The awful fires taking place in Napa and Sonoma have been going for a week now and a lot of the smoke drifted down into the Bay Area--I didn't think much of it until Thursday when I started feeling lightheaded and couldn't stop coughing. Rob suggested we get out of town for the weekend so we booked an Airbnb in South Lake Tahoe (it was actually another little studio cabin attached to the place we stayed last time).

I felt a little silly leaving because of the smoke when so many people actually had to evacuate because they were in real danger, but we figured with me being almost 35 weeks pregnant, it was better to be safe than sorry; so on Friday morning we packed up the car and the pup and hit the road. We didn't really make any plans since this wasn't supposed to be a vacation (and we were just in San Luis Obispo a couple weekends ago), so we brought a bunch of snacks and drinks with us and decided to do a lot of relaxing at the cabin.

There was another Harry Potter marathon on TV (apparently we're really good at going to Tahoe for Harry Potter marathon weekends) so we hung around for a while before going out for a pretty mediocre dinner at Cold Water Brewery. I think we got the wrong stuff--Rob got a flight of beers and didn't really like most of them and then he had a pretty expensive burger that left a lot to be desired. I ordered soup and a salad that was super boring, but on our way out we saw a couple with some delicious-looking pretzel bites and $4 pints...I think we'll do that next time.

I woke up early the next morning and took Ender for a long walk--it was 25 degrees and the fresh air felt so amazing after a week of smoke. We went back to the cabin and I made a pot of coffee and some cinnamon rolls and sausage (we stopped by Safeway after our sad dinner and bought some milk for coffee, stuff for breakfast, and a couple pints of Ben & Jerry's...Pregnant Megan is a real sucker for junk food).

We wanted Chinese for lunch but the place we looked up was closed, so we drove down the road a bit and stopped at a little place called My Thai instead. The Pad Thai was super delicious (although next time I'm going to ask them to make it spicy), and the portions were huge so we brought a box home and had it for dinner later. After lunch we went to South Lake Brewing Company and Rob tried a few beers and I had a sparkling tea which was a little weird, but nice--I always appreciate it when a brewery or winery has a non-alcoholic option that's not water. I wanted to go to Free Bird for an afternoon chai latte but they close at 2PM so we ended up being basic and driving through a Starbucks to split a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I thought I would do a lot of reading, writing, and getting ahead for the week but it ended up being a weekend full of naps, Harry Potter, and chilly walks with Ender and Rob in our cute neighborhood full of cabins or down by the lake--not super productive but pretty awesome. And I still got that Free Bird chai latte on Sunday morning (seriously, if you're in South Lake Tahoe you need to stop by--it's the cutest little place and the coffee and tea are really good.)

It's kind of fun finding new getaways when you move to a new place, and even though we hadn't planned on being there this weekend, it was nice to escape to a place that's starting to feel like a home away from home. (Although I think having the sweetest husband and cuddliest pup to hang out with helps a lot.) I'm already daydreaming about bringing the baby there when some of our friends come to visit this winter (after a stop at some of our favorite wineries in Sonoma and Napa, of course). It's weekends like this one that make me feel like we're really making the most of our time in California.

Wishing you all a cozy, safe week.

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!

We're just far enough away from San Francisco that we don't go super often, but we're close enough that we really could spend more time there (it's only 45 minutes without traffic); so this weekend we decided to put Ender in daycare and spend the day in the city.

I don't think I'll ever really feel like I know my way around, mostly because it's just such a huge city but also because there are so many places to go, eat, and see that I've only been to a fraction of them so far, but Rob and I do have our favorite places that we always make time for every visit. We went to a couple new ones on Saturday, so I thought I'd make a list of our favorites.

• We always go straight to the Mission for croissants at Tartine Bakery. I'm sure you've heard of this place already because it's pretty famous, but seriously--it's worth the trip. Sometimes I feel like I could go into the city, stop at Tartine, and head right back home and it would have been worth the drive.
• We get our treats from Tartine to go and walk to a coffee shop--usually Ritual but this time Four Barrel. My other favorite coffee shop is Sightglass, although I haven't been to the one in the Mission.
• After we were properly caffeinated we walked back in the direction of the bakery to spend some time in Mission Dolores Park. There are benches everywhere, or you can bring a blanket and lounge in the grass--in the morning there are always a ton of off-leash dogs playing, and in the afternoon people come out in droves to hang out in the sun. It's such a fun spot.

Some other favorite spots in the Mission:

• Trick Dog: Amazing cocktails, really good food. We didn't go this time but I love having dinner there if I'm in the city later.
• Bi-Rite Market: One of the sweetest little grocery shops I've ever been to. Across the street is Bi-Rite Creamery, which has amazing ice cream (get the black sesame if they have it). 

• After watching the pups play in Mission Dolores park, we decided to really take a walk and strolled through The Castro on our way to The Painted Ladies. The Castro is another favorite spot of mine, and The Panhandle is super gorgeous along the way.
• We sat in the park in front of The Painted Ladies for a while before deciding to Uber back to the Mission for some tacos. There are tons of spots to choose from but we decided to go to Tacolicious--they have great margaritas and I really like their queso dip. The tacos are way more filling than I think they're going to be and we always end up ordering too many--I've found that one is actually all I need if I'm having chips and guac or queso, too.
• After lunch we found our car and headed to the Ferry Building, which is one of my favorite places. We walked through all the stores (you have to check out Heath Ceramics--so gorgeous) before meeting up with one of Rob's coworkers at a brewery in North Beach.

Then we headed back down to the South Bay, picking up our very tired pup on the way!

There are so many other places I love in the city, and even more that I haven't experienced yet, but these are just some of the ones that I always plan to go to whenever I'm nearby. Sometimes I have doctors appointments in the city and I always just try get in and then get out, but I want to start slowing down a bit and take myself out to coffee or lunch more often! 

As usual, I posted plenty of photos on Instagram, so if you want to check those out, you can right here.

If you have any San Francisco favorites, I want to hear them! My list of places to visit is never-ending and I kind of like it that way.