LA Baby!

"Wow LA looked amazing!!!" 

Yes that's basically the overall impression we have of the city too, but that's definitely what we heard off everyone who was watching our insta stories from our LA trip. It certainly was amazing, and we made the most of every minute photographing the most instagrammable spots, eating at the best vegan restaurants (there are soooo many FYI) visiting Beauty Con and on top of that we had lots of exciting business meetings, oh and did you see our two attempts to reach the Hollywood sign? It's hard to get there but we made it in the end.

 

So we thought we'd put together a blog post for you babes to let you into the inside knowledge of what we learned while we were there. Everyone has a different opinion on where the best places to visit are in LA, so here's our version.

 

First of all...

The place to stay - W Hotel Hollywood

If a central location, rooftop pools, great cocktails, friendly staff and a buzzy atmosphere are your cup of tea, then the W Hotel in Hollywood will not disappoint!

We always have a wonderful stay in a W because we tend to enjoy a hotel that creates a fun and creative atmosphere and attracts the kind of crowd that you like to people watch. It's interesting there and there's always something going on, the W Hollywood is no different.

We don't know who all the celebs were who were there but there was a lot of buzz and often a film crew hanging around the 'living room' or lobby, which is where guests can relax and have a drink at the bar, work from lap tops, or just chill and people watch.

 The views from the rooftop pool area are amazing, as are the Aperol Spritz! You know is we love a cocktail and this place won't disappoint.

We love to walk too, although no one in LA walks anywhere apparently, but we did. The location is really close to plenty of cute cafe's and eateries, here's a few of our favourite spots for you...

 

Eating

 

In case you didn't realise already, being vegan in LA is the best, so much better than Cardiff, we definitely have some major catching up to do! We indulged in as many restaurants as we could while we were there, so here are a few of our favourites.

 

Gracias Madre is on Melrose Avenue and after a quick google we realised we needed to eat there. The menu is entirely vegan which means no compromising, and it was a good take on traditional Mexican style food. So that meant really good portion sizes, tasty and varied options that weren't too stodgy, and lots of fresh ingredients. This isn't junk food vegan it was really delicious without making you feel bloated or heavy afterwards.

We learned fairly quickly after we got to LA that portion sizes are pretty generous everywhere, so we picked 3 things to share, those were a black bean burger, mushroom quesadillas, and some roasted cauli, all of which were amazing and the perfect size for sharing, all washed down with a rose and tequila cocktail (or two...)

 

Vegetable 

 

This vegan / vegetarian restaurant was a little Uber drive away, but we went through windy hills staring at gorgeous houses, and when we arrived we weren't disappointed. You know those places where you literally can't pick off a menu because you want everything? This is that place.

We met up with Jkissa (click to visit her insta) and her husband Chris who recommended we visit this restaurant, and also that we have the herby focaccia and gravy to start, which we did, and which we could eat right now, it was our favourite vegan dish of the trip. It's the dish in this image in the top right corner, the gravy was a cashes / mushroom blend.

We pretty much always shared food, so I had a mushroom risotto, and Han had a lasagna and we split, I think the risotto was best as it came with roasted brussel sprouts, strange, but I loved it. 

Thanks Jkissa and Chris for the recommendation, we loved meeting up and talking about make-up, photography, and of course the doggies <3 

 

Crossroads

 

Sadly we didn't make it to Crossroads but the amount of great things we heard about it were endless, so this one is on our list for next time! We thought we'd include it in case any one fancies it, it does come highly recommended by everyone who lives in LA.

plant based dishes that look this good....yes please.

 

So of course it's not all about the food, what about the drinks? 

We couldn't eat at every single place we wanted to check out, but you are welcome most places just to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, cocktail, or a soft drink, so we explored a few more places which were amazing! Here are our faves for everything from cocktails to coffee.

 

Beverley Hills Hotel

 

This place had to be the most instagrammable of all the spots we visited in LA. Yes it is pricey, be prepared to part with around $200 if you're having a sit down meal with drinks in the Cabana Cafe, so this one is a real treat, but you're worth it. If you don't want a full lunch literally just get the fries and a glass of wine, both are delish.

You might feel like you'd be intimated walking in, but the staff were all so lovely, and they really appreciated the pink outfits, so they took extra care of us, I think this is a rule of thumb in LA, a cute outfit really does get you through doors, so something to keep in mind if you haven't made any reservations.

Here's a couple of pics of us living our best lives...

 

There are lots more pics but we won't bore you with a whole album, the point is the staff don't mind you taking a lot, which we did, and that's basically why we went so full marks for them on being really accommodating. 

 

The Secret Rose Garden at Beverley Wilshire

 

OK so we found this one by mistake as it's a limited edition place and had just opened, Hannah spotted the rose canopy and said let's go there! So we did, you just go through the lobby and up in the lift. Again the staff were lovely and basically know people are there to take pics.

We shared a bottle of...yes Rose wine, and it was lovely, we just had house, couldn't have been nicer.

The view from the rooftop overlooks Rodeo Drive, so you can just sit and watch the people go by, take some pics by the pink neon, walk through a fully pink room with pink carpets, and enjoy a cool glass of rose, what could be better? Definitely recommended if you're visiting any time soon. We went in the evening which is the best as all the lighting comes on and feels extra glamorous. 

yes we are friends in real life, everyone asks. Imagine if we weren't?! That would be awkward....

cheers to instagrammable drinking spots in LA!

 

Carrera Cafe

 

This is the place where you can get your selfie printed on a coffee, or a crying Kim K or a kissing Minnie and Mickey, actually the choice is extensive!

The only downside to this one is you have to have dairy milk to have the printing, as the lady said she needs all the foam for the printing to work, so we just got ours for props, did it for the gram.

Side note....we were told to go to Alfred's coffee endless times, we did and weren't that impressed, so maybe leave that one off your checklist, go here instead.

Or...you could hit up our favourite breakfast and coffee place which we basically went to every morning:

 

Jane Q

 

We did just love the peanut butter and jelly on toast here so much that we ate here 3 times, and the soy flat white was actually a flat white...bonus! After scouring the coffee places in LA, this one was our favourite.

 

nailing that nonchalant looking away casually while smiling pose...

 

Insta Hot Spots

 

If you're visiting LA there are certain spots you need to get a pic, here's our faves.

 

The Hollywood sign is a must, although the residents do not want you to find it. Our best trick is to go up the roads that say 'no access to the Hollywood sign' and whe you see a road block it means you're getting closer, they're just trying to trick you.

 

The best way to get there is on foot as there's nowhere to park, and actually you get to walk through some really cute streets and take in a bit more of LA on foot, it is hot though so make sure you wear your activewear!

This was our fave spot for pics, you just have to walk up N Beechwood Drive as far as you can go until you see Lindforth Dr, take that road, and then when you get to Deronda Dr you're nearly there! Take a right and you'll basically get to this spot. You're welcome <3 

 

The Pink Wall

 

Is literally what it says it is, a huge pink wall. The perfect insta backdrop really if you just want to take pics without having to hike for around 2 hours or buy any drinks etc. 

It's part of the Paul Smith store on Melrose, you can't miss it, just put it in your google maps and walk or call an uber and you'll be taken straight there. Uber in LA is really great by the way, safer than hailing a cab as there aren't that many of them around and you don't have to run into the road to get one, and there's lots of lady drivers too.

 

Riley Rose

 

One for all the beauty lovers, if you want to shop and get great insta content, head to Riley Rose in the Glendale Galleria. The whole place is really lovely anyway, but particularly the Riley Rose store where you can shop and snap away.

Again, the staff know people are here for insta purposes so they're more than happy to take pics for you, and you can also shop our brushes in store too! Bonus!

 

Sorella Boutique - aka the 'Girls Tour Wall'

 

We didn't catch this one at a good time as there was half shadow half sunlight on the wall, so as you insta babes know that's not great unless you've got a good camera, and we were just on our phone, so here's some shots anyway for you, you could probably make them much cuter but we were on a whistle stop tour of insta hot spots so throwing this one in. It's also on Melrose not far from Paul Smith.

We just used the bench so we could sit down, we were tired from walking, but the wall is the same one in the pic here!

admittedly could have tried harder with the poses...next time.