Santa Barbara Summer 2016 To-Do List

Cotton Candy Skies Print - Available in our Etsy Shop

It's officially the first day of summer! Last summer I was working six days a week. When I had a day off it was spent cleaning my house, running errands and catching up on sleep. (Kill me.) It's what I had to do at the time so I don't begrudge it, but you best believe I'm making up for it this year. I don't have anything epic planned at the moment, I'm just hoping to check some of my old favorites and a couple new things off the list...

1. Visit a flea market or check out an estate sale. I'm over my shitty furniture and in addition I'm over the shitty furniture that's within my budget. Both LA and Ventura have fantastic flea markets and Santa Barbara is infamous for its estate sales. I have a feeling I'll luck out. 

2. Add more prints to our Etsy shop. This one is a no-brainer. Summer is the perfect time to capture California's beauty.

3. Eat a burger from The Burger Bus while cruising SB's Funk Zone. Have you had their Chipotle Burger? Have you followed it up with at least 2-3 glasses of wine? Then you haven't lived. I plan on living.

4. Visit Lotus Land. Lotus Land is an estate in Montecito that has some truly incredible gardens filled with every kind of cactus/native CA flower under the sun. I've never been and I think it's finally time. I'll for sure be bringing my camera along.

5. Visit the LA Arts District. When I was living near downtown LA about six years ago they were just beginning to gentrify that area. I visited briefly again last summer and stumbled into the brand new Arts District. I've been meaning to go back and devote an entire day to exploring the area.

6. Take evening walks after dinner. I love, love, love our neighborhood. It's gorgeous and quiet and prime for peaceful walks after work/dinner. This is something I usually do during the summer but I'm making a strong commitment to it this year. 

7. Hit up some old and new happy hours. My forever favorite in town is the Santa Barbara FisHouse. It is unbeatable in terms of price/variety. I used to work right next door to it so it's also a little nostalgic for me. This year I'm looking to expand and see what else is out there.

8. Blog on the regular. I've been blogging on and off since 2009. It brings me great joy to dump my thoughts out somewhere and maybe even have someone read them. So, I'm gonna keep doing it.

9. Go shopping/do lunch in LA. Between working for an amazing boutique with literal off-the-runway pieces and living in a fairly isolated area I tend to blow my shopping money locally. It's a habit I need to change, just a little.

10. Go to a polo match. We have a local polo field here in SB that I've only been to once. We had one where I grew up as well and I have great childhood memories of watching the games, stomping the divots at halftime and picnicking.