LA

As much as I love Denver, I usually cant go a month without jetting off to another city. I blame this on the fact that I have friends who not only live in Amazing cities (Austin, Chicago, LA, and New York) but who are also amazing tour guides (Thank you Austiniets Teale, Emily, Amanda, Allison and Chris  Chicagans Ross, Ryan and Josh  LAites Kelly, Natalya, Mike, Taylor and Kevin and New Yorkers Katy, Mitch, Hayley, Brendan and Blair!). My last trip on June 14th for ym friend Kelly's 26th birthday party was deffiently one of my favorite trips ever. Her and my other friend Natalya recently moved into an adorable condo 6 blocks from the beach In Santa Monica. Santa Monica has always been my favorite part of LA, ever since I went there with my friend Patti when we were 18. Everything is so bright, warm, and colorful that it actually feels sort of like living in a dream. Although my trip was short, we made sure to enjoy the wonderful weather as much as possible.
Upon landing around 6:30 on Friday night, I quickly rushed back to the girls condo and changed as quickly as possible so we could walk down to the Huntley Hotel Penthouse to grab a drink before our 9:30 reservation at Fig. The Penthouse was hands down one of the coolest places I've been to. The hotel itself is fantastic, managing to be both modern yet sophisticated and cozy. The penthouse offers stunning views of the Santa Monica water and even though it was dark I could still see the sweeping beach line and towering palm trees. We got lucky and managed to catch a group of girls who were leaving the bar just as we got in so we were able to snag their seats. They also gave us a drink recommendation, the Aperol Smash, which is something we would have never thought to order otherwise. I'm not kidding when I say it was the best drink I've ever ordered at a bar. Light, refreshing, and full of fresh fruit and top shelf liquor. While the drinks there are certainly expensive, they all look insanely impressive. Brightly colored with big chunks of fruit around the rim, made with only pure ingredients and top shelf (no shitty sugary mixtures here). The staff is also super attentive and friendly. Great experience for sure.
After finishing up our drink (plus an extra one that was purchased for us by a nice gentleman at the other end of the bar) we went over to Fig which is located in the Fairmont hotel to have a light dinner. Ironically, I had been reading rave reviews about Fig in my in flight magazine on the plane on the way to LA, so I was pretty pleased when Natalya suggested we go there. We got lucky and were able to snag a cute table right outside by the quiant swimming pool which was lit up and surrounded by tress with tiny Christmas lights. We all ordered a tequila blackberry drink which was good but couldn't really hold a candle to the decadent drink at the Penthouse. We shared the salami plate, the queso fundido, and the mushroom risotto, all which were yummy and gave us a good base for the night of drinking ahead. Once we were done eating we headed over to the Shangri La Hotel where one of Natalyas friends had rented out the entire rooftop and penthouse suite for a party. The suite was pretty awesome with cool red leather chairs and fire places that helped warm us up once the weather started turning a little windy. The rooftop was amazing with tons of strings to twinkle lights and big striped ottomans for us to plop down on. After Shangri La, we grabbed a cab and headed to The Buffalo Club to meet our college friends, Danika and Angela. The buff club was pretty insanely packed and not my favorite spot that I've been to in LA, but it was great to see Danika and Angela who I hadnt really seen in a couple of years. We also ran into a couple of Natalyas friends from New York, proving how small this world actually is. Once last call hit, we naturally got a ride home from the bouncer and passed out on the floor of the apartment while watching "Hunger Games".
The next day we woke up early so we could explore a little bit before getting ready for Kelly's birthday party at 4:00. We walked down to Montana Ave where we had breakfast at Babalu, this cute little bakery/cafe where we sat at tables that were positioned on the grassy knoll in-between the street and the side walk. We got fresh fruit and south western eggs washed down with bottomless mimosas before we headed out to Stephanie Grace where I picked up a cute cactus for my apartment. After making a quick stop to pick up balloons and booze for Kellys birthday, Kelly and I took a stroll down to the 3rd street promenade to check out Brandy Melville where we bough matching phone cases and tank tops (did I mention that we were wearing the matching cat tanks above when this occurred?).
Around 4:00, our other friends began to arrive and we did a little pre gamming before heading out to the The Bungalow. The bungalow is seriously magical. It actually feels/looks as if you are just partying at someones beach house. Our group got there early enough to beat the usually hour long lines and we quickly parked ourselves out there for the next six hours to celebrate Kelly's 26th. Best time ever. At around 11:00, Natalya , Cortney and I decided to take a cab down to Venice and check out out some of the bars there where we ordered fireball shots and cheeseburgers. We finally made it back to Natalyas around 2:00am, where I instantly fell asleep in my dress on top of the covers. Solid evening.
Sunday was my last day, so we powered thru our hangovers and went and had lunch at The Misfit. The food was honestly incredible. We decided to eat family style and ordered Mac and Cheese, Fries, Prime Rib sliders, bacon wrapped dates, roasted brussel sprouts, and crispy lobster sliders. Pure insanity and the perfect way to end my trip. I wound up getting a sun head ach towards the end of the day, so I squeezed in a quick nap before I took a shuttle to the airport. My flight was an hour delayed which wound up being sort of a blessing since I was able to watch the Spurs game in an airport bar. I didn't get home till after 1:00 am Denver time but it was well worth it. Everytime I go to LA I like it more and more and I cant wait to go back and explore more of the wonderful city! Thanks again girls for such a great trip!!