Hej hej!
I'm back!
On tuesday and wednesday last week I was filming my scenes for Lights Out and it was AWESOME! I had so much fun and I loved every second of it. I might show you some pictures in a while, if I can be bothered.
Today though I'm going to share a million photos of sunsets over mountains. Among other things.

When Lights Out was wrapped David and I had the rest of the week off and we were in dire need of some serious relaxation.
So we rented a big cabin in the mountains, at Lake Arrowhead, and spent thursday to sunday there.
And it was heaven.
We both got a cold, because our bodies could relax for the first day in weeks, but it was still the best weekend ever!
We got a glimpse of what our retired lives might look like when we're old and grey. Amazing, is the word.
Let's take a look, shall we?
These are mostly shot with my Nikon D7000 but I'm sneaking some iPhone photos into the mix as well.

When we checked out the cabin we realised the balcony on the middle floor would be our hangout for the entire stay. Because this was the view.
It was about to rain and the clouds and sun we're making weird shapes in the distance.

You see what I mean about Retired life? We will find ourselves a cabin somewhere with a nice view and sit there in our recline chairs for ever. I have no doubt.

An hour later it looked like this. *cue the angel choir*

Houses on the opposite mountain.

And then this. (This is an iPhone photo by the way. Mind blown.)
So soft and fluffy and soooooooft.

Just so beautiful!
(Are you tired of mountain views yet? Sorry, there's more...)

The morning after we both woke up with a cold. David talked with his family and friends back home in Sweden. Infront of the mountains.

Because THIS.

In the afternoon we went out on a tiny adventure to see more of the mountain roads.

And I took some iPhone self portraits.

This was close to a shooting ranch and signs said it was a No Parking zone. But we're rascals...

After a while we got hungry. So we drove to Sky Forest and had sandwiches at the Hungry Bear.
Don't you just love the names? Sky Forest must be the prettiest village name ever.

That's a Hungry Bear.
The guy taking our order asked us if we were "Locals? Veterans? Or just Cool People?" because he wanted to give us a discount. We agreed to the cool people. We also got free cake pops. And the guy had the best eyebrows I've ever seen.

They sure love their Cabin Chic style...

We drove randomly and stopped at a place called the Rim of the World.

The view was spectacular.

Took a Panorama with my iPhone to get all of the view into one photo.

And we were cute, if a bit tired.

Back at the cabin in the trees.

In time for another beautiful sunset.

I went out to catch the golden light with my iPhone and gorillapod.

I had a perfect view of David drawing and the mountain sunset from my seat.

I like the trees on top of the mountain. They look so cute, and almost painted there.

When it got dark we played Jenga.

And then, close to midnight, we went out on the deck and sat in the hot tub under the starlit sky, and it was magical with the sounds of the forest all around us and the clearest stars I've ever seen above us. No photos of that because it was completely dark outside.

On saturday I could really feel my cold. I sat under a blanket reading for a couple of hours (looking white as a sheet in the face).

We did nothing all day and then in the early evening we went to Stone Creek Bistro and ate a great meal as a sort of "End of the weekend away dinner".

When we got back to the house the sunset was coming. This is the view from the top floor/loft. That window wall was so amazing!

I decided to take some self portraits with the Nikon camera for a change. I got a new fixed lens for the camera (This one if you're curious) and I wanted to try it out with the self timer.

This place makes you feel tiny.

Doing some dancing.

And then one with the iPhone, for instagram.

Look at that smokey blue in the distance!

The gas stove was perfect for toasting marshmallows.

Uh Oh!

Then on sunday it was time to leave. I went out to get a photo of one of the HUGE pine cones there. I kinda wanted to bring one with me, but this one was lying in someones garden so I didn't dare to take it. Pineapple sized pine cones! Size 9.5 foot for reference.

Post card view before leaving for LA.

And I'll leave you with this cute as hell photo of David and me on our way to the cabin. The gorillapod is sitting on the car door, if you're wondering.
I love the 70's feel of this photo. And I love that man. So very much.

Hope you liked this glimpse into our weekend away and that you didn't get too tired of all the mountain photos, haha!

Talk to you soon!

/Lotta

Hej!
On friday afternoon we left LA right in time for rush hour.
It took us about two hours just to get out of Los Angeles, and we had 6 more hours of driving ahead of us...
We were on our way to the Santa Cruz mountains to visit our friends Jillian and Tijn, and we very much looked forward to that! Traffic be damned!

We arrived at their beautiful mountain house at two in the morning. So extremely tired. We said hi to Jillian and Tijn and then we fell asleep. We had big plans for the day after!

Because on saturday morning we headed to Point Lobos State Reserve!
Jillian had texted me some days prior to tell us about what they had planned for our visit. "I think you will really like it. There is some easy hiking and beautiful rocky beaches with wild cool trees" She sure knows what makes me happy!
The walk to the beach was so beautiful. All green and fairytale looking!

Tijn carried the picnic basket.

Oh, how I love a good old Rotvälta (uprooted tree in Swedish)!

And this was where we were headed.

Aaaaah... *happy sigh*

Steep stairs down to the beach.
The light was absolutely perfect for taking photos so prepare yourself for a lot of them. There are forty photos in this post, I just couldn't slim it down anymore (I had 87 photos after the first sorting out...).

The sky was overcast but the light was still super bright.
Look at that white sand! I love how big the grains of sand were too, easy to swipe off and they looked like crystals. Beautiful!

Jillian was happy!

She had found a pretty feather!

David was posing for the camera like there was no tomorrow, and Tijn had a bright smile on his face. We were all just a happy bunch at the beach!

The picnic basket was unveiled. David is eyeing the content yearningly.

So many wonderful things!

After we had eaten Tijn went to check out the rocks (It's almost difficult to spot him here).
I was eager to go beach combing, searching for treasures.

The kelp bubbles in America are crazy large! This one was the size of a tennis ball.

And this one had tiny fingers and arms reaching up my palm.

We were all looking for treasures. Here David had spotted something that he wanted me to see. Haha, look at him pointing!

Jillian found a large piece of some kind of purple kelp that felt like rubber or latex. So weird and wonderful!

Look at this happy gal with her hands filled with treasures of the sea!

Tijn was building something...

Something large.

A dinosaur nest! Of course!

Look at the dinosaur eggs!

Oh, wow! A baby dinosaur!

We took a lot of photos of the sea.

And all around us, because in every direction there were beautiful scenery.

David and a spooky tree.

Filming the waves. And falling on the butt while doing so.

After a couple of hours we went up the stairs again to see more of this beautiful place.
Look at that house on the hill. And the fog! And the blue water. And the rocks. I'm a little bit in love with this photo.

Caves and rocks everywhere! Oh, and tiny people on the other side.

Hiiii, tiny people!

So. Incredibly. Beautiful.

Tijn dared to go close to the edge.

The colours and light were just magificent that day!

Oh, gosh! Nature at its finest!

We started our hike back to the car. Jillian and Tijn are such cuties!

Then we spotted a whole bunch of seals!
Signs said this was their birthing place. It seemed like people were normally allowed down there but it was closed off now to give the seals some privacy. Awesome to have an entire beach for your seal families and friends when giving birth. A birth party!

And into the forest we went again. Love the moss hanging from the trees, it creates such a moody atmosphere!

When we got back to Jillian and Tijn's house we were all very tired, so we slept for a couple of hours.

And then we went to the docks to go eat at a fish restaurant there. I was very fascinted by this twinkly factory thing and forgot to take photos of the pretty boats. Typical me.

Phil's Fish Market and Eatery. Ate really delicious food and had a wonderful evening.
It was such a great day with our wonderful friends!
I hope we can go back soon again (but leave way before friday afternoon LA rush hour...).

I hope you liked this photo filled post and if you find yourself in the area around Point Lobos State Reserve I definitely recommend a visit there.
I'm sure you've noticed from all these forty photos that I loved it very much.

/Lotta

Hej!
We've finally moved out of the hotel! YAY!
I celebrated by exploring our new neighbourhood by foot with the camera around my neck. I thought you might want to have a look.
But first, here's a photo of David just before we left the hotel room yesterday:

One thing I'm incredibly drawn to is this kind of street with large trees on each side, meeting in the middle.
This was the first one I saw on my walk. But not the best. I'll show you the best soon...

It was a very sunny day today but not too warm. I stopped to take some photos of flowery trees.

And alleyways with electric wires crossing the sky.

And then...

Aaaaaaah! So beautiful!
I hunched down in the middle of the street, when no cars were around, to get all the green loveliness into the picture.

More alleyways. Apparently I'm rather fond of them too.
I also very much like the mountains surrounding on all sides here. It makes me so amazed that this view is everyday for people who live here. How they don't just stop and stare, amazed towards the mountains, at least twenty times a day boggles my mind.

More trees. More mountains.
Those trees, guys! Such fluffy green goodness! I have many photos of fluffy green trees in my camera today.

Some trees get a little fence around them.

The streets in this country are so wide. I think it looks weird, like a movie set. And it kind of makes the streets feel less alive. There's too much space between shops and houses; everything is so spread out that it gets a little cold and impersonal. People here drive wherever they go so the town isn't made for walking around leisurely. I think that's kinda sad.

And then, suddenly, there's a very cute corner!

America. Guns Direct. Ugh.
I hate guns more than anything in the world.

Then there were only auto repair shops left of the street, so I crossed the road and walked back in the other direction instead.

Have a look down a Southern California flowerbed.

And here's a weird looking flower thingy.

Some spooky roots!

And a very American looking doughnut shop. I took this photo to show David, the donut freak, that we have this place in our neighbourhood. One of the first things he said to me this afternoon was "Is there a donut shop?!?" -Yes, David. See, I took a photo for you, hahah!

Another kind of tree lined street that caught my eye.

And then. Oh, then. I found this place! Bearded Lady Vintage and Oddities. Such a fun and cool shop! I peeked around in there for quite a while because there were just so many interesting things to look at!
The owners directed me towards a couple of other nice shops on the same street, and I realised I have arrived in vintage store mecca. There were vintage shops everywhere! With amazing clothes and things. I could happily spend all the money in the world on this street, I think.

After an hour or so the sun was taking its toll on me and I needed froyo! Felt like such a fool when I couldn't work out how the machines were working and had to ask for help. I just "Erhm, I'm new to this country, HELP?"
Regular, water melon and raspberry froyo. Yummy!

After energy in the form of froyo and free wifi I walked back home again. Through this beautiful parkway.

Even the shadows are different here. Plants that make feather shaped shadows.

STOP! I'm almost home now.

(Look at the flailing human being to the left. Haha, I can't stop laughing, he just looks so silly!)

Walking past the cutest house I've seen all day.

And the mountains again in this photo that I think looks exactly like I imagined American suburbia would look. Including basket ball hoop.

When David was free for the day we went to a laundromat for the first time ever! I had planned to take fun photos but I got a migraine (from too much sunshine, I think) and the photos didn't turn out good at all.
I had to go home and just lie and breathe for a couple of hours before I could think again.
And now I'm back and sitting here blogging! Yay!

Hope you liked following along when I explored our new neighbourhood. I think I already have started to get a hang on the photography issues I mentioned in my last post. And that feels so great, you won't believe!

Anyways.
Talk to you soon, OK?


/Lotta

Hej!
So I'm finally feeling like blogging again after we arrived here in LA last week. We are still living in a hotel, but hopefully that will change some time next week.
Anyway, yesterday I brought my camera with me all day long because we had fun things planned!
Wanna tag along? OK!

First we went to the Aeirloom Bakery that has turned into an absolute favourite this past week. Wonderful, organic food, cozy atmosphere and really friendly staff.

We both ordered the English Salmon. We've had it a couple of times this week, it's so tasty!!!

The wifi on our hotel room is beyond crappy. It only works if you're sitting on the toilet or leaning against the bathroom door. So when there is free wifi on the café that makes us love it even more! Here's David checking up on his social media.

Heeeej!

After a nice breakfast we were ready for our next stop for the day: LA Zoo! It's super close to where we stay so we were there quite early, before the crowd.

Flamingos!

Cute Koala!

Fancy Zebra!

Extremely cool mountain goats!

The cutest giraffe ever had a long stick to chew on

Happy elefant in the waterfall!

It was very green and beautiful.

I'm having such problems adjusting to the light in LA when I'm taking pictures. It's so difficult because there's so much bright sunshine that creates a lot of shadow so it's impossible to get good photos!
I hope I learn over time because it makes me so sad and frustrated to not be able to take good pictures.

When we had seen all the animals we were in great need of ice cream!

So we drove to a place that looked a little bit like a dentist's office when you looked through the window, but sold really delicious ice cream!

Found a bench across the street. Not very cute surroundings though...

I picked the flavors Peach yoghurt and Horchata coffee. So tasty!

After a few hours of rest in the hotel room we went to a mexican place and bought burritos to go. I had the brilliant idea to drive up Mulholland drive and eat our dinner infront of the view. So that's what we did.

So beautiful!

Our hotel is the white box to the right with red letters on top.

A rapper dude was filming his music video up there. He stood by the edge, raising his arms in a pose to tell everybody he owned the land and everything else below. Such a clichéd theme. I'm on top of the world! I own this city!

This photos is super blurry, I know, but you can see the rapper and photographer in the background.

When it was starting to get dark, and quite cold, we went back to the car to drive down the long and winding road.
And that was our saturday.
I hope to get back more to blogging soon, when we have a more permanent place to stay.
I can't wait!

Until next time: