A recent meeting had me heading 30 minutes north to the upscale town of Solana Beach. Considering I hate I’m still shaky driving on the freeways and seeing an opportunity for exploration, Eaman joined me to make a day out of it. We kind of live for one-day adventures in new cities and towns. We spent most of our time in Solana’s marquee area of the Cedros Avenue Design District, which is home to more than 85 boutiques, galleries and cafes. I was totally smitten by all the local talent. Quirky stationery and vintage mirrors and upcycled furniture, oh my! And that’s not even mentioning the beautiful beach. The residents are seriously so lucky to have that within walking distance.
If you didn’t already know, traveling for 13 months and then picking up and starting fresh in a new place do not come cheap. Our tight budgets mean a lot of meals at home, but when we got a buy one-get one coupon in the mail from Burger Lounge’s Hillcrest location, I did a little happy dance. A restaurant outing, hooray!
I knew it’d be worth our time and precious money because the Yelp reviews were stellar. After Eaman and I devoured the signature Lounge Burger, we concur: This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had*. Great quality grass-fed meat, fluffy buns, Mexican cola (meaning it’s made with real sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup) and BBQ sauce prepared with chipotle and freshly brewed coffee. Isn’t that crazy? Crazy delicious.
*I generally eat vegetarian except for burgers, meatballs, and beef hot dogs. It’s strange and I can only chalk it up to my love for “fun” foods. If you’re veg, Burger Lounge also offers a quinoa patty.
– I got some great news Friday: I secured two steady freelance gigs — one in writing, the other in social media/marketing, both workable from home! Goodbye, funemployment; hello, real world. We celebrated at d bar with an indulgent chocolate cake that was paired with a vanilla milkshake. The presentation was just as awesome as the chocolate deliciousness. And they don’t mess around with their chocolate. Hello, cavities!
– They say rain is so infrequent in Southern California that, if it drizzles, people look up and wonder what the liquid is coming out of the sky. Yet somehow, it rained this weekend. Considering it was also in the 30’s when we first moved here, it’s safe to say we ushered in all the atypical weather.
– In an effort to combat cabin fever, we joined a friend for dinner at Amarin Thai Saturday night. I was really impressed with the flavors, and even more impressed that they nailed the larb, one of our favorite foods from SE Asia. It’s a dish of minced chicken, beef, pork or tofu tossed with cilantro, lime, mint and red onion.
– Breads, like these, are my favorite thing to bake. They’re easy, always tasty and feed a lot of people. It was pure joy to bake without the problems I had in NYC (an oven that turns off intermittently or burns whatever’s inside).
What exciting (and unexciting) things did you get up to this weekend?
The beauty of working on a few freelance projects from home right now is that we have the flexibility to take a morning walk, get some Vitamin D and try a new cafe before getting back to work/job-hunting. My friend recommended Cafe Bassam in Banker’s Hill for its kitschy, flea market-style decor and huge selection of loose-leaf teas. If there’s anything that’s occupied my daydreams as of late, it’s strange knick-knacks and flea markets, so I fit right into this weird, beautiful place. And in case you’re wondering, yes, owner Bassam has been known to sell some of the pieces in his cafe to customers.
Yesterday morning, we shared a latte and almond-raisin-cranberry scone at Bassam. Both were a nice morning treat, but I’m still on the hunt for my Gimme Coffee replacement. (I miss it so!) But I did fall for the warm, Euro vibe and would love to come back with a book and cup of tea. No wifi here, folks, but in my opinion, that’s a wonderful thing.
I’d be lying if I said moving to a new place is easy. Of course, I knew we’d have to build an apartment from scratch (so to speak), find jobs, make all new friends and get to know the city, but I guess I hadn’t really understood what that would feel like. And now I know, it feels like anxiety.
I have a lot on my mind (see above) and lost a few hours of the weekend dwelling on all of it, but then, being the list-oriented girl that I am — you say Type A, I say just fine — I jotted down, bookmarked and made mental notes of the things I’d like to see myself doing, seeing and eating as I get adjusted to this new place. Look forward, not back, right? Right. Think about fun stuff, not a lack of income, right? Right!
Here’s to some positive thinking.
1. Road trips to Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and oodles more. Part of the reason we decided on San Diego was because it was so close to so many places we’ve always wanted to visit. Beyond the usual suspects like San Francisco and Santa Barbara, I’m itching to take a slow road trip, where we stop at every small beach town along the coast. A lot of locals have already bemoaned the commercialization of many quaint beach villages, which is all the more reason this road trip should be at the top of our list. Also at the top? A stay at the Saguaro (below), a color-crazy hotel in Palm Springs.
