Crushcake Delights!

Hello to all my foodie followers!

One of my favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara is definitely Crushcakes Cafe where they have the best little cafe and the most scrumptious cupcakes. I have only gone there for lunch and when I need a sweet treat, but I’ve heard they have really great breakfast too! I drove over today with my two good friends; I got a Farmer’s Market Salad, and they each got Caprese sandwiches. I had never had that salad before and it was so good. It was mixed greens with an assortment of fruit, topped with goat cheese…my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Not only do I love the food there, but I love the atmosphere too. They are a little slow, but the place is very cute.

If you haven’t visited, definitely make a point to do so!

xo Ivy

Such a cutie

Bon Lover

Hey there all you folks,

If you haven’t heard a song by Bon Iver (which I sure hope everyone has), now is definitely the time to get on it! Most incredible…

On Sunday my three girl friends and I went to see Bon Iver play at the Santa Barbara Bowl, and wow. It was the best concert I’ve ever been to. Ugh I get a chill just thinking about it, I can’t even describe how phenomenal it was. The pit was seated and we were in the third row-the perfect spot! The lead singer, Justin Vernon, was really funny and had a good stage presence…a little awkward, but that made him all the more fun. The band was huge, so many more instruments than I wouldn’t have thought! Almost every band mate was doubled up on instruments throughout the performance, and I’d say there were about 10 guys. All guys! Usually bands like to have a lady voice in there somewhere, but these guys sure don’t need one. In one song, every one of them sang together and wow it sounded so good! I wish you could hear my excited voice as I’m saying this in my head…There was a super neat light show that went along with the songs and lit up the raggedly-hung decorations shown in these pictures! They played their classic songs that are a bit older, more mellow, as well as their new sound that has more of a tecno-ish feel to it.

Before the concert, Olivia picked us up in her little navy blue jeep, and we drove down to Trattoria Vittoria and had such a gourmet dinner! It’s an italian restaurant and this was my second time visiting. We all got some form of pasta and were beyond satisfied by the end of the meal. We went for a cold treat at Spoon, where we got some yummy gelato before we headed to the concert. If you live in Santa Barbara and haven’t been to either of these places, I highly recommend you take a stroll down this lane of delicious frozen delights and heavenly Italian dishes.

xo Ivy

 

Earth Day Celebrations

The earth is in our hands.

This past weekend was Earth Day, which my town celebrates with a big festival in the park. All are welcome to enjoy the huge celebration and meander around the lined up booths of face painting, yummy food, and of course, learning how to stay green! The grass is filled with the most down-to-earth crowds of Santa Barbara, all barefoot and wearing flower bands around their heads. Everyone is hugging trees and swaying to the music that plays throughout the festival.

My dance company swayed to our own beats as we performed in front of the huge sea of people basking in the sun. It didn’t go the best that it could’ve, but it was still a fun time…but because of our performance I didn’t get to stay as long as I would have liked! I managed to capture just a few neat souls. I really wish I could have enjoyed the festivities just a bit longer, Earth Day has always been one of my favorites. I’d say I’m an extremely “green” person, and it’s so frustrating how many people don’t care at all about our environment! Hopefully this event encouraged the idea that everyone needs to go green!

Enjoy

xo Ivy

More photos below!

A stroll on the pier

While still keeping the day’s warmth, the Santa Barbara pier was as misty as can be this afternoon when my two girl friends and I took a stroll down the wooden planks. We figured we should take advantage of this perfect 85˚weather! We drove down in Olivia’s little jeep with big appetites and got a bite to eat at Char West, which has the best fish and chips. We got a few big cones of our favorite flavors and wandered to the end of the pier to dangle our feet over the blue-green ripples. It was just about the perfect day. I wish we had brought our suits to take a dip, though! Perhaps the water would’ve been a little to chilly anyways…

I of course brought my camera and took a few shots of our fine little venture.

xo Ivy

Check out more below!

San Francisco: YUM

Above is homemade bread pudding from Tartine Bakery (Mission District) that has the best panini sandwiches in the world the most divine desserts!

Over spring break, my girl friend Eden and I spent a few days with our mothers in the beautiful city of San Fran for a little girls trip. It was the first time I had been since I was really little, too young to remember much, so it was all a new experience for me-and I loved it!! We all had such a great time, we are already talking about when we shall venture there next. There was so much excitement to capture; Eden and I took thousands of pictures…I will slowly but surely be revealing all of the gems I captured, but I have too many photos for one post! I’m breaking them down into a few different categories.

I thought I’d start off with pretty much the most important part of the trip, and what we centralized most things around: food. WOW the food was amazing. Anywhere you are in San Francisco, there is bound to be an amazing restaurant just around the corner. Although the food was completely worth it, we did eat so much…I have actually been doing a cleanse the last few days to make up for all I consumed!

Anyways, here are some of the many scrumptious meals we ate.

Like I said, we are planning to go back soon, so if you have any yummy restaurant suggestions please let me know!

xo Ivy

A little bread bakery in the Ferry Building

Much MORE pictures below!!