Eat Sea Retreat at Terranea Resort
For me, traveling is one of the best ways I relax. I love seeing new places, spending quality time with dear friends and most importantly, being inspired by my surroundings and those friends. Last weekend I went to southern California for EatSeaRetreat, with a group of wonderfully inspiring bloggers to regroup, gather my thoughts and hone my mission with this blog. This space, this little corner of the internet, is one of my favorite things in the world. Sharing my love of cooking, photography, my dream of a small and humble country life in the city is what makes me get up and hit the ground running every day.
Seattle to LA is a quick two and a half hour jump, but a whole world away. Thank goodness Alaska Airlines has a bunch of non-stop flights. In a couple of short hours I was in a whole new environment, filled with sunshine and warm weather, and a sea breeze in my immediate future.
Along with me was:
- Amelia at Eating Made Easy
- Liz at The Lemon Bowl
- Ashley at Edible Perspective
- Lauren at Climbing Grier Mountain
- Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats
- Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean
- Nikki at Seeded At The Table
When we arrived at Terranea Resort, we swung open the doors of our villa and soaked it all in. It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the beauty of this place and feel the immediate relaxation kick in.Â
Whether you’re wanting to just lay pool side, do some walking around the resort, or hit up the links, of eat at one of the MANY restaurants, you could do it all and stay right on site. Â Our first night we dinned at Mar’sel where we dined on local delicacies, fresh from the sea. One of the things all of us girls loved about Terranea was their pride in local, home grown, sustainable food. From the produce grown on site, to their own honey and sea salt – the restaurants all showcase the best that is available, at the peak of freshness. You can’t argue with that!
We woke up the next day to get down to business. Unlike large conferences, these small retreats provide us bloggers with a chance to really dig deep into our blogs, help each other diagnose our challenges and come up with creative solutions. Over breakfast, provided by Nature’s Path Organic and Stonyfield, we talked about critical elements that help our blogs run smoothly – like time management, blogger outreach and growing our readership.
One of my problems is balance and burnout – especially since I work full time on top of blogging. With seven other experts and friends, who care deeply about my success as well, it was so helpful to get creative and innovative feedback that went beyond anything I could have come up with on my own. We’ve all been there, and done that at some point – so it’s great to get another perspective.
In between sessions, we had lunch made for us by the executive chef of Terranea who gave us a spread, with fresh local cod, chicken with a Moroccan seasoning, local wines, and a chocolate mousse that would make your head spin. Â Hearing the passion these chefs had for their job was inspiring. And it did more to inspire me in the kitchen as well.
One of the great things about all that eating we did, was that the resort had plenty of walking trails around as well. If I hadn’t let my FitBit die that weekend, I probably would have hit my 10,000 steps by noon! Sunrise walks along the rugged coast with Lauren and Ashley got the mind in gear for the last sessions and burned off some of the calories from the ice cream sandwiches from Sea Beans as we all stayed up way past our bed time the night before.
Not to mention the pretzel, and s’mores we had cliffside at Nelson’s, too.
We ate our way through two days and two nights, in a sea side retreat with seven other inspiring women, at a resort that exudes pride and passion in everything they do. If that isn’t a recipe for success, I don’t know what is.
Terranea Resort has a won me over, heart, stomach and soul.
*Fine Print* Thank you so much to Terranea Resort, Nature’s Path Organic, and Stonyfield for sponsoring our stay, and fueling us up as we brainstorm, inspire each other and rejuvenate! All opinions are my own.
I am so grateful we got to spend quality time together!!! Can we please do it again soon?? xoxoÂ
yay! love this and love you!
Yes, let’s please go back right meow! Such gorgeous pics my friend!!Â
It looks like you ladies had a great time. Totally jealous of all the fun and sun.
What a beautiful resort (and beautiful group of women!)
I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t been to Terranea even though it’s very close to where I live. It looks amazing and I only ever hear awesome things about it 🙂Â
Great recap! Love that pic of the three of us during our walk. 🙂
What a fun weekend! So glad you gals had a blast. I definitely need more retreat/getaways in my life – they are always so inspiring and helpful!
Woah, what a spectacular resort! 🙂
It truly is a spectacular place! And so close to LA!
Love the fridge full of healthy treats! Â It’s so hard to eat healthy while traveling, that’s a nice touch.
And it wasn’t just the fridge – Terranea prides itself on healthy, seasonal and local foods, too! It was incredible!
I remember seeing the Instagram posts from this retreat, and I was so envious! 🙂 It looked like such a relaxing and amazing getaway. And bonus that you were able to recharge and bounce ideas off other fabulous bloggers too.Â
Looks like quite a fun retreat! I want s’mores now!! Love the idea of a blogger retreat! So awesome!
Although I missed the first evening, I still experienced the best of the best — time with y’all! Â And to spend it in such beautiful surroundings like Terranea?? Â Yep, yep!! Â Let’s do it again! Â Excited for you and your future, Megan!! xoxo!!
Looks like you had a great time on your much needed getaway. Â The pictures look fabulous.
Sign me up for this gorgeous place….what a great place to retreat!! Everyone looks so beautiful too.
That resort!!  I’m totally in love, and know I need to plan a relaxing trip there.  What a great group of ladies, too! 🙂
Gorgeous! What a fun girlfriends’ getaway! And the food looks pretty amazing too. Sign me up for the s’mores!Â
Looks like such a fun trip! I’ll have to make my way to the ol’ cali-for-nye-eh to this resort! GORG.
Ooo, looks like a lovely visit! I crave ice cream sandwiches now….
What a fun trip! It looks like you all had a blast, and the resort looks beautiful!
Oh, wonderful – Terranea is in my hometown and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What a beautiful and inspiring property to see friends and regroup! Â It’s amazing how a few days in the right setting, at the right place can do to refresh and revive. Â Thanks for sharing it!
It is a decadent place for sure Toni, but what I love most is it feels luxurious with out feeling pretentious! And that is a hard quality to find.
I’ve been hearing so many things about Terranea lately, I think it’s a sign 🙂  It looks like you had a fabulous trip!  Great pics, thanks so much for sharing – it’s definitely on our bucket list!
What a wonderful place to regroup and relax. It looks like you girls all had such a wonderful time.Â
That resort is AMAZING. Goodness. I wish I could’ve been there!!
What a beautiful location! I definitely need to add the Terranea Resort to my list of places to visit. The retreat looks like the perfect way to enjoy delicious food and connect with other bloggers.Â
Sun Valley is one of my favorite places EVER! So happy you got to go and enjoy. It’s on my bucket list to take my family, for sure!
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