Travel

Road trip to Tahoe with the kids in spring

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged casual style / family / mansur gavriel / outfits / spring 2016 / travel style / travel tips by

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Pictured: Scenes from Auburn, Ca.

What I wore for our road trip to Tahoe in the spring: Sunglasses: Chanel / Lipstick: Chanel Mighty / Earrings: Kendra Scott / Tee: Banana Republic / Necklace: Kendra Scott / Handbag: Mansur Gavriel / Bracelets: Kendra Scott / Nail Polish: Dior Cosmic / Jeans: Gap / Shoes: Jimmy Choo

For spring break, we took the kids up to Lake Tahoe in order to ski, play in the snow, see a silver mine, relax at the beach, and have fun! The San Francisco Bay Area is about a four hour drive from Lake Tahoe, so this was a perfect road trip with the kids.

When we road trip with the kids, we always leave the house at a time when other people are not leaving their homes. This ensures an easy drive to our destination without hitting too much traffic. For our road trip to Tahoe with the kids, we left the house at 7am on Sunday morning. This was the best time to leave the house. Most people left for Tahoe Friday after school, or on Saturday morning since the public schools had spring break. This meant empty freeways, and highways, for our road trip to Tahoe with the kids! Love that!

It is always a good idea to stop on our way up to the mountains. The last thing we want is a child with elevation sickness. My favorite place to stop for a break on our way to Lake Tahoe is Auburn, Ca. If you would like to visit, it is easy to find. Look for the “Old Town Auburn” sign on Highway 80 and follow the exit. You will be right in the middle of town!

Auburn is an historic gold mining town. The Old Town Auburn area offers a few choices for meals, and snacks. We can also walk around and see historical spots to share with our children. It is a nice break from the road, and something educational for the kids. Now that’s win/win!

My favorite place to have a meal on the road in Auburn, Ca is Edelweiss. They offer a HUGE menu filled with brunch, and lunch items. My kids love it! I highly recommend it if you are road tripping to Tahoe, and would like a place to stop on your way up there.

I always like to be comfortable when I am on a road trip with the kids. Since it is springtime, I decided to go with a fun pair of embroidered jeans, my go-to casual tee, comfortable denim espadrilles, and my favorite handbag. This outfit was perfect for sitting in the car, and walking around Auburn with the kids.

We arrived in Truckee at 11:40am; even though we stopped for almost an hour in Auburn on our drive up. Sunday morning is definitely the best time to drive to Tahoe with kids!

Stay tuned! I have more articles coming up this week about our spring break trip to Lake Tahoe.

My road trip outfit to Tahoe in the spring season:

What to pack for Tahoe in the spring

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged family / packing / snow trip / spring 2016 / tahoe by

Tahoe spring season packing list

Have you ever asked yourself, “What should I pack for a ski trip in the spring?” I just asked myself this same question while planning my family vacation to Lake Tahoe over spring break in April.

We normally visit Lake Tahoe, or go skiing, over Christmas break, or Ski Week. This year, our schedules were a little crazy with fashion week in February, and my husband’s work trip at the same time. So, we decided to take on Tahoe during spring break. The problem? Spring break is April 2016! This means the snow pack could be questionable, and skiing? Not 100% sure it is on the table.

Our trip included two travel days, and five full days in Truckee; just a few minutes north of Lake Tahoe. We decided to plan a few different activities in order to make sure our kids would have plenty of fun, snow or no snow. In order to combine snow activities, lakefront beach activities, hiking, and poolside fun, I had to make sure we were packed for any adventure.

Here is my packing list for what to pack for Tahoe in the spring season:

Skiing and snow activities:

Ski pants / 3 in 1 jacket / boots / short sleeve tee / gloves / snow hat

*If you own ski or snowboard equipment, be sure to bring it along just in case there is still snow on the slopes. If you don’t own your own gear, you can always rent ski gear, sleds and/or saucers.

Hiking:

Shoes / jeans / jacket / short sleeve tee /

Lounging at the cabin:

Flannel PJ’s / book / slippers / robe

Poolside fun and beach activities:

Swimsuit / cover-up / flip-flops / sun hat / sunscreen travel kit

Shopping and dining on the lake, and in Truckee:

Look 1: Dress / shoes / handbag / earrings / bracelet /

Look 2: jeans / lug shoes / tee shirt / jacket / handbag / earrings / ring

This took up one 21” suitcase, and one 24” suitcase. I also carried my handbag separately, and stuffed my tech into my smaller suitcase. A blogger never leaves home without a DSLR, iPad, iPhone, and small laptop!

Since my kids needed less shoes, and no blogger baggage ;-), they were able to fit similar items into one 21” suitcase. My husband fit all of the above, with no tech, and less shoes, into one 21” suitcase, and one backpack. The trunk of our small SUV was quite full!

This turned out to be the perfect packed suitcase for a trip to a snow resort town during the spring months. A little snow, a little sun, and a ton of fun! Next time you travel to Lake Tahoe, consider visiting in the spring. It makes a great family vacation!

Stay tuned! I have more articles posting later this week about all the fun activities for families in Lake Tahoe in the spring months!

Thank you for stopping by to see what to pack for Tahoe in the spring,

Cathy

XOXO

New York Fashion Week travel guide

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged city guide / instagram / lifestyle / restaurants by

restaurants near skylight clarkson

New York Fashion Week has come to an end. In addition to seeing all the new collections on the runways for next season, attending New York Fashion Week also means travel for those of us who are not from New York. This means rushing from show to show, stopping for a bite to eat at a restaurant, and having fun! So I decided to make a little New York Fashion Week travel guide for you!

One of my favorite things about traveling, is having an excuse to eat out! Although some moments during fashion week mean eating snacks instead of a full meal, or grabbing something fast to-go, there are moments when I can indulge in a sit down meal at a fabulous restaurant. I have four favorite restaurants to eat at while in New York for fashion week. Pictured above, are the meals I enjoyed at each of them over the past week.

From top left:

  1. Trattoria Bianca: They have the best Italian food! I ate there in September, and again last week. The ravioli is to-die-for, and so is the soup!
  2. Lauduree Paris: I always wanted to try Laduree, so when my friend Laura from Have Need Want suggested we enjoy brunch at Laduree, I was game! I had a fabulous mushroom crepe, which I highly recommend, green tea, and a yummy dessert. Of course, I also left with a gift box of macarons. Highly recommend!
  3. Sushi Samba: This place is amazing! They serve, get this, Peruvian, Brazilian, and Japanese fusion! The result is amazing flavor, and an unique dining experience. You must try it! I’m thrilled my friend Rita suggested we eat there, it was perfection.
  4. Westville Hudson: This restaurant was really close to the Skylight Clarkson, and our hotel. They serve fabulous farm to table food. We ending up eating dinner there twice! My apologies for the poor photo quality, the lighting wasn’t iPhone friendly 😉 This is a great spot for vegetarian, and vegan options. I loved every meal I ate there. I highly recommend the grilled salmon, and the pesto mashed potatoes. Yummy!

These are a few moments during fashion week which were especially memorable. From top right:

  1. Vivienne Hu’s after-party. Vivienne Hu is one of my favorite designer collections shown during New York Fashion Week. Her fall 2016 collection was especially amazing. It was an honor to be invited to her after-party, and to have the chance to speak with her about her collection, and the new “see it on the runway, buy it now,” concept which is starting to emerge at fashion week. This photo of myself, Laura, and Vivienne Hu reminds me of this special event.
  2. Monique Lhuilier’s collection was dreamy, nostalgic, and beautiful. I intended to post this photo on Instagram while I was waiting at my seat for everyone to enter the room and sit down, but I never did. This is what my lap usually looks like before a show. I read the run of show materials placed at my seat in order to get a sense of the designers inspiration of the season, observe the crowd, and wait patiently for the show to begin.
  3. A cronut! I never had a cronut before. My fabulous friend Rita and her husband picked one up for me and brought it to my hotel room knowing I had a full schedule. It was such a special treat, and a big help in getting some breakfast inside of my tummy! Ha! This moment also reminds me what a beautiful friend I have in Rita.
  4. This is the outfit I wore on day four of New York Fashion Week. Laura and I did not have a chance to snap our outfit photos that day. We were too busy attending shows, meetings, and working. We tried to take a few pictures in our hotel lobby, but the lighting was not my friend. My coat is by Rebecca Taylor, and it is sold out; but you can find  more fabulous coats by her online here.

If you are traveling to New York Fashion Week in September, or just want to stay in the area, I can recommend three moderately priced hotels which are modern inside, offer great service, and are walkable to the shows!

If you would like to stay on 33rd street by the Skylight Moynihan, I highly recommend the Marriot Fairfield. It is right across the street, and offers free breakfast. They do not have a restaurant onsite, but it is walkable to Hell’s Kitchen, and several yummy places to eat; including Trattoria Bianca mentioned above.

If the Skylight Clarkson is the location you would like to walk to, then there are two choices; which are both considerably less expensive then the Fairfield. The Courtyard by Marriott SOHO and the Four Points Sheraton SOHO are both an easy walk to the Skylight Clarkson. The Four Points Sheraton has a restaurant onsite too which is handy.

You can find great deals on hotels online here.

I understand boutique hotels might be preferable when traveling to New York, but fashion week is a full week, which means several nights in a hotel. This can mean a large hotel bill. The chain hotels I recommend are easy on the wallet, by New York standards, they are clean, offer great service, and hey, you might even be able to use your points and/or earn points! Love that!

Stay tuned! I have more coverage from New York Fashion Week coming up this week.