Last week we took off for a 5 day road trip north. Our first stop was to pay a visit to my sweet 93-year-old grandparents who live on a ranch in Sacramento (seen here and here). Despite their age they continue to awe us with their jokes, energy and stories. So after soaking in some quality time with them we were off to Carmel for a night. Here’s a guide to where we stayed, what we did, where we shopped and ate. Stay tuned for our next dreamy stop…

Stay: We shacked up at the Cypress Inn, just a block from Ocean Avenue – the main street filled with adorable shops which leads down to an idyllic beach. I loved this hotel for a handful of reasons: the incredibly cool wall paper in the rooms, seriously cozy beds, black glossy doors, a moody bar that played Doris Day movies (she owns the hotel), an inviting living room with a blazing fire and the best popovers I’ve ever had. Oh and, if you’re traveling with a furry friend the Cypress Inn allows them! Which made my puppy fever slightly out of control.

Shop: The first thing we did after checking in was hit the main street which is filled with adorable boutiques. My favorite was Girl Boy Girl which houses all of my favorites lines from Isabel Marant to Anine Bing. I scored an Organic by John Patrick coat (seen above).

Do: One thing I love to do while visiting a new place is to get up early and go for a walk. Sometimes you see things you wouldn’t normally and it’s always incredibly peaceful and quite. We walked down to the beach and did a giant loop around the town.

What to Wear: My brain was still on heat wave mode and I packed too many warm weather things. So I ended up layering the few shirts/sweaters that I brought and lived in a Margaret Oleary cashmere wrap. Note to self: layering is key when traveling.

Eat: We had dinner at La Bicyclette, an adorable french restaurant that was just up from the Cypress Inn, and found a sweet coffee spot called the Carmel Coffee House for morning lattes.

Here’s what I wore during a quick Carmel visit…