A couple of weeks ago I hopped on a plane to meet my husband in Hawaii. He has been deployed for the past couple of months and was going to be in Hawaii for a conference , so what better place to have a meet-up with my husband then in paradise. 

We both arrived on Saturday after a long flight to Hawaii we were running on pure adrenaline/excitement to be together again. We picked-up our rental and decided to not waste any time and drive up to the North Shore. The drive was beautiful but busy since there is only one way in and one way out. We parked walked around town and ate at Teddy's where I had the most delicious buffalo chicken sandwich. After stuffing our faces we were both exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a shower where jet lag kicked in big time. Needless to say we were asleep at 7pm.

03 / Girls SoCal weekend

A month ago my friends from Baltimore were in town and I was one happy girl. We spent the days on the beach working on our tan , eating tacos, and laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe. It was such a fun weekend I was sad to see it end so quickly, but I'm glad I got to spend time with my girls. 

We became friends a year ago and it's a pretty funny story. We worked out at the same boxing gym and were pretty much regulars Monday - Friday so basically we saw each other every day for 6 months sometimes even paired up together and never said a word to each other. Until last year around this time I was paired up with Raquel and after the class we were both stretching side by side when Raquel said "Hey a bunch of us girls are grabbing drinks after class on Thursday if you'd like to join?" This big loser with no friends in Baltimore said "yea that sounds like fun." I was so excited I ran home and told my husband all about it and anxiously waited for Thursday. Thursday came around and we found ourselves on opposite sides of the gym waiting for one another to make a move. Finally with the push of my husband I walked over and said "so are we still going out for a drink?" The ladies said yes and off we were 3 shy girls in the mist of 4 gym girls walking over to have a salad + beer. I wish I wouldn't have been so nervous because I think I could've talked a lot more but instead my nervousness got the best of me and I spilled my beer on Jessie's brand new iPhone6. Luckily the phone survived and a friendship was born. After that night us 3 girls just clicked and we began to spend more and more time together making the last year in Baltimore super fun. It's hard making friends at any age especially in your late 30's but I'm glad I opened myself up and met the most amazing girls. 

03 / Torrey Pines

El Niño finally gave us a break on Saturday and we decided to go for a hike. We headed out to Torrey Pines around 2 and parked on a side street close to the park for free. The tide was out so we started off on the beach and climbed our way up. It was a little muddy but who cares when the ocean is right in front of you. The park wasn't too crowded so I was able to stop and snap pics. The climb was a little steep but it's easy to follow and there are a lot of places to stop and enjoy the view- there are a handful of benches to sit on as well. Torrey Pines is a beautiful hike and we will definitely go back. 

What are your favorite parks to hike in California or SoCal area?

After burning a billion calories we indulged in some yummy burritos at Roberto's .

02 / Venice Beach

We decided to ring in the new year in the city of angels with Morrissey aka Moz who played at the Galan Center at USC. The next day we drove over to Venice Beach to walk around and obsess over surfers and skaters. Venice was everything you see in the movies - crowded , full of beach cruisers and palm trees. Just beautiful I would definitely go back and rent a place on the beach. So much to see from the shops to people watching. Shops were filled with trinkets, dream catchers and colorful Mexican blankets which I snatched up for $11. California you're starting to wow me. 

01/ Home for the holidays

One of the many things I love about my husband is he's always up for anything. The week before Christmas we decided instead of spending our first Christmas in California to make the 16 hour drive to surprise our family in Texas. We left on Wednesday and made our first surprise Christmas Eve at my brother's house and continued surprising family on Christmas Day. Everyone was so surprised that it made the holiday so special. We haven't been home for the holidays in about 4 years so it was so nice to watch everyone open their gifts, eat my Mom's Spanish rice, and spend time with my niece  hunting down pink donuts with sprinkles - thanks Dunkin Donuts. 

We had planned to stay till Sunday but then snowstorm Goliath threw a monkey wrench on our plans- that jerk and we left Saturday morning thinking we could make it to Tucson before the storm hit. If you follow me on Snapchat (@my_beatboutique) then you would see that instead of good ol' Goliath hitting on Sunday morning he made his debut Saturday right when we arrived in El Paso. Needless to say a 3 hour drive turned into a 5 hour drive through a blizzard. Luckily we made it to Tucson ordered some room service and cozied up in the bed and watched some weird Van Dam movie.  

We finally made it home on Sunday a little sad but glad to be in our bed snuggling with our kitties. Even though the trip was cut short it still was amazing to see our family. I hope you guys had a great holiday now lets count down to Christmas 2016. 

01 // My Travels : Santa Cruz

A few months ago we headed to California for my friend Katie's wedding. She is currently living in Oakland but chose to have her nuptials in Los Gatos which was a short bus ride from Santa Cruz. We flew into San Francisco, rented a car, and drove Highway 1 down to Santa Cruz. If you ever have a chance to take the 1 do it! Don't worry about time, just do yourself a favor and drive. It's the most beautiful drive I've ever taken. You will want to stop every 5 minutes to capture the Pacific at it's finest. The drive was a little over an hour, but with all the stops it took a little longer. Santa Cruz is filled with bicycles , surf boards , surfers and some of the most friendly people I've ever met. We stayed at Fairfield Inn & Suites which was walking distance from food , night life, and the beach. Santa Cruz felt like a movie and not to mention the best tortas I've ever had, and the burgers

(here) weren't too shabby .  Santa Cruz I'll see you real soon.

*More photos after the jump*

Hello NYC

Last month we headed to NYC, when we first moved to the east coast we figured we'd be traveling to NYC more frequently but unfortunately that hasn't happened but we finally made it. Of course with our luck it rained the whole weekend, but that didn't stop us from sight seeing. NYC was everything I expected it to be busy , noisy and amazing. We had lunch in Bryant Park made our way to browse the New York Library , Central Park, 9-11 Memorial, Brooklyn bridge and Washington Square. New York you are beautiful and I now understand why people never leave because we definitely were sad to leave. We hope to make it up there more often and hopefully do some shopping next time. 

*more photos after the jump*

Our day at the National Gallery of Art

 

Last weekend we finally visited the National Gallery of Art in DC. This place was so beautiful from the columns to the layout. Every section of this gallery was simply gorgeous. Looking at each piece of art was simply breathtaking. I could've spent all day here however for the sake of my husband my visit was a short one. As you can tell by these photos thank goodness for those comfy couches my husband parked at while I walked around. You don't have to know art to appreciate every piece in this gallery. The work that went into each piece was simply a-mazing. If you plan on visiting you can take photos inside, I found this out half way through my tour. Enjoy .

More after the jump *