It was a beautiful day today, one of those perfect Texas days that make you wonder if you woke up in California instead: high of 74, low of 57 with a blue sky and a light breeze. I imagine I’m not the only person who’s been unbelievably stressed lately so I decided to pretend that I was at a California spa resort for the day to rejuvenate. Here’s what I did.

Coffee by the Fire Pit

I bought a fire pit because of how much I enjoyed sitting by the fire with my bestie Sarah on our epic girls trip to Turks and Caicos. To me a fire pit is an instant vacation. I used to have coffee by my fire pit almost every day but I’ve been so busy with work this past year, I sorely got out of the habit. That changes now! It’s such a calm way to start the day.

Don’t have a fire pit? Recreate this vacation mode concept by choosing the loveliest corner of your yard or your home and sit and relax. Don’t check your phone. Don’t check emails. Just enjoy the quiet.

A Walk Around the Property

Something I love doing at a beautiful resort is walking around and enjoying the atmosphere. I actually do the same thing at home! I walk around my garden every morning and see what’s new. And there’s always something new! It’s been awhile since I walked you around the garden so here are some recent blooms.

Read about Show Your Stripes here.

Read about Plum Perfect here.

A Healthy Breakfast (that Wasn’t Cereal)

Breakfast is what I learned to cook first. It was my first love! I make epic breakfasts but I’m pretty sure I ate cereal for days in a row (yes, sometimes that happens) so I decided to make a bowl of oatmeal with toasted pecans and dried cherries, since I didn’t have any berries on hand.

Yoga in the Garden

This is where it gets really fun. I set up my yoga mat in my courtyard, where I have eight – eight! – lavender plants growing. When the wind blows, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than my courtyard. It smells so strongly of lavender, it nearly knocks you out with a zen feeling. I queued up a couple of yoga videos on YouTube. YouTube is an amazing resource for free workout videos. You can find pretty much anything. I chose really relaxing ones (vinyasa flow) because the goal wasn’t to work out but to relax. I felt like a new woman after yoga!

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

After my yoga “class,” I made a super simple three-ingredient dragon fruit smoothie. So chic. So vibrant! So healthy. Get the recipe here.

A California Lunch

My phone was dead by the time I got to lunch so I sadly didn’t take a picture but I ate a California-inspired sandwich: sourdough bread from LaCasita Bakeshop with marscapone, grilled chicken, and roasted red bell pepper.

Ranch Time

You know what else many luxury California resorts have? Horseback riding! I went to the barn to spend some quality time with my horses. Horse therapy is very real. There’s something so inherently calming about being around horses. The best part? Many barns across the nation will let you tour the barn and visit the horses for free! Just call ahead and ask if they give free tours. If you’re in the Dallas area, Black Star Sport Horses is happy to welcome visitors.

Happy Hour…by the Fire Pit!

You know how when you’re on vacation, you might eat at the resort restaurant a time or two? Same concept. I decided to take in every last second of the beautiful day by enjoying some prosciutto, cheese, crackers, and grapes with a glass of California cabernet sauvignon by the fire pit.

Sushi

I wasn’t going to eat sushi for dinner. I was going to make my Frying Pan Chicken (a healthy, lemony chicken thigh recipe) with Brussels sprouts but what can I say? I was thinking about California all day and how much I love eating sushi when I’m on the coast so I went and picked some up. Yum!

A Long Bath

I went all out: candles, another glass of wine, Barr & Co bath salts, a body scrub, and a face mask. I even played spa music. My dog Henry curled up on the bath mat next to the tub and was so relaxed, I could hardly hear the spa music over his snoring.

I hope you feel relaxed reading this and inspired to have your very own at-home resort day!

Say ahh,

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