Yesterday, on the endless, practically featureless drive down I-5 from San Jose to Los Angeles, my daughter sleeping in her car seat in the back, my (extra-large) Red Bull propped between my knees, I called a bunch of friends, because six hours on the road seemed like a good time to get some catching-up done. "So why are you going to LA?" they asked.

And I had a bunch of answers at the ready: I have no work this week that I can't do remotely; I was in the mood for some girl time; my dad's in town for a few days and I miss him. I wanted to see how Goldie would do on a just-us-two trip (I usually take Indy on weekend trips because he's easier to travel with, but he's got a new school schedule now that I didn't want to disrupt). I have a few colleagues in the area who I've been meaning to meet with for awhile.

See? Lots of reasons.

This is not what I look like right now. Pretty dress, though.

Dress (similar) | Blazer (similar)

See that? That photo was chosen because it's a nice autumn-ish image (from a photo shoot I did for TJ Maxx), and not because it in any way resembles what I look like right now.

{ Mill Valley, California }

Stuart Weitzman Boots | Zara Camo Jacket (similar)

On Sunday, we drove up to Mill Valley for bahn mi (seriously, the bahn mi place there is good enough that it merits an hour and a half drive...and the drive also presents a way to get the kids to take a nice, long, simultaneous nap, so that's a bonus). We didn't take many photos - just the two you see here, of us sitting in something called a "Gravity Car" - because we weren't doing all that much; just wandering and eating and occasionally stopping into a store. It was a peaceful, largely uneventful day.