Paso Robles

Hi ladies!!  Hope everyone is having an amazing holiday so far!!  It's been crazy busy for me since I work in the restaruant industry & because my boyfriend's birthday was the week before Thanksgiving!  I wanted to share with my blogger friends the trip I took him on for his birthday gift (since I figured it was like a gift for myself, too ;))

We went to Paso Robles in Central California for a couple of days & had an amazing romantic weekend.  I honestly think it was one of the best little vacas i've ever been on!  The downtown area of Paso is super cute, with everything within walking distance, and with plenty of yummy restaurants (to fit any budget.. from fine dining to cute little cafes) & shops to walk around in!  

We barely spent any time in downtown Paso (other than at night for dinner) because we were too busy out exploring over 200 wineries in the area!  From large well-known, to tiny family owned wineries, Paso had it all & it was so fun exploring all of them with my man ;)

We also took a day trip to Moro Bay along the coast of Central California, went up to Hurst Castle, & stopped in Santa Barbara & Solvang on the way home.   I was a little afraid we were going to get bored in such a small town, but with so much to do, I feel like we could have stayed there for 2 weeks!

If any of you ladies are planning a little trip to California (or for those of you who live here) I would highly recommend this mini vaca! 

Fav restaurants on the trip: 

The Artisan (fine dining)

Bistro Laurent (fine dining)

Villa Creek (Sit in the bar!)

Farmstand 46 (great for lunch)

McPhees (in Templeton, a neighboring town)

Fav wineries:

Anglum Winery

Justin Winery

Cass Winery

xoxo Shauna

Palm Desert

 

In the lobby heading to dinner ;)

Dress is Lucy Love & bag is Marc Jacobs.

 

View from our room.

The Pool!

A couple weeks ago we decided to go to Palm Desert for the weekend to get away & soak up some sun while the weather is still nice & hot out there.  We stayed at the JW Marriot in Palm Desert, which I think is the perfect place to stay if you want a nice relaxing litter get away.  The place has it all...  3 swimming pools, sushi bar, lobby bar, a couple other restaurants, a nightclub, & lots of young people.  You really never even have to leave the resort if you don't want to!  

We lounged by the pool Saturday & Sunday, & went out to dinner in downtown Palm Desert Saturday night.  Ended up being a perfect little get away ;)

xoxo Shauna

Espana!

 I'm baaaaaaaaack!

Had the most amazing trip of my life!  17 days of siestas, fiestas, & summer love.  

I feel so blessed to have such amazing people in my life that have the same passion for travel & life that I have & it feels good to be back home with my amazing family & friends. 

 In front of our hotel in Madrid. 

 Mojitos in Barcelona.

 Dinner in Malaga.

 Snake charmer in Morocco.  

 Moroccan Snails. 

 European paradise. 

My love & I in Pampolona covered in sangria for the running of the bulls :)

xoxo Shauna

Vegas!

Happy Tuesday!  I just returned from my weekend in Vegas & had an amazing weekend!  I wanted to share the restarants that I tried while I was there with you…

The first night my girlfriend went to RM Seafood that comes highly acclaimed & has a very well known chef.  My girlfriend ordered the lobster mac & cheese, while I ordered the Scallops with pork tamales.  My girlfriend's dish was sinfully cheesy, but I wasn't that impressed (yes, it's hard to blow me away) & my scallops were good, but my dish was tiny with only 3 scallops & 1 dinky tamale.  We weren't that impressed with the food, so we didn't get dessert here & opted for a nutella & banana crepe from next door… which by far was the best part of our meal!!  When the bill came, we discovered that my girlfriend's mac & cheese was over $50!  Wow.

The Second night we went to Jeleo in the Cosmopolitan.  This spanish tapas restaurant is also really well known with a big time chef…

We ordered the Sangria which was AMAZING & had a good amount of spice to it.  We also ordered some cod wontons (I hated them, but my girlfriend loved them), endive salad (amazing), garlic shrimp (could make this at home & it was supposed to be a specialty?) & flan which was also amazing.  Overall, I would definitely try this restaurant again, especially the paella & if you're a big meat eater, they specialize in charcuterie plates.    

Last, not least, we also tried Lemongrass inside the Aria hotel.  This was a spur of the moment idea, since both my girlfriend & I were craving Thai food.  

We decided to be adventurious & try the jellyfish.  My girlfriend actually kind of liked it, but I choked down a bitefull of the noodley dish & didn't go back for seconds.  At least I can say I tried it, right? We also got the Lobster coconut lemongrass soup & garlic shrimp.  The soup was amazing.  

As for our hotel, we stayed at the Cosmopolitan.  I can't complain too much, since the room was comped for us, but I definitely was not impressed with the service here.  I feel like they have a lot of kinks to work out since it's such a new hotel.  It was, however, very beautiful :)

The Chandelier Bar was really pretty & although I was tempted to order a cosmo, I stuck to my usual Ketle dirty martini.  The bathtub & shower was also pretty amazing (and huge)!  

Here are some random shots from he trip… 

Bebe top with H&M tank underneath, BB Dakota leggings, Pele Moda espadrilles.

Aqua Dress, Nine West clutch, Pele Moda espadrilles.  

Ondade Mar bikini & Gucci aviators.

Splendid top & J Brand Martini Flare Denim.

xoxo Shauna