Something you may or may not know about me is that I went to Pepperdine University my freshman year of college. Although I transferred after just one  year, I always love coming back to visit the area a couple times each year. The weather, restaurant choices, beautiful beaches, scenic drive down PCH, and my old Pepperdine friends that still live there all make it quite easy to visit. Kyle knows I love spontaneity (with pretty much anything) and being adventurous is speaking my love language, so he planned a little last minute weekend getaway for us to LA a few weeks ago. If you follow me on snapchat (username: SCORALLI) you know I was so excited because I only got to visit LA once last year, but also because Kyle had never been! Anyhow, enough chatter — here are some photos from our trip and a re-cap with (A TON) of my top recommendations like shops/beaches/restaurants/nightlife/Instagram photo spots — enjoy!  

I naturally thought of a million places I wanted to take Kyle while we were there, but we only stayed Thursday-Saturday so I had to narrow them down. I first called my blogger bff Kristen of High End Hippie (who recently moved from Dallas to LA) to tell her she better be ready, because we’re coming!! Of course she was down to show us the best time, check a few restaurants off her list, and be the most amazing host ever. We all had such a blast together and the time went by way too fast. Since I knew Kyle would love LA as much as I do & we would be back to visit, I made sure to show him my must stops but we also discovered a few new ones along the way 🙂 The list below doesn’t hold a candle to what I really want to share, but for your overwhelming sake I will share more on our next visit. Here are my top recommendations when visiting LA…..

SHOPPING
Fairfax Flea Market // amazing furniture deals if you think outside the box + vintage fashion selection is on point
Shops on Melrose // eccentric part of West Hollywood where you really get the LA feel
Rodeo Drive // if you’re looking to splurge on something or even just window shop

FOOD/RESTAURANTS
Eveleigh – cutest/yummiest brunch spot // what to order?  Avocado toast without a doubt (pictured above), one of the most unique and best I’ve ever had. There is a boiled egg scrambled salad type topping and you spread your own. So yummy!
Lilly’s Burritos (Malibu) – my favorite hidden gem + the most scenic drive down PCH // what to order? Get a breakfast burrito “California style” (it comes with avocado and fries)
Liquid juice bar – the best acai bowls located on Melrose ave. right by all the cutest shops // what to get? Acai bowls (my favorite is ‘The Chronic Blend’ bowl)
Malibu Yo – frozen yogurt place in Malibu that I frequented at least once a week during my freshman year, where I ran into both Jeremy Piven and John Cusack on different occasions // what to get? however you like your yogurt, I love the original tart with cookie dough!
Nobu Malibu – The original Nobu started in Malibu, so naturally it’s the best and a must stop when visiting LA. They have moved the restaurant to be located now right off PCH overlooking the ocean. A perfect place to grab cocktails at sunset or day drink & have appetizers on a Sunday // what to get? If you have one thing off the food menu, do yourself a favor and have the best ‘crispy rice with spicy tuna’ you’ve ever had = a MUST)
Bungalow – if you love a chill spot that gets a little more rowdy as the night goes on, don’t leave LA without hitting this spot. It was my first time and it definitely won’t be my last. If there’s a (long) line, which I hear that there always is, you better know someone inside (or pretend you got food from the food truck and ask for re-entry like we did hah!) // what to order? dirty martini straight up (or if you’re single lady — a TALL single California dude because lord there were plenty of them walking around, outnumbering women by at least double)

BEACHES
Malibu state beach // very chill and quite
Venice Beach // very artsy and great people watching
Santa Monica Beach // alive and well with tourists + locals = busy beach

INSTAGRAM PHOTO OPTS
Eveleigh // wood wall on the side of the restaurant
Paul Smith store on Melrose // famous BRIGHT pink wall (on every bloggers insta feed)
Malibu country mart // full of restaurants and cute shops with amazing store fronts and the true California feel
Hollywood sign // you can’t hike straight up to the sign anymore because they have blocked it off, but you can be in front of it (hike the canyon)
Streets of West Hollywood // a stroll through the neighborhoods of West Hollywood and you are sure to find the cutest houses you’ve ever seen + these purple cherry blossom trees in the spring (they are literally on every street & the trees cave over like you see in my photos above)
Santa Monica Pier // the ferris wheel and famous pier photos (oh, and cotton candy too!)

When we travel you can always follow along on my social handles (like Instagram & snapchat of course), but each of those are only going to give you a peak into tiny snippets of our trip. We love to travel and plan to be doing a lot of it, so in effort to share more with you all we’re going to be documenting these experiences here on my blog and sharing what we consider to be the best places in that particular city (lodging, food, nightlife, shopping, etc.). I would love to hear your thoughts on this post and any recommendations you’d like to see in future travel posts!

XO.