What feeds your creativity? Listening to music? Visiting a museum? Taking an urban hike? For me, it's spending time in any new place and being surrounded by lots of nature. I had the greatest getaway along the coast this past week. I was lucky enough to tag along with a friend who got free rooms courtesy of her work, at the Carmel Valley Ranch. Since I'm in between jobs at the moment, I feel very blessed to have generous friends with major perks. Lucky me!

We stopped in Santa Cruz on the way down from SF with a necessary pop into Hart's Fabrics and The Crepe Place for lunch. 

The following morning after reaching Carmel, we continued our adventure all the way to Big Sur. With stops at The Big Sur Bakery (yum!), McWay Falls in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and the Henry Miller Memorial Library. What an amazing stretch of coastline—it provoked lots of oohs, ahhs and OMGs along the way.

Sometimes just getting out of your immediate environs is enough to spark some new inspiration. You don't have to go very far! Even a day trip is beneficial to stoking that creative fire.