The last California post?

I think it is!  I think it is!

This was probably my favorite leg of the trip!  While we gorged ourselves on food and drinks the night before, our next day was much anticipated.  Unfortunately, we got a much later start than we had hoped for...

My friends, that is a flat tire.  After lots of waiting and D talking to a creepy guy, we finally got on the road.  First stop, In-N-Out!

Yeah, I had one.  And a chocolate milkshake.  I'm still not into burgers (you know, the meat kind), but it was all pretty delicious.  D would say it was totally worth it.  He was smitten.  We hit the road yet again to visit yet another brewery.

[Lost Abbey]

Since this was the last leg of the trip and we had been constantly binging on food and drink, I wasn't feeling the hottest.  Sadly, I didn't indulge like I would have preferred.  No worries, we stopped for some meds before heading over to Stone Brewery for the ultimate (oh and a tour).  If you are interested in craft beer in the least, you have likely heard what a beautiful place Stone has.

 [The inside dining area]

 [Outside dining area]

 [Part of the gardens outside]

We had reservations for a tour and dinner at the brewery.  There was a wait between the tour and dinner, so we settled on getting a beer and sitting in the gardens.  Honestly, the pictures can not even do this place justice.  Anna's pictures actually capture it way better than I ever could!  It's beautiful!  I won't bore you with pictures of our dinner, but I loved it!  Ceviche, beer cheddar soup, amazing salad with bleu cheese, and a kick-ass brownie sundae...all in prep for meeting up with some of my favorite SoCal bloggers!

[Excuse the poor photo...late night and a little buzzed will do it to you.  And not so strangely, I looked so scary in practically every single picture.]

Olivia (+ B) and Kelsey were so fun to hang out with!  We basically closed down the place, but I didn't want to leave!  These ladies are so awesome!  After meeting them and Claire in SF, I'm definitely a believer in blogger meet-ups!  Even D had fun!  This was seriously the perfect ending to our time in the city of SD.  I absolutely can not wait for Olivia & B to make a east coast trip so I can see them again!

The next day, we drove around SD a bit then headed over the bridge to Coronado.

Since apparently we can not eat a substantial meal outside of a brewery or brew pub, we headed over to Coronado Brewing Company.

I enjoyed the food here more than the beer (but remember, all the alcohol might be starting to get to me at this point).  Coronado was literally the best place to end our California road trip.  After lunch, we checked in at our hotel and headed straight to the beach.  We may have gotten a little sunburnt. We may have fought off tons of gnats.  We I may have not even stepped foot in the ocean.  The views in Coronado are just stunning.  The pictures have me aching to get back.

 [Our hotel was seriously gorgeous]

 [After the beach and dinner, we walked around town.  Ending the evening with gelato and a dirty chai latte was perfection]

Then we had to get up entirely to early when staying in a fancy hotel to drive to LAX to go home.  California was honestly way better than I would have expected.  I'm so glad we decided to do this trip...but now I've got my mind set on an international locale next ;)

It's over and I have no clue how to handle this.

Summer is over.  Friday marked the official first day of fall.  I missed giving you guys awesome summer posts about my homemade salsa, my no-tax weekend shopping finds, beach trips (including one of the best birthday weekends yet), my summer book reviews, and even missed my one year update of my 101 in 1001 list.  I'm still debating whether or not to go back and still write about some of those experiences or to just move on.  Nonetheless, I had a pretty awesome summer.  To bring summer to an official close, let's review. (Beware: Crazy photo heavy...gotta make up for lost time)

FOODS & COOKING:

 I spent the summer making Carrie's kick-ass guac.  Our fav way to eat it was topped on steak tacos.

 While it may not look super appealing, I perfected my salsa recipe.  Ingredients are super simple and easy.

I even tried baking! Now these Strawberry Lemonade Bars certainly didn't turn out like the picture in the recipe, and I didn't have powdered sugar.  We did end up topping them with Cool Whip.  They were delish!!

D and I really loved this delicious Tortilla Crusted Fish.  I used wild-caught Cod.  It's topped with a creamy cilantro salsa.  I definitely recommend it!

Have you ever heard of Amish Friendship Bread?  You get a starter dough from a friend, let it rest for ten days, while adding some ingredients on the fifth day.  This was my first go at it.  I made a blueberry cheesecake bread.  Amazing.  Recipe and more dets to come!

Pancetta and arugula pizza from Bella Mia in Cary, NC.  I love the perks of hanging out with my beer-selling D.

This summer was seriously perfected by discovering Pelican's Snoballs in Garner, NC.  Close to our house and amazing.  My favorite was the strawberry lemonade.  They're super cheap and have tons of flavors.  I even took my family to play putt putt there while they were in town!

 

 More pizza on our summer trip to Topsail Beach, NC. 

Amazing sushi platter at my birthday dinner in Wilmington, NC.  Seriously, I had all the food I love for my birthday weekend.

TRAVELS:

 Our trip to Topsail Beach, NC.  Seriously, the tube is a necessity for extended time in the ocean.  Oh and margaritas.

 Putt-putt on Topsail!  Such a fun environment.

 Topsail Beach balcony view.  Perfection before a night beach walk with margaritas in hand.

Aquarium from my birthday trip to Wilmington, NC.

 Beautiful farm wedding weekend in Sparta, GA.  More pics from that to come. (Ps. I seriously need to learn to pose for pictures...scary.)

ENTERTAINMENT!

Finally read Room, which I loved.  I also finished the Hunger Games series (thanks to Meghan for getting me started), although I'm not sure I loved it as much as others.

Yep, counting this as entertainment.  I did a hard-core closet clean-out and organization session.  Well worth it.

 More summertime reading.  Best gifts ever from D for my birthday.

 Labor Day weekend, D and I discovered The Alley in Raleigh.  They have awesome bowling and beer deals.

The Flaming Lips show at the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh

 House decor counts as summer entertainment.  We finally got around to hanging up D's anniversary maps.

 Running and my new Garmin 405CX! 

 Not summer beer, but prepping for fall at our new favorite beverage store...Tasty Beverage in Raleigh.

 One of my favorite summer reads.  Still need to purchase the book for my own.

 Starting at my new school.  This classroom now looks worlds better.

CLOTHING & FASHION!

 One of my favorite shirts that will definitely transition to fall.  Also, my first Anthro purchase!

 Loving this oversized, flowy blouse from Target.  I purchased the black one as well.  It's been paired with shorts and heels for the summer but will transition to fall with skinnies

 Fav summer outfit.  Flowy tank + shorts.

 Obsessed with this blouse

 Birthday outfit for dinner in Wilmington.

My Toms wedges for my bday from D.

In the books as an amazing summer.