What I wore in California

Hello there!

We’re back from vacation and honestly the ten days we spent there were not enough! We started our trip in Los Angeles, then drove up the coast to San Francisco, making a few stops along the way. The views of the coast from Hw 1 are surreal and honestly I can talk about it all day long, but I wanted this post to be specifically about what I wore during the trip.. so let’s get that started!

ps. I’m planning on sharing a travel journal very soon! The amount of planning that went on for this trip cannot go unshared! lol

Alright so first and foremost, I wanted to share something I did for the first time ever.. I planned my outfits. When going on a trip I try to plan what I think I’ll wear and then just wear whatever I feel like wearing each day, however, this trip was a little different. I knew I had to strategically plan what I wanted to wear each day because we’d be staying at each place for only one or two nights. Fully unpacking was not an option. So I basically dissected the itinerary we had and planned outfits for each activity. I didn’t over-pack like I normally do, but I did throw in a few extra light “just in case” shirts.

LA

The activities we planned for LA started the minute we arrived. We were able to catch an early flight so we wanted to take advantage of the day and walk around the city before checking in to our room. This meant I needed to be comfortable for the flight and walking around town in an IG friendly outfit. That last part might not be important for you, it certainly wasn’t for me before, but I’ve realized how much my appearance affects my mood. It’s absolutely not just for the “gram” (or this post, lol), it’s for all the fun memories I wanted to capture and be able to look back to and smile.

outfit dets

day 1: Yellow Tee | Zara shorts | GG sneakers | Backpack

day 2: UO dress | Marc Fisher sandals | Backpack

Venice

I didn’t realize how chilly Venice could get. I thought I was prepared, but after I saw a number of girls wrapped around their beach blankets, I realized I wasn’t. I even giggled when the host from our Airbnb pointed at the many beach blankets we were welcome to use. Again, not prepared. Honestly, though, it was bearable. Sure, it wasn’t a sunny like a beach in Mexico, but it was a nice breeze that you can enjoy with shorts and a tee. I definitely recommend using a button down as a cover up over your bikini top. That helped calm my chills.

outfit dets

striped blouse | Zara shorts | H&M mules

Santa Barbara

For some reason that white bikini said “wear me in Santa Barbara” when I bought it.. something about it just felt right. I wore it with this easy skirt I found at Zara, and honestly thought about wearing the bikini set with nothing else but the skirt. They do look nice by themselves, but again, with that breezy weather, how could I do that to myself? I finished the look with a nice cotton shirt tied on the front. I also included the outfit I wore to the sailing cruise we went on in Santa Barbara! I wore pants and a blouse but knew this probably wouldn’t cover my shivers all evening, so I brought a jean jacket with me.

The second outfit was one of my favorites on this trip. I just wore a one piece bathing suit with shorts and boom, outfit! I wanted to be beach/pool ready all day.

 

outfit dets

day 1: H&M swim bottoms & top | Zara skirt | Zara blouse | Sandals | Backpack

day 2: H&M one piece swimsuit | Marc Fisher sandals | Kate Spade purse

Sailing cruise outfit: Blush pink blouse | White jeans | Sandals

Pismo

Pismo was easy. We didn’t do much exploring other than visiting the local beach. There was a little more sun but still not enough to help even out my tan…lol It was a bit chilly in the morning/evening, but the hot tub in our hotel totally helped with that!

outfit dets

Grey bikini | OU skirt | H&M sandals

Monterrey

As we headed to Monterrey, we took Hw 1 and stopped at a few spots to do some light hiking and sightseeing. I wasn’t entirely sure how to dress for this, but with my husband wanting to spend most of our day hiking, I went with yoga pants and a hoodie. I was comfortable and definitely ready for the day.

ps. I wish I would have dressed a little better for this. I’m telling you the views were amazing and if you want some good pictures (with you in them), I suggest you think about your outfit. If you’re not planning on doing any hiking, or just some light hiking, I’m sure you can wear a nice casual outfit (like a flowy dress or shorts) without looking ridiculous. I tried doing that but as soon as I realized how much hiking we would be doing, I did myself a favor and changed into the most comfortable thing I had. I even put my hair up in a pony tail.

outfit dets

Yoga pants | Hoodie

San Francisco

I was so excited for San Francisco! I knew it would be chilly so I wore jeans on both days and kept a jean jacket handy. We did a lot of walking around so I wore my sneakers the whole time. Simple always wins!

outfit dets

day 1: Zara tee | Zara jeans | Jean jacket | GGDB sneakers

day 2: Zara shirt | Zara jeans |

day 3: UO red blouse | Zara Jeans

Napa

I was even more excited for Napa! On the first day, I originally planned on wearing a skirt with a red blouse (the one I wore in San Francisco) and sandals.. but something told me to go ahead and wear the red dress. I’m so glad I did. I got so many compliments on it! I wore it with nude sandals and dainty gold jewelry.. I think it was the perfect way to start our Napa journey.

Dress code for a winery is usually casual, specially if you are touring the vineyard. However, if casual doesn’t fit the description of how you feel about your Napa Valley experience (me), then a flowy dress looks just fine and is definitely not overboard. I’d rather be overdressed than underdressed anyway. With that being said, on the second day I wore this gorgeous lavender dress I specifically bought for Napa and skipped the heels (so glad I did).

outfit dets

day 1: Red dress

day 2: Lavender dress

 

If you made it this far.. THANK YOU. Also, let me know so I can continue working hard on these posts for you! 🙂

Ps. I linked everything, if not something similar to what I wore under each picture.

Again, thanks for stopping by! Let me know which was your favorite!

love,