What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, everyone! How were your weeks? Mine was pretty busy—getting back to the grind after being on vacation is always an adjustment, and I've still been processing the whole turning-30 thing, too. In fact, I meant to write a post on my thoughts on that for today, but it seemed kind of heavy for a Friday, so you get to read that next week instead (ha). In the meantime, I will tell you that I've suddenly become obsessed with bringing tons of bright color into my home (thanks to this chalkboard from the amazing ACS and this rug from Proud Mary), so...I feel like that's a good way to start off a new decade.

No links this week, just one last picture from San Diego—a spray of pink bougainvillea and sunshine. Pretty much the epitome of Southern California, as far as I can tell. (When can I go back, again?)

Thanks for all your sweet comments on this week's travel posts, by the way (in case you missed any: the first day, La Jolla, Coronado and my favorite bites of the trip). They made my days.

Hope you have a great weekend, friends, and I'll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

San Diego: Favorite bites.

Like you, I'm sure, one of my favorite things to do when visiting any new-to-me city is eat--I love learning about places through their flavors. San Diego, you'll be happy to know, did not disappoint, so today I thought I'd share with you my top three bites of the trip.

Coronado.

We visited Coronado the Sunday after my brother's wedding, and I don't think we could have picked a better day to do it: The laid-back vibe was the perfect antidote to the previous few days' "go-go-go-my-brother's-getting-married-OMG" mentality.

A friend of my mom's told her that the Hotel del Coronado—built in 1888—was a must-visit and that we had to at least stroll through the lobby, so that's where we started (be warned that if you park at the hotel, you can expect a steep hourly fee, although easy access to your car in a crowded area might be worth it). As we walked up, my aunt randomly mentioned that my great aunt and uncle were married at the hotel when my uncle was stationed in San Diego during World War II—something I didn't know and was so happy to learn. Gotta love that personal connection.

Entering the lobby, we were immediately offered fresh lemonade by the staff, and then we found ourselves wandering through the labyrinth of shops downstairs, eventually ending up on the beach, where we strolled right up to the water's edge and admired the juxtaposition of mountains and ocean, something you just don't see here in Florida. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel and settled into a cabana on one of its decks, where I downed a really tasty (and—real talk!—very expensive) margarita, and we all listened to live music and toasted to being in California together, something that will probably never happen again. (That's my wild and crazy aunt dancing in the photo above, by the way.) If you're visiting Coronado, I highly recommend doing all of the above: Walk around the hotel, stroll to the beach, and then have a bite or a sip at one of the restaurants.

Afterward, we took a walk through the little downtown, stopping in at a couple of cute shops (where I bought the biggest sunglasses ever—I love them) and eventually settling down at a restaurant for a late (al fresco, of course) lunch before heading home. What a great day.

P.S. If you missed it yesterday, our adventures in La Jolla.

La Jolla.

La Jolla is what really made me fall in love with San Diego, because if I'm being completely honest, the marina area around our hotel reminded me a lot of Sarasota, just with way better weather. But driving into La Jolla, with the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop, was a completely new experience for me. I've never been to the West Coast—the farthest west I've been is Denver, actually—and I was determined to dip my toes into the Pacific on this trip. La Jolla—with its stunning (and ice-cold) blue water, sunbathing seals (!!) and sandy cliffs—was the perfect place to do that, and this may sound cheesy, but standing on the beach with rolled-up jeans and my toes in the water was one of those perfect indelible moments for me. I loved it.

Afterward, we drove around the main shopping area, admiring the adorable stores and restaurants and the gorgeous homes snuggled  into the sides of the hills. La Jolla sort of brought to life the California I imagined, and if I could make living there a reality, I would do it in about two seconds.

P.S. I am dumb and thought La Jolla was pronounced "La Jall-a." It is in fact pronounced "La Hoya." Hooray for factoids! Oh, and that's my mom and me in the picture above. xoxo

San Diego Week.

Oh, you guys. I love California.

Seriously. Sarasota is a pretty fantastic place, but California—and specifically San Diego? They are something else. We arrived on Wednesday, August 1, on a flight from Orlando, and from the second I stepped off the plane, I was smitten. First of all, it was 72 degrees outside. In August. As a lifelong Floridian, this is something I almost couldn't wrap my head around, because here it is a delightful (um, not) 90 degrees every day, which means it feels like 100 degrees-plus, and the humidity is always crazy, crazy high. When the temps dropped into the mid-60s that first night, I almost fainted I was so happy.

It helped that we were staying at a great hotel—a Sheraton on Harbor Island with views of the marina—and that we were central to everything; it didn't take us more than 20 minutes to get to any of the places we visited. And although we were San Diego for my little brother's wedding, which took up a huge chunk of our time (as well it should), I really felt like we did (and saw) (and tasted) quite a lot.

So this week I'll be telling you about bits and pieces from the trip—I am by no means any kind of travel expert (in fact, I am woefully, woefully under-traveled for my 30 years), but I love to share, so there you go. Hope you enjoy—see you back here tomorrow. xoxo