Los Angeles

Los Angeles has been on my travel wishlist forever and I'm so happy I've finally experienced it for myself.  While it's not for everyone and I've heard many different opinions on LA, I truly loved the hustle and energy of the city. People were much friendlier than I'd expected and excited to make a connection, and that was a big thing that stood out to me! 

During our three days spent in LA, I  got to attend some work events, which was special for me because living in Indiana and being a content creator, there are rarely any events or happenings in my neck of the woods. The first meeting I had was with Milk Makeup at their office in Milk Studios, where I got to get a tour of the production building and made connections with two wonderful brand reps. I also got to meet some girls from my management agency in person for the first time, as this was something our manager set up for all of us! That same evening, Donavan and I attended an event hosted by Deva Curls, which was a brand I recently discovered and loved learning more about. 

Our original plan for this trip was to spend half of our time in LA and the other half in San Diego, but when it got closer to time, we decided we needed more time in LA, especially since I had work events come up. However, our return flight to Indiana was from the San Diego airport, so went spent our last day driving down the PCH to San Diego, which was a fun experience in itself, and even had time to stop in Newport Beach in the afternoon. So while most of my recommendations in this post are for LA, I didn’t want to leave out other great places we experienced during our drive down the coast. 

It's no secret I love to shop, so most of these recommendations are different areas to do just that. In big cities like New York or LA, they have a lot of flagship stores of companies you otherwise only see online, so I especially love to check those out too! Here are some options based on what part of the city you're in. 

The Grove in La Brea, 189 The Grove Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90036

The Grove is an outdoor mall in the heart of Hollywood. They have your classic big retailers such as Zara, Aritzia, GAP, Backcountry, Nordstrom, Alo, Lululemon, + more! Those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but it's a big mall. If you're a SKIMS fan like myself, go into Nordstrom and check out the SKIMS pop-up inside!

Abbott Kinney in Venice Beach

This was probably my favorite area that we shopped in! This boulevard was lined with smaller brands that you don't see at most malls such as Frankie's Bikinis, Everlane, Away, Credo, and also some bigger companies such as Madewell, J.Crew, and Adidas. A great place to get a variety of products and price points. 

Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, 1351 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Located in downtown Santa Monica, this is another great option for more of your big retailers, similar to the ones in The Grove. 

Thrifting in Silver Lake

If you're more into thrifting, Silver Lake has a lot of vintage/thrift shops. I only went into one (American Vintage) because we were crunched for time, but if you look on the map in that area, you'll find a bunch to check out!

Drive up to Malibu/Beaches

One thing you must do, especially if it's your first time in LA like it was for me, is drive along the Pacific Coast Highway either North or South depending on which end of LA you start at. For us, we started the day in Venice Beach and eventually ended up in Malibu to watch the sunset in the evening. You could elevate the experience by getting takeout and a bottle of wine and have a cute little sunset picnic! Either way, you must drive along the coast and see the view and stop anywhere along it to get to the beach. 

Coffee/Breakfast

Joan's on Third, 8350 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048

A cafe that serves coffee, breakfast, and lunch, and also doubles as a specialty marketplace. We both got the fried chicken sandwich, iced lattes, and one lemonade to share because I'd heard good things about it, and it lived up to its hype. The place itself was really cute and casual, and relatively affordable!

Verve Coffee Roasters, 451B Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Another great coffee shop that we went to in Manhattan beach, but they have a few locations around LA!

Food

La Poubelle Bistro & Bar, 5907 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Our friends that we stayed with took us to this French bistro which is a spot they frequently regular, and I loved it! If you go between 5:30-7:30 they have a happy hour menu for both food and drinks, so you can get more food and drinks for a cheaper price! 

SUGARFISH

A little backstory for you: SUGARFISH is owned by a restaurant group called Sushi Nowaza Group, which was started by Japanese chef  Kazunori Nowaza. The group also owns Kazunori and Nowaza Bar, which all serve Nowaza-style sushi - sushi at its very best. I first discovered Nowaza sushi when I went to Kazunori in NYC last year, which is a restaurant that only serves hand rolls, and I'd never had such high-quality sushi in my life. They have a KazuNori in LA, but SUGARFISH has more than just hand rolls, including nigiri and sashimi, so we wanted to try out a different version of this chef's vision. Donavan and I each got the "Trust Me" tasting menu, which is what SUGARFISH is most known for, but you can also order a la carte. The quality of the seafood is really hard to beat, and I'd recommend trying out any of these restaurants when you get the chance! They have locations all over LA.

Erewhon

This is the most basic recommendation I can give you, but it's too good to leave out of this list. If you're unfamiliar with Erewhon, it's a very expensive, high-quality grocery store in LA that is focused on health and wellness - think of it as an elevated Whole Foods. They also collaborate with brands/celebrities to create different smoothies and healthy treats. I recommend grabbing lunch from their hot bar and also trying out Hailey Bieber's Strawberry Glaze smoothie that's filled with ingredients to help your skin glow from the inside out. We ate here two days in a row because I just had to go back and try some more - their selection of prepared food is endless! There are 10 locations in LA for you to choose from!

Safe to say that I now see why everyone makes it a goal to retire/move to Orange County! We spent a total of three hours in Newport Beach on our way to San Diego, and I fell in love with it right away. The lifestyle is chill and laid back, but everything just looks and feels so expensive. 

We drove from LA in the morning and had lunch at Zinqué in Lido Marina, which serves French-inspired dishes and has a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking the marina. We were celebrating Donavan's 25th birthday so we started off with mimosas and for lunch we got the Le Bowl and Steak-Frites - both were great and the ambience is amazing. I recommend also walking around the marina and checking out the boutiques in this area!

I'm not sure if it was the mimosas, the California sun, or feeling inspired by the expensive area, but I was in the mood to shop and finally buy the Alo set I'd been eyeing for months - what better place to do that than in Fashion Island?! Yes, the mall in Newport Beach was called Fashion Island and I'd felt like I found my home. Even if I'm in a town for three hours, I'm gonna find the place to shop. 

On our way out, we stopped at KIT coffee which was recommended by an influencer that I follow. (I'm telling you, influencers are my best resource and I've never been disappointed. The girlies know what's up!!) As always, we got an iced latte, and Donavan claimed that it was his favorite coffee we'd had on the trip. 

As I stated earlier, our time in San Diego was very short-lived since we arrived on the afternoon of our last day, but it was still nice to get a taste of San Diego. It has it's own beach-town vibe that's different from LA, but they all have that Southern-California charm. We were in town on Donavan's birthday so I reserved a table at George's at the Cove weeks in advance, which is an American restaurant that sits atop the cliffs and has a beautiful view of the water. I purposefully looked at what time the sunsets in San Diego in October so I could time it perfectly for us to watch the sunset. I made it for 5pm and I'm proud to say that I planned it perfectly. The food wasn't anything special, but the view was incredibly worth it. I highly recommend adding this spot to your list the next time you're in SD, but make reservations well in advance!

It's no secret that LA is known for its eclectic style and streetwear, with subtle Western details. As a Hailey Bieber fan, I've always admired her casual yet classy streetwear style, so I used that as inspiration when packing for our trip. But of course, in any big city where individuality is celebrated, this is always a great excuse to push your limits in fashion and have fun with your clothes. Newport Beach/Orange County and San Diego had more of that beach-town chicness that I catered to on our day driving down the coast. 

As far as practicality, we visited Southern California in October, where the days were warm and the evenings were cool. I can't speak for other times of the year, but I would most definitely pack your staple leather jacket and a pair of jeans in accordance.