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A Minimal Life & Style Blog

Tea House on Los Rios – Local Travels

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – We love to celebrate our anniversary by treating ourselves to afternoon tea at one of our favorite tea houses – The Tea House on Los Rios. 

When we picked our wedding day we wanted it to be during a time of year that would allow us to enjoy our favorite things. A cold day, an assortment of hot teas, bowls of soup and warm socks are all things we love and look forward to. This year has been a warm winter but the weather changed just in time for us to still enjoy our day.

The Tea House on Los Rios has several rooms to take afternoon tea in a romantic and whimsical atmosphere. Our favorite is the instrument room! Its dark floral wallpaper, string and wind instruments tastefully displayed on the walls, and candle like lamps give this historic house added character in a modern way.

It’s located in historic San Juan Capistrano – a street lined with cute little shops and historic buildings.  I love to look around the little shops for something unique that I can bring home with me. One of the shops has beautiful tapestry rugs that can be hanged or used as an entry rug. I think I have an addictions to rugs!

We hope you enjoy your visit as much as we did!

TEA HOUSE ON LOS RIOS – Our Favorites

The Mission Tea: We love to order this because it includes a soup/salad, finger sandwiches, a freshly baked scone, an assortment of desserts, fresh fruit and several tea selections. It’s a lot of food! Trust me dont plan on having dinner afterwards.

Loose Tea Leaves: Our favorite is the Irish blend and the Dutchess blend, both are black teas. The House blend is also very good! We bought some of the house blend to make iced tea at home. It’s so refreshing during summer! Last year we made a huge batch to enjoy on our beach days.

* The recommendations and opinions expressed here are one hundred percent my own. I only ever recommend places/products that I truly believe in and would/do use myself. Thank you! *

San Clemente Brunch – Local Travels

SAN CLEMENTE – We love traveling but sometimes our busy schedules cannot take us to our dream destinations, when that happens we like to travel to new close destinations. I decided to start sharing my favorites with you. It was a beautiful day when we headed to San Clemente for brunch – our favorite meal time!

We drove over to La Galette Creperie with family that was visiting from out of town and had a delicious meal. Now, I have to apologize but this was the only photo I was able to snap right before our family arrived. I’m still trying to get comfortable taking photos in public with people around. It’s especially difficult when it means holding people up from enjoying their food. Plus, I think that there are plenty of food-selfies on the internet. Until I figure out a way to do so tastefully and without being rude you’ll just have to take my word that the food looked as delicious as it tasted.

Located in a lovely historic spanish neighborhood, this quaint seaside eatery has a lot of charm and the food is served in a relaxing and charming setting. We chose to sit outside and enjoy the sound of the nearby waves. Across the street is the pier which makes for a peaceful walk after your meal.

If you’re in the area and are looking for a delicious bite of french toast we highly recommend you stop by La Galette Creperie.

*The recommendations and opinions expressed here are one hundred percent my own. I only ever recommend places/products that I truly believe in and would/do use myself. Thank you!*

Western Look – Natural History Museum

San Diego has decided to jump straight into summer, skipping the end of winter and spring. We don’t love this time of the year but we do enjoy taking advantage of what it has to offer – indoor activities with A/C!! Last Sunday, we spontaneously decided to check out the new exhibits at The NAT in Balboa Park. They currently have an exhibit called “Coast to Cactus” which of course got me all excited about bandanas, leather and that whole western look!

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The exhibit focuses on one of the things that I personally love about living in San Diego – we are able to experience a little bit of everything. We have a beautiful coast, mountains and rivers, and just over those mountains we have the desert. It’s nice to see just how much variety we have all within a couple hours drive, including an abundance of wildlife right in our backyard. It’s a great exhibit to check out. Oh, and they even have a tiny airstream (which I immediately fell out of!)

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They have a second exhibit on Skulls. This is where I get a little weird, because I’m an animal lover! I like my animals to be alive but let’s face it – animals die. Totally sounds like I’m a morbid person, which I don’t think I am. But there’s something about bones, specifically animal skulls and antlers, that I find attractive. (Now I feel the need to say: “I would never kill an animal just to have their bones, antlers, or heads as a trophy.” Lets just move on to the outfit.)

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If you follow me on Pinterest, then you’ve probably seen my recent interest in western things. Recently, I’ve been enjoying the desert atmosphere. (You know that’s totally out of character for me!) Having been inspired to try out a western outfit, and since we were headed to The NAT, I decided to go for it! This is my modern minimal take on the western look. I love the way it turned out!

Surprisingly, I was comfortable and confident in it. I don’t think I’ll ever embrace the full western look. But I might incorporate more western-y pieces, like a bolo tie! That would be so cool! So, you might be seeing more looks like these. Let me know what you think, would you go western?

Portland, Oregon

We finally made it to PDX – Portland, Oregon. And… We absolutely loved it! I feel like we’ve been researching Portland for so long that it already feels like we’ve lived there. Our goal in visiting Portland was to see if we could make living there a reality.

We’ve always been a fan of living simple and tiny. The latter is the primary reason why we decided to visit Portland, Oregon. It’s home to a very popular tiny house builder and whose esthetic we both love! During our visit we wanted to be realistic, so, we rented a tiny home, a car, and made sure to keep our routine.

The first thing on our to-do list was to contact the tiny house builder. After looking at their plans and some sites in the area we decided that buying, building and renting a space for it just didn’t make sense for us. The whole point was to simplify our lifestyle and reduce the amount of time that we spent thinking about our home. After discussing our options we realized it required more time than we were ever going to be willing to give it.

Since buying a tiny house was no longer happening, we decided to do some apartment searching. Unfortunately, that didn’t go so well either. We loved the area, the new friends we met were awesome, and lets face it, our weirdness was well received! But those weren’t reason enough to relocate to beautiful Portland.

It’s of great importance that our home (or where our home is located) doesn’t become a distraction from what we truly want to be doing. We’ve simplified our lifestyle in several areas of our life. The biggest area that we need to continue to simplify are our desires. We definitely want to find a comfortable home, but in order to achive our goals, we need to be willing to make sacrifices. Portland, Oregon will have to be one of our sacrifices. For now our search for home continues.

As we sit here reminiscing on everything Portland has to offer – delicious coffee, our favorite eating nooks, the best places to people watch and read – we eagerly await our next visit. After all, it’s nice to add a new place to our list of favorites.

Portland, Oregon – Our favorites:

  • Concordia. Our Airbnb tiny house is located in a charming and safe are close to the Alberta Arts district.
  • The Waffle Window. We loved the ‘Whole Farm’ – yum!
  • Extracto. Want a delicious cup of crafted coffee? Must go.
  • Multnomah Falls. There are so many luciously filled forests and falls that you can enjoy near Portland! Sadly, we didn’t have much time to see any other ones.

LONDON – Travel Diary

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Visiting London has always been at the top of my list. I spent the whole time saying  things like “Oh my gosh! We’re in London!” and “I could totally live here – the weather is awesome-possum!” So let’s just come out and say it – we love London! Not only is it home to the best TV show ever – Sherlock Holmes – but it’s also the place where one of my favorite movies takes place – The Young  Victoria. We spent a lovely week walking, touring and sippin’ tea all over London.

We can’t wait to go back but for now here’s a small glimpse of our trip.

Day 1

We were able to spend a lovely day with friends (best tour guides ever). We met at Leicester Square and walked to Trafalgar Square to get the quintessential view of the city. We then walked to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guards. The Queen was too busy to have tea and scones with us but we did enjoy the view of the palace from the outer gates.

On our way back, we walked through St. James Park on our way to Downing Street, Big Ben, Westminster, and Parliament Square. We then climbed the 311 steps to the top of The Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of London. I’m terribly afraid of heights but I knew I had to push through the fear… because we’re in London at a very famous monument! So, why not? Well, I’m happy to report that with everyone’s help I made it 309 steps. Then, I freaked out and couldn’t continue the last 2 steps. By the time we got down my hair was a mess but I was smiling because we each received a certificate for having climbed to the (almost) top.

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Day 2

Kensington Palace! Oh I just loved Kensington! Have I mentioned how much I love the movie The Young Victoria? We made sure to download the soundtrack so that while we toured the museum we could listen and sway to it in the background. I made sure to go in every room and sit and enjoy the view from every windowsill. Sadly, we visited the gardens too early and they were not in full bloom. Here’s a good tip for all you tea lovers – if you want to have tea at The Orangery make a reservation before your visit to Kensington. Sadly, we didn’t. Oh well, next time.

Afterwards, we walked to see the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall and then on to the Victoria and Albert Museum because I really really wanted to see the Wedding Dress Exhibition. There is no entrance fee to get into the V&A but there was a small fee to go into the main exhibition.

I wasn’t allowed to take any photos inside of the Wedding Dress Exhibition but for all you romantics and wedding enthusiasts I really really recommend you go.

Across the street was the Science Museum, which we of course went in to. They had an exhibition on the history of modern communication, a large area about space travel and rockets, and lots of fun interactive displays. I made Keen shock himself on the large static electricity display. hehe!

If you’re like us, your favorite thing to do after a long day of museums is get lost and walk unnecessarily long distances trying to find a book store (which we eventually did find after several wrong turns and a couple wrong tube rides). We were so cold and tired we only spent a few minutes browsing the 5 floors of Foyles before we popped across the street for a recognizable yummy dinner – Chipotle. Thats right – nothing says London like tex-mex burrito bowls and Coke.

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Can’t wait to share the rest of our week in London. We hope our itinerary gives you some inspiration and if you have any questions regarding the places we visited let us know. Cheers!

Places to visit in Switzerland — Gimmelwald

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What is your dream vacation? Maybe a warm sandy beach? Let me quickly tell you about mine.

Picture this — you’re surrounded by snowy mountains as you walk up towards a small cabin. In the background is the blissful sound of snow tumbling down a slope and breaking tree branches. As you breath in the cold fresh air your lungs open as far as they can go. It almost hurts. You open the door to the cabin and are instantly greeted by a cozy looking fire. You start to look forward to the delicious cookies and the fresh milk you just purchased at the local shop. Are you there yet?

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Gimmelwald gave me everything I just described, right down to the fresh milk. If you are ever looking for places to visit in Switzerland — Gimmelwald is a must! It’s a small quaint town in the Swiss alps. We arrived via train to the city of Lauterbrunnen. Then we hopped on a free, 10-minute bus ride to the cable car station. We rode the cable car straight to Gimmelwald. Easy-peasy.

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We spent 3 lovely days relaxing and walking through this tiny town. (The above picture is basically the town.) The hubs took the cable car up 2 more stations to reach the Schilthorn for the amazing views. (PS: That’s the place to ski, if you’re not afraid of heights and dense fog.) The town is small and you rarely see any other human beings – it’s the perfect place to relax and admire the stunning surroundings.

If you really want to enjoy the take-it-easy feel that Gimmelwald offers, we suggest you make a stop at the grocery store located across the street from the train station. Once you’re up in Gimmelwald, finding a grocery store/market is impossible, because there aren’t any! Haha. If you arrive on a good day, you might find some cookies, chocolate, chips, cheese and milk at the first Honesty Shop in Europe. You might be asking yourself, what is an Honesty Shop? Remember how I said that you rarely see any other people? Well, the Honesty Shop is a self check-out store. There is no clerk, cashier, or stock-boy. You’re all on your own. The prices are clearly listed on everything. There are envelopes and pens for you to write down what you took and how much money you are leaving. There is no change bucket so bring plenty of change with you.

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There are also several trails that lead to waterfalls. Unfortunately, we were not able to see any due to the snow. We hope to someday be able to go back during late spring and really enjoy Gimmelwald in all its magnificence and splendor.

Tootles!

Traveling with Only a Carry-on – A Minimalist Guide

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Guess where we’re going? We’re spending a month traveling through Europe – Madrid, London, Paris and different parts of Switzerland! Best anniversary gift ever! I started traveling on my own since the age of 12 – my mom would put me on a plane to grandma’s house. Anyway, the point is I LOVE TO TRAVEL!  I love everything from packing to going through TSA, it’s just fun! (many may disagree)

This trip was one of the easiest packing experiences I’ve ever had. It took me about an hour this morning, which also included taking these photos. So, I thought it would be nice to share a couple of tips with you.

Tip #1 – Capsule Wardrobe. I can’t tell you how easy it was to pack my capsule wardrobe. If you haven’t read about it yet you can do so here. The gist is that I am living with a 32-piece capsule wardrobe for spring.  I can literally fit my entire closet into a carry-on, can you believe that?! Still, I only packed what I really needed. I packed all of my capsule wardrobe tops, jeans, navy bottoms and 2 skirts. I also packed my super-duper comfortable booties and a pair of walking shoes.

Tip #2 – Roll it up. I’m sure you have all seen the rolled up jeans technique on Pinterest. If you haven’t tried it yet, do it. It is a real space saver. I don’t know why, but it is. I’ve also started doing this with my chiffon tops.

Tip #3 – Play some Tetris. If you don’t find packing fun, think of it as a game of Tetris. The goal is to neatly fit your items into a suitcase, or in this case, my carry-on. Start by placing the thicker and heavier items at the bottom. I don’t know about your suitcase but the bottom of mine is not flat, so, I place my rolled up jeans on the bottom to create an even surface. Sometimes thats enough, but not for me. I always end up with space in between my jeans and that’s when the real Tetris begins. I place small items such as my unmentionables or my rolled up chiffon tops in between. That way no space is wasted.

Tip #4 – Stuff  ’em. Speaking of no wasted space, did I mention shoe space? I honestly never thought about this until I saw a friend pull 4 pairs of socks out of her shoes. Genius! It also helps shoes keep their form.

Tip #5 – Wear your thicker items. This will save you a ton of room! Whenever you are traveling in cold weather you’re bound to have a heavy jacket/coat. If you wear it on the plane you stay warm and it could also be a nice pillow.

Tip #6 – Hands Free. Most airlines will allow you to check one 50 lb bag. I always check my bag when traveling short distances.

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Inside my Fossil satchel, which I love and take with me on all my travels, I carry my iPad mini, Kindle, headphones, sunglasses, travel journal, wallet with passport, nail file, and ibuprofen. In a separate small cosmetic bag I carry a wash cloth, and my toothbrush and toothpaste to freshen up. It looks like a lot but my bag stays surprisingly light.

Let me know if you have any other helpful tips or anything that will make traveling with only a carry-on easier.

Safe travels!

In the clouds… Literally.

Being up 13, 287 feet sets the perfect ambiance for a romantic walk. That is if you can comfortably breath at that height. It’s a good thing we’ve acclimated to the altitude, otherwise, I would have never gotten these.

fogWe missed the good weather and arrived just as the clouds, cold wind and rain started to roll in. Just perfect, don’t you think?

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Although we missed a spectacular city view, we were content with snapping a few quick pictures before the rain got too bad and too cold. Earlier that day I had commented on the fact that we never got a picture of us on the trip and we were flying back to Cuenca that evening. That’s how this happened. Great ending to a fantastic mini-trip.

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I hope you enjoyed these quick shots, let me know if you have any stories of feeling like your floating in the clouds.