Let me begin this post by actually saying Happy New Year to everyone out there! I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that it’s officially 2017 but I’m hoping I can soon. This weekend I had the absolute best time celebrating one of my best friend’s upcoming nuptials with an all girl bachelorette weekend! I won’t get too into all the details but wanted to create a guide to the perfect girl getaway and a first timer’s guide to wine tasting in The Funk Zone.  So here we go! We spent 3 days in Santa Barbara for an unforgettable weekend and perfect ending to 2016.

We started our weekend getting pedicures and sipping mimosas at Aqua Nail Bar in Santa Barbara, CA. Little thing: you can actually call a nail salon and ask if it’s okay that you bring your own alcohol for a celebration,birthday, bachelorette, etc. This is exactly what we did and we were welcomed with open arms! Then it was off to lunch at Silver Greens (located on State Street and something you must try).

We had the cutest little AirBnB condo with a stunning view of the mountains behind us; and spent our first night playing some very bachelorette themed games, making sashes, dancing around the living room, and sipping champagne.

Day 2, we headed wine tasting in “The Funk Zone.” So the Funk Zone is about 3 blocks in Santa Barbara full of different wineries, cafes, and cute little shops.

Here are my go-to stops in the Funk Zone:

• Area 5.1: A small alien themed winery most known for its red wines. Sit, sip, and read some books on alien biology.
• Pali Wine Co: an open door winery with the cutest patio area, most known for their white wines.
• The Valley Project: Probably the best red wine I’ve ever had. Have some fun reading through their backdrop chalkboard of the valley.

–> Wine tasting tip:  Something we luckily learned early on, depending on the number of people you have, we had 7, it’s almost always cheaper to actually buy a bottle of wine and split it between the group rather than everyone paying for their own individual glass.

There are about a million other places (Kunin Wines, Municipal Winemakers, etc) that we didn’t quite get too because three stops ended up being quite enough and we were ready to fill up on some food. Then it was back home to get ready for a night on the town! Which we spent dancing and scavenger hunting (is that a thing?) the night away at a bar called Wild Cat.

If you’re looking for the perfect spot/something to do for a little getaway, I would highly suggest a visit to Santa Barbara, there’s so much to do and it’s just a beautiful city. If you’ve never been wine tasting (I hadn’t before this weekend) I would also suggest giving it a whirl, if you enjoy drinking wine.

Before we knew it, the weekend came to an end and we were headed back home. It went so fast and I’m so happy to say that the bride to be had the best time. I even left Santa Barbara with some new, pretty great friends (hollaa bridesmaid squad)!

Where we ate: 

• Silver Greens: The Ahi Tuna salad is amazing!
• Casa Blanca: The best Mexican food on State Street.
• Rusty’s Pizza: We wanted to go to a place called the Lucky Penny (also a pizza place but SUPER overpriced, so Rusty’s across the street it was!)
• Freebirds: The original one at that, the best burrito for a car ride home after a wild weekend.

Hope you all enjoyed reading a bit about my weekend! Cheers!

xoxo,

Amanda