neighborhood watch: solana beach

A recent meeting had me heading 30 minutes north to the upscale town of Solana Beach. Considering I hate I’m still shaky driving on the freeways and seeing an opportunity for exploration, Eaman joined me to make a day out of it. We kind of live for one-day adventures in new cities and towns. We spent most of our time in Solana’s marquee area of the Cedros Avenue Design District, which is home to more than 85 boutiques, galleries and cafes. I was totally smitten by all the local talent. Quirky stationery and vintage mirrors and upcycled furniture, oh my! And that’s not even mentioning the beautiful beach. The residents are seriously so lucky to have that within walking distance.

We lunched at Lockwood Table, a farm-to-table restaurant on Cedros Avenue, and I was feeling all sorts of California cool here. The hot sun was beaming down on us (in January!), the restaurant had that crisp minimalist decor scheme that always makes me think of Cali and I was in no hurry to finish my pesto-avocado-sprout-and-cheese sandwich on multigrain. (Am I SoCal yet?) I felt a little fancy that day, so I splashed out on their sweet elderberry bubbly drink, which is made with a gourmet syrup. Tableside, the super-cool vertical vegetable garden was a lovely reminder of keeping local.

Vintage Soul is a small boutique known for it’s jewelry made out of recycled buttons, but owner Jana — a fellow East Coast transplant! — has a lot of other unique gifts (check out the dog wine bottle stopper!) and girly knick-knacks. I have a serious love for striped straws and chevon-print party bags, so I was hooked.

AOC (Antiques on Cedros), a veritable emporium of vintage goods, houses so many beautiful pieces — from chandeliers and Louis XVI-style chairs to ceramic dog statues and…giant watering cans?

I get more excited than most people when I see a big section of stationery and cards, so clearly one of my favorites was SoLo, a modern interior design and gift store housed in a gorgeous 4,000-square-foot industrial space. They offer a well-edited selection of paper goods, books, furniture, bath accessories and tabletop items.

And the beach…the beautiful, mood-lifting beach. So far, we’ve only been to Solana and Black’s Beaches since moving to San Diego, and as much as we liked Black’s and its sweeping landscape, we just connected to Solana’s shores. The stretch of sand is a cozier size (compared to Black’s wider shores) and it has much more of a hit-the-beach-after-work vibe. Casual, but beautiful. No matter how good life’s going, nothing makes me happier than being at the beach. It’s there that I can honestly say: “Yep, this is worth the initial hardships. This is why we moved here.”