While our son was home from college and before he departed for his study abroad in Denmark, we wanted to take a quick trip to Los Angeles because we love travel adventures and together we always come up with unique and memorable things to do.  So, we cashed in some points on American and flew to LA.  In case you're wondering, yes, it is totally worth it to create an account with your favorite airlines because you earn miles as you fly.  Another great shortcut for us has been getting our known traveler number.  It's easy to schedule an appointment and being able to go through the TSA precheck line versus the regular extremely long line everyone else has to go through saves us so much time and we don't have to take off our shoes.

This trip we decided to stay in Hollywood and our hotel of choice was the Thompson Hollywood.  It was a sophisticated, modern and minimal hotel that was comfortable and located perfectly for our needs.  We planned our first meal at El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant established in 1931 and featured in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.  We figured Brad and Leo couldn't be wrong.  It was truly traditional and we enjoyed margaritas that were very strong, chips, salsa, guacamole, enchiladas and tamales.  The food was good but we were mainly there for the celebrity status.  We walked to find Wasteland, one of Riley's fave vintage stores which was very cool and getting ready to close.  Our last stop was the Manns Chinese Theater where we watched Nosferatu.  What a perfect theater to watch a horror movie in.   I wore my travel outfit of a James Perse black cashmere sweater, black leggings and my new favorite Adidas Sambas with a leather jacket, elevated casual. 

Our next day began with a trip to the garment district where I was on the hunt for a new brand.  We had a good time checking out their merchandise in a laid back showroom full of sweet ladies helping us and left with some fun new tops!  The guys forgot their sunglasses and that's when being a buyer came in handy; we went to a fave accessory wholesaler and they tried on several pairs.  Remember, it's rare you can buy just one, wholesale items come in packs so we purchased 12 pairs of 2 different styles of sunglasses, you'll see them merchandised in my space at The Painted Tree in Chandler.

Next, my son, Riley wanted to find a store he had seen on Tik Tok, Bodega.  We were on the hunt driving around the LA Produce Market until we found Row DTLA a cool and creative "city within a city".  We found the map of offerings and lucky us, there was a Pizzeria Bianco onsite perfectly timed for lunch!  Their modern, chic space with lots of light flowing through the windows was buzzing and we were fortunate we could get a table.  The focaccia was delicious as were the pizzas.  We tried the Wise Guy and Biancoverde with olives added.  Both were delicious.  Then we walked around and checked out the shops.  What a find with the Jonny Cota store, the winning designer on Making The Cut, a fabulous show much like Project Runway.  He was actually in the store which was thrilling and I tried on many items.  His aesthetic is edgy and comfortable at the same time.  We walked into Friday Gallery and I found a fabulous black linen kimono style jacket perfect for Arizona cool nights.  Then we found Bodega for Riley, hidden behind the plastic slat mock wall mysteriously looking like going into the back room of a grocery store, as their site says "hidden in plain sight".  The store was cool because Riley always finds the cool spots.  I describe it as curated hipster.  He didn't find anything so we left knowing we had just been to one of the most obscure, cool places in LA.  I wore my beige sweater with one of my favorite pairs of Kut from the Kloth jeans and my Sambas with my leather jacket.

That night we had reservations at Tom Tom.  It was my choice because I dedicated my evenings binge watching every episode of Vanderpump Rules.  I love drama reality shows playing in the background when I'm writing product descriptions or scheduling social media posts for Clothes Minded.  So, Tom Tom was a cocktail forward restaurant that I was interested in checking out and lucky the guys went along with it.  They seated us in the dining room which made me feel old and uncool but the cocktails and appetizers we started with were outstanding.  The famous goat cheese balls did not disappoint and the spicy cauliflower wings were out of this world.  Rileys pumptini was delish and my summer renaissance was also wonderful.  The main dishes were less intriguing but we still really enjoyed our experience and the cherry on top was spotting Bottega Louie right next door where we scored some delicious macarons, my fave being the salted caramel.  We weren't done yet, we had a 21 year old in our midst, so once we returned to our hotel we shot up to the top floor, Bar Lis was waiting and had tempted us with views of the Hollywood sign, which we unfortunately couldn't see because of clouds or smog.  The drinks, however, were fab!  Cory tried the les limonade, Riley the mon cheri and I had the strawberry fields.  All fabulous, worth staying up late!  I changed for dinner into my sparkly Evereve tee and my fabulous gray cashmere duster with my jeans and metallic booties I purchased at an amazing shoe store in San Francisco, Bulo Shoes.  

Final and full day for us started with Eat This a brunch spot Riley found with thousands of reviews.  The blackberry bellini started off my day right.  The guys shared blueberry pancakes and an omelette, the blueberry pancakes being the highlight.  I had huevos rancheros and I'm super picky so they didn't really wow me.  Riley was excited to check out a brand he's been following called Shop 925 which was curiously tucked inside of the fabric and rug area of the garment district.  Riley seems to have an affinity for warehouse vibe stores.  We found it, he tried on some items, loved them and was thrilled.  He much prefers vintage and Japanese brands so this place really was a hit for him.  Cory wanted to check out a local attraction, Angels Flight Railway, a historic landmark in downtown LA.  It was a fun little experience and led us to an extensive photo op outside the Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Broad, both architectural masterpieces that my son, an architecture major found very intriguing.  Then we headed to Little Tokyo, where Cory had eaten at a famous and bustling restaurant, Daikokuya.  We loved the ramen and the saki.  The service was incredible and we will go back.  

Our final destination was the Griffith Observatory.  There was one way in and one way out, it was busy, dark and on a windy road.  We didn't know we were supposed to park in the lot and take a bus up to the obrservatory so we did the drive twice.  The observatory is free with some paid films in their planetarium.  We were able to see the moon with a powerful telescope, as well as Jupiter, so cool.  We watched the film Signs of Life where the live narrator really enhanced the experience.  Remember, this is where Adele performed in 2021.  I wore my thick black sweater from one of my fave boutiques in Laguna Beach, Amenah paired with my Ganni pants and Sambas, elevated casual again.

Our trip concluded and I wrote about all the fun details in my travel journal.  The temperatures were pretty chilly for us, in the 60s during the day. I brought the right warm clothes and layers, yet packed minimally so I had room to bring back some new clothes for you!  I created a reel of all my outfits, find it on my Clothes Minded Instagram page.

 

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