family


Pismo Beach day 1

School starts mid-August this year, so we decided to take one last quick trip before our schedules become full of school-related activities; especially since we have a senior, and an 8th grader this year! It will be very busy!

Pismo Beach is one of the those places we normally stop at for lunch or brunch on our way to Southern California. We decided it would make a relaxing and easy road trip for a few days. After all, it’s a beautiful beach town, and since we have a senior, it’s a great place to stay while checking out Cal Poly SLO for our aspiring engineer! College tours can be fun for the parents and siblings too!

We arrived early, before check-in at our hotel. Our hotel was Vespera Resort on Pismo Beach, which is part of the Marriott family of hotels. It was right on the beach with ocean view rooms, a pool, and a family-friendly deck and atmosphere. They were very accommodating, and held our luggage, as well as stored our car, until our room was ready. They even got our room ready a little bit early since we had arrived well before check-in. Loved that!

It was right before lunch when we arrived, so we took a walk around town and found Cool Cat Cafe. It had a casual and retro vibe which look appealing for lunch, so we put our names in for a table. The wait was only fifteen minutes and we were seated inside by a window. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious! I enjoyed a vegan burger with mushrooms and onion rings. Yum!

Travel outfit details: sunglasses / lipstick / stripe tee (under $50) / bracelets / fall nail polish / stripe cross body bag / linen jogger pants / Gucci sneakers / Beach bag /

After lunch, we walked down the pier and checked out the view, took silly photos, and started to feel relaxed and ready for fun! Then, we headed back to the hotel and played cornhole on the hotel deck. It was fun! After an hour, our room was ready, so we settled into the room and planned the rest of the day.

Since the hotel was on the beach, it was easy to head down to the beach for an hour before getting ready for dinner. I highly recommend this hotel if you stay in Pismo. It’s very convenient! After the beach, we got ready for dinner, and headed over to Oyster Loft, which is on the other side of the pier from our hotel and on the second floor of a corner building.

The Oyster Loft had a beautiful view of the ocean and a great menu. They also had a few menu options for kids; which was perfect for my son who enjoyed chicken strips and rice. The food was delicious, we would love to go back someday!

Casual dinner outfit details: sunglasses / lipstick / puff sleeve tee (under $50) / snake buckle belt / jeans / bracelets / chain pouch / fall nail polish / espadrille mules /

After dinner we took another walk along the pier and then settled back at our hotel. The hotel has fire pits on the deck overlooking the beach. I brought my favorite evening tea from home and made myself a cup so I could enjoy it while watching the sunset. From our angle, we couldn’t see the actual sun, but we could enjoy the sunset colors over the beach. It was beautiful, and again, very relaxing!

Well, that was day 1 at Pismo Beach! It was an arrival day for us, so we got settled into our room and explored the area while getting a little bit sandy. Love!

Shop my travel outfit, and casual dinner looks online:

Stay tuned for more coverage from Pismo Beach!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy


Filoli Historic Gardens with the family

Filoli Historic House and Gardens are located in Woodside; right next to Redwood City on the Peninsula. It is a beautiful mansion which was once a private home, and was eventually donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This beautiful home and grounds offer not only a piece of Bay Area history, the property offers hiking trails and natural beauty; which is great for the whole family to enjoy. It also happens to be a fabulous way to get a bit of outdoor exercise too! Love that!

Filoli offers seasonal events which coincide with holiday seasons. One of the events they hold is for the holiday season. Normally they offer indoor events and activities for the whole family, but this year, due to our shelter-in-place, the holiday event is entirely outdoors.

The gardens at Filoli have been decorated in beautiful, colorful lights for the holiday season. The lights are pretty and downright magical! It feels like you are touring a magical place. The natural beauty combined with the artistic light placement makes for a beautiful walking tour and experience during the holiday season. We loved it!

We spent roughly an hour and a half walking the grounds, and enjoying the beautiful lights. In addition to a magical experience, we got some exercise! Love!

If you are local to the Bay Area, I highly recommend visiting Filoli.org and learning more about the Filoli Historic House and Gardens. I also recommend paying it a visit in person! You can attend a special event, which requires advance reservations and tickets, or you can visit during the day and enjoy one of the scenic and easy and hiking trails. Either way, it’s a location not to be missed!

If you attend in the evening, be sure to bundle up since it gets quite cold. I wore this coat from a couple years ago when I attended New York Fashion Week, and my cozy, go-to, grey scarf. Of course, this time of year calls for a Santa hat; even if it doesn’t quite match the outfit! haha

Get the look:

We are looking forward to visiting Filoli again next year, in order to enjoy their seasonal events, as well as for hiking. Be sure to pay them a visit!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy


San Jose Art Walk Tour

Standing in front of the “Veteran’s Memorial of San Jose” and next to “Untitled” by Kenneth Matsumoto.

wearing: hoop earrings / grey scarf / charcoal cardigan (super soft!) / black long sleeve tee / black belt with snake buckle / holiday nail polish / black handbag / destroyed jeans (under $40) / Gucci platform sneakers /

I love finding local, cultural activities to explore and show my kids. When I heard about the San Jose Art Walk in downtown San Jose, I was excited to learn it was both an opportunity to walk around and get fresh air, as well as explore outdoor art.

The San Jose Art Walk is a public art tour of over forty different art pieces. There is a combination of murals, statues, and more! When I first looked at the map, I thought it would be a one day activity. I was wrong! There is a lot to explore; making this is a great multi-day activity.

There are a few installations which are best seen after dark. We all hopped into the car one evening and following the map, we explored LED light art installations around downtown San Jose. It was really interesting! I don’t have photos to share because we were in the car and I was driving. You will just have to explore the light installations yourself!

The second time we went downtown to explore the art walk, we parked near the Discovery Museum and walked throughout that portion of downtown, up to Cesar Chavez Plaza. This took roughly an hour and a half. We were able to see roughly 25% of the tour. We will definitely have to head back down to see the other portions of the art walk we missed!

From top left: Momotaro / Horizon / Space Dance for Peace 1 / Plumed Serpent /

Each art installation has a placard which describes the piece in more detail than you find on the map. It’s fun to follow the map, and look for each piece. In some cases, it feels like a scavenger hunt as you try to find an installation hidden in a courtyard, or behind a building. It’s a fun activity with the kids!

If you are local to the Bay Area, or you are visiting, this is a fun and free activity you can do! You can be ambitious, and try to see the entire art walk in one day, or you can break it up into different days like we are doing. Either way, it’s a great way to enjoy outdoor art while getting some exercise.

Here is a link to the San Jose Art Walk map-if you can print it out before you go, I highly recommend doing so! SanJoseca.gov.

Shop my casual fall outfit online:

Have you gone on the San Jose Art Walk in downtown San Jose? What did you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Thomas Fallon Statue 1989