our last day in cali started out quick. our flight out was in the early afternoon, so that left us with only a few hours to do a few things before we had to head out to the airport.
first things first: eating. we wanted to go to a place called tart, but in typical fashion, huy and tashina got there before us and said it was a two hour wait…whaaaaa?! no thank you! i really wanted to try tart but we did not have the time to wait around nor would we have if we even had the time!
so, huy and tashina had us meet them at king’s road cafe. it is a cozy little restaurant, not very big…what you see down below in the photos is what you get. our tables were right next to the kitchen counter, so not a lot of space! the coffee was strong and delicious. the food was good, typical breakfast fare. tashina and huy ordered and ate first because tashina needed to get to a dress fitting within the next hour. did i mention that she is a dress designer & stylist?! so ah-maze and talented! check out her website here. oh, and i’ve said it before…my brother is an accomplished and incredible photographer, so together they are quite the powerful, artsy, brilliant couple!
anyhoo, after brunch, tashina left and we met our brother at the LACMA. waaaayyy cool. thuy and lan actually went there the night before…when kim and i were pooped out and wanted to shower and go to bed {yeessssss, we were tired}. they took some pretty cool pictures that night…obvs, a light installation is much cooler in the dark!
[sneakers, flats, and taps oh my!]
i really wanted to see the rock. huy and tashina told us a story about the rock the night before at dinner. i was totally intrigued. how it took so much money {$10 million in total} to transport this rock to it’s home, they literally took apart signals, utility lines, and cables to allow this rock to be transported to the museum because it was so big {it took up three highway lanes}. bananas.
of course we took a gazillion pictures of the rock and then we walked around towards the light installation. as i said before, pictures at night would have been cooler but taking some in the daylight sufficed!
i am so glad we stopped by the LACMA…it was the perfect ‘last day’ destination. i had such a good time exploring some unique artwork. i love art! there is always something so dark, inquisitive, mysterious, thought provoking, enigmatic about the artwork you see. it makes you curious about the madness behind it. it makes you excited to see people’s creativity, vision, and the final product that they conceive.
[the 340 ton boulder | michael heizer’s levitated mass]
[ahhhhhh, green grass & the warm sun]
[light installation at LACMA]
[thuy hitting up the light installation the night before]
and that’s a wrap! we had the most wonderful time celebrating thuy’s birthday in L.A. it was a pretty awesome weekend! i am very thankful we also were able to spend it with my brother and tashina. they totally made our weekend fabulous {thanks to them for taking us around!}.
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.}.
the time had come to head out to l.a. we had booked this trip months ago and it came upon us in a blink of an eye.
i wasn’t ready. i hadn’t done much of anything to get ready. it was going to be a short trip {to celebrate my sister’s birthday!} over the weekend but i typically prepare, think about packing, and get random stuff {purchased} to go on vacation with but this time around i didn’t. i was having a little anxiety about leaving little miss olive. i knew i was going to miss her incredibly! nonetheless, i got myself ready {pedi and mani all set!}, packed my clothes, and went to bed. i was definitely ready for some warm weather, relaxation, and yummy eating to ensue!
we arrived in cali {golly, it felt like the longest flight evah?!}, rented our car, and skedaddled on our way to the beverly hilton hotel {thanks so much to thuy…she was the driver the whole time!}. we relaxed a bit before we headed out to the grove. we freshened up and went on our way. it was sooooo lovely out. the weather was fantastic. sunny and warm. ahhhhh. i was loving it!
we got to the grove and went straight to the farmer’s market! we were so hungry! we walked around to weigh our options and decided on some delicious gyros. i love the farmer’s market. it’s so quaint and fun. there are so many shops and tasty places to eat at. i also couldn’t get over the beautiful weather. i was in heaven sitting outside, all toasty, eating my food. after we noshed, we walked around a bit to get something sweet. i bought toffee for my dad {although we snuck in a few bites}, thuy and lan grabbed some doughnuts, and kim purchased a coffee. perfect.
[the ubiquitous cali shot]
[i always fancy pastries]
[the original farmer’s market // we are so into it…well, at least me!]
[yum]
[these toffee’s were divine!]
[of course i had to take a pic of bennett’s ice cream shop!]
after eating, we walked the grove. we stopped into a few shops…i needed to get a few errands done. it’s funny how i live at a mall at home but yet i never stay long enough to pick up anything that i need! i’d rather get home to my family than stay and shop. so, i took advantage of this moment to get some things i needed to get and get done.
[the grove: coffee and pastries will always do]
we shopped until huy and tashina arrived at the mall. we all met at morel’s for dinner. our usual stomping ground when in cali. it was soooo great to see them! i was excited to spend some time with them while we were here. we ordered up a storm, toasted to thuy, and drank our night away.
[face timing the boys at morel’s]
[cheers to being in l.a. for thuy’s birthday!]
[charcuterie plate]
[i wear my sunglasses at night…especially when i eat a burger]
[the gang]
[left only! directing traffic…]
our evening was short lived. although we were out until eleven o’clock {hey…that’s one o’clock chicago time!}. we were spent. traveling always takes a toll on you! we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.
it was a pretty good first day! we had a great time exploring the farmer’s market, getting around town, and eating a tasty dinner with our brother and tashina at morel’s! until tomorrow {next post 😉 }.
in lieu of our trip to l.a., i thought it was fitting to reminisce about our first trip together to the golden state. here, waaayyyyyy back in 2008 {don’t we look the same? or am i just being hopeful?!}, we are in california on our way to santa barbara. look at reagan, just look at the little dude. how cute is he?! omg…so stinkin’ adorbs. i love, love this picture of him…those cheeks, so chubby!
anyhoo, it was a total family trip. mom, dad, everyone. it was sure a cray trip all around. we were on our way up to the mission in santa barbara with my uncle khai and his husband don. my aunt and my brother huy were also with us {they live in cali and well as my uncle}, so it was quite the posse traveling together. you can only imagine the shenanigans that ensued with so many strong personalities together!
it was a great trip overall, we had a chance to check out a lot of fun areas in california. i loved so many places we visited. at the time, my brother huy lived right next to the grove and i loved their farmer’s market area. there were so many yummy food stands and it my first time trying the ‘hip’ pinkberry. according to my {hipster} brother, it was already passé. so, apparently i was behind on the popular trends {hello, i should have come out to california earlier!}. c’est la vie! regardless, i was in love. it was so yummy, sweet, and fresh! i chuckle when i think about that story. passé or not, i’m love what i love! 🙂
alright lovies, i wish warm weather upon everyone {soon!}! yes, truly with all this coldness all around us, we will be california dreaming! happy friday y’all!
here we are at my bachelorette fete. it was hosted by olivia, carol {who couldn’t make it}, and andrea, at andrea’s place in wicker park. it started out in the early evening at her place, everyone gathered there for apps {tasty bites prepared by olivia} and socializing. it was a breakfast at tiffany’s theme {i wasn’t aware of the theme until i got there! how cool}, so all the gals wore black dresses, pearls, and sunglasses…so fun! they even got me a tiffany’s blue box with a white ribbon cake {from alliance bakery}!! so sweet, literally!
carol had sent, from seattle, some cute photo booth props and we were having a grand ‘ol time with it! as you can see, thuy and i are loving it. we played around a bit with the fun props, snapping photos with our phones. but then andrea and olivia really surprised me with an impromptu photo session! they had hired a photographer to come in to do a mini ‘fashion’ shoot with everyone! that was so awesome {maybe a future flashback friday post?!}. the photos turned out fantastic and what an awesome way to capture a fun moment in my life!
anyhoo, i had the most amazing time at my bachelorette party! it was an evening full of wonderful friends, family, delicious food {yum, sea dog – my other favorite sushi place}, entertainment, hitting the bars, drag queens, and fun little games {it’s not complete without a panty guessing game!}! what a bachelorette party should be, celebrating the last few days of me being a single lady {yes, he put a ring on it}!
[i love this pic of me and thuy!]
i hope your weekend is filled with lots of hugs and kisses and love, lovies. happy friday y’all!
thuy and i decided to head over to our sister kim’s place to have dinner and finally give her the birthday gift we forgot to give her on her birthday 🙂 it was a bit of a cooler evening {signs of fall coming!}, we were on our way to their place and picked up some indian {yum} food along the way. i love naan. obsessed with naan. it’s so good!
once we got there, bennett and reagan were so excited olive was there. right away, bennett started to play with little olive. reagan was soon done with his bath and joined in on the fun. they are so cute together. i love watching them play together. they are so sweet and loving with her. it melts my heart and brings me such joy knowing that they get to grow up together.
we got down to eating. i was so hungry! there were so many delicious dishes to choose from, i nibbled a little bit of everything. then all my nibbling turned into a very full, overstuffed belly!
after dinner, i asked kim for a sippy cup with a straw. olive has never tried sipping from a straw. yes…it wasn’t at the top of my list of things for her to do. we started to give her water from a bottle several months ago, then we graduated into a sippy cup, but we have never tried a straw. success! she sipped with enough force to draw the water up from the cup!
[first time sipping from a straw!]
[she loves her sunnies {i wear my sunglasses at night} and her louis vuitton]
so, we got down to kim opening her gifts. of course the boys helped her! after kim finished up with her presents, she went into her room and came running out with a pair of shoes for olive. they were lovely, little straw sandals with pink flowers on top. we put them on olive and she was not fond of them!! all summer long, i have had her barefoot. she doesn’t walk and it was too warm for her to have anything on her feet. i found the idea of her having shoes to be wasteful. with that, she didn’t like them on her feet and she kept pulling on them to try to get them off her feet!
[birthday gifts]
[hmmmm, paper…i love paper]
[look ma! it’s louis!]
[like niece, like auntie]
[olive, do you like auntie kim’s bootie??]
[oh baby olive was gifted with shoes, from her auntie, as well!]
[olive standing up on her own!]
well, it was a very relaxing, very low key night with the fam. we had a great time just hanging out and reveling in baby olive’s antics, as usual!
we had made plans to celebrate it at summer house santa monica. thuy headed over to our house, then we were going to kim’s place {where lan was meeting all of us} and then we finally took off to the restaurant from there! phew!
we finally arrived at our destination, after a few loop holes in travel. it was bustling inside…it was a lovely, warm day to be out. we were seated right away and got down to chatting. our subjects were so various, a lot of funny topics were discussed! of course, if you get a bunch of ladies together, conversations can get real and hairy 😉
we perused the menu…everything looked delicious but cocktails were in order! kim asked for a mimosa, thuy ordered the cucumber cooler, and i requested the malibu cooler.
[summer house]
[malibu and cucumber cooler]
[birthday gal!]
[cheers to the birthday girl!]
the server suggested for us to order the calamari as an appetizer, she swore it was fantastic. we were sold! out came the dish and is was deeeelicious! we noshed it down. we probably could have eaten two plates of that…so tasty!
we then put in our order, i wanted the egg sandwich with bacon. mmmmm {super healthy}. when my entree came, it came with a salad. helloooo. salad?? no thank you. i had asked for fries. yum yum. the server apologized and brought out a huge plate of fries…score!
[amaze spicy calamari]
[my egg sandwich]
after lunch, we walked around for a bit on armitage and then decided to hit downtown instead. thuy so graciously drove that day, so dt we went. we parked in our usual spot {bloomies} and started shopping. we hit our typical stores and did a lot of perusing. it was a perfect day to be out and about town.
[cruising armitage]
[the barbour store]
[starbucks stop]
[chilling]
after mucho looking around, we were tired {ha! at least i was!}! it was time to go home. it was a fantastic day of great food, celebrating kim, shopping, and relaxing.
happy birthday day to my dear sister kim. i couldn’t be happier to celebrate the day your beautiful self came into this world! cheers to mom and dad creating you!
we crossed off two summer to do’s on our list! we attended a concert in the park and then some.
we met up with my famille in downtown hinsdale. it was a beautiful evening. hc and i parked up the street, south of the tracks, and walked our way towards the park. it was a lovely, leisurely, short stroll. there was a band playing there called 7th heaven. apparently, way, way, way back in the days, they were an opening band for bon jovi.
my sister had already popped a squat by the fountain and we made our way back there. everyone started to gather within the hour. terry came by, then mike and sam, thuy, then helen and gabrielle! we mingled around a bit; the boys eventually went towards the booze and food area to grab us some grub and drinks.
[seventh heaven was the band]
olive was out. she fell asleep in the car {she was a tired little peanut…she didn’t have much of any naps that day} and was zonked out with all the craziness and noise around her. she finally awoke an hour later and everyone got a chance to dote on her!
[baby girl fell asleep and slept through all the noise]
we were relaxing, enjoying our surroundings, and reveling in the wonderful weather and temps. then it was time for me to break out some bubbly {uh, no, not that kind of bubbly!}! the boys were so excited! they went nutty over the bubble guns and so did the kids around them. they were like pied pipers with these bubble machines! wherever they were, the kids followed and surrounded them to break all the bubbles and break out in sweet giggles!
[sisters, olive, and helen]
[we were watching the train roll by as we were leaving the park]
it was getting late {late by baby standards} and we had to go. it’s always this: leave early, get olive home, give her a bath, feed her, and put her down…all by 9pm, every night.
we walked our way back to the car {such a beautiful night!} and as we were crossing the tracks, a freight train rolled by! we stopped to watch the train go by…olive wasn’t very impressed. so move along we did. we got home, scurried around, and everyone got settled and snuggled in.
it was another fabulous summer evening with friends and family! yay to warm weather! we love you!
we did it again! this time with the legos movie. annndddd it was actually bennett’s birthday!
we gathered on the green to hang out, ‘watch’ the movie, and eat some food. kim’s friend, helen, came along with her family…gabrielle, sam, and her husband mike! so it was a picnic party in full swing!
[my chunker]
[tete a la tete]
[mimicking]
[awww, so cute]
hc ran to macy’s and picked us up some grub. it was actually quite delicious. he had picked out salmon, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, and carrots. i wolfed my meal down…i was so hungry! we were chatting it up, we ate, and we all played with miss olive while we hung out. helen was loving olive! i must say…she is quite the doll! gosh, i love her too! 😉
[a really good meal from macy’s]
[she wears short shorts]
[feeding miss olive some fruit]
since it was bennett’s birthday, i had purchased cupcakes so we could celebrate! i brought plates, flatware, napkins, and a candle. yes, i was going to light a fire right on the grass. hey, it was his birthday, and birthday cupcakes and the birthday boy deserved a lit candle!
bennett picked out his cupcake {chocolate}, i lit the candle and he made a wish! perfect! i passed out the cupcakes and plates…they were a success {yum, yum}. perfectly sweet and delicious. we devoured our cakes and continued to have a swell time together.
[happy birthday bennett! make a wish]
after the cupcakes, the kids and boys ran amuck within the mall. the kids wanted to play at the fountain and go to the microsoft store, while the boys went into the tesla dealership. oh boy…hc came back with a plethora of information around the cars…he droned on and on about it but it was actually quite interesting and informative learning about these cars!
once the movie was over, we gathered our belongings and headed home. it was another wonderful night with movies on the green and celebrating mr. bennett’s birthday! yay!
my sisters and i attended a breast cancer charity event downtown; to raise awareness, raise money, and get a chance to get a fresh mini manicure! we all met at the event, i got there a little bit after them, but nonetheless, i arrived just in time for all the fun!
they were offering mini manicures, complimentary pink signature drinks, and raffles for some great prizes. we sipped our cocktails, socialized, people watched, and had a really goofy time. we were also there with my sister’s friend christine, an awesome lady who’s a ball of fun. she’s such a great gal, super cool and cute. a blast to hang out with!
as we were hanging out, they had hired a dj for the event. as he was talking over the speakers, my sisters and i were like, he sounds soooo familiar! we wondered if it was julian, we obviously recognized his voice but none of us knew what he looked like! we walked over to him and asked if he was julian on the radio from b96?? yessss, he was! he was a riot, we took a whole bunch of photos with him and joked around non stop with the man, having a fabulous time. it was crazy. that was definitely the highlight of the evening…we had a blast hanging out with him!
after the event, my sisters and i grabbed some grub at the restaurant next door {not memorable…as you can see, i can’t even remember what it was called}. it was a great evening with family and a friend 😉 it’s always enjoyable to support a great cause with great entertainment! cancer is no one’s friend and i will do anything to help our fight against it! here’s to finding a cure for cancer!!!
