Magic Hour

Ojai, California is not only the home of Thacher (my son’s school), but also many, many cool stores, restaurants, and brands. Magic Hour is one of them that I happened to stumble upon last weekend. It is a tea shop — but not any tea shop — a beautiful, insanely gigantic, magical, incredible tea shop. It sells every type of tea that is made with love in Ojai. Their mission is to connect the world through tea ceremony and the simple act of sharing tea. And you can sense this goal the moment you walk in to the space. The space is beaaaaauuutiful, and the tea is even more special. I spent 30 minutes walking around the store, smelling every different type of blend, sampling, asking questions — it is a must visit if in Ojai.

 

I grew up with parents who drank tea every single night with their dessert before going to bed. It is something so ceremonial and special that I love to partake in. I bought a big bottle of mint and smaller of rooibos.

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Hotel El Roblar

This past weekend, I traveled to Ojai, California, to visit my one-and-only-son, Cruzzie at school. It was a fun filled three days (will report more later) and I loved every minute of it (even though the red eye back was intolerable). I stayed at Hotel El Roblar, a brand new hotel in the area that opened up less than 3 months ago. Although it is newly opened, the building has been in existent since 1919. Now, it has been restored by Eric Goode (owner of the Turtle Conservancy and Bowery Hotel, etc…), Ramin Shamshiri, Warner Ebbink and Jeremy McBride. It is a 5- room hotel with two different restaurants, a pool, some giant tortoises, and a hipster vibe. I loved my time there and I cannot wait to return.

 

Picture of the outside — Spanish architecture. I love this picture (taken from their website)

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Turtle Conservancy

Last weekend, I had the privilege of going to see my son at boarding school in Ojai, California. Although I had been there three weeks before to attend Family Weekend, I wanted another chance to just go see Cruzzie and his friends, and be with him for a relaxed weekend. It was an absolute incredible time — not just because I spent precious time with my boy, but also because I stayed in a secret gem hotel, the Turtle Conservancy.

 

The entry way.

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