A month late, but at last—a recap of my trip to California to see my little sister. It was so nice to be able to take a week and pop out for a visit and some road tripping around LA. I miss her! But man, did I run her ragged during my stay. Seven days seems like so much time, but there is so much to do where she lives. What I learned: All plans need to be made with LA traffic patterns in mind. 😉 Still, we had such a fantastic time. Here, some pics if you’d like to see what we did…

On the first day, we drove down to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park. What’s super cool about this place is all the wide open spaces where animals can roam. This park has 1800 acres of land! I loved the gorillas the most. They were so playful! We also paid for a front-row seat to see the Cheetah Run. Completely worth it. 

Next, my sister and I drove to Santa Barbara for an overnight at this hotel. After a day of wine tasting and lunch at Lucky Penny (a delicious spot!), we nabbed a front row seat to watch the sunset at Butterfly Beach in Montecito. Then, the next morning we got up and made the drive to Santa Ynez for more wine tasting. Sunstone Winery is hands down the most beautiful place. There’s nothing quite like sipping wine and looking out at the mountains and clouds! 

Later in the week, we spent some time in LA. My sister took me to Venice Beach and Brentwood, we rented paddle boats in Echo Park Lake—we even took a meditation class here. Then, we made our way over to Hollywood Boulevard for dinner and a surprise: tickets to see Jersey Boys at the Pantages Theater, a gorgeous Golden Age movie palace. Other things we did in LA: Visit the Hollywood Costume Exhibit at the LACMA. I also had my first taco truck experience, a la Roy Choi. Yum!

For the next couple of days, we kicked it near my sister’s place, beach-hopped between Newport and Laguna, and ate lots of yummy Mexican food. Then, on my very last night, we treated ourselves to wine with a view at our favorite rooftop spot in Laguna Beach. It’s hilarious to me that blankets are available for “chilly” nights. It was about 65 degrees when the sun set. 😉 How cute does my sister look all bundled up? 

I miss her already and can’t wait to plan another trip back!

More of my California visits here and here and here.

This past weekend was all about good food in Brooklyn. It was mostly spontaneous: Matt and I had no intention of eating three meals out. But our Friday-Saturday-Sunday plans took us to different neighborhoods with restaurants that had long been on our list. The first, Union Pizza Works in Bushwick. Has anyone been? We had plans to see this awesome show in Brooklyn, so decided to grab a bite nearby. The pizza was delicious, the ambiance even better. They even have this cool neon sign. 🙂 We still had two more places to go… 

For Saturday brunch, I wanted Huevos Rancheros, so we tried Jolie Cantina in Cobble Hill, a mix of French and Mexican fare. I love the decor here (full of rich, bright colors) and the old school music (we heard lots of Marvin Gaye). The food was good, too, and the service quick and low-key. 

Last meal out of the weekend: Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook. I convinced Matt to make an IKEA run with me, and afterwards, we got dinner, beers, and listened to the folk and bluegrass stylings of the Sometime Boys, the restaurant’s house band for the night. The food was good and the vibe was super chill—just what we both needed to round out our Saturday night.

Lots of dining out meant Sunday was spent cooking at home. I made potato leek soup from scratch. Will share the recipe soon!

Did you do anything outside of your routine over the weekend? 

(Image 1, 2, 3, 4)

After weeks of good intentions (about four to be exact), I finally made it to see St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher. Up until now, Boyhood was my favorite movie of the year, but this film is a close second, maybe even a tie. I loved it. Sure, the acting was terrific—I’m not sure many can outdo Bill Murray, who is still one of the greats—but the story is what got me. The script is beautifully written, funny, raw, and real. Since I don’t want to give anything away, all I can say is go see it. Now. You’ll want to savor every minute.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Oh! And, after you see it, let me know what you think! 😉

(Image 1, 2, 3)

So, I’m a lady who loves a good photo booth. That’s why I’m sort of intrigued by Phhhoto, a new app that instantly turns your photo booth pics into gifs. What’s cool is you don’t have to be at a wedding to try it out—just download the Phhhoto app to your iPhone and start snapping away. The app takes a sequence of pics fast, then turns them into a moving image. 

Where I think it could be helpful: In the fitting room. My sister, friends and I are always snapping quick pics of outfits we’re trying on, then texting (or Snapchatting) them for a speedy yay or nay. Wouldn’t they get a better read on the clothes if you could send an easy-to-produce gif? Just a thought. 🙂

(Image 1, 2)

For years, I’ve been searching for a great mascara. I’ve tried them all—from drugstore brands to top of the line formulas—but nothing has been quite right. Until now. A couple of weeks ago, I wandered into Sephora to replace my shampoo. I passed the store’s wall of mascaras and decided, what the heck, let’s sample a few! I found Lancome’s L’Extreme mascara and really liked the soft and fine bristles on the applicator wand. For $27.50, I went for it. And you know what?

This. mascara. is. amazing.

It doesn’t clump, it doesn’t get dried out, it doesn’t flake midway through the day. It provides definition (my lashes are blond, so this is very important) and lengthens, too. I’ve actually never had so much fun putting mascara on. 

Have you ever tried it? What’s a dream beauty product you can’t live without?

(Image 1, 2)