Shopping in San Diego!

Earlier this year, my husband and I took a trip out to sunny California to visit my best girl Kaydee and her fiance, and finally see her hometown.  {Kaydee and I met in college in Boston, and I never made it out to the west coast to see her side of the country until 10 years into our friendship!}.  Miss Kaydee hails from La Jolla, outside of San Diego, but earlier this year she was living in the Solana Beach area of San Diego.

During our week-long stay in southern California, we crammed a lot of activities in ~ touristy stuff in the L.A. area; trips to both Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park; horseback riding and an afternoon in Old Town San Diego; and of course a bit of shopping.  Kaydee brought us to a favorite store of hers in the the area called Leaping Lotus.  Located on Cedros Avenue {Solana Beach's Design District}, Leaping Lotus has a bit of everything ~ plenty of unique home decor; clothing; jewelry and hair accessories; holiday decorations; and more, from local, national, and global vendors and artists.  It is an amazingly unique space, and a great place to find the perfect gift!  Or, if you're like me ~ a great place to find stuff for yourself!  {Plus, it was my birthday ~ you are always allowed to buy yourself presents on your birthday}.  :)

The first item I saw that I knew I just had to get was this rustic-looking chalkboard.  In Italian it reads

Cucina

Buon Appetito, Bella Cucina

Buon Cibo, Buon Vino, Buoni Amici

{Translation:  Kitchen; Enjoy Your Meal, Beautiful Kitchen; Good Food, Good Wine, Good Friends}

My husband and I both have Italian roots, and I loved the rustic style of this piece. For some reason the surface of this chalkboard was a bit strange when I got it ~ regular chalk wouldn't work at all, and chalk pens wrote fine but the words and markings would still show up on the board pretty clearly after I'd wiped it clean.  Last week I grabbed a small bottle of chalkboard paint at Michaels {99 cents, and it can transform just about any surface into a chalkboard ~ a great idea, especially when you have kids, is to paint a square of chalkboard paint on the wall in the kitchen, their playroom or their bedroom for family messages or for art-time}.  I painted a few coats over the surface, so hopefully that problem is fixed.

I also bought these small framed cupcake paintings, which are now hanging over my stove.  I am sort of known as the-girl-who-is-always-baking among my family and friends {last year I single-handedly did the baking for Thanksgiving ~ I think I cranked out something like seven or nine desserts}.  Plus, who doesn't love a cupcake?  These pieces were too perfect!

Well, this isn't the greatest picture-of-a-picture, but I wanted to show you this piece I got at Leaping Lotus too.  It's painted directly on the wooden canvas {no frame}, and I hung it next to my vanity table.  Before you get too impressed with the fact that I have a "vanity table" ~ it's in my kitchen, and I put it there because it was that or stand up in the living room putting on makeup every day.  Ah, apartment life :).  Anyway, I loved the pseudo-glam vibe of the chandelier on this piece, which is countered with the perfectly-imperfect nicks and grooves in the wooden base.

So with my four wall-hangings, plus some sparkly hair pins, Chips Ahoy-flavored lip balm {why not?}, and a strand of paper-thin, fragile, glittery butterflies for my butterly-lovin' mama {similar to the ones in the picture Kaydee took, below, except in a strand that hangs from the ceiling}, my shopping trip to Leaping Lotus was complete.

I know I have some California girls who follow this blog ~ whether you live in or visit the San Diego area, I would definitely recommend a trip to Leaping Lotus.  You could probably find a gift for just about every female in your life, and at any price range too.  If nothing else, stop in to admire the hanging butterfly display section {it was upstairs when I was there} ~ so sparkly and pretty, it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

xoxo

Bean