Greetings! Today, and each month going forward, I'm joining in with some other fab bloggers to share how we spent our month in just one sentence per day.
Turns out that the theme for November was creating new routines as we branched out and really starting exploring our new community. We discovered new hiking trails, new restaurants, new entertainment venues, new lecture series, and made several new friends. The month also included a visit from our East Coast daughter and family meaning we also got lots of granddaughter time!
(P.S. - Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see who else is participating,
and to visit their blogs for additional September In A Sentence A Day inspiration!)
November In A Sentence A Day
- Another home project kicked off, as cabinets arrived and started going in for my husband's home office, plus, my Pottery Barn home office furniture finally arrived in good form, plus we attended our first monthly dining event with a group attached to our Lifelong Learning program.
- Spent pretty much all day hauling boxes up to my finally-furnished office, purging as I went along, plus hubby's home office installation continued, plus our downstairs powder room got a complete makeover.
Before . . . 
After!
We had already changed out everything but the builder grade cabinets, which got refaced today in a rich brown maple.
- Hubby's home office completed, yeah,
plus I did the grocery shopping, ran four miles, worked a shift at the Ocean Institute, and prepped a big pan of pumpkin lasagna for a dinner party we're having tomorrow night.
- Busy, busy day cooking and cleaning for a dinner party, working a tide pool docent shift, then having said dinner party!
This carrot cake from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook
was a massive hit with my guests. - Postcard perfect day doing a five mile walk along the San Clemente Beach trail, lunch at Ellie's Table, then another sightseeing walk at The Strands, which culminated in a free funicular ride!
We detoured off the trail to walk to the end of the San Clemente Pier.
- A rare go-nowhere day (yeah!), then a darned good I-made-it-myself dinner of grilled salmon with a mustard horshradish sauce over brown rice before heading off to an evening couples-fellowship event.
- My final home office decor items arrived: a bright cheery red rug, and a white leather and shiny chrome office chair!
My office is also our second guest bedroom,
utilized when we have VIP's like granddaughters staying over!
- Took my girlfriend hiking on the spectacular Dana Point Headlands trail
followed by lunch afterward at one of my favorite little cafe's, PDM.
- Took my husband on yesterday's walk, his first time, though we started at the harbor to add in some hill work,
had lunch afterward at Andrea at beautiful Pelican Hill Resort, then an evening lecture about our local seal and sea lion rescue society.
- A fascinating lecture on our First Amendment by a law professor in the morning, and our first dinner outing with two new couples, which culminated in a stop in at the notorious, slightly touristy Swallows Inn in San Juan Capistrano, bra-strewn ceiling and all.
So not my scene, but it was fun to do once!
- Made this gorgeous Barefoot Contessa chocolate cake to take to an evening potluck dinner and Cabernet Sauvignon wine tasting event . . . it was delicious!
The cake was easy-peasy, the frosting not so much -
four full steps from start to finish.
- Walked along the harbor and came across this begging pelican midway.
- Enjoyed a hike in the San Juan Capistrano hills with a fun new-to-us hiking group, and got invited to join them in upcoming biking and kayaking events, yes please!
- As-big-as-you-can-make-them $5 yogurt bowls at Yogurtland . . . we did our best!
- A second hike with my new hiking group, this time high atop the ridges of Trabuco Canyon, where we enjoyed fabulous views of Catalina Island out in the distance. . . loved it!
- Worked a tidepool shift where this interesting Giant Key Hole Limpet we spotted clinging to a rock got everyone all excited . . . first sighting of one in over a year, indicating that the tidepools are healthy and doing well.
- Spanish class, followed by a volunteer shift at the harbor, then a wonderful late day walk with my hubby prior to enjoying a fun and delicious Happy Hour medley of apps and cocktails at Jimmy's Famous American Tavern directly across from the harbor, thus providing us with these festive views as we dined.
- My little 2003 BMW convertible appeared to give up the ghost, but after a stressful morning waiting to hear what in the world was going on with it, learned it was a simple computer malfunction that the mechanic charged me $0 (!!!) to repair.
- Attended a fun dinner and game night event with congregational friends featuring an amazing pumpkin soup with lamb kebobs, baklava and the new-to-us-game, Quiddler.
- A frustrating day of cancelling a kayaking event in order to wait for a roofer and a landscaper, both of whom cancelled last minute, grrrr.
- Our girl arrived with her mama and papa, and solemnly informed me that "Mama has a baby in her belly" . . . !!!!!!!
- Took the granddaughters to the beach, which they both looooved,
followed by an afternoon at our community pool, then an evening of pizza and Hello Kitty cafe cookies at the Irvine Spectrum . . . they both fell fast asleep before we even got back to the house!
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- Spent our #optoutside day doing a six mile hike along the beach while our girl visited her papa's side of the family in Los Angeles.
- Explored the Dana Point Headlands, then spent the afternoon climbing rocks at the harbor with our girl as we watched the fog roll in.
- After months of anticipation, and of reading the loooong book, the day finally arrived, and we headed to Hollywood to see Hamilton!!!
- Took everyone to San Clemente in the AM for breakfast at Ellie's Table and a walk to the pier and back, then down to Dana Point Harbor after dinner to ooh and aah over the Christmas lights.
- Our girl left for home with her mama and papa so we spent the day (sadly) cleaning up, but did finally finish decorating the Christmas Tree!
- An interesting lecture on the Shackleton expedition to Antartica at our Lifelong Learning program, which we attended in preparation for a visit to the Bowers Museum in December to view the Shackleton traveling exhibit.
- Haircut in the AM, a lecture on evolving Japanese/Korean relations at our Lifelong Learning program, then a night of food and Latin Jazz in nearby San Clemente . . . so fun/good!
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And so ended November! It really was a terrific month that blended home improvements, outside exploration, family and fun. In looking ahead to December, it's going to be an insane month of holiday concerts, festivals, family and fun, and I can't wait to get started.
Make it a great day wherever you are!
Documenting our month with one sentence a day. Hope you join in on the fun!
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Your Christmas tree is gorgeous! Love it.
ReplyDeleteLove all the hiking you do.
As always, inspirational.
Oh, that poor tree! It's now surrounding by packing boxes and I can only hope to see it again before Christmas. This will definitely be a Christmas to remember!
DeleteI appreciate these month-in-a-sentence posts. When someone asks - what have you been doing, there's no reason to reply "nothing". The theme for the month was visiting and preparations/clean-up with the all the house guests.
ReplyDeleteMy November Sentence in a Day:
1. Household chores capped with an evening of card playing.
2. A visit with relatives at mom’s.
3. Finish shovelling snow; this is the beginning of winter.
4. A day in the kitchen making soup and cookies.
5. Brunch with a friend followed by a movie – Bad Mom’s Christmas.
6. A 5-hr treatment with my touch for health practitioner.
7. Errands – drive mom to town; doc appointment (it’s not a cancerous lesion); meal to an ailing relative, then cards at a friend's.
8. Coffee at the neighbor’s turned into lunch then a mental health tune up at a grief and loss workshop.
9. Down with vertigo and nausea
10. Day 2 of vertigo and nausea
11. This is a much better day but I feel that one wrong move would set me back to square one.
12. Preparations for house guests.
13. My cousin's one shift turned into 4 so she will be here until Thursday and more cousins after a morning of hunting.
14. Another matinee – Daddy’s Home 2
15. The fabulous four were one short for a game of 11 cent rummy.
16. A visit to my nephew's to see their new baby girl.
17. Day 1 with no BPPV
18. Two events I didn’t go to – a folk concert an hour away and the local community association appreciation dinner.
19. A 2-hr drive to the Indie Home Made craft show with a neighbor.
20. Time for reflection at a funeral today.
21. "Burn the brush piles" got crossed off the to-do list after 4 yrs.
22. My young cousin had a shift today.
23. Another cousin arrived bright and early then I went for a massage.
24. #3 Home Routes concert with Kim Beggs from the Yukon, accompanied by Marcel Desilets.
25. Clean up after house guests before going to the dinner theatre with a friend.
26. Pyjama day.
27. A walk in the wind before making antipasto.
28. My young cousin was here in the night.
29. Christmas shopping then a house concert.
30. Time for a haircut.
Thank you for sharing a snapshot of your life, Mona. I'm picturing a little cabin in the Canadian woods . . . am I remotely close???
DeleteThat's the idyllic version. In reality, it's a modest home in rural NE Alberta.
DeleteWhat a terrific month you had, Tamara, and beautiful pictures, too. Thanks for sharing them. I chuckled to see more than one of us had a haircut. Have a fabulous December!
ReplyDeleteEvery six weeks like clockwork, Natalie . . . I'm obsessive about my hair and highlights! And may you have a fantastic December as well!
DeleteWhat a fantastic month, filled with lots of hiking and time with friends and good food! Hey you changed your layout! Love the brighter look. Love all of your hiking!
DeleteLife is good here down south, yes? ;-)
DeleteSomeone commented they couldn't read my former layout very well on their cell phone, so I thought it made sense to try and lighten things up.
What a great month you had and love all the photos illustrating it!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good month, Juhli, I agree, and I so appreciate having these Sentence A Day postings to keep track of how good my life really is when things inevitably go a bit haywire.
DeleteFabulous month---I always love seeing the home decor projects and your turned out wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm inspired by all of your hiking---I need to get off my butt soon!!
XOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Hi Jodie! Being outdoors and in motion is a 100% anecdote to pretty much anything I'm struggling with. And here in our new home I can do it at the ocean so it's actually hard not to. ☺
DeleteTrust me though, December has started off the rails, though I'm holding onto hope that once the water loss remediation concludes we can resume some semblance of normality!
Hi Tamara! Looks like another fun month for you and you have inspired me to do some redecorating after Christmas. Great to see some keeping fit during the month and your Christmas Tree is lovely. Look forward to your December post. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteSue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
www.sizzlingtowardssixty.com.au
I love, love, love decorating my home, and pretty much the minute one project concludes I'm plotting the next. I have to be careful about it!
DeleteBeing outdoors here is a joy, a true joy. Today I'm running to the beach and back, in fact.
Enjoy your December as well!
Looks like you've given the blog a little freshening up along with all of the work around your beautiful new home. I like!!
ReplyDeleteDoes hubby's office look very, very similar to his office in your former home? I first met you as you were awaiting the arrival of the top of wood for the window seat. And then shortly after it finally arrived in the correct size and was installed, I believe you started talking about looking for a home in California. Maybe you were able to take everything from his old office to the new house? Whatever the case, it is a handsome space.
How rewarding to read about the limpet sighting and to know that the tidepools are healthy. What a wonderful thing to witness and be a part of.
The scenery for your walks is hard to beat. Can you just open the door and walk into that beauty or do you drive to it before walking?
Yay for $0.00 service on your Beamer. We had a very old 530i in Panama there was nothing inexpensive about fixing its many and varied problems. But I loved it.
Congrats on the announcement of new grandbaby-to-be. Exciting times.
The office build is almost identical to the old build. We used the same company and drawings, hence the deja vu ypu may be experiencing.
DeleteWe live two miles up the road from the ocean, with a scenic trail we can walk to get there. By car it takes about 5 minutes. I can also see the ocean from my home because we're on top of a hill, which makes me happier than I can express. ☺