la la land

There are certain places that make me want to breathe deeper. The air is clean, the sky is clear and everything about it makes me want to fill my lungs up, close my eyes, and be washed over with its freshness.

This is the effect Manhattan beach had on me this weekend. I visited Sam in LA and we jam packed the trip with activities, culminating in a morning at Manhattan and Hermosa beaches. But let me back up...

Friday night we went to dinner with Ricky, Sam's roommate, in Thousand Oaks, which is, funny enough, just a couple of miles from where I lived when I interned at Los Angeles Magazine in college. Turns out Sam goes to the exact same gym and grocery store I went to. In a city that big...!? Small world.

Saturday we went to Coffee Bean (yaay!), then spent the day in Santa Monica. We sat oceanside for lunch at the Georgian Hotel, checked out the flying rings at Muscle Beach, went down to the Pier, shopped on Ocean Ave., and took in every inch of the area.
On the way home, we drove through Malibu up the Pacific Coast Highway, at which point I seriously started wondering how one city could have so many beautiful things packed in it.

We then did a little outlet shopping and met up with dear family friends, with whom I lived while I was there, for dinner.
Sunday morning, we went to brunch with Sam and Rick's friends at Post, which was pretty much amazing. If you're in the area, you should try it right away. And Phil Dunphy was eating there :D (not afraid of being blatantly star struck here.)

After that, we walked along the beach from Manhattan to Hermosa. And that was when I fell in love.

Santa Monica is awesome and Malibu is beautiful, but I adored the feeling of these beaches. They're much more relaxed. They have less of a touristy feeling, and are much more a surfer, I just want to enjoy the weather and beach, vibe. I cube-dreamed about it all day long yesterday.
(Beverly Hills 90210 House. :))

And, of course, the best part of all of this was seeing Sam and Ricky all grown up. They were such wonderful hosts - paying for my meals, thanking me for making the trip (to which I said: no thank YOU for living here!), concerned about my boot...

Those two are real gentlemen, and I am so grateful I got to visit them in yet another beautiful place. I told them they just have to keep living in awesome cities so I can continue my touring. Not so much to ask, right?

Thank you Sammy!!

visits from friends and puppies and love

At the start of this week, I was lucky enough to have my dear friend Megan visit me in Atlanta. She and her husband, Michael, came from Indy, and it felt so wonderful to have them stay at our house. Nothing beats having a piece of home here with me, especially on a Monday.

Michael was taking a test all evening and although I would have loved for him to join us, too, I felt so lucky to have time alone with Megan. Our time together is normally limited and filled with activities. It was great to have an entire evening just the two of us.

We drank a glass of wine on the porch with my roommate, Katie, and enjoyed the crazyily cool fall weather. Then we went to Noche for a looong dinner while we waited for Michael to finish up.

I told them they could have my room permanently if they'd stay here with me. I think they might have mumbled something about a history with rats, and needing to get back to Indiana...

I'll convince them soon enough :)

Oh PS! We have a new addition to our family. MellyFord has a new puppy. Meet OllieFord!

grown ups

A scary thing has happened to the Biber family.

Duke and Sam are grown ups. And it kind of warms my heart, hearing them say things like, "I will be in town for a conference" and "I need to order some new cufflinks." But it kind of scares me, too. First of all, did I grow up, too? Because I don't feel all mature like they seem. And second of all, slow down, time!*

And can we still call him Babysam?

Last week Sam emailed me and started by saying this:
so i know how big of a list maker you are, and i've actually become quite the list maker myself with work stuff and grocery lists....

Work stuff? And grocery lists? You can't make grocery lists! You're not old enough to use the oven!

But I'm also really proud of these little grown up men. And what Sam's email said next was that I should hurry myself over to Field Notes and get a state-themed notebook. Because he knows this would allow me to combine two of my most favorite passions: list making and loving on Indiana.

So I am going to do just that.

I cannot wait to visit Sam in LA this weekend and see more of his grown up life. (Yes! He lives in LA. A real adult, I tell ya.)

I will be sure to report back with details and notebooks!

*And yes. I know Duke is only 18 months younger than me, and Sam just a bit behind him. But it's still cray.