California Babymoon: Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu + Laguna Beach

July 17, 2018

Baby girl is only a few months from making her grand entrance, but we know as soon as she arrives, time to ourselves will essentially be non-existent. So as a last ditch effort to have one more trip just the two of us, we planned a little babymoon getaway to southern California. A few years ago we had a great time in Central California and this felt like the perfect time to make our way south to enjoy an easy going vacation. We began our trip in Venice Beach, a really cute LA neighborhood centrally located and a perfect base for exploring the surrounding areas.

^^First stop was a delicious lunch at Gjelina. Located on Abbot Kenney, one of the main streets occupying Venice Beach, which is also lined with lots of other great restaurants and cute shops.^^Tucked back amongst the homes in the area, you’ll find a series of canals in homage to the famous ones located in Venice, Italy. It’s a great place to take an evening walk before dinner to admire the water-front houses, watch the ducks swim by, and view the sunset over the canals.SHOP THE LOOK

^^breakfast at Gjusta, a more casual sister restaurant to Gjelina with a focus on baked goods: pastries, fresh bread, pizza…as well as breakfast dishes, smoothies, fresh juices, coffee and sandwiches. There’s a really great patio out back as well + a spot on curated homes goods store next door if you’re looking for something with that southern California bohemian vibe. ^^Great way to get around the neighborhood: Scooters….only a dollar a mile when you download the app. ^^Can’t get enough of the plants and flowers everywhere. I guess that’s what perfect year-round weather will do.^^Spent a day at Venice and Santa Monica beaches relaxing and getting some much needed sun. Santa Monica is about a 1.5 mile walk up the beach from Venice. ^^Route 66 begins in Chicago and ends at the Santa Monica Pier. The Pier is full of lots of rides, games and your typical carnival type foods but it would be a great (although busy) place to take kids or just to check out if you have some extra time. The view from the very end of the pier is really nice. SHOP THE LOOK

^^Indulging in a little shopping at Brentwood County Mart. We stopped in Goop, Doen and Poppy Store and had lunch at Farmshop. Really cute area with a great selection of boutique shops in a nice outdoor setting.

MALIBU

We spent a day in Malibu, about a 30 min drive north up the PCH from Venice Beach. I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and the less crowded beaches. We arrived early and found easy parking right off Surfrider beach by the pier. We grabbed breakfast at Farm Cafe (at the end of the pier – counter service), set up on the beach for the morning, then grabbed a late lunch back at Farm Restaurant (at the front of the pier – sit down service). After a couple more hours enjoying Surfrider beach, we made our way up the coast to El Matador beach and spent some time there. On the way back we drove up through the hills into Calabasas and back down to Venice Beach, which made for a nice scenic detour. It was definitely one of my favorite days from the trip.

^^Finding this dress from Faithfull the Brand I purchased last year to be quite useful this summer over the baby bump. ^^Farm Cafe—how breakfast should look every day ^^settled in—happy camper anytime I’m set up on a beach for the daySHOP THE LOOK

^^Cauliflower crust pizza from Farm Restaurant—delicious!

^^El Matador Beach – really beautiful atmosphere with big rocks and little coves to hang out in.

LAGUNA BEACH

Our final stop of the trip after spending a few days inland in Palm Springs, was to visit our family in Laguna Beach. The vibe is really laid back in Laguna so it was the perfect place to end our trip. We had a great time visiting the various beaches in the area and hanging out with our cousins and their adorable kiddos. Made for some great practice for the years to come :) ^^Anita Street at Laguna Beach ^^Crystal Cove Beach ^^Sandcastle time :) Crystal Cove is really family friendly with lots of space for kiddos to run around, dig in the sand, + a couple nice restaurant options. You can also rent condos right on the beach if you are really looking for a beachfront experience. ^^San Clemente—about 20 mins south of Laguna. A really quaint little Spanish inspired town with a nice beach, beautiful pier and lots of cute restaurants and shops.