west LA (+) baby

I am always left to wonder where to begin after weekends like this. This weekend was hands down one of my most favorite 4ths - adventuring and spending quality time with my boy. Only thing that could have made it better was having family with us. Our time together flew and was over in a blink. Hard to believe how much we did in so little time or how much coffee and food we consumed (but let's be real, you can never have too much coffee). I am going to try and recap our weekend to the best of my ability but I am forgetful so here is my attempt (forgive me, J).  

Night 1 - Our first night together was the most laid back of the three. We had zero plans and decided to explore the city a bit. Our little place sat cozied centered between Venice Beach and Santa Monica. We spent the evening walking, talking, catching up (one month is too long) along Main Street in Santa Monica. We ate dinner at the first Mexican restaurant we stumbled upon called, Lula. Fajitas, enchiladas, beer, margaritas accompanied with chips in profusion? Just what the doctor ordered after J's long haul. After we wrapped dinner up, we continued to walk. No stores were open so it was peaceful with little foot traffic. For this reason, Main Street ended up being a fav of mine and J's. Craving coffee per usual, I googled coffee (not much was open at 10:00 pm) but I found what looked to be a cute little cafe and we preceded to walk 1.2 miles to get my fix. It was actually a tiny little diner and you had to ask for a coffee menu.

Day 1 - Day one meant go time. Some may have looked at my mental plans and said I was insane. They may have been slightly over ambitious, however, we managed to check multiple places off the list. We began our day at Urth Caffe and seriously we were lucky to miss rush hour. We waited in a short line, but by the time we were finished the line was out the door and wrapped around the side walk. 

I have to say, this place is hyped up... we weren't too impressed. After hearing about the Caffe Bebero I had to give it a try and I will leave it at - not a fan. 

After Urth, we made our way down to 3rd Street Promenade to shop and walk. The Promenade is a mixture of a more intimate downtown feel with big city shopping. Shopping is always a great way to kill time, right? Best buy was our Dodger baseball hats for the game. #tourists 

After the Promenade, I was dying to show John the Santa Monica boardwalk. Not really, but he wanted to see it and it is certainly a sight - topnotch people watching. 

After all that walking we were parched and anything cold sounded heavenly. We ended up heading back to Venice and took a friendly recommendation from our AirBnb host to try Moon Juice. Love this place - so petite and everything is actually super fresh. Before John was convinced to try a Moon Milk dubbed "Date Shake" (which they recommended when John mentioned he was an athlete), the guy helping us ran to the back to get John a fresh date to try. He was sold and his shake was bomb. My California Sun juice was just as bomb. 

After packing quite a bit into the morning, we decided to head back and get ready for the game. We lyfted to the bottom of the stadium and after some aimless wandering we found The Park. I'm not sure why we didn't try a Dodger dog but I guess that gives us an excuse to go back. The Park Restaurant was a petite restaurant in walking distance from the field. The burgers + fries? So good. I'm not typically a fry girl unless we are talking sweet potatoes but they were so good.

My dude. Love him. 

Even though we lost to the Mets, babe got to see Kershaw and that sky over Dodger Stadium. #success

Day 2 - More adventures! Yippee. Love looking back at these pictures.

So let's talk Flake. My goodness, so tasty. Anytime the menu is starred, highlighted, or bolded my eyes and stomach typically follow. These guys are known for the Super Cro-Jo, so J and I were super down. So much gouda and amazing fluffy croissant. Simply a must. 

We made our way down to Venice Beach - finally. Ironic that this was one of our last stops considering it is where we stayed. Anyways, eccentric group of people down at the beach made for great people watching. 

Perfect weather for a smoothie fix and also when does one deny a smoothie? Never. Strawberry banana and piña colada pineapple. Nom. Nom.

It was Rose's birthday... always thinking of and missing my nugget. John missed his girl too. 

Pre-gaming dinner is what we do best. We tried a local pub called the Library Ale House after this and also hit up a dive so J could try a street taco. #california 

Abbott Kinney for dinner. We were both dying to walk this strip and it lived up to my expectations. My kind of stores (Rag & Bone, Warby Parker, Junk Food) and amazing food and coffee every few steps. 

Our special 4th dinner at Gjelina was perfection - ricotta gnocchi and braised pork meatballs. Also the Midday cocktail was the perfect combination of citrus with a hint of sweet. #HighleyRecommend this place. Also the entire front of the restaurant is glass and we could see that fireworks while we ate so that is pretty awesome.

 

Final stop on the 4th was coffee... DUH, at the one and only Intelligentsia. By far my favorite coffee of this trip. The atmosphere and people are great. They specialize in vintage German roasting and the espresso is out of this world. Loved this place so much I was tempted to buy myself some gear. Typically I am not one for promoting places via clothing but I certainly would for them.

Finally our last morning together - so sad. But this weekend was incredible so I can't really mourn.

Breakfast at the French Market Cafe. This gem was at the furthest end of the Abbott Kinney strip, but I am so glad we found this rarity. You order inside amidst a market of French foods and then sit outside while being serenaded by a Parisian vocalist. #feelslikefrance 

John and I both loved the flagship Toms store which was complete with it's own in house coffee shop. The ambience was worldly and warm. He wants those glasses - looking retro, babe. 

So grateful for our time together because it is scarce. More adventures to add to the books. I'll be seeing you, J. xo

summer must-haves

In lieu of immediately posting my adventures from this 4th, I have decided to write about some of my summer must-haves. My "must-haves" frequently change due to residing in the midwest (4 seasons call for differing necessities). Anyways - for now, living in Southern California for the summer, these are my favorites.

1. R&B Hair Moisturizer from Lush - So I have fly aways - always have, most likely always will and I can never seem to find a product to tame them. I shower at night mostly because I prefer to let my hair air dry. Therefore, it doesn't work for me to put a product in my hair in the morning that requires my hair to be wet. That eliminates a lump sum of products that ACTUALLY work to tame fly aways. I found this product during the school year and have been hooked. Aside from the fly aways, my hair tends to get dry depending on the weather, minerals in the water, and from styling. Not only do I wake up with silky tresses, but fly aways are no longer an issue. Also the smell is something out of a dream. I lay in bed smelling my hair, it's THAT good. I use a pea size amount and work it into my wet hair starting about halfway down to the ends. Whatever is left I use on the top of my head.

2. c. Booth 4-in-1 Multi-Action Body Lotion - Daily moisturizer is always a necessity but my moisturizers definitely change with the seasons. Being in California, I don't need something quite as heavy duty as I would during a typical Michigan winter. However, I have found that most standard drugstore moisturizers actually dry my skin out more. Weird, I know... anyways this product works amazingly and again, the smell. If you are trying this product you must get the Brazil Nut Rum scent. My best friend's dog licks my legs every time she sees me (I smell like dessert) and my friend has admitted to wanting to eat the lotion... so good.

3. Le Mer 'The Cleansing Gel' - Finally, my favorite product. I understand if you want to stop reading because, La Mer, la ching, however, this product is exceptional for anyone with sensitive skin. I am a freak about trying new products because my skin is so sensitive. Seriously, I try a new product and BAM, the next day I have a rash. The last time I was in Nordstrom I was looking for a new daily face wash product and they told me to try the cleansing gel and see how my face would react. My face loves this gel, obviously has expensive taste, but hey my skin is something I am willing to splurge on.