Los Angeles was so much fun to explore! I had the same feeling when I was in New York of “Wow, I’m actually on the Walk of Fame (or in Beverly Hills, or on Sunset Boulevard, etc)”. It’s always neat to experience things you’ve only heard about. It was the last stop on our trip, and Russ and I were admittedly getting tired. This preggo’s feet were swollen on the last day! I was shocked. I guess that is what 10-15k steps a day will do. Thankfully we did walk a lot though to counteract all the food I ate as evidenced by all the food shots in this post. Grin. Today I’m sharing my Los Angeles travel diary. You can see San Francisco, Carmel, and Santa Barbara by clicking the links.
Similar to Carmel, I got a lot of recommendations from bloggers I follow. I was lucky enough to meet Adri in person and so sad to miss Jenna who was also on vacation. I looked at the Instagram of Thrifts and Threads a lot too. We mainly picked places to eat by proximity since LA is so large, so although there are others I would have liked to try, below is what we did. I also referenced Gina’s recommendations from her trip, and this post from Hello Fashion on dessert spots (my fav!).
Where we stayed in Los Angeles
Hotel Beverly Terrance (pictured) – This renovated hotel is in the perfect location, on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It was in walking distance to great shopping and food. I love that it retains a retro feel while still being updated. There is a center courtyard dotted with beautiful plants and seating for the complimentary breakfast.
Where we ate in Los Angeles
- Cafe Gratitude (pictured) – I was excited to try some vegan restaurants while in Los Angeles, and Russ (rather) happily complied. We ate the most fresh, delicious lunch. I had the seasonal local salad with grilled pears and asparagus.
- Gracias Madre – The sister restaurant of Cafe Gratitude, this vegan spot is all Latin inspired. We had an amazing dinner with an even better atmosphere. Try the cauliflower with “nacho cheese!”
- California Donuts (pictured) – All the fun flavors you can imagine. How cute is that panda bear?! The location we went to was an outdoor walk-up counter, i.e. no seating.
- Milk – This was a late night stop for us (thus no picture) and so worth it for the macaron ice cream sandwiches. Yes, you heard that right. Macaron ice cream sandwiches. Amen. You can also make your own ice cream sandwich with any of their cookie flavors.
- Alfred Coffee – Fun little coffee spot. I love trying local coffee places!
- The Assembly (pictured) – This is where I met Adri. On Friday they have donuts, and my honey vanilla latte was oh so yummy!
- The Farmer’s Market – We got off at the Grove on our bus tour (see below) which is a great shopping area. Co-located with it is the neatest outdoor market with booth after booth with every type of food you could imagine.
- Others to note: I wanted to try Zinc, Olive and Thyme, Ledlow, and Afters Ice Cream, but they were not as close, and we had limited time.
What to do in Los Angeles
- Shop – So many places!
- Walk of Fame – This was neat to see, but I have to say less impressive than I imagined.
- Bus Tour – I recommend this. We got a lot of information we otherwise wouldn’t have known exploring on our own. Additionally, we took a tour you could get on and off of (had to stay an hour until the next bus came though), so it also served as transportation.
- Universal Studios – I was bummed we didn’t have time to do this especially because of the new Harry Potter exhibit.
- Hollywood Sign – I cannot believe we didn’t see this although I have heard you cannot get too close.
- Dodgers Baseball Game – This is one of the parks that hasn’t been renovated, so Russ was pretty excited to see it. It was personally my favorite of the ones I have seen because they have made all the signage retro which I thought was fun.
Outfit Details
Dress c/o Chicwish // Heels c/o Choies // Bag: Rebecca Minkoff c/o Shopbop // Sunglasses: Karen Walker
85 Comments
First things first, what a gorgeous outfit. Those shoes are to die for! Loving your photos of LA – they have the most amazing food, clearly I need to book a flight over STAT!
xo
Siffat
http://icingandglitter.com
You look so cute in this dress, and so are the pompom shoes! Hope you had a great time in LA!
http://violettedaily.com
What a lovely red dress – so nice for summer and perfect shoes to go with it! π Looks like you had a lot of yummy food! Especially the doughnuts, I loved them, haha!
Away From The Blue Blog
You are perfection as usual!
Xx
Molly
http://www.trendychickadee.com
Super cute shoes!! Sounds like you had fun!
Adi xx
http://www.fancycorrectitude.com
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How fun! This post brings back many memories from my LA trip π
Love those sandals… the pom poms are so much cute!
xoxo
Ileana
Novelstyle Blog
I love LA. It is one of my favourite cities in the world! This is such a nice post Amy!
PS: Those shoes are amazing!
Deepti | http://www.mademoisellemeetsmaquillageandmacaroons.com
How cute are your shoes?! Beautiful styling and awesome pictures.
xo
http://www.carinavardie.com
Hello Amy, seems you had a nice time there. I like your style and would like to use your picture in my featured post. your blog ll be linked up and all credits. hope you allow me to… have a nice weekend.
Simply Vettae
lovely dress n in love wid those pom pom footwear …. luv all d clicks..you luk gorgeous …xo, Neha
http://www.theinstylejournal.com/
OMG those pom pom sandals are the cutest! The donuts look so good too! Looks like you had a great time!
x Emily
http://shedoes.com.au
Sounds like a fun trip! LA always has so much good food. California Donuts is not only cute, it’s also delish!
Tina
http://www.justatinabit.com
What an absolutely incredible trip! I’ve taken down so many notes from these posts! Gorgeous as always girl:)
Heidi || Wishes & Reality
love the cute pom poms! great post!
kelseybang.com
Perfect outfit and love the colors
Zunera-Serena.com
Oh, those pompom shoes are darling, and those are the cutest looking doughnuts π
What a beautiful dress! Hope you had great time in L.A.!
xo, Jane
http://www.fitfabfunmom.com
Gracias Madre is always a fun spot. Love their decor and drinks!
http://looklikeget.com
Looks like a fun trip! Absolutely loved the pop of colors in your heels!
Come visit us soon
xx
Makeup, Style and Sugar
http://makeupstyleandsugar.blogspot.in/
https://www.instagram.com/ankitabardhan/
You look simply gorgeous, Amy. I love the dress and that sandals on you. π
http://missymayification.blogspot.co.uk