For Christmas, Charlie and I decided not to give each other gifts. Instead we decided to go on a trip instead. Part of Luke’s Christmas gift was going to Disneyland and our Christmas gifts to each other was being to experience Luke’s excitement at Disneyland and to go to Palm Springs.

So right before New Year’s Eve, we boarded on a plane to Anaheim and spent a few days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Because of the craziness of Disneyland, I just didn’t want to take out my camera to take pictures. I think it was better that way though. We got to experience Disney and I got to enjoy and not enjoy some moments at the parks.

If the real highlight of our Southern California trip for Luke was Disneyland and seeing Cars Land, the real highlight for me and Charlie was going to Palm Springs, CA! It was our first time there. The dessert, the air, and the mountains reminded me of growing up in Albuquerque. I loved everything about this city!

We only planned for two full days in Palm Springs thinking it was a small city that we could get a lot in in two days. Well, that was not the case!

What we did in Palm Springs

Taking a Mid-Century Modern Architecture Self Tour

The real reason I wanted to visit Palm Springs was to see all the mid-century modern homes that my friends Jennifer and Shannon had talked about during our recent Insta meetup. I’m not an architecture expert but I do appreciate cool architecture when I see it. We spent an afternoon driving around the Indian Canyans neighborhood and I couldn’t get enough of the colorful doors. We even got to hang out in front of #thatpinkdoor house, with a handful of “fashion bloggers” waiting for us to finish taking our pictures. haha

Another highlight was seeing this cute house with the yellow doors since I kinda, sorta know the owner. I wanted to knock on their door but didn’t want to shop up unexpected. After I posted the house in my Instagram Stories, the owner invited us over for a cocktail. Next time, next time!

Riding the Tram & Hiking 

While there, we took a ride on the tram so we could admire the views and to see Luke’s reaction to being up so high.

We also learned something new about Luke while in Palm Springs – he loves to hike! What the what? We did a small hike one afternoon and he couldn’t get enough of it. The next day, he asked to go hiking again. Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit it in.

Eating Out 

I didn’t know much about the dining scene in Palm Springs because I didn’t do much research. But we did eat out at a few fun places. Frankinbun for hot dogs and their fun wall paper. We stumbled upon Copley’s one night for an upscale dinner, which was so good! At the suggestion of my friend, Jennifer, we had brunch at Farm (a French restaurant). It was delicious and the ambiance was oh so Provence!

Checking out the Dinosaurs

On our way to Palm Springs, we made a visit to the Cabazon Dinosaurs so Luke can see some life size dinosaurs. Just to note, the only two large dinosaurs are the ones outside the museum. The rest of museum is quite small.

What other things we wanted to do in Palm Springs

While we were in Palm Springs, we found out about so many other things that sounded interesting and fun but knew we couldn’t fit it all in. We decided that a visit back to Palm Springs is a must and for more than two days. Here are some things we want to do the next time we are there.

• Go to the BMW Thermal Club course so Charlie can drive a BMW
• Go find some celebrity homes such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, and Dean Martin’s homes. Or even Elvis’s Honeymoon House. I’m not sure if there are tours…but seeing the exterior of the homes is good enough.
• Check out the Palm Springs Air Museum.
• Enjoy an afternoon at the hotel pool.
• Eat at more restaurants including Workshop Kitchen and Bar.
• Take a leisurely stroll along downtown Palm Springs.
• Bike around a few of the neighborhoods in Palm Springs.
• Find more bougainvilleas
• Hang out at the famous Parker Palm Springs Hotel.

Where we stayed

On Cyber Monday, I scored this awesome deal at the Riviera Hotel in Palm Spring! The hotel’s decor is very cute with a mix of mid-century modern and lots of palm leaves. We had brunch at Palmetto, which was very good. The hotel has a few pools. I think the main pool area is for adults. There is another pool that is mainly for family and kids. The service and common area at the hotel were great. The hotel even has bikes for guests to use and the spa looked amazing.  Our room, which was a suite, was big and spacious and just needed a little love and updating. Overall, we liked the hotel, given the great deal we got on it. The common areas are very “Instagrammable”.