sunny los angeles

But nothing beats the weather, eh?

L.A., nice weather, most of the time, sure. But I am beyond tired of talking about it. Honestly, I'd prefer more rain (not just because of the drought); and, my gosh, I dream of a legitimate wintery chill. Basically, I miss the rejuvenating nature of seasons. Pun intended. What's more, I balk at the implication that clear sunshine is Los Angeles' most redeeming quality. It's dreary today, for the record.

{The Last Bookstore, for instance}

A friend of mine from the Midwest once told me he reveled in the misguided disdain that tries to characterize this city. What he meant, I think, is that it's a pretty incredible privilege to have gotten to know a place so quickly misunderstood. Los Angeles is not easily defined, neither literally nor figuratively, and it's sure as hell challenging to get a ahold of. This whole nother beast might as well be our beautiful little secret.

Before my time in New York, I saw City of Gold. It was fantastic for all the reasons above; and because, in telling Jonathan Gold's story, it celebrated the democratization of food criticism as well as the pure wealth of "culinary adventure that, he argues, are unique to the area in their proximity and commingled global influences." It reminded me of how much I appreciate L.A. for being L.A. And with that, I give you an introductory guide I created for a colleague who recently relocated to establish our DTLA office...

DINE
Best group meal: Korean BBQ (Koreatown)
Eat more ramen: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Mar Vista) or Jinya Ramen Bar (Mid-Wilshire & other locations)
Local date spots: Barbrix (Silver Lake), Cliff’s Edge (Silver Lake), Little Dom’s (Los Feliz)
My favorite “L.A. restaurant”: Eveleigh (West Hollywood)
Restaurants worth the hype: Birch Restaurant (Hollywood), Bestia (Arts District), Faith & Flower (DTLA), Pok Pok LA (Chinatown), République (Mid-City/La Brea), Sugarfish (multiple locations)
Tacos, part 1: Guisados (Echo Park); Tacos, part 2.
The best in Mexican-American burritos: Al & Bea’s (Boyle Heights)
Try the original French-dip sandwich at: Cole’s (DTLA) or Phillipe’s (Chinatown)
P.S. If you go to Cole’s, consider the speakeasy in the back with great cocktails and live jazz
For your bf: pancakes.

DRINK
Best hipster cocktails: Tenant of the Trees (Silver Lake)
Best beer & wine in the neighborhood: El Prado (Echo Park) / 1642 Beer and Wine (HiFi)
Best rooftop bar: Mama Shelter (Hollywood)
Drink beer and play board games: Sunset Beer Company (Echo Park)
Drink beer and play arcade games: Eighty Two (Arts District)
Get to know tequila & mezcal: El Carmen (Mid-City) or La Cuevita (Highland Park)
Have a martini at an “Old Hollywood” bar: Bar Marmont, Formosa Cafe, Musso & Frank Grill
Priceless DTLA views (& pricey cocktails): the Ace Hotel and Perch
Stay caffeinated.

HIKE
Elysian Park: West Loop, Angels Point
Griffith Park: Ferndell Trail, Mount Lee Trail, etc.
Malibu: Tuna Canyon,Corral Canyon, etc.

DO
Add to your library with gems from our neighborhood bookshop: Stories & Books Café (and Skylight!)
Best view of L.A. on the East Side: The Griffith Observatory
Best view of L.A. on the West Side: The Getty Center
Bike in Santa Monica; and in Long Beach
Check out local live music: The Echo and Echoplex
Go to a cheap comedy show: Upright Citizens Brigade
Museums worth the drive: The Autry (Griffith Park), LACMA (Mid-City/Miracle Mile), Natural History Museum (South L.A.), Petersen Automotive Museum (Mid-City/Miracle Mile), The Getty Villa (Malibu)
Pick your beach. My favorites: Cabrillo Beach (San Pedro), El Matador (Malibu), Manhattan Beach
Rent a boat or go paddleboarding: Marina Del Rey
Reserve free tickets: The Broad (DTLA)
Shop at the best farmers markets:

Monday-Thursday: The Original Farmers Market

Friday: Echo Park Farmers Market

Sunday: Atwater Village Farmers Market

Stroll the Venice Beach Boardwalk (because, weird) and dine at Gjusta ($) and/or Gjelina ($$)
Spend an afternoon in Pasadena: Huntington Library & Gardens, Norton Simon Museum, Magnolia House
Walk/shop on the East Side: Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Highland Park
SaveSave

cafuné

A couple weekends ago, I found myself dancing to Britney Spears in a Silver Lake dive bar with a friend and her neighbor. In my carefree state, I commented (compassionately) on the insecurities of the noticeably younger crowd—I felt my age, in a good way.

Please excuse my flowery language when I tell you my soul has ripened in the past few months and weeks; and as such, claiming to feel "wiser" is probably more accurate. I didn't make a list of what I learned last year because the lessons were hardly quantifiable. My circumstances and choices forced me to confront fears, flaws, and deep-seeded truths I'd spent years ignoring or trying to suppress. I've become stronger, more solid, self-aware. I've discovered that no matter how tempting it may be to celebrate "making it to the other side", it's much more valuable to recognize the ongoing mindful process, to appreciate, and to continue.

I chopped off my hair two weeks ago. It was a sudden decision. Sarah had just finished given me the trim I'd asked for when she mentioned a bob "Only $70 for a whole new chance at life?" I'd jokingly responded when the time came to pay. I might still be getting used to it (haven't had my hair this short since 6th grade!) but it feels right. How important it is to feel better physically, too.

There's most certainly travel on the horizon (New York, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Vancouver, hopefully Paris, maybe Rome), but to be honest, for now, all truly is well in Los Angeles.

unseasonal

But maybe I just want too much, I told her. I've been seeking to live like a balloon that's tied to the ground but on a really long string. She commended me for the simile and visual.

A couple of days ago, I woke up to my brother's voice in my parents' hotel room. He'd called from Copenhagen to to FaceTime with my Mom. And as much as it truly was nice to hear his voice, the conversation stirred up an uncomfortable restlessness inside me.

I'd worked with a Scottish girl a few days prior at event in San Jose. We commiserated on what a special and unique and gratifying experience it is to spend more than a few weeks outside of one's home country. She loved California. I understood, and yet...

This lull after hosting shouldn't surprise me—I felt it after Marie, and Leslie, and Deanna, and every-single-other-friend/relative-who-has-visited-me-thus-far left. But still, I'm more rooted in Los Angeles than ever. I love my job, my house, and such ordinary comfort is so gosh darn unsettling. Oh, and it should be noted this is not the first time I'm reacting this way, nor the second, and no, not even the third. At this rate, I may very well struggle with a frustrating itch that causes me to seek out exceptional experiences for the rest of my freaking life. (Yes, I'm partially mocking myself.) Please tell me I'm not the only one?

P.S. To-do list as of late: a book club, gym membership, int'l Meetup group, Habitat for Humanity project, and senior volunteer opp.

a new year

We're twelve days into 2016... and I could not be more thrilled about the fresh start and clean slate. Sure, I've often been wary of NYE pressures and those gosh darn resolutions, but as the clock struck twelve on January 1st, I only felt joy and relief. I hugged Lorelei. She, AJ, and I toasted to "another chance to get it right". And the goodness that has followed has me laughably hopeful for what's to come. And yet, at this moment in time, in honor of my recent return to Los Angeles and Marie's upcoming visit, I'm inclined to look back to the beginning of the school year (which I will never ever stop recognizing as such) when Leslie was in town,

{Brunch at République}

{Visit to the Getty Center}

{Hike to the Griffith Observatory, and this view of DTLA that followed}

{Tacos at Guisados}

{Thrift & vintage shopping in Mar Vista & Los Feliz}

{Wining & dining at Eveleigh}

{Drinks at Far Bar--for Kerri's birthday!}

As jet-lagged and out of sorts as I was then, I reveled in the opportunity to introduce my New York-friend to the "pockets of magic" I've found in L.A. The forecast is looking very bright for more hosting and discovering in 2016, too--that's your cue to come visit :)

je préfére

I wonder, sometimes, if and how we're predisposed to preferences.

I love the hustle and bustle of New York, but that's probably because it's the city I first knew, and I knew it as the city; not to mention that the commotion reminds me of my childhood home, what with the nature of my parents' careers and social lives. I love the melodic elegance of the French language, but so does my Colombian grandmother, as she's repeatedly told me; and much of the whole wide world has a reverence for Paris, however imagined or misguided. But I didn't expect to love the cultural landscape of Los Angeles.

En fait, I'd hardly known one existed... and I'd be grateful if you could please excuse such a truth. This is a place to become. There's freedom in the space, in the undefinedness, in the beautiful excess of palms and bougainvillea across miles of unruly concrete.

Then again, this is also a place to drown--overlooked, forgotten--in the oppressive sunshine that blurs months into empty "nice days".

Do I love L.A.? Not quite, though I do really like it. I'd like to stay, too, for the right reasons. And leave when a move is due.

Recently, as I was commuting with TED Radio Hour on Identities, it occurred to me that after "what do you do?" and "what are you?" (a careless and annoying way to inquire about race/ethnicity), the most common question exchanged when meeting new people is "where are you from?" Too often I refer to myself as a "New Yorker in L.A. by way of Paris". A true response that reveals so little.

To be fair, declarations of identity tend to be oversimplified that way. And I'm only just beginning to understand the nitty gritty of myself. Thus these thoughts with these photos.

warming up again

Today I went to yoga for the first time in three weeks. My hips were tight from climbing the narrow staircases to the airbnb in Amsterdam. My right shoulder kept popping from having held my heavy purse so tightly through a rainy London. My hamstrings were exorbitantly tense from traversing across Paris, from one arrondissement to another, reconnecting with old friends and mentors.

I had originally booked the trip to Europe because I figured I'd earned the time off for friends, Paris, and my siblings who currently have the privilege of living/studying abroad. I hadn't known then how much I would need it now. It was hard, and long, and so freaking good. And one day after it ended, Leslie came to Los Angeles. What timing, eh? She reminded me (unknowingly, mind you) of all the reasons why I'm grateful to now call this city home. I'd really like to share my EuroTrip and her visit with you in these coming days, almost as if it hasn't been nearly a year since I did such things. Make believe with me--will you, please?

from the cutting room floor

{Echo Park Lake, pre-Lotus Festival}

Note to self: take more photos. Up next: Seattle (July 24-26); London, Amsterdam, Paris, and the Hague (August 23-September 3).

los angeles, lately

{Venice}

{Silverlake}

 {La Brea}

winter on the pacific

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” --Carl Reiner

sunday at hollywood lake

{Hollywood Reservoir}

union station at christmas

{#myLAcommute}

saturday in los feliz

{Co-op}

{Skylight Books}

{Sumis}

{Bar Covell}