look to my right and i see the hollywood sign

"a sweet friendship refreshes the soul." proverbs 27:9

ok bear with me - this is going to be one of my longer posts - but yesterday was a big day and i took a LOT of pictures. we decided to take a roadtrip to los angeles, but first stopped in santa monica so that we could see and explore the famous pier.










if you notice in the background, there is a ferris wheel that reminds me of the one from the park on the OC. actually just being in california often reminds me of the OC and i miss it.


after exploring santa monica, we headed to venice beach where we saw many interesting things...




this lady was serious about her dancing. the best part about her performance was her assistant who followed her every move with a giant rainbow umbrella. only on venice beach.


one of my favorite parts of venice beach was the skateboarding park located right on the beach! i got some pretty cool shots of some of the skateboarders. i was especially impressed with the children that looked like they couldnt be older than 4 or 5!






after venice beach, we went to the 90210 area: beverly hills. i absolutely didnt mind spending a couple hours in this part of town.






and of course i made time to stop in my very favorite store.


also in beverly hills is lauren's favorite cupcake shop. their cupcakes are delicious and they even have little ones that you can buy for your dog!






once we had our cupcakes, we hopped in the car, stopped by 'in and out burger' to grab some food, and then headed to our final stop: hollywood!




thankfully, i brought my zoom lens to capture the above shot. if you look reeeeeallllllly closely in this picture of lauren and i, you can see the tiny little hollywood sign behind us to the top right.


there were so many things to see in hollywood and we were loving it. we took lots of pictures of stars on the street and even got to see some breakdance performers! unfortunately we did not spot any actual celebrities, but it was still awesome to have walked in the same place where so many famous people had been before.






i also enjoyed watching these kids run through the fountain in the middle of the hollywood mall/square, especially the little baby in only a diaper. im so glad that i got to experience LA again and i couldnt have asked for two more awesome girls to spend the day with!

a super saturday

lauren and i were so excited that our friend (and my new raleigh roommate!) stacie finally made it to california late friday night. the next day was jam-packed with adventures and fun. however, it started a little something like this....



yes, i accidently (with the help of stacie and lauren) locked every key, including the spares, inside the house. and yes, we attempted to break in. dont worry - we failed. thankfully, lauren had a friendly neighbor with another spare key and all was well. then we were off for a hike up the mountain/hills of la jolla. in fact, laurens new fancy pedometer said that we walked 5.64 miles and it was mostly uphill! here are some views from the top:





did you notice the nasty grey stuff in the sky? yeah, thats the marine layer and its currently putting a damper on our tanning capabilities, but were dealing with it. i was clearly still able to catch some sunburn during our couple hour hike and it may take awhile to get rid of these terrible lines.



next we headed to the wind & sea beach which is conveniently located right down the street from lauren's house.



this kid was especially enjoying his time at the beach - clearly trying to keep warm in the sand.



lauren and stacie decided to take a nap on the beach.



i decided to casually stalk the surfers instead.





for dinner, we went to the city of del mar and ate at a fun little mexican restaurant, en fuego (which means "on fire").





they had the most amazing chips and salsa - yep, better than la fiesta. and the food was delicious. mmmmmm







after dinner we drove back up to the top of the mountain where we had hiked earlier in the day. in this picture, stacie and i are pointing out the exact place where we hiked up - and back down - that morning.
mom: i bet youre surprised i made it through the wilderness? there were even bees and cacti and slippery rocks. be proud. be very proud.







after a long and exhausting day, we treated ourselves to some chocolate ice cream!

the road to del coronado

yesterday, lauren and i decided to take a day trip to the beaches of coronado. one of my favorite parts of the trip was driving over the huge bridge that takes you to the island. the view was awesome!




i thoroughly enjoyed driving through the town and seeing all the beautiful houses and palm trees everywhere.


as soon as we got out of the car i immediately found more unique flowers. seriously though, i recently became obsessed with california flowers.


unfortunately, it was pretty gloomy by the time we got to the beach, but we were still able to get a little sun and enjoy people-watching for the afternoon.






this is the hotel del coronado - the beachfront, luxury hotel that has hosted presidents, royalty, and celebrities throughout the years. it was pretty huge. i wouldnt mind staying there.


YAY california and YAY for being reunited with my seester!

welcome to la jolla, CA

sorry, its been awhile since ive blogged. unfortunately i had no pictures to share and therefore i went blogless for a few days. fortunately i am back and in la jolla, CA (just north of san diego) and i already have a ton of pictures! first, let me introduce you to my sister's home - casually located on a golf course and right down the street from the wind & sea beach of la jolla.




she lives in the bonus room off the back of the house - a perfect, quaint little space.




lauren's landlord, gina (pronounced like the drink, gin + a), also has the most beautiful flowers in her garden and all around her house. in fact, ive recently found that california has some of the most unique and gorgeous flowers ive ever seen in my life. ill post more pictures in future posts.








and then i just thought this was a cool picture that i accidently took.