The five songs I've got going on repeat lately:

• Wait for It, Usher
  • I mean, really the whole Hamilton Mixtape is playing non-stop in my house and car these days, but this is the one I always repeat as soon as it's over.
• I Feel So Bad, Kungs feat. Ephemerals
  • This song is on the Pure Barre playlist that I've been training with and I love it so much. It kind of reminds me of Cold Little Heart or any other song you might find on the Big Little Lies soundtrack.
• Your Hand in Mine, Explosions in the Sky
  • This has been "our song" for as long as I can remember, and it was actually the first dance song at our wedding. Rob and I listen to it every year on our anniversary, and since that was last week I've been replaying it a bit while I'm working. For some reason I can't concentrate to music with lyrics, so Explosions is often my workday background music.
• Closer, The Chainsmokers
  • I just can't quit it.
• Ophelia, The Lumineers
  • I had literally never listened to anything by The Lumineers and then in October I listened to their episode on Song Exploder about this song and I've probably listened to it every day since then.

What are five of your favorite songs right now? 

Mother's Day is right around the corner, a holiday that honestly really hasn't meant very much to me until recent years. But as I grew up and moved away and then came back closer to home, it always meant so much to me to be able to spend the weekend with my mom.

Now that I'm far away again, I really wish I could just teleport back to Virginia for brunch or even coffee, or maybe a scoop of this delicious ice cream--it's strawberry rhubarb and I made it myself in celebration of spring and Mother's Day and all the wonderful women I'm lucky enough to have in my life.

When I told La Crema that I wanted to make some strawberry rhubarb ice cream for Mother's Day, they sent me a couple bottles of their Monterey Pinot Noir Rosé. This stuff is my favorite and if you haven't had it, you have to try it! It's especially good with a scoop of strawberry rhubarb. Pink wine and pink ice cream--what's not to love, especially for Mother's Day?

I don't make ice cream very often but whenever I do, I'm always kind of enchanted by how simple it really is, even though the result can be downright luxurious. 

Fresh strawberries, bright rhubarb, a nice glass of wine--I hope you get to enjoy and share in some quiet moments (and ice cream) with the people you love this weekend. And if you're looking for a fun craft to do together, this wine bottle succulent planter DIY is still one of my favorite projects.

This post is sponsored by La Crema Wines. Visit their blog today to get my strawberry rhubarb ice cream recipe.

For months, Rob and I have been looking forward to spending a few days celebrating our anniversary in Santa Barbara. It's been a crazy few weeks for us (we haven't been home for a weekend since the end of March!), and even though it felt a little weird to pack up the car and drop Ender off at daycare yet again, it was pretty nice to get away just the two of us with no real plans to do anything but explore a place that was 100% new to both of us.

We decided to drive from the Bay Area so we could stop in Monterey. I've been a Death Cab for Cutie fan for as long as I can remember and ever since I heard the song Bixby Canyon Bridge, I've dreamed about seeing it in person. Then Big Little Lies came out and the bridge was in the opening credits, so I got even more excited about driving over it. It was a little out of the way, but totally worth it, and we stopped for lunch on the water in Monterey, which is always super nice.

The weather in Santa Barbara over the weekend wasn't great (mostly cold and windy with some rain), but we had a great time. Here are a few details:

Where we stayed: the Santa Barbara Inn. It was a bit of a splurge, but the rooms were lovely with big beautiful patios, the pool is heated, and the restaurant downstairs has an okay complimentary breakfast and a really nice happy hour every afternoon. It's right across the street from the beach so we'd take long walks in the afternoon and then go right to the bar for a drink and a snack. We had one sunny day so we spent that afternoon swimming in the pool, which was really fun.

Where we ate: 

• Convivo (the restaurant in our hotel): We were so tired the night we got in that we ordered a pizza and dessert and ate in bed. One other night we accidentally had dinner there because we ordered so many snacks at happy hour that we were too full to eat anything else. The pizzas were really good and they had these delicious lamb meatballs on the menu, which I loved even though I usually don't care for lamb very much. The margaritas at happy hour were $5 and super tasty.
• East Beach Tacos: This is a cute little taco place that's attached to a batting cage. We ate here twice as well, for lunch on our second day and then before we left town on Sunday afternoon. The guacamole is some of the best I've ever had, and you can get any 3 tacos for $9, which was perfect for me and Rob. I had a grilled fish taco the first time and the grilled shrimp on the second visit. They were both incredible. And because it shares a parking lot with the batting cage, they also serve burgers and hot dogs and a kid's meal quesadilla, which I found really charming.
• Brophy Bros: Rob and I were so into this place--it reminded us of a California version of this bar we used to go to in Charlottesville (that's The Virginian for any of you Wahoos). It's small and cozy with a really cool bar, and there's a patio over the harbor that we waited a little bit longer for.
• McConnell's Ice Cream: So good! I got banana salted caramel (that was one flavor) and pistachio amaretto. The banana caramel was definitely my favorite. Rob got a milkshake and he loved it so much that we ended up coming back that same day after dinner for an ice cream sandwich (his) and a hot chocolate (mine). 
• Loquita: I would go back to this place in a heartbeat. We decided to go late on Saturday night and luckily made a reservation--it was packed! Our table was outside, which I would have loved but it was super windy and kind of cold. Luckily they had lots of heat lamps out there and every chair was equipped with a fleece blanket. We were still a little chilly, but it was a nice touch, and it definitely helped. We ordered a couple drinks and shared the chicken and chorizo paella, patatas bravas, and gambas al ajillo. The food and cocktails were amazing and the whole vibe there was super romantic--perfect for an anniversary dinner (although I'd go again no matter the occasion).

I'm sure it's clear to you guys by now that all we really do when we travel is eat, but you can also find us walking 5-7 miles a day, taking afternoon naps, and watching whatever crappy television is on in the room at night. So...yeah, I guess we're just in it for the food.

If you've been to Santa Barbara, what were your favorite spots? I think we'll definitely be back!