A couple weekends ago Joey and I went on a little mini day getaway to Temecula, CA. Temecula is a town famous for it’s wineries and hot air balloon festival (something I’m looking into going too this year with my family!) The last time I was in Temecula, I was wine tasting at the cutest winery with my bridesmaids! You can read more about that trip here! 

I’d never been to Downtown Temecula before but had always wanted to go browse and walk around. So a couple weekends ago, we did just that. And to our surprise, we ran into my cousin and his wife while we were there! I had looked up a restaurant that had good reviews downtown, called The Goat & Vine, and right when we pulled down the street, I saw a couple walking down the street that looked so similar to my cousin. I asked Joey to slow down and as we got closer we knew it was them! Joey rolled down the window and I screamed over to them. They ended up hopping in our car and parking with us and then we all went to The Goat & Vine together, sharing a bunch of different pizzas for lunch.

It was such a nice surprise running into them. My cousin’s wife had to leave early for a conference that was being held at one of the local hotels, so my cousin dropped her off while Joey and I did a quick walk downtown, and then my cousin met up with us at one of the coffee shops, where we sat and planned mine and Joey’s honeymoon! My cousin is an avid traveler and has been trying to help me find flights to Italy for months, so it was nice to go through stuff all together in person.

Downtown Temecula was super cute and I can’t wait to go back! They have so many cute little boutique shops and restaurants, I want to try them all! We walked into the cutest mom&pop shop called Temecula Lavender Co.  Everything in the shop is made from lavender and they have every type of product you can imagine, even special seasonings for cooking! I absolutely love all things lavender, so I couldn’t leave without buying some of their natural lavender soaps! 

Our next stop was the Temecula Olive Oil Company.  Ever since Joey and I visited an olive farm in Ojai last summer, we’ve avoided buying grocery store olive oils. If you ever have the opportunity to go to an olive farm and try their homemade olive oils, you totally should! It’ll stop you from ever buying grocery store oils again. There’s that big of a difference in taste. 

Because of our experience in Ojai, we were excited to check out another authentic olive oil shop but unfortunately did not leave the store with anything.  They were sold out of their garlic infused oil and that one is our favorite blend!

After browsing the shops, we stopped for coffee and did some planning and then headed over to the local, old fashioned candy shop! I’m a big sucker for old fashioned candy shops that are full of taffy and fudge. Anytime I’m in one, I have all these memories of being a little kid visiting my grandparents in Indiana. It’s such a nostalgic feeling for me. There’s an old fashioned shop in Brown County, Indiana that my mom would take my sister and I too every summer when we visited, so being in those old time shops always warms my heart.

On our way back to the car, we ran into the cutest antique shop! I wanted to buy nearly everything in there! If you’re ever in Downtown Temecula, you absolutely have to stop by! If not to buy anything, at least pin a prayer on the prayer wall in the back!

It was such a fun little day trip for us and one I would gladly do again! Hope you enjoyed reading about our time!