Hey guys! Today we’re sharing our guide to California. We stayed in Irvine the first night and then headed to Dana Point which is about 20 minutes from Laguna Beach. We had such a fun time being able to explore different parts of California and are already planning for our next trip.
Without further ado, here’s our list of our fave places we visited on our trip!
We stayed at Hotel Irvine the first night in California. It’s surrounded by really pretty office buildings. The hotel had the best fresh market there. We instantly fell in love. They offered the best healthy food, snacks, and drinks. We wish we could have taken that market back home with us!
We had to go to Lemonade right when we got to California! Luckily, there was one just a few minutes away from the hotel. Our favorite thing to get is the herb grilled chicken sandwich and of course lemonade! The blood orange is really yummy.
Tee l Jeans l Sneakers l Bag l Sunglasses
How cute is the entrance of this store Garage at Irvine Spectrum Center?! They recently revamped their whole store and every single detail was so cute! They have a new line of comfy lounge clothes that we can’t get over.
We really didn’t go crazy on the shopping during this trip, but we totally could have! A few of our favorite stores at Irvine Spectrum are: Brandy Melville, Cotton On, Garage, and Nordstrom.
We did however hit 3 different Nordstroms. Yep, it would be an understatement that we love Nordstrom! In our defense, each Nordstrom was so different haha. The Nordstrom at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa had an amazing shoe department. We seriously could have spent hours there buying wayyy to many shoes!! And the Nordstrom at Fashion Island had the best workout clothes. They carried soo many of our favorite lines.
We got a pizza at the hotel restaurant, Eats Kitchen & Bar, which was soo good! We put on our lounge wear and ate outside on their patio while enjoying the nice weather.
In the morning they had the fire pit going, so we got some breakfast and Starbucks from the fresh market and then sat by the fire.
We just can’t get enough of all these palm trees.
We took a few photos of our outfits before we left for Laguna Beach. It was a little warmer in Irvine, but still so nice!
Blouse l Bralette l Shorts l Bag l Mules
That day we drove down to Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana point where we were staying for the rest of our trip. The hotel sits on top of cliffs so the view was ahhmazing.
Our first night in town we drove down to Laguna Beach and ate at Nick’s. We had heard from many how amazing the food was, so we knew we needed to try it.
Nick’s Laguna Beach is a small restaurant that serves lunch and dinner, and usually always has a wait. We waited for about 45 minutes and it was well worth it! We had halibut and it was so good. Whenever we are near the ocean we try to eat seafood or fish. Being from Missouri our “fresh” fish isn’t the same as it is in other parts of the country.
We heard about Banzai Bowls and knew we had to try it. They have acai bowls, pitaya bowls, and smoothies. We ended up getting the Pitaya bowl and let us tell ya it was delicious!
Laguna is such a great beach town with such a casual atmosphere. Everyone we met was so nice. We walked up and down the PCH in town enjoying the local stores and food. A few of our favorite shops were:
The Shop Laguna Beach– They had the cutest clothes! We could have seriously bought everything in that store. You definitely need to go there if you are near by.
Laguna Surf and Sport– If you are looking for a great souvenir tee, then you need to go. They have been around for over 30 years and their tees are amazing. Plus, they have some great clothes and surfboards as well.
Tuvalu– This shop reminded of us the best decorated beach house. We could have moved in right away. So if you are want something big or small for your house, or a special gift for someone, this is the store you need to go to.
We were told to try out Nekter Juice Bar, which has cold pressed juices, smoothies, and acai bowls. We got the Pink Flamingo (pitaya, strawberry, pineapple, agave nectar, and coconut water). It was really good and refreshing!
How much pitaya can we eat and drink? We obliviously had to go back the next day to get another Banzai bowl before we headed to Fashion Island. We were able to take the PCH to Newport Beach, which was soo pretty!
Fashion Island is such a pretty outdoor mall! We love going there and even just walking around. Some of our favorite stores there are: Anthropologie, Bloomingdale’s, Brandy Melville, Neiman Marcus, K. Hall Designs, and Nordstrom.
We fell in love with the Anthropologie there! It had such an amazing clothes, shoes, and beauty selection. Everything one needs!
We try to always eat local. Our last night we went to The Shwack Beach Grill; which is located in Dana Point just outside of Laguna. It had the best burgers and thick cut fries we’ve had in a long time.
We’ve mentioned before that we live for desserts. In fact, we eat so we can have dessert! Before we left town we knew we had to go to Active Culture. Active Culture makes the most amazing looking food. They have healthy, organic, and basic food. They also have frozen yogurt machines and that is what we had for dessert. We got the salted caramel and to say it was delicious was truly an understatement!! We dug into it so quickly that we forgot to take a picture. OOPS!
We hope you enjoyed our guide! Be sure to share any recommendations you have for us. Have a great Wednesday.
xx, katie & lydia
Looks like such a great trip!
We seriously had such a great time. You know how California can make you never want to go back home haha!