[I miss it.]

Take me back. 

It's happier there.

[Meet me at Bottega Louie!]

My new happy place has been located, people. Over the holiday, Lauren came to see me in LA and we frolicked our way downtown to Bottega Louie for macarons and girl talk. Is there anything better than hours of chatting with a best friend over multicolored deliciousness, IN LA?? I think not. I highly recommend it for all your macaron-eating and people-watching (slash celebrity-stalking) needs. As soon as I can make my little way back across the country, I'll be returning immediately. Who wants to go with me??

[The day after.]

Beach. 68 and sunny. Turkey sandwiches and sparkling apple cider. Volleyball battles. Wardrobe malfunctions. Sunset. Sand in my hair for days. Lifeguard stations and palm trees. Better than anything.

[dreaming of decorative arts at the getty...]

Just some more pictures from my LA trip last month...

If I could narrow my dream home down to one decorating style, I'd probably end up with a glitzy, 17th - 18th c. Versailles-wannabe. I could happily live out the rest of my life camped out in the J. Paul Getty Museum's European decorative arts galleries, where I wandered for almost an hour while Kelly wandered around the gardens like the flower child she is.

a

Oh, and here we are.

[i miss this city.]

I've only been back in D.C. a few days, but I already miss this beautiful city. The architecture, the colors, the palm trees, the views, the cool nights... I'm sort of starting to come to terms with the reality that I most likely won't end up back in L.A., at least not permanently, so every time I'm home I try to make sure to take a few more photos of things I love there. This weekend, I grabbed shots of The Getty (best views *and* decorative arts collection in LA), the Bruin theater in Westwood (where I've gone to movies since I was 2 and where they hold all the Hollywood red carpet premiers), the 405 (on which I've spent many an afternoon happily car singing in traffic), and the UCLA track (where we always go on Sunday evening family runs) (I walk).

L.A., you will always have my heart.

Resolved in 2011.

Original resolution, "find an L.A. restaurant named after me," already accomplished.

Happy New Year!

LA singles ward observations.

just some observations from attending church in LA today:

girls in short skirts.

girls in stillettos.

{and you're like...so that's where she got it...}

girls doing makeup in relief society.

more grammar errors and mispronunciations in sunday school.

people are better looking.

{like...much better looking.}

and generally well dressed and more hip.

more career variety. recording artist? check. i-banker? check. professor? check. model? social worker? actress? check check check.

~

all this in comparison to current community of residence, the NoVA/DC area.

that's all for now.

happy trails.

On New Year's Eve, we took a family hike {with visitor Chad!} on a trail in Will Rogers State Park. This has always been a special family outing that we've oft repeated throughout the years, and even though I moaned and groaned about it at first--physical exertion? on vacation!?--I was excited to share a little bit of my childhood with Chad.

Hitting the dusty...paved...trail!

Our trusty scouts surge ahead...

...while the old fogies bring up the rear.

Almost to the top!

Made it! Enjoying the views.


And posing for our paparazzi...

Meanwhile, my sister Kelly was apparently having or under an attack.

pacific coast highway.

a perfect afternoon is:

...a three hour drive up the pch...
...no particular destination...
...bff L in the passenger seat...
...views and waves and the sunset...

this is why you live in california.

a reason to love the (L)east coast.

I'm generally a happy camper about the fact that I've been doin' my thang on the east coast for over four years, but after a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving weekend back home, I've been wondering why in the world I would EVER want to live anywhere but L.A.

This question sort of bounces around my brain for a few days following every L.A. trip (slash every day), and it's been particularly bouncy this time. I have pretty solid moping skills, so this is the kind of thing that can really take me out for a while if I let it, especially given my abnormally emotional attachment to L.A.

Since I'm starting to come to the realization that I might be on this side of the country for years/indefinitely, I should maybe try to focus on reasons to love the east coast rather than reasons to miss the best coast. It's almost physically painful (and nearly impossible) for me to acknowledge an L.A. deficit, but here it goes:

Autumn in D.C. is stunning. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw this breathtakingly beautiful tree in front of the Smithsonian castle the other day, and I took about a zillion iPhone pics, a few of which are here in their gloriously un-photoshopped brilliance. This is a sight that can't be found in L.A., and as I'm always one to stop and smell the flowers (this is a lie--I have allergies--but I do stop and look), it's something that I can appreciate about this side of the country.

There, I said it. And if ever confronted about it, I'll deny deny deny.
(L.A., this doesn't change anything, I'm just trying to throw the least coast a bone here. I hope you understand. Your all around weather score is still higher, obvi, and at the first hint of snow here I'll be singing your praises.)