Oceanside for the weekend

We had such a great time at oceanside with the family this weekend. We pulled up to our blue sea cottage early Saturday afternoon and walked along the oceanside, ate all the foods (seafood linguine was top notch), and just enjoyed time catching up with the fam. My parents booked this cute little beach house that sat right on the oceanside, it was beyond perfect. Between the vintage furniture, touches of wicker and rattan, and the heart of the room overlooking the ocean, we were in heaven. I love that we’ve been making the trip out to the ocean more often over the last few years. There’s nothing like hearing the sound of the ocean and getting back in sync with nature again, even just for the weekend.

Outfit details:
Sweater: Zara Cardigan, JCrew White Crewneck
Jeans: Aritzia Yoko Slim
Shoes: Target

Travel Guide: A Weekend in Seattle

Seattle is such a fun city to explore, especially for a quick weekend getaway. Surrounded by mountains and water, you’ll find stunning views of the Pacific Northwest, plus a buzzing downtown filled with amazing shopping and even better food.

Where to Stay
You’ll find tons of hotel options within the downtown area, including the Ace Hotel, Thompson Seattle, or the Four Seasons for a full retreat. But if you’re doing a trip on a budget, I’d recommend Airbnb. There are so many great condos and apartments listed in the area, all within walking distance of Pike Place Market, shopping, and amazing dining.

Attractions
Pike Place Market is always at the top of my list while in Seattle. The year-round market sits on the waterfront and is filled with fresh produce, quirky shops, and the legendary fish market.  You’ll see huge salmon being tossed around, fresh flowers lined down the whole market, basically the market of my dreams (although a little more packed). A few stops you won’t want to miss are:  Beecher’s Handmade Cheese  a downtown staple that sits right outside the market. Their world’s famous mac and cheese is a must try. Also, don’t leave without picking up one of Cinnamon Works gigantic cookies. They’re incredible, and vegan & gluten friendly too!

The shopping downtown Seattle is on point. All of my favorites stores within just a few blocks: Nordstrom, Sephora, Zara, Allsaints, Lush, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Club Monaco, Eileen Fisher and more. Perfect for a quick spree, or you could make a whole day out of it!

Although we didn’t make it out this trip, if you’re an out-of-towner you must hit see the iconic Space Needle and Monorail. Take a ride up to see some of the greatest views in Seattle, and don’t miss the local dining and drinking spots nearby!

Food & Dining

Coffee, Breakfast
For the coffee lovers, you’ve got to make a stop at the original Starbucks, parked right outside Pike Place market. Even if you don’t end up grabbing a cup (lines can be pretty long), it’s totally fun to see the original design that hasn’t changed since 1971.

 Currant Bistro located inside the Sound Hotel is also a fave, if you have a love for açaí bowls, this is the place for you. During our most recent visit I went for the City Bowl that ended up being the size of my face! They have a great selection of locally sourced ingredients for breakfast and lunch, plus a chic bar area too.

Dining, Cocktails
Honestly, there are tons of great dining spots in the city, it’s hard to go wrong. My recommendation would be to always go for seafood. Indulge in all the crab, shellfish and salmon! One of our favorites is Pike Place Chowder, famous for their award winning New England chowder. The lines are long but move fairly quickly, you won’t regret it.

If you want to take it up a notch I’d recommend Wasabi Sushi & Izakaya. They have a great selection of creative sushi (our spicy tuna rolls were amazing), fun drinks and I’m obsessed with their miso soup with clams, a must if you go! For cocktails, PennyRoyal was a great spot to end the night. It has a loung-y vibe with emerald green accents, black velvet booths and a fun selection of infused cocktails, I dig it! The Nest Rooftop Bar, although we didn’t make it this trip it came highly recommended for a summer’s evening. It’s located inside the Thompson Hotel, and I mean who doesn’t enjoy cocktails on a rooftop??

Overall, we had a fantastic stay in Seattle. Always so fun to wander around the Emerald City, already looking forward to future visits!

A long weekend in Scottsdale - 5 Ride or Die Products

Had so much fun spending a long weekend in Arizona with my mom. We were both in need of a little sun, pool time, and just a weekend of pure relaxation. Temperatures were in the 90’s- we just laid by the pool, chatted, and just soaked up the sun - it was absolutely perfect. Throughout the weekend there were 5 ride or die items I just didn’t want to take off.

 Let’s start with sun care. I knew I wanted something with a higher SPF that had a light coverage since I’d be jumping in and out of the pool, The Origins Ginzing Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 40 was the perfect fit. This products smells heavenly, has a slight tint, one of those ones with gray beads that burst as you blend it into your skin, and there’s no traces of it when you’re in the water. Along with the SPF, this sun hat from H&M definitely saved my scalp, and helped provide some shade in the 90 degree heat. Love a good sun hat, cute and functional!

For shoes I brought the Bay Slides from Sam Edelman. These are so great, even though I brought other shoes with me, I ended up wearing these the entire trip! I also wore these for the majority of our Europe trip last summer. I like that they have a bit of cushion (gotta love Sam Edelman’s attention to comfort). Would definitely repurchase.

Then for swimwear, I ended up wearing my Aritzia Noé Swimsuit most days. It’s so good. I was shopping in Aritizia the week before I left and stumbled upon it, tried it on, and had to take it home. It’s red, has a bow, and has a cheeky cut out right under the bust. SUPER cute.

Last but not least, I couldn’t stop wearing the Daisy Mejuri necklace- it hasn’t came off since it arrived in the mail a few weeks back! I knew straight away it was coming with me to Scottsdale. The gold chain hits at the perfect length, making it easy to pair with my sentimental necklaces. Plus, I’m a big fan of gold necklaces on tanned skin.

It was so nice to get away for a long weekend, catch up with my mom, soak up the sun and just RELAX. Love a trip that just fills you up, you know?

Travel skincare: Japan

 One thing I don’t risk getting wrong while I’m on vacation is skincare. I love testing out new products but when it comes to being out of town for more than just a weekend, I like to stick to products I know work. One less thing to worry about! These four items were just haves during my recent trip to Japan.

For cleansing I brought the Amore Pacific Foaming cleanser. Since Japan seemed a little more polluted than a tropical getaway, I opted for a cleanser that would do a thorough cleanse every night. As the name suggests, it’s a foaming cleanser, but it feels luxurious on the skin? It doesn’t strip the oils from my face like most foaming cleansers do. And it removes all of my makeup so I always feel super clean after. 

Next I brought my Kora Organics oil, this was a no brainer. Perfect for layering before and after our 12 hour plane rides. The travel size is perfect too. I even mixed it in with some of my body lotion when I needed a little more hydration.

I brought two different moisturizers, one for morning, one for night. For mornings, I brought my current moisturizer,  the Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream. I like to bring whatever moisturizer I’m currently using, then I just depot it into one of these travel jars I picked up from Amazon. They’re the perfect size for travel, and I like that I can put in as much or as little as I need.

Lastly I brought my Summer Friday’s Jet Lag mask. I love that this doubles as a mask and a night time moisturizer. Love a good two in one product! Perfect for using on the plane, mid flight when you need a little hydration, but perfect for night time too. Would definitely repurchase this product. Smells amazing too! 

Travel Scents

Everytime I travel somewhere new I always make an effort to bring a new scent along with me. Whether I pick it up beforehand or during my trip, I love having a scent that transports me back to that place. We went to Europe last summer and I was convinced I was going to pick up a new scent from Le Labo (we even stopped by their boutique in Paris!), but none of the scents felt right for me. A few stops later in Amsterdam, I stumbled upon the perfect scent in And Other Stories. Let me first say, oh my gosh I love this store so much, I was so stoked to find a store in Europe since they’re not here in the states yet, and it did not disappoint. While testing out their beauty products I picked up the Perle de Coco perfume and I knew it was the one. The name intrigued me and then I saw it had notes of coconut and warm vanilla, it was basically calling my name. I immediately fell in love and ended up picking up the perfume and hand cream. Sadly, the scent isn’t available in perfume form in the states yet (so sad!) but you can still buy the roll on perfume oil, body wash and lotion, so I’ve stocked up on those! I love how I’m instantly transported back to some of my favorite memories whenever I wear it. We’re headed to Japan next month and I’m excited to pick out a new scent for there too. Do you have a perfume that transports you back to somewhere you’ve traveled?

Beauty Bits for a Weekend on the Coast

This last weekend we decided to take a little trip to one of our favorite coastal towns, Astoria!  The perfect weekend getaway, about two hours away from home, filled with so many cute boutiques and restaurants and overlooking the beautiful coast. We decided to skip the historical sites this time and spend more time relaxing and taking in the peaceful atmosphere - it was perfect. Along with me I brought some beauty and skincare bits that would fit right in with the easy weekend. 

Since I knew we’d be spending a lot of time indoors, (the coast is utterly cold this time of year!) I opted for hydrating products. Starting off with the Farmacy Green Clean face balm. I like how emulsifying this cleanser is. I like to massage the product in for at least a minute before rinsing. Then I’ll spray a few sprtiz of facial water all over the face, this help my Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil sink in a little better. I love how rich this oil is without being overly heavy on the skin. For daytime, I go in with the Keihls Ultra Facial Cream SPF 30. Love that they came out with an SPF version. And at night, I prefer to lather on the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask. I like how quickly this absorbs into the skin - no residue on pillow cases!

For makeup, I kept it easy. I brought my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (perfect natural coverage) with my Bareminerals Serum Concealer overtop. One of my favorite on the go makeup items is this pallette from It Cosmetics. It has a bronzer, blush and highlighter all in one - so easy to sweep onto the cheeks! For eyes, I took the Mac Eye Kohl in  shade Teddy, smudged into the lash line. Then topped it off with the Loreal Voluminous Mascara. And ta da - full face done under three minutes! Since I knew we’d be going out for dinner and drinks, I also tucked the Le Marc Liquid Lip Crème in my purse to add a little oomph during the evenings. I really like the shade Truth or Bare.

Overall, we had such an amazing time in Astoria. It’s nice to get away for the weekend and rejuvenate by the water. Is this the pisces in me? If so, shoutout to all my other water signs!