A Spontaneous Day Trip to Palm Springs

“This post is sponsored by Palm Springs but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.”

My boyfriend and I have this tradition where before either one of us starts a new job, we go someplace to celebrate for a little getaway first. Our first trip was to Joshua Tree about two years ago, then there was Palm Springs last year for the weekend, Laguna Beach, and this year, even though we didn’t have time to do a big trip, we knew we wanted to do something different, something FUN. Turns out, Palm Springs is close enough to LA for a pretty solid day trip?

It’s only a couple hours each way (less if you don’t hit traffic, but good luck with that?), and if you listen to a podcast/bring some snacks + coffee for the road, you’re good to go!

The day before we left, I did some quick research on where to go and used VisitPalmSprings.com as my main point of reference. Even though there are tons of places I know I already love there, I wanted to take this trip to find some hidden gems and cool local businesses. Turns out, there are LOTS of those in Palm Springs. It’s seriously the coolest and so, so beautiful. Here’s how our spontaneous little getaway went down…

The Broken Yolk Café

Our first stop on the trip, The Broken Yolk Café is literally all the things I want in a morning: a diner-esque ambiance, incredible service, huge portions of delicious food, and free refills on coffee. We splurged BIG time and got eggs benedict, a skillet with chorizo, and buttermilk pancakes. The skillet and pancakes were standouts, for sure.?

Moorten Botanical Garden

This was probably my favorite part of the entire day, just because it was something so different! They give you a map at the beginning so you know what you’re looking at, which I love, and there’s so much to see both outdoors and indoors. The indoor cactarium is especially stunning because there SO many different types of plants. I recommend walking around it super slowly to really notice all it has to offer!

Next up – shopping!

Just Fabulous

After breakfast, I wanted to walk around and visit some of the cute shops in the area. If you’ve never been, Palm Springs has a pretty vibrant downtown area with all kinds of little boutiques and even some bigger stores, now that it’s becoming more developed! I knew I wanted to go to Just Fabulous – they have the CUTEST stuff. They were actually decorated for Christmas too, so they had a bazillion pretty & colorful ornaments! There were donuts, cereal bowls, popsicles, all kinds of things, but since we don’t actually have a tree here, I couldn’t justify the purchase?

Thick As Thieves

Another adorable shop, Thick as Thieves is really my style. It’s just…COOL. It’s one street over from the main one and the vibe is like…bohemian hipster, if that makes sense. I honestly wanted everything. They had some ceramics, local crafts, cute clothes, hats, crystals, jewelry, the works! I’ll 100% be back – it’s a great place for gifts, too!

Kreem

This adorable ice cream shop was the last place we hit in Palm Springs before heading home for the day. The inside is beautiful, but they have the coolest flavors! I tried the vegan coconut and peppermint latté, but ended up going with the latter. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I am obsessed with peppermint lattés, so I had to do it! Alex had the raspberry cheesecake I think – that one was incredible, too!

Other Places in Palm Springs I Love:

Ice Cream and Shoppe – A ridiculously Instagram-worthy ice cream shop attached to a cute boutique hotel. I remember their birthday cake ice cream being one of the best things on the planet.

Koffi– Alex and I went here for coffee and breakfast one morning last time we were there! The vibes are awesome, the breakfast sandwiches are tasty and reasonably priced, and the coffee was delish!

El Jefe at The Saguaro– We came here for late afternoon drinks before dinner once and the margaritas were fantastic!! I loved checking out the hotel afterwards, although I probably wouldn’t stay there during a busy time…lots of partying?

Cabazon Outlets – So we actually DID hit the outlets on the way home this time, I just didn’t take any photos of our shopping! Alex needed a new wallet and even though I held back (go me for having willpower for once??), the sales were fantastic. They have a ton of good stores and it’s a good place to stop on the way home!

Talk about a jam packed day, huh?! It was SO much fun, I honestly didn’t want to leave and am already trying to plan our next trip back. If you’re in the LA area, or even if you’re not, I highly recommend checking out Palm Springs for a relaxing and fun little trip with your family, partner, or even solo! You can also head to VisitPalmSprings.com if you need any more inspo on what to do, see, eat, or even where to stay?

xo Jordan