abbot kinney has been one of my favorite streets in los angeles since my days dancing at yuri grigoriev school of russian ballet in venice beach. that was back when the pinkberry had just opened which has since closed (r.i.p.)… ah the good old days! now, my go-to places on abbot kinney are firefly, urbanic paper boutique, gjelina’s for lunch (post to come) and lemonade for snacks and drinks (which is coming to fashion island soon… yay!).
one of the odd things about going away is coming back to things completely different than how you left. new places open, favorite places close, new buildings are built and the old is torn down. its such a weird concept that life goes on even when i’m on the other side of the world but that’s life! i love re-discovering the place i’ve lived all my life with new awe and wonder. one place that i’m just now discovering is seventh tea at the oc mix mart. it’s owned by the same people who opened portola, which is in my opinion the best coffee in orange county so even before i tried it, i knew this place would be quality. i love the concept of tea on tap and my iced oolong was great! all i can say is i know where i’ll be spending my time this summer
i don’t go to san diego too often but when i do, i always seem to end up in the design district. a few days ago, my mom and i visited san diego to get some gifts and do some shopping. though we didn’t stay long, we had a fun time eating yummy food from whole foods and looking around the stops. my favorite shop is solo on cedros street. everything in the store is so inspirational and unusual and i want just about every book on the book tables. here are a few pics of some of my wanderings around the store and some of the beautiful things i found
happy june everyone! this is the best month of the year but i might be a little biased 😉 after an unintentional blog hiatus, i’m finally back! being home has been so nice and such a change of pace from life in new zealand! honestly, i’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing: just relaxing, catching up on some of my favorite tv shows (revenge and modern family), reading some great books and unpacking and its been glorious… well besides the unpacking part. i feel like i’ve been home months instead of 2 weeks. goodness time flies. besides all the ‘nothingness’ i’ve been doing, i got to see one of my favorite bands, daughter, perform at the troubadour and it was such a wonderful performance, saw one of my besties graduate (congrats christina!), had some fun adventures in la, eaten a lot of fruit, drank a lot of green smoothies and taken lots of beautiful walks by the beach. so far, this summer has been so good. summer, i like you. stay a while
whenever i take friends to la, i always insist on paying a visit to joan’s on third. my mom and i have even driven an hour and a half each way to grab lunch there. though its just a cafe, there is something about the ambiance that is really special. maybe its just special to me because i’ve had so many good laughs and memories there but joan’s is definitely an la treasure. after a day at the los angeles gift show, my mom and i took a few friends there for dinner. the owner ended up coming out and meeting us and she was so sweet, which makes the places all the more lovely knowing such a kind and friendly lady is behind it. when i get home to california, joan’s is definitely one of the first places i plan to go.
