Last weekend Danny and I spent a much needed few days away together in Santa Barbara. We had never been before so were so excited to explore a new place together which is one of our favourite things to do. We had flights booked to LA but decided to venture up to Santa Barbara instead because it’s a bit more chill and I had been to LA so much lately I wanted a change of pace. Although we did spend one day at the Rosebowl Flea market and then in West Hollywood (Danny demanded Gracias Madre) we still had some time to explore and take in Santa Barbara.

Where we stayed:
We stayed all three nights at the Kimpton Goodland Santa Barbara. It’s located a bit outside of downtown SB in Goleta but was only a ten minute drive into the downtown core and was super close to the wineries as well. I would 100% recommend staying here and when we come back will stay here again but keep in mind you will definitely need a car (they have free parking) unless you don’t mind shelling out some dolla bills on ubers. The hotel was super cute and so many IG-worthy spots (which lets be honest is #1 on my list when I’m searching for a hotel). They have cute record players in every room with new and old school music, a stunning pool, delish coffee (and almond milk helloooo) in the morning, and a social hour from 5-6 everyday with free wine and appies from their restaurant – so good. They’re also located a 5 minute walk away from Trader Joes which we walked to a couple times for various things. The last thing I’ll say about staying here is there is a pizza place a 5 minute walk away called Pizza Online Company that has the most bomb pizza and was $8 for a medium that fed me and Danny.. so for those nights you feel like staying in like we did. Okay LAST thing I forgot to add in and just came back to is that THEY’RE DOGGIE FRIENDLY!! So if you’re local and doing a quick getaway you can bring your pup!!! As you all know we’re dog obsessed so we loved meeting everyone’s fur babies throughout our stay.

What we did:
Night one we were still getting our bearings and just went for dinner downtown which was super pretty at night with people out and about and twinkle lights in all the trees. We spent some time at Arroyo Burro Beach (or is it called Hendry’s beach?) which is super cute with a little lifeguard tower (for the gram), and all the joyous doggies roaming free on the beach and playing in the water – most beaches near us at home don’t allow dogs so this was the best. We popped into the shopping centre Paseo Nuevo which is an open air mall so you can grab a coffee and stroll around taking in the fresh Santa Barbara air and picking up some goodies like we did (hello Nordstrom and Sephora). I would also highly highly highly recommend spending some time in the Funk Zone. So many of you recommended this to me and for some reason I thought it was a single restaurant. Turns out it’s a whole area dedicated to wine tasting local wines and distilleries. We leisurely walked the streets popping into ones we thought looked cool and tried a bunch of different local wines which was so much fun. It would also be insane to do in high summer because this area is just a block up from the marina and beach so you can get a good buzz on and head to the beach or vice versa.

Where we ate:
Finch and Fork – a couple had recommended this to us. Honestly the bar is super cool with really unique cocktails and the whole area itself is stunning. The restaurant was good, and the food and service was good, but I think it was a one time visit for me.

Bagel Rock Cafe – not in SB but on our way to Pasadena we stopped here in Ventura to grab breakfast and omg their bagels were insane. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall but the owners were super sweet. We each got the breakfast bagel and Danny got one right hot out of the oven to take on our road trip – so good.

The Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach – we had brunch here and it was absolutely perfect. It’s right on the water so you can watch people surfing/dogs playing in the waves. We weren’t so lucky but apparently you can sometimes see dolphins swimming by. The food was delish and overall just such a good vibe – would definitely come back.

McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream – so good – get the churros con leche.

Online Pizza Company – mentioned above, again, for a lazy night in.

Wine Tasting Rooms:
Santa Barbara wine collective
Oreana winery
Municipal winemakers

These are just the three we stumbled upon and they were all great – probably Municipal winemakers had some of the better wines (so we thought). But honestly anywhere you go will be great. I was also pleasantly surprise by the tasting fees – they were all in the $13USD range for a flight of 5 or so – I’ve tasted in Temecula before and prices are cray so this was decent.

We really didn’t get to explore too too much but overall it was such a fun/relaxing time with the hubs, I can’t wait to come back!

xx
Tessa