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A Field Trip

2013 October 28
by WWGD

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We watched a documentary called “Happy” this weekend (more on that later, it was really good) and one thing that struck us immediately was how change is such a good thing and something as seemingly insignificant as switching up your usual route on your morning jog can have tremendous impact on your happy synapses. So we have decided that moving forward, any free Sunday that we have will be spent exploring on a family “field trip” of sorts where we get out of our comfortable little bubble and see something new. It doesn’t have to be far, it doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be different. So yesterday we ventured south to the San Diego neighborhoods of North Park and South Park to get a little happy. It worked. Here is the evidence:

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Our first stop was Shop Pigment, which has been on my to-do list for ages. I follow them on Instagram and have a ton of local friends who are Pigment loyalists and I see why. This North Park shop is like my Pinterest wish list board come to life. Amazing housewares, decor, paper goods, candles, everything I love…all in one stylish, beautifully curated space. It’s light and airy and you can spend hours in there…or not, if you’re with two kids. Though the staff was lovely to my littles, too.

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Pigment is also well known for their Plant Lab where they make the most beautiful terrariums, gardens, living walls, etc. by hand right in front of you. This definitely kept my kids mesmerized for a minute while I perused cookbooks and candles. It’s an adorable shop-in-shop concept.

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Some Plant Lab finished products.

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Then we ventured up the street to Aloha Sunday, another shop that has been on my radar for a while.

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We quickly saw just how sheltered our kids are when they were completely in awe of such simple things like the bus stop, public bike racks and wall graffiti. Sigh. The suburbs. You are so good and so not good in so many ways…

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Aloha Sunday is really a shop for your man, and my man liked what he saw. They have their own collection (above) and a nice assortment of other clothing brands, grooming products, even some luxe tea.

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What we really appreciated was that the owner (father to a little 7-month-old himself) was super cool about our kids taking over his front window display as if it was their living room. He was so nice and was genuinely only concerned about their safety and not his furniture. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to shop with kids outside of Target and Costco and this whole family needed a refresher.

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Aloha Sunday has become very well known for this Apolis market bag they collaborated on (above).

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Next we ventured down to South Park for some lunch. Some friends recommended The Station for kid-friendly eats (above).

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The food was fine (not amazing, but fine) but we really loved the atmosphere. We sat outside in the picnic-table filled courtyard space and enjoyed a beer and some wine while our kids totally entertained themselves in the fenced in kids section just a few feet away. The funny part is the only thing in that section is a wooden trolley with a tin roof. Not a toy or iPad or bouncy thing in sight. And every kid in the restaurant was in there, having a blast using their imaginations and not much else to stay busy.

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We wandered through South Park (it had a little less to offer than we had hoped) and stumbled upon a great book store where the afternoon light was filtering in through the windows just perfectly.

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We stopped for some handmade ice cream at The Daily Scoop. Our babes chose chocolate chip (well Little D chose chocolate chip and Kai chose to copy her) and we had brownies and cream. They had darling little kid-size tables that made my littles feel very grown up.

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Finally, on our way back to the car I found just “one more” shop I had to pop into: Progress (above). It was a smaller version of Pigment with its own lovely assortment of home, decor, culinary and kids goodies and the sales lady was so sweet and welcoming, you can see why they are a neighborhood favorite. Again it felt like you could spend hours browsing in there but by this point, our kids were done. “Too much walking,” they exclaimed after a short two block jaunt. And I want to move them to New York…sigh.

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In the end, we had such a great day. We saw something new, we exposed our kids to a different part of town, we changed up our routine…and we got some great chocolate. Cannot wait for our next field trip.

5 Responses
  1. Liz Duncan permalink
    October 28, 2013

    Sounds like a perfect day!

  2. October 28, 2013

    you hit up all of my faves!

    The food isn’t great at Station but it’s cheap and the atmosphere is perfect. For non-kid trips, I like Rose Wine Bar right behind it.

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