For my second weekend in California, LB (otherwise known as Laura, a good friend I met in DC) came down to Long Beach on Friday afternoon and whisked me away to the paradise she now calls home, Santa Barbara. It rained on and off and our drive up the coast, but we were greeted with a full rainbow upon arriving in SB...coincidence? I don't think so!
First stop was Westmont Country Club...oops, I mean Westmont College. LB was polite enough to ask if I wanted to see the campus she spent her college days at, just a warning to anyone in a car with me near Winston-Salem - you will be touring Wake Forest! 
Despite being ravaged by the recent fire damage, the campus is breathtaking. Lots of lush gardens, wooded areas, and it was nestled up in the hills. 
Then we headed home, dropped off my bags, picked up LB's roomie Hilary, and headed to the Boathouse which is right on the ocean at Hendry's Beach. 
We got fun drinks (Honeycomb Mojito, Acia Martini, and Cuban Martini)), but the highlight was definitely the Southwest Cigarillos. As Hilary so aptly put it - "It's like Mexico in your mouth!"
Then it was off to the Hungry Cat. I've been hearing about this place for awhile and it definitely did not disappoint. From the fun & knowledgeable staff, to the "star sightings" (Andrew Firestone), to the delicious dinners we enjoyed:
the pug burger - bacon, avocado and blue cheese
chorizo and braised clams, sofrito, shell beans and toast
seared bigeye tuna, braised pork belly, israeli cous cous, roasted apple, cauliflower
The last stop of the night was Chris's birthday party where LB's friends has made a very unique cake.
To work off our Hungry Cat meals, we played a heated match of ping pong - Midwest vs West. Sadly the West won :(
It certainly was an action packed half day in Santa Barbara! Can't wait for day two....
Sunday was a delicious brunch followed by the STA S
I think this year was one of my Dad’s best in recent memory. We had just gotten a lot of fresh new snow, so Kelly and I headed up to Wisconsin where we met my parent’s and our family friend Rich to enjoy the winter wonderland. My mom cross country skied while the rest of us took the sleds (i.e. snowmobiles) out en route to a bar to have lunch at. The trails were great and the weather was good.
On a side note, as I had just gotten back from Honduras only 5 days before, I think I was perhaps the only one in the bar with a tan!
All that being said, when I returned to Chicago around Thanksgiving there were no travel plans in the works that would require my trusty passport – a strange concept to me after the past two years of being out of the country at least once a month. Well, I quickly rectified that by planning a spur of the moment New Year’s trip to Honduras! Daron was doing a medical mission for a few weeks in mainland Honduras, and I decided to join him on his vacation to 
After a few delayed planes and a ferry debacle, we finally made it to the island paradise of 
I highly highly recommend 
I even got Scuba certified - loved it, new hobby! I didn't have an underwater camera, so no scuba shots, but below was a great snorkeling spot!
And all too soon it was back to the mainland to head home...
For the past few year's my family has had the tradition of having dinner at Shaw's 
Dad enjoying an sampler with oysters from both coasts...courtesy of his 
YUM - Crabs! 
Interior of 4