Santa Barbara Dreaming

Hi everyone,

My name is Julia and I am trying to make the MOST out of the time that I get to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. (I think)

I live in Santa Barbara, CA. I can walk out my door, see miles of the blue coastline on one side, turn my head 180 degrees and see the gorgeous Santa Ynez mountains on the other side. And I’m less than an hour’s drive from the central coast wine country! (Think: Sideways. The movie, of course.)

My backyard... or it was two months ago!

I’m 23, and I love staying active! I’m always up for an adventure, be it hiking up the Santa Barbara mountains, braving the ice cold water for a Stand Up Paddle Surfing session, or taking long walks along the beach.

I am also a newly certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). I am very excited about this new path in my life. I am going to start out by teaching classes at a women’s outdoor boot-camp style program called Bootycamp SB. Within the next few months, I plan on pursuing my certification as a Specialist in Sports Nutrition. I also hope to one day learn more about, and get certified in the exercise I love most – Yoga. As you can see, I love all things health, wellness, and fitness related, and my hope is to relay my passion to you in this blog. I also will add some helpful hints and tips every now and then too!

It’s very important to me to stay healthy and active, and so I love my new job as the Associate Editor of Santa Barbara Fitness Magazine. I get to learn so much, straight from the experts! I’m constantly learning new information, tricks, and advice, and my goal is to share all of that in my blog.

A little background info:

I just graduated from UCSB, and this is my fifth year in Santa Barbara. Before that, I lived in Tokyo, Japan, where I grew up. I LOOOOVE talking about Japanese cuisine, their approach to food, and all the yummy things they have. If you ever want a true AUTHENTIC Japanese recipe, I’ll be glad to share, and it you want to know anything about Japan, I minored in it in college, so I’ll be able to answer your questions!

Also, I’m a very proud hapa.

My dream is to have a quiet little house by the ocean where I can eat breakfast every morning outside on a lawn or patio, grow fresh fruit and veggies, have a lazy fat cat, see the stars every night, drive a rusty old yellow pickup truck, and lead a chilled out and peaceful existence

Skipper is my ideal lazy fat cat. Have you EVER seen a cat wink before?