Hey guys! I hope you had a wonderful week!
If you were here last week, you know that last Friday my hubs and I took a trip to Doran Beach in Bodega Bay, California.
We took the scenic route to Bodega Bay which is a three hour drive from our house. We got there just before 11am and planned to spend a few hours on the beach before we headed back.
What we were totally not prepared for was the warm and gorgeous weather! Since it was February, we were fully expecting it to be overcast, windy and cold and we dressed accordingly. It was so warm we could have gotten away with wearing shorts and t-shirts. Many of the people there (who were much better prepared for their day at the beach) were sunbathing in swimsuits. Lesson learned: be prepared for any type of weather when going on a day trip! But we still had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful weather despite being “overdressed”.
If you have never been to California, you might be surprised to learn that most California beaches lean towards cooler temperatures most of the year. California beaches are usually depicted as tropical-like paradises with tons of warm sunshine, tanned surfers and bikini-clad bodies. And that is mostly true for the very southern part of the state. But once you start heading north, the beaches cool down considerably and you won’t find much in the way of people in bikinis or surfers (unless they are in full wetsuits). However, what are northern beaches lack in warm and sunny weather they more than make up for with gorgeous rocky shorelines mixed in with the beaches and stunning tide pools that can be explored for hours.
The next day we cut a few almond trees that fell in our orchard during a windstorm a couple weeks prior.
We lease our almond orchard so we don’t farm it ourselves, but when the trees fall we will cut them up and take the wood to use as firewood in our wood stove. We do this so the guys who lease our land don’t have to pay someone to cut them up and we get free firewood so it’s win-win. As weird as it may sound, I enjoy cutting trees up for firewood. I love working outdoors in nature and it’s great exercise (I know this because the day after I feel like a truck hit me). 🙂
In honor of Valentine’s Day this Sunday we are featuring hearts as our theme for this week!
The Painted Hinge ~ Your Farmhouse Friday Hosts ~ County Road 407
This Week’s Features:
Romantic Valentine Review by Common Ground
How to Make Delightful Denim Hearts from Jeans by Pillar Box Blue
Romantic and Vintage Valentine’s Day Mantel and Living Room Decor by Sweet Pea
DIY Polymer Clay Marbled Heart by The DIY Mommy
Link Party Rules:
Link up your DIY projects, decor inspiration, and crafts that are farmhouse style. You don’t have to live in a farmhouse or have farmhouse be the main decor theme in your home in order to link up. I love seeing farmhouse mixed in with other styles such as boho! No food or recipe posts please. I’m super flexible when it comes to defining “farmhouse” so if you are unsure of whether your post will fit in the party theme, go ahead and post it and if I feel it doesn’t fit, it will be deleted – no hard feelings! 🙂 It doesn’t matter how old your posts are, but please link up your posts only once.
I don’t require you to link back to this party, but if you do, I appreciate it! I also don’t require you to visit or comment on other blogger’s linkups, but it’s always a nice way to share the bloggy love! By linking up, you will get a chance to be featured here at next week’s party and across my social media. If you pin anything from the party, please pin it from the original source.
By linking up to this party, you permit me to share your posts and pictures via social media and as features, roundups, etc. with a link back to your post or a link back to this party on the week your post was featured.
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Valentine’s Day, ladies! Thanks for hosting each week:)
You’re very welcome Lora! Thanks so much for joining us and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sadly, I’ve never been to California and it’s been on my bucket list for a long time. I think I would enjoy the more secluded, quieter beaches in Northern California. Compared to our weather here in Canada, it would be considered balmy. Happy Valentine’s Day, Michelle!
Thank you Marie! I do hope you are able to make it to California someday. The northern part of our state is gorgeous and as a whole is more my speed (or should I say, lack of speed) 🙂 Unfortunately our bigger cities are not what they used to be. I hope you have a wonderful week!
It’s my first time linking a project! Thanks for giving us this forum to share!
You’re very welcome Linda! Thanks so much for joining us!
I was to California about 33 years ago when hospitals had a lot of money for education of employees than and I was one of 3 sent to a Rehab Nursing Conference at Disneyland Hotel for 4 days to achieve certification in Rehab Nursing after taking a test. Got to go twice to Disneyland since it was open as it was around Halloween…It was the first time I was ever in a plane and I flew from PA. across the entire country , changing planes 3 times to California…It was quite an experience…
Thanks so much for hosting! I really appreciate the work and time you put in to host a party. I thank you too for visiting each link to pick out features….Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Thanks so much Debbie! I’m happy you were able to visit southern California and Disneyland back in the day – it was so much nicer then than it is now unfortunately 🙁 I hope you have the best week! Hugs!
So many fun features and links to dive into Michelle! I hope your weekend is a blessed one. Thank you for hosting and Happy Valentine’s Day, CoCo
You’re very welcome CoCo! Thanks so much for joining us and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Thanks for hosting another great party! Always a joy to join! Have a great Valentine’s weekend!
Thanks so much Julie! I hope you have a wonderful week!
Your trip to the beach sounds wonderful, Michelle. How fun that you had a great little getaway! thanks so much for hosting each week and for featuring my moss heart! Have a sweet Valentine’s Day weekend!
You’re very welcome Debra! Thanks so much for sharing it with us and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Ahhh…Doran Park Beach…Such fond memories, growing up in Santa Rosa, we always went there. I remember the weather was always great in February. A little teaser, then right back to cold..The North coast is special. When we moved to Mount Shasta, it was the Oregon beaches we went to. Thank you for the memory. Your blog is something, I look forward to. You are very creative.
Thank you so much Linda! I’m happy this brought back some fond memories for you <3 I hope you have the best week!
Thanks for hosting and for featuring Christina’s DIY Polymer Clay Marbled Heart by The DIY Mommy. I enjoyed reading about your beach adventure. We are currently experiencing a true Canadian polar vortex and I can’t wait to get some normal range temps this week but day dreaming of the beach is the only thing keeping me warm!
You’re very welcome for the feature! And I’m happy my beach trip warmed you up 🙂 My hubs and I often talk about moving up north, but I know I would miss our warmer weather. I hope you have a wonderful week!