Birthday Trip to California Central Coast

Another year has come and gone. And as I do every year, I’m sharing another post on the blog to commemorate my birthday. In the past, I’ve shared everything from life lessons learned, my favorite things and Q+A posts to honest thoughts on aging and a reflection on my personal growth and life’s journey thus far (see posts here).

Each year when this time rolls around, I’m usually in quite a reflective state. I read over my old posts and take a look at my journey and how much it’s changed me in a positive way. This year has been different. It’s actually been well over a month (almost two) since my birthday but life has been absolutely crazy busy over the last year. If I’m being honest, it’s really been a struggle to keep up with everything these days and I’m on the verge of burn out. My hope for this new year is to become better with balancing my time and energy.

Also around this time, I usually do a mid-season check in with my annual goals. This year, I’m just trying to find the time to breathe lol. I’ve made so many positive changes over the last year while also being completely overwhelmed. Currently, I find myself in a bittersweet position while also finding the need to pull back my focus from certain things. If you’re an avid reader of my blog,  you may have noticed that for the first time in my life, I’ve had an erratic posting schedule. Years ago, I would not have dreamed of missing a day of posting and if I did, I would have been unbelievably hard on myself. The silver lining is that these days, I’m giving myself a bit more grace. Life happens and after all, I’m just one person.

With that being said, I understand that it’s not healthy to be this overwhelmed and there are definitely things I need to work more on this year. I need to say “no” to things that stress me out and make me anxious and “yes” to things that bring me joy and fulfillment. I need to prioritize myself, my needs and the things that I want for my future.  And not only my future, but that of my loved ones as well.

Last year, I said I wanted to focus more on my style evolution, decorating my home and making more memories through travel. I’m happy to say that I’ve stuck with this! I managed to have a HUGE clean out last year and when I get the time, I’m planning to do another for my entire home (not just my closet). In terms of home decor, I’ve been added bits and pieces here and there to create a home we love (I even started a separate Instagram). In the past year, we’ve completely updated the living room and started updating our outdoor patio area. It’s all coming along well! As for travel, this has been a huge focus of mine. We took a TON of trips last year and have been planning more for this year and beyond. I also have something special I have been planning in this area that I’ll expand on soon. 😉

Until then, read on to see what I did for my birthday!

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Birthday Trip to California Central Coast

Every year my husband and I love to take trips for our birthdays. In the past, we’ve gone to Carmel by-the-Sea, Lake Tahoe, several national parks and more. Last year, we went to Hearst Castle along the California Central Coast for both of our birthdays and this year, we went back to finish up the tours haha! By this time, we’ve taken every tour they have to offer 😉

The Lavender Garden

We started off our California Central Coast road trip with a pitstop at the lavender farm off of Hwy 46. I’ve seen it many times in passing but never had a chance to stop. This year, we left a bit earlier so we could check it out. It smelled amazing and I loved that they had tons of lavender products available (I just adore the smell of lavender!). Plus the field is stunning and there are loads of photo opps. Highly recommend for a quick stop!

Hearst Castle 

The next stop was the always stunning Hearst Castle! This time we took the Grands Room Tour (recommend for first time visitors) but in the past, we toured the Cottages, Kitchen and Upstairs areas. They also have a night tour during certain times of the year (my fave!). The architecture and art collections are next level stunning. This is a must-see if you are in the San Simeon area.

Cambria

After Hearst Castle, we ate lunch and lounged around on the beach for a good half hour. My mom joined my husband and I on this birthday trip so it was nice to soak up some sunshine and catch up on life (all on my pretty pink blanket, of course!).

The Madonna Inn

Our last stop was the iconic Madonna Inn. I’ve been going here for nearly 25 years but it’s recently gained attention on social media (rightfully so). It’s a cute and kitschy pink hotel with floral carpets, a pink dining room and the best champagne cake ever. This hotel has really fun themed rooms as well so I recommend if you’re in the area and looking for a unique place to stay.

Birthday Vlog: California Central Coast

If you want to see more of these places, check out my birthday vlog where I detailed every part of my trip along with a very relaxing DIY spa day for my birthday!

As always, thank you for another amazing year of love, support, encouragement and above all, friendship <3

Cheers!!

xo, Lizzie