road trip – The Big Hair Diaries

A Little Danish Village

Published on June 10, 2018 by hellosamanthadear5 Comments

Helloooooo!!!

Today’s blog post is all about my trip to Solvang, CA! I’ve wanted to go here for a long time, and I finally did. ♥

Everything about this place is beautiful! It was very windy though, unfortunately. Other than that, it was a perfect day. As you can tell from the title, this place is dedicated to letting you experience a taste of Denmark!

First stop was at a restaurant called The Little Mermaid, where I tried the one thing that everyone kept telling me to try, which is æbleskiver (traditional Danish pancakes):

I am so glad I did! These were DELICIOUS. They were very puffy and drizzled with strawberry jam. Yum!

Oh my gossshhhhhh. This place was so awesome; it is a year-round Christmas shop. There were so many cute ornaments! I was like a little kid in a candy store.

CLOCKS!!! I was obsessed with this. I’m a sucker for anything miniature and figurines. I think I literally stood in front of this display for like two minutes just staring…

Tiny little Danish people on the top tier! eeeee!

I went to Mortensen’s Danish Bakery. This place had the cutest pastries!

I have no idea what they were exactly, besides MAGICAL. I heard the words “chocolate” and “raspberry” and was immediately sold. That, and they’re adorable!

Overall!!! How could I not instantly love this little gem of a town? I’m so happy I finally got to experience it. ♥♥♥

It’s a good thing I dressed for the elements today and wore my romper with a cardigan. They’re shorts, which proved to be very practical considering the wind was blowing so hard. It’s a windy day even here in my hometown, with 20-30 mph winds!

Hope you enjoyed reading! See you next time!

Sweet as Pastel Mints

Published on February 10, 2018 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

My outfit color palette today totally reminds me of those little pastel mint candies!!! Pink and green? Yes, please!

My friend and I decided to take a short day trip to Casa de Fruta, which is a cute tourist spot filled with yummy fruits, candies, ice cream, coffee, etc. It’s a picturesque little place, to boot!

These little fruit bars are amaaaaazing. They’re mashed up fruits with coconut and sugar mixed in it! ❤

Funny how I said in my last blog post about being excited for the blossom trees to bloom. Spring has definitely sprung in these mountains! There were so many blossoms everywhere…it was like walking through a dream…

It was a lovely day! Nothing recharges me more than wandering around outside on a warm, sunny day. I haven’t been out of town in awhile, so it was a nice little break from the everyday norm.

Enjoy the weekend! See you next time. ❤

Monterey, CA

Published on November 12, 2017 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

Hello everyone! I went to the coast yesterday and wanted to share some photos I took along the way! I have a lot of photos to share, so sit back and enjoy. 🙂

Casa de Fruta

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Casa de Fruta is a cute place nestled in Hollister, CA that largely sells fresh fruit and vegetables, and also lots of delicious candy to choose from (primarily chocolates). 🙂

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I bought these things to eat, which look really weird but they were soooooo good!! These were mashed up peach, mango, and lemon (the long one) coated with coconut.

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Monterey

Next stop was fisherman’s wharf in Monterey! I really love it here because the buildings are bright-colored and cute, with lots of restaurants to choose from.

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Anytime I go to the coast, clam chowder is what I always gravitate to. 😉 This, and a side order of bread smeared with cheese and roasted garlic. Super delicious!

Dog in a Dress

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eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Look at it’s little face!!! jfieowjfndkvmkdmvladjfifwfmkf

Secret Garden

I always tend to veer off the main path of the tourist sections and wander into the little hidden areas. Next to the busy walking/biking path that runs along the ocean were some small office buildings, and to my surprise, hidden gardens. ❤

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garden

Monterey is such a beautiful little city with lots of Spanish villa style buildings (my favorite style of building, next to Tudor), and beautiful, lush plant life. One moment you’re on the city street, and one turn can take you into a beautiful garden.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. 🙂 Have a great start of the week!

Manhattan Beach

Published on September 17, 2017 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

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Hello everyone! So happy to write a post about my day trip to Manhattan Beach, CA. ❤

My friend and I left early this morning, and like I always do when I go to Southern California, I had to stop by my favorite little coffee shop gem: It’s a Grind, located in Castaic, CA.

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I seriously love this place, because how could you not?! Look at those comfy chairs! And of course, the artsy vibe going on (that’s a painting of the lovely Josephine Baker in the background behind my shoulder). Their coffee is delicious to boot; that’s a Mocha Rush, with chocolate chips mixed in. Yum!

manhattan-beach

Southern California never ceases to take my breath away. I have always romanticized the area in general, and I blame watching Clueless and She’s All That a trillion times growing up and seeing so many iconic shots of the L.A. area.

For a late lunch, we went to an Indian restaurant in Hawthorne. It was soooo good! Indian cuisine is one of my top favorites, so naturally I loved the food. I was amazed by the beautiful artwork they had in the restaurant…

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So gorgeous. ❤ It was such a great day! It’s always refreshing to get out of town and see the sights elsewhere.

I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend! 🙂

Trip to the Central Coast

Published on April 22, 2017 by hellosamanthadear2 Comments

Thursday and Friday, I went with a girl friend of mine to San Simeon, Morro Bay, and lastly, Pismo Beach! It was just a for-fun kind of trip, and the weather was gorgeous. I managed to get some good photos to document my trip…

Hotel room where we stayed, right along the beach. 🙂

I got up really early, around 6:30, and took a neat photo through the hotel curtain overlooking the beach. It came out pretty cool, in my opinion.

There was an awesome walking trail along the coast in Cambria, pictured above.

Awesome cave in Pismo Beach. I hurried to take the photo and get out because I was fearful that a huge wave would splash in there while I was in it, hahaha.

I saw this poster in Morro Bay and just loved it! Picture of a young woman who was a champion skateboarder in San Diego, 1965. I love the retro look!

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Hotel room selfie. 😛

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The weather was really lovely and warm, although I got a sunburn, haha! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Saturday! 🙂

Travels!

Published on March 19, 2017 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

Hey everyone!

On Friday, I had the pleasure of accompanying a friend to a baby shower she was attending in Red Bluff, CA. That’s like 5 hours north from where I live, so it was quite a drive, and we were staying overnight.

As you can see, I don’t pack much. The oddness of that, as my travel friend pointed out, is that I use so many products to doll myself up, and yet my packing was so minimal. The secret? I pack everything very tight and compactly – hahaha.

The drive was sooooo long and, quite boring on the eyes, to be honest. The scenery was very repetitive and seemed to go on forever. It’s not like driving to Los Angeles (my favorite place!) where the drive is broken up: the long stretch of highway 99, then it changes to the mountainous grapevine after you leave Bakersfield, then it changes to the hustle and bustle of L.A.

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Me early in the morning, waiting around for my friend to pick me up and hit the road. 😉

This was the view from the house my friend and I stayed at. Loved how green everything was! It was a little cold with off-and-on rain, though.

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We stopped at a store to get some groceries for dinner, and I happened to see this birthday card as I was perusing around aimlessly. I had to take a picture because I loved the message so much. Take it easy. Enjoy the scenery. Go with the flow. Often, we forget to do that! It’s funny, the random places you find inspiration.

It was a really fun trip, with lots of laughs and getting to meet new, fascinating people. I was around a lot of people the entire trip, which was good for me because I’m so used to spending a lot of time by myself. Not to say I don’t hang out with friends, I do, just not for super long. It gave me a boost in social skills, since I tend to get social anxiety very easily.

I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend! It was good for me to get out of my comfort zone and do something spontaneous and different. Happy Sunday!