In early December Shannen & I took a quick trip to Los Angeles for my friend Erica's wedding. I've only been to L.A. two other times: our honeymoon, and another friend's wedding. I was sick for the duration of our honeymoon, and the second visit was great, but the trip itself didn't leave much time for exploration. The third time must really be the charm, though, because we had so much fun. Here's a quick recap of what we did, where we stayed, what we ate, and photos from our (almost) 72 hours in California.

Friday Night

We landed Friday evening, heading straight to our hotel in Pasadena.  Shannen needed her first In-N-Out experience ASAP, so we made a beeline for the nearest drive-thru. After dinner we headed downtown to meet my oldest friend, Chelsea, and her husband at The Roosevelt for drinks. I enjoyed a dang good margarita, and then it was basically 4am our time so we headed back to the hotel to sleep.

Saturday

Saturday started bright & early with a hike up to Griffith Observatory. It was so breathtaking (literally, I need to do more cardio), with the most beautiful view. The weather was absolutely perfect for a post-hike breakfast outside at The Trails Cafe. Their dirty chai with homemade almond milk, and vegan blueberry muffin are amazing. Shan let me steal a few bites of her avocado toast, too, which was SO good.

We returned to the hotel & I prepped for Erica's wedding while Shannen went exploring in Old Pasadena before meeting up with our cousin, Matt.

A few snaps from Erica's gorgeous GORGEOUS wedding:

Sunday

This was our most full day. The goal was to pack asmanythingsaspossible into one day, because of our limited time. Here's what it looked like:

• Grab a bite at this place for breakfast.
• Meet up with Chelsea and head to Santa Monica Pier.
• Walk the boards & take photos & eat churros & drink lemonade.
• Drive to Venice beach for the sunset.
• Dinner and drinks downtown at Perch.
• Spa Palace for our first Korean Spa experience (highly recommend!)

Santa Monica & Venice Beach

Perch

These pics are blurry, but I still love them. 

Before & After the K-Spa

Monday

Our flight out was Monday morning, sadly. We grabbed a quick bite at the cutest walk-up cafe at Conservatory in West Hollywood, and booked it to the Enterprise.

Then it was just a cool, 40-minute bus ride from Enterprise to the departure gate. It felt like an eternity, and I was mildly freaking out. And by mildly I mean Googling: "what happens if you miss your flight?" Halfway to the airport I found out one of my dearest friends, Lisa, arrived in LA at the same time, so we met with her before checking in. It was the best surprise-- she is the greatest.

We made it to our gate with enough time to buy chocolate, water, and a few souveniers, and then spent the duration of the flight playing word games on the back of any napkin we could find.

Our layover in St. Louis was a snooze fest complete with the most awful nachos I've ever eaten (it's my own fault for ordering airport nachos). We arrived home into freezing Philly around 10:30pm. The drive back to Ocean City with frosted windows and barely-warm seats was probably one of the most miserable I've made in awhile. Shannen & I recapped the best parts of the trip all the way home.

Is it Time to Go Back Yet?

California is so beautiful and we had the best time. It's definitely one of my most favorite places, and I have yet to see the northern part. I cannot wait to go back, and I've already added it to Steve's and my List of Places to Live in This Lifetime. Have you ever been to Cali, or is it on your bucket list? I'd love to know of any must-see places in Northern California if you've been!

Small Favor

Friends! Since we are rounding out another year of Hey Katie, I'd love to have your input via this Survey. There are so many things that I love to write about, but I'd love to hear what you're most interested in seeing here on the blog. Each person who fills out the survey will be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift card of their choosing. A winner will be chosen next week & contacted via email.

I can't thank you enough for reading & supporting me in this little creative journey, it really means so much.

Wishing you a happy 6th day of Christmas, and a soon to be New Year!

xo,

Katie