• LAURA ADNEY
    • ABOUT
    • services
    • FAQ
    • PRESS
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Tools
  • outfits
  • MOTHERHOOD
  • TRAVEL
  • + more
    • AT HOME
    • BEAUTY + HAIR
    • DIY
    • EVENTS
    • GIFT GUIDES
    • HEALTH + FITNESS
    • LABEL FOR LESS
  • SHOP LUXURY RESALE
  • CONTACT

Have Need Want

fashion & lifestyle blog

Eat, Shop, Do: San Diego’s North County

February 27, 2018

FacebookTwitterPinterestMixEmail

It’s so nice to meet other bloggers from other places and do some awesome collaborations. I may only have met them virtually but I feel like I know them because we share a common passion for blogging and in many cases I’m in groups with them online. When I decided to start my Eat, Shop, Do series I thought what better way than to collaborate with some of my blogger friends and in the process learn more about them, where they live, and share with all of you their go-to’s in their city.

Everyone meet Jessica! Jessica Kay is a San Diego (North County!) based lifestyle and career blogger. She writes for the 9-5 corporate professionals at her blog Cubicle Chic and strives to inspire, uplift, and motivate her fellow ambitious and career driven women. Her professional background is marketing in the life science and healthcare industry. She lives with her husband and 2 cats in the hidden gem of San Diego – North County!

Allow me to humble-brag with a simple statement here: San Diego is the best place to live in the US. It’s probably one of the top 5 cities to live in the world, and it’s easy to tell why. The sunny beaches, the food scene, the easy-going culture and people, and relatively affordable standards of living. Yes, real estate price has hiked up sky-high, but we also have a thriving biotech/tech industry and a super-low unemployment rate. Any way you slice it, San Diego is an amazing place to live in. If these things don’t make you want to pack up your bags and visit, I don’t know what would!

If you are looking to visit San Diego soon, I’d highly recommend checking out San Diego’s hidden gem – North County. It’s not an area that gets a ton of publicity and visibility, probably because it’s a little farther from the airport (about an hour). But if you’re driving down from LA or anywhere north of LA, you pass by North County first! With that said, here are the things to check out in each of the Eat, Shop, Do categories!

Eat:

San Diego is nationally known for its microbreweries so this is definitely a must-do! Many breweries also happen to serve excellent food, so make sure you do your research if you are wanting to sample the beer and also have some delicious food. Here are three in North County that I highly recommend.

1. Stone Brewery (Escondido)

Stone Brewery; Photo Credit: Open Table

Flights of beer samplers and tacos; Photo Credit: Travellady

2. Mother Earth Brew Co. (Vista)

Photo Credit: THREE B ZINE

3. Belching Beaver (Vista, Carlsbad, Oceanside)

Photo Credit: West Coaster SD

Belching Beaver Beer Selections; Photo Credit: Your North County

Shop:

There are many places to shop in North County, like the Carlsbad Outlet, but a few places stand out from the average malls/shopping places. The Forum in Carlsbad is a small outdoors mall but it has shops like Madewell, Anthropologie, H&M, and Urban Outfitters amongst its retail shops. It’s BEAUTIFULLY designed outdoors space. In fact, I’ve done photo shoots here multiple times and I’m always happy with the results.

The Design Districts on Cedros Avenue is another unique place that is only found in North County. It’s a street full of interior design & décor boutiques, firms, and just various shops. My favorite shop to visit on the street is called Leaping Lotus.

1. The Forum Carlsbad Mall (Carlsbad)

The Forum Carlsbad; Photo Credit: One Life

The Forum Carlsbad; Photo Credit: Pacific San Diego

2. Cedros Avenue Design District (Solana Beach)

Cedros Avenue Design District; Photo Credit: San Diego Magazine

Leaping Lotus on Cedros Avenue; Photo Credit: Leaping Lotus

Do:

There are SO many outdoors activities to do in San Diego. I will pick one from each of these categories – beaches, hiking, and stand up paddle boarding.

Torrey Pines State Beach is probably the most quintessential and iconic beach in San Diego. It’s the picture you see in many promotional posters about San Diego. It also happens to be a beautiful and super accessible beach.

Annie’s Canyon is probably the most unique hiking places I’ve ever gone to in my life. It’s very short (about 45 minutes back and forth at average speed) and has gorgeous sceneries. It’s also very kids friendly (I see people bringing their toddlers all the time) and it’s a perfect place to visit for about 1.5 hours if you are around Encinitas/Solana Beach for other things.

Last but not the least, if you’re interested in standup paddle boarding and perhaps it’s your first time, don’t forget to try it at Carlsbad Lagoon. The thing about learning to standup paddleboard is that you want to start your learning experience at a place with calm and smooth water. Once you learn the technique and have the muscle memory, then you can conquer the choppier ocean. Carlsbad Lagoon offers the perfectly calm and smooth bay water, and is a must visit for beginner SUPers!

1. Torey Pines State Beach (San Diego)

Torrey Pines State Beach; Photo Credit: Fit to Wander

2. Annie’s Canyon (Solana Beach)

Photo Credit: Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune

Annie’s Canyon; Photo Credit: The Last Adventurer

3. Carlsbad Lagoon for SUP (Carlsbad)

Carlsbad Lagoon; Photo Credit: TripAdvisor

Standup Paddleboarders ready to conquer the Carlsbad Lagoon! Photo credit: CaliforniaBeaches.com

I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of my Eat, Shop, Do series post and as always thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Related

FacebookTwitterPinterestMixEmail

Related posts:

  1. Eat, Shop, Do: Turks and Caicos
  2. Eat, Shop, Do: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
  3. Eat, Shop, Do: Capitola
  4. Eat, Shop, Do: Portland

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Travel

« How to Mix Prints Like a Pro + a Giveaway
Life + a $500 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway »
Welcome to the blog! My name is Laura Adney and I am a stay at home mom to my sons Mason James and Cooper Ford. Fashion has always been a passion of mine and I love to share my personal style, lifestyle, motherhood, travel adventures, and more! Visit my about page to learn more and thank you so much for stopping by!

Subscribe to

SHOP MY CURATED LUXURY RESALE SHOP!

Privacy

By using this website, and entering your email and name to comment or subscribe, you agree to our privacy policy. You can read our privacy policy here.

Instagram

SHOP THE FEED

Top Posts

Safari Themed Nursery

Beautiful outdoor spaces to help inspire you to elevate your outdoor living. #outdoorspaces #outdooroasis #outdoorliving

Beautiful Outdoor Living Spaces

Fall decor and home inspiration on Have Need Want! Rounding up my current Fall home inspiration to help you get into the season! #fallhomedecor #fall #homeinspiration #homedecor

Favorite Fall Decor and Interior Inspiration

Amazing Amazon Fashion Finds All Under $30! Head over to the blog to check out all my finds!! #amazonfashion #tryonhaul #tryonsession #amazontryonhaul #amazonfinds #fashionunder30 #affordablefashion #affordablespringfashion

Amazing Amazon Fashion Finds All Under $30!

LaseMD Laser Facial Treatment, Laser Skincare Treatment, Refined Dermatology, Bay Area Skincare, Have Need Want

LaseMD Laser Facial Treatment

Let’s Work Together

laura@have-need-want.com
Serious inquiries only. Please note I do not accept products or services in exchange for coverage.

Where I shop

Abercrombie & Fitch

Amazon

ASOS

Bohemian Mama

Burts Bees Baby

Daily Harvest

Express

Hanna Andersson

H&M

Kohl's

Macy's

Minted

Murad

Net-A-Porter

Nordstrom

Nordstrom Rack

Revolve Clothing

Ritual

Sephora

Shopbop

SOMA

Spearmint Love

Splendid

Target

Tarte

The Container Store

The RealReal

The Styled Collection

Ulta Beauty

Walmart

Wayfair

Disclosure

Have Need Want is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms (including twitter, facebook and pinterest), I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase. To read my full disclosure go here.

All opinions are my own and I only share brands with you that I love.

Cooper’s favorite time of day is when we go pick Cooper’s favorite time of day is when we go pick up his big brother MayMay from school! ❤️
Cooper is always reminding me to enjoy the littles Cooper is always reminding me to enjoy the littlest things in life, like stomping around in small puddles.
This reel has been sitting in drafts for far too l This reel has been sitting in drafts for far too long. Making homemade play dough! I got the recipe from @mothercould. Mason and Cooper love playing with play dough and now they’ve got more than enough to share!!
A surprise package arrived from @playsmol and sinc A surprise package arrived from @playsmol and since the sun came out today we got to finally unbox it!! It’s their latest collab and we couldn’t love it more! @ryleeandcru is one of my favorite clothing brands to buy for the boys. Use code: LAURAADNEY for $30 off your purchase!! #playsmol #dreambigplaysmol #bouncehouse #modernbouncehouse #ryleeandcru #sunnyday #sunnydayfun #matchingmatching #matchyoutfit
You and me, it’s a forever kind of thing! #bes You and me, it’s a forever kind of thing! 

#bestfriends4ever #brothers #bigbrolittlebro #bearvalleyadventurecompany #bearvalley #bearvalleyresort
Photo dump from our vacation up in Bear Valley! Ha Photo dump from our vacation up in Bear Valley! Had so much fun in the snow with the fam. Just wish we could have stayed a day or two longer!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Copyright © 2023 Have Need Want · Site design by Lennox Creative Co.

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.
You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Have Need Want
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Additional Cookies

This website uses the following additional cookies:

(Rewardstyle affiliate links)

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie Policy

More information about our Cookie Policy