Last week we got out of town for a little bit and headed down to Palm Springs. We tend to visit the desert once a year because my mom has to travel there for work, and we used to live in the area so it is an easy little getaway. We had absolutely perfect weather last week, high eighties/low nineties and there are some truly gorgeous sights to see in the Palm Springs area. Rather than walk you through everything, I figured I would share some of my favorite pictures with you so you can take it all in for yourself!
If you love pink, palm trees, and mid-century mod, Palm Springs is the destination for you. Have you traveled to the desert before? What are your favorite sights?
Back at the beginning of February, I kissed my kid and husband goodbye and hopped on a plane to head up to San Francisco. Mama was in serious need of a girls weekend, and SF is one of my favorite places to escape to. I have posted about SF frequently since we travel up there once or twice a year. It’s the perfect city for weekend getaways because you can tailor your trip to suit your needs. Obviously needs for a family trip differ from needs for a girls trip, but SF has the capacity to accommodate both. Usually we drive up to SF, but since I was traveling by myself, I decided to fly instead. The 45 minute flight from Burbank to SFO was easy peasy, and the Bay Area airports are easy to navigate and find public transportation. Once I arrived and had my bag, I headed up to the BART connector so I could make my way to the train.
I am one of those people who doesn’t mind traveling alone, so even though I had plans to meet up with friends for the weekend, I booked an extra night’s stay so I could have a little alone time before the party started. Also, when I know I am going to be blogging, I like to have some time to take pictures of my hotel space before everything gets all messed up (as hotel rooms tend to do when multiple gals are staying in them). I got to my hotel right about check in time, got settled and then walked up the street to gather some supplies (read: wine and cheese and chocolate) for the night. I had a lovely evening on my own during which I accomplished nothing except devouring a Project Runway All Stars marathon.
One of my very best friends, Ashley, who happens to live in San Jose, met me the following morning and since we are both huge nerds, we decided to take a stroll to one of the best bookstores in the city. Our walk took us through Chinatown, which is a fun neighborhood to explore as there is lots to see. We spent a good chunk of time exploring City Lights Bookstore. Though the space is on the small side, they have an awesome selection of books and I, of course, bought a few (travel book buying is not banned per my no new books goal for 2018). What I appreciated about their YA section in particular is they stocked a bunch of books I haven’t seen on the shelves at Barnes and Noble, so it was good exposure to some new material.
After an early afternoon of walking and book shopping, both Ashley and I were ready for a drink, so we headed next door to this super cool and eclectic cafe, Vesuvio. There was a lot to take in in the space, and it was the perfect place to sit and chill. We snagged a window seat and spent some time catching up.
Later that night, our other two companions joined us and after a quick happy hour in our hotel room, we headed up the street to Hogwash. We enjoyed some craft beers and some sausages before heading out to a bar.
One of the gals recommended Local Edition, a newspaper themed bar on Market Street (one of the main streets of the Union Square area of SF). It was super cool inside, and we had some yummy drinks before walking back to our hotel (and maybe stopping for ice cream on the way).
The following morning we did some serious shopping, hitting the flagship Old Navy store and Nordstrom Rack. Ashley and I also checked out Box Lunch, which is every fangirl and fanboy’s dream. The whole store is devoted to fandom merch, and they have everything: Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Sailor Moon…seriously. Everything. Unfortunately for my bank account, I soon discovered that there is a Box Lunch located in my mall so I’m sure I will continue to give them all of my money. After shopping, we headed up to the rooftop of our hotel for some wine and snacks (we stayed at the Donatello in Union Square, full review is here!). It was a perfectly peaceful way to spend our evening!
That night we headed to Morton’s for some cocktails and apps (see top of the post) before grabbing some sushi and heading back to the hotel, where face masks, wine, chocolate desserts, and general girls trip shenanigans commenced. I woke up the next morning to catch the train to Oakland, where I flew home and back to my little fam just in time for the Super Bowl.
It was a seriously delicious, relaxing, and much needed weekend away and I am so glad I was able to carve out some time to meet up with the girls. We are already planning our trip for next year (Napa anyone?) and I’m already counting down the days!
Last weekend I had the absolute freaking pleasure of escaping to San Francisco for a girls weekend. And boy, was it a needed girls weekend. I’ll be covering more of our shenanigans in a future post, but for today I wanted to take you on a tour of our lovely hotel, the Donatello in Union Square. I have stayed at this hotel before, and while the rooms and lobby are beautiful and impressive, what sells this spot for me is the location. It’s within easy walking distance of so many different places in SF. Being so chained to my car here in LA, I always aim for vacations where I don’t have to drive at all, and this was definitely one of them. I flew into SFO, took the BART into the city, and walked about three blocks from the station to the hotel. Easy peasy. And from there, I didn’t get in another car until I arrived home and got picked up from the airport. Total score. I’ll cover more of those walkable destinations in the next post, but for now, let’s take a closer look at the hotel itself.
As with most cities, space is at a premium in SF, so the bathrooms in the Donatello are not huge, but they are nicely done. And yes, that is a TV built into the mirror. And yes, I did take a bath while drinking wine and watching Jeopardy. Don’t judge me.
One of my favorite things about our room was the kitchenette area. I feel like a fridge is a must in a hotel room, and it’s a total bonus to also have a sink, a microwave, and actual plates and cups. And a wine opener (not pictured, but tucked away in the drawer).
This lovely sofa was the perfect place to chill during the day. It also folds out into a bed, which is awesome. We were able to sleep four gals in the room and not feel cramped. Score.
There’s also a king-sized bed in the room that was so comfy it put me to sleep three hours before my typical bedtime-and while I was on vacation!
I’d like to lie and say I used that desk for a whole bunch of writing and work-doing and practical things, but you know I never lie to y’all.
Overall, I was exceedingly pleased with our stay at the Donatello. Union Square is the perfect location for a girls weekend or a romantic getaway, and our room was above and beyond what we needed. I would 100% stay at this property again in the future, and I would highly recommend checking it out if you are planning a trip to San Francisco.
Guys, I have been in the mood for New York something fierce, and I finally found the perfect opportunity to take a trip: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming to Broadway, and I. have. tickets. Hells to the yes!
The whole process for being able to purchase tickets was crazy, and I seem to be one of the few lucky ones who had an easy time with it. A couple of weeks ago I registered for the chance to get an access code. I found out at the beginning of the week that my code would be sent to be on Wednesday morning, and that tickets went on sale at 8:00 am. I woke up at 7:45, logged into my computer, and waited. At 8:00 I entered my access code, selected the date I wanted, and bought my tickets. The show itself is in two parts, so technically you’re buying tickets for two shows. Not only do we have orchestra seats for both shows, the TOTAL for two tickets to both shows and fees was $200 Word. The whole thing took less than five minutes. According to Twitter, this was not the experience for most, so I guess I had some good karma going for me or something.
So our tickets are for July, during our birthday/anniversary week and we are leaving the kid with grandparents and heading to the Big Apple. I haven’t been to New York in a couple of years, and I have been having withdrawals like nobody’s business. But now with a trip on the horizon, I can focus on planning instead of jonesing. My last two trips to NYC have been with students, so I am looking forward to you know, going to a bar. Since I am forcing Matt to go to Harry Potter and Mean Girls (!!!!) I will be accompanying him to at least one jazz bar while we are there too.
Other must dos for me include: Strand Bookstore, a martini at a rooftop bar, and some big ass pizza. What are some other experiences I should check out while in New York? Leave me your best tips!
So last year we managed a five hour car ride with a two year old, and to be totally honest, it was pretty easy, all things considered. So much so that we may have gotten a wee bit cocky when planning our family vacation for this summer. We decided to go to Phoenix, Arizona for a couple of reasons. One, it’s close enough to drive. Two, we haven’t spent much time there in the past. And three, it’s home to Chase Field, which was one of the baseball stadiums we hadn’t yet visited. I totally thought Squirt would have no problems with a six hour car ride. Because I am a dumb-dumb. He was hot and cranky and whiny AF all the way there and all the way home. So far, not digging age three. Here’s hoping next summer he will be a better traveler. But that didn’t put too much of a damper on our trip itself, and we had a lot of fun once we actually got to Phoenix.
Pretty much the only time Squirt was happy on the drive was when we stopped in Cabazon to check out the big dinosaurs. The dinos are located near the outlets in Cabazon (close to Palm Springs) and are a great place to stop and stretch, especially if your little one is into dinos. Most of the attractions are part of the museum, which you have to pay for, but there is this T-Rex, plus a big brontosaurus that has a dino filled store inside of it that are accessible for free. Squirt was more than fine with the free exhibits and the only hard part was getting him to leave.
As soon as we made it to Phoenix we checked into our hotel and went straight to the pool. Matt and I were in desperate need of a drink, so we got some margaritas and enjoyed the sunset from the cooling waters. Squirt loves swimming so it was a good way to get him in a happy mood once we’d arrived.
On our first full day in Phoenix, we checked out the Desert Botanical Garden, who were kind enough to host us on our trip to explore their property. I have to say, it was gorgeous and there was so many cool plants and animals and artifacts to check out. But it was also about 110 degrees out and Squirt and I just couldn’t handle it. Poor Matt. We didn’t last nearly as long as I wanted to and I’m bummed we didn’t get to see more. If you are going to Phoenix, I would 100% recommend the Botanical Garden, but only during the off months, or early, early hours of the day. We hit the pool as soon as we got back to our hotel as we were in desperate need of a cool down in tempers and temperatures.
On our second day in Phoenix, we spent the day in the pool, and then headed over to Chase Field for our first home Diamondbacks game. The visit marked the eleventh stadium Matt and I have been to together, and number three for Squirt. We still have a long way to go on our stadium tour, but it was awesome to check another one off our list! More on our experience at Chase Field is coming soon, suffice to say, thank God for their roof.
On the day we were planning to head home, we had one final stop to make, at the Musical Instruments Museum. Matt is a musician and Squirt is obsessed with all of his instruments, so this was a no brainer for us. Both boys LOVED the museum. I loved the AC. There were so many cool things to see, the museum will be getting its own spotlight post soon. It was a highlight of the trip and I’m just sad we didn’t get to spend more time there.
Overall, despite the crazy heat, we had a really fun family trip to Phoenix. Matt and I have both determined that we would much rather take Squirt to new places every year than spend money on birthday parties and toys (please God, no more toys). I think traveling is so important with little ones, and I want to give Squirt the opportunity to do and see all kinds of new things as he grows up. Now it’s time to start planning next year’s trip, and hoping and praying a four year old Squirt is less cranky than three year old Squirt.
A couple of weekends ago, I got to coordinate a wedding up in Santa Barbara and used it as an excuse to spend a weekend out of town and exploring. Santa Barbara is about 90 miles north of LA, though the drive can take as long as three hours if traffic is bad. Luckily, I left on a Friday at 11:00 am and didn’t have to worry much about traffic. I stayed in a little studio that I found on Air BNB that was perfect for the trip since it was just me and I was working the majority of the weekend.
I arrived in Santa Barbara in the afternoon and headed straight to the wedding venue for the walk through and the rehearsal. The wedding was held at the University Club, and the venue was absolutely gorgeous and the staff was amazing. If you are looking to get married in Santa Barbara, you should definitely check it out (and also hit me up if you need a wedding coordinator!). After the rehearsal I went to check into my room and spent a few minutes getting settled and freshening up. I then headed out to go find something tasty and simple for dinner. I happened to find Fresco Cafe via Yelp and it was the perfect place for a solo dinner. They had an awesome patio, yummy Italian food, and the most important part of any meal: wine. I had the caprese sandwich and it was really tasty.
The next day was wedding day so I didn’t have a ton of free time, but I did, of course, make time for coffee and breakfast. I headed to Handlebar Coffee Roasters, which was convenient to both the wedding venue and my studio. I also found this coffee place on Yelp, and based on the line out the door, knew it was going to be yummy. The coffee was good, but what really sold it was the almond croissant. It was literally one of the best pastries I have ever eaten and I would go back to Handlebar just for the croissant.
The wedding on Saturday was absolutely amazing and such a beautiful day. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but the couples I work with are all just awesome people. They are down to earth and relaxed, and always so appreciative of my hard work (so like, the exact opposite of my teaching administration). It was one of my favorite weddings I have done this year and I am so hoping to work at the University Club again soon!
On Sunday I woke up tired and sore, as is usual after a long wedding day, but I was also excited to do some Santa Barbara exploring. I had been to SB before as it is home to a pretty popular college (UCSB) that I had friends go to, but had never really spent time dedicated to exploring the town. Coffee was obviously my first priority, and this time I headed to the French Press, which is located on State Street, the main downtown drag.
I knew I wanted to walk by City Hall since it is a gorgeous building and luckily it was only a couple blocks away from the coffee shop. I think if I were getting married in Santa Barbara, I would be tempted to just go to City Hall!
For lunch I headed to the Santa Barbara Public Market, which houses several small food stall type shops. I had a really tasty sandwich and mint lemonade and got a nice break from the heat (that was probably the only downside of the weekend-it was just as hot in Santa Barbara as it was in LA, which is unusual).
I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the shops on State Street. There are a bunch of little local boutiques, along with some art galleries and some chain shops like Old Navy and Paper Source (which might be my favorite store ever).
My last stop before hitting the road was McConnell’s Ice Cream shop. I didn’t do a ton of research about places to eat for my weekend, but the couple of posts I saw all mentioned McConnell’s as a must do, and all those posts were right. I consider myself to be something of an ice cream aficionado, and this was definitely some of the best I have had. I got peanut butter cup and salted caramel and both flavors were amazing.
Overall I had an amazing weekend in Santa Barbara. The only bummer was that Matt and Squirt weren’t able to come with me. It would have been a much more fun trip with the two of them along, but I still had a great time (and alone time is not such a bad thing in the grand scheme of mom life). I am really hoping I get to do some more work in Santa Barbara soon, and maybe next time the boys will come and we’ll make a family trip of it!
On the way home from our family trip to San Francisco, my most amazing husband ever was kind enough to drop me off in Solvang so I could join my group of girlfriends for a one night wine tasting trip. Solvang is a small town a little ways north of Santa Barbara that features lots of Danish influence, cute little shops, and lots and lots of wine. I, sadly, missed out on most of the actual wine tasting during the trip, but I did manage to arrive in time for happy hour at our hotel and did plenty of catching up. We had a perfectly lovely (and much needed) girls night away from home and it was so awesome we decided to make it an annual event. Here are some of the more appropriate highlights of our stay…
We spent the night at Hotel Corque (pronounced “cork”), which was very chic and boutiquey. We got a chance to enjoy happy hour at their restaurant, Root 246, which had great appetizers and tasty wine (obvs). I would have liked to have had another day so we could have enjoyed the pool during the day. We went for a dip right before the pool closing time and it looked like it would have been a very relaxing place to spend the day.
The rooms at Hotel Corque were really nice (sorry I didn’t get a pic, one of my very lovely friends was in a bit of a hurry to get us down to happy hour before it ended…) and it is definitely somewhere I would stay again. It was also centrally located, meaning it was walkable, which is obviously important on a trip with a lot of drinking involved.
Also, there is this old-fashioned stockade in front of the hotel, which clearly makes for some fun drunken pictures. For our dinner, we walked down to the Landsby hotel and ate at Mad and Vin. They had the best fries I have ever eaten in my entire life. Seriously, I would go there just for the fries. This is another hotel I would consider staying at in the future. Very cute, and West Elmy.
As you can maybe imagine, after a full day of nothing but wine, we were a little worse for the wear when we woke up the next morning. So we walked down to Paula’s Pancake House, which is one of the most popular breakfast spots in Solvang. None of us actually had pancakes, because sweet is not usually the way to go with a hangover, but the hash browns were bomb and we all managed to eat enough to prep us for the ride home.
I, of course, had to snap this picture of the Little Mermaid statue since it is one of my faves (the author, Hans Christian Andersen was Danish). I would like to point out that we obviously had an amazing girls trip given my utter lack of pictures from the trip. We had a great time exploring Solvang, and drinking lots (and lots) of wine.
Where is your favorite place for a girls’ trip? Where should we head next? Let me know!
