west coast

a morning in palm springs.

April 29, 2016

Palm Springs! What a perfectly colorful, wonderful place.

A little back story: The original idea for this trip came when Zan had a work assignment in Las Vegas for the same week as my April Vacation. He works in clinical research for anyone wondering and his company does clinical trials all over the county. He knew about his site visit a few months before my vacation so he thought it would be fun for me to come too and we would make a trip of it. I was sold instantly ! Travel! Wahooo! It is one of my love languages.

We decided to make a detour on our route to Las Vegas and head to Palm Springs for breakfast and then Joshua Tree for an afternoon jaunt through the desert. Because of some last minute stuff Zan had to do for work, and rotten timing (I think I may have (gasp) tried to pack too much sightseeing into one day), we never ended up making it to Joshua Tree, which was certainly a disappointment. I had eagerly booked tickets to a show in Vegas for later that night and because of that we just ultimately ran out of time! The sadness! I have been wanting to see that desert for many years but our luck was just not there for that adventure on this particular day. I guess it just means we will have to come back to this area again anther time, which in the end isn’t such an unlucky thing at all.

Anyway. Onward!

We did happily get to spend a good amount of time in Palm Springs and man do I LOVE that town. We were visiting between Coachella weekends — on Monday morning, so it was actually pretty sleepy when we were there, but I imagine it was a pretty hopping place the day before we arrived. A blast, I’m sure!

Here are some photos from our time exploring…

Right before your come to Palm Springs on the highway from L.A. you pass by a massive number of windmills. It was an amazing sight!

Then, suddenly– you are in a in a wonderland of Palm trees. Those mountains in the backdrop are something to write home about too. And skies so blue!

We first try to stop at Cheeky’s because it had amazing reviews and I’d read several “guides to Palm Springs” that raved about it– but the wait time was super long and at this point we wanted to move through the sites rather quickly. We decided to try to Ace Hotel instead and were very happy we did! Lots of space and not too many people. Plus, it’s the Ace! You’ve got to love it, right?

I definitely did…

This weaving is HUGE AND PERFECT!

It was while we were at the Ace that Zan found out he needed to do some work, so he went back to the car to get his computer and we camped out at King’s Highway for awhile– Zan typing away and me wandering the grounds of the hotel. The whole place is magnificent! I would really love to stay overnight some day.

When Zan was done we decided to do a bit of the Palm Springs Modern Mid-Century Architecture Tour — I was able to purchase the app so we could do a self guided tour. It was fun, but I kept wanted to go inside the houses! If I decided to do it again, or had more time I would definitely try to look up if there are any tours that bring you through the inside of homes. (Fun fact: my favorite thing to do as a child was to go inside model homes in new neighborhood developments and also to visit the RV exhibits at the State Fair and the local mall. HA! I remember just LOVING touring the inside of houses! And I still do!)

I loved this street and the flowers and the succulents and the palm trees! So pretty.

Our last stop was a walk through the colorful Saguaro Hotel. How fun does this place look?? It’s supposedly a hot spot for Coachella weekenders and I can totally see why.

And that’s it! Our bright visit to the most rainbow magical land. So colorful. So fun.

STAY FABULOUS, PALM SPRINGS. xo

2 Comments · Filed Under: travel, west coast ·

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 ·

san francisco no. 5

May 20, 2014

Oh, sigh. We’ve come to the end of San Francisco. Feel free to imagine me tearing up over here. As is only natural— I know you understand.

Now if you’re confused as to how many days we spent in San Francisco as a result of my crazy number of blog posts, I get it. I went vacation post crazy. We were there 3 days— yes, yes, I know this is blog post no. 5— it’s just, the pictures! I couldn’t possibly decide! 3 days was surprisingly enough for us, although I would have gladly taken more. My feeling on it all is that we will just have to go back. Would I rather spend a whole week in San Francisco alone OR try my hand at SF, Big Sur, and Seattle? A big feat, but seeing as we hardly ever travel to the west coast, the latter was a no brainer. Because L-I-V-I-N-G!

Out of our three days in SF, it’s hard to say what the best day was, because they were all pretty spectacular, but this day was a treat! Even despite the cloudy skies {which true to our luck, only lasted the morning hours}. On the last day we woke up early and headed, once again, back over to the Mission. I was on my OWN mission to get those Tartine pastries IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN. ;) And yes! We finally got them! And yes! They were delicious!

Besides the pastries, what I loved most about this place was how it was so unassuming. Without even a sign on the exterior, I would never had known about Tartine if it didn’t come recommended. But recommended it was— by lots! And I can absolutely see why. I’d like to return to San Francisco someday if just for the pastries. And I wouldn’t mind trying the bread pudding and sandwiches, either. My personal favorite out of the three pastry treats we tried was the morning bun. SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS. The way it should always be.

After that we were off— Our last day in the city and I signed us up for a walking tour. YUP. Tourist me up!

When I think about myself, I don’t usually pin myself as the tourist type. I mean, SURE I do touristy things sometimes, but as far as vacations go I’ve never signed up for anything like this before. And yet. When I think about it a little harder I TOTALLY AM the touristy type. Ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty anyone? Gleeful walk across the Brooklyn Bridge? Scooters in Nantucket? Are you kidding me? I was giddy giddy on the Golden Gate Bridge and had tears of joy through the entirety of Muir Woods. I LIVE for this stuff, honestly. And I’m not afraid to admit it.

Also, the tour was another tip that came highly recommended. {Thanks, Melissa!}

So here are the photos from our third day in San Francisco. The very last day and we spent it seeing it all…

Chinatown! The most colorful to see!

“When you’re lost out there and you’re all alone
The light is waiting, to caaaaryyyyy you hoooooooooome…”

Smitten Ice Cream!

D-O-L-O-R-E-S P-A-R-K
{DREAM}

Whew! We literally went everywhere. And the sun decided to shine! This tour took us through so many neighborhoods– we rode a cable car, saw Chinatown and the first fortune cookie factory, visited Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies, we went to Ghirardelli Square and sampled chocolate, enjoyed the views and murals at the SF Art Institute, went to Pacific Heights, Hayes Valley, and the Castro District, caught Dolores Park in the sunshine AND MORE!

It really was pretty awesome, and we loved our tour guide, too. So much, in fact, we still talk about him today. “THE REAL SF! THE REAL SF!” He’d shout through the busses and subway cars. It was the best.

The Real SF Tour— we recommend it too!

After the tour we grabbed drinks at La Mar— right by the ferry building and one last trip to the Embarcadero. A perfect retreat after a long day of walking around the city. Then, to top things off, we met up with Jackie, a friend I’ve gotten to know through instagram. She is one of my favorites to follow, as she really has that THIS IS LIVING! spirit that I love so much. {Love you, Jackie!} We got some cones at The Ice Cream Bar, an awesome old fashioned artisan soda shop that’s right in her neighborhood, and then she took us on a drive to see some of the last few must-dos on our list! LUCKY LUCKY, I kept thinking. We were so lucky.

Jackie drove us to the Cliff House and the Sutro Baths, through Golden Gate Park, AND! Twin Peaks! The views cannot be beat. I don’t think the ending to our trip to San Francisco could have been any better.

We love you, San Francisco. Thanks for everything. ♥♥

9 Comments · Filed Under: california, travel, west coast ·

san francisco no. 4

May 13, 2014

Watching the sun rise and fall is one of my favorite things to do. In Cape Cod every summer we make a point to get up before dawn a few times while we’re there to head down to the beach and watch the sun pop up over the horizon. Sunsets are just as special and in my experience, sometimes even better. Especially after a long, eventful day. It’s a time to sit back, relax, and think, This day! This adventure! It is so so good.

On our second day in San Francisco, after spending the morning in the redwoods, we walked ourselves through town to do a little exploring. We found Lombard Street, and then headed towards Union and Filmore to do a little window shopping/book store hunting. It’s kind of crazy to be in such a big city for only 3 days and try to see it all. So, we did what we could and left it at that. I went into a few shops, took a few pictures, and felt happy about being in the sunshine taking in the views.

One of the places recommended to us was Tacolicious– probably 5 different people told us to go here!– and luckily there was one close to where we were walking around that afternoon. THANK HEAVENS! It really was everything you said it would be. We sat outside {UNDER THE HEAT LAMPS} filling ourselves with margaritas and tacos, reflecting on where we’d been and what we were about to do next. I loved sitting in that spot. Warm feelings and warm shoulders. Loving our trip and loving life.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THOSE BEAUTIES?

Perfection on a plate.

After dinner, we realized we were very close to the Palace of Fine Arts, so we took a stroll over just as the sun was starting to fall. Talk about grand! This place is gorgeous. We walked under the tall pillars feeling so small once again in such a big, big place. The light was amazing– making the color of the rotunda look like the prettiest shade of pink.