If you live in LA but aren’t obsessed with weekend trips to Palm Springs do you even live in LA?
Seriously, everyone I know loves Palm Springs. And it’s easy to see why: it’s the perfect escape from LA. It’s not that far, it looks like the West Coast episodes of Mad Men, everyone is pleasant there, and it’s crazy relaxing! There’s nothing quite like ditching the stresses of the city to day drink by a pool in the middle of the desert – even if it’s only for a couple days.
Ben and I decided to head over to Palm Springs to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary! We’d both had a hectic few months, so a trip that would force us to unwind seemed ideal.
But there was a bit of a hitch in our plans. Meet Penny. Penny is one of our two pups. She had a lil’ bit of a health scare right before our trip (don’t worry – she’s ok!) and the vet thought it’d be too risky for her to be boarded with other dogs, so she got to join us. It worked out alright because our hotel was accommodating and she’s a real good girl, but it did complicate things.
Hotel:
Melvyn’s Ingleside Inn
We opted to stay at Melvyn’s Ingleside Inn, because credit card rewards points. Credit card rewards points rule my life, ok? Points aside, though, this hotel checked all my boxes. Lovely rooms, conveniently located, and well priced. Oh, and it had a nice pool. That’s maybe the most important thing.
I was surprised to find that we’d been upgraded to a little suite with its own private yard. I say that like the hotel gave us a complimentary upgrade but nope – it was Ben being a lovable demon.
The inside of the room was spacious, yet cozy. Penny immediately had to test out the couch, which she found quite to her liking.
We spent most of our time at the pool, as is legally required in Palm Springs.
*I’ve been getting lots of questions about my sunglasses on Instagram, so if you want ’em, click that link!
Food:
Cheeky’s (Brunch):
Cheeky’s seems to be a pretty popular spot in Palm Springs. It’s on all the lists, and is well liked on Yelp. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s just ok. We ordered the fava bean frittata, which… didn’t have any fava beans in it? I don’t know if they were out, or just thought us fools, but this was 100% a snap pea frittata.
We also go the huevos rancheros. These were significantly better, but in all honesty, both dishes were kinda bland. In fairness to Cheeky’s, though, I get the impression that their meat dishes are really where it’s at.
SO.PA (Dinner):
For dinner we hit up SO.PA, which was a true delight. It’s listed as American (new) on Yelp, but it’s definitely got a bit of Middle Eastern flair. The restaurant itself is really well designed, and the staff went out of their way to make sure we had a nice anniversary meal.
Because we’re vegetarian, we ended up sticking to the appetizer menu. They did have one veggie entrée, but the appetizers sounded better and we’re all for more variety! I’m only going to post a couple food pics from this spot because lighting got a bit hairy after the sun went down, but we got the Mezze Platter, Petaluma Young Lettuces, Roasted Shishito Peppers, and Artisan Cheeses. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is (whoops).
Everything we ate was excellent. I was especially fond of everything on that Mezze Platter pictured below. 
FARM (Brunch):
FARM is another Palm Springs hot spot, only this time it’s warranted. They’re open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (on Fridays and Saturdays), though for dinner they only do tasting menus. We’d tried to get in for dinner, but weren’t cool enough so we went for brunch instead. They don’t take reservations during the day, and a wait seems likely if you stop in. It’s worth it, though. The food is great, and there are lots of shops you can walk to while you wait!
I’m not going to post pictures of the food, because we were seated under a red umbrella and, well, look at this and try to imagine how awful my food pictures came out. But I will tell you that the veggie sandwich and Forêstiere Omelette were both delicious.
Activities:
Despite my insistence that the only acceptable activity in Palm Springs is lounging by the pool, there are indeed other things to do. Of course, this is where the whole having-a-dog-with-us thing complicated matters. We’d wanted to visit a couple museums, but that didn’t end up happening. We did check out the horrifying baby sculptures located in a dirt pit beneath the Palm Springs Art Museum, though! One day I’ll go inside.
While waiting for our table at FARM we were able to get a little shopping in. There’s an incredible little toffee shop called Brandini Toffee that has some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. After lunch we checked out a couple thrift shops and then hit the Moorten Botanical Garden.
Moorten Botanical Garden was a good choice for us for 2 reasons.
- We’re super into cacti.
- They’re dog friendly.
Admission for the garden is $5 for adults, and it’s a pretty small place, but it’s worth it for the cactarium. What’s a cactarium, you ask? THIS:
LOVE A CACTARIUM. Cactarium aside, though, Moorten is a sweet little spot.
Be sure to stop by the gift shop for some cactus friends before heading out!
And that, my friends, was our very short Palm Springs trip. We stayed pretty busy, but were still able to recharge and enjoy each other’s company, so I’d say it was a success!
