Taking photos in cute places is just what we do. Do you ever go to a hip and trendy place and NOT think to take a picture? Of course not. It is part of our society today. Capture the moment and post it on Instagram so all of your followers can see how cool you are. Apparently now that means you are “basic”. It is funny to think how the word basic has more of a negative connotation now than a positive, or that it can mean anything other than what it actually means. But you know what? If I am being honest, I like being basic. I like taking pictures where ever I go. I like going to places JUST to take pictures, and who cares?! Want to know who cares? ME! I know, I’m a walking hypocrite. I have been working on it though. When you just suck it up and have your friend take the “basic” photo of you like you don’t care what other people think because you are a confident woman, you realize everyone else around you is trying to be just that and is waiting for the right moment to not feel lame enough to take their photo in that exact same spot. Start giving others around you the confidence to just take the picture already! 

Well now that we have that out of the way, I want to embrace being basic. My girlfriends and I started using the term “elevated basic”, which is what is used to describe the new line coming out exclusively at Nordstrom from style icon/blogger powerhouse Something Navy by Arielle Charnas. So I am starting something new. I want to start going places and finding five spots to be basic and take good photos in, sort of a Basic Girls Guide. So I grabbed my babes and we headed to downtown Palm Springs, my obvious new favorite place. Even though I have been downtown plenty of times, each time I find new spots to go. There is just so much down there it is hard to choose! We narrowed it down though. This is the.B.Law’s first Friday 5: places to be basic in downtown Palm Springs:

 1- Farm, the cutest restaurant I have ever been to this far in my life. It is tucked away so you could pass right by and not even notice it. Before one of my girlfriends suggested it, I had walked by it numerous times. During the week and Sunday it is only open 9am-2pm, Friday 9am-2pm and 6-9:30pm, and Saturday 8am-2pm and 6-9:30pm, so you have to plan, you can’t just show up whenever you want. Side note: they only take reservations for dinner. When we were shown to our table I was in awe. Majority of the restaurant is a patio, but not just a plain patio, oh no. They have trees, vine covered trellises, and umbrellas. The tables are set with mismatched colored and shaped glasses, the napkins are different prints, all sorts of shaped and sized bottles as vases with simple flowers, even the bathroom was cute! I was in love. It was like we had just left the downtown strip and got to sit and relax in a secret place. The ambiance was very laid back, it was quiet and cool in the shade. Through all of this Instagram heaven haze don’t forget there is food here too! My girlfriends and I have been to Farm twice now and got the same appetizer both times that we spied on our neighbor’s table the moment we first sat down. Baked brie with brown sugar and hazelnuts, toast points, fig jam, and apples, need I say more? I wish I could eat that every day for forever. Farm is definitely the place for good food and good photos. Add it to your list. (Farm – 6 La Plaza, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

 2- Ice Cream & Shop(pe) is connected to the ever so popular hotel Arrive. I found this place on Instagram and decided I wanted to go there just for a picture with their neon sign, “#Palm Springs is Better”. It turns out the rest of the shop is cute too and they have really good ice cream, which is good news considering it is an ice cream shop… The three of us ended up getting the same, LAVENDER ICE CREAM! It tasted amazing! I was kind of expecting it to taste like a lavender latte, you know, kind of perfume-y, but it didn’t. It was sweet and creamy and the prettiest color. I love that the shop doubles as a little gift shop with super cute and trendy things, like flamingo pool floats and tumblers. (Ice Cream & Shop(pe) – 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr Ste A, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

 3- Ernest Coffee, because you can’t start Sunday (or any day) without a cup of coffee. To be honest I wanted to go to this specific coffee shop just for their book wall. I love book stores so of course I want a photo in front of what looks like a million vintage books. Getting a coffee and getting properly posed on the booth side is a must. Ernest doesn’t just have a cool booth with a book wall though, they also have a super cute patio with palm leaf print cushions! I’m just saying, if we are talking Instagram opportunities, then get yourself a mimosa because yes they serve those too, head to the patio and sit candidly on the palm print soaking up the glory of a Palm Springs morning. Darn I wish I would have thought of that one while I was there! (Ernest Coffee – 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

 4- The Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium, a cacti haven! I am sure you have seen this on Instagram already, but we went to the botanical garden basically for the cactarium. Along the path to the cacterium enclosure is pretty cool too though. They have cacti and succulents from all over (with some good photo ops obviously), and at the end was the cactarium in its own sort of greenhouse with rare cacti. Let me tell you, I want a greenhouse just to have the perfect lighting inside. Don’t worry, we actually looked at the cacti too. (Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium – 1701 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264)

 5- The Palm Springs Art Museum, to look at art and stuff. We had been wanting to go here for a long time and the weekend we went happened to be the start of the Andy Warhol exhibit so that was really exciting. His art is so fun and colorful, and I feel like it just really fits today’s scene and Palm Springs especially. Regardless of the exhibit, doesn’t taking a photo at an art museum just feel so New York? (Palm Springs Art Museum – 300 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

I cannot sum up downtown Palm Springs in just five spots. I could probably do four or five of these posts because there are seriously so many places down there, I already have two more for the next time. If you have any Palm Springs suggestions, please let me know! I am always up for a new place. Stay tuned for the next Friday 5!