When I found out I’d be going to Los Angeles in January I couldn’t be happier. New York is an incredible place to live but it can be incredible to leave it for a few days, especially in the winter ❄️and head towards the sunshine ☀️. I was initially supposed to go to LA for the first weekend of January but a huge snow storm came though and foiled our plans. So we went on the last weekend of the month just before I headed to Finland. I was there to work on an exciting project with Wella (see more on my Insta) but for this post I want to focus on a few of my favorite things I did (and wore) while I was on the West Coast.
When I travel to a new place I always research on Instagram for places to take great photos. The famous ‘Venice’ Sign was certainly on my list! {some photos here & here I saved before taking mine} I use the Instagram ‘collections’ tool to save locations in different folders so I have photo references before heading to a new city. I wanted to create a look that was whimsical with sweet pink tones so I paired this pink off-the-shoulder top with one of my favorite skirts with a cosmic/astrological pattern. We went to the location around 10a on a Thursday morning and were able to get a photos with no one in the background pretty easily! If you’d like to see exactly how I edited this photo head on over to my Instagram Story highlights and click on ‘Photo Tips”
One thing I always love to do in LA is head to the beach and walk along the Santa Monica Pier. We used to go here from time to time when I was a kid and it really is an adorable place. It has a similar vibe to Coney Island with amusement park games and rides (we went on the West Coaster twice!) When I travel I pack a few different outfits in a backpack so I can maximize the number of photos and this one was packed and ready to go! These jeans are seriously my favorite jeans on earth – I already bought a second ‘back-up’ pair because I’m always scared a brand will change the cut or stop carrying them completely or I’ll rip the crotch LOL. Anywho, this was probably my most practical outfit since it wasn’t as warm as I had packed for (I packed for 80 degrees and most days it was between 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit) and definitely a comfy one for cruising along the water on an electric scooter (have y’all ever ridden on a BIRD? it’s a electric scooter sharing program and it’s fun fun fun)
Ok so it probably wasn’t really warm enough to be parading around in my swimmie but I was in LA and you couldn’t stop me. The people on the beach were in hoodies and jeans giggling at me taking photos in my two-piece but I was just shaking off the haters. Also the shaking/dancing to keep myself warm. I love this swimsuit – I wore it in Miami over the summer {photo here} and it’s just too cute.
I’m seriously obsessed with this swimsuit style – triangle tops with high waisted bottoms. You guys have probably noticed. This photo we snapped at our hotel, The Viceroy which is super cute. We were initially going to stay at Shutter’s on the Beach which is super upscale but we decided it was better to stay at the Viceroy to save a bit and the hotel is really great albeit less fancy pants than Shutters. This photo you can see my pink hair! I spent a super fun day shooting a video for Wella with their master colorist Sonya Dove to share their new Color Creators product. I love the result. It’s a semipermanent color so I won’t have it forever but it’s super cute for a few weeks.
Here’s another favorite photo of mine from the Santa Monica beach. I’m seriously obsessed with the Realisation Par dresses. They’re expensive but they pack like a dream! They seriously take up almost no space in your suitcase. And they are just flowy and lovely. I already have maybe 5 or 6 of them (apologies to my credit card). This is actually the dress Noelle got engaged in 💍{photo here} (I lent it to her when we were in Paris because her suitcase never left JFK – long story!) I also wore it here & here. So I consider it a very lucky dress. Taking the photo on the lifeguard stand was NO EASY TASK. The wind was blowing out of control and even though in this photo it might seem like the perfect windblown look in most of the other photos I was just eating my hair as it whipped across my face. As for the pic on the swings that was a spontaneous choice when I saw them. Initially I just wanted a snap for my Instagram story but I love the childlike joy in this photo!
Every time I go to LA the first thing on my brain is TACOS. Well, all the food really. But especially tacos and guacamole. We had a funny happy hour before dinner one night where we went to Blue Plate Taco which was right by our hotel in Santa Monica. We ate chips, guac and all the fixings. When I say happy hour it was more of a pre-dinner dinner. Or maybe just 1/2 dinners. Look we love food!! For my outfit I’m wearing a black wrap dress & silk kimono from Aritzia (both which are sold out) so really this photo is just about the importance of guacamole in all our lives.
Speaking of GREAT food, on our last day we decided to have a double brunch. Meaning we ate brunch twice. See above wherein we love food. This place was just steps from out hotel and we’d heard so many good things about it so we really wanted to check it out before heading back to NYC. It’s called Cha Cha Chicken. They have awesome Caribbean food like jerk chicken and chilaquiles. The place is open air with a relaxed vibe that I loved. Maybe my favorite thing was the delicious watermelon aqua fresca – I’m such a sucker for anything with watermelon! This photo makes me laugh because the guys in the back were cracking jokes while I took it – you can see them if you look closely. As for the outfit I love this easy little sundress from Asos. It reminds me of the episode of Sex and the City where Carrie dressed up as a candy striper nurse for Big. But it’s perfect for warm days, super easy to wear and mad comfy.
Of everything I bought for trip from Asos I think this top is my favorite. It’s just one of those pieces you can just throw on with a pair of jeans and feeling amazing. It’s not tight it just flows perfectly and makes you look like a cool chick. I wore it with my beloved jeans I mentioned earlier with comfy white sneakers & bright red lipstick 💋
My little yellow dress is my secret weapon for looking fab! I love this one from Realisation Par (I know, I know I’m a broken record) But there’s just something so special about this one. From the bright color to the subtle sunflower design to the flirty little bell sleeves. It’s truly one of my favorites. I’ve already worn it to a wedding, a business conference and a car show. So it’s certainly versatile. I wore it for the day I went to the LACMA (Los Angeles Museum of Art) famous for it’s light posts out front that launched a million Instagrams and for drinks with my blogger friend Courtney. If you guys are not following Courtney aka Pretty Little Fawn, do yourselves a little favor and go follow her on Instagram now! We had so much fun sipping tea and eating croissants and fruit tartes at this little French bakery called La Tropézienne then we headed for some real drinks at this wild bar called Davey Wayne’s. To get there you literally enter through a refrigerator door into what appears to be the set of the Brady Brunch. It’s one of the coolest bars I’ve been to but we did go early to take advantage of the Happy Hour. Courtney said it gets wild later at night. But overall one of my favorite days in LA.
Outfit // swimsuit less than $40
This photo was literally taken maybe an hour or two before we headed to the airport but I couldn’t help getting my toes in the sand one last time (and you know that swimsuit photo for the ‘gram) I’ve never worn a suit with such a high cut on the legs but I was kind of digging it. There was a surf class right behind us when we were taking this photo and they must have thought we were so extra. But all I could think about was the episode of Girls where Lena Dunham’s character didn’t wear a swimsuit under her wetsuit and I kept laughing about it all day. If you’re feel like showing off some serious leg (and ass) grab this swimsuit from Asos before it sells out but SIZE UP it runs really small. I got the US 6 and I heard some seams cracking when I pulled it on. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Hope you guys liked this LA recap! Leave me a comment below if y’all have other posts you’d love to see here on the blog!
