Weekend Trip to Palm Springs

top (on sale) // jeans // sandals // purse // sunglasses

There's no question that California has a lot to offer-great weather, mountains, beaches, deserts. I really could go on and one about my home state. But with so much to see and do, it's true that I haven't made it to some of the most visited spots. One of those was Palm Springs. I've spent plenty of time in the desert in Arizona in the past, but somehow never found a reason to make a trip to the very Instagrammable Palm Springs. A few months back my girlfriends and I got exciting news about one of them telling us she was pregnant! MY FIRST GOOD FRIEND IS MAKING A HUMAN! So we decided to celebrate with a girl's trip in August to Palm Springs. Did I mention Palm Springs is a desert and it's Summer still? Clearly, we were overcome by the baby announcement. Life lesson: don't start booking things after your friend tells you she's pregnant. The chances are no one is thinking straight.

Because I was mostly hopping from AC to car to hotel to car to food (aka I was not ready for that heat) I'm listing this out for you. Possible tips:

-Palm Springs is good for those who enjoy lounging by the pool with a drink or book in hand.

-Don't go in the middle of the Summer if you're not into sweating much

-Whatever you do, make sure your rental car has tinted windows because hot desert heat and no shaded parking.

-Do go to the Moorten Botanical Garden! And don't be scared off by their less up-to-date looking website. In person, it's a beautiful cacti and succulent dream. Not very big, but nice in the morning before it's too hot.

-Most of the hotel pools you see on Instagram are either for guests or some are possible to pay a fee to use.

-The downtown strip does have it all, but unless you do your research of where to eat you can easily fall into mediocre spots.

-You can forget about trying to take your picture in front of that house with the pink door. The owners have put up signs prohibiting photos.

-So many of the good bars and restaurants that were recommended were closed for vacation. Another reason not to go the end of August.

-Do NOT order a margarita at The Parker. That's $17 for a margarita that I'm sure was premixed. It will go down as the most unsatisfying and overpriced drink of all times.

While I learned a thing or two of mainly what not to do in Palm Springs, we had plenty of laughs at our decision on the timing of this trip. Would we do it again? Yes! Will it be in August again? Not a chance! But there's already talk you'll see us visit early Spring or Fall (with a baby!)

Have you visited Palm Springs?