I don't practice Carpenteria

Because Thatboy and I just can't get enough of car trips, on Saturday morning we loaded up once again and journeyed with Thatmom up to Carpenteria.

Nestled between the ocean and the mountains, Carpenteria is a little town with a big personality. Our reason for the trip was a visit to Knits and Petman. Shortly after Thatdad's death, Knits and Petman moved all the way from Georgia to California, opening up a pet store in Carpenteria. Thatmom and Knits were as close as sisters growing up, so ever since they moved she's been lobbying for a trip up. But life, as usual, gets in the way, so this Saturday was the first we were able to make the drive.

Our first stop when we arrived was the beach, just two blocks from Knits and Petman's home. Thatboy is always insanely jealous of anyone who lives close to the beach. Luckily, the beach appears to be as calm as a lake, with no trace of surf, making it more bearable for Thatboy not to live there.

Then we walked over to the downtown area, which was a lot larger than we were expecting. Not quite as sleepy a town as you might think. We walked through the downtown and over to the pet store, which is such a great store! Filled with all the things you need for your dogs, cats, birds, rodents.....

Then it was back downtown for lunch at Giannfranco Trattoria, a little Italian restaurant with an outdoor patio that feels like you're eating in someone's backyard. Under the shade of beautiful old trees. It helps that the staff is a family. The son is the owner/chef, mom is the waitress, and dad does all the little in between things. There's nothing I like better than feeling like I'm eating out - in someone's home. So cozy.

After lunch we walked back through downtown to the house. Then it was back in the car and headed home for dinner.

Sunday we headed down to Laguna to meet Thatbrother and UDubb for breakfast at The Cottage. It's already August and we hadn't made it to The Sawdust Festival once! And since this is the last weekend we'll be in town while it's running, we thought it was about time we got over there. UDubb had never been, so while Thatbrother headed off to study, she headed over to the festival grounds with us.

We were pleased to see some old favorites, but as usual I always enjoy scoping out who is new - or at least a new discovery to me. This year my favorite booth belonged to Whimsicle Art. In general I'm not all that into cartoon-like paintings, and I'm not so interested in children's illustrations, but Laurel Meister has such fun stuff I was drawn right in. I especially love her take on B-Movie posters. But that could be why I like her stuff in the first place, it's a fun take on something familiar and iconic.

We introduced UDubb to the glass blower - one of our favorite booths.

The glass artisans at the festival take turns in a steel cage - I'm not quite sure whether the cage is for our protection...or their protection.

The rest of Sunday was spent running errands and making dinner. And speaking of chores - do those of you with pets recognize this scene? Everytime I'm folding laundry, Thatdog HAS to be a part of it. Nothing like nice, warm, good smelling clothes. He comes to "help" by laying right on top of the clean clothes. He's equally helpful when I'm stripping the bed or putting on new sheets.