bishop&holland

laguna beach

June 29, 2015

A few weeks ago, we spent a long weekend in beautiful Southern California. Our family friends were tying the knot in Newport Beach, so we decided to enjoy a a few days in Laguna Beach beforehand, and made the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Nigel our home away from home! It’s also close to the town of Laguna Beach, which we love to visit. It’s like a sleepy little beach town that is incredibly busy (if that makes any sense!). There are so many charming shops to explore & great restaurants to try. Here are our Laguna Beach suggestions if you are planning a trip in the future:

Stay:

Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel– Located on the bluff above Salt Creek beach, this property has stunning views of the Pacific. Each morning we started with Pilates or yoga overlooking the Ocean, followed by breakfast. We highly recommend the oatmeal w/ fresh berries, and the iced coffee is delicious! The rooms are beautiful and each room has a patio overlooking the pool or the ocean. The beach is a quick walk down the bluffs and resort staff will greet you with chairs, towels and umbrellas! If the beach is not your thing, the resort pool is beautiful with a full service bar and restaurant. It’s a great setting for lunch!

Eat:

180BLU- The terrace restaurant at the Ritz, this was our favorite place to eat at the hotel. You can’t beat the views, and the food is amazing too. We highly suggest the nachos, sweet potato fries, lobster tacos, oysters and hand rolled sushi that is available on the weekends.
Sapphire– Located in the heart of Laguna Beach, this restaurant is in what was once a charming beach cottage. We were thoroughly impressed with each of our appetizers and main dishes. There were a few that really stood out: the seared hamachi was a favorite of the appetizers we tried, and the whole grilled branzino was a showstopper entree. For dessert, we shared bananas foster, which was to die for!
Watermarc– Every trip to Laguna we find ourselves eating at Watermarc. And no exceptions for this trip! We had lunch at Watermarc two days during our trip and it did not disappoint. We think everything is delicious, but especially the filet mignon sliders, beet carpaccio and ahi watermelon skewers – yum!

Shop:

Fashion Island– World class shopping just a short drive from the Ritz
Laguna Beach– Wander in and out of the little boutiques that line PCH in Laguna

Golf:

Monarch Beach Golf Links– Free shuttle service from the Ritz to Monarch Beach. Beautiful course right on the ocean! Our husbands loved the course and the close proximity to the Ritz
Pelican Hill– A beautiful course in Newport Beach, our husbands played the South course. We made a day of it with shopping at Fashion Island and then meeting them at the hotel bar for a drink when they finished their round

Do:

Beach
Drive PCH from Laguna to Newport and stop in each beach town
Relax!

PS: We’ve been sharing a few looks from our trip over the past few weeks. You can see an adorable palm leaf print dress, our favorite tassel dress in coral, the perfect boho short set and a chambray dress.

Cheers,

what to wear for the fourth of july

June 26, 2015

|image via|

The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and we could not be more excited for some sun, cookouts and patriotic, but not tacky, outfits! What to wear for the Fourth of July can be somewhat challenging. Living in Texas, the Fourth of July can be extremely hot. Usually you can find us wearing a lightweight summer dress, jean shorts and a top, or a romper. But of course, all of them will have some sort of red, white or blue color scheme!

A few of our favorite red, white and blue pieces are below, but we wanted to call out some that we especially love:

This striped dress has been a crowd favorite so far this season. And we can see why– The off the shoulder ruffle is adorable and the stripes incorporate all patriotic colors!
Another striped piece, this loose flowing maxi, is a perfect way to look put together while still being casual. We love it with a pair of Tory Burch Miller’s or some white slides
This floral crop top and matching skirt is a great look for a dressier Fourth of July celebration
And, you can’t go wrong with a classic little white dress. This one looks like two pieces, which we love!
PS: Did you catch yesterday’s post featuring a chambray dress? This would also be a great dress to wear for the fourth of July. The chambray serves as a blank slate for accessorizing, and you could easily add more patriotic colors by wearing white shoes, or carrying a red bag!

Shop Fourth of July looks below:

Use the arrows to scroll through ten different fourth of July looks. If you see an outfit you like, click on the picture to be taken directly to the retailer!

Cheers,

chambray dress

June 25, 2015

A chambray shirt has been a staple in our closet for many years. A chambray dress on the other hand, is something that is completely new to us. When wearing chambray, we always try to stay away from looking too “country.” And for some reason, that is how we felt about most of the chambray dresses we found! Until we saw this adorable, off the shoulder style. Being that we love anything feminine, the ruffle was the perfect touch to make this a great option for us.

On another note, a chambray dress provides a great blank slate for accessories. The chambray actually works like a neutral! For this casual lunch by the pool, a colorful clutch and a few tassel bracelets from Tribe Alive served as perfect accessories.

Tribe Alive’s mission is to build sustainable partnerships with marginalized women in developing countries by connecting them to the global marketplace. They work to break the cycle of poverty by providing female artisans with the tools, training and support needed to reclaim their futures and thrive as independent business women. In our opinion, that is a great mission to be a part of!

chambray dress- sold out (similar for under $60- and selling out quickly)|espadrilles and here (similar under $100)|clutch- c/o (under $20)|tassel bracelets- c/o (under $20)|gold aviators