We have discovered a lot of fun and beautiful places since we’ve moved here, but one of my favorites so far is San Clemente. Several people actually told us we should look for houses in San Clemente, because it’s just north of the base and the town is so cute. But it’s a bit far from Toby’s office (at the very southern part of Orange County), so we didn’t check it out until after we arrived.

 
I’m still glad we decided to live in Carlsbad, but San Clemente is really fun. It’s incredibly picturesque and is full of surf motels and cute boutiques, with the perfect laid-back vibe.

Melissa and I went up there when she visited, and we explored some of the shops, as well as the park dedicated to Marines and the landscaped area near the beach with lots of benches for watching the sunset.

We also took some outfit photos on the pier…

…before we bought the most insane (and awesome) cotton candy ever, and got purple sugar all over ourselves.

Sorry for the weird color on the cotton candy ones — I was afraid of getting purple sugar on my camera, and Melissa’s camera has all kinds of filters on it. And yes, Melissa is offering the cotton candy to a seagull in one of those photos. Luckily, he didn’t accept.

Toby and I will need to explore San Clemente a bit more to decide what our favorite restaurants and shops there are, but if you’re ever in Orange County, I highly recommend checking this place out. And definitely get some cotton candy.

My outfit: Dress: Anthropologie (on sale!), Bag: Kate Spade (old), Shoes: Kate Spade (on sale!), Watch: Kate Spade (different color), Earrings: Tesoros Trading Company, Bracelets: Stella and Dot (on sale!), Stella and Dot and Refinery29 pop-up boutique

Melissa’s outfit: Dress: Francesca’s (different color), Shoes: Ardene