The Mexican Food Is Amazing

A 30 minute drive away from Tijuana, San Diego’s Mexican food selection is as yummy as it gets without being right inside of Mexico. One of my favourite taco joints was this amazing little chain called Oscar’s. They had a special the day I was there—chorizo and prawn tacos; a combination I never thought I would enjoy. But H O L Y S H I T. I still dream about those tacos today.

A lot of the Mexican restaurants are also AMAZING for photos as well. A lot of the buildings have the classic bright and cheerful Spanish designs and make amazing backdrops. Like this stunning yellow-walled joint we found for breakfast ?

The Beaches Are Insanely Beautiful

One of our main goals for our San Diego trip was to make plenty of time for lounging around on the beaches. We went from La Jolla down to as far as Mission beach, and the entire coast was absolutely stunning. From insanely beautiful sunsets off La Jolla Cove to perfect tanning spots in Pacific Beach—San Diego was perfect for reaching all of our beach day goals.

There Are Tons of Instagrammable Spots

Los Angeles and San Francisco and both Californian cities that are great for Instagram photos; but all of the good spots are usually busy. San Diego is chalk full of stunning backdrops all around the city and we never had an issue of too many people walking by or watching. The entire city gave off a very chill vibe and it made taking photos feel very relaxed. Definitely my kind of city!

Brewery HEAVEN

The most notable part of our trip was definitely the sheer quantity of breweries that exist in San Diego. You could go brewery hopping in almost any area and are bound to find tons of really beautiful places to get day drunk! If you’re looking for a great vacation destination to get tan, eat great food, and party, San Diego is the place to go!

If you’re travelling to San Diego, I think it’s worth to spend an entire day in La Jolla. Yes, it can get busy during the summer months, as it’s both a popular tourist and family destination to spend the afternoon. But even bustling with people strolling the beaches, La Jolla was so tranquil and peaceful to me. Definitely a place you won’t forget.

Start your morning off with brunch at The Cottage. It’s such an adorable little restaurant. Their wait can get a little crazy on weekends but is well worth it. The Cottage is also conveniently located 5 minutes away from both La Jolla beach as well as The Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego—both definitely worth visiting after brunch.

From there, stroll up from La Jolla beach to the Children’s Pool for some classic San Diego photos. There are stunning views of the cliffs between the beach and the pool—definitely take your time getting from one place to the other.

You can walk further north along the coast to get to the infamous La Jolla coves. Want that perfect Instagram rock formation bikini photo? You’ve come to the right place ?. All jokes aside, if you’re in La Jolla you definitely have to pay the cove a visit. This will be family CENTRAL so if you’re looking to tan and read, this is probably not the place. But grab some ice cream and park your booty on a bench here; I promise you won’t be disappointed.

If you want to take a break from the Ocean (although I’m sure you won’t), go take a mid day shopping break on Girard Ave. Located right next to the beach in Downtown La Jolla, this area is known for its mix of unique boutique shops, mall stores, and higher-end establishments like Cartier. There are also tons of cute coffee shops if you want to grab a quick bite for lunch!

Once it gets closer to sunset, head back to the cove and just watch. If you want dinner with a view, I’d HIGHLY recommend George’s On The Cove. This was definitely easily one of our favourite spots that we discovered on the trip. Make sure when you’re making reservations at George’s, to ask to be seated on their Ocean Terrace level. If you can only visit one place from this entire article, this would be it. Trust!

Great White in Venice

If you’re visiting the Venice Boardwalk or just on the west side for the day, check out the Great White for brunch. All their dishes are health-conscious and the vibe of the restaurant is great! Not to mention it is literally steps away from the beach.

Joan’s On Third

One of my absolute favourite simple brunch places to go when I’m planning on spending the day in WEHO. They also sell pastries and other fares and goodies.

Republique

Okay honestly, I’d go here again JUST for the atmosphere. The interior is absolutely stunning and so different from any other restaurants that I’ve seen. The bonus is that the food was BOMB. I had a Kimchi Fried Rice bowl for brunch. Great for brunch and photos.

The Commissary at the Line Hotel

Two words. BLOGGER. PARADISE. If you’re looking for a good eggs benny, amazing lighting, and stunning atmosphere, definitely check out The Commissary. Try to go on weekdays because their Brunch menu changes for weekends into an all you can eat (which in my opinion is not as good).

The Pie Hole in Arts District

I stayed in the Arts District last time that I was in LA, which is how I discovered this place. I had their Shepard’s Pie for breakfast and it was pretty delicious. This is a good place to come if you’re also looking for a place to camp out with your laptop and get some work done as well.

The Stinking Rose

This place is my heaven. The Stinking Rose is a restaurants that uses Garlic as their main ingredient in all their dishes. AKA my literal dream come true. Everything we had here was absolutely amazing. If you’re garlic lover like me, you’re going to be obsessed with this place. “Would you like some food with that garlic?”

Eataly

This photo doesn’t do Eataly ANY justice at all. If you haven’t heard of Eataly before, it is like an Italian Cuisine heaven. Eataly is a huge Italian food market complete with pizza and pasta restaurants. I first discovered Eataly in New York and almost cried when I found out that there was one in LA. My favourite dishes here are either the Sopressata pizza or the Lasagna.

The Cabana Cafe at The Beverly Hills Hotel

The Cabana Cafe is an iconic part of the Beverly Hills experience. Actually, the entire Beverly Hills Hotel is absolutely stunning, and is to me the epitome of old school barbie doll glam that defines 90210. But not only is it beautiful, the Cabana Cafe actually has really yummy brunch as well. If you can, try to sit in one of the Instagram infamous booths so you can get your perfect photo.

Aghassi Gopchang

Los Angeles is KNOWN for its Korean food and ktown festivities and Aghassi Gopchang has got to be one of my favourite kbbqs that I’ve tried. All of their meats are absolutely amazing (and so is their tofu soup). BUT expect a line up for at least 30 minutes because apparently everyone else in LA agrees with me. There is a really great dessert shop two doors down if you get hungry and want a quick snack, so that’s a plus.

BCD Tofu House

Known for it’s BOMB DIGGITY tofu soups and it’s 24 hour service, BCD is definitely my go-to post night out food place. Unless you’re looking just to grab a quick bite before heading home from a night out (in that case, I recommend the taco trucks), BCD is THE PLACE to go. It does get quite busy, but they do have ample seating so expect a 15-30 minute wait. I’ve been there twice and both times only had to wait about 20 minutes which wasn’t so bad.

Literally almost drooling as I wrote this post. Los Angeles is amazing for it’s food scene and I can’t wait to go back and eat more (is that sad?). Hope this was helpful!

It’s almost tradition for me to make a little trip down to Venice and Santa Monica when I’m here. Most locals prefer quieter options like Manhattan, Newport, Huntington, or Laguna or even heading up to Malibu. But something about the young, hustle and bustle vibes of Venice and Santa Monica draws me back every time. Definitely going to try to make it down to Laguna beach one day this week just to see it but Venice and Santa Monica first.

Love walking around the Venice Canal neighbourhood too. Hard not to want to own a house on the canal. It’s stunning. If you’re in LA looking for photo ops, then I’d say definitely head down to Venice beach and check out the boardwalk or the canals. Both places are STUNNING for photos. And of course, if you walk around the neighbourhood, you’ll find gorgeous Bougainvillea bushes which accessorize photos perfectly.

Head up to Santa Monica during Golden Hour and shoot at the pier too. If it’s not too busy, try to get on the ferris wheel during sunset. That’s a photo op that you won’t want to miss.

I swear every time I come here, it gets harder to leave. But that’s LA for you I guess.

One of my girlfriends who live in LA recommended Great White, a popular brunch place in Venice. It’s located on Pacific Ave, right where the infamous Venice sign is. They have the cutest patio seating, but also some seating indoors as well and was filled with people—even on a Friday morning.

Their menu features a typical LA brunch selection, with a focus on fresh and local ingredients. I got their Harvest Bowl which comes with grains, tumeric roasted cauliflower, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, crispy rice and miso vinaigrette. I also added chicken which brought the total for the meal around $18.

The bowl was a cold food bowl, which surprised me a little since it’s breakfast but it was very filling. I think if you’re on the way to the beach or the boardwalk, the Great White is definitely a place you should try. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to try it.

I’m staying in LA an entire extra week on my own so I’m excited to explore some more food and coffee shops this coming week. Feeling a little home sick but I know once I get back into the groove of waking up early and working, I’ll feel totally fine here. Excited to be spending some time just living in LA and not feeling like my time here is so short so I have to rush around and see everything.

What are your favourite brunch places in LA?

More next time,

We purposely didn’t try to over plan and schedule too much. We knew a huge goal of this trip was to spend at least one full day just lying out at the beach. And we did just that—photos to come soon.

Something else I was super excited about was definitely to wear some of my cute summer sets that I don’t really have a chance to wear in Vancouver. One of them being this cute white set from Tobi. You can find the top here, and the bottoms here.

There will definitely be more photos of my trip up soon! Follow along.

Until next time,

I’ve dreamt of having my own red brick or brown stone apartment with a fire escape ever since I was small. And although my current apartment is the opposite of all of those requirements, I love it nonetheless. But there’s just something about the thought of being able to crawl on to the fire escape on a warm summer night with a throw blanket, a candle, and maybe a book… is just SUCH an appealing and relaxing thought.

Fire Escape Outfit #1

This is my “I’m Serena Vanderwoodsen visiting Dan Humphrey in Brooklyn and hanging out on his windowsill” outfit—fitting right? Low key does anyone relate most things in New York to Gossip Girl still? I really love how this cropped black turtleneck from Urban Outfitters looks with my wool Hopper skirt from Aritzia.  Definitely gives the outfit a “preppy” feel which I actually really enjoy sporting.

Fire Escape Outfit #2

I wanted to embody my inner “chill girl” vibe with this outfit. It’s what I imagine I would wear on a regular day if I lived in New York. As if I just ran out to the bodega on the corner for the some breakfast, ran some errands, and now I’m hanging out on my fire escape in the Lower East Side. Goals. Both my top and my shorts were purchased at Aritzia, and my shoes are the Nike Low Top AF 1s.

I think most creatives would understand the feeling of being inspired by completely RANDOM things at times. Mine just so happened to be these old-school fire protection stairwells ??‍

More soon,

The last day that we were there, the weather took a downward spike and got REALLY cold. I definitely wasn’t prepared for the cold, but thankfully I purchased this Uniqlo long puffer trench while I was there, and that got me through the day. 

I miss the routine that we had in New York. Wake up, get ready, go downstairs to a bodega and grab coffee and breakfast (I was obsessed with bagels), and go explore. If I were to go back, the bodega tradition would definitely continue. 

We also learned on our last full day in NY that taking the subway is always the best choice. We made the mistake of taking Ubers everywhere we went pretty much during almost our entire trip—thinking that it would be the most convenient mode of transportation. IT WAS NOT. I know I’ve mentioned this in a past blog post, but DON’T UBER EVERYWHERE. Lesson learned. 

New York was literally beautiful everywhere you turned. On this day specifically, we walked EVERYWHERE. We tried to hit up as many places that we still had yet to check off our list, as possible. 

We, of course, had to end off our night at Time Square. It is everything you see in movies and more honestly. There’s something about standing in the middle of all the busyness and looking up at those lights that was so incredibly overwhelming but peaceful at the same time.  It’s not necessarily a place I would visit all the time, but the experience was definitely unforgettable. If you’re visiting for the first time, it’s definitely a place to keep in mind. 

It’s been nearly two months since my New York trip and I am still missing it. Obviously, I’ve grown accustomed to life in Vancouver again, but I can’t help but think about that magical city now and again. Making it a goal in 2018 to go again. And I. Can’t. Wait. 

Until next time,