Top photo by Carla Duharte-Razura, babyjidesign. All others by Linsey Krolik.
My recent travel buddies (Jill and Beth, two of my partners from SV Moms Group, and our photographer and friend Carla), and I jetted to Orange Country in Southern California last weekend to host an event with SV Moms Group, BitDefender and 20 or so other sponsors at the fabulous Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Really, fabulous is a bit of an understatement.
The place is gorgeous -- the beach, the surfers, the lavender flowers EVERYWHERE (I think they actually pump a nice, clean floral scent throughout the whole hotel). The ceilings filled with intricate silver flowery lights. The rustic, beachy touches, like the log slab of a coffee table by the fireplace in the cafe. The beds - super comfy. The food - perfect. And the service, impeccable. If you ever get a chance to go to this place, even just for lunch at Restaurant 162 or to The Bar or to a wine, cheese and chocolate tasting at ENO, GO!
On Saturday evening, we curled up by the fire at The Bar, along with Ciaran, and talked for, wow, I guess it was hours? It was one of those times that even though we were all so tired, we couldn't seem to wrap it up. Ciaran was telling us about her experiences at the Mom 2.0 summit conference and we just kept saying to each other "Ok, we should really go to bed....but what did you think about that?" Champagne and yummy crume brule helped too.
Even though I could have slept in a bit, being on a weekend without the kids, I got up early on Sunday morning and went for a walk on the beach. I breathed in the ocean air and sky. It was nice to be alone for a bit. At 9am, I met up with Jill and Carla and we headed to a yoga class on the cliff above the beach. Um, wow. Amazing to do yoga outside with such a great view. I really must find a way to do that more often!
The event went beautifully - the staff were so attentive to our needs and everything was just...easy. The next morning, it was all we could do to leave. We all REALLY wanted to stay another day! I would love to return someday soon with my family -- I hear they have a spa and a great kids club in the summer....
Disclosure: The hotel did not pay for my stay and I was not obligated to write a post about the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, but they were a sponsor and partner of the SV Moms Group event that we held there for the LA Moms Blog and Orange Country Moms Blog bloggers. I am a partner at SV Moms Group.
