Summer Lovin'

August is the month when weather gets a smidgen better in Monterey, we get sporadic days of warmth, which is a welcome change from the mostly cloudy, cold, and drizzly damp days. We had a lot of fun in the Month of August, we had our first visitors, saw some great friends, and even went on a mini vacation. Another major event for us was our open house, which was quite fun!

Newport Beach
We were invited to meet up with our friends down in Newport. This was our mini vacation and it was nice to escape to warmer weather for a few days. We left after work on Friday and spent the weekend exploring the town and hanging out.

Upon recommendations from other people we tried Sprinkles cupcakes. I was told they're SO much better than Georgetown cupcakes...well, I tried them...3 different flavors and I have to say I much prefer Georgetown cupcakes. Sprinkles cake was dry and not flavorful, the frosting was just like any other grocery store frosting. I have to say Georgetown cupcakes is still my favorite by FAR!

We spent lots of time on the beach and walking along the beach. The water was actually bearable and enjoyable in comparison to Monterey. The Seagull above was really determined to eat that bag of chips but it couldn't figure out how to undo the clip, it was quite amusing. 

Visitors
The party continued the following weekend when we hosted our first visitors, none other than the ones we met down in Newport. They decided to make their way back home to Utah via our place.

We went to the aquarium and saw the deep sea exhibit which had been under construction for quite a long time!

We drove along 17 mile drive, stopped and skipped rocks on the bay, ate strawberry hand pies, and walked to a sunken ship of sorts on a beach.

Thanks for coming S&M! We had a fabulous time with you and are so glad you were our first visitors in our new home!

Fancy Cars
I volunteered at a car event where I got to rub elbows with some very influential people for an evening, as well as indulge in some delicious gourmet food, and see the unveiling of a few very high class cars including the Lamborghini SUV and the new Aston Martin Vanquish.

The following weekend was the Motorsports reunion at Laguna Seca, which is by far my favorite race of the year. I love seeing all the old cars dating way back to pre-1910! Amazing that some of these are still running!

A face in the car

We also attended a going away party for my friend Marisa. She was living in San Francisco and has since moved to San Diego where she'll be earning her PhD. Go Marisa! I didn't get to see her too often, probably once a year or so, but I'm hoping I'll continue to be able to see her about that often since I tend to travel to San Diego for work occasionally.

Home Sweet Home
We're finally homeowners! Our house warming party was a success! We had between 25-30 people attend and I couldn't have asked for a better time! I was worried for a bit that no one would show up, but it all worked out beautifully. This also means that the house was clean enough for me to take proper pictures of areas that I had previously been avoiding taking pictures of ie. the kitchen.