getting lost, and a fabulous find

on saturday, we decided it would be fun to go on a nice drive. and since the teen is in the market for a dress to wear to her promotion ceremony next month, we turned it into a shopping trip up to camarillo. betsey johnson has an outlet there, and the teen really wanted one of her dresses. i was really hoping for a great price, so we got ready and hopped in the car.

oh, before i forget - i tried out this recipe, as suggested by Super Mom.Super Wife. a couple of weeks ago.

it got mixed reviews in the wan household. the hub, who isn't a huge breakfast fan, thought it was pretty good. it was kind of weird, i'll admit - as it baked, the egg mixture sank to the bottom of the pan while the cinnamon roll pieces floated up to the top. i liked it, and the bean, while she didn't really care for the cinnamon roll part (!), loved the eggy base on the bottom. and let's just say that the teen's opinion was exactly the opposite of her sister's. but thank you, SM.SW.! it was fun to try out a new breakfast recipe.

when we got off the freeway at the exit for the outlets, we decided that a filet o'fish sounded pretty darn good. well, the teen didn't, but she wasn't hungry. and we ended up going on a ridiculous hunt for a mcdonald's that took far longer than it should've. but it was okay, since the bean was snoozing in the back anyway, and naps are good.

at the betsey johnson store, the teen was dazzled by the wide variety of fun, funky, poufy dresses on the racks. and i was just as dazzled - by the clearance racks, which were stocked with items originally priced at $425 and up...for $75. oh, yes.

after debating between three super cute styles - two that weren't on the clearance racks but still much less than retail, and one that was at the super low price - she finally decided on the latter. of course, that was with a little prodding from me - "you know, if you go with the cheaper dress, that means you'll have some room for accessories and cool shoes..."

with her precious cargo hanging from a hook in the back, we got back in the car and did a little exploring, checking out the local farming areas and giving the teen a chance to exercise her photography muscles. these are her shots:

not bad for having to hobble around with a walking cast.

we rolled down the windows to enjoy the fresh air, and the bean thought it was hilarious to have the wind in her face.



she looks like a pirate in the last one, haha!

more windy hilarity.

somehow, we ended up here:

we thought this place looked cool, although we only stopped to take pictures of it.

we took a different scenic route on the way back.

the twisty, turny, windy road soon put someone to sleep:

we thought these were pretty random:

and then, out of nowhere, this popped up on the horizon.

and that's how we ended up back here:

by then, we were hungry again - especially the teen, who'd chosen not to have a snack at mcdonald's. so we went to an old favorite:

mmmm, pasta. so delicious.

and that was our fun road trip saturday!