Dan and I journeyed to Death Valley this past February and it was completely stunning. Shame on me for not knowing this but when I thought of Death Valley, I had always imagined it to be just a vast desert with tumbleweeds blowing by every hour. I could not have been more wrong! We saw so many different colors, landscapes, and interesting places. We went in February which is during peak season and it was sunny but quite cold. The average annual rainfall is 2.36 inches… Therefore, it’s not likely you will get rained out of any outdoor activities :). You do need to bring lots of water though since there aren’t many places to fill up your water bottles.
We had a goal in mind of going for walks and exploring photography so if those are of interest to you, here is what our itinerary looked like and is absolutely possible in 4 days:
- Day 1
- Rented a car in Vegas and drove to Death Valley. The drive is beautiful! It took us about 2.5 hrs. Pro-tip: make sure to check what time the rental car company opens if you go this route, we flew in early in the morning and had to wait (not long) for the company to open up to get the car.
- Stopped at Zabriskie Point on the way in as well as a few other unmarked spots for photos.
- Checked into The Ranch at Death Valley. This hotel is OK. It’s in a great location but for how expensive it is, not worth it. Hopefully some of the money goes back to the park. The Oasis is a really upscale hotel in the park which looks really fancy and then there are campgrounds so there are three spectrums of choices to choose from. Camping would be really fun but the temperatures are sort of extreme in both directions so I was glad we ended up in hotel after we saw the campgrounds were sold out.
- Went for sunset at Badwater Basin which was awesome!! You can walk for miles and miles around the lowest point in North America.
- Day 2
- Sunrise at Zabriskie Point. This spot is great. Easy to access by car with a parking lot and you can walk up a short path to enjoy the view or hike around.
- Second stop was the Mesquite Sand Dunes. Quite a bit of walking and trying to walk uphill in sand but very beautiful. We enjoy hiking so it was fun to get out in the dunes and see a sea of the beautifully soft rolling hills. We also saw a big group of kids who brought sleds and they were having a blast. That was really fun to see.
- We ended with a sunset at the Ubehebe Crater. Very unique and beautiful spot to see and hike around! I should mention this full day entailed a lot of driving to each point of interest so just FYI in case you suffer from car sickness.
- Day 3
- We rented a jeep from Farabee’s Jeep Rentals. Very friendly staff, extremely easy to rent, and very close to the campgrounds and the Ranch where we were staying. They gave us maps and explained all of the places we could potentially take the jeep. That helped us decide to go on an adventure through a long, 4WD drive through Titus Canyon which was amazing. Beautiful vistas and it’s a one way drive so you don’t have to worry about any other vehicles coming around blind turns towards you.
- Sunset at The Artist’s Palette. The mineral colors here aren’t as stark as some of the photos you will find online but as soon as the sun dropped and there was a shadow cast on the mounds, the colors really started to pop. It is suggested to come here at sunset and I’d agree with that. You will find many other people here at this time.
- Day 4
- Breakfast and then hike through Golden Canyon Trailhead. Nice and easy with great views of these red cathedrals. So interesting how big some of these features are but fragile. They are all made of minerals and light, sand type materials.
- After the nice morning hike, we packed up and headed on our road trip back to Vegas.
Important things to consider when visiting Death Valley:
- Time of year for temperature purposes.
- Having a car is crucial. Everything is really far apart. On the plus side, there’s a gas station conveniently located near the campgrounds.
- Bring your own food and water. This isn’t a necessity but I wish we would have. There are stores and a few restaurants in the park but they cost a bit more and the quality isn’t great. In fact, I got a stomach bug from one of the restaurants so I wish we would have brought a lot more snacks to make on our own. Also, when we’d drive to each different location, we hardly ever encountered water fill stations. That’s not common in a desert type of environment like it is in mountain settings.
- What you want to see in what time frame. The park is massive so figure out what are the top sights you want to see and try to map it out by location.
- Logistics are key. There are very few places to stay actually inside the park so you will need to book in advance especially if you are going during peak time (mid-Oct to mid-May). This also goes for activities like renting a jeep or booking a tour. I would say this park was not as busy as Yosemite is in the Summer but I think that’s just the nature of how spread out Death Valley is.
OK if you made it through all of that, now you will see some of these amazing places through a few photos I snapped.
Badwater Basin
Zabriskie Point at sunrise
Ubehebe Crater
Jeep adventure through Titus Canyon.
Hike through the canyons that lay below Zabriskie Point called Golden Canyon Trailhead.
The drive in as we started to see interesting features pop up, we’d pull over to explore and take photos.
The Artist’s Palette was easy to access and the colors were stunning!
You can hike around in The Artist’s Palette which is so fun to get up close to the beautiful pastel colors.
Here’s Dan hiking another mound near the Artist’s Palette to get an elevated photo.
The Mesquite Sand Dunes.
The texture of the Ubehebe Crater was so unique.
More views driving out of Death Valley.
There were of course a few more things we could have seen in the park but I was happy with the amount of time we spent there and all of the locations we went to. It was a trip well worth it!
2. Eat the local fruit! You will likely get a taste of this from your host if you stay in the Casa Particulares and have breakfast with them but we also stopped and bought a massive bowl of mangos for $1 CUC. They were delicious and the fruit is just so tasty on the island.
When you are going to a wedding, it is important to look your best but also feel comfortable for a night of dancing and celebrating! I had been eyeing this dress for months and it finally went on sale at Anthropologie (unfortunately it is sold out now). I justified purchasing a dress I really didn’t need because I have so many weddings this year and it is just perfect to wear to a couple of them because it isn’t white! Surprisingly about 70% of my wedding appropriate dresses are white, so I really need to get my act together.
(High/Low front and back of this lace dress gives it a nice flow)
(It has a subtle snap in the front to keep it all together. This necklace was a gift from my grandparents on my 8th grade graduation- it’s still my favorite)
(While I was watching tutorials, I came across this 
You may have gathered that I am on a quest to invest in quality pieces that be paired in various ways to create new outfits. This shirt was one that I recently picked up and found versatile enough to wear with jeans and skirts in any season. The last few days have been fairly cool which is the perfect time to pull out a shirt like this and make the outfit pop with a burst of color from my purse! Have I told you how much I LOVE this purse? I hope so, because I love it.
(Shirt- sold out but similar 
(Purse- Kate Spade, sold out but similar 
Nick and I recently honeymooned in Europe and spent the majority of our vacation in Iceland. My favorite thing that we did was explore an 
(The entrance of the cave was this massive tunnel- it was a little scary at first but they had twinkle lights set up to guide us in)
(It was kind of like being in a gigantic igloo.)
(The light would illuminate one portion of the cave and keep the rest in the dark. It was so beautiful)
(The had their own chapel where couples could get married in if they wished. Say goodbye to the dress, you would freeze!)
(When I saw this, I got a little spooked. Part of the cave was melting and creating this gorgeous view, the ice looked like crystal. But it got me thinking…the glacier was melting. Unfortunately, this ice cave probably won’t be here in the next 5 years.)
Here is the view from the glacier. Something I loved about Iceland was that at one moment you were soaking up the sun and the next you were standing on snow. From waterfalls to geysers, Iceland is a pretty magnificent place!
The average woman has over 120 items in her closet and that doesn’t include shoes, purses, and undergarments. Getting ready in the morning can be a little overwhelming and that is why concepts like the Capsule Closet and the KonMari method have taken over the internet as of late. I’ve tried everything to pare down my closet to basics that can be mixed and matched to create many different outfits. Let’s be brutally honest, it is hard to get rid of clothing that you want to hold on to for rare occasions or holidays and even pieces that you hardly ever wear but still hold sentimental value. We recently came across a company called 
Shoes are the items in my closet that I can’t seem to get under control. I have boots upon boots but never wear them in the summer! With t-shirts and long sleeves this isn’t a huge problem because they don’t take up a ton of space but boots seem to get thrown on top of each other and clutter my entire closet. I would sort through all of my shoes first when filling up my first MakeSpace box, it would give me a better idea of any excess and help me focus on seasonality.
(Doesn’t this image inspire you? I really love sorting through my clothes- it makes me eager to update my wardrobe, reminds me of my clothes that get lost in the clutter, and organize the things that I love so that I can get to them more easily!)
And in honor of these summer sales happening around us, here is a outfit that would be perfect for any closet! It has staple and quality pieces that could be mixed and matched easily (from day to night) and remain classic enough to be worn for years to come. I recently purchased these 
You guys know what time of year it is- wedding season! Now, I love a wedding as much as the next person but I have nine this year (including my own). This means I needed to shuffle through mu closet and make sure I have what it takes to be a stylish and appropriate guest to all of these parties. Luckily, I wore a wedding dress to my own in May so that was easy to prepare for and I am in my friend Tasha’s wedding at the end of the month so I just have that one taken care of too! Anthropologie just had their major summer sale and I scored big on some dresses that I knew would be perfect for a few particular weddings, plus I had been eyeing these dresses all spring long! Patience does pay off sometimes 😉
(The entire dress is embroidered which is one of my favorite things in the world)
(This collar is magic)
Unfortunately 
While in London on our honeymoon, Nick and I tried to go into British stores to see how they differed. Well, I will tell you that 
(I love the wrap on this dress)
(Perfect length for booties)
iflunch.com 