SPRING BREAK!
Those are words I haven't used in almost a decade. I've been a nanny for the past seven years. Usually spring break for me means working long hours while the kids are out of school. Not this year! The family that I work for took off for Hawaii for the week, which means I have the week off.
Unfortunately, Charlie and I were unable to book a trip of our own. However, we live in paradise. Why go anywhere when I can have my own little personal stay-cation right here in the South Bay?!
To kick things off, Friday after work, we took a bottle of wine and some snacks (brie cheese, pita crackers, an apple, mango slices, bruschetta dip, & dark chocolate covered almonds) up to our favorite sunset spot: "the cove". Malaga Cove is up in Palos Verdes ...and when you're there, it feels like you're at the edge of the Earth. It is one of my favorite escapes from the busy city life of Los Angeles. It's been months since we've done wine and cheese at the cove, so it was the perfect way to start my spring break.
After stuffing our faces with fruit and cheese, we went home to grill pizzas and indulge in yet another bottle of red wine. Charlie made a BBQ chicken pizza (BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, red onions, jalapeños, and mozzarella & cheddar cheeses) while I went for my all-time fav, chicken & pineapple (marinated/grilled chicken, alfredo sauce, fresh cut pineapple, & mozzarella). Not long after devouring our pizzas, we both fell asleep on the couch. My how times have changed since my last spring break ...I'm getting old.
My deee-lish 'za
Speaking of getting old, we were both up by 630am on Saturday. Chuckster went golfing with some buddies, and I was cleaning the house by 7am. Halfway through, I stopped to prep food for Easter, so it took me almost four hours to get everything done! After the apartment was spotless, I treated myself to a cherry vodka & 40 minutes by the pool. 😎
Not long after getting into my new book at the pool, Charlie was home from golfing! We got in the car and headed to Hermosa for the Spyder Surf Fest. Because of being out of town, I haven't been able to attend the surf fest in a few years. Basically, it's a bunch of surf brands that set up games for you to win cool prizes. Luckily for me, 3/4 of the booths this year had "bags" as their game. For those of you that don't know, I'm kind of a big deal when it comes to bags. I dominated, and ended up leaving with three snapback hats, a new pink clutch purse, and a new pink beach hoodie! Score.
The name of the game was hitting the skull "bullseye" with a nerf dart in the middle of the "R". Got it on my 3rd shot.
Charlie's buddy's band, "LIFE", played the fest
Jealous of everyone I know back home that owns a house, buuut this ...
New lid, surfs up brah.
Later in the afternoon, we packed up my car and headed to King Harbor Brewery to grab a growler of my favorite local beer: the Swirly (a chocolate & vanilla brown ale). Next stop was Manhattan Beach. Since the family I work for is gone, we're dog & house-sitting for the next four days.
It was a mellow night here in Manhattan ...we drank a few pints of "the Swirly", grilled turkey burgers, brats, & corn, took the dog for a walk down on The Strand, and watched basketball.
So far, this so-called "spring break" of mine has been mellow but absolutely perfect. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for me! On the agenda for today is celebrating Easter poolside with Charlie, my dad, & Lisa. More follow later...
I hope you're all having a fantastic Easter surrounded by loved ones!
