A Salty Dog Spritz

This last weekend, I sat on the back patio of the golf club in our neighborhood and took a couple deep breaths. It has been an overwhelming six+ months, but still I am struck with the sheer privilege and good fortune that is bestowed on me and my family.

From where I sat, feeling the sweat run freely run my back, I could see the lush 9th hole of the Pasatiempo Golf Course. The eucalyptus and coastal oaks dot the sides of the fairway like little stalks of broccoli. Beyond the course, I can see the palm trees from the boardwalk and just beyond that - white sails from boats in the Pacific. Everything is still hazy from the fires.

I am beyond lucky.

I am waiting for our food, after a few hours at the neighborhood pool with the kids. JVE took the two littles with him, leaving me to breath on the back porch with a margarita, my book, just waiting for them to bring our food out.

A lot has happened in the last year.

From becoming a full time stepmom, starting a new job, a global pandemic, home schooling, local unrest and loss in our beloved community, civil rights movements, getting engaged, evacuating due to fire and all the things in between....it has been hard to process.

Also, feels like a lifetime away from the girl that was tottering around in her Betsey Johnson heels at 2am on the LA Metro Rail (they really do have a subway!)...or the girl waiting four hours in a cattle call audition, only to find it was for an escort business.....God, I miss L.A.

We have to remind ourselves at times about how lucky we are. JVE and I get so bogged down on the day-to-day with work, kids, house and all the fun things that come with a blended family (again, pretty fortunate for the most part on that too).

This project has always brought me joy. Like so many people, writing has been a source of happiness. When I launched PopShanpagne in college, it was a place where I added cooking adventures and general tomfoolery of whatever was kicking around in my brain...like the love note to my Saab and the dating mishaps I found myself in due to the lack of "potentials" in my small Oregon town*.

It then transitioned into The Salty Dog when I moved to Santa Cruz and found myself immersed in the local beach life, living with my faithful LabraBull - Abby. I love living here. I grew up just over " the hill" and spent many evenings as a teenager driving to Rio Del Mar with girlfriends blasting Panic, Blink, YellowCard, Journey and Foreigner. Every time we passed the Pasatiempo sign, we yelled the name...because it was our indicator we had made it to the beach. I now live there.

I still blast Panic, Blink, YellowCard, Journey and Foreigner in the car, because Emo kids never die. I still feel a sense of calm driving through my neighborhood and down through the coast. It is my home.

Now in my thirties...I wanted to get back to some kind of writing. I want to include some flavor of PopShanpagne's bluntness - talking about all the bumps and scrapes obtained by being human and a newbie in the step parent role. I want to get back to cooking and finding new spots in my beautiful California and share them...like I did with Salty Dog 1.0. I want to start highlighting the home JVE and I have built together.

So, thank you for making it this far and feeding into my narcissism that feels like people want to read about this life.

I'll see you soon.

while my sweet Abby is no longer with us - I have these two sweet girls that make my world go round. Maggie May (right) and Mia the Meatball (left)

* The beautiful Rogue Valley is on fire. I spent many years living in Ashland. Please, if you can - donate to help the families and businesses impacted.