we seek joy

My guy and I had the opportunity for a little getaway just two hours south to the sleepy beach town of Santa Cruz. Our hotel was nestled right into its own tiny forest. We spent our mornings by the water, finding starfish, and eating fresh bagels with whipped cream cheese (conveniently covered in sand by our hyper pup), drinking cold pressed juices, or indulging on waffles and french toast at a diner by the harbor. We were burned to perfectly embarrassing farmer's tans from walking along several different beaches' shores. And I don't think we'll ever get the sand out of our car seats. In the afternoon, we would swim in the hotel pool, lazy around in our massive king sized bed, and keep our feet up until dinner. We dined on the best grub in locally owned joints. Authentic Mexican, organic homemade ice cream parlors, crepes & pizza. Heaven knows, my pregnant self has a whole new relationship with food these days (have you seen my instagram!?), so I was pleased. It was so needed, and we already have plans to go back to hit the spots we weren't able to in our first trip within the next few weeks. I am so ready to be by the sea again. Hopefully for good one day.

If you're ever in that corner of the California Coast, check out a few of our new favorite places:

West Cliff Drive
Seabright Beach
Twin Lakes State Beach
Natural Bridges State Beach
The Boardwalk

Pizza My Heart
The Penny Ice Creamery (Salted Caramel Ice Cream anyone?)
The Bagelery (Blueberry bagels with Raspberry Cream Cheese. Mmm.)
Taqueria Michoacan (The BEST burritos in town.)
Mariannes Ice Cream Parlor (Lemon Curd & Pistachio were delicious, but Blueberry Cheesecake won me over.)
The Crepe Place 
Habor Cafe

See you again soon, Santa Cruz! Thank you for being a giant breath of fresh air.