.heart to heart.: california dreamin'.

i went to california for spring break
{fyi: i don't want to live in a world where i don't have a spring break. it's worked really well for me for the past 20+ years, and i don't see the need to stop while i'm ahead},
and it was perfect.

the weather.

the friends and family i visited.

the beautiful beaches.

the food.

all of it.

perfect.

i spent the first two days in san diego with my dear friend heather, her husband jason, and their baby on the way! we explored coronado island, la jolla beach, their adorable neighborhood of south park, sunset cliffs, and a myriad of other places where i made heather pose for maternity photos.

i also met their midwife and learned a lot about having a baby in a birthing center.
so there's that.

there's never a lack of adventure with heather.

{i feel the need to point out that this picture is the most accurate depiction of my life that has ever been documented.}

midweek, i took the train up to newport beach to spend time with my brother and sister in law in their new digs.

the train ride up the coast was beautiful, and at the perfect time of day to watch the sunset over the water.

while matt and leighann worked on wednesday, i explored newport beach on bike.

i felt like quite the local on my cruiser, only giving myself away with my lack of coordination and needing to pull out my city map every so often.

i took the bike over to balboa island {on a ferry}, enjoyed my first frozen banana treat, and admired the absolutely adorable houses at every turn.

when leighann got off work, we explored laguna beach, which was absolutely gorgeous.

even though l.c. and kristin were nowhere to be found, we were on the beach where they filmed one of the best movies of all time, beaches!

it was a surreal moment made even more glorious by our milkshake and the beautiful sunset.

i made my way back to san diego for the last part of the trip to spend time with my college girl, charlene.

we walked around balboa park, went to the very top of san diego, watched our fair share of new girl episodes, admired the views at her favorite beach, stuffed our faces at Hodad's, met the crazies in ocean beach, and finished it off with an acai bowl bigger than my face.

oh, and how could i forget the mexican food.

when you can see mexico in the distance, you know the food is authentic.

and being serenaded during dinner to the sounds of the guitar and trumpet always helps.