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INSTA-LA

INSTA-LA Outfit Inspo

SHIRT Zara • VEST La Marque • HAT Janessa Leone • SHOES Chloe Gladiators

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit somewhere I have never been: LA!!!!  Can you believe I have never been there?  Let me just tell you…I LOVED IT and was ready to move to Lala Land!  The hubs was not too keen on that idea.  Although I did not have a TON of free time…pretty much one dinner and half a day, I definitely made the best of it.  It also ended up being a super productive trip in terms of baby-prep.  I visited this SUPER cool baby store, Bel Bambini AND discovered Kitson Kids (more on both of these later!).

So, without further adieu, here is LA in an INSTA…a collection of all my Instagram images from the trip.  There’s fashion, food, and even some #babylutz tied in!  ENJOY!!

INSTA-LA Bestia

INSTA-LA Bestia Bone Marrow

BESTIA Restaurant

I have been DYING to try this restaurant.  It’s one of the HOTTEST in LA right now, and man, did it live up to the hype.   My foodie friend, Emily, and I literally ordered the entire menu.  It was TO DIE.  The pictures above are just 2 of the dishes we ordered.  2 out of probably 7.  The second one: BONE MARROW.  It was fabulous.  If you have never tried bone marrow, you should immediately.  You can even do a bone marrow luge with brandy or bourbon.  Obviously, we did not partake in this due to the little in my belly, but I have done this in the past.  I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant.  The atmosphere is super casual and very HIP.  The menu is definitely foodie-centric, and I challenge you to be BRAVE.  Step out of your comfort zone and try something new.  You won’t regret it.

INSTA-LA Bel Bambini

Bel Bambini

As much as I love Birmingham, we are lacking in the “modern baby” department.  We have some precious boutiques, but a lot of them are not our style.  SO, I was basically blindly registering and designing the nursery…UNTIL I stumbled upon Bel Bambini in West Hollywood.  SO SO SO CUTE!  They had pretty much everything I had registered for, including the strollers I was trying to decide between.  The salesperson was SUPER helpful and spent a couple of hours with me answering my questions and showing me all the goods.  How cute is the stroller I decided to go with?  It’s the STOKKE Lmited Edition True Black Explory.  It’s perfect for skipping around town and is compatible with my carseat!  I can’t wait to take Baby Lutz for a spin!

We ate a sushi place in the Hollywood Hills on the 2nd night…and check out this view!  WOWZERS!  While I would not recommend the sushi, the view made it worth it!  And you guys know how much I love a palm tree picture.

INSTA-LA Hollywood Hills

After a few days of LONG meetings, I had a free morning.  YIPPEE!!!  I knew I wanted to check out some of the beaches and POSSIBLY hit up the Ivy.  I really wanted to head down to Malibu and eat at Nobu but didn’t really have time.  SO, I decided to do the tourist thing and head to Venice Beach.  It was EXACTLY like I thought it would be.  Muscle Beach was pretty cool, I have to say so myself and is JUST like you see on TV.  We walked down the boardwalk and even scooped up some Venice Beach souvenirs.  Even better…I was able to take some FAB pictures.  These next 3 pictures DEFINITELY sum up our morning on Venice Beach!
INSTA-LA Venice Beach

INSTA-LA Venice Beach YELLOW

INSTA-LA Venice Beach BIKEOH!  I totally forgot to tell you where I stayed!  We stayed at the LOEWS Hollywood Hotel.  While I would not recommend the location (VERY touristy area), the hotel was FABULOUS!  It was hip, modern, and very comfy.  Here’s a shot of my Jimmy Choos parading around on their HOT PINK carpet.

INSTA-LA LOEWS HOLLYWOOD

So, AFTER Venice Beach, I decided to head BACK to West Hollywood to eat at THE IVY.  I mean, if this place doesn’t scream LA, then I don’t know what does.  When I walked up, I was immediately surrounded by beautiful people hobnobbing on the gorgeous patio.  The space was adorned with flowers and presented a somewhat stuffy atmosphere inside.  But would you expect anything less?  They even greet you with a glass of champagne while you wait.  As I took my seat outside, I looked around for celebs.  I immediately noticed Matt Damon just chillin on the patio.  No big.  The menu wasn’t overly impressive, but they had plenty of delicious salads to choose from.  WARNING: they were priced at about 40 bucks a pop, but hey, that’s LA for ya.  I settled into some bread and a lobster salad and soaked in my surroundings.  It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and the hustle and bustle created such a buzz.  As I walked out, I noticed SO MANY of my favorite stores.  Holy moly. I only had a few minutes, so I had to make a quick decision.  I decided to check out KITSON KIDS.  Um adorbs.  I ended up purchasing SEVERAL items for Baby Lutz.  Look how cute!

INSTA-LA Kitson Kidsi

Kitson Kids

TOP LEFT Indikidual • TOP RIGHT Nununu • BOTTOM RIGHT Indikidual • MOCCASINS Freshly Picked

That afternoon, I had the opportunity to take my sales team on a scavenger hunt of sorts all around Hollywood.  It was a blast!  I figured this was a great way to knock out some of the touristy stuff, while providing an avenue for team-building.  Y’all, the scavenger hunt was NO JOKE, so we abandoned the hunt and decided to rock the photo challenge.  We were presented with tasks to “act out” certain photo challenges.  I even bought selfie sticks for each team.  One example was to “interact with a  celebrity.”  Along the Hollywood Strip, they have people dressed up as celebrities that accept tips to take pictures with them.  OH MY GOSH, it was hilarious.  We stopped to chat with Zach Galifianakis (from the Hangover) to fulfill that requirement.  Another was “show respect to an authority figure.”  Again, they had people “dressed up” in police gear.  These ladies pretty much looked like strippers.  My favorite was “eat food in an interesting way.”  Unfortunately, I promised the team I would not post any of the pictures on the blog, so you will have to use your imagination.  But here is my first experience with a selfie stick…

INSTA-LA Selfie Stick

Overall, we had an AWESOME trip!  I wish I had more time to explore the city, but now I know exactly where I want to go next time.    So, until my next trip to LALA LAND…

Love Always LL

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