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Family Vacations: A Santa Monica Travel Guide

Dreaming of a vacation on the beaches of Southern California? This Santa Monica Travel Guide will help you plan the perfect family vacation.

Thank you to the team at the Shore Hotel for hosting our stay.

Dreaming of a vacation on the beaches of Southern California? This Santa Monica Travel Guide will help you plan the perfect family vacation.

Our series family vacations continues!  Last weekend, we decided to have a short family staycation in our own area.  Santa Monica is about 15 miles from our house, but it feels like a world away.  From the sunny beaches to the amazing places to eat…..it’s the perfect place for families to play!

 I wanted to share a few of our favorite parts of the trip in a Santa Monica travel guide……so that you can plan your own Santa Monica trip agenda.

Santa Monica Travel Guide

Dreaming of a vacation on the beaches of Southern California? This Santa Monica Travel Guide will help you plan the perfect family vacation.Where to Stay: 

Shore Hotel – Literally steps from the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica beach and sand…..the Shore Hotel is a perfect place for family trips.  It’s stunning, eco-conscious, and has great amenities for families.  Lydia loved playing in the pool and hot tub, and there is an adorable garden area with corn hole for burning off energy.  I loved that it was literally a two minute walk to the Santa Monica Pier and the beach, plus I could sneak out the back exit to hit up my favorite Santa Monica mall for some shopping.  A million food options were within moments…..and they also serve delicious meals by the pool area!  They also gave Lydia an adorable sand pail and shovel to use when we hit up the beach area.

How cute are these mommy and me straw hats?!?Where to Eat:

Santa Monica Place –Santa Monica Place is an awesome mall right behind the Shore Hotel that has a ton of great family food options 

Blue Plate Taco –Blue Plate Taco is attached to the Shore Hotel, has amazing views of the water, and some pretty tasty mexican food!

Library Alehouse –A short drive from the Santa Monica Pier and Shore Hotel, Library Alehouse is located on Main Street (in the less touristy, more locals part of Santa Monica).  If you’re looking for amazing local brews and burgers, this is for you!
I love these mommy and me straw hats!

What to Do:

Santa Monica Pier – The Santa Monica Pier is filled with great rides and carnival games, perfect for a little family time!

Beaches – There are a million beaches in Southern California….and Santa Monica Beach is a great one.  Venice Beach is fun, and for a little more mellow….check out Zuma Beach in Malibu or Redondo Beach.

Third Street Promenade – Shopping and sight seeing? The Third Street Promenade is filled with great shops and street performers!

Museum of Flying – The Museum of Flying in Santa Monica is a ton of fun for wanna be aviators! They’ll love seeing all the old planes!

Dreaming of a vacation on the beaches of Southern California? This Santa Monica Travel Guide will help you plan the perfect family vacation.photos by Maile Mason Photography

hats c/o Two Baked Buns

Dreaming of a vacation on the beaches of Southern California? This Santa Monica Travel Guide will help you plan the perfect family vacation.Are you planning a family vacation?  Let us know what you plan to visit from our Santa Monica Travel Guide!

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  1. Gisele says

    September 14, 2017 at 11:51 am

    It looks like you all had a great time! Love the hats!

    Reply
  2. Veronica Lee says

    September 17, 2017 at 6:00 am

    Those hats are adorable! I would love to visit Santa Monica someday.

    Reply
  3. Molli Vandehey-Taylor says

    September 17, 2017 at 8:12 am

    ive never been to santa monica but it looks like you had a blast!

    Reply
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❤️We have everything ready for when our kids a ❤️We have everything ready for when our kids are sick…..but tell the truth, what about when YOU'RE not feeling your best?❤️⠀
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🧡<Sponsored by Avrio Health> Let’s be honest, this normally falls to the wayside, am I right?  As parents, we tend to be way more prepared for our kids' sick days than our own. ⠀
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💛This year, I’m committing to being AS PREPARED to take care of myself as I am to take care of Lydia (reminder moms, these aren’t mutually exclusive….taking care of YOURSELF is important too). I always keep “sick day supplies” on hand for Lydia and this year I'm finally making myself a priority too. ⠀
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💚In my "Sick Day" Kit:⠀
1️⃣Orange Juice:  If I start to feel sick…..Vitamin C filled juice is first up!⠀
2️⃣ @Betadine_us Antiseptic Sore Throat Gargle: This fast-acting gargle temporarily relieves occasional sore throat. I stocked up on this! You can #UpYourGargleGame by buying it at Walgreens or from Amazon! Betadine Gargle should be used as directed for adults and children 12 years and older. See product labeling for directions and warnings. ⠀
3️⃣Heating Pad: Sore muscles? Slept poorly? All of these things tend to come along with sick days and a heating pad is a must have.⠀
4️⃣Ice Packs: I started stocking extra ice packs in our freezer in case of headaches.⠀
5️⃣Soup: Tummy trouble? Better to have soup on hand for when I need it.⠀
⠀
💙What do you keep in the house for sick days?⠀
Watch out for that glass ladies……it’s everyw Watch out for that glass ladies……it’s everywhere!

To broken glass ceilings, rebuilding our nation, and starting the journey of 1000 miles with a single step.

Joy cometh in the morning.
📣How are you using your Influence?📣⠀
⠀
💛I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We ALL have influence…..on this app, in our church pews, on our personal social media, in our private conversations, talking from 6 feet apart to our neighbors, in the way we address conflicting viewpoints (note to self on this one), over our children and our students.  To be in community with others is to have influence.  How are we each using it? ⠀
⠀
💛This lady? We’re talking all about Inspiration this month and she’s one of mine.  At 75 years old (happy birthday Dolly), not only is she one of THE most successful recording artists…..but talk about using your influence.  From speaking up to say that Black Lives Matter to founding her Imagination Library which provides books to children worldwide…..this lady proactively uses her talent and influence to serve others.  May I do the same at the ripe age of 75.⠀
⠀
💛So what does that look like for me? Authentic conversation everywhere…..including here.  To be transparent, every time I’ve spoke up about basic human rights here in the last few years…….people leave our community. And that? Is just fine with me.  Because, what good is this community if I can't speak about the values that are a core part of who I am? Now? I want to do more. A foundation? Charity work? I’m not sure, but I can tell you…..I’m inspired and I hope you are too.  Change starts with us.⠀
⠀
💛(ps, if you want to support Dolly’s Imagination Library, a book is donated to it for every one of these sweatshirts sold….I include the info here for those of you on like to know it and in my profile for the rest of y’all).⠀
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📷 “Mom I want to do my OWN pictures. I picke 📷 “Mom I want to do my OWN pictures.  I picked out my favorite dress and shoes.  Can I do that when we take pictures?”📷⠀
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✨Story time.  I rarely share pictures of Lydia by herself on here.  But this? Is a story of when my seven year old reminded me how to love myself.  We had plans to shoot a BUNCH of images at once, a batch shoot.  So as Lydia watched me planning outfits and get organized, she decided she wanted to do her own thing.  She picked an outfit and her favorite shoes. ⠀
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✨And she did the darn thing.  This? She picked the angle and background.  And the joy? Look at the joy.  That’s not posed. ⠀
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✨Somewhere along the way…..as tweens or teens or adults, we lose the joy.  The, I feel pretty and want to twirl in my dress joy.  We worry that our thighs are rubbing together or our hair looks weird, or that we should be wearing a darker color to minimize things.  And…..we’re missing the point.  Sometimes, you just need a dress you can twirl in with a smile on your face.⠀
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✨Thanks Lydia. ⠀
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#troopselflove ⠀
💕 Here’s your reminder that you are never:⠀ 💕 Here’s your reminder that you are never:⠀
-too curvy ⠀
-too old⠀
-too late⠀
-too busy being a mom⠀
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To celebrate yourself! 💕⠀
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These photos are something I told myself a million times I wanted to take.  And something I told myself a million times I shouldn’t.  Here’s to the millionth time plus one.  A 41 year old curvy mom.  Yup, thick thighs and all.  And I’m so proud of how they turned out.⠀
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#troopselflove
⁉️Two Truths and a Lie (can you guess which is ⁉️Two Truths and a Lie (can you guess which is the lie?)⁉️⠀
1️⃣2021 is the year we’re committing to taking multivitamins daily⠀
2️⃣Lydia is a picky eater⠀
3️⃣Multivitamins are a quick fix⠀
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💛 #ritualpartner Did you guess which was the lie?⠀
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💛You guys know I’m allllll about simple lifestyle adjustments that make change over time instead of big, hard to maintain resolutions. And one of the best adjustments we’ve made? I’m not even sure it counts as a New Year’s adjustment because we actually started in December........we’ve FINALLY committed to taking @ritual multivitamins each day. Will this be an overnight game changer? Nope. But it will be an important simple change that will support our health in the long run. And I’m here for it.⠀
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💛Since we love a mommy and me vibe, I was excited when I ordered my first bottle of Ritual⠀
multivitamins and discovered that.....they have kids products now! Like all Ritual products, the⠀
new kids vitamins are sugar free, gluten free and non-gmo.....but unlike the adult version,⠀
these are a gummy....and even my picky eater (hint, hint if you’re still guessing the lie) loves⠀
them!⠀
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💛Want to make this simple change with us? ⠀
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💛You can use code CARLY10 to get 10% off your first 3 months of Ritual multiitamins (the code works on the adult and teen vitamins too!)⠀
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💛Now......did you guess the lie????⠀
💕Let’s talk about kids+talking about scary th 💕Let’s talk about kids+talking about scary things💕⠀
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Yesterday, we all watched in horror as domestic terrorism took place before our eyes. It is….terrifying, sad, anger inducing, and yet ANOTHER example of the blatant hatred and racism that are sewed into the threads of our nation. What happened is not ok. I know that we all want better for our children. We want our babies to grow up safe, loved+valued.⠀
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I talked in my stories today about ways to talk to your children about yesterday’s events. While I wish I could say that we won’t need to have anymore of these discussions……I think we all know that as a collective, we have a long way to go and that these dialogs will come up again and again.⠀
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I want to remind you:⠀
💕you know your children, you know what is appropriate to share with them based on their age, knowledge of events, anxiety levels…..listen to your gut here⠀
💕I believe that information fights fear and anxiety, and that there are levels of information that age appropriate and some that aren’t (for instance, Lydia DID watch the news with us yesterday, but I left the room with her as they showed some of the more violent parts of the riot including footage of the shooting)⠀
💕it’s important to remind our babies that our role in their lives is to protect them, and that we will ALWAYS do that to the best of our ability⠀
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Ways to Start a Discussion About Scary Things:⠀
💕draw a picture of feelings (you and your child, then share and describe)⠀
💕use toys or puppets to model feelings ⠀
💕movement helps, go for a walk and talk⠀
💕just start….”This is hard to talk about, but I wanted to discuss what happened yesterday with you and to hear how you are feeling about it.”⠀
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💕It’s ok if you don’t know how to do this, or don’t have all the answers.  Parenting is about doing your best, and loving your kids.  And guess what? Your kids love the imperfect, honest version of you.  The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step.  I believe in you.  I believe in us.  I believe in our children and our ability to raise them in a way that changes……everything.⠀
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< I’ve tagged some accounts that are an amazing resource to me in learning how to talk to Lydia>
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