 


We savored breakfast at The Kettle, an absolute must on any trip to Manhattan Beach. We wandered in and out of tiny boutiques that far exceed our price-range. We braved the hair-whipping wind as we walked along the pier, admiring dedicated surfers and wondering at the smokestacks in the distance. We sat at my grandmother's kitchen table, studying generations of photographs. 


In short, we truly enjoyed ourselves. 


I also walked away with a pair of Swedish Hasbeens (retail $425) for $50. A true victory.