#3017 a lengthy recap with lots of photos of trees and coffees

We have a lot to catch up on, don't we? 

This might be a longish post, but let's just roll with it. Let's start with Dec 11, a Thursday, and the last work day for me of my career at Granite. I did actually do a little bit of work that day, then there was a retirement luncheon. Food was catered from Cafe Rio (my choice), and all my work pals were gathered round the conference room table. There were gifts and tears and words and hugs and it was really nice. Afterward, there were photos. Here's one:

my work peeps!

The next few days, Friday through Sunday, were kind of a blur. MT and T came home on Thursday night and stayed for the weekend. MT went back to Pocatello on Sunday morning, and T stayed here because he was taking care of the dogs while I went to California to visit Mom and Lizzie. 

I arrived in Southern California on Monday afternoon. We went out for dinner, then to the house to chat and chill. Every day Lizzie and I went out for a walk and coffee. She picked easy trails for me, which was kind of her. I really like the urban hill trails in the area where they live. The trails we walked on were all part of parks, but they still feel a little wild. The weather was good, in my opinion. We had some foggy mornings that gave good vibes. After the walk and coffee, we went home to hang out, then in the later afternoon, we go somewhere for late lunch/early dinner. 

On Tuesday we went for a walk at Laguna Lake park. It was a foggy morning, and one of my favorite things about the trail was the part where all the trees were decorated! A family who lives along the trail had decorated about a dozen (or more) trees with baubles and it was so sweet. I think if you double click on the photo, it will fill your screen with the image so you can see the decorations.

Laguna Lake Park trail

We went for coffee at a cute place in Fullerton called Lulu Coffee. The bagel with cream cheese and salami was delicious and the cappuccino was good, too.

at Lulu Coffee in Fullerton

That evening we went to Old World Village in Huntington Beach. We had dinner at the Old World Biergarten. I had schnitzel and cheesy spaetzel and it tasty. A fun thing was that there was a Christmas Market onsite that day, so we wandered around in there. It was nicely decorated, and there weren't too many people, so it was good.

in the Christmas market

The next day was Wednesday, my mama's birthday! Lizzie and I started the day with an easy walk at Creek Park. 

it was still fall in Southern California

For coffee, we went to a favorite place, Civitas (no photo) and took it to go along with a chocolate croissant for Mama. Around noon, we drove to San Juan Capistrano, about a 45 minute drive from their house. We had lunch in a cute restaurant called Sundried Tomato Bistro.

birthday lunch!

After lunch we crossed the street to walk around the mission. It was a beautiful day, and the grounds were all decorated for Christmas. If I remember right, the lighting ceremony was going to be the next evening. We didn't come back for that, but we sure enjoyed strolling around. A nice lady took our picture.

awww!

The light that afternoon was amazing, and we were happy to be together.

ussie with perfect lighting

We stopped at another restaurant, Bloom, for coffee and dessert before we headed back home. The drive down only took 45 minutes, but it was at least double that going back north. That's how it goes, I guess.

On Thursday morning, Lizzie and I walked at Clark Park. It was a lovely morning, and everything was so green, it looked like spring.

a blooming meadow on the Clark Park trail

For coffee, we went to Enchanted, a coffee shop in La Mirada. I had one of the seasonal drinks, a maple latte that was really good, and the biggest, most Nutella-stuffed croissant I've ever seen. I couldn't eat the whole thing in one sitting. The place was busy and the vibe was not relaxing, but the coffee and croissant were top notch.

coffee and croissant at Enchanted

That night we went to Il Gatto in La Habra. It is an Italian trattoria that is completely gorgeous. We didn't get the table we wanted, but the food was good and the wine was excellent. I'd be glad to go back to this place anytime. I didn't take pics of the food. We ordered from the happy hour menu, so we had a variety of delicious snacks that were really filling! The hostess did take our photo by their pretty Christmas tree.

we are full of Italian food

On Friday morning, Lizzie and I went another park in Fullerton, I think, to an area she called Lost Trail. We walked through a softball complex to a series of dirt trails. There weren't many people on this trail, so it was really quiet and nice. There was an amazing tree just off the trail.

I loved this cool tree!

An interesting thing to me about the trail is that it went to the Brea Dam, which is interesting because it doesn't dam anything. Lizzie wanted to go up a trail above the dam, but I didn't really want to, so she was kind and cut me some slack. It was a cool area, and I liked the walk a lot.

For coffee, we went to Golden State Roasting Company in Placentia. The seating areas were large, and the exposed brick was pretty. It wasn't exactly cozy, but it was nice. The coffee was good - I had a peppermint mocha along with a breakfast sandwich. Nothing special about the sammy, but it hit the spot.

peppermint mocha at Golden State Roasting Co.

Later that afternoon, we had late lunch/early dinner at Zumaya's in Whittier. I didn't take a pic of my meal, but I had carnitas tacos and they were really good. The meat was tender and flavorful, and the tortillas were amazing. They may have been made from masa; they were sort of chewy and soft and mmmm. So good! After the meal, we drove over to a Mexican bakery to get a coffee and a dessert to take home. The dude told me there was coffee in that mocha, but it was so smooth and chocolatey, I didn't taste coffee at all. We also went to a nearby store called Pour le Bain. I have been in the store before and it smells so good and has pretty things. Then we took an ussie with a giant Santa.

this Santa is BIG!

The next day Lizzie and I did our traditional Saturday walk around La Mirada Regional Park before hitting the Farmer's Market for pastry and stickers, then picking up coffee from Starbucks. We stayed home the rest of the day. Mom cooked canalones and we drank a bottle of cava to celebrate my retirement, Mom's birthday, and just being together.  

On Sunday we didn't go for a walk, but we did go back to Civitas for coffee and pastry to go. Then I had to pack and get on the plane to come home. 

The highlights of this past week were getting a live Christmas tree, this cute Norfolk pine...

our Christmas tree

...going to the Christmas breakfast at the country club with my work friends, then taking my final walk of the year through Red Butte Garden (the Garden is closed from Dec 24 - Jan 1)...

no snow to be seen

...taking a drive down Michigan Ave to admire the thousands of lights on the sycamore trees...

magical Michigan Ave

 

...and celebrating Christmas at home with my menfolk.

Happy Christmas from MT, me, and T!

The bummer part is that I've had a cold since Christmas Eve. It's still hanging on, but I do feel better today.

So, yeah, this is a long post, and if you've made it this far, thanks and nice going! It's just a little snippet of my exciting life LOL

I don't have much on the agenda for next week. Of course, Wednesday is New Year's Eve followed by New Year's Day. I'll be surprised if we make it to midnight on Wednesday, but we'll try! I think my main activity will be figuring out how to spend my days productively since I won't be working anymore. I've cut myself some slack this month since I've been on vacation and it's the holidays, but I know myself well enough to know that I must have some kind of structure planned or I will default to scrolling through Instagram and playing games on my phone. I have a list (surprise!) of things I want to do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly, so I'll use that to shape my days. I'm excited to see what's next.

xo