travel

family style, orange county

April 26, 2016

April Vacation! You dream, you. We had the absolute best time last week enjoying California and Las Vegas. And now I will attempt to blog about it all! For the memories of the people and the places and also to give these photos a chance to live somewhere other than my hard drive. After all, they deserve to be seen!

The first few days of our trip to Cali we spent with Zan’s older sister Stephanie and her family in Irvine — Orange County, USA. We drove in from the airport and went straight down the coast — the fish tacos were calling to us! As was the salt air and sea breeze. And 85 degrees! Sigh. I love it so.

Here we are at Bear Flag Fish Company in Crystal Cove. We got some poke, fish tacos, and coconut water straight from the source. So so good and the perfect way to start our adventure.

This place is an AMAZING home decor store I discovered right next to Bear Flag Fish Co, Juxtaposition Home. I was full on love eyes while I was in there and I know you would be too.

The first night we had lots of Zan’s California family over for a big awesome dinner. We were lucky to spend time with three of Zan’s aunts, his uncle and two of his cousins — plus a lot of Stephanie’s husband’s family too. The meal was delicious and it was so nice to be in a faraway place with faraway family. It’s also nice to know we have so many people to visit out west! Definitely makes the return appealing. :)

Here they are L to R: Henry, Peter, Ian, Stephanie and Nash. They took is out on a duffy boat ride around Balboa on Sunday morning. Such a nice way to get a look at the awesome houses on the water!

After our boat excursion we walked around Newport Beach a little bit — mostly on the search for candy per Ian and Henry’s request. We stopped into the arcade to play a little Skee Ball, too. How could we pass an opportunity like that up?

Found the candy shop! ^^

And more tacos!

In the afternoon we ate our second round of fish tacos, this time from Wahoos in Laguna Beach and then walked the streets for a bit before heading to the beach…

While walking out of Wahoos I stumbled upon another store I had heart eyes for called LaLa by Kerry Cassill.

(Fun fact: After doing a bit of research just now to find a link I discovered they sell her designs at Anthropologie. No wonder I was in love!)

This awesome place is called Urth. All organic coffee and teas in a cafe on a mission for sustainability and quality. We got smoothies there before our drive back to Stephanie’s house. It was hot out and they were delicious!

You’re singing the Laguna Beach theme song in your head now, right?

I sure hope so.

And last, but never least, we went to the Anaheim Ducks playoff game on Sunday night — California’s favorite hockey team — THE MIGHTY DUCKS! It was no Boston, but we knew some major fans who were kind enough to share some tickets with us — so we cheered those Ducks on and had some fun while we did it. :)

A really great end to a really great weekend. And a really perfect start to vacation. ♥

3 Comments · Filed Under: family, travel ·

hooray, LA !

April 7, 2016

I am getting so excited… we are heading to California (and Nevada!) next weekend! We have plans to stay at Zan’s sister’s house in Orange County the first weekend we’re there. We’ll hopefully go to Newport Beach and spend some time with family. We are up for anything and everything they want to show us! At the beginning of the week, we’ll be driving out to Vegas — with plans to stop at Joshua Tree (and maybe Palm Springs?) and Valley of Fire State Park. We will be in Las Vegas on Tuesday because Zan has to spend the day there for work and I am going to visit the Neon Museum and hopefully get my fill of In-N-Out. YUM! I have been dreaming of this since forever. The last part of our week away will be spent in LA. We are staying at the ACE hotel and I know there is a MILLION things to see but we are going to try to focus on exploring Venice and Downtown LA. And possibly Silverlake if we’re lucky! I have never been to this part of the West Coast before so I am just really excited to experience anything I can.

Do you have any tips for any of the places I mentioned? Favorite shops or food spots or areas that you think we’d like to see? I always love hearing what other people love. I have been scouring the internet and Pinterest nightly. One of my favorite ways to plan a trip away!

Here are some guides I’ve stumbled upon thus far:

LA City Guide

Travelogue Los Angeles : Part One and Part Two

Out and About in Venice

Explore Los Angeles

and for our trip to Vegas: Where the Vegas Locals Go

Hooray for April Vacation! Hooray, hooray!

inspiring photo credits:
VSCO grid 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
the daily dose image via sfgirlbybay

6 Comments · Filed Under: travel, west coast ·

the heart of Vermont.

February 24, 2016

Last week, at the tail end of my February vacation from school we packed up our ski gear and headed up to the great state of Vermont. Zan and I left town on Wednesday and got a full long weekend up in the Green Mountain State — with Pennylane too! Oh, Vermont. Red barns and covered bridges. Ski slopes and hot chocolate. And the greatest food! I love it all.

For the past 3 winters Zan has rented a house with his brother, my sister Meg’s boyfriend Tom, and some friends. Meg and I go up a few weekends here and there and this past weekend was my first visit of the year. This year’s house is magnificent, with a woodburning stove and the most wonderful built-in bookself filled living room. I could have read my book there all day! But skiing! There’s that too, of course! So much to do, and don’t we always try to do it all…

Wednesday night upon our arrival we immediately went to American Flatbread. We love it there! Nestled right on the property of Lareau Farm we love the classic Vermont Barn vibe and their pizza is delicious. They make it right in the main dining room and cook it up in the massive wood-fired oven right before your eyes. Too fun! There is also a great Bed and Breakfast on the property, The Lareau Inn that Zan and I have stayed in before. Look it up if you’re ever looking for a place to stay in the area. Cozy rooms and amazing breakfast. We have great memories of our time there.

On Thursday we did a little bit of lounging and lot of time loving on Pennylane. We were so lucky to be able to bring her up to the house with us! We took a hike along the Mad River, went to lunch at the Mad Taco in Waitsfield {so many hot sauces, so so good!}, and did some shopping in the historic old town. I found the most amazing old school fleece at the thrift shop that I got entirely too excited about and purchased right away. So 80s. So classic! That night we made my mom’s Chicken Tetrazzini recipe and Meg and Tom made it up to the house just in time to enjoy dinner with us and a bottle of wine.

Friday was a day of sunny skiing. We skied at Sugarbush at Lincoln Peak. For the past two years I have bought a “Quad Pack”, which is a discounted set of 4 tickets they offer every year in the pre-season. It costs around $200 for 4 days of skiing, which is a really great deal considering the prices on day passes these days! There are also no black-out dates which means we can go any week day, weekend, or holiday that we want.

That night we headed up to Burlington to meet up with my college friend Julie and to have dinner and drinks at the Citizen’s Cider Brewery. The best part about the friendships I have made over the years is that I can always pick right up exactly where I left off. Such a comfort and always so much fun. ♥♥

Saturday was so foggy but so beautiful! We spent the day at Mount Ellen this time around which is another mountain/lodge at Sugarbush. My sister and I skied until lunch, then I did one more run before we headed home to keep Penny company for awhile in the afternoon. Apres ski, we met up with the rest of the crew at General Stark’s Pub at Mad River Glen. The Grift was playing which is one of Vermont’s favorite bands and I am just in love with the atmosphere at Mad River Glen. The whole place is straight out of the 80s. And you you know how I feel about the 80s. :)

Afterwards Zan and I picked up pizzas from The Bluestone to bring back to the house for dinner. Another great recommendation for food in the Mad River Valley! So many amazing choices it’s always hard to decide. Another spot that’s an all time favorite is The Hyde Away restaurant in Waitsfield. Farm to Table! I ♥ VERMONT.

We spent Sunday morning lounging around the house, eating quiche and coffee with chocolate milk and enjoying the last few hours in front of the wood burning stove before packing up again and heading home. We stopped at Worthy Burger for lunch on the drive back, which is a little bit out of the way but worth it for a worthy burger. ;) Oh my. I feel like this has turned out to be a ALL THE GOOD VERMONT EATS post! But there are just so many good spots! It’d be wrong not to mention them and as you can see nearly impossible not to make a stop at them all. Which is pretty much what we did!

And we will be back!

Tis the season, after all. ♥

7 Comments · Filed Under: life, travel ·

honeymoon excitement !!

March 26, 2015

This past weekend we made one of the biggest moves yet in terms of planning our wedding…

We booked our honeymoon!

On one hand I can hardly believe we’re making it happen and on the other hand, I’m all, of course we are doing this! WE ARE MAKING THIS HAPPEN!

Looking up flights was no walk in the park, though. I honestly felt like I’ve spent the past three years searching even though it’s only been a little over a month. Ha! Every night I would do a little bit more research and every night I would feel my head spinning one thousand spins. Until Sunday afternoon when I found the most amazing prices I’ve seen yet and VOILA! I booked it! The rush of booking a flight especially an international one is kind of surreal. My palms were sweating, for one. And my mouth was in the biggest grin it could ever make.

And now… the details!

We will be taking our honeymoon abroad for 20 days. Yes, T W E N T Y D A Y S S S S.

We are flying in and out of Venice (with one overnight layover in Istanbul) and with 20 days and a passport I believe the saying is true: the world really is our oyster.

Here is a very rough draft of our very tentative plan:

One night in Istanbul {this is because of the flight deal we snagged — we have a 19 hour layover and we’re choosing to look at it as an opportunity! We will have enough time for a bit of sightseeing, dinner, and an early breakfast the next morning.}

1-2 days in Venice

Train to Rome…

2 days in Rome

Train/Bus to the Amalfi Coast…

3 days on the Amalfi Coast {Sorrento? Positano? Furore?!}

Trek across Italy {by bus/car} to the Adriatic Sea…

Ferry across to Croatia…

10+ days traveling the coast and cities of Croatia !!

We hope to hit Dubruvnik, Hvar, Split, Plitvice National Park, Zagreb, Rovinj… and hopefully more! {Are we crazy? Maybe. Absolutely. Do we love it? WE SURE WILL.}

And then finally finishing off with a Ferry back to Venice before we FLY ON HOME.

As I typed up that list now I just kept thinking, is this real life? Pinch me, please. Zan and I are definitely a pair of adventuresome travelers. The more we can see the better and we’re not afraid to jam pack a day full of everything, but we’re also not opposed to staying put for a few days on the beach throughout our stay. This trip will definitely be an exhausting one, but I also know that I feel so alive with each passing moment in a new place. I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

So far I am still in the research phase. Which means being on Airbnb and Pinterest all night every night until I feel like my eyes are going to bleed. But I’m not complaining! Never! I’ve also been returning to this post and this post and this post from Hither and Thither over and over because Ashley has amazingly detailed info and her travel photos are just so pleasing to look through!

I’ve also found this blog, which is fantastic, specifically for Croatia info. So much good!

And now, my very favorite question to ask:

Do you have any advice to give? Affordable places to stay, things you think we should see and do? Have you ever been to any of the places we’re planning on visiting? I’ve only ever been to Venice as far as Italy goes, and Croatia will be completely new to us! We would love any comments or tips you have to give. Any and all!

XO!

{P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your
email on Croatia, Chrissy! I am cherishing it
and all the info you sent us!
INCREDIBLE!}

// featuring insanely amazing VSCO photos from
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10