Oceanside, CA (Part 2)

Welcome to Part 2!  Above you will see a picture of my favorite place to hang out in Oceanside – Pierview Coffee.  I can’t even tell you how many times I ended up here on my trip, but I do know that one day I visited three times – coffee in the morning, gelato at lunch, and herbal tea in the afternoon.  It was just a short walk from where we were staying, so we walked down here for coffee and breakfast on several occasions.  I liked it so much, I even bought a t-shirt there (you’ll see it soon).

After looking at all the beautiful gardens in California, I’ve pretty much decided that I have to plant a succulent garden.  So many beautiful varieties – there were a ton that I had never seen before.

(Carlo makes goofy camera faces for me)

The food was pretty amazing too.  These are some fish tacos from Alfredo’s in Oceanside – seriously the best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten.  They were so awesome that I went back and got more two more times during the trip.

And these were the calorific Bacon Waffles I had at the Breakfast Club Diner (yes, named after that Breakfast Club).  That’s crumbled bacon mixed into the batter – heavenly, although my stomach felt loaded down the rest of the day.

We also spent one day in Balboa Park in San Diego, where we saw beautiful sculptures, looked at flowers, rode a vintage carousel (I caught one of the rings!) and rode a miniature train.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and I hope to have many more.

Oceanside, CA (Part 1)

A few weeks ago, I traveled with my boyfriend and his family to Oceanside, CA for a week.  I’d been to Southern California once before, for my boyfriend’s brother’s wedding.  This time we were traveling to meet his brother and sister-in-law’s brand new baby girl.  It was a really fun relaxing trip.  I could totally see myself living in Oceanside, if I didn’t have such deep ties to Tampa.  If I ever save up enough money, I’d love to buy a timeshare there that I could live at every summer.

Walking on the beach in California is amazing.  The sand is a lot darker than Florida’s, which seems more natural to me, since we import a lot of our white sand here.  There’s all these beautiful, smooth beach stones all over the place.  I brought a couple home with me.  And the waves!  I loved getting up early in the morning to sit out on the beach and watch surfers catch the waves.

Oh and the weather!  70s and 60s everyday.  I could wear jeans and a cardigan outside – in June! – and not get sweaty – even after walking for an hour.  That never happens in Florida summers.

I wore my Keen Sarasotas pretty much everywhere.  They continue to be the best beach shoes ever.  Even if they did give me minor blisters after walking for 3 + miles in them.

Me and Carlo on the Pier in Oceanside.  This is one of the best places to people watch.  Surfers, fishermen, locals, tourists – everyone ends up here.

More photos and stories to come in Part 2!

California: Part 2

Day 2 continued:

Yesterday I left you off mid-day through Day 2 of my trip to Encinitas, CA.  That night we went to the reception dinner, and I got a chance to rock my beautiful Ella Moss dress I recently scored.  I wore it with tights and my Fluevog Malibrans.  I threw my blue Anthro cardigan over it after it got chilly, but I didn’t get a photo of that.  Me and my boyfriend didn’t intentionally match, we just both really like the goldenrod.

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Dress: Ella Moss
Tights: Target
Shoes: John Fluevog Mailbrans
Headband: Anthropologie
Necklace: June Designs
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Day 3 was the wedding, and in all the craziness of the day, I didn’t get any photos of my outfit.  I wore the brown dress pictured in this post.  Hopefully I’ll get some photos from the folks soon.

Day 4 was our last day before heading back to Florida, and with the wedding festivities over, we had some free time to explore.  There was a farmer’s market within walking distance of where we were staying, so we checked that out, and I made out pretty well with some gorgeous handmade earrings and awesome garage sale finds.

In the afternoon, we went back to Moonlight beach again for one last blast before we had to leave.

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Tee: Old Navy
Long Sleeve: Kohls
Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Shoes: Born Codders
Purse: Timbuk2
Earrings: Efy Tal
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Finally, it was day 5, and time to spend the day flying back to Florida.  I rocked another variation my jersey dress and tights travel uniform.

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Dress: Lush
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tights: Target
Shoes: John Fluevog Malibrans
Purse: Timbuk2
Earrings: Efy Tal
Necklace: Coryell Design
Bangles: Jill Popowich

All in all, the trip was fantastic, but far too short.  I hope to get back to California again one day.

California: Part 1

Get ready for my California re-cap, Part 1!

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Encinitas, CA with my boyfriend and his family to go to his brother’s wedding.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Day 1:

Whenever I get the chance to fly, I always want to be comfortable, but stylish.  I see no reason why someone would need to wear sweats or pajamas to be comfortable on a plane.  My solution is always a jersey dress, tights, comfortable shoes and a shawl/scarf/wrap that I can use to keep warm if the flight is chilly.  I didn’t get a shot of my exact flying outfit, but I did get a photo of a variation I wore later that day, when we got dinner at Juanita’s Tacos in Encinitas (super yummy fish tacos, by the way)

day 1

Dress: Express
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tights: Target
Shoes: John Fluevog Mailbrans
Clutch: Revolve Clothing Exchange
Belt: Thrifted
Headband: Anthropologie
Necklace: June Designs
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Day 2:

For Day 2 of our trip, there’s was lots of free time until the reception dinner that night.  We started off the day by getting breakfast and coffee at Pannikin.  If you are ever in Southern California, you should check this place out.  You can tell it’s where all the local hipsters go.  Amazing coffee, delicious breakfast, and fun surroundings.

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Later I took some pictures around the Casitas where we stayed.  They consisted of two beautiful houses, with enough room to sleep five couples and three kids.  There was a courtyard and gardens weaving in between the houses and around them.  SO amazing.

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For lunch, we walked down to the Coast Highway and ate at this amazing Mexican restaurant, La Especial Norte. I had the best chicken soup ever.  The seasoning was amazing, and it had cilantro, avocado, and rice.  Super awesome.

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Then we walked down to Moonlight beach and I took plenty of cheesy tourist photos.

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Blouse: L8ter (thrifted)
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Born Codder
Purse: Timbuk2
Necklace: June Designs
Bangles: Jill Popowich

And no, I didn’t go surfing during the trip.  I have to say that in that aspect I’m a spoiled Floridian – the waters way too cold in Cali.  I did walk along the beach though, and I adored it.  It’s so amazing to see a beach that isn’t flat.  Gorgeous.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!

beach

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