If you follow me on Instagram, you may have read/seen me raving about Flower Child in Del Mar. I first fell in love with the location/decor (seriously…every square inch is Insta worthy) and now I can say the food is the reason we will be coming back! With protein, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options…there is something for everyone. I had the skinny cobb, my mom had the thai cashew quinoa and my son had the steak/mashed potatoes/watermelon. All were delish! It’s located right in front of the Flower Hill Promenade in Del Mar. By the way, if you’re local and haven’t been to this shopping center in a while, you won’t believe how much it’s changed. You can easily spend a whole day here! SO many great new shops.

“Healthy Food for a Happy World”

What better place to wear a bold printed kaftan than in beautiful Palm Springs?!? We visited the stunning Korakia Resort again this Summer and I’ve got to tell you, it never loses it’s charm. You can’t help but relax here. It was a blazing 108 degrees this trip so a swimsuit with this light breezy kaftan was a perfect choice for wandering around!

10 percent of proceeds from sales of the cooper & ella x Dream Hotels collection will benefit 100cameras, which empowers kids worldwide to share their stories through photography to create impact in their communities.

Outfit Details: Cooper & Ella x DREAM Hotels Kaftan c/o Cooper & Ella, Madewell Hat, Tory Burch Miller Sandals, Helen Ficalora Initial Necklace

One of the most common questions I get asked from my readers is how I get my beachy waves hairstyle. Sadly, I am not blessed with great naturally wavy hair. My hair takes A LOT of work and don’t even get me started on how often I’m at the salon getting my greys covered! But I digress. My hair is actually super curly near the roots and the ends are bone dry and straight. Not a good mix. LOL. So I literally have to blow dry my hair straight with a round brush, then straight iron it and THEN curl it. That’s a LOT of heat damage folks. So for the past few years, I have been on a constant hunt for THE BEST heat protectants. As you already know, I ALWAYS use Paul Mitchel’s “Hot off the Press” spray. But I recently had the opportunity to try out their new Neuro line which is a whole line of tools AND products designed with heat protection in mind.

My previous blow dryer was at LEAST ten years old and on its last leg so I could not wait to try my new Neuro Light Hair Dryer. When I first opened the box, I was worried it would be heavy because it looked much sturdier than the one I’ve had for years. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled it out to find it is completely lightweight and easy to use. It has four heat settings/speeds as well as a cool shot button to finish off your blowout. Tourmaline ions reduce frizz and add shine as well. It also has a SmartSense filter (the first of it’s kind) to indicate when your filter needs to be cleaned ensuring peak performance. Check out the Paul Mitchell blog for more tips on how to get a great DIY blowout.

As I mentioned before, my hair takes a beating when it comes to coloring/highlighting and heat styling. So the Neuro Lather, Neuro Rinse and Neuro Prime have really helped get my hair on the right track. I especially love the Neuro Prime HeatCTRL Blowout primer because of its lightweight texture. It doesn’t weigh my hair down, smells fabulous and leaves my hair oh so shiny! And knowing that it prevents heat damage 86%…gives me peace of mind when I’m using hair tools that heat up to 400 degrees!

And now for the exciting news…Paul Mitchell has generously allowed me to gift one lucky winner with their very own Neuro Light Hair Dryer along with an assortment of a few of my favorite products (a value of $200+) from their Neuro line! Feel free to enter as many ways as you’d like using the rafflecopter app below. The winner will be chosen at random and announced here on the blog on Mon, Aug 21st at 12am PST. Good luck and as always, thank you for reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. I apologize if you thought you were going to get a hair tutorial here today. I’m still not brave enough to film myself. There is nothing worse than hearing your own voice, am I right?!?! =) Hopefully this amazing giveaway will make up for it!

Disclaimer: Paul Mitchell gifted me the Neuro Hair Dryer & products for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. PLEASE NOTE: Giveaway winner must be 18 years old and a US resident.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited (along with several other local influencers) to check out Pala Casino Spa & Resort. How I had never been there when it is less than 40 minutes from my home, I will never know! We had an absolute blast from start to finish and can’t wait to go back!

As soon as we arrived, we were immediately greeted and escorted over to the Influencer welcome table to check in. The most fab welcome basket and white roses (my fave!) were waiting for us in our room. Then it was off to The Cave Lounge to mix and mingle with the other influencers!

We were treated to yummy island style fruity drinks (which went down WAY too easy) and the most delicious appetizers. A+ for presentation! There was a pineapple theme throughout our whole experience and it made for several excuses to take MORE PICS!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen these mini pineapples at my local grocery store (and even bought one once!) and had no idea what they could be used for other than decoration. Well my friends…have you ever seen a more adorable and creative way to serve appetizers than in tiny scooped out pineapples!?! I honestly feel like having a party JUST so I can do this!

We were then whisked off to a slot tournament! If you’ve never played in one, be prepared for some fast paced fun! I had never participated in one and had no idea what I was doing but it ended up being one of the highlights of the day for us because my hubby took FIRST place! We won a spa gift certificate AND added play money for our next trip!

We then went to The Oak Room (a world-class steak house) and were treated to a four course appetizer/wine pairing. To be honest, I am not much of a wine drinker, but the presentation by our sommelier absolutely made me want to become one! Oh, and the food was to die for!

Then we went to the Underground Wine Cave and sipped on another glass of wine and had even more appetizers! With over 480 labels from California, France & Italy…this place is a wine lovers dream. P.S. They also offer top shelf drinks and a limited selection of craft beers.

I couldn’t resist the table of props so here I am again with ALL.THE.PROPS. #diditfortheinsta

Then we had a quick break to freshen up before it was off to the UB40 concert! I grew up listening to UB40 and had forgotten how many songs I knew & loved. Such a great walk down memory lane. The Starlight Theater has outdoor seating and the weather was just perfect! But the best part is that when the concert was over…you can just go upstairs to your room (or the bar or casino)!

Here is the gorgeous view from our room of the pool, mountain view and the outdoor seating for the concert. I wish I would have snapped more pics of our room so I could share with you. Hopefully some of you caught the tour on my Instagram story!

Before we left we made sure to check out the casino. I love to play the Wheel of Fortune slots and my hubby visited the blackjack table.

A HUGE shout-out and THANK YOU to Pala Casino Spa & Resort for taking such good care of us! We had an amazing time and are already looking at the calendar to schedule our next trip! If you live in Southern CA, I highly recommend checking Pala out for a weekend getaway.

Disclaimer: We were treated to a complimentary stay at Pala Casino Spa & Resort in exchange for my honest review of our stay. All opinions are my own.

I am born and raised in Southern California so I’ve been to the Del Mar Race Track numerous times in my lifetime. In my early twenties, we would skip the horse races altogether and just show up for the Friday night concerts. Then I got married and had my son and we somehow hadn’t been to the races in probably close to ten years! But then last year some friends of ours were nice enough to ask us to join them in the Turf Club on Opening Day and we had an absolute blast (check out my recap here)! We decided then and there that we would be going again the following year. And I was FOR SURE going to up my hat game. This year I was thrilled to have been invited as a guest of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and we had SO much fun viewing the horses from the paddock, running into friends at The Party tent and of course betting on the ponies. But my favorite part…THE FASHION. Obviously. Be sure and check out my tips for what to wear on opening day so you can be prepared next year (below):

WHAT TO WEAR TO OPENING DAY: It’s going to be HOT ladies…so long sleeves are out of the question. Even if you get seats in the shade, it will be warm. While you can definitely get away with wearing a maxi dress or romper, I would say above the knee dresses are most popular. Last year I wore a simple floppy hat but this year I splurged and got a custom hat designed by Carol Bader. And I have to admit, it made my outfit! But you can also find a little more budget friendly options here. Oh, and if you are a procrastinator like me, add Donna’s Tailor Shop to your contacts right now. I needed last minute alterations for my dress both last year and this year and they did SAME day alterations for me….highly recommend! Also, make sure you do the sit test and lift your arms test in your dress so you know you will be comfortable sitting and raising your arms in the air when you WIN! Last but not least…make absolutely SURE you throw several band-aids in your purse. I don’t care how comfy your shoes are…nothing is worse that hobbling along with blisters at the track. I SWEAR by these blister band-aids. They are LIFE-SAVERS.

My Outfit Details: Parker Layla Dress, Banana Republic Heels (old), Rebecca Minkoff Crossbody (similar), Carol Bader Fascinator, Tom Ford Sunglasses

My husband and I pre-gaming at Brigantine Del Mar. We had friends who got there early and saved us seats!

Mingling in the Paddock! SO FUN seeing the horses up close & personal.

We ran into SO many friends and had a blast dancing in The Party tent.

We got lucky this year and attended not one but TWO after-parties. The Hats, Heels & Hooves party was the official Opening Day after-party and was held at the beautiful Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. The food, music, photo booth & all around ambiance were amazing. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pics at the 2nd party (L’Auberge in Del Mar) but it also did not disappoint! It is a young crowd but that didn’t stop us from kicking up our heels (again)!

Thank you to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for providing our tickets to this event. The 2017 season runs from July 19th through September 4th. To get more information and/or to view the full schedule of events, click here.