A Week Well Spent At A Summer Beach House With Family.

When I was a kid my grandparents had a beach house in Ventura on Solimar Beach. My memories are dim but I can still remember how excited I was every time I got to go and play in the sand all-day-long. The smell of the wood deck, hot sand next to giant rocks and big windows looking out to the ocean are still fresh in my mind. Sadly they sold it in the 90’s but the freeway runs right past it on the way out of Santa Barbara (south) so every time I pass by I make sure to catch a glimpse of it, making sure it hasn’t changed too much.

So when my mom wanted to rent a beach house this summer, we immediately thought of returning to that same area. Our week was pure heaven. Waking up and falling asleep to the sound of the waves felt like the best kind of vacation. We didn’t do much but soak in the sun, play on the beach, read, swim and eat—those Dog Days of Summer. This is no doubt going to be a yearly tradition for our family.

Whether we were on the beach or lounging on the concrete ledge, we cozied up on throw beds by Hedgehouse. I’m obsessed with these because they’re so comfortable and make any lounging situation better. Not to mention the patterns are so classic and good.

I have a weakness for sheer swiss dot finds—this one from Zimmermann is too pretty for words.

Naturally Elin was on the beach about 80% of the time—from sunrise to sunset. She had the time of her life, especially with her Mimi. White suit by Marysia Swim.

The mornings were my favorite. We’d wake up early (7 am at the latest) with Elin, pour some coffee and watch the surf and sunrise from the deck outside our room. You couldn’t help but recognize every 5 minutes how crazy beautiful the view was.

Lucky for Todd there was a surf break steps from the house. He was a happy camper and Elin yelled “good job daddy” every time she saw him on a wave. Elin wearing a Marysia bumby suit.

The couple of times we did venture out of the house we headed into Ventura for important things like cocktails and coffee. But really Ventura is adorable and I got to know it a teensy bit better. My three favorite finds from the week—coffee at Prospect, dinner at Rumfish y Vino and Madewest Brewing Co. Above: Zimmermann dress. The moon shining bright on our last night. You can find the house we rented here, but I’m also going to share with you all the other amazing houses we found in our search, you’re going to want to bookmark these for next year.