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Christmas in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Let’s face it, 2020 has been a pretty yucky year overall. Maybe that’s why I am so into holiday feels this year. Christmas is the season for celebration and cheer, for togetherness and twinkling lights and good tidings. I am so grateful for all good things, my family, friends, neighbors, and my list goes on and on. I also give thanks to be able to live in such a beautiful area that provides me with joy daily. The following are some of my favorite Christmas views from Carmel-by-the-Sea. So grab yourself a hot cup of cocoa, or eggnog, or a glass of wine, and enjoy!
One of the most iconic places in Carmel is the Cottage of Sweets. It was originally built in 1922 as a weaving studio. When the Court of the Golden Bough Theatre was built, the quaint cottage was loaded onto logs and rolled down Ocean Avenue to its current location, where it served as a ticket office for the theatre. Fast forward to today, where the tiny shop is jam-packed with delicious British sweets, chocolates, fudge, and more than 90 different licorices. It just radiates “Merry Christmas”, do you not agree?
Bluebird Cottage at the Lamp Lighter Inn is guarded by a husky this Christmas. If you did not know, dogs are such beloved in this seaside town. Here, they are treated (as they should be!) with dog friendly beaches and hotels, water bowls in front of many shops, and even doggy massages, surf lessons, and yappy hours. It is the perfect place to visit with your furry friend!
During the holiday season, Carmel has not only magical sights, but smells and tastes too! Who could resist the enticing goodies in this window?
Christmas is all about good food too! Carmel has some of the best, and often in super cute vintage dwellings. I love this one located adjacent to the Cottage of Sweets.
Entering through the gate to the Tuck Box English Tea Room is like entering a winter fairyland.
Carmel has the most enchanting little secret passages everywhere. You never know what you will find at the end! Maybe some mistletoe?
All the shops are so festive and fun in anticipation of holiday shoppers. And even though you may not be able to visit in person, you can always shop online for that special person who just loves Carmel!
Doris Day’s Cypress Inn sparkles with holiday cheer. This dog-friendly hotel features a “Yappy Hour” where folks bring their pooches and enjoy cocktails.
The Lincoln Green Inn’s lush flower gardens shower the holiday season with romance and color. Built in 1925, the Lincoln green Inn features four quaint cottages named after the tales of Robin Hood, including the protagonist as well as Maid Marian, Little John and Friar Tuck.
Uh oh, Santa left his boots! Maybe he just wants an excuse to come back to Carmel? 
One of the most enjoyable things to do during the winter holidays is stroll the streets and enjoy the lights and decor. This little cottage has always been a favorite of mine. Loving the little dachshund on the roof!
Whether simple or fancy, holiday decor adds extra charm to the already lovely homes here.
Thank you so much, dear hearts, for visiting my blog. If you enjoyed this post you may also like Quarantine in Captivating Carmel-by-the-Sea and Fairy Tale Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea. For more information on visiting Carmel, see carmelcalifornia.com.
Wishing you peace, love, joy, and a beautiful holiday season. We can get through even the most challenging of times, if we are there for each other. Hugs!
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Quarantine in Captivating Carmel-by-the-Sea
Even though the quarantine has disrupted many travel plans, I feel so blessed to live in this area. I hope that everyone has a chance someday to visit Carmel-by-the-Sea, located in central coastal California, and witness first hand this captivating and charming town. I have previously written other blog posts about Carmel-by-the-Sea, including Gardens of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Garden Gate Inspiration from Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Fairy Tale Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Even though shops and art galleries are still closed, many of the amazing restaurants here are open with take out and social distanced al fresco dining. And fortunately, the pandemic can’t hamper one of the most fun things to do here, just walk around. You will feel like you are in a fairy tale, because this little seaside town just happens to be home to some of the loveliest cottages and gardens in the area.
It all started in the early 1900s, when Hugh Comstock built the town’s first fairy tale cottage for his wife, Mayotta. The homes he built featured steep roofs, arched windows and doors, and rustic stone chimneys. His cottages have been duplicated over the years, and have inspired generations of delightful homes, so that walking through many of the side streets you may imagine you are no longer in America, but rather, in a charming English village.
The gardens in Carmel-by-the-Sea are simply the icing on the cake. From fetching window boxes, to picket fences, to lovely archways and stone walls, there is an eye-catching assortment of detail. Colorful flowers paint the landscape around these storybook homes with a beautiful palette of colors and textures.
Quarantine or not, it is clear that many people here are passionate about gardening and put a great deal of time and love into their gardens. I would like to personally thank them for all the inspiration and cheerfulness they provide to us passers-by!
A quirky thing about Carmel-by-the-Sea is that all the homes have names instead of house numbers. Most of the home names are pretty or cute, but I like the name I saw on one the best of all: “Nobody’s Perfect”!
This home is called “Irish Rose”. The latest addition to Carmel-by-the-Sea, on 6th Avenue & Mission, this Instagrammable wall mural was being completed while my friend Amy @seasaltandcypress and I were dining al fresco at nearby Grasings. Opinion has been mixed, folks either love it or hate it. I love it!
Someday, I hope the word quarantine will be obsolete. I hope that we all have discovered what is most important in life. I hope that we have learned to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us. I hope we never again take anything for granted and have learned to be grateful for all good things. If you do someday visit Carmel-by-the-Sea, dear friend, here is my parting advice. The best way to end the day is to take a leisurely stroll down to the beach and enjoy the soothing lull of the ocean waves and the color-drenched sunset. Because in Carmel-by-the-Sea, fairy tales really do come true.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas.
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The Garden Gate Story: Inspiration from Carmel-by-the-Sea
Every garden has a story to tell. The beginning of that story is your garden gate entrance. Your garden reflects who you are and what is important to you. Let these gorgeous garden gates in Carmel-by-the-Sea provide inspiration for your own unique and special garden.
Gardens evolve and grow, and with them, your story grows. What glimpse of your life do you want friends and family to have? Your gate sets the tone for the beginning of the story. Your gate lets everyone know the intention of your story. Is your gate inviting? Does it have bright colors or entice with warmth? Is it more private, implying mystery and intrigue? Whatever it is, your story begins with your gate. It should suggest what we may expect to see once we enter your garden.
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are–Alfred Austin
This rustic hinged wooden gate set into stone is typical of the fairy tale style homes peppered throughout Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint and the soil and sky as canvas–Elizabeth Murray
The use of a small heart cut-out in this garden gate, hollyhocks & roses, give this cottage garden depth & charm.
Always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can–Alice Hoffman, “Practical Magic”
Out of the window, I can see them in the moonlight, two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate–Ray Davies, “Come Dancing”
Framed by a sculpted hedge, this arched gateway leads to a secluded garden.
A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy–Luis Barragan
This open garden gate framed by geraniums conveys a sense of warmth and welcome, inviting guests to enter.
Charming and colorful green and red decor and a hanging bell set this garden gate apart. Note the unique bicycle decor also.
This garden gate is very symbolic of the fairy tale cottage look in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
A simple and classic white garden gate is dressed up with ivy trained to form an x design.
This garden gate is the cat’s meow! Literally.
A beautiful and delicate filigree gate balances the ponderous stone arch. A topping of stacked stone “shingles” adds quaint character.
The boxwood hedges flanking the stone path and the rose covered arch provide elegance and romance to this garden gate.
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom–Marcel Proust
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace–May Sarton
Your promises, your pleasures, your penchants, are all portrayed in your garden. A garden gate that expresses your sentiments and passions provides a warm and inviting welcome to your garden. I hope that you enjoyed and were inspired by these lovely garden gates from Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and beautiful vistas!
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Fairy Tale Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Eclectic, charming, and private, Carmel-by-the-Sea was founded in 1902. It began as a haven for creative intellectuals. Designed by James Devendorf and Frank Powers of San Francisco, the village attracted famous artists, poets, musicians, and writers, including Robinson Jeffers, Sinclair Lewis, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson used Carmel as inspiration for his famous novel, “Treasure Island”.
The fairy tale homes prevalent in Carmel originated with builder Hugh Comstock. Comstock built the first cottage as a studio for his wife, Mayotta, whose “Otsy-Totsy” doll business was booming. Although he had no training as a builder, he had the vision and ingenuity to create these whimsical buildings. Twenty-one of his cottages remain in the area today. Comstock is said to have been inspired by the illustrations of Arthur Rackham’s turn-of-the-century children’s books. His signature style included roofs with steep pitches, arched windows and doors, and rustic Carmel stone chimneys. As you wend and weave through the courtyards and quiet side streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea you will see many of these historical homes.
This Comstock home was built in 1927 as his studio, and later, as a home for his wife.
The “Marchen-Haus”, built in 1928, was Comstock’s largest cottage.
The Tuck Box was the only property Comstock built for commercial use. It is now used as a tea room; see The Tuck Box: A Fairy Tale Tea Room in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Comstock’s cottages became the local rage, and other builders soon followed suit. The Cottage of Sweets was built in 1922 and served as a weaving shop, ticket booth for theatres, a dress shop, and finally, a candy store. The pink cottage next to it was based on illustrations from a Swedish folktale book and included miniature turrets and stucco tiles above the windows.
This Tudor style cottage was built in 1925, and stands just east of the Candy Cottage.
The French Country style Normandy Inn was built by architect Robert Stanton in 1924, and features a shake roof and half-timbering.
The original bohemian owners of many of these fairy tale homes may be gone, but their spirit of creativity, individualism, and beauty remains.
Carmel-by-the-Sea began as a refuge for dreamers, artists, and story-tellers. Houses here do not have numbers, but rather, names, in order to support a sense of community and personal identity.
Crafted from local materials, and with lovely imperfections, the homes here look like something from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. You almost expect Snow White & The Seven Dwarves to appear in the cottage below, or Rapunzel to let down her hair from the stone tower in the cottage above.
If you visit Carmel-by-the-Sea, I highly recommend that, in addition to visiting the beach and local shops, you take time to slowly meander along the byroads and quiet side streets. You never know where your explorations will lead and what you will find, but most certainly, your fairytale adventures in Carmel-by-the-Sea will have a happy ending.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and beautiful vistas!
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Magical & Enchanting Gardens of Carmel-by-the-Sea
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”__Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education
As a little girl, I grew up watching my mother & father tend to our garden. It was an important part of our lives. Each year, my father would diligently work in the garden, turning over the soil. He would sow green onions, radishes, green beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I would help my mother plant zinnias, morning glories, sweet william, and black-eyed Susans. I would help cut bouquets of fat pink peonies and pale violet lilacs and pull weeds straggling between the flowers. I loved watching things grow and thrive with only minimal care, water, and sunshine. I played with snapdragons, made daisy chains, and helped gather fresh vegetables. I appreciated the beauty and bounty provided by nature.
It is no surprise that as an adult, nothing is more peaceful and relaxing to me, than working in my garden. I also love to see other gardens. I believe that gardening nurtures the heart and soul.
One of my favorite places to view beautiful gardens is Carmel-by-the-Sea. There, quaint seaside cottages abound, with darling garden gates and arbors, climbing roses, and picket fences. I love to wander along the streets with names like Court of the Golden Bough, Casanova, and Inspiration Avenue, and take in all the lovely views.
It is always reassuring to see well-tended flowers and gardens. To know that others love flowers and care for their gardens is very comforting.
“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift: above all it teaches entire trust.” __Gertude Jekyll
I love that even in the tiniest of spaces, people will grow flowers in pots where there is no room for a garden. I applaud everyone who finds a way to nurture and grow things, no matter where he or she lives.
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”__Henri Matisse
Serendipity is often the best way to discover beautiful gardens. I hope that you enjoyed this post and that it inspired you to find or create your own magical and enchanting gardens!Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas! -
Mission Ranch in Carmel, California
Picture yourself seated on a terrace, drinking in the sweet ocean air, with stunning views of Point Lobos, Carmel River Beach, and the Santa Lucia mountains. Sheep graze peacefully in a sweeping pasture before you. A multitude of lovely shrubs and flowers surround every building, including hydrangeas, bougainvillea, hollyhocks, and angel’s trumpets. Live oaks, eucalyptus, and centuries-old cypress trees tower gracefully over them. You are sure to be delighted no matter where your gaze wanders. This is Mission Ranch.
Mission Ranch is located in Carmel, California, just around the corner from the beautiful Carmel Mission Basilica. It began in the 1850s as a farm owned by John and Elizabeth Martin and their seven children. The Martins had a dairy farm and provided Monterey County with fresh cheese and butter. Their former creamery is now the site of the Mission Ranch restaurant.
Mission Ranch is located on 22 acres owned by actor Clint Eastwood. In 1950, Clint Eastwood was 21 years old and had just been drafted. Off-duty from Fort Ord, he discovered Carmel and Mission Ranch. He loved the area and made it his second home. When developers threatened to desecrate the area and turn it into condos, he stepped up and saved the historic ranch.
This historic ranch consists of 31 rooms located in 10 original buildings on the property, including a bunkhouse, the original farmhouse, and a honeymoon cottage. Mission Ranch is a great site for weddings, family vacations, and romantic getaways. While we were at the restaurant for dinner, there was a wedding taking place. How peaceful and serene it appeared, next to the pasture full of grazing sheep!
The charming restaurant is famous not only for its lovely views but also its amazing piano bar. The piano bar is a great place to strike up friendships. We recently met a lovely couple from Cote d’Azur and had a great visit with them, even though they spoke little English and we, little French!
Mission Ranch is open every day except Christmas day. They have “early grazing” outdoors from 3-5 pm, but dinner service does not officially start until 5 pm. On the weekends, they offer a brunch from 10 am – 2 pm. During the week, you can get breakfast from 7 am-10:30 am. They do not accept reservations. I would recommend getting there early if you want to get a good table. When you arrive, you can choose to be seated inside or outside on the terrace.
We arrived at 4:30 pm and sat at the piano bar until we were seated around 5:15 pm. Fortunately, we were seated in the east section of the restaurant at a window table overlooking the pasture and sheep with a fireplace next to us. This is much quieter than the adjacent dining room near the bar and I would highly recommend it. There is a plethora of yummy food on the menu including appetizers, soups & salads and fabulous dinner entrees. I chose the slow roasted prime rib and it was too delicious!
- Pets are not allowed in the restaurant except for service animals.
- Bring a jacket or sweater for dining on the outdoor terrace as it can get chilly, even with the outdoor heaters.
- Piano music is played nightly from 5-9 pm.
Location: 26270 Delores St., Carmel, CaliforniaPhone: 831-624-3824Website: Mission Ranch.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas! -
The Tuck Box: A Fairy Tale Tea Room in Carmel
The Original Tuck Box 
The Tuck Box Today Once upon a time, in lovely Carmel-by-the-Sea, there was a fairy tale English cottage called the Tuck Box. It was built in 1927 by Hugh Comstock. Comstock’s wife, Mayotta, was famous for her unique hand-made “Otsy-Totsy” dolls. Time passed and the cottage changed hands. During the 1940s, two sisters, Mrs. Bumbridge and Mrs. Watson, converted the building into a tea room and named it Tuck Box after the traditional trunks British schoolchildren used to carry books, food, and supplies.
Vintage Tuck Box Tuck boxes generally had a child’s initials, last name, or school mottoes and crests painted on the outside. Tuck boxes were sometimes created with secret panels, false bottoms, and sliding sections for hiding goodies or contraband. No mother, wrote Roald Dahl in his childhood memoir Boy, would send her son off to prep school without, at the very least, the following in his tuck box: a home-made currant cake, a packet of squashed-fly biscuits, a couple of oranges, an apple, a banana, a pot of strawberry jam or Marmite, a bar of chocolate, a bag of Liquorice Allsorts, and a tin of Bassett’s lemonade powder. To these, a boy would add ‘all manner of treasures’, such as magnets, pocket knives, balls of string, clockwork racing cars, lead soldiers, tiddlywinks, catapults, stink bombs and Mexican jumping beans.
You won’t find stink bombs or Mexican jumping beans at this tuck box. Instead, you will find delicious sandwiches, fresh fruit, salads, steaming hot tea in whimsical teapots, and their famous scones with fresh cream, orange marmalade, and olallieberry preserves. It is a very cozy, relaxed setting. You may be seated inside or outdoors on the terrace. Caveat: if you eat here, make sure to bring money. Oddly, the Tuck Box does not accept any credit cards and will direct you to the nearest ATM if you do not have enough cash TUCKED in your wallet.
The Tuck Box is located on Dolores Street between Ocean and 7th Ave and is open daily, 7:30 am-2:30 pm. For more information, see Tuck Box. You may also enjoy reading Fairy Tale Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas!
