My Top 10 Hair Care Products
Going over some of my favorite hair products and how I have been trying to grow my hair back out after a bad hair cut a few ears ago.
Month: August 2017
Summer Playlist Week 9: Alabama Shakes, The Velvet Underground & The Nerves
Holding onto the last couple weeks of summer with the With Wildflowers Summer playlist. This week’s artists: Aerosmith, Alabama Shakes, Band of Skulls, Kaiser Cheifs, Modest Mouse, The Nerves, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Sheepdogs, The Velvet Underground.
Tickled Pink: Sunflower Sunnies and Floral Sets
I had so much fun getting dressed up with these Free People sunflower glasses over the weekend. They aren’t the most everyday wearable shades, but they are fun to make a look around for a special occasion. (While these are out of stock, I have linked to a couple similar pairs at the bottom of the post that I love as much as these!) Just be warned that you might attract bees! A couple kept circling me trying to land on the fake flowers haha.
I had a vision of wearing them with super curly hair, bright pink lips and a subtle eye that would still come through the pink lenses. Then, when I stumbled onto this fun pink set I knew it would be the perfect look to go with my glasses.
I have been a big fan of wrap sets for a while after I found a Flynn Skye set on Free People that I wore to a 2015 wedding. I’ve said it before, and I will probably always think it, but wrap dresses and sets are universally flattering. I love how they compliment different body types and how you can adjust them for the type of look you are going for. Looser for a more relaxed style, tight around your chest for a more voluptuous look…
Sets have been blowing up over the last year and this is a trend that I love. This Cotton Candy LA set wasn’t a wrap top or skirt, but I loved how the pants tied in the front and had long slits the whole way up that moved in the wind. Plus, the smocked off the shoulder top is really comfortable and something you can go bra-less in, so the whole set is as comfy as pajamas. With my outfit and statement accessory down I worked on my hair and makeup.
I have naturally wavy/curly hair so most of the time I will use a wand and go over about 5-10 pieces of hair to make it look polished, but since I wanted more volume and bigger hair for this look I used my tiny curling wand on all of my hair. This ½ inch wand gives you super ringlet-ty hair at first so I ran my fingers and a Tangle Teaser through it a couple times. Then I rubbed Moroccan oil through the bottom half of my hair and put it up in a top bun to do my makeup and let the curls mellow out while giving me more volume on my roots.
I wanted to compliment the pink lenses by doing a pink look throughout my makeup so I went with a bright pink lip, lots of blush, and a bunch of highlighter on my cheek bones. I used this Sephora lip, which I love and have in about 5 shades. It is super creamy and long lasting. This Clinique Chubby Stick highlighter has become my new favorite along with this Milani blush and my favorite Too Faced bronzer. I got a little heavy handed with the highlight but loved how it showed up in pictures throughout the day.
You can shop all my makeup products in the links above, the pink set through Isabelle’s Cabinet. The glasses are from Free People. They are currently out of stock, but I found these adorable ones for sale on Nordstrom Rack that I think I like even more! Plus, another pair on Etsy that are super cute.
Veggie Fried Rice
Try out this recipe for delicious and nutritious veggie fried rice. You can use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge and it is the perfect thing to whip up when you haven’t been to the grocery store in a while and are out of protein. Enjoy is without eggs for a great vegan dish as well!
Summer Playlist Week 8: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Tame Impala & Modest Mouse
Just a couple weeks of summer left, but the fun is still going. Listen in for some of my favorite party tracks on this week’s additions to the With Wildflowers Summer playlist featuring Modest Mouse, Kind Tuff, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Tame Impala, Dave Edmunds, Matt Costa, Supergrass, My Morning Jacket, Jake Bugg, and Led Zeppelin.
MILK MAKEUP: Product Review and A Natural Look
I first tried the MILK MAKEUP Blush stick on a whim. Sephora was sold out of the gold toned highlighter that I saw recommended so I kept checking out the rest of their products. I figured I liked the easy application of the stick and the fun packaging so I might as well try something else and was so glad I did.
The lip and cheek multiple is perfect for creating a trending monochromatic look and it has quickly become one of my favorite blushes and one of my staples for easy summer makeup.
After using “Rally” for a month or so, I wanted to try another one of the blush colors and that is when I stumbled onto this mini set online at Sephora. Knowing it will take me ages to actually use the whole tube in “Rally” I decided I might as well try out a smaller size of another blush along with some of their other products. While the sample set is no longer available, the individual products are so I thought I would share a MILK MAKEUP look using everything in the set; Matte Bronzer, Cooling Water Stick, Lip + Cheek, and the Blur Stick.
Starting with the Blur Stick primer, I applied strokes of it along my nose, cheeks, forehead and under my chin. It really smooths your skin out, but I felt like it made it much harder for me to apply my IT CC cream. The foundation was kind of sticking to my skin instead of blending in, so I prefer my usual liquid primer to this stick even though it reduced the appearance of my pores.
I used the lip and cheek stick on my lips and also on my eyelids to carry the pink tone throughout my face and I really liked how it applied to my eyes. They looked nice and glossy without being overly sticky.
Something that you can’t see in this look is the Cooling Water Stick that I applied to the top of my cheek bones instead of highlighter. This feels really refreshing to apply but doesn’t add anything to the look, but I guess it is a nice thing to keep on hand during the summer to freshen up.
Since everything was so subtle with the sheer application, I wanted to do a more dramatic lash and used the L’Oreal primer and mascara. The only issue was since my eyelids were so dewy, the mascara kept coming off on my brow bone. While I love the easy application of the sticks, I probably could have used some setting powder, or a powder bronzer to hold everything in place and not feel so melty towards the end of the day.
With everything being a creamy stick consistency, my face felt a little greasy after a few hours instead of feeling fresh and dewy the way it looked in the morning. I think I will definitely use these products more and I like the sticks a lot, just not all together. I do think they will be great in the winter though when my skin is dry to add more moisture.
Overall, I would definitely recommend the lip + cheek sticks and the bronzer, but would pass on the primer. If you want to try the cooling stick, go for it but I don’t think it is worth $24 on its own. If it was a cooling highlighter that would be awesome though!
Do any of you use MILK products? What are your favorites?
A Vampy Concert Look: Red Lips & a Mini Dress
I always struggle with wanting to look cute while still being comfortable at a concert. A lot of the time I just get over it, knowing I am going to put my hair up in a bun to cool down a little bit inside a …
Fresh and Easy 3 Ingredient Watermelon Margaritas
I made these for the 4th of July and am going to be making them again for my Summer BBQ my friend and I host every year. It is such an easy recipe to whip up and you can make it in a big or …
Alt-J @ The Shrine Auditorium 8/10/17
Alt-J totally killed it last week at The Shrine Auditorium. They had to add a second show after selling out so fast their first night, and they delivered an amazing performance in LA before heading up to San Francisco for Outside Lands music festival. Check out my quick review and enjoy some clips from the show (“Every Other Freckle” below, and “Breezeblocks” and “Something Good” coming as soon as YouTube stops crashing on me!)
I missed SOHN opening while I was at dinner but made it for the last few songs of Bishop Briggs and I was so glad it did! I hadn’t heard of the British singer before and was so happy to catch a few of her songs. She has so much energy as she belted out her lyrics and strutted across stage jumping up and down and getting the crowd all riled up in time for Alt-J to take the stage.
The last handful of shows I have been to, there has been a ridiculously long amount of time between the opening act and the headliners coming on. It totally kills the energy you pick up during the opening set and I get way too frustrated but this was different. Before I had time to run to the bathroom and back, Alt-J was on stage seemingly floating in cubicles of lasers and lights. You could feel their performance kicking off even before hearing them with the power of the bass humming through the entire venue.
They started with 3WW, off their new album before going into “Something Good” which is one of my favorites. I had never seen Alt-J live before so I had no idea how their recorded sound translated on stage. They sounded amazing and I was captivated by the light show as much as the vocal and instrumental prowess they pull off.
As much as I love The Shrine as a venue, everyone on the balcony levels was pretty much glued to their seat instead of dancing around so even though my friend and I didn’t let that stop us from getting groovy I felt bad about blocking the people behind us, until they got up to dance.
The show went by super fast, it seemed like they had only done half of a set before taking a brief stop and coming back for an encore. They played a solid 15 songs though before coming back out to leave everyone wanting even more. My highlights of the main set besides “Something Good” were “In Cold Blood” and “Every Other Freckle” as well as the audience singing along to “Matilda”.
Their encore was short and sweet and everyone got up to dance to “Left Hand Free” and their origin hit “Breezeblocks.” Everyone filed out pretty quickly knowing they had played all their hits and getting out of the venue wasn’t actually that bad until we got to the parking structure.
The last spots by the time we got there were 7 stories up so with the masses of traffic building up along the exitting roads the parking structure was in a snaking grid lock all the way down. After waiting about half an hour things started moving, and it gave us a minute to admire the skyline before hitting the road.
Alt-J went on to Outside Lands where I am sure they delivered just as good of a show and they are making their way to Europe later this week to continue their tour. If you have a chance to catch them abroad I would 100% recommend it!
The Liebster Award: Bloggers Appreciating Other Bloggers
I am so excited to have been nominated for another blogging award. I love how massive, yet connected the blogging world is and that these types of recognition are out there for bloggers to shout out and recognize the blogs they love. The Liebster Award …
Summer Playlist Week 7: T-Rex, The Kinks, Gordon Lightfoot
I can’t believe it’s almost halfway through August already. The summer is winding down, but there are still a few weeks left for my summer playlist series that will come to an end on Labor Day. Be sure to check out this week’s picks and …
My Favorite Sephora Favorites : Lips
I am a total sucker for value sets. While I have really tried to stop, and have been better when it comes to impulse purchases and stocking up on makeup, there are some things I find too good to pass up. I went in to Sephora last weekend to accompany my boyfriend’s sister for a quick errand. While it was quick and Michael didn’t have to wait in the car for too long, I still didn’t get out of the black and white striped storefront without picking up a couple value sets.
I bought the first nude lip set in the darker case around mother’s day when I picked them up for my mom and aunt’s and when I saw the second selection of nude colors I knew it was a good one to get. There is a full sized products mixed in with the smaller sizes so you are basically just getting bonus products for the price of one. Also, I don’t think I will ever use an entire lipstick so the small size is perfect for me wanting to experiment.
This mascara set also jumped out at me because like their perfume sampler sets, you get to try them all and redeem a coupon inside the box for a full size of your favorite. So instead of paying full price for one mascara, why not get a handful of samples while you’re at it. This one is even better than the perfume ones that give you little plastic containers because you actually get a decent amount of mascara and all the brushes. Plus, they are the perfect size to throw into your purse and have on hand for traveling.
I am breaking down these 4 sets that you can find online and sharing my favorite of the Sephora favorites starting with the lips! Stay tuned for fragrance and mascara and in the meantime you can check them out online:
I’m going to rate these lipsticks/glosses on a few things; color (what looks best on a pale complexion like my own), consistency and staying power.
Give Me Some Nude Lip (Dark Case):
-Anastasia Beverly Hills® Lip Gloss in Kristen (cool desert sand)
-Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Enamored Hi Shine Lip Lacquer in Sugar Sugar (champagne-gold shimmer)
-NARS Cosmetics Velvet Lip Glide in Bound (rose pink)
-Tarte lippie lingerie matte tint in Revealed (light mocha)
-Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Spice Girl (pink nude)
-Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Trivial (matte pink nude)
Color: These are all great neutral shades and I have seen my mom wearing most of them as well and they look great on her tanner skin and different than when I wear them so color wise for me I loved the Urban Decay and the NARS. They are more pink than the Orange-y colors of the Anastasia and browner tarte one. Both the Marc Jacobs and Too Faced glosses looked almost the same, just one with shimmer and the other without. They barely add any color to your lips so they are good for a dewy sheen but not much else. So, my winner for color is the Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Trivial.
Consistency: The three glosses are all very hydrating and smooth to apply and I would say the least sticky was the Marc Jacobs one so that would be a good one to layer over a color if you wanted a shimmery pout. The Vice liquid lip is very smooth and glides on but is kind of drying on your lips once it settles after an hour or so. I have several of the tarte crayon style lippies and I like the color and pigment and minty smell but they are also pretty dry on their own. The NARS Velvet Glide is my winner for consistency because it does exactly what its called, glide, and isn’t as dry as the Urban Decay.
Staying Power: I haven’t worn all of these throughout the duration of a day and meal so after applying them all to my arm the best way to test was to wipe it off with a napkin, then damp cloth and then with soap. The Urban Decay was by far the best at staying put and was the hardest to get off followed by the tarte crayon. They are also the driest formulas so that is definitely why. The glosses held up a little after being wiped off and the NARS still left a flush of color but if you want something to wear during the whole day the Urban Decay Vice is for you.
Overall Favorite: Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Trivial. I loved the color the most and it lasted the longest! This also happens to be the full size product of the samples so I am glad it is my favorite. SO if you want to just go for the best one, try out the Vice collection in a color you love! Unless you are pale like me then give this a go!
Now for the next nude lip set…
Give Me Some Nude Lip (Light Case):
-Bite Beauty Multistick in Brioche (rich terracotta)
-Buxom® Full-On Lip Cream in Dolly (sultry mauve)
-Full size Ciaté London Liquid Velvet Moisturizing Matte Liquid Lipstick in Bitter Sweet (gray mink)
-Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Ludwig (nude fawn)
-MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Rouge in C211 (rose wood)
-tarte™ Rainforest of the Sea™ Color Splash Lipstick in Rum Punch (nude)
Color: Again with this being a nude set, it looks great and different on every skin tone so these are my choices for my pale complexion. These are a lot more brownish/orange than the pink nudes in the first box. I found that the Kat Von D, tarte, and Bite all almost looked the same when it came to color tone just a little variation in pigmentation. Unfortunately, none of these look great on my coloring so I was drawn more towards the MAKE UP FOREVER lipstick in a pinker dark rose color and the Buxom gloss. The Ciate is also nice and a little vampire-y on with a grey undertone that makes your teeth look very white. I have to go with the MAKE UP FOREVER for my favorite color.
Consistency: The Kat Von D and Ciate were very similar as liquid lipsticks but the KAt Von D one is definitely creamier and smoother and a little thicker. The tarte lipstick is really sheer and hydrating so that was great and the Buxom gloss is so rich and smells heavenly. The Bite brand is kind of dry and the other lipstick isn’t anything special so my favorite consistency was Kat Von D’s liquid lipstick.
Staying Power: All of these, aside from the gloss held up to a couple passes from my paper towel. For being a regular lipstick, the MAKE UP FOREVER and BIte were both on just a little less than the two liquid lips. Kat Von D stayed the best for sure but the others weren’t too far behind.
Overall Favorite: I am torn between the Kat Von D and the MAKE UP FOREVER products because if the liquid lip was the same color as the stick that would be my winner! I think I will look for a different shade in the Kat Von D liquid lip because I have a darker pink that I really like but the orange tone to this one isn’t flattering for me. Tie!
I would totally recommend both of these sets because for the price you are getting a lot of different products and the boxes they come in are adorable. It’s a great set to break up if you have a friend with different color preferences and I think the two sets are different enough that I will get use out of both of them.
I will follow up with my favorite mascara and fragrance in another favorites post, so for now, kisses! Enjoy the lips and let me know if any of these are your favorites.
Creamy Poblano Corn and Chicken Burritos
Creamy poblano corn, cilantro and lime rice, and A1 shredded chicken wrap up into the perfect burrito.
With Wildflowers Wins The Sunshine Blogger Award
With Wildflowers is 8 weeks old! It has been a very fast couple of months and I am learning so much about blogging already, and now I have a blogging award under my belt! I have met some awesome ladies and fellow bloggers along the …
Solvang, CA: Beer, Soft-Pretzels and Mini Ponies
I can’t believe it has taken me this long to go to Solvang. This weirdly perfect and quaint little Danish town is just about 3 hours away from where I am in Orange County, but it feels like you are in a completely different land. The buildings look like you are on the set of a movie and it is full of picturesque shops, restaurants and excellent food. Just about a 5 minute drive from Santa Ynez and less than an hour from Santa Barbara, it was the perfect destination for a mini getaway filled with beer, soft pretzels, and mini ponies.
Getting to Solvang takes you on a really scenic road winding through the Cachuma Lake, and as you say goodbye to the ocean view on the west side of the road you swirl into this beautifully eerie forest of dark ash and burnt trees. I’m sure it was devastating to the are at the time as so much of the land is scorched, but it was such a trip to look out at as you’re winding through the drive.
We took a friend’s suggestion and stopped for lunch in Santa Ynez on our way to the hotel and had one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. The area reminded me of St. Helena up by Napa and was filled with delicious restaurants serving seasonal eats. SY Kitchen seemed like it could be situated alongside Rutherford Grill and Red. After scoping out some of the most popular dishes on Yelp I had to get the Wild Mushroom Pappardelle. This was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had, which is saying a lot because I love love love pasta and have eaten my way through Italy on a couple occasions. We also got the Diavola Pizza that had perfectly cooked thin crust and savory spicy peppers.
We started with some burrata which was really delicious, but the arugula pesto it was served with wasn’t my favorite flavor. We tried a local beer, Hump Bay, made by the restaurant and a local brewery and were pleasantly surprised by the flavor that seemed like a mix of Duvel and a little bit of whiskey.
We were so satisfied with this meal and had high hopes for the rest of the grub this region had to offer as we drove into the Corque Hotel parking and checked into our room. This was the only hotel I went into in Solvang but I would so recommend it. The rooms were really large, had two sinks in the bathroom, a huge shower, balconies and were under $200 a night with a perfect central location right by the windmills and all the restaurants on the main streets.
We grabbed a beer at Bit O’ Denmark while we waited for our hotel room to be ready. This might be a lovely authentic restaurant, but for having an “espresso and wine bar” sign in their window, the espresso machine was broken and the bar wasn’t anything special. Still, it was pretty full for a late afternoon meal time and close to the hotel. We stopped at the Famous Fudge Kitchen on our walk back to the hotel which was kind of a let down. I got way too excited with the many fudge options and how good it all looked and ended up buying about 4 pounds of fudge only to get back to the hotel to try it, and realize it was hard and tasted pretty bad. They did have a good pretzel with cheese dip though!
Next went to Fitzpatrick’s Irish Pub for a couple hours and Michael was stoked to stay there because they had Guinness on nitro and I was excited to have Smithwicks for the first time since trying it last December in Ireland. The manager tried to sell us on the many “beer cocktails” he had on the menu, but they were really just odd concoctions of mixed beers that tasted like less good versions of the actual drink you wanted.
As it filled up we could barely get his attention so we wandered across the road after paying our check to the Copenhagen Beer Garden that was the perfect place for us to spend the rest of the evening. Michael got them to put soccer on the big screens and I got to gaze at their collection of sauces that go along with their brats. We started with a round of drinks and I was excited to try a Grapefruit beer that sounded delicious and tasted great, until I realized it was essentially a hard soda pop and I had gotten the largest size of it. We got some fries and a pretzel for our next round and seriously if you guys like cheese and sauce (and cheese sauce) you have to make your way to this place. The pretzel came with this amazing alfredo like sauce and it was the best soft pretzel I think I have had.
I had to ask someone who worked there to narrow down the sauces for me because I really could have tried all 17 or so of them. The Habanero, Creole and Maui Onion were the best and I loved the self serve sauerkraut and spicy jalapenos they had at the dressing station. I got the classic German Bratwurst and Michael got the American Chicken Apple Sausage which were both delicious. As the sun went down, string lights lit up above us and barrels in the garden turned into fire pits.
We walked back to the hotel and past the theatre that was doing The Beauty and The Beast. We couldn’t see much, but could hear the production and it seems like the local theatre scene is a pretty big deal around there. The rest of the walk was kind of like going through a ghost town or empty movie set. There was seriously no one around after dark, but we did overhear the waitress at Fitzpartick’s saying most places don’t really stay open past 8pm!
The next morning we walked around town and found this awesome shop that sells stuff made out of wine barrels. Mini bars, chairs, bottle openers, you name it and there is probably some sort of hand crafted wooden creation that they have. Michael got a bottle opener that has a magnet at the end to catch falling caps and hung it by our bar corner in our apartment when we got home.
We couldn’t decide on where to eat so we got sandwiches at Panino’s before hitting the road and stopping by Quicksilver Ranch to see the mini ponies.
Seriously, this was the best! They are so stinken cute and you can drive right up, park and walk around to admire all the cute little fellows. There were a couple 3 month old ponies in the main area and as we walked to the back side we saw a brand new pony and its mother. The little baby was just learning how to walk and was still shaky standing up and hiding behind its mother. When he got more comfortable on his feet, he tried to prance over and did an adorable squeal of a “neah” trying to get Michael and me away from him.
From there we hit the road to Santa Barbara back through the scenic winding road to finish out the rest of our three day getaway. I am definitely planning on coming back to Solvang and hitting up SY Kitchen and the beer garden again.
Have any of you visited Solvang before? What were your favorite parts?
Summer Playlist Week 6: Terraplane Sun, Rory Gallagher & Jimi Hendrix
Some songs to keep you going on your next road trip and week 6 picks of the With Wildflowers summer playlist. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, Bahamas, Steely Dan, Terraplane Sun, Rory Gallagher, The Zombies, Peter Bjorn and John, Kopecky.
Best Eats & Drinks in Santa Barbara, pt. 2
On our second day in Santa Barbara, we made it to 6 different restaurants to continue our eating and drinking through State Street to find the best food and drinks in Santa Barbara. We continued with our oyster hunt and found the best oysters in …
Best Eats & Drinks in Santa Barbara, pt. 1
Michael and I took a three day getaway up to Solvang and Santa Barbara and spent most of our mini vacation eating and drinking our way around both towns. We were determined to find the best food and drinks in Santa Barbara and after a couple days hit about 13 places that we ate and drank at. This is part 1 of the best eats and drinks from our first day in Santa Barbara, enjoy!
We stayed at The Hotel Milo which was a beautiful spot stretching over a couple blocks of ocean front Santa Barbara right across from the pier. We checked in and got a map and handful of suggestions from the girls at the front desk and were well equipped to get our first day adventuring underway.
The room was really nice and had a view of one of the pools and of the beach and ocean across the street. We later found out that AC isn’t a thing at most hotels in Santa Barbara so even though we were paying a pretty penny for this location we would be sweating most of the night. We didn’t spend much time in the room though and headed out with seafood in mind.
We started with the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company at the end of the pier. After a scenic walk along the water we made it to the tiny restaurant at the end of the way. There was a wait to sit outside so we pulled up at the bar which was cool because we could see all the cooking going on in front of us. There menu was simple and full of seafood favorites and every single one of their pasta dishes started with “sauteed in butter” so I knew I liked this place. Once we got used to the prominent fish smell circulating the room and surrounding fishing spots, we ordered a couple beers, a Bloody Mary and some oysters.
We decided to keep going after here and ended up at one of their affiliate restaurants on shore called FisHouse. The prices were pretty great with a long daily happy hour starting when we moved outside but our waiter seemed a little…um…stoned and distracted. We ordered another 6 oysters and had to send them back because they looked a bit swampy but the calamari was really crispy and came with tasty sauces and slaw. I would recommend either of these places for good value and classic fish dishes but be wary of some of their oyster locations. (A good rule of thumb is placed with cold water and choose the ones that are closest geographically to where you are in the coldest water.)
We decided to keep with the theme of just ordering a drink and appetizer at each place and making our way to more restaurants.
Our waiter recommended Loquita for our next stop so we had high hopes for some good bites at the hip tapas spot. The ambiance was really cool and I loved the open kitchen, but all the food didn’t live up to the hype. We started with some of the little bites that were actually so small I couldn’t believe I paid almost 2 dollars for a single cube of melon wrapped in some prosciutto on the end of a toothpick, but it’s part of the gimmick and they were tasty.
Michael said there was a whole section of the restaurant in the back that was just doing the little toothpick bites. The chicken croquettes were the best thing we had here besides my Thyme Lemonade (I added vodka). They were super flavorful and crispy and went really well with the sauce. Las Gambas fell short because the shrimp tasted like it was coated in straight up tomato paste instead of a proper sauce. For what it was, it is pretty expensive so you are paying to be at a cool spot more so than for a proper dinner but for the fun ambiance and drinks I would probably come back and recommend it for somewhere to go before dinner.
We ended the night at The Neighborhood which we saw on one of the best bars in California list the next day scrolling for more finds. It was a very laid back atmosphere this early in the night and the half outdoor section was perfect to walk the sunset afterglow in the clouds. There are chalk boards all around that people can draw on or use to keep track of the score of whatever game they are playing.
We had a couple beers and played some cornhole, foosball and some other games before deciding we should get some take out Mexican food to soak up the drinks our fancy appetizers hadn’t been substantial enough for. We walked to Rudy’s Mexican Restaurant that had a great salsa bar and really fast service.
When we got back to the hotel, our room key wasn’t working but luckily the main reception was still open. We aired out our hotel room and sat on the deck watching the stars and listening to the waves crash while we finished our chips and salsa and got to bed so we could do round two the following day which is coming up on part 2 of the best eats and drinks in Santa Barbara.
Day 1 Highlights:
- The tempura squash blossom at Les Marchands
- The cocktails at Loquita
- The atmosphere at The Neighborhood
Day 1 Bummers:
- The cocktails at Les Marchnads
- The oysetrs at FisHouse
Summer Dress Steals
A couple flirty summer dresses from Forever 21, why I’m trying not to shop there as much, and why it is so hard to resist! Spoiler alert: these two cute dresses at unbeatable prices.