Weekend Getaway: The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

A few weeks ago Ray and I decided we needed a little weekend getaway. We started researching hotels and came across several perfect ones. However, when it came to logistics, most didn't work. Ideally, we needed somewhere driving distance from LA. Our other criteria (particularly mine, lol), was cozy and quaint with a beautiful spa. We came across the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe and it was exactly that: a charming inn with a famous day spa. Booked!

We packed up Saturday morning and left the city around 10:00 am. We arrived just in time for lunch. Even though it wasn't time for check-in yet, the women at the front desk were so sweet and accommodating and found us a room that was available for early check-in. We dropped off our bags and Luca (sorry Luca!) and headed for lunch.

The room was bigger than our condo, I kid you not. There was a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, two bathrooms and a huge master bedroom with sitting area. The space is pretty ideal if you have kids. In the room was a dog bed and bowls for Luca. Any hotel that is so accommodating towards pets is a winner in my books. There is nothing worse than fighting with a hotel that he's a service dog and they don't have a choice (thank you, next).

We had dinner at Morada, the restaurant in the Inn. The decor is rustic and cozy. It kind of reminds me of a Ralph Lauren store. The menu had so many options for me, which is rare (I'm a pescetarian, fyi). Chef House came over and offered a tasting menu. It was the first tasting menu I could actually enjoy, since normally I can't eat half of what is brought out. My favorite dish was the bass.

After dinner, we didn't feel ready to head back to the room. We took a seat at the Huntsman Whiskey Bar and started chatting with Dutch, the mixologist. I complained to him that I never know what to order, and always end up ordering one of the following: Aperol Spritz, glass of champagne, glass of rose, Dirty Martini or port. I've never sat down with a mixologist to find creative drinks that I'd like. He was so patient and asked me tons of questions to figure out what I like and what I don't (which was surprisingly difficult for me, since I'm not quite sure when it comes to hard alcohol). He created a drink for me, and a few for Ray. It was the perfect end to our evening.

Sunday morning we started the day with a couples massage. I don't think I've ever had a massage first thing in the morning. Normally, I book them for the later afternoon before dinner. I have to say, it was SUPER relaxing. The bed was heated (a dream in the morning) and the massage therapists were incredible. We then spent some time having tea in the lounge before heading back to our room to pack up and go back to LA.

People always ask if we travel a lot around LA. The thing is: 1) it's expensive, and 2) we work (duh). But seriously, it's not so easy to find a place that is relatively close by, making a 24-48 hour trip worth it, and that's in our price range. The Inn totally satisfied our criteria, was relatively well priced and close to LA. We can't wait to make this an annual trip and go back next year...or maybe next summer, if I can convince Ray ;).

Hawaii Recap

Ray and I went to Hawaii for my 30th birthday. We both had never been and didn't really know what to expect. Everyone kept telling us that it was the most magical place. To be honest, we expected it to be a bit like Bali- beyond magical, tropical and foreign (even though it's part of the US). When we landed and noticed all of the strip malls and giant chain stores we were a bit confused. It took us a few days to genuinely appreciate it. While it may not be foreign in the way we had expected it, it was definitely breath-taking and unlike anywhere we've seen before. It also helps to know where to go and what to do.

Island.  We went to Maui and stayed there for 5 nights and 6 days. I think this was the perfect amount of time on the Island.

Hotel.   We stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua. We only stayed there because we used points. It was okay. The service was amazing but the facilities and rooms were just okay (i.e. not very luxurious). I would recommend it if you wanted to use points but I wouldn't stay there if I had to pay.

Restaurants.  When we landed we stopped at a food truck called Like Poke?, which was 5 minutes from the airport (in a Costco parking lot). I found it on yelp. The poke was UNREAL. We ended up stopping there on our way back to the airport. Our favorite dinners were Mamma's Fish House and Merriman's. Mamma's Fish House sits on the most beautiful piece of land overlooking the water. They have something called a rolling menu. The menu starts off with the fish they have that day and as the fish sells out, the fishermans' come and bring more fresh fish and they update the menu with whatever catch comes in. Merriman's also has the prettiest view (we ended up eating there twice).

Sightseeing.  We spent a day doing the Road to Hana. It's long but worth it. It took us about 9.5 hours of driving in total. I won't lie, I was really nervous since I tend to get pretty car sick. Surprisingly, I was okay. Just make sure to drive with the windows down and sit in the front. The valet driver at our hotel told us about the Shaka App and I don't know how we would have done it without it. The app is like a virtual tour guide. You download it and it works off of your GPS (since you lose service pretty quickly). The guide describes each stop and even offers helpful tips like whether it's worth it stop and see (since there are so many stops you can't possibly do it all in one trip), whether it's family friendly (aka the hikes aren't too difficult- perfect for me haha), where to park, how far you are from Hana etc. It also plays Hawaiin music and tells you stories about Hawaiin culture. It was like having your own private tour guide. I honestly don't know how people do it without it.

Clothes.  Bring cute beach clothes, sandals, running shoes and windbreakers. It rains a ton, but for a few short minutes each time. I didn't wear any of the heels I brought. And I definitely overpacked (oops!).

What I Wore in Tulum

It was so fun planning all my Tulum looks. Every time I book a vacation I look at it as an opportunity to really inspect my closet, see what I wear, what I'm over, what I need etc. For this trip, I mainly got a few new pieces at H&M. If you're heading on vacation hopefully the below will provide some clothing inspo.

What I Packed For Vegas

I didn't post a lot on my Instagram while I was in Vegas but I did post on stories. One night I posted my outfit with a Forever 21 bodysuit and I got the most swipe ups I've ever received! It led me to believe that I'm not the only one who has no idea what to wear in Vegas and is looking for some outfit inspo. I honestly had no idea what to wear since I knew mom jeans wouldn't work, let's be real. I spent hours on Pinterest doing some research and found some good outfit inspo. I then found the looks for less.

My Tulum Recap

My recap of my trip to Tulum is finally here! I'm sure you have had your fill of pics from my trip on Instagram. I had terrible Wifi while I was there, so I decided to wait and post my pics when I got home. That being said, I got so many DMs from people saying they are traveling to Tulum soon and wanted to know all the details. So I thought I would share all the details from my trip. I went to Tulum for a friend's 30th birthday. She planned and organized everything, so shout out to her for doing all the research and finding the best spots.

Villa: We stayed at the Tulum Treehouse. As you can see by the pictures, the architecture was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I wanted to take a picture of every section of the house. The house consists of 5 bedrooms. You can rent each bedroom individually or the house as a whole. Since we were ten people, my friend rented the entire house. It's nice to have the privacy of the entire house if you're a big group. If you are looking to stay there, here are my pros and cons. The biggest pro is the location. It's situated right on the main strip, next to all the good restaurants and bars. There's a terrace overlooking the most incredible view. You can have breakfast made every morning (heaven!). And two of the rooms are spacious and beautiful. The biggest con is that there is currently no air conditioning. Tulum is hot and humid, so be ready. Because it's so hot and you're kind of in the jungle, there are tons of mosquitos (bring lots of bug spray!) There are two beautiful rooms but the other three are quite small. And the bathroom in my bedroom had a clear window so there was minimal privacy, if you know what I mean. Overall it was a really amazing place and I would recommend it if you're a big group. If I ever went back with just Ray I would stay in a hotel.

Restaurants: We ate dinner at Casa Jaguar, Gitano, Kitchen Table and Hartwood. Gitano and Hartwood were my favorite. We ate lunch at Nomade twice and Coco Tulum. Nomade was amazing. They all have great food, pretty decor and fun vibes.

Nightlife: Can you imagine I have a category on nightlife? Yup, I went out most nights (proud?? lol). Casa Jaguar and Gitano turn into nightclubs. We also went to Papaya Playa (which is right next to the beach).

Some Other Tips: There are the cutest shops but extremely overpriced (you can get the same stuff for 1/4 the price on Etsy). For transportation, we took a CARM tour car from the airport to the villa. If you are considering getting pregnant anytime soon, don't go. I COMPLETELY forgot about Zika. Even though I'm not trying to get pregnant in the next few months, it still freaked me out. There's nothing I can do and hopefully I don't have it (or if I do, that it actually does go away after a couple of months). Overall I loved Tulum and definitely plan on going back in the future (maybe post babies, lol).

My Stay At The Fairmont Grand Del Mar

The past few months seem like a blur. Both Ray and I have been swamped with work and haven’t really stopped to relax, breathe and enjoy our surroundings. Not to mention that I went to London for 9 days without him. So we decided that a romantic getaway was necessary, stat. It's kind of strange but sometimes you need to force yourself to take a getaway. I can imagine that when you have kids this is particularly difficult.  However, even when you don't, it can sometimes be a challenge. I won't lie...Ray and I considered just staying home, snuggling in bed and catching up on shows (I mean, how bad can that be?!). But truth be told there is something important about getting out of your usual setting and getting into the mindset of a vacation. You focus on the two of you, limit your time on the phone/social media, try and limit work, get dressed up and just have fun. Do you guys know what I mean? I can’t stress enough the importance of prioritizing your relationship, getting away (even if it’s for a day), and reconnecting.

People ask us all the time if we travel around California. I hate to admit it but we don’t do it nearly enough. We’ve been to Palm Springs a handful of times and have made it to Santa Barbara, Ojai and Napa Valley. San Diego was on our list for a while so we decided to head there for our romantic weekend.

Saturday morning we packed up the car, grabbed a Starbucks and made our way there. We stayed at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar and wow! The service was incredible and the hotel was upscale and charming. Since we knew we were going to arrive by noon, we requested an early check-in. Our room was ready when we got there.

We had the most luxurious and spacious room. I should preface this by saying that I have been known to play musical rooms (cue Ray’s eye roll). Generally, I’m not pleased with the first room I’m given and politely request to change rooms until I’m satisfied. I won’t lie, I was ready to do it as per usual…until I walked into our room. The bathroom had a long double sink (with ample room for all my makeup and hair products…as if it was designed for me). Not to mention the most beautiful marble (yes, I took a million Instagram pics in there). There was a huge tub with Le Labo rose bath salts on the side (I mean…dreams).  There was a large king bed, sitting area and office space, which was perfect for Ray since he had to work. Our room opened up to a large terrace overlooking the adult pool. All of that is impressive but what really got to me was the dog bed and bowls they had ready for Luca (they really know the way to my heart).

Once we were settled in we made our way to Amaya for a late lunch. I had a glass of champagne while Ray chose a bloody maria (bloody mary made with tequila) and we shared something to eat. We then walked around the grounds, which are so picturesque. In the late afternoon, I got a therapeutic massage and Ray used the spa facilities. My massage was amazing, obviously. I love when spas pay attention to the little details, like heating your robe during the massage so that it’s warm and cozy when you’re done.  It takes the massage from great to unforgettable, if you know what I mean.

Saturday night we had a few cocktails at the bar before heading to town for dinner and a walk on the beach.  On Sunday we slept in (until 8…yup, we’re that old). We ordered room service, tried (but failed) to get Ray to take cute Instagram pics of me (it’s not easy to be an Instagram Hubby), and just stayed in our robes until we were ready to venture out. I won’t lie, I was mega sad to check out. While it was a short trip, I left feeling relaxed and recharged. Can’t wait to go back.