Weekend in Ojai

Hello!

We had the privilege of attending a wedding in the beautiful Ojai, California this past weekend. We stayed at the Ojai Valley Inn and the resort was stunning! I think I was so focused on packing for this trip plus all the wedding festivities, that I wasn’t anticipating how gorgeous the surrounding area would be. Expectations exceeded.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and there was a welcome party at a neat little picnic shop. Everything was outdoors and the weekend made me realize just how much time we spend inside in our normal life.

I was worried about Emerson with the time change, but after a catnap at 5, she ending up staying up until 9 PT!! I was shocked that she wasn’t cranky. We enjoyed sangria and tacos and caught up with the bride and friends.

Of course, Emerson was up at 6am the next day (which, all things considered, isn’t that bad). We went on a long walk, explored the resort, and had a breakfast picnic on the lawn.

We spent our first full day at the wonderful kids pool. It was a bummer that we weren’t allowed in the main pool where everyone was hanging out, but we did enjoy our time at the Pixie Pool.

It was Emerson’s first real pool experience, and she LOVED it.

We ordered lunch poolside and brought some beers down from the wedding cabana at the adult pool. It was such a relaxing day!

For the wedding events on Friday and Saturday, we used a babysitting service called Helper. I think this is just a California thing? We were happy enough with the sitters but I was still pretty nervous on Friday, because the dinner was not on the resort grounds. Matt ended up just putting Emerson to sleep pretty early, and joining the party at little later. I felt bad for the sitter, as she literally just sat in our dark hotel room.

The event was at Deer Lodge, an adorable old restaurant. I had margs, kombucha, and the most delicious pulled pork and bbq salmon.

It was such a treat to enjoy a baby-free evening with all my best college friends! We went home before the party ended, knowing that another early morning was in the cards.

Em made it to 7am the next day! I was so worried about the time change, but she adjusted so quickly. We enjoyed another long walk and played in the grass under a huge oak tree. Little did we know, the same oak tree was the scene of the afternoon ceremony.

The sky was this blue the entire weekend!

The ceremony was beautiful and the vows were so emotional! My friend, Emily, sure did find her soul mate!

I ran back to the room to quickly feed Emerson and then scurried back down the hill to the cocktail hour.

The reception was under a tent and all the decor was simple and elegant.

I had a perfect Manhattan, and Matt and I shared our entrees of fish and short ribs. Both were excellent!

And the rest of the night was spent dancing. I had never been to a Jewish wedding before, and I absolutely loved the Hora – sooo much fun!

We had to run back to meet the babysitter by 10pm, so we skipped the after party and sat out on our balcony with some chocolate dipped strawberries we brought home from the dessert table. The old me would have been so sad to go to bed early, but I was excited for the rest.

We opted to stay Sunday night, so after saying goodbye to everyone at brunch, we drove down to the coast! We did a short hike along the water at the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. We also went into town, walked around, and dreamed about living in a little coastal town. We stumbled upon a brewery with live music, and had a drink before making our way back to Ojai.

And for our last dinner, we went to The Farmer and the Cook, a local market recommended by the bride in our welcome bag. They had amazing gluten free grilled pizza, and the people watching on the patio was amazing.

I’m so happy we had an excuse to explore this area of California! Congrats to Emily & Eric!!