Wednesday already? Time flies when you have the flu. Seriously. Made it home from our wedding with a little parting gift called influenza. But that’s fine. It’s actually a nice little detox after New Orleans, so bring it on, flu. Anywho, back ‘atcha today with one last pair of spring kicks from Payless, and as promised, they’re so good. A great pair of neutral wedges will always get their fair share of wear in the spring, and these are super comfy to boot. Paired with favorite white boyfriends, a striped tee, and an army jacket (from a few seasons ago, can’t get enough), you’ve got a pulled-together look that requires zero brain skills. Because that’s just about as much as I can muster this week. Hope everyone else is having a great (flu-free) week!
I know the East Coasters are going to kill me, but today it’s supposed to get up to 83 degrees in Southern California so I’m breaking out one of my new favorite spring dresses. For me, nothing says spring like a feather-weight shirtdress, and this one from CAbi’s new spring collection immediately caught my eye. I love the bold print of it (perfect for laidback Valentine’s Day plans) paired with easy booties and CAbi’s equally easy Weekend Jacket. (Seriously. I have last year’s version of this jacket and still wear the crap out of it.) Today Eric and I are headed to Louisiana for my cousin’s wedding and will be (Gasp!) visiting a couple of wedding venues of our own in New Orleans. Fingers crossed we find the one!
With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s so nice when you find versatile pieces that can work from day to night, from work to holiday party. This little ivory dress from Piperlime’s collection is definitely a dressed up little party dress at first glance, but in a pinch, it works just as well for a day around town. Add on a military-inspired jacket (this one from CAbi has been on major rotation lately), booties, and an easy crossbody to take a lacy number from night to day. Once the sun goes down, switch up the footwear to heels, add a dressy jacket, and grab a clutch to fit right in at the holiday soiree. How are you making your holiday chic a little easier this year?
xoxo
This year, Thanksgiving was a warm one to say the least. I don’t know why this always surprises me – it’s the same thing every year, but for some reason, when I think of the holidays, I think of celebrating them warm and toasty by a fire when the reality is more like warm and toasty in a pair of shorts. But anywho. We had an amazing day with family and friends, ate too much, fell deep into a food coma, and slept like babies. Today we’re headed to Big Sur for the weekend, and I couldn’t be more thankful for this crazy spontaneous life filled with so much love. Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving!
xoxo
Happy Tuesday, friends! If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you probably noticed more than a couple of snaps from a snowy winter wonderland recently, and today I’m sharing a bit more about our trip to Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky, Montana.
Eric and I first laid eyes on Lone Mountain Ranch during this road trip last summer, but they were completely booked at the time so we settled for a quick lunch before hitting the road again. We knew we wanted to eventually make it back for a stay, so we started looking into packages and summer dates sometime around January of this year. Obviously within a couple of months Covid-19 was the new reality, and that trip was shelved for the future.
Fast forward to sometime around the end of summer and I came across an Instagram ad that Lone Mountain Ranch was staying open through the month of October (something they don’t normally do) and offering incredible cabin rates for that month. For reference, LMR offers a bunch of different packages, but for the most part, it’s an all-inclusive experience that includes your meals, trail rides, horse-back riding, and tons of different activities. (And for additional reference, the packages are pricey.) But because it’s 2020 and nothing is normal, we were able to book a cabin for a sort of a la carte stay that was so perfect for us.
We stayed in the “Ouzel” cabin, and given the chance, I would 100% book it again. It was spacious but so cozy with a wood-burning stove fireplace and a clawfoot tub that I loved. There are no TV’s (which we both enjoyed), but the wifi and cell service on the property is excellent which made it easy to get work done when needed. Horn & Cantle, the restaurant on the property, is seriously delicious, and we ate there for every breakfast and almost every dinner. The Korean Chicken Wings were probably the best wings I’ve ever had, and the Vegan Enchiladas were a surprising favorite for a couple of meat-eaters. The entire staff was beyond friendly, warm, and so helpful, and going during Covid restrictions, we felt completely safe – mask rules were in effect in any building we entered.
When I first booked it, I figured we would get some pretty chilly weather. I wasn’t really thinking it would be covered in snow and -6 degrees during one of the days, but it honestly just added to the trip. We spent one full day exploring Yellowstone National Park, and after seeing it last summer on our road trip, it was pretty cool to see it again in the winter. The snow really does add a magical layer to the park. We spent Saturday eating and shopping in downtown Bozeman (about an hour from the ranch) and then a lazy Sunday in the cabin, sitting by a fire, reading a book, and watching the snow. (I had scheduled horseback riding that had to be cancelled due to the weather – even the locals were surprised by the amount of snow and negative temps in October.) Overall, the trip was incredible, and Eric and I both agree that we’ll be back to Lone Mountain Ranch, hopefully sooner rather than later.
xoxo
P.S. – We were supposed to leave on Monday and fly home, but we decided we were just too close to Jackson Hole to NOT go. (Jackson has been a favorite of ours that we try to visit at least once a year.) So we extended our trip a couple of days and took the rental car the four hours to Jackson. It was a short stay but totally worth it. (You can see a bunch of my favorite spots to visit in Jackson Hole here.)
Spring has finally arrived in SoCal, and I am one happy camper. Can we even believe that it’s almost May already? This weekend we spent some time in the sun and even made it to our first baseball game of the season. The year is flying by, but I gotta say I’m pretty excited that summer is right around the corner.
While spring is normally my cue to pull out ALL of the dresses, this year I’m also having a real obsession with wide leg pants. To be fair, I’ve always had a thing for wide leg pants (still loving this polka-dot pair from last year), but this year I just keep finding more and more pairs to love. Worn with a knotted tee, easy blouse or linen shirt and heels or wedges underneath, they’re such a flattering and fun wardrobe staple.
Whether you go for tame stripes or something super bold like these, there’s no better way to shake things up for spring. Hope everyone has a great week ahead!
Well hello, old friends! It’s been a (long) minute since I’ve updated the old blog, but today it’s good to be back. It’s been a wild couple of weeks around here with a little surgery, closing on a new home, SO much furnishing and decorating, and jumping into becoming an Airbnb host for the first time. Lots to digest, right? Where do I start?
I’ll start with the whole surgery thing. I mentioned it over on this post last week and then completely forgot that I ever said anything. Over the past few years I’ve dealt with ovarian cysts on a regular basis. It was always uncomfortable and slightly painful but nothing too crazy and something that always came and went in waves. A hereditary sitch, not much I could do about it.
Recently though, something changed, and I was experiencing really painful, debilitating flare-ups. The kind that left me curled up in a ball on the floor, unable to stand or crawl into bed without Eric’s help. Something had to give. An ultrasound revealed that I had a cyst on my (hugely swollen) left ovary the size of a tennis ball and a pretty large cyst on my right ovary as well. These were large enough that they weren’t going to go away on their own, so last week, I had them both removed.
Perhaps it seems like a little TMI, but I wanted to share for anyone else going through something similar. The surgery was pretty routine with three small incisions and about two hours under anesthesia, and after a weekend full of sleeping, this week I’m definitely on the mend. (I had high hopes of catching up on blog posts and such while hanging out in bed, but nope – I blame the painkillers and HGTV.) While I’m feeling pretty good this week, I’ve got a bit of lingering nerve pain near one of the incisions that we are still trying to get a handle on. That said, I’ve been hobbling around at a slower pace than normal these days which has made my current home decor project a little…difficult.
Which brings me to the next tidbit of news – we bought a house! Interesting timing, I know, but we are so excited, and I can’t wait to share the full details with you guys so soon. I’m waiting on a couple more furniture and decor deliveries and will have a full blog post up next week, but you can take a sneak peek here. I hope you guys will follow along!
And so here we are – surgery, nonstop rainy forecasts, and a few wild days behind me, I’ve got my sights set on spring and some fun projects ahead. But first? The weekend. Happy almost Friday, friends!
Quick question, friends – when’s the last time you found a really cute skort? Admittedly, it’s been a LONG time since I’ve come across the skirt-short combo that I wore nonstop as a kid, but after reentering the skort world recently with this cabi version, I’m wondering why in the world these ever went away. I mean, I know they’re actually the perfect option for kiddos running around on a playground, but what’s wrong with offering a little breeze protection to the grown up kiddos running errands?
Blame it on the more than breezy weather we’ve had around here lately (seriously, where are you, summer??), but I’m thinking that my wardrobe needs a couple more fake skirts and this one or this little pretty just might be next. Just add a simple tee or tank, comfy wedges or sandals, and the denim trench that you wore to death a few years ago and have recently rediscovered.
And now I’m off for some San Diego exploring. I’m here for the week with my mom and godmother and am wondering WHY it has to be so chilly and windy this week. Also wondering why I only brought one pair of jeans and lots of dresses that are now useless. Will I ever learn how to pack for this fickle SoCal weather? Maybe not, but it’s always a good excuse for some shopping, right? Hope everyone has a great week ahead!
It’s been one whole week since I was taking in the sights, twirling in the flower fields, and eating ALL the food in La Jolla, and I’m already wondering how soon is too soon to go back? I’ve wanted to check out La Jolla for the longest, so when Kathleen and I got the chance to skip town for a couple of days last week and post up at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, it was a real no-brainer.
I love a good Hyatt (like this one in Huntington Beach), and this one in La Jolla was definitely no different. The people were all so nice and accommodating, and our room was seriously perfect. We ended up getting a suite with an extra adjoining room, so we had our own space but also a little common living room area for computer and wine time at night. We also each had our own bathroom which is so great for spreading out ALL of the hair and makeup things. (If only we could have rooms like this at New York Fashion Week!) We had access to the Club Lounge for all the snacks and coffees and an honor wine bar in the evenings. (Winner, winner!) The hotel also offers a junior sized Olympic pool, a gym, and a coffee bar that kept those almond milk lattes flowing. Overall, we had an amazing couple of days in La Jolla, and if you’re headed to the area soon, here are a couple of things not to miss.
What We Did:
Sightseeing at the Cove – The Cove is the area along the coast of La Jolla and 100% needs to be on your list. It’s where you can get views like this, beach hangs like this, and a front row seat to watch SO many sea lions sunning themselves on the sand. There are also a bunch of restaurants in the area, but we unfortunately didn’t have enough time to try any of them. (We got tons of suggestions about Puesto though, so if you go, it’s probably worth a try.)
Sunny Jim Sea Cave – There’s a little place called The Cave Store, and for $5 you can access a tunnel of stairs inside the store that leads down to Sunny Jim Sea Cave. Once you’re down there, you can’t really go far, but it’s still pretty cool to see the cave up close and think about how crazy it must have been building that tunnel. (Photos in the cave were really hard to capture, so unfortunately I don’t have any.) We were hoping for a repeat of the time that a curious little sea lion climbed the steps and roamed around the Cave Store, but for $5, we felt like it was still worth checking out.
Murals of La Jolla – If you paint it, the bloggers will come. Downtown La Jolla is all about a little outdoor art, and I, for one, am here for it. Kathleen looked up a few walls before our visit, and this one was calling our names. It was just about a 10-15 minute drive from the Hyatt, and the shop owners nearby didn’t seem to mind that we were trying to park it there for a little while. Hashtag, doin’ it for the ‘gram.
The Flower Fields at Carlsbad – The Flower Fields were on our way home, so we figured we might as well stop. And we were so glad that we did. I had heard great things, but once you see them in person, it really is pretty impressive. Rows and rows and rows of the prettiest flowers, all organized by color. Red, pink, white, yellow, orange, and then some areas of mixed colors – it was seriously something to see. (And for the record, still kicking myself for not trying out the strawberry Dole Whip stand.)
What We Ate:
Breakfast at Barcino Grill – This is the breakfast grill at the Hyatt, and, y’all, it’s so freaking good. We skipped the buffet option and ordered off of the menu which I think is definitely the way to go. On the first day we split the breakfast sandwich (with bacon jam on a pretzel roll, yasssss) and SoCal scramble bowl and loved both so much that we ordered them again via room service on day two. (And added on an oatmeal, for good measure.)
Lunch at Cafe Japengo – This sushi spot is technically part of the Hyatt, but it’s actually located right across the street. And it was delish. We thought we might have a light sushi lunch before hitting the beach, but then “a couple of rolls” turned into SO much sushi, truffle fries, pork belly bun sliders, a little wine, and one large food coma. And it was all worth it – now if only we could get a Cafe Japengo in Orange County. (Seriously though – please?)
Happy hour and dinner at DRIFT eat + drink – We had dinner reservations here (inside the Hyatt) for 7:00 but thought we’d pop down earlier for a glass of wine. Well, turns out we were just in time for happy hour. As, you know, journalists, we just had to check out the happy hour, and it was a good one. There was a special on carafes of wine, so…journalism. We capped it off with the nachos and butternut squash dip, pushed our dinner back to 8:30, and headed back to the room before showing up for round two – salads. (And more wine, desert, and coffee, if I’m being completely honest.) The food was delicious, the staff was super friendly, the space was so pretty, and that tile floor was shoefie ready.
Dinner at the Red O La Jolla – The Red O is a favorite of mine in Newport Beach, so when I saw that their newest location in La Jolla was just about a mile from the Hyatt, we had to check it out. True to form, the new location is beautiful, and the food was worth talking about days later. While I love their steak and fish options, I switched things up this time with the Mariscos Chile Relleno and holy dankness. I couldn’t switch things up in the margarita department though because the Alacran has my heart. (If you like SPICY margaritas, this one is the jam.) We left FED. So full that we actually skipped the Uber ride home and walked the mile back to the hotel instead. Needed, and so worth it.
xoxo
Brought to you by Hyatt Regency La Jolla, but all opinions are my own.
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, then you know that I spent a long weekend last week with Stella Artois at the Sundance Film Festival. And it was awesome. I had never been to Sundance before (or Park City for that matter), and I was super excited to get there and experience all the excitement firsthand. We kicked off the weekend with a welcome dinner at 501 on Main, and the food was so delicious.
We stayed at the Newpark Resort Hotel which was just a short drive from the Main Street / downtown area, and the rooms were so, so nice. This room was seriously HUGE and included a gas fireplace, a kitchenette, and a big balcony with a jacuzzi on it. Every morning I had my coffee in bed with the fireplace going, looking out on a snowy mountain view. It was the best way to start my day and such a cozy place to come home to at night.
The Stella Artois team had the cutest lounge set up on Main Street, and it became our sort of home away from home on the trip. It was a comfy spot to thaw out, listen to live music, grab a snack (thankfully since we could not get into any restaurants in town – everything was booked solid) and enjoy cold Stellas and Cidre hot toddies. There was also a limited edition chalice shop helping to give access to clean water to communities without. (You can find more info on that partnership here.) This was also the place where we listened in on an amazing Women in Film panel, joined in on a Sunday night hip-hop dance party, and did most of our celebrity spotting.
On Sunday we went on a snowmobiling excursion, and it was SO MUCH FUN. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous at first and maneuvering this beast machine was a little aggressive, but once I got the hang of it, I was hooked. It’s really a shame that Orange County’s weather doesn’t support my new favorite hobby. Guess it just means I’ll have to make my way back to the snow a little more often.
And then there were the movies – it was Sundance after all. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not much of a movie buff and don’t even watch much TV these days, but seeing movies in a tiny theater in the presence of all the people that helped make that movie possible was totally cool.
Kathleen and I saw Search together on Sunday night, and we loved it. It was like a Dateline murder mystery (one of my TV faves) on the big screen set in this crazy cyber world we live in. It was so cool to hear from the film’s director and cast during a Q&A after the movie, and afterwards we walked over to Twisted Fern for dinner. This was definitely my favorite meal of the trip – the brussels sprouts appetizer, house red wine, and the lentil-mushroom burger were all amazing. (Thankfully we could get into restaurants that were a bit out of town.)
Overall it was an amazing trip with some pretty great people, and when it came time to leave, I was pretty sad to go. Sundance was such a cool experience, and Park City was so beautiful. But after one last delicious bite to eat at the High West Distillery in the Salt Lake City Airport (thanks to this recommendation from Female Foodie), it was back home to the husband and the pup.
Here’s hoping everyone has a great week ahead!
xoxo
Thank you so much to Stella Artois for the amazing trip. All opinions are my own.
Bison in Yellowstone National Park
Grounds of the Rustic Creek Inn
Fountain at Hyatt Regency La Jolla
Outdoor happy hour at the Hyatt – so good!
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