let’s go! 4 seasons bora bora

lou and i are seriously bouncing around the idea of bora bora for our belated honeymoon (and in our fantasty world, staying here)!  it’s pretty much all i can think about. it’s been a dream of mine to stay in an over-water bungalow since the second i knew such a magical thing exists.  also, and i am saying this with NO SHAME WHATSOEVER, i soaked up every minute of the kardashian vacation there on keeping up and it just looks like heaven on earth. And this past week I may or may not have watched tamra from the real housewives of orange county get engaged there and been insanely jealous of their tropical getaway.  Again, NO SHAME.  have a lovely weekend everyone!  i am headed to booneville, ca (no joke) for a wedding for birds of a feather!

*more places i am dreaming about here and photo gratefully borrowed from here

ps i love you, still

it was just about 3 years ago that lou and i took our first trip out to the desert to stay at the newly opened ace hotel. we fell head over heels with the mountains, the sunshine, the quiet, the mojitos, the architecture. and now it’s a place we run to when we need a breath.  i’m wishing i could teletransport myself there today, this cold weather has me craving some sunshine. palm springs, i love you. and next time we sneak off for a desert vacation we are going to stay here, it looks amazing!!

staying in austin: hotel san jose

we stayed with our friend’s matt and alysha, but paige and kevin stayed at the hotel san jose. we hung out on the patio one sunny afternoon eating hibiscus mint popsicles soaked in red wine and feeling hip. it’s a converted motel {thin walls}, so if you’re a light sleeper it might not be best fit for you on weekend nights. but it’s within walking to lots of tasty food and shopping and as you can see from the photos, pretty darn charming. 

eating in austin

eating in austin is a sport, and one they don’t take lightly. a few of my favorites: veggie tamales & stewed okra at the eastside cafe, hibiscus mint popsicles dipped in red wine at the hotel san jose, the sticky bun at olivia’s (the fried chicken there looked pretty tasty too), the cheese/fruit plate at hotel saint cecilia, the endive/walnut salad at 24 diner, and the fried ochra at perla’s. i have a feeling we hardly scraped the surface of the yumminess in that town, even though it was a pretty epic food tour. anyone from austin want to chime in with some recommendations for our next trip?  1. alysha, matt’s girlfriend 2. chicken at olivia’s 3. paigey and kevin at hotel saint cecilia 4. kevin 5. matt and lou at perla’s 6. cheese and fruit at hotel saint cecilia *i’m pretending that we didn’t drive 35 minutes outside of the city for bbq at a place that served meat by the pound {on butcher paper with a tall stack of white bread}.

playing in austin: barton springs

by far my most favorite thing we did in austin was spend an afternoon at barton springs, a gigantic spring fed pool surrounded by grassy hills for lounging. it’s the go-to spot for locals to get cold in the texas heat, and the diving board is a rad little community in itself- everyone from teeny tiny kiddos to really impressive pro-like divers hang around it, taking turns bouncing off the board and pulling out every trick in their pocket as they spin their way into the water. it’s pretty fantastic. *last photo by lou

happy friday, so much

this is one of the gems i got back from the film lab yesterday from our trip to austin. lou and i, two nerds in love. can’t wait to share the rest next week! have a great weekend everyone- relax, eat yummy things, cuddle your loves, and if you get a chance- have a mini dance party. or better yet: head to the ace in palm springs for this halloween party! it’s the best there is. and while the shout outs are ringing, i’d love to thank shoko and anne for their super sweet posts about a house in the hills this week, they’re the bees knees!   *photo by matt rainwaters