Bethstravaganza

On Saturday, Beth, Teppi and I flew down to LA for the day to celebrate dear sweet Beth's birthday. We called it Bethstravaganza, and it involved us waking up in the pre-dawn dark and getting ourselves to SFO hours before I would be normally awake on a weekend. There is nothing like getting up early on a Saturday to make a day feel special, like there's a secret that requires creeping out of bed and sneaking out of the house to uncover.

Normally I include everyone and their mother (sometimes literally) when I plan something, but the complexity of the logistics required and the leap of faith entailed in taking a day trip that involves two flights meant that this ladies' day for ladies was limited. In persons, but not in scope, because we had a Full Day. I brought along a homemade paper flower headband for Beth to wear, and wear it she did - to many compliments from strangers.

When we arrived in LA, we picked up our rental car (a Mustang convertible!) and headed to the Santa Monica farmer's market. It was, by LA standards, a terrible day - mid 60s and occasionally drizzly. By San Francisco standards,  however, it was perfectly lovely, and the rain didn't slow us down a bit. We didn't get to put the top down on the convertible as much as I would have liked (I had imagined a photoshoot of the birthday girl in the car, with the sunny beach as a backdrop), but it was still super fun to drive. And so sleek!

At the farmer's market we picked up a few gorgeous dragonfruits and a protea for Beth, a nod to her wedding bouquet. We strolled Santa Monica, popping into shops, occasionally cooing over tiny trendy baby clothes. Ladies' day for ladies!

We had lunch at Lemonade in Venice, which was tasty and reasonably priced and just plain fun. Heaping plates of brussel sprouts and short ribs and mac and cheese, plus the world's biggest macaron. We then wandered Abbot Kinney Boulevard, which is supposed to be the uber hippest street. I found my soul mate store, a "hardware" shop that was actually full of milk glass cake platters at 50% off! I bought a jadeite pitcher, which is now sitting on my coffee table full of hydrangeas like I'm a domestic goddess. We also happened upon a store selling this book: Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat.

It's ok to feel terrible about being human now. But here's something to make you feel better! If you don't know the words to a song, just work in "buttplug" instead. Try it, you will like it.

We stopped at a bar on Venice Beach for drinks, walked the boardwalk until the sun set, and repeatedly said no to a group of dudes who asked if they could take pictures of (with?) us. They'd pay us, they said, as if that was the source of our  hesitance. Yeah, no.

We made a quick stop to pick up cupcakes then headed to the Santa Monica pier, where Beth gamely ate a cupcake while on a moving roller coaster, just for the photo op. Champ. We walked to the end of the pier, then presented Beth with a cupcake accessorized with sparkler candles. After magically presto-changing in the car, we headed to dinner in fancy clothes and tapas'd our way into the night. We landed back in SF after midnight, officially Beth's birthday, completed exhausted and with cheeks sore from smiling.