on our second day {the temperature was puurrrrrfect}, the sun was shining and i couldn’t wait to let it hit my skin {spf anyone?}! we got ready and headed out to our first destination of the day – bottega louie.
oh em gee. i was in heaven. i love, love this place. it encompassed everything i love: white, light, delicious food, coffee, ambience, interior design, pastries, gifts, candies, cakes, and macarons. beautiful, colorful, tasty, perfectly made macarons.
my sister kim had found this place and put it on our list of things to do. we arrived early and there wasn’t a wait. i couldn’t get past the first few feet, running directly into the macaron cases! they were being seated and i was still straggling around in the front.
[beverly hilton hotel]
[ready to parrrtayyy!]
[we found olive’s street!]
[diiiiirty sidewalk. ew.]
[almost there! eeekkkk!]
[so excited…the pastry cases alone had me in heaven!]
[auhhhhhhhhh! nom nom]
[beignet appetizer with a raspberry compote]
we sat down and ordered the beignets as an appetizer. i die. i ordered, as usual, an orange/grapefruit juice mix and a decaf americano. for my breakfast, i selected the belgium waffles and a side of bacon. natch. it was all soooo good. i loved the scene, the food, and the company.
after we ate, i went up to the cases of pastries to purchase a selection of macarons. i bought the birthday girl a box of pistachios and then myself, a mix of flavors to take home. i wanted to buy so much but i always have to calm myself down and get real. one person can’t eat two dozen macarons in a few days {well, to keep this figure, one can’t do that!}.
[belgium waffles, seasonal berries, chantilly cream {vanilla bean: i die}, and vermont maple syrup]
[i wanted one of everything]
[decisions, decisions, decisions]
[strawberry, raspberry, lemon, espresso, and vanilla bean]
after brunch, we met up with huy and tashina and they walked us around downtown L.A. i had the best time. there was so much to do and look at. the first place we hit was the bench from the movie, 500 days of summer. it was fenced off {no trespassing!} but that doesn’t stop us. at least not me. i’m such a rule breaker {or very antiauthority…it does get me in trouble sometimes}, so naturally, i jumped the fence. what?! the worst anyone could do…tell me not to be in there? well, i was willing to face that. it was fantastic. we snapped some great photos! i loved every moment of it!
[whaaaa? you can never have too many designer purses on at once!]
after we visited the bench, we walked around the area. we stopped by a pretty water court, made a pit stop at MOCA {bought some great gifts for olive and the boys}, and spun by the disney concert hall. we snapped fun pics all along the way!
[water court downtown L.A.]
[frank gehry]
[i love simple|cute|fun packaging]
i had to stop by the car {for a mommy pit stop} while the group hit up the bradbury building {a cool, antique space}. after visiting the building, they went into the grand central market. i met everyone there, it was sooo busy and crazy inside. we walked around for a bit, exploring before we narrowed it down to what we wanted to get. lan, thuy and i decided to get ice-cream {from mcconnell’s} while kim got tacos.
decadent. the ice cream was so smooth and creamy. it was filling and sweet! we sat around outside while we ate our food, enjoying the beautiful weather. ahhhhh, i can’t wait for summer in chi town!
[grand central market]
[wexler’s deli]
[mcconnell’s icecream]
after our escapade downtown, huy took us to the area where he usually bikes {up a mountain}. it was a crazy route there. we were on our way to the griffith park observatory but before we got there, we made a stop at a coffee shop. huy stated that we would totally love the quaint little coffee shop and he was right. yes…this is where we were shoulder to shoulder with beyoncé, solange, and little blue ivy. can you believe it?! as tashina put it, it was like finding a unicorn! yes it was!
they were with two other friends and their kids. i was standing right next to solange. i kept thinking to myself…wow, do i know her? why does this girl look so familiar?? duh! by the time i realized it was them, they were already walking down the path to the street! boo! i can’t believe i missed the photo op! after we got our coffee and hung out a bit at the coffee shop, we walked back to the car. this is where i realized they were still hanging out around the area! i was able to snap a few photos from afar but hey, it’s better than nothing!
[the trails…the infamous spotting of beyonce and solange!]
we drove another two miles to our next destination…it was cuckoo. the road was so tight and it was cray crowded but we finally made it to the griffith park observatory! the views were ah-mazing! now, i am scared of heights and being so high up freaked the sh*t out of me but it was so worth it. we nabbed some awesome photos, created some great memories, and checked another awesome view off our list!
we then headed back down and hit up another shopping center! glendale galleria and americana way. it was like a mini vegas. seriously. it felt like i was in vegas with the way they had built the buildings, all the lights shining all around us, and how crowded it was.
[griffith park observatory]
[our view of downtown L.A. from the griffith park observatory]
[deluca’s italian deli at americana way]
we stopped for a snack before we headed out to dinner. yes, we did eat before we ate. hehe. anyhoo, we explored the malls for a bit and finally headed out to our final destination: the boiling crab. huy and tashina got there first and text us that the wait was two hours and forty-five minutes?!!!!! wtf. no thank you! they then suggested a place across the street called banh mi cali. yes, please. we were sooo in the mood to eat pho and bun bo. it totally hit the spot. no wait, delicious phood 😉 , and it was $5 and change a bowl. woot woot.
[pho at banh mi che cali]
that was our last stop of the day. phew!!! what a whirlwind day. we squeezed in so much and it was perfect. i had the most wonderful day with my sisters, brother, and friends. we visited so many awesome places and i was a happy camper {well, i don’t camp and if i was camping, i probs wouldn’t be happy…so, maybe i should really say happy as a clam but are clams really happy??…okay, okay…i’ll stop analyzing now.}.
xoxo
