The best of Los Angeles, via Instagram

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Growing up in Sacramento does not breed a love of Southern California. We take pride in being from Nor Cal, harboring a hate of the Lakers and the smog and the traffic, a pride in our farms and lakes and mountains, and a suspicion about how genuine the people are. Alas: despite having grown up just a mere eight-hour drive away, I haven’t really spent any time in Los Angeles (except a college lacrosse trip and a few overnights at LAX after long-haul flights). We flew out last Wednesday night for a long weekend of sunshine and 80 degrees (perfectly timed to miss New York’s last winter punch of a snowstorm). Our plans were loose: spend some quality time with friends, eat breakfast burritos and tacos galore, and be outside as much as possible. The first day, I was convinced that LA was heaven on earth: the weather! the blue skies! the laid-back vibes! the delicious tacos! By the end of our trip…I felt exactly like a Sacramentan-turned-Brooklynite should feel: I was over dealing with traffic and parking and I felt like I could almost breathe in the quantities of Botox and silicone that surrounded me. At least the blue skies, palm trees and ocean breezes were just as appealing as ever!

Serious curb appeal.

We hiked Runyon Canyon–what a view!

We did a spontaneous early-morning run for breakfast burritos at Cofax Coffee–and oh em gee, that chorizo breakfast burrito (with avocado, of course) can’t be beat. Yay Aly! My roommate in Brooklyn moved out to Los Angeles in October, and it was so fun to finally reunite with her for a day of wine drinking at Malibu Cafe and then watching the sunset and grabbing dinner on the Malibu Pier.Bike riding around the Venice Canals might have been my very favorite thing that we did! It was so quaint and bucolic and completely unexpected just a few blocks from the chaos of Venice Beach. There will be quite a few more posts about Los Angeles coming up, but just wanted to say a special thanks to Steve, Ariella and Latte for hosting us in their beautiful apartment and to Aly and DS for such a fun day out in Malibu!