Billy and I traveled to the west coast last Thursday to spend a 4-day weekend in Los Angeles to celebrate his birthday. we spent time with his little sister who lives there, and had the chance to see several friends as well. we stayed in Santa Monica for the first two nights and Venice for the last two. I love both for different reasons!
Santa Monica:
my main man.
Venice Beach:
a long drive down the Pacific Coast Hwy with a stop at Billy’s favorite beach:
Mulholland Drive scenic lookout:
lots of LIFE in Los Angeles. simply put: I love it there.
our tiny rent car – a Fiat. so much fun to zip around town.
some dining highlights:
True Food Kitchen – I could eat here everyday!
Urth Caffé (Venice)
Mercado and The Misfit (both Santa Monica)
The Tasting Kitchen (Abbot Kinney) and Plate (Malibu)
we also enjoyed breakfast with a friend at Kreation Kafe, a brunch with another couple and their adorable baby at Blu Jam Café, and takeout from Abbot’s Pizza Co.
I recommend each of the restaurants that I linked to in this post – every meal we had was 100% fresh, delicious, and satisfying.
last stop for one of my favorite treats – the I Am Mighty Superfood Energy Bar from Café Gratitude – hemp seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, goji berries, coconut butter, cacao butter, cacao nibs, & vanilla beans dipped in chocolate. bad airplane photo, but you get the drift.
it was nice to escape the winter weather in NYC and spend time in sunny LA. I love so much about each of these cities, but LA is more of a longterm fit for us. as for now, we’re back in NYC and loving our life here in fabulous Manhattan. my focus for the end of winter/beginning of spring is to be as present as I possibly can everyday in every way. rather than getting ahead of myself with plans for the future, I’m going to dig in to right here, right now and make it count.
have you spent time in NYC? in LA? what do you love about these cities?
I love LA, and have not been there in too long! Please give me a reason to visit – I want to go to each of those restaurants with you… <3
you know I thought about you when I was eating that salad with marcona almonds! if you don’t make it to NYC before we move, let’s rendezvous on the west coast, my dear! xo
Beautiful pictures! I’m actually going to LA at the end of April. Staying in Long Beach. Any tips, places I must visit??
Long Beach is about 30 miles south of Santa Monica and Venice so I don’t know much about it! LA is so big – something I realized this trip since we drove around a lot…but never made it to Long Beach. I know you’ll have an amazing time no matter what!
I have spent a very limited amount of time in L.A. but I really enjoyed my time there. It was surprising to me, too, because I love the walkability of New York so much. I hope to return some day to explore more of their healthy food scene. I also love the hiking options which offer a whole different kind of beauty than that found in the Northeast.
love the healthy dining and hiking! some of the reasons I’m excited to move there. LA is definitely a driving city, but if you live in an area like Santa Monica, you can walk to Whole Foods, restaurants, shopping, etc.
Dig right here, right now. I SO need this right now, so so SO need!! Thank you for the reminder! AND your trip looks perfect and SO ‘Bird and Bee’ – in every way. I LOVE how you two travel, I love how you embrace, take in, and just BE when you travel. These pics are gorgeous, too, I hope you frame some
I was going to email you today about your latest blog post! I really understand limiting some of the things that I share here on the blog. Sometimes I want to spew it all out, and then I realize it’s important to keep some things between me and B.
Oh my gosh, GORGEOUS pics!! Looks like a fabulous time. LA is totally on my travel bucket list!! AND I love your focus on being present in the here and now vs. ‘can’t waiting’ for the future…a habit I find myself falling into more often than I’d like to. So I’m going to take your lead and focus on the present, which is pretty darn good I must say.
let’s do it together! I am a future thinker and Billy is a here and now, so at least we balance each other out a bit. I’m planning to see you BEFORE we move west, but of course would then love to have you visit LA once we’re there. so if you could just plan your travel around me and my moving schedule that would be great!
xo
well…. i know we’ll be out there soon to visit. Planning on it. With YOU!
what a perfect photo-getaway on a rainy afternoon
glad you two had such a good time! I read a feature on True Food Kitchen & can’t wait to try it sometime!
I LOVED going through your pictures on instagram! It looked like such a magical trip. I’ve been to NY and love it. I really want to go to LA sometime though. I bet it was a nice break. Happy birthday to your man!