Our Trip to LA LA Land

I recently took my daughters on a cross-country trip to LA. It was something I had been planning for a long time as a surprise…just us girls. It was such an incredible trip in so many ways!! First of all, LA has the best weather…duh. It’s absolutely perfect. Coolish in the mornings and at night so you can wear a sweater, warm during the day for sandals and shorts. I could seriously live in that temperature every day of my life. Secondly, LA is a city with mountains! We loved taking hikes, especially because there was always a reward at the top. The views were breathtaking. Thirdly, LA has the BEST FOOD! One of my daughters has all these allergies, but it was no problem in LA. They always had vegan options or almond milk. WE LOVE CALIFORNIA!! Here are some of our fave places that we visited.

Runyon Canyon for a hike. Steep climb but so worth it. This was my girls’ favorite hike because you could see the Hollywood sign in the distance. I love this shot of my middle with her phone…sort of epitomizes her phase in life. Those two are attached at the hip. Literally.

Novel Café in Westwood. We loved this spot to eat. We sat upstairs where they have a library and found a book on limericks (which turned out to be useful because making up limericks is a perfect pastime while sitting in LA traffic. Grrr.)

El Matador beach in Malibu. Our favorite beach by far, wished the whole time that the boys could be with us.

Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place. Best iced coffee and blueberry muffins ever! And they sell jam and chocolate made in LA.

Universal Studios tour. Seriously cool…especially driving by The Voice sound stage!!

The Santa Monica pier. We loved the view from the ferris wheel, and riding bikes along the pier to Venice Beach was SUPER fun. We stopped and ate at The Figtree Cafe…yummy and great people watching.

Urbanic on Abbot Kinney. The hippest shopping area down in Venice, and the most beautiful paper store where we bought our one piece of LA art.

Inspiration Loop was a really great hike at Roy Rogers State Park. It was a bit cooler and cloudy that day which was actually perfect hiking weather…and nobody was on the trail. It was incredibly peaceful, just the three of us. The view of LA spanned all the way to the Pacific. Even in the haze it was gorgeous.

The Getty Museum was just stunning. We napped and ate on the lawn, saw Jackson Pollock and Ansel Adams, and gazed at the beautiful architecture. Worth the drive.

I had a very exciting date with Meri from Meri Cherry and Ana from Babble Dabble Do, two fellow bloggers whom I had never met (but we share a Pinterest board called Rockin’ Art Moms). It was soooo much fun meeting face to face! We gabbed for hours. Insta-friends. Then the next day, our last and most favorite day of all, we went to Meri’s house and met her two beautiful little girls. Our families immediately clicked and it was like being with old friends… so cool when that happens. Meri has art playgroups at her house every Friday. Picture lots of babies and toddlers painting, splashing, licking (Meri’s paint was made from yogurt!), and just generally having the most amazing, messy, tactile experience of their lives. It was ridiculous! We loved every minute.

This last shot is the view from our hotel in Universal City. The  mountains! I wish I could wake up to this view every day.

We left LA with lots of new clothes (thanks to a shopping spree at The Grove), dirt filled sneakers, many miles clocked in the car, three new friends for life, and a profound need to return to California some day. Next time we will go as a whole family.

What’s your favorite spot in LA?

xo Bar