A Visit to the Flower Fields and the Carlsbad Premium Outlets

On a beautiful Thursday morning, I made my way to Carlsbad to finally go visit the Flower Fields. I remember driving past the fields ever since I was a child. I would also get to see them whenever my parents wanted to go to the Carlsbad Premium Outlets to find some good deals. Fast forward a few years (alright, maybe like 10 years or so) and I'm attending a media event a the Flower Fields.




The morning began with the bloggers getting a wagon ride tour of the fields. A tractor drove us around to see the rows and rows of stunning ranunculus. Due to the heatwave this past winter, some of the flowers had already bloomed earlier than expected. I loved seeing the rows of different colors ranunculus, especially in the distance. If only my camera would have done the fields any justice, they are a lot more stunning in person. Personally I was a fan of the marigold and yellow ranunculus, they just scream spring to me.

During the tour we also got to see a replica of the American flag made out of flowers, of course! Fun fact: The flag is accurately proportioned, meaning that the stripes are the same width as the actual flag. Another part of the Flower Fields that we got to see was Santa's Village. I had never heard of Santa's Village but I loved getting to hear what it meant to Paul Ecke III, a third-generation grower in the San Diego area. His family is responsible for making the poinsettias a staple during Christmas in the U.S. Santa's Village was the first playground for kids and it opened before Disneyland did. When it closed down Paul Ecke found himself bidding for the whimsical houses and displays against none other than Pee-wee Herman.

It was incredible to finally see the Flower Fields in person and i was completely unaware of how affordable it is. Adults can visit the fields for $12 and children 3-10 can visit for $6. The fields are opened up to Mother's Day so I highly recommend going before the season ends.

After exploring the Flower Fields, we headed over to the Carlsbad Premium Outlets. We were shown the information center, where guests can get coupon books for the stores and request information about the shopping center. If you've never been to an outlet before, this is the place to come if you want to score some deals. You can find every store from Ralph Lauren to Nike at the outlets, but one of my favorite stores to visit is the Cosmetic Company Outlet (or the CCO). The CCO is home to all Estée Lauder brands such as MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Bumble & Bumble, etc. Best thing is that everything is 20-30% off! I get to shop things that are still at Sephora and save money while I'm at it? Yes please!

The Carlsbad Premium Outlets also houses various restaurants. That Thursday afternoon we were treated to Ruby's Diner, a place that I used to frequent as a kid with my grandmother. All Ruby's Diner restaurants have a different theme, this one in particular had a train and airplanes theme. We also learned more about Ruby herself, who's over 90 year-old. Fun fact: Ruby's Diner (and the cartoon of Ruby) is based on the 1940s not the 1950s.

Check out the vlog from that day! Maybe the video will do the flowers more justice than my pictures did.

Here's a few things that I got yesterday at Carlsbad. I can't wait to try out the @bumbleandbumble products. || Aquí están las cositas que agarre ayer cuando estaba en Carlsbad. Ya quiero tratar los productos de @bumbleandbumble.

A photo posted by Laura Neuzeth (@lauraneuzeth) on Mar 20, 2015 at 2:12pm PDT

I want to thank both the Flower Fields and Carlsbad Premium Outlets for an incredible day. I also want to thank Noelle for putting this all together and everyone who we talked to that day. If you live in San Diego, or plan to visit, I highly recommend checking out both locations.

Disclaimer: Bloggers were gifted a $100 gift card to the outlets, no other form of compensation will be received for the vlog or blog post.