Carmel Valley, CA

Today my husband and I decided to visit Carmel for a day. Carmel is not too far from us, so we thought it would be a perfect day trip, and it was. We were only there for a few hours, but wow, we had a fantastic time. Pictures below simply can't capture the beauty of this charming town. I love the boutique shops, fruitful harvest, and the ocean view. This town just has it all!

Our first stop was the Tancredi and Morgan antique store. It's a French inspired shop in Carmel Valley, and it was highly recommended by Kristen. She did a great post on this particular store not too long ago. I love everything in the shop. You should check it out if you are ever in the area. 

My favorite part of the trip was discovering an olive oil and vinegar store! Who would have thought!? They have only been open for one month. I absolutely loved the grapefruit white balsamic vinegar. It is so good I could drink it like juice! I got some and cannot wait to make a nice summer fruit salad with it. The name of the shope is Trio Carmel. This vinegar is delicious. You have to trust me.

We enjoyed strolling down the graceful streets not to mention all of the dogs I got to play with. I love the combination of linen, embroidery, old charm, simplicity and the scent of lavender and lemon verbena available in almost every store I visited.

Of course, our trip to Carmel would not be complete without having artichokes and bringing lots of them home with us! Did you know that most of the artichokes available in the US come from towns near Carmel? Those artichokes were ten for $1, baby bananas were $1.50, cherries were $2.50... you get the idea. I think we will be making artichokes for awhile. Thanks, Carmel! We had a great time today.