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It was a little over a week ago, yet already seems like forever, our little family of 3 (soon to be 4!) spent two days in Venice Beach recuperating from 4 exhausting days at Disneyland. Every trip to Disneyland we usually follow with a few days in San Diego. I lived in San Diego for so long it’s usually my excuse to pretend I live there again for a couple days. This year we decided to mix things up, head somewhere new but still local, plus I had never been to Santa Monica or Venice Beach so it was the perfect time to make an adventure out of it.
Being connected with like-minded creative folks through Instagram, I’ve accumulated a hefty list of places I’d like to eat, shop, visit, sleep, etc. Sidecar doughnuts was on top of the list! My best friend lives just blocks from the Costa Mesa location. It was great playing catch up while stuffing my face with the butter & salt doughnut.
The Butcher’s Daughter was another one of these ‘must visit’ places. I love how they dub themselves a “vegetarian slaughterhouse”, my husband was surprised that literally everything, even the sausage pizza, was vegetarian. He ordered the breakfast burrito and it was SO GOOD. Zano ate the avocado toast. OK, I’m hungry now. 
We spent the second day exploring Santa Monica and the rest of Venice. I had never been to the Santa Monica pier, it’s exactly what you think it is :) We walked the promenade, shopped a little, came back and walked Abbott Kinney. We shopped at Urbanic, then my husband ordered 3 pairs of glasses at Warby Parker (honestly it’s so much easier to try them all on in the store vs. mail order). After, we walked the Venice canals, which were so fun to explore. We played the game “which house would you move into?” We walked a total of 10 miles that day! Needless to say, we definitely made room for a big dinner.
We ate at The Tasting Kitchen for dinner with one of our good friends and man, this place! It has to be one of the nicest dinners we’ve had in a long time! What was so amazing about this dinner is, after a long weekend of making decisions after decisions, this spot specializes in making them for you! We chose the 3-course meal (which was a lot of food!) and the chef decided what he wanted to serve us family style. We literally just sat there, talked, enjoyed each-others company, and received delicious surprise after surprise.
We had a really great time together, exploring a new place without having to travel too far. Our hotel was central to everything, which made it super easy to enjoy the neighborhoods without having to fight to find parking.
It’s been a week and I already need another vacation!
XO, Britt
I grew up in San Diego and lived there for 25 years. Love and miss it too.
Every day I think “whyyyyyyy did i leave?!” haha