DOWNTOWN + NORTHERN GRADE

April 8, 2013

The Arts District in downtown is one of my favorite areas of Los Angeles. Couple that with beautiful weather and a good hair day and you got yourself a perfect Saturday, my friends. We initially went to check out NorthernGrade, a menswear/accessories/collectibles pop-up (aka Kyle’s version of heaven on earth), but then decided we needed to visit all of our favorite places in the area as well, including Poketo (I can’t leave this store without buying at least one thing, I JUST CAN’T), Apolis, Wurstkuche, and The Pie Hole.

Also, a new home decor store moved into the Arts Distrist and I almost dropped straight dead on the floor when I walked into it. It’s called Hammer & Spear and if you love a 70s vibe and/or vintage and/or breathing, you will drop straight dead on the floor when you walk into it. The hours are a bit funky so make sure to check them before going.

Hope your weekend was lovely!

The Hollywood Reservoir

March 5, 2013

I’ve lived in Los Angeles for a few years now (and in Southern California my whole life) and I’m still discovering its hidden gems and beauties.  Take the Hollywood Reservoir for example.  I only learned about it a few months ago while watching the film “Seven Psychopaths” (which I don’t recommend).  There is one scene at the beginning of the film right on that very bridge in the first photo, and even though someone is getting murdered in the scene, Kyle and I looked at each other and thought: WHAT IS THIS HEAVEN ON EARTH??  Minus the murdering, of course.  Oh but the beautiful lake and lush greenery!  And then I immediately felt like an ass for never having been to this gem literally in the middle of my own city.  Blasphemous.

So we went and explored.  It was so peaceful and as a bonus, we saw deer in their natural habitat.  There is a paved path around the reservoir that’s about 4 miles long and we just walked as far as we could (to a locked gate) and then back around.  A large team training for the marathon was running along the path as well, giving us dirty looks as they passed us, probably thinking that we too were training for the marathon and must be real lazy with all those walk breaks we were taking.  Sorry marathoners, we were not training.  We just really wanted to take pictures of deer.

Here’s more info on the Hollywood Reservoir if you so happen upon LA, are stuck in traffic on the 101, and in dire need of fresh air and nature.

STOP IT, LA.

February 20, 2013

Stop being so dang pretty all the time, Los Angeles.

One of my favorite things about this crazy city of mine is that you can be grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s one minute…and then 15 minutes later you can be on the top of a mountain eating Cookie Butter or drinking Traderade.  Just kidding on the Cookie Butter, but seriously there are so many great places to hike and explore.

For this particular adventure, we drove through the flats of Beverly Hills (aka lots of mini mansions), then up into the hills of Beverly Hills (aka giant mansions), then up even higher on a windy street up the side of a mountain until we reached our destination at Franklin Canyon Park.  There are trails, walks, parks, reservoirs, and lots of cute puppies everywhere you look.  We decided to do a small hike to the top so we could overlook the reservoir.  What is it about bodies of water that are so appealing?  I don’t know but we were darn excited to see this thing.  When we got to the top, the reservoir was drained and empty.  WHAT THE HECK?  Anyway, so we took the long way down the mountain and snapped pictures on our iPhones.  Can you believe these are iPhone pics??

*a note to locals who want to hike this: Stop completely at all STOP signs.  We’re talking a 5-second stop at least!  There are cameras at every STOP sign up in the park and they want you to give them a $100 for rolling through them.  Be good and stop!  We know from experience.

LUDOTRUCK

December 12, 2012

I usually don’t post giant photos of meat on the blog, but I’m making an exception for Ludotruck.  They literally have the best fried chicken EVER.  PS, it’s the holidays so my healthy-factor has gone out the window and I’m now exclusively eating things like this.  Goodbye kale salads.

Kyle and I got Ludotruck on Sunday at the Renegade Craft Fair, splitting the crispy breast strips and the honey garlic-glazed wings with a side of slaw and fries.  Just typing this out is making me feel hungry, which then makes me feel bad for only liking things that are cooked in deep fryers.  OH WELL.

Plus – and I can’t say this without getting extremely sad about it – word on the street is that Ludotruck will be closing shop for good in the very near future.  Just stab me right in the heart!!!  You better believe I’m going to eat this as much as I can until that truck is no longer.  Long live Ludo!!

Catch Up

August 20, 2012

Hi friends!  My blog is going to change a little bit and wanted you to know before it did.  By that, I mean it’s getting redesigned and should look new and pretty real SOON!  I’m super excited for that.  Also, once it’s all pretty, I’m going to start doing this thang a little more regularly.  Ya know, so it’s not so sporadic and random.

I can’t wait for it all to happen!  So for now, posts will still be a bit random, but once the new design is up, I’ll be around these parts a LOT more.  In the meantime, I’ll still be instagramming and tweeting pretty regularly, both @thestyleeater.  Oh and you knowww I still hit up Pinterest everyday, so come visit me there as well.

Good things are brewing – can’t wait!

*photo via my instagram, taken on the rooftop of the London Hotel West Hollywood