LA: a day with the ladies

I didn't mention this in yesterday's post, but I've met a nice handful of people in person that I've first met online, but THIS was the first time I'd ever met any of my blogger buddies. I've been pretty lucky that I haven't been catfished. This time included.


Side note: I have no idea why, but housekeeping kept leaving me extra soap, lotion and shampoo. I clearly had enough of my own, but every time I came back from a day out, there was a bunch more. I thought about throwing it all in my bag, because you never know when you might need it, but A) I didn't wanna throw extra shit in my suitcase and B) it wasn't the best quality.


Sunday was Rima's birthday. She was on call for the week and we weren't sure until Friday night whether or not she'd have to stick close to home or she'd be able to come out to LA and hang out for the day. Thankfully one of her coworkers was able to cover her last on call shift for her and we were able to hang out all day. That's how birthday's should be spent, with friends and loved ones, not at work.


Rima and I picked up Evani from her hotel and headed to Bottega Louie for brunch. BL was packed with people, but thankfully we only had a short wait to be seated. While we waited we all drooled over the macarons, beignets and other sweet treats tempting us in the pastry case.


I ended up picking up a box of five macarons and a plain beignet (my first ever, delicious). I really wanted a box of 13 but I couldn't justify spending that much no matter how delicious these yummy treats were. I definitely plan to go back. Check out those colors and the pretty packaging. My crafty self plans to do something fun with that box.


Everything on the menu looked good (check out their website above) and I had a hard time deciding what to eat. In the end I decided on the Italian Scramble. I was still in a breakfast mood. Evani had some delicious looking ravioli and Rima had the Croque Madame that looked and tasted delicious (she couldn't finish it so Evani and I did). Rima also ordered a chocolate souffle because she said we had to try it. It was so good I can't even begin to describe it.


After brunch we headed to the Santa Monica pier and met up with Gaby to take a nice walk on the beach (one of my goals was to make it to the beach and I was wondering if I'd get the chance). The water was shockingly cold, but we got used to it. The beach had such a calming effect on me. I wish we'd brought a blanket so we could've sat in the sand and just enjoyed listening to the waves crash on the beach. It was so beautiful. I really miss the beach. It's definitely pulling me back to the left coast.




I found this little guy on the beach and it reminded me of my friend Blake Allee's song, Wine and Dine a Dinosaur so I had to snap a pic and rescue it and stored it in my bag.


I'm not good at having my picture taken. The girls told me to throw up the peace sign like all Asians do, but I went for the thumbs up instead. Ha!


The light coming in under the pier was beautiful. I think the only bad thing that happened at the pier was getting a splinter in my toe. Thankfully I brought my tweezers with me so I took care it.


After getting attacked by a big wave we decided it was time to grab a snack. So we headed to Urth Caffe for a yummy treat. I got to mark another place off my list from my California To Do passport. I opted for the Matcha Infused Tirimasu and a glass of white jasmine tea. I think all of us would agree this it was delicious. I wish I could've taken it home with me. We sat and talked a bit and relaxed before deciding to see if we could get some thrifting done before dinner. We needed to space out our eating too. Ha!


Evani was on the hunt for a jean jacket (Rima and I both had ours), but was unsuccessful. Gaby did find this awesome jacket, but decided to leave it for someone else. Rima also found an awesome brightly colored bolero (WITH SHOULDER PADS) that went home with her. After our Goodwill trip it was time for Evani to meet up with her Rob to head back to their hotel. I really wish she could've had dinner with us. :( We snapped a few pics and said our goodbyes.

Rima, Gaby and I headed to Pasadena for dinner at Slater's 50/50. There was a small discussion about which burger place was better (Umami Burger or Slater's) during snack time at Urth Caffe and they pretty much left it up to me to decide where we should eat since it'd be my first time to either place. I really wanted Umami because they had a lot of good reviews, but then Rima told me that 50/50 stood for their half ground beef and half ground bacon burger patties. I love bacon so I couldn't resist. They also had Vampire Dip that I wanted to try that someone had suggested and it was on my passport list.

We walked around Pasadena for a bit before heading to Slater's for dinner. Pasadena was lovely. They even had crosswalks where ALL the cars stop and you can cross on the diagonal, they need those in more places.

Slater's did not disappoint. The Vampire Dip was a garlicy, creamy bowl of yummy goodness and the burger I created was AMAZING (I forget what all it had on it, but Rima has a picture of what I chose on her blog, I know it had gouda and chipotle mayo on it though). I didn't originally order it with the Vampire Dip as the cheese, but ended up adding some from what was leftover from our appetizer. I plan to try to make it on my own. The burger as well.

I also decided to partake in a Wells Banana Bread beer. It was good, but it made me feel like crap after. I really need to figure out what it is in certain beers that makes me feel that way. I can drink Stella with no problem, but others...ugh.

After dinner we headed home for some rest. The next two days would be filled with Disney fun!

reading - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs This post brought to you in part by: