ojai for 24 hours

Chris and I often plan little getaways, somewhat nearby. We put them on the calendar, make sure my mom can come stay with the kids and then we get giddy for the next few months as we look forward to having some adult time! But this was a spur of the moment getaway. Like… we planned Thurs night and left Sun morning. We have stayed at the Ojai Valley Spa a few years ago with the kids and loved it but that's a big indulgence! So we went the airbnb route and was so pleasantly surprised!

Morning started at the farmer's market. WHY DIDN'T I BUY SOME BASKETS?! 😦

Our little cottage for the night.

LOVE this place!

Our cottage owner is a potter. Her studio is also on the property and her work is amazing!

Most of our time was spent reading and relaxing by the pool. Chris read Gone Girl. I started Goldfinch.

Fig. I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite store. More than Anthro even! So delightful!

Freaking love all the quotes all over this store.

Shop Summer Camp. Cute, hip little shop for lots of moonrise kingdom sorta stuff. 🙂 Our airbnb owner's pottery is featured there.

Found the tastiest, healthy food at The farmer and the cook. Thanks to yelp! I'm super picky about my smoothies but this one was delish! Also had cashew "cheese" for the first time, on taquitos- SO good.

Cocktails at the Ojai Rancho Inn. Initially tried to get a room here but since the pool was out of order, we went the airbnb route.

Few thoughts about leaving Ojai and going back to busy LA. It's close enough to drive within the day but feel far enough like we got away. It's much quieter in Ojai. People seem more relaxed and are very pro local. I love and appreciate little getaways with my man. They're rejuvenating and relaxing. Good things!

October 17, 2014 1

15th anniversary getaway

chris is so good at making us a priority. when our 15 year came up he jumped on the opportunity to take me to the sanitarium in San Luis Obispo. I guess i never stayed at a B&B before- I was pleasantly surprised at how quaint, clean and charming this spot was. we had a lovely time walking around town, eating tapas and exploring. as our kids are getting older and will slowly start leaving home, we understand the importance of continually connecting, maintaining US. he is not only my best and truest friend but I could not imagine a better partner to journey through life with. he's down to earth and honest, humble and wise, yet filled with the roller coaster of feelings I have learned to appreciate over the years. he and I balance each other out…just a good match. not perfect but always striving and learning. I am so content and so thankful.

July 29, 2013 4

san clemente via instagram

another mini trip of ours over the summer to visit my mom in san clemente. traffic in southern california, no bueno.

love her view, amazing. that hill is killer on your legs, though. 🙂

favorite part of the beach, swings on the sand. i bet if we lived there, that would be elsie's favorite hangout.
stunned at how big the big kids look, love both of these pics so much!

i think the stairs behind him are equally killer on the legs. he ran all the way up. oh to be young and fit.
i'm way behind. more photos of our summer to share. now that they've all gone back to school, we'll see if i can keep up with this blog again! 🙂

August 30, 2011 2

ojai/santa barbara mini trip

we like little night/day trips somewhat close to home. santa barbara is always at the top of our list as it's always a little cooler there and of course, there's so much sentimentality that goes along with it- as that's the place we first lived together and grew our little family! santa barbara by day via instagram on my phone:

waking them up super early, partly to make the most of our day, partly because chris is so excited 🙂

after the day in santa barbara, we decided to stay in ojai- a little town inland. we've never been before and we are for sure gonna go back again! kids on the golf cart on the way to our rooms:

i wish i took more pics of the hotel and ojai in general than the ones from my phone 😦 you can click on their website and see just how lovely and amazing our hotel is! totally going back!!! ojai resort.

this is the building we were in, heaven!!!

good times. we've got a few more little summer mini trips before the crazy early school season begins! love the long days, no schedules, sleep in life we're having right now 🙂

July 25, 2011 13

palm springs, spring break

we wanted to go on a little getaway while the kids were on spring break. we looked at the local weather and chose palm springs because it was the warmest temperature wise than the rest 🙂 i had shot a wedding there just a year ago during the same time and thought the hotels were rather pleasant! and then we shot a wedding at the viceroy in santa monica and remembered there was one in palm springs as well! score!

happy the bigs carved out some family time from their busy social lives 🙂

our bookworm relaxes:

hotel room card:

stunning!

my love for stripes appeared all over the hotel 🙂

mandarin season makes us very happy:

eating out usually makes me very happy but i got homesick for my own kitchen on this trip. weird!

i am aware that time together is so refreshing and rewarding. and that our time together as a whole family is slowly coming to an end as the big kids get older. already now, every weekend the big kids are scarcely around as their social lives expand. i want to keep these little getaways in my heart as it's focused time where we are in each other's faces 24 hours a day. it seems like it was just yesterday when i was a mother with 3 under five. when my days seemed so long and i couldn't fill them with enough activities. now we are trying to please all 4 who are sooo entirely different.. trying to keep their attention for a bit longer before they are off on their own little getaways.

my crew. spring break 2011. xooxoxox

April 13, 2011 6

film & polaroid portrait sessions booking in san francisco: june 2011

chris and i are heading to the bay area in june. we are offering film and polaroid portrait sessions at a discounted one hour session rate. email me infoatjacshootdotcom for details.

February 24, 2011 7

and for a moment

i gasped. i was looking for a photo and came across this from our trip to australia in 2009. since then, she's decided to grow her hair out. everyone who knows her comments that it makes her look older. while i want to support her decision to grow it out, i loved her little bob hair cut and miss it lots! 😦

since these pics too, she's given up hair clips and jeans. she's also given up her sippy cups which means she won't drink plain milk anymore because 'it tastes funny' and only drinks chocolate milk. all 4 of my kids did that. now cam's the only one who drinks plain milk. she also gave up bananas. and something else i can't remember. little lola has definitely been an influence 🙂

that's it. random post i wasn't planning on posting until i saw those pics and they took my breath away.

November 3, 2010 12

dreaming of the lake

i'm a bit behind with these pics, but late august, we went to lake arrowhead with some friends. the day was perfect. not too hot and not too chilly. i don't like temperature fluctuations too often. 🙂 as i type this, it's raining. and last week it was 115 degrees. and this weekend it'll be near the 90's. i just don't get it.

my husband shoots all film now. and i'm spoiled by him bringing his camera along and just mooching off his pics. but i did manage to take these little film pics myself! not with a fancy camera like he has but a little film camera called lomo.

and one ala iphone 🙂

ahhh, little spot of heaven just outside of los angeles 🙂

October 6, 2010 2

summer

i am determined to have a summer filled (or at least a handful, i'll be realistic) of days like this!

trips to the beach with the crew. no agenda. just being together.

so much has changed since this trip- this was early june. now it's mid july and cam has chopped all his hair off. caleb lost a tooth. kira started summer school. we moved. we shot some amazing weddings.

the most change has occurred in the last 6 months with our teenager. it is insane how fast time has gone by with her. makes our heart hurt that time slips by so quickly.

evidence of a good day. elsie's much loved treasures.

my heart is full.

July 13, 2010 8

favorite people

why do some of our favorite people have to live so far? doesn't everyone want to live in southern california?! 🙂

some of our favorite people are in vegas, washington, australia, the bay area, the east coast, new mexico, michigan, utah, and new zealand. even orange county and long beach isn't close enough to us. this is how it makes us feel:

not happy.

February 23, 2010 7