The places I will miss </3
A little love letter (read: city guide) to Los Angeles before I head back East.
I had a good cry this morning. I really didn’t think it would be a pickup of a pile of stuff for Goodwill that would set it off, but it was. I have exactly one month until the moving truck comes to pick up all my belongings and drive them to Brooklyn, and despite the excitement of it all, it’s still an ending, and I’m not good at goodbyes.
It’s been little things that are starting to make it feel real. I cleaned out the outdoor sitting area I put together last summer at our place, and sold all the furniture pieces on Facebook Marketplace; it’s empty back there now. We had a big closet sale, which felt great, but also made me feel like, “Oh, I’m really doing this.” Then Goodwill came to pickup old roller blades and excess linens and extra carry-on suitcases, which means I can park my car in the garage again (where the Goodwill pile was living temporarily). But I came back upstairs and cried. Lol… Moving and grief and endings are so weird.
On one hand, it’s nice that I have a whole month until the move, and on the other hand, I’m not sure what to do with myself. I already have giant lists and endless moodboards for decor for the new place, the movers are booked, and the Great Purge of it all is going actually going well and feeling good. But I’m somewhat struggling to think of all the things I want to do before I leave Los Angeles — all the meals I need to eat and the people I need to squeeze. It feels kind of overwhelming; I’m trying to remind myself I’ll be back! However it’s a good practice in reflecting on the places here that have made it feel like home.
So, I figured it’s as good a time as any to put together my little guide to Los Angeles. Perhaps it will help me narrow in on the spots I need to hit one more time before we hit the road. It will be a bit neighborhood specific to where I tend to spend my time, which reminds me one of the things I sort-of hate about LA is that it’s so vast and so siloed, and everyone ends up mostly staying in their little bubbles. I’m guilty of it… We all kind of are.
I regret not getting out of my neighborhood more. I regret not spending more nights out on the East Side (I usually stay home and go to bed at 10 but my friends who do this always make it sound like a lot of fun). I regret not waking up earlier for the Rose Bowl a couple of times. I regret not going to the beach more.
I’m going to miss singing in my car with the windows down, the way the sun just feels different here, and breathing in the ocean air. It’s all those sort of things that you take for granted when you live somewhere that come to a head and slap you in the face as soon as you’re leaving. But c’est la vie!
Without further ado, some of my favorite LA spots for your enjoyment, from eats to hikes and vintage shopping. I’m surely missing a few (it’s hard to think of all your favorite places on the spot!), so drop your faves in the comments for any first timers, or places I should make sure to hit before I leave.
Damn. I might really miss you, Los Angeles.