muholland drive to venice...LA in a weekend....

I have never been to Cailfornia before and I was lucky enough to come out to LA on business this past week. As an avid gossip mag reader (I know....photogs are bad...celebs are stalked...I can't help my obsessions....) I had specific hotspots I needed to prove existed outside of my weekly subscription to US Weekly. Thank goodness I have a friend who lives in Santa Monica and took me on a whirlwind LA tour all in one day.

We actually started the night before my whirlwind day at a kick ass bar/restaurant in Venice Beach called Beech Wood - for anyone who thinks Venice is shady - this restaurant will make you feel like you are in a swanky Georgetown bar on the waterfront. It was trendy and fresh and filled with real looking people who didn't have more plastic surgery than real body parts...


www.beechwoodrestaurant.com

Their menu had yummy things like flank steak, sweet potato fries, and cedar grilled fish. Perfect for a late night dinner/cocktails with friends.

We woke up the next morning and drove to pick up our friend in Santa Monica and drove to Robertson to check out the shops and oogle celebs at the Ivy. We drove through Beverly Hills to get to the shops and I saw the Beverly Hills Hotel (where Dylan lived on the show 90210!) and a couple of other ritzy hot spots.

When we got to Robertson, I wasn't feeling any celebrity vibe coming from the Ivy so we parked ourselves across the street at the Newsroom and had healthy salads and sandwiches while we watched the scenery. While eating I saw Benji Madden from Good Charlotte walk by wearing and Orioles hat - representing Waldorf, MD I'm sure. Good times.

Next I stopped in the legendary Kitson - where surprisingly enough it looked like an Urban Outfitters - just with way more expensive items...the Kooba purses were enough to make me drool on myself.


Kooba Scarlett Bag - $500


Kooba Mia Bag - $595


Kooba Haydon Bag - $295

All fabulous....I tried all of them on about 10 times until my husband dragged me out of the store...

But not before I saw all these great pieces...


Gerard Yosca Blue Rope Gold Link Necklace - $165


Sam Edelman - Women's Grass Suede Sandal - $85


Kurtz - Eagle Pin Hat - $38

There was a line to get into Kitson...like it was some kind of club - there was a velvet rope and they had a "bouncer". It was very surreal...I couldn't buy anything it was too weird.

We went into some other fun stores but I needed something with a little more depth and my friend took me to just the place..American Rag in La Brea...so fabulous.

This place was filled with new and vintage clothing as well as amazing jewelry and purses. Most of the place was Marc Jacobs, Katayone Adeli, and tons of labels for men. Loved this place and picked up an amazing necklace....


Zoe Chicco - Mixed Horn, Mother of Pearl and Disco Ball Necklace

After quick shopping stops we went to go watch the band that my friend manages, Melee, play a Springfest at USC. They just signed onto Warner Bros. records so keep an eye for them - they were awesome. The singer reminds me of a more boisterous Jeff Buckley - which is a compliment in my book.



After the show - we were starving.,...again...so we went to Nobu Matsuhisa. We ate a ton of sushi and then finished up with lycee sorbet - delish....We were eating right next to Justine Bateman...celebrity sightings were up to 2.

After eating it was time to get down to business. I needed to see LA and I needed to see it fast. We started off driving through Beverly Hills where we swung by the Mercedes Dealership and saw Will & Grace's Eric McCormack shopping for cars. Then we drove down Sunset so I could see all the famous nightclubs, and hotels. Chateau Marmont, The Viper Room, The Rainbow Room, The Roxy...as well as a million other places I hear about all the time.

Then we drove through Hollywood and saw Mann's Theatre and the Kodak Theater as well as the Scientology Celebrity Center....very scary. I kept waiting to see Tom Cruise drag Katie Holmes out of there.



From Hollywood we drove up Muholland Drive because I was obsessed with the Hollywood Hills and needed to see more...We pulled over and saw the Valley which was amazing to think there was a whole other world on the other side of the hills....


From there we drove back down and hit the water - it was strange to be on the very edge of the West Coast...when I'm used to being on the very edge of the Easy Coast.

So that was my day in a nutshell - I know I'm leaving out a lot and I didn't even take pictures because it all happened so fast - but I know I'll be coming back and be able to dig even deeper into my LA fascination!