Travel

Designer Destination | Little River Inn Mendocino

A couple of weeks ago we took a little family road trip up the coast to a great Northern California beach town called Mendocino. There’s just something about the NorCal coast that just calls to me. The beaches are so wild and rustic compared to your typical California beach. The rocks, bluffs, trees and plants are so gorgeous up here. We stayed at this great historic hotel called the Little River Inn. In fact, they’ve been in operation since 1939 with the same family! Innkeeper Cally Dym is the fifth generation owner along with her husband, Executive Chef Marc Dym. The inn has a notable guest history as well, from Ronald Reagan to James Dean (while filming East of Eden). It’s situated right off of Highway 1, on the bluff right above the beach. The view is seriously stunning, it doesn’t get any better.

Designer Destination | Coachman Hotel

We took advantage of the holiday last week and decided to get some snow fun in. Arden had ski week (the whole week off) so we packed our bags and headed off to Tahoe. This time we decided instead of hitting up our usual destination, we’d mix it up a bit and stay in South Lake Tahoe. I had heard of a gorgeous (yet reasonably priced!!!) hotel there called the Coachman. After seeing pics of it, I just new I had to stay there.

Designer Destinations | Solage

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared a Designer Destination with you all and I have SUCH a great one to share with you guys today: Solage located in Calistoga. I’ve been an admirer of Solage for awhile now and I’m excited that we got a chance to stay there a few weeks ago. It was just as amazing as I had hoped.

Solage is tucked away in a nice little corner of town, just a hop away from Lincoln Ave. The grounds are gorgeous and the hotel is spread out with rooms in several quaint cottages with a main lobby and restaurant in larger modern farmhouse-style buildings. There are complimentary beach cruisers placed around the property for your leisure, very cool. I managed to take a quick jaunt around the grounds after checking in! The pool is amazing, with palm trees and mountains serving as its backdrop.

What to pack for camping

We’ve had a pretty great fall season over here in Northern California. Lots of good camping to be had and now that we’re in winter-mode, I really feel like I have my camping packing list down. I always used to struggle with what to bring camping, I know I’m not alone! I either didn’t pack enough or I packed way, way too much. So I figured I’d share with you, all of my must-haves when we go glamping/camping, some of which I found out about from my friends, who run a glamping location you can check out at https://whitehouseonwye.co.uk/. We went to Tahoe the week before last and I figured I’d take some fun pictures of my camping set up for you all.

Designer Destination | Sunset Magazine Gardens

I had the pleasure of attending Sunset Magazine‘s newest gardens and outdoor test kitchen opening a few weeks ago at Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma. It was beautiful and so inspiring! They had some amazing speakers and demos going on. So many fun vendors and activities going on a well. But underneath it all lies the gorgeousness of the gardens themselves. If you’re in the Sonoma area (wine tasting perhaps?) its definitely worth the trip.

Designer Destination | The Farmhouse Inn

Remember when I said I’d be posting more on my travels? Well, I’ve decided to start a new series called Designer Destinations. As you all know in my 36 hour posts, I like to feature places that are aesthetically pleasing. I make it a priority to visit places that are appealing to the senses, whether it’s a restaurant, boutique or hotel. I’d love to be able to share these fun spots with you guys!

The first place I wanted to share with you is the Farmhouse Inn in Sonoma County. I stayed there a few weeks ago with the whole family and it was just gorgeous. I know you guys would love it. They did a major renovation not too long ago resulting in some majorly gorgeous digs. I had serious house envy going on. It’s one of the very few hotels I’ve stayed where I felt like moving in. I really could have stayed forever 😉 Pretty idyllic right?

36 Hours | Santa Barbara California

I was lucky enough to visit my old hometown of Santa Barbara a few weeks ago. I lived there for about 10 years before I moved back up to the Bay Area. It’s been years since I’ve visited and it was SO fun to be back. You’ve probably heard of it from watching movies like Sideways or It’s Complicated. and it’s really just an all around gorgeous place. I mean…beach + wine country = paradise, am I right?

It’s amazing how much it’s changed since my last visit. The Funk Zone was non-existent when I was there last, so it was great to be able to check it out for the first time. I created a fun itinerary for you guys with a great mix of some of my new and old favorites 🙂 Here’s two days in Santa Barbara, California for under $500.

Wander Wisely

It’s no secret that the travel bug has found me lately. You might have noticed my 36 hours in under $500 series – there are 6 different destinations now! And I’m going to be starting up a new travel-related series very, very soon. So keep you eyes peeled! It will have a different focus than my 36 hours series, but with all the feels that you know and love 😉 I’ll be visiting destinations of all types but keeping the visual appeal as one of my top priorities!

Now, if you’ve ever done a lot of traveling, you’ll know that there are plenty of tips and tricks to finding the best deals, destinations and times to go. Finding a reliable source of travel advice was absolutely necessary when I decided to expand my blog in that direction. It was important to me to experience the very best of wherever I travelled to, in order to recommend it to all of you. It’s all about getting the most bang for your buck. I’ve found a few go-to travel resources to help me on my adventures, but one site in particular is super useful for not only great itinerary suggestions and travel destinations, but great travel deals as well. That’s why I decided to partner with them on today’s post! Travelocity has really been ramping up their offerings lately and their newest Wander Wisely motto really strikes a chord with me.

Whenever I find myself in a kind of slump on where to travel to next, I end up googling…but as you can imagine, the results are overwhelming and not curated in any way. I’ve found that the Travelocity Inspire Blog is an amazing resource on not only cool and unique destinations, but great tips on what to do when you get there. I mean, would you have any idea where the best place to go off-the-grid in Mexico is? Or if you were visiting NY with kids, wouldn’t you want to pick the best tour to take them on? I especially love this article on the top 20 US cities to visit with kids, definitely adding a few of those to my bucket list. OR even better since summer is right around the corner: Summer Getaways the whole family will love! Man, I can’t wait for summer 😉 And more traveling…Luckily I have a few destinations coming up so I’ll be posting about them on the blog soon. What about you guys? What travel plans do you have this summer? I’d love to hear about them!

Oh and last, but definitely not least, Travelocity is offering 15% off select hotels (Min. Spend $300 + 3 Nights) until 5/15 (travel by 12/31/16), just use the codeTRAVELOCITYFLASH!

Salt Lake City in 36 Hours

Okay folks I’m freshly back from Alt Summit and Salt Lake City. I wanted to share with you some of the great places I visited in case you find yourself in that neck of the woods. It was my first time in Utah and I’d love to go back, especially in the fall. I think SLC would be amaaaazing in the fall. So without further ado, here’s the next stop in my 36 hours series: Salt Lake City in 36 hours and under $500!

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NHMU | slc county building*

HYATT HOUSE*

HYATT HOUSE*

LA BARBA COFFEE | FINCA

DAY ONE

COFFEE
PUBLIK COFFEE
You’ve got to start the morning off on the right foot and this is the place to do it! $4

BREAKFAST
passion flour
Okay you guys, two words for you here about Passion Flour: VEGAN CROISSANTS. I think the sun has a special ray of light that shines down on this place all. the. time. $6

DO
natural history museum of utah
T his museum is a fun place to spend the day. This landmark building was built to look like a part of the base of the mountains. Great place to go with kids…or even with no kids. $13
LUNCH
sage’s cafe
I had a quick meal here and got the pesto pasta and a milkshake, both vegan of course. And it was delish! $15
PLAY
discovery gateway
If you’re traveling with kids, this is the place to be! $9.50

STAY
HYATT house salt lake city
This is one of Salt Lake City’s newest hotels and it was awesome. I stayed at a different hotel the first few nights while at Alt Summit and I had roommates. SO when I moved over to the Hyatt house it felt so luxurious to have my own suite. A kitchen, living room area and bathroom all to myself. Loved it. The bed was suuuper comfy and the TV swiveled around from facing the living room to facing the bed. Pure awesome. The customer service was top notch too. So helpful. They have this great list of equipment that you can “borrow” while there, from baby high chairs to curling irons. So cool right? Everything was brand spanking new and there was a fun lounge area to hang out in downstairs. Oh and free hot breakfast in the morning? Yes. Please. And can I just say, the price can’t be beat? I priced out the room at $100/night. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me! $100

SHOP
alice lane
Alice Lane is definitely one of SLC’s best home decor shops. A definite must visit!

DINNER
finca
I had dinner at Finca during Alt as part of the Minted sponsored dinner. I was SO happy to be a part of it because Minted’s dinner was in high demand and spots filled up within 10 mins of being announced! The dinner theme was black and white and we were seated in the private dining room. Let me tell you it was GORGEOUS. The wall was covered in luscious black, floral wallpaper and Minted hung some of their art prints selection in modern gold frames. It was stunning. And to top it off Minted used some of their new home collection (napkins, table runners, etc) to outfit the tabletop. The menus and place cards (printed by Minted, of course) coordinated perfectly. No detail was left unfinished. It was a good night. Oh and the food, let me tell you, the food…was just as perfect as the decor. We had some tasty grub and plenty of it. I’ll definitely be going back! $60

DESSERT
Omar’s rawtopia
Omar’s is a raw restaurant if you didn’t pick that up from the name already 😉 They serve lunch and dinner BUT I really want to talk about the dessert. Because…you guys, raw vegan cheesecake. Yep, you read that correctly, cheeeeesecake. Hello. $8

PASSION FLOUR | BOHEM

capitol building* | sunset in slc

ZEST | PUBLIK COFFEE

DAY TWO
BREAKFAST
zest
I had brunch at Zest on Saturday and it was one of the best ways to start a weekend. Hands down. I had the savory chickpea pancakes and man, they were tasty. One of the friends I was with got the buckwheat pancakes and highly recommended those too. I’d love to go back for dinner sometime, because I hear they have some crazy good cocktails. $20

COFFEE
LA BARBA COFFEE
Another tasty local favorite for coffee shop. A friend told me that the locally-owned coffee shops in Salt Lake are so good that Starbucks keeps open up shops and then closing them back down again. Pretty awesome, right? Shop local! $4
DO
TEMPLE SQUARE
Iconic. Stately. Beautiful. Just yes.

LUNCH
budS
Buds is 100% plant based. They have super fun things on the menu like BBQ jackfruit. I mean, come on, you’ve gotta try jackfruit at least once in your life right? $10

PLAY
hogle zoo
Salt Lake City has a great zoo. So fun for the whole family. $15
SHOP
BOHEM
Hipsters paradise in Salt Lake City. This shop has all the modern goods that the inner artist in you, could ever want. Seriously inspiring and worth a peek!

DINNER
forage
I’ve heard you have to make reservations at this place at least 3 months in advance. Luckily when I searched for a spot the day of, they had one availability at like 8:45pm, but still. Tasty bites worth every penny! $90

DESSERT
cakewalk
You guys, you guys…this place has vegan Twinkies! I’m dying right now because I didn’t get to go to this place before heading home. But please, if you’re in SLC, go here and get a vegan twinkie (called a Dillo) and tell me how ‘mazing it is, mkay? $5

Minted Black and White Dinner at Finca. Image c/o Amber Reverie.

The florals where gorgeous!**

Dinner conversation 😉 **

San Francisco Bay Area Bloggers: Rachelle, Sally, Jessica, me and Megan

Waiting to speak…do I look nervous? 😉 With Miranda and Alison.**

I hope you enjoyed my little foray around Salt Lake City! I know I did and I can’t wait to go back…those vegan croissants and twinkies are calling my name! 😉

*Images courtesy of Jessica at HejDoll.

** Images courtesy of AltSummit.

This post is brought to you in partnership with Hyatt House and Minted. Thanks for supporting Copy Cat Chic and our generous sponsors.

I’m Speaking at Alt Summit

Reichel Broussard | Copy Cat Chic | I'm a speaker at Altitude Summit Winter 2016

image via

I’m headed to Alt Summit this week! Are any of you going? I’d love to see you there! I’ve been invited to be a speaker and I’ll be on a fun panel with Miranda Anderson, Eva Jorgensen and Alison Faulkner and we’ll be talking about how to make money blogging. Yep, it’s going to be a good one 😉 I’m pretty excited.

And I wanted to give you guys a HUGE (belated) THANK YOU for voting for me in the Hayneedle contest awhile back. You guys made it all possible. I don’t think I ever announced it, but I was the winner! Which means that Hayneedle is paying for my airfare and hotel. That’s basically the only way I could have made it this year, so thank you again for all of you who voted. You are amazing and I’m humbled by all of your support. Love you guys!

The next week or so will be a little bit of a detour from our usual posts, as I’ll probably be posting more about the event and about Salt Lake City (I’m hoping to do a quick travel post too!). But I’ll be sure to keep the usual posts going as well.

Packing for Alt has been on my mind lately, so I figured I’d share with you what I’m planning on bringing and wearing next week. I’ve always admired my friend Jessica’s packing lists, so I figured I’d share one of my own for Alt Summit 😉

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