Road trip.

It is always fun to embark on a day trip with the doggies.

We loaded up Courtny’s brand new Mercedes SUV and headed down the coast to Laguna Beach, a small coastal town in Orange County.

It’s known for its many art galleries, coves and bevy of beaches along with the stereotypical bots from the reality show, Laguna Hills: The Real Orange County.

We targeted Laguna Beach despite the plethora of blondes…it is still an alluring destination.

We roamed town and discovered a unique store, Brass Tack Mercantile.

Brass Tack is a curated combination of U.S. made, Fair Trade and vintage goods that personify unique living and homemaking.

The appeal is that the merchandise is authentic, limited addition and ever changing.

Catching our fancy was the double sided unique blankets from India.

We loved the fact that a woman’s communal  group crafted them.

I purchased a vintage guitar strap which looks just the same as the trending Valentino’s bag straps, retailing for $1,125.00…mine was $38.

Seriously, I wanted to scoop up everything in the store, the aesthetic was so enchanting.

Micheau Folse, the shop boss who aided and abetted our retail therapy obsession, was charming and a wealth of information.

Moving on, we ended up being shunned by the many seaside restaurants due to our canine companions so we grabbed groceries at Whole Foods and had a picnic on the boardwalk overlooking the ocean.

It was a gorgeous day and we lazed on a bench and took in the sun, surf and interesting parade of humanity clad in minimal bikinis.

Crispy and satiated, we headed home which only took 60 minutes.

Laguna Beach is an enticing destination and an easy, accessible  day trip from Los Angeles.

Brass Tack Mercantile 384 Forest Avenue No. 1A Laguna Beach, California. www.brasstackstudio.com