Palm Springs

In August, Dai and I visited Palm Springs for the very first time. We decided to spend this little weekend away relaxing in the desert to celebrate his 30th birthday (and our 6th anniversary that was a few days later!). Palm Springs has been on my list of places to visit for a few years now and it amazes me that we didn't make it until this summer. It is in California after all, and only about an hour from my dad's house!

As you may know, I have this sliiiiight obsession with cute houses and all things mid-century modern. For someone like me, Palm Springs is pretty much paradise.

We opted to stay at the Marriott Desert Springs Villas in Palm Desert rather than directly in Palm Springs and absolutely loved it! While one day I would love to stay at a cool, retro hotel in the heart of Palm Springs, this resort was a relaxing oasis for us, which was exactly what we needed on this trip.
We stayed for two nights and spent our one full day lounging in the pool (because there is no lounging by the pool when it's 110 degrees out!), sipping on drinks, and laughing together. We went out to Babe's BBQ for a special birthday dinner, which was so very yummy!

We spent our evening drinking Moscow mules in the coper mugs I got Dai for his birthday and watching Master Chef on my laptop, which really is our kind of low key night. On our way out of town, we also stopped at a coffee shop in downtown Palm Springs, because how could I go somewhere new and not find a coffee shop to try?

This desert sunset was unlike any I had ever seen before. There is just something special about all of the open space, mountains, and palm tree silhouettes.

All of the awesome, unique houses made my heart so happy. I truly felt like a kid in a candy store! Thankfully Dai was pretty patient with me and let me drive around the neighborhoods and hop out every time I saw a house that I just had to have a photo of (which was like every few feet haha).
This was definitely such a nice little trip for us and we are already dreaming of going back next spring or summer. It was a weekend of pure relaxation, which we totally need sometimes! Our trips are usually packed with activities and things to see, but this was different and a welcomed change. We both felt so refreshed after these couple days in the desert.

Can't wait for our next visit!

West Coast Love // My Birthday in Carmel, CA

Since last Saturday was my birthday, Dai and I took a little drive down the coast to spend the day in Carmel. The weather was perfect, about 60 degrees and clearly sunny, which I know is just heart breaking to my friends and family spread out in the mid-west and east cost. I'm sorry guys, I'm really sorry. But, it was my birthday after all, so I'm not that sorry ;)


We stopped at Pebble Beach, and entered a CA state park that has a 17 mile scenic drive through the forestry, golf courses, beaches, and multi-million (like 17 million) dollar homes (of course).


We drove with the windows rolled down and took in the salty breeze. We stopped wherever we pleased to admire the beautiful scenery and take photos.

At one end of the drive, there were gates that let us exit the state park and dropped us off into the town of Carmel, our chosen destination. And then the adventure continued.



Carmel is small, cute, charming, and a bit whimsical. It is also full of tourists, but I actually don't mind. We spent some time walking around, until we decided that ice cream was a necessity. We stopped into a local bakery and ice cream shop, and each got a scoop. Salted caramel for me, of course, and butter pecan for Dai. We also got a few other treats to share and sat on a bench outside the public library to people watch.






We later got some deli sandwiches and had a picnic in the park. Its nice that Dai and I are the same kind of lunch people. We are both happy with sandwiches and iced tea, and even happier when we can make it a picnic. After our picnic, we continued to walk around the cute town, going in and out of shops. I talked myself out of buying this $80 necklace from Kate Spade NY (which I just might talk myself back into), and treated myself with a new shirt from the Anthro sale racks.


I had been to Carmel once before, but it is much cuter than I remember it being. I would love to come stay here for the weekend at one of the many whimsy inns or bed and breakfasts. I don't think I could entertain myself in the town all weekend, but we did see many nice restaurants we would like to try and there is exploring to be done at Big Sur not too far away.
We ended the afternoon by walking on the beach to enjoy the colorful sunset. The sand itself was so cold I could have sworn I was walking on snow, but ultimately, I didn't mind. The waves were so loud and strong, even though they were breaking so close to shore. I felt small, standing here on the beach, but I was happy. I was happy that the first day of my new decade of life had turned out with me standing on the beach at sunset, truly one of my favorite things.

It really is good to be alive.

Outfit // China Camp + Chambray

Hello my lovelies! It's been a slightly stressful week around here (remember those midterms?), but this past weekend was wonderful. I went to China Camp in San Rafael after visiting my sister who lives near there and having a photo shoot with my two month old nephew. He's simply the cutest and I will definitely be sure to share some of those photos when I am done with them :)

There's so much going on at this local state park. It is great for picnics, bike riding, and even photo shoots. Remember these maternity photos? Taken in a different part of this place! These wooden planks that run for hundreds of feet through the middle of a field of sorts (don't know what to call it!) are my favorite for exploring though.


There's something fun about walking up and down them, hopping off in spots to look at plants or little crabs that live in tiny pools of collected water. Though Marly wasn't on this adventure, he enjoys it too, and even hops all around the tall brush like a bunny.


I have finally, FINALLY learned how to make one of these awesome buns. It took me FOREVER. I tried the sock bun thing a couple years ago. Nope. I tried teasing my hair a bunch and doing it without the sock. Nope. When I was shopping alone in Dallas this June, I broke down and bought one of those bun donuts. It even had directions on the back, but of course those were no help whatsoever. After watching about a dozen tutorials online, I finally created a technique that has worked for me ever since. Score! Maybe I'll even get around to doing my own tutorial if there is interest...


I'm pretty excited that fall colors are here! As much as I do like bright, cheery colors, I feel most at home in deeper ones and love layers. So hooray! It still isn't crisp and chilly here so sandals were a must, but we will keep working on that. Can't wait to break out my boots! They call to me every morning, but I am just like, "It's not quite time, friends. Okay? Hang in there." Yep.

At any rate, I would say that October is shaping up to be a pretty good month so far, don't you think? School is just ridiculous and awful if I'm being honest, but the rest of life has got it going on. Let's try to keep this up for the next few weeks.

So now that you know I talk to my shoes, I think we can wrap this up and just hope that you come back tomorrow to find out what I did after this and enter yourself in a GIVEAWAY! Yep, that's right! It will be the very first giveaway I have hosted here on Foreign Room. Woot!

Napa

This is a little bit late, but last weekend I went to Napa with some friends. I know that I'm not old enough to enjoy the wine, but I enjoyed the pretty views and shooting 3 rolls of film! The food was great and the weather was so nice. I loved the vintage feel of the wine train and there was plenty to take photos of. I can't wait to develop and print my photos in my photography class :)