This is a sponsored post. I was compensated in the form of a discount, free product, or monetary payment in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Guys, Squirt has entered the Lego phase of life. I have been equal parts looking forward to this day (education toys! individual play time! learning while playing! Star Wars! Harry Potter! Marvel!) and dreading this day (stepping on Legos is no joke y’all). But whether my feet like it or not, the day has come, and it’s safe to say Squirt is obsessed (Matt’s not sad about it either, let’s be real). I come from a family of Lego lovers, but since Legoland didn’t open in California until I was already in high school, we never went as kids. We’ve been waiting for the right time to take Squirt, and now that we are based in Anaheim, we figured the time was right. The drive from home to Carlsbad was about an hour, which is what it used to take us from our old house to Disneyland, so all in all, not a terrible commute. I’m going to break down some of the highlights of our trip, but I’ll just say this now: Squirt has asked me LITERALLY every single day (most days multiple times a day) to go back. The kid freaking loved it.
This is a sponsored post. I was compensated in the form of a free product, discount, or monetary payment in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
About a year and a half ago, I coordinated an amazing wedding at the Alamo Motel in Los Alamos, California. When the bride first mentioned the name of it to me I was skeptical, but after seeing pictures online I was stoked. Then I saw the space in person and I fell in love. Los Alamos is a teeny tiny little town about an hour north of Santa Barbara. There is basically one main drag where everything is located (more on the town itself in an upcoming post), which makes everything super convenient because you can walk everywhere. One of the reasons I immediately fell in love with this motel is the bo-ho, hipster vibes, apparent from the moment you pull into the parking lot. Check out my full picture tour and review!
One awesome feature of the Alamo Motel is the on site wine bar, Muni by Municpal Winemakers. Unfortunately, the wine bar wasn’t open during my stay (they are open Thursday-Sunday), but it is the cutest little wine shop, and the staff is so friendly and helpful.
In the center of the motel is a large communal area with a fire pit, lots of chairs, and great little corners to sit and enjoy a glass of wine or a s’more (ingredients are on hand at the office if you need them).
The drive getting from Anaheim to Los Alamos was easier than expected (I left on a Tuesday, midday). I stopped in Santa Barbara for an hour for some coffee and shopping, and then headed up the rest of the way. I was able to check in to my room as soon as I arrived, and had plenty of time to settle in and relax before dinner.
I basically want to move everything in this room to my house. Or suddenly come in to a bunch of money and hire the hotel’s designers to come decorate for me. I am obsessed with everything. I love the neutral colors, the natural wood, the kind of desert/rustic vibes. Love, love, love it all.
And my absolute FAVORITE THING EVER IN THE WHOLE WORLD is the clawfoot tub. You bet your ass I spent most of my evenings wallowing in that bad boy. Seriously, I’ve never used a tub like this before and I can’t believe how much I’ve been missing. I need one of these at home (lol).
I seriously couldn’t stop taking pictures of everything around me the whole time I was there for my stay. The whole “purpose” of my trip (other than me getting out of town for a break) was as a sort of writer’s retreat. I knocked out a good chunk of writing on my current manuscript while I was there, and I definitely felt inspired by my surroundings. One day I went out to the picnic table near the firepit and wrote outside. I also spent some time in the communal office doing some research (when I knew if I stayed in my room I would just watch trash TV and drink wine). Honestly, it was one of the best mini vaycays I have ever taken, and I feel like I might need to make it an annual retreat. The only bummer was that a lot of the shops and restaurants on the main strip are closed on Tuesdays, and some are even closed Wednesdays, and since I was there Tuesday-Thursday, there were some spots I missed that I would have loved to check out. I guess that just means I’ll have to go back!
During our summer time trip to New York, we stayed at the Gallivant in Times Square. Originally, we (and by that, I mean me) wanted to stay in the West Village (I WILL run into Andy Cohen one of these days), but for some reason or other, the week we chose to visit was super popular (not sure why because it was hotter than balls) and thus super expensive. The Gallivant was one of the more reasonably priced hotels still conveniently located, and overall, it was a great choice for us for this trip. The best thing about it was definitely the location. It was in Times Square, but not directly on Broadway so it wasn’t as crazy busy/loud/bright as some of my Times Square stays have been. We were within a block or two of the major subway stations and were able to get around really easily. The room was small, but that’s to be expected. The hotel staff was friendly and helpful, rooms were clean, and most importantly, the AC worked well.
While on our trip to New York in July, we were able to hit our twelfth baseball stadium on our tour (if you’re new here, one of our goals as a couple is to visit all thirty baseball stadiums across the country (and Canada!)). We visited Yankee Stadium a few years ago, but we didn’t have a chance to make it out to Queens on that trip, so we made it a priority on this trip. And it was an extra special trip because we went on our anniversary and our first date was a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Awwwwwwww. Citi Field is definitely one of the nicer stadiums we have been to, and we both really enjoyed the food and drinks, and the cheap tickets! Here are some highlights!
It has been over a month since we took our birthday/anniversary trip to New York and I’m already feeling the withdrawals and counting down to my next trip to the Big Apple. This was my fourth visit to NYC, but my first with just Matt, and my first in a while that didn’t include a bunch of junior high and high school students. Obviously my main draw to New York is Broadway, but I love so many things about the city. I love being able to take the subway and walk everywhere. I love how much there is to do and see during the day. I love how Matt and I can both have fun by exploring our individual hobbies. Basically, it’s the perfect vacation and if I could afford to go once a year, I would. TBH, I’m a little sketch on some of the exact details of our July vacation (you do know that we up and moved to Orange County all in the last month, right?) but here is our trip to the best of my recollection!
Aight, so we took a red-eye in to JFK. Not ideal. But Matt had to work on Monday (my birthday) when we had originally planned to leave and a red-eye was the best way to not totally miss out on two days of our trip. We left Monday night and arrived around 8:30 Tuesday morning. The hardest part of the red-eye was the fact that it was humid and hot AF in New York so by the time we got our luggage, got to our hotel in Times Square, and walked to get breakfast, we were sweaty, disgusting messes. Who hadn’t slept. After we ate these delicious bagel breakfast sandwiches, we sat in the blissfully air-conditioned lobby of our hotel until our room was ready for check in (luckily, it was ready an hour early).
After a super cold shower and a nap, we headed out to visit baseball stadium #12, Citi Field. Citi Field is one of the better stadiums we have been to, and I will be detailing our experience there in its own post soon. And since the Mets suck this year, tickets were super cheap!
On Wednesday, we spent the day seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was the main reason for our trip in the first place. If you want my full thoughts, go listen to the HP Drink Talk Fangirl episode. Suffice to say, the show is a must for any Harry Potter fan and it is, if nothing else, the most brilliant technical theater I have ever seen.
The way we saw HPCC was both parts in one day, so we saw Part One at 2:00 and Part Two at 7:30. That meant we had time in between parts to eat dinner and get a martini at Sardi’s, something I’ve wanted to do forever and hasn’t been possible since I have been traveling with teenagers. Sardi’s is a pretty famous restaurant in the theater district that you may have seen because they have caricatures of famous Broadway peeps on the walls. I wish we had more time to spend there (or more money to eat a meal there).
On Thursday, we spent the day doing some of my favorite New York things: shopping and exploring. We went to Forbidden Planet and Strand, which are two of my favorite stores in the world. And then we hung out in Union Square for a couple of hours, did some reading, had some drinks, and all in all, had a nice, calm, relaxing day. Thursday night we went to see a jazz show, which was fine. Obviously not my thing, but Matt liked it and since I made him sit through five hours of Harry Potter, it was the least I could do.
On Friday, we spent the day exploring some more. We walked around Times Square and then headed over to the Met. Matt went into the museum on his own because I was feeling kind of bleh and wasn’t super into walking around for hours. I spent my time at a swanky Starbucks on Lexington trying to spot real housewives (no luck).
We had to fly out Friday night because I had a wedding on Saturday, and lo and behold, our flight was delayed for three hours due to weather. It was a tense situation, and we ended up getting home at 3:00 am on Saturday, but we made it home in time for a shower, sleep, and a couple of hours with Squirt before I had to go to work. All in all, it was an amazing trip, and I only wish we had had more time to spend in New York. I miss you already.
So the good news is that I have checked off eleven boxes on my Los Angeles summer bucket list. The bad news is this might be the end of the list. For reasons I cannot disclose at the moment ;o) More info to come, promise! But I do have some other cool events to share with you, and they are all things that you should do whether you are an LA native or just visiting on vaycay!
One of my all-time favorite summer events in Los Angeles is the Independent Shakespeare Company’s summer productions. This group stages FREE Shakespearean productions in the old LA Zoo (part of Griffith Park) and they are always so good. I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream this past weekend and I loved it. Midsummer is a great show, super accessible (even for kids) and the production as a whole was really well done. I am REALLY looking forward to going back later this summer to see Titus Andronicus because it’s one of the few Shakespeare shows I’ve never seen. Also, there’s lots of murder in it so it’s gonna be fun!
If you do a Google search for “LA brewery kid-friendly”, Golden Road is going to be at the top of every single list you find. We love Golden Road, but we had never been there with Squirt, so we headed over one afternoon for dinner, beer (obvs), and play time. The best part about Golden Road is their large outdoor space with lawn games and plenty of space for the kiddos to run around. Did I mention there’s beer?
Matt and I had an epic date night last weekend where we checked off THREE bucket list boxes in one night. Our first stop was the Upright Citizens Brigade for an improv show. I had actually never been to a show there before, but after reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler (one of the founders of UCB) I knew we needed to check it out. We went to the earliest show, at 7:00, and it was hilarious. Plus, tickets were $7 each. So for $15 we got an hour of quality entertainment and in LA, that is a steal.
After our improv show, we had dinner, and then headed over to the Dresden. The Dresden is famous for two things: its appearance in the movie Swingers and its two superstars, Marty and Elayne. Marty and Elayne are a couple in their eighties (???) who play jazz standards five nights a week at this bar and lounge that has not seen a remodel since the 1960’s. I imagine that to many outsiders the appeal of the Dresden is questionable at best. The place is old and quite frankly, the music is not great. But the kitsch and the charm are off the charts, and honestly, it’s a must do if you want the real LA experience.
After the Dresden, we hit up House of Pies. For pie. I wish we had eaten dinner at this classic diner, but honestly, it’s totally worth it to go just for dessert. Also if you watch Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, you will recognize this spot from the Kristen Wiig episode. The pie is bomb y’all. ‘Nuff said.
I’m hoping to check off at least a couple more boxes on the list, but life is about to get crazy so I can’t make any promises. Stay tuned for some very interesting life updates to come!
I was compensated in the form of a discount, free product, or monetary payment in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Being born and raised in Los Angeles comes with so many perks. One of the downsides is that I don’t ever to think to experience many of the city’s tourist offerings because, well, I’m not a tourist. I’ve lived here my whole life, and so has my mother, so the city has just always been an everyday part of life. But the truth of the matter is that Los Angeles is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and while many of us locals look down on some of the “tourist traps” that are all too frequent in the city, there are some out there that are kind of awesome. As part of my summer bucket list, I decided to find a bus tour of Los Angeles and see the sights like a tourist would. I went into this bus tour with some serious reservations. And I was pleasantly surprised. I had so. much. fun. And I took my mother, born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, and she loved it too.
I reached out to Proper Sightseeing after reading their reviews, and was invited to experience their hop on/hop off tour. One of the awesome things about this tour is that you have access to the tour for 48 hours. You can jump off the bus at any of the stops, and get back on at any of the stops, and you have access for two full days. Honestly, it’s worth the price of admission just to not have to try to park in LA for two days! I especially loved the freedom to be able to get off the bus and have lunch (and pee) and then jump back on when we were ready. And it’s a great way to experience some of the sights you want to explore in depth without being tied to a particular timeline.
The Proper Sightseeing buses are double decker, and the view from the top deck is awesome. Honestly, it was an Instagrammer’s dream. Even though many of these sights are places I drive by all the time, it was really cool to see them from this totally different angle. I took about a million pictures and these are just a few of my favorites…
The El Capitan is one of my favorite theaters in Los Angeles because it’s owned by Disney and exclusively shows Disney movies. I have had a lot of great experiences in this theater, as each movie is accompanied by a live show and a costume exhibit. It’s definitely on my must see in Hollywood list.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. You probably know it as the theater with the hand and footprints out front.
This is the famous gate at the entrance of Paramount Pictures…
Can you believe I have never eaten at Canter’s Deli? I need to get on that! It’s one of the most famous restaurants in Los Angeles.
CBS Studios, which is next door to the Grove and the Original Farmer’s Market is home to all kinds of TV shows, including So You Think You Can Dance and some soap operas.
I go to the Original Farmer’s Market all the time. It’s one of my preferred lunch spots, and Squirt and I love hanging out here and walking around the Grove. This is where my mom and I hopped off our bus tour. It was the perfect spot to grab a little snack, take a potty break, and walk around for a bit before jumping back on the bus.
This installation in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is one of the most Instagrammable spots in the city. I loved getting a birds’ eye view of this super cool spot! (Also, I love that my photo includes a girl with her Instagram boyfriend, checking out their photos!)
The La Brea Tar Pits are right next to LACMA, and not going to lie, this is my favorite way to see this location because the tar is smelly and I don’t want to get too close!
If you wanted to do some shopping during your tour, the Beverly Center would be the spot for you to hop off. This is one of the bigger malls in the city and is one of the best places for a little retail therapy.
The Beverly Hills City Hall is absolutely gorgeous. I took about fifty pictures of this building alone!
One of my favorite places to drive through is West Hollywood (WeHo). Especially since it is Pride Month, there are rainbows everywhere, including the famous rainbow crosswalks on Santa Monica Blvd. Plus, the tour takes you past Pump, which my Vanderpump Rules loving heart was super into.
Sunset Tower is another one of the most beautiful buildings in LA. Staying there is #lifegoals.
The tour also drives along Sunset Blvd so you get to see some famous comedy spots and music clubs including the Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, and the Whiskey A Go Go.
Including our one hour break at the Farmer’s Market, our tour took about three hours. It was the perfect amount of time and I loved the freedom of being able to get on and off whenever I wanted. Honestly, I expected the tour to be kind of cheesy and lame, but I had so much fun, and I would 100% do it again. And I live here! If you are visiting Los Angeles and you want to experience some of the most popular sights in the city, I cannot recommend the Proper Sightseeing tour enough. You will have a blast!
