At Home In: Sonoma, CA

I’m a little out of order here as I try to catch/keep up with life but, as I mentioned in my post about Big Sur, we actually made three different stops during our trip to California. Our longest stay was in Sonoma (another one crossed off my 30 Before 30 list, for those keeping track!) for Beth and Steve’s wedding (I posted about their Chicago wedding shower invites here and the actual shower starting here.)

Let me start this post by declaring my love for Sonoma. It’s actually pretty mind-boggling that I hadn’t made a trip out there before. It has sun, wine, beautiful scenery, and good food. Some of my favorite things all in one place. I love Sonoma so much, in fact, that it’s now at the top of my list of places I would like to move to. Visions of my outdoor dinner parties (year-round!) are already forming in my head. It’s going to be great.

Since we don’t have our own home there yet, for this part of the trip, we rented a little pool house we found on VRBO. It was cute and compact and just perfect for what we needed.

The property sits on a cliff overlooking Sonoma. Can you imagine waking up every day to this view if you lived in the main house? I could definitely get used to that.

The owner of the house has two dogs that were given free access to roam the property. This meant that Bear (below) could often be found swimming in the pool or lounging around beside it afterwards. We don’t have any pets of our own so it was kind of nice to wake up to such a sweet lab outside the door every day (the other dog, Beau, didn’t quite warm up to us for some reason.)

And because a post about Sonoma wouldn’t be complete without some grape vines, how about this view from Gloria Ferrar?

We stayed with friends in San Francisco and although their place is stunning (seriously some of the prettiest tiles I’ve ever seen in my life) I wasn’t quite sure how they’d feel about paparazzi taking random photos of their home so I never did. Plus they have a new baby girl and I got pretty distracted holding her (so distracted in fact, I don’t even have a picture of her – that’s definitely a first!) So, no posts from there. Maybe I’ll post a few more wedding/travel photos from the trip though if I have some time….

At Home In: Big Sur, CA

We’re back from our vacation and seriously could not have had a better, more relaxing, or more fun time. We made stops in three different cities on our week and a half long trip through northern California and honestly loved it all. This was the first time in a few years that we’ve taken a longer (more than 5 nights) trip like this and I really need to remember to do it more. I know it can be difficult (and expensive) to go away for that long but I tend to really need it. Last year when we were in Cabo San Lucas I started getting sad two days in because our trip was almost over. Horrible outlook, I know, but it’s how my brain works these days.

Our first stop this year was Big Sur, CA. We stayed for three nights in a Little Sur Cabin at Glen Oaks. After getting our keys from the main hotel area located right on Hwy 1, we were given a map and driving directions to get to our cabin. Awesome. This was our front gate.

We drove down the drive and found our little cabin waiting for us. The trees and the light that shines through them are amazing. I only wish the photographs could capture the way they smell. I have a pretty funny relationship with nature. On the one hand, I love it. However, that doesn’t always mean I want to be too close to it. Bugs and sleeping on the ground aren’t really my thing. But I am all for this kind of camping.

The inside is cute, compact, and efficient. They did a really good job maximizing such a small space. We had a surprising amount of storage space for our things and there was even a little kitchenette with a sink, fridge, microwave, dishes, and (very important) wine opener. There were also yoga mats inside the wardrobe which I thought was adorable even if I didn’t quite get around to using one.

Their website has plenty of great photos of the inside of the cabin that are better than mine so check that out if you’re interested. But I can’t pass up the bathroom. Do you see the floor below? It’s heated. Amazing. Heated floors are on my dream home wish-list and this just secured their place. It even helped me convince Pete that heated floors wouldn’t be too hot. Yes! One day we’ll have them.

Each cabin has its own fire pit which they  stock with wood and fire starters (again, my kind of camping.) It was our spot for morning coffee and evening drinks.

Here’s the fire pit at one of the other cabins and some more of those beautiful trees.

I was really impressed by the landscaping done by Glen Oaks. They managed to keep it woodsy yet also really pretty at the same time. Every time I saw this guy I thought it looked like a happy little pirate tree. See it? He only has one eye but he’s still smiling.

For another fun view of the cabin you can check out our 360 Panorama here. And, in case all of that wasn’t pretty enough, here’s a view from nearby Hwy 1. Who wouldn’t want to see this with just a few minutes drive?

At Home In: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Not being one to pass up any excuse to travel, we happily accepted the invitation to attend my cousin’s wedding in Cabo San Lucas. The ceremony was held on the beach of the all-inclusive resort, Dreams Los Cabos, they had chosen.

I had never stayed at an all-inclusive before but was pretty much in love from the time we arrived and were greeted with this view -

The rooms were lovely. I really can’t resist a canopy bed and the breezy fabric across the top and then repeated over in the sitting area -

Though our ocean view was more like a sliver than a view, the balcony was still the perfect place to listen to the waves and indulge in my newfound Twilight obsession when we weren’t down by the pool -

And, even though I’m not normally drawn to orange, I thought this wall and the dark mirrors were pretty great -

Ahhhhh….vacation.

At Home In: Sawyer, MI

For the past several Christmases, instead of buying presents for one another, Pete and I plan things to do together. For example, last year we bought Broadway in Chicago season tickets so that got us four dates for the year! This year we decided that, since our vacation days and travel budget are being saved up for more weddings, we would use this as an opportunity to go on a mini-weekend getaway by ourselves.

We got the idea to go to Sawyer, MI because of a Daily Candy email I got in December featuring the Rabbit Run Inn. The place was so cute, and looked so serene, I figured we could find things to do in the area. When we arrived at the inn we were greeted by the lovely owners who welcomed us in, showed us around, pointed out some things we could do, and left us to enjoy our weekend. And really, how could we not staying somewhere as pretty as this -

On Saturday we drove up to Saint Joseph, a beach town just a little north of Sawyer. The bluffs along the way were really pretty (who knew Michigan had bluffs?!?) but I think I would have enjoyed the town a bit more if it wasn’t freeeeezing cold out that day. I had ulterior motives though as this was also part of my secret plan to get Pete to take a detour to the Habitat ReStore I mentioned before. (I think this is more or less the equivalent of Kristy making stops at Whole Foods when she is in Chicago.)

Also on the agenda for the weekend were stops to some of the local vineyards. We visited Domaine Berrien Cellars which was great because it was small and quiet. Lemon Creek Winery had a large selection of wines to taste from but I think our experience here would have been better if we didn’t come in right behind a very large group of women. Our last stop was to Tabor Hill Winery were the bartenders were very helpful explaining each of the wines. Tabor Hill also has a bar (and restaurant) which overlooks the grapevines on their property so it was nice to end our tasting trip there with a final drink. (The area has several other wineries as well and I found the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail and Michigan Wines websites to be very useful in case anyone’s planning a trip here.)

We ended our day with dinner at Timothy’s in Union Pier, MI. It’s a small place attached to an inn, which I wasn’t quite expecting. Everything we ate was delicious though and presented beautifully. The seared tuna I had was by far my favorite and the best I’ve ever had. Yum. I’d definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone who’s going to be in the area.

I took a quiz on facebook not long ago which suggested Michigan is that state I should live in. At the time, I was more than a little disappointed because I was hoping the results would give me somewhere warmer and sunnier, like California. However, after our weekend I think I might be convinced. I’m thinking something along the lines of a farmhouse with a lot of land and big trees (no actual farm though, I don’t wake up early enough for that). Where the snow somehow seems charming and magical, not just dirty and irritating. Somewhere like that could be nice.

(Wish I Was) At Home In: Seychelles

My friend Tiffany recently returned from her honeymoon in Seychelles. (I thought I should provide a link to a map since I had no idea where it was before she told me. Actually, even since she told me I’ve had to look it up a few times to make sure I wasn’t screwing it up!) All of her pictures are amazing and I’m pretty sure I could live at the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa where they stayed. I can’t decide which part is my favorite - 

The beautiful bed (decorated for their arrival)…

 

…the serene bathroom…

 

…this chair where I could easily spend hours on end…

 

…or the beach with the view back into the hilltops and the cute little villas nestled into them.

 

Seriously adding this to my list of places to go. Thanks for letting me share your photos, Tiff!

At Home With: Elaine

Last weekend I went out to Colorado to visit one of my college roommates, Elaine. She’s probably having a heart attack right about now wondering what I’m going to say. She’s likely going to get even more nervous when she finds out that I was actually very careful to wait for (and take advantage of) the moment she left her apartment to take some pictures. I knew it was unlikely I’d get away with it if she was still there. Plus, my confidence in my skills as a “photographer” are greatly lacking so the less people watching the better. In a moment of self-assessment she said, ”My life doesn’t seem as absurd when I don’t have to explain it out loud.” I can actually sympathize with her point as I know I’ve learned a lot about myself from being married and spending so much time with another person. But coming from her, with whatever she was trying to explain at that moment (perhaps about why her clock was a half an hour fast – not an hour because of daylight savings, not a few minutes to keep her on time, but a half an hour for some unknown reason), it made me laugh out loud. There are some things that are just, in the very best of ways, very Elaine. Or as we affectionately call her, Elainiac. So here are a few of her favorite things – books, her fancy bedding, fashion magazines and Macs, and don’t forget her very beloved Hey Buddy.

 

 

Thanks for being such an extremely thoughtful and generous friend and the most fantastic Colorado tour guide anyone could ever ask for!

At Home In: Sarasota, Florida

As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been to three weddings in the past six weeks and have one more this upcoming weekend. Of the four, only one has actually been in Chicago. This means we’ve gotten to visit (and stay in) some fun new places. Of them, The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota has definitely been the fanciest. The room itself was nice – the bed was amazingly comfortable – but it wasn’t necessarily my taste.

The bathroom, however, was beautiful (how about the combination of gold and chrome and marble that works so well together!)…

…I loved the details…

 

…and the service exceeded expectations. Fantastic stay, all around.

At Home In: Santorini, Greece

The second half of our honeymoon was spent in Santorini. Definitely more popular and touristy (the food was way better on Naxos) but those famous views are even more breathtaking in person so there’s a good reason why. We stayed at the Sun Rocks Hotel in Firostefani, a quieter area about a 5-10 walk from the main town of Fira, which I think helped us from feeling overwhelmed by all of the people. But on to the pictures which can speak for themselves. 

Inside our room…

And the views from our balcony (aka our spot for nightly happy hour/sunset watching)…

 

At Home In: Athens and Naxos, Greece

For our honeymoon we decided to spend almost two weeks in Greece. While most of our time was spent on two different islands, we did fly into and out of Athens so got to spend a few days there as well. I don’t have any pictures from our actual hotel in Athens but I thought I’d share this fun mural from a house in the old section of town, as you walk through the neighborhood on your way down from the Acropolis. 

 

Next up was Naxos. We arrived on the island to find out that we had been bumped from our room. We were told that someone else must have called the hotel and either known the owners or offered a better price. I’m not entirely sure how that’s possible but, luckily, we had gone through a tour group so they had already rebooked us by the time we arrived. The new place ended up being closer to the beach but not quite as cute as where we were supposed to stay. And so, once again, no pictures taken of that one.

After only one night, our hotel drama continued, and we were transferred back to where we were supposed to be all along. (I’m pretty amazed I wasn’t more frustrated with this situation but I think we were both just happy to be married and on vacation!) We weren’t sure we wanted to move but were ultimately glad we did since it was nicer (and cuter) than the first. Only problem is, in the hustle and bustle of moving, I don’t have a good picture of that room either. Check out the key though. It cracks me up. I’m not a locksmith but I do have a really hard time believing the lock on the door was at all effective. 

At Home In: Little Cayman Island, BWI

As I mentioned in my last post, Pete and I recently got back from vacation. A one week scuba diving trip to Little Cayman Island to be a little more specific. I could give you all the details of the trip but it can be pretty well summed up with – it was beautiful and the diving was incredible and I would live in the hammock on the beach if they would let me. But I had another idea as we walked into our super cute and recently renovated room at the Little Cayman Beach Resort. I decided I needed to start a new segment (is that what they’re called on blogs?) on places I’ve stayed. Of course, most of them aren’t exactly worth photographing (hello recent trip to a chain hotel in Kankakee, IL) but a few are and we may as well start with this one.

So here’s our little space for the week. Love the green!

 

And here’s the view from our door. Seriously, heaven.