0016 -- a weekend in review

we had the most magical weekend in palm springs and i'm totally trying to bring myself back to reality (of course that isn't working out to well for me). we went out with our largest group to date (15 people) and it was just the perfect way to do it! we had a hell of time on Saturday getting seats at the pool at the Ace, despite the fact that we were there before lunch. it turned out just fine since our room was ready early AND we got upgraded to an awesome patio room!!!

anyways, enough rambling, how about some photos!!

me and the fiance, happiest birds in the desert!

our old roomie and one of the best gals around, dawn!

my maid of honor and best gal pal, marpow (we were so obsessed with this wall we all have 100 pictures in front of it)!

how killer was our canvas comforter?!

getting down on some bill's pizza

most incredible pizza ever!!!

some of the lovely ladies we were out with

started sunday off right!

stacey and i sunning with her baby Domi!

marni and zach treating me like a total princess <3

reading in the shade


last picture before we packed up the car and headed south!

0015 -- echo park lake

we recently heard around town that echo park lake was finally re-opening. we live just up the hill from the lake in angelino heights so we've been looking forward to have somewhere else to walk! of course we were out of town the actual weekend it opened and we've been saying for a few weeks now that we should walk down and check it out.

last night after i got home from happy hour with a girlfriend jordan and i finally decided to throw on our tennis shoes and head down the hill. although it was after 9 the lake was still busy with runners and people walking their dogs.
now i'll admit it's been a few years since i've actually been to the lake, in fact i feel like it's been under construction for years now...but they had a lot of work to do. the lake was known for being a little gritty, over run with homeless folk sleeping on the grass, and it just felt a little trashy. here's a photo of what it looked like before:
it looks great now, the lake is clean. the boat house looks to have been rebuilt. new benches were put in all around the lake. the lotus flowers are almost ready to open and i believe that there is actually a lotus festival where they'll be opening the bridge over to the little island in the lake.


we're so excited to make this walk a part of our weekly routine!

0014 -- bridal shower prep

i'm known to be quite type a and tend to plan things way in advance. with our weekends quickly booking up and trying to make sure we still have time to relax i've been trying to prep for my upcoming bridal shower! i'm not a very traditional gal so i've been having a bit of a hard time knowing how to dress for all these parties. i've been thinking white since it's a bit out of the norm for me and it's definitely screams bride. here's a few that i've had my eye on recently:

available at: zara, free people, free people, wasteland, wasteland

after much deliberation here's what i ended up with from wasteland and cost me under $60!:

as much as i love the floral crown trend, i just don't think that i've got that sweetness that it takes to pull it off, as well i'm a sucker for playing with my now lavender hair! here are a few accessories i've been thinking of wearing with it:


bracelet from etsy, knuckle ring from etsy, heels from zara, necklace from need supply.

0013 -- palm springs!

jordan and i have been going to palm springs pretty much since we first got together.
our first trip out there we didn't stay at the right hotel, but still found ourselves loving it. this weekend we're due back out for our first trip of summer (although it may be our last trip until the wedding since we have just too much going on). a ton of our pals from LA and AZ will be meeting us out at the Ace, where we try and always stay.
since we go out so much, we've developed some serious love for a bunch of little spots out there. from anniversaries, birthdays, girl's trips, or just a day visit there's a little something for everyone in the desert's most fabulous city!

Copley's - we've celebrated jordan's birthday on their patio. they have killer food, a great atmosphere and my favorite fire pit/patio.

Woody's Burgers - oh man, where do i start...it looks sketchy and kinda icky, but man this place does some killer burgers. a must hit on the way out of town and you need to sober up after drinking bloody mary's all morning...

Bill's Pizza - they don't deliver, but they make the best pizza i've ever had. stop in and enjoy the people watching, or grab a pizza on your way to the hotel and eat in your room!

Cheeky's - the best breakfast you'll find in the desert (if not most places). there's always a crazy long line, but it's totally worth it!!
The Ace Hotel - the "it" place to stay. go and use the pool for the day, eat at king's highway, drink at the amigo room. the most comfortable beds we've ever slept on and just killer design of the whole hotel.

Moorten's Botanical Garden - we stumbled on this place and will be having our wedding photos taken here. with over 3,000 kinds of cacti you won't believe how beautiful this place is!

and just to throw it all in perspective, here's a little map i drew (please excuse the "you are here" just a sneak peek at some wedding design work)!

0012 -- working it out

less than 90 days to the wedding so i'm in crunch time for my workouts, clearing up my skin, making sure my hair is somewhat healthy (although let's be honest, i've had 4 very drastic color changes in the last year so it's a bit beat up). last week i had a seriously menacing cold so unfortunately i worked out only twice, leaving me feeling like i have a ton of catching up to do.

i've been working out via FaceTime with my maid of honor and dearest friend, marissa. every day at 6:30 i get home change into my sweats and running shoes and we do something isometric routines to help keep up our bums and make sure our arms aren't wiggling when we wave. here are a few of our favorites (of course we add in some sumo squats, lunges, and planks too):

along with our 6 day a week workouts we've also been trying to drastically change our eating/drinking habits. instead of drinking 4 nights a week, we've curbed it to one or two and our food intake has changed from meat with most meals, to meat once or twice a week. it's been a bunch of big changes, especially for jordan but he's been a great sport about it all! i've always been a big salad fan, so i've been making this AWESOME mango dressing that reminds me of the one at native foods. i would strongly recommend it and it's good on everything from salads to quinoa!!

mango dressing (raw & vegan):
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen mango
1/2 cups safflower or sunflower oil (i used a nice olive oil that we have and didn't use the full 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup maple syrup (i used organic agave)
1/4 cup lime juice (i subbed for lemon since it's all we had)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
blend in a small food processor or blender. extra dressing can be saved for few days too! enjoy!!

0011 -- rawfinery

i have met some really talented folks during the last 5 years here in los angeles. most recently i've had the pleasure of not only knowing, but getting to work with the very talented lizbeth molina, jewelry designer extraordinaire!

she makes some of the most simply beautiful jewelry pieces i've seen in a long time. mixing raw and refined materials she's found a balance of beauty and edgy that every girl could crave. i am so thrilled to share a few of my favorite pieces below! make sure to check out her etsy shop for all her wares!

0010 -- you were the thing that made me think i could escape

yesterday while reading a neat article on refinery 29 about a gal pal's new album i noticed that they had done an article with kathleen hanna of bikini kill, le tigre, and most recently julie ruin.

kathleen hanna was my hero growing up (along with kim gordon of sonic youth), she embodied feminism and girl power in a way that i wanted to. she and bikini kill addressed the issues of rape culture, patriarchy, and double standards which reminded me that it's a-ok to not only have my opinions but to feel comfortable standing up for what i really believe in. anyhow, i'm getting off track.

anyhow, in this article kathleen hanna talked about how she was more concerned with "having a UTI and no health insurance instead of some guy" i mean what a fucking badass, and how brutally honest. it's really wild to me all the stupid mundane things we allow ourselves to get caught up in and all the really important issues we let fall to the wayside. needless to say, i was so moved by the article that i thought i should share it here (along with a few of my favorite bikini kill, le tigre, and julie ruin songs).

 

so with that, happy feminist friday!

0009 -- the eggo

father's day is coming up on saturday which means jordan and i will be trekking back south to see our families. we haven't been back in over a month and i'm looking forward to getting to see some of our friends and go out to some of our old favorite haunts.
when we first started dating jordan lived in a really cute little bungalow in north park. for the first few months i would take the train south every friday night and come back on sunday night. we'd spend our weekends trying out little cafe's where we could drink iced coffees and play card or try some little restaurant. we'd usually end our nights meeting up with some friends and one of the many watering holes in the area...

here are a few of our favorites around north park and downtown:
sushi deli - always a wait, but so worth it. try the sweet potato roll!
inn at the park - super cute joint right across the street from balboa park and in walking distance of hillcrest. our studio room had a full kitchen too!
twiggs coffee shop - the best almond croissant!
bronx pizza - real NY style pizza in hillcrest (great for a quick lunch mid shopping)
pokez - with vegan options (like potato flautas) you can't go wrong!
the linkery - they cure their own meats, they have a killer beer selection and it's right across the street from bar pink!
guru tattoo - go see Tom and let him zap you, you won't be sorry!
cherry bomb - super cheap drinks, great punk and metal jukebox, and quarter games of pool
whistle stop - cash only, but always a great time and an inside/outside smoking area for those of you who still partake.
livewire - our favorite, we had a our first unofficial date here!
rudfords - it's late, you're a little buzzed and know you don't want to wake up with a hangover, go to rudfords and get some late night breakfast
bar pink - you may have stepped into dumbo's bubble bath. nice stiff, cheap drinks and usually some kind of live band on the weekends you can't go wrong.
starlite lounge - need a spot for a date? or maybe you gotta get out of the dog house? take her here. she'll love it.

photo via tumblr.

0008 -- the desert

if you know us, then you know we're really into the desert. we tend to go to palm springs for a day at the pool followed by a night of gluttony. our instagrams are filled with photos of the cacti and fields of turbines.

just before the summer weather got into full swing in the desert we took our first trip out to joshua tree. we had recently bought our honda crv and decided to take it car camping since at the time we didn't own a tent. we did a little research and prepped ourselves with lanterns, an air mattress, and a few blankets. we'd car camped once before in our friend's scion xd and hoped this time would be even more successful. jordan and stephen even created window screen from some suction cups and photo light bouncers!

the drive to joshua tree is almost like going to palm springs for us. it's all the same sand dunes, wind turbines but then you keep going and it turns into these brightly colored scattered little adobe homes and these crazy bulbous rocks. then your cell service stops and you really just have to take in how pretty it all is.

we stayed at the jumbo rocks camp site which was the perfect spot, right behind our camp were just miles of desert and rocks for us to go climbing on. each site had a grill, picnic table, and a fire pit which made making dinner (heating up some vegan chili we made) super easy! the weather is reasonable from october to may, although the winters are known to get a little snow and pretty cold at night. because we were there in early may, it was still in the mid 70's to low 80's while we were there which allowed us to take a few day hikes, although hanging out at camp was really just perfect! we did take one trek into the town to see what it was like (pretty much a little hippy town) and to wash our faces/take showers at the public showers out there. unfortunately the crochet museum wasn't open, so we'l have to hit that on our next trip out there!

should you find yourself needing a little trip away from home, but not too far, i would totally recommend a little visit out to joshua tree!