Five Things Friday

Please pardon the lack of posts lately… These last couple of months have been a hurricane of all-day and all-night writing sessions as I bang out my book manuscript and write, read, edit, repeat. Happy to say, I’m in the final stretch!

What little free time I do have, I’m selfishly spending on easy getaways to Vegas (where I just saw Jane’s Addiction play their entire Nothing’s Shocking album — an album I vividly remember from my high school days, cruising the Strip with “Jane Says” blaring in my car), much-needed midweek camping trips to Big Sur, mindless marathons of my favorite shows (HBO’s Silicon Valley is a new favorite!), and sleep… precious, precious sleep, for as long as I can before the day’s work begins.

Following a press trip for garden designer and TV personality P. Allen Smith’s Garden2Blog event in Little Rock, Arkansas, next week, I’ll finally be back to my regular routine on the blog. I can’t wait to share all the posts that have been bouncing around in my head lately, especially as I get back to my very neglected spring garden (luckily, the tomatoes that I transplanted back in March are thriving on their own!).

As I wrap up my manuscript, enjoy this glimpse into one of the most beautiful drives in the country, the Central California coastline — or, the five little things that made my week!

1. My Monday ended with this technicolor sunset in Big Sur. Not a bad way to start the week.

2. A massive colony of noisy, sleepy, stinky, blubbery, absolutely adorable elephant seals in Piedras Blancas. It’s the end of breeding season and the beginning of molting season, and I’ve never seen so many of them on the beach at one time before!

3. Camping and surfing at our favorite spot in Big Sur.

4. The dramatic serpentine cliffs at Jade Cove. We didn’t find any jade on this little adventure, but we did take in another phenomenal sunset right from sea level.

5. San Simeon, one of the most picturesque sandy beaches on the Central Coast. And that water!