It’s No Secret I LOVE Carmel

It’s no secret that I LOVE Carmel! I was just recently there with my husband, and wanted to share some of my favorite little spots to shop and eat and see. I always find the most special things in Carmel. The denim jacket you often see me wearing, came from Paloosh in Carmel. In fact it was once left on an airplane and I thought it was lost. I was contacted by the airline months and months later that they had it there for me to pick up! I seriously was over the moon!

I first started visiting Carmel way back in the 80’s. My boys went to a summer camp there and so I stayed and vacationed while they were away. I stayed here at Carmel Valley Ranch Resort. It didn’t take me but a minute to absolutely fall in love with the CHARM! It has such a ROMANTIC vibe there, which makes for a great getaway with your significant other!

My husband actually grew up just outside of Carmel. So now as a newly married couple, we are beginning to make our own memories there together. While we were there, just for the day a couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed yummy restaurants, delicious treats from the Carmel Bakery, shopping, and of course there was a bit of time saved at the end for some photo shoots.

MUST SEE IN CARMEL~

The 17 mile drive is always stunning. The views and cute shops and restaurants along the way are BEAUTIFUL! You won’t want to miss this….. people come from all over just to do this drive.

We ate breakfast/lunch here at Katy’s Place. It was delicious food, maybe a bit on the expensive side. I think overall any restaurant will be that way in this town! If you go, make sure to plan for that! We ate dinner at the Flying Fish Grill. Our food at both places was delicious. Another favorite of ours is the TreeHouse Cafe.

Carmel Bakery was established in 1899 and is now Carmel’s oldest running retail business in Carmel-by-the-Sea and has been owned by the Pèpe family since 1986. As a matter of fact, it is the oldest building still standing in the town. My VERY FAVORITE thing there, and I never get anything else is the macaroon chocolate dipped cookie. It’s pictured in the upper right hand corner. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I have one every time I visit!!

We bought our treats and went over to the the Carmel library and sat in the gardens. It’s so pretty and peaceful there. There are several benches throughout to sit and relax. This was another little secret I discovered this last trip.

Carmel is known for their art galleries. They are everywhere and such fun to walk through and immerse yourself in to that world….. and the ART WORLD is indeed unique, and very much a part of the Carmel vibe! I fell in love with fine art after my visits there. There are so many I love, and impossible to list separately. But again if you get a chance to visit, save some of your time to wander in and out of these fantastic galleries.

The SHOPPING in Carmel is FAB! There are two boutiques I LOVE the most. One is GirlBoyGirl and the other which is related is called Paloosh! Both of these boutiques ARE PRICEY. Be prepared to spend some money, because it’s not cheap. But I promise that YOU WILL find fun and unique things that you won’t find anywhere else! I always visit and MOST of the time I will splurge on JUST ONE THING. This time, it was this! It’s only a hoodie, but the detail of the ruffled shoulder and the subtle butterflies, was enough to get me! I LOVE this brand ….. LOVESHACKFANCY! I love it so much I’ve linked some of my favorites below! It’s no secret I LOVE Carmel…. especially when it comes to SHOPPING!

I have never seen this boutique, and just discovered it this trip. This one FOXY COUTURE….. has some great finds. Some old, some new. A lot of designer vintage pieces in here which I wished I would have had more time to really look! The fun GUCCI belts, and CHANEL jewelry are fabulous! You seriously could spend hours in there!

And then there’s always the BEAUTIFUL beach in Carmel. It’s just LOVELY!!

The cottage houses are a must see as well. These are absolutely so darling and you won’t want to miss! The price of real estate in Carmel is…… WO! I could only dream of living there someday!

So now you see why it’s no secret I LOVE Carmel. I hope you’ve enjoyed my little tour through this magical town, but more so I hope you get the opportunity to visit there some day! Use this as your guide to see all the BEST PLACES in this CHARMING city!!

Shauna XO

THIS BLOG in the denim dress, was shot in Carmel.

THESE plaid pants were also shot in Carmel.