Swinging open the bedroom window to the mellow weather and sea breeze was the best way to begin our days.
Pack a Bag: Monterey Hotel
Tag: travel
24 Hours In: Los Angeles
Los Angeles has always been an enigma to me. I find it to be so easy to plan a trip in any walkable city. Philadelphia, New York, Boston, DC: I have dominated planning trips in all of them. Cars seem to be so necessary in LA, that it is just intimidating. The last time I [...]
Pack a Bag: The Carlton
The Carlton is the ideal midpoint of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Paso Robles is underrated wine country due to its big sisters, Napa and Sonoma, located just up on the 101. This territory should not be missed; I am not lying when I say that I returned home with five bottles from the two [...]
Pack a Bag: The Monkey Tree Hotel, Part II
Jamie and I stayed at Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs and I cannot wait to make the another trip back. As a preservationist, I can appreciate a storied history and the Monkey Tree Hotel has rich one. The property went through several iterations: the OG Monkey Tree Hotel phase ran from 1960 until 1988 when it switched hands and [...]
48 Hours In: Palm Springs
Perhaps it is the inevitable Coachella burnout but I get the sense that Palm Springs is underrated in the sense of cultural resources, art, and architecture. The desert town is not just flamingo floats and alcoholic beverages, although there is plenty of that, but I am so excited to share the rest of the best [...]
Pack a Bag: The Monkey Tree Hotel, Part I
Jamie and I took a friendship roadtrip from southern California destinations up to Napa. We went sideways, you could say. Our first stop on our friendship roadtrip? A bucket list destination for both Jamie and I has always been Palm Springs. Fun fact: Jamie and I met in graduate school, where we were both at [...]
Pack a Bag: The Blue @iguanainnsojai Part II
part I... Perhaps it was because I was a few days out from the office and all of the associated deadlines, but I could feel myself mentally relax as we were driving from the east coast to the west coast. Conversely, because we were in the car for seven days, I think we both were [...]
Pack a Bag: The Blue Iguana Inn of Ojai, Part I
We stayed at the Blue Iguana Inn for the last night of our cross country road trip. The boutique hotel is one of two sister hotels in Ojai, California. I have a feeling that the Iguana Inns are complete sleeper destinations, in that they are so low key especially in comparison to surrounding hotels; however pulling [...]
Pack a Bag: Hotel Congress, Part II
part one... While we were at Hotel Congress, we indulged in adult beverage aplenty, some delicious food, and streamlined but comfortable accommodations. I loved that in keeping with the historic quality of the hotel, the guestrooms are not equipped with televisions. This kept us out of the room and out and about. The measure undoubtedly [...]
Pack a Bag: Hotel Congress, Part I
The sixth night of our cross country road trip brought my husband and me to Tucson, Arizona, specifically the Hotel Congress. The Hotel Congress is not only listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but is also a Historic Hotel of America. It was nominated for two of the categories of the Historic Hotels of [...]
Pack a Bag: The Hotel Paisano, Part II
I know where to find the best margarita in Marfa.
You got a, Prada {Marfa}, bag with a lotta, stuff in it
The opening photograph of this blog post may seem familiar to those who have binged Gossip Girl. When the series starts, the van der Woodsen family's upper east side flat is under renovation but upon the first few episodes of the second season, the matriarch Lilly, is selecting art for the newly updated home. One [...]