California Princess

I'm sitting in Laguna Beach, and I'm in heaven. But let's back-track a little.

 

If you read the last few posts by Courtney, you have a pretty good idea of the beginning of my amazingly busy week (the good kind of busy). I had such an awesome time hanging out with my best friend here in LA. As she said in one of her posts, when we're somewhere together it always feels like home (that home is where your heart is saying just keeps popping up in my experience here), so her being here really solidified my Californian residency experience. Even though I've only lived here for four months, I am happy to announce that I identify as (partially) Californian now, hahaha. We'll see how that holds up after a few months back in the Midwest, I guess.

So Courtney left early on Thursday morning, and I was picked up a few hours later by Stephanie, my roommate from home's older sister (who I got to adventure with last month). We headed northeast to Lancaster to spend Thanksgiving with Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dick. Now, I refer to Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dick by those names because after spending a wonderfully home-like couple of days being doted on at their gorgeous house, I feel like part of the family. Honestly. They were so welcoming, and I can't express how lucky I feel to have been able to spend Thanksgiving with people as amazing as Stephanie, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dick. Sometimes it's unreal to me how privileged I am. (And thank you Samuel Leumas/Brzezinski for sharing your awesome family with me.)

My holiday weekend only got better from there. Stephanie and I left Lancaster on Friday and headed down a long stretch of the 405 (California's mythic, traffic-frenzied highway) to Laguna Beach, where Stephanie had invited me to spend the weekend. We got to Laguna just as the sun was setting over the ocean, and looking at this city, bathed in the oranges and reds of the setting sun, I knew I had finally found the California I had been dreaming about a few short months ago. Laguna Beach is breathtaking. And for any of you that have watched those inane MTV shows set here, I've been assured by Stephanie that the real Laguna Beach is nothing like the shows. Its adorable and charming, full of art galleries, quirky shops, and cute little cafes. One incredible thing about the city is the lack of corporate businesses. There's a Starbucks, a CVS, a Taco Bell, and maybe a couple other chain stores that I didn't notice, but other than that, everything is local small businesses. Its extremely refreshing.

My first night in Laguna was spent relaxing in Stephanie's adorable apartment. We drank through a couple bottles of wine and, although we're fifteen years apart, had a lot to talk about. (Sam, I hope you don't mind sharing an older sister because you don't really have a choice at this point.) After chatting, listening to some Indigo Girls and eating some delicious Persian fesenjan, we snuggled into a pile of pillows and blankets and watched a few episodes of the Kennedys, a series I highly recommend (its on Netflix). After that, I fell fast asleep in a pillow-filled bed that made me feel like a princess. A California Princess.

 

Stephanie's balcony

Saturday was supposed to be a day for work (I have an exam, a paper, and a presentation to be finished for tomorrow and Stephanie had work to do as well), but it didn't turn out that way at all. I woke up to the sun streaming in from every window of the house and knew that the sunny, 70 degree weather was not going to stand for any work being accomplished. Stephanie and I had toast, grapefruit and coffee on her sunny patio, and then took a walk down the beach and around her neighborhood. Then we met a friend of hers at one of the adorable cafes, called Madison Square & Garden Cafe, where we sat outside among fountains and flowers and ate a delicious lunch.

After lunch we did end up getting some (very distracted) work done, but we had a dinner reservation at Asada, a delicious Mexican place, at 7 so we didn't spend too much time concentrating. Asada was super fun, mostly because I got to experience being hit on by much older men. That sounded weird, but its true. I'm not sure if it was because I was with Stephanie (who is a hot mama) or if it was just the atmosphere of the bar, but we ended up hanging out with a couple of guys the whole time we were there and being chatted up by a few others. One of them was an extremely drunk British Indian guy who I really disliked at first, but he ended up growing on me, especially when I told him I wasn't single and he declared me his wing woman and we started talking about how his dog is actually his girlfriend. He made for great entertainment while Stephanie talked with his friend.

After dinner and more than a few drinks at Asada, Steph and I headed to a bar called the Marine Room Tavern where a local band was playing. This place apparently attracts a lot of locals, and was a lot less classy than Asada. It actually felt a lot like a Midwestern bar, so I was naturally very at home. We chatted up the really friendly bar tenders and met the owner of another local bar, who wrote us a note to give to his bartenders that said "Lauren and Stephanie. Don't charge". Although the idea of going to a bar and drinking for free is something I would never have passed up in Minneapolis, Stephanie and I decided that it wouldn't be a wise decision given how much we'd already had to drink, so we headed home after the Marine Room and I passed out in my princess bed.

Today was nice and relaxing. Stephanie and I walked around the downtown Laguna area and checked out the cute shops and the beach area. I wish I could describe to you how gorgeous Laguna is. It was sunny and 75 degrees and everyone was out and about. Being able to look east and see the huge houses built into the cliffs and then being able to look west and see the ocean sparkling and blue made the whole weekend feel so dreamlike. Laguna doesn't feel real. As Stephanie put it, its like a bubble. A pleasant, relaxing bubble. I loved spending time there. We drove down the Pacific Coast Highway on our way back to Northridge in the early afternoon, the convertible top down and the warm ocean air blowing through my hair. Truly, a California Princess.

 

  

 

So I have to tell you. I lied. I know at the beginning of my post, I said I'm in Laguna. And I was when I first started writing. But now I'm back in Northridge, procrastinating my return to reality by finishing this blog post. Ugh. If only Northridge was in Laguna. Life complete? Close to it, I think.

So I have to include this the Mamas & the Papas song because I have a strong inclination that in a couple months I will find myself sitting in my bed, listening to this song, and longing for my weekend in Laguna Beach. But at least I will have something as amazing as that to long for. Talk to you all soon. <3