Driving in the Sun, Looking out for Number One

The Real Housewives of Orange County; Laguna Beach and The O.C.= my Orange County Obsession.  So when the boy and I had the opportunity to stop off in Newport and Laguna Beach on the drive from Beverly Hills to San Diego, I couldn't resist.  And wow were they both beautiful ocean-front cities!

*Last Saturday night the boy and I walked by the celebrity hot spot Katsuya Sushi , which was overflowing with paparazzi and gawking onlookers.  Not seeing what the commotion was about, I asked a camera man who was inside and he suspiciously told me that he didn't know.  It wasn't until the next day that I read that the lovely man eater Kristin Cavallari was inside dining with her boyfriend! Darn, my chance at a celebrity sighting ruined by my impatience! We have reservations there tonight so I am hoping one (or all!) of the Real Housewives will be wining and dining inside so I can bring out my stalker-razzi personality!

Before arriving in San Diego, we visited La Jolla, where Dr. Seuss wrote one of my favourite books How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  (Although I'm not sure that he got the inspiration from his surroundings as La Jolla was a beautiful sunny lazy town.) We spent a few hours at the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, where a pile of discarded beach toys passed as art (sometimes I don't understand modern art!)

Quebecois! Even driving like a Quebecer!

Outfit:

Blouse- Anthropologie

Dress (worn as a skirt)- Gifted

Booties- Charlotte Russe

Flower Ring- Vintage

Snake Bracelet- A Sweet, Beverly Hills

Sunnies- Aldo

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be back to reality Sunday night :( I'm excited to see my kitties though!



90201

The city of Beverly Hills.  Currently in competition with NYC for my favourite city in the world.  Shopping on Rodeo Drive, people watching from cafes, sunshine filled streets, beautiful people and fabulous fashion.  Does it get any better?! The boy and I just spent three days in this fantastic city and the urge to ship the cats, my wardrobe and some furniture from Ottawa to Beverly Hills 90201 was beyond tempting!

The Hotel

We stayed at the charming boutique Avalon Hotel, where I Love Lucy filmed her poolside scenes and Marilyn Monroe used to grace the hotel with her presence (I like to think that her ghost was in the room with us- giving me subconscious fashion advice!)

I love this idea for hanging towels

The Food

I love food and Beverly Hills provided culinary experiences for even the pickiest eater (aka me).  I managed to schmooze my way into getting a free breakfast for the boy and I at the Avalon- delicious! We dined poolside in the courtyard as often as possible as the weather was beautiful and the people watching fabulous (I definitely let a Glamazon take a sip of my yummy Avalon cocktail!)

We had lunch at 208 Rodeo- a great patio right beside the likes of Valentino and Chanel, followed by dessert at Famous Cupcakes- the Kardashian's favourite sweet shop- yum yum (I'm embarrased to say that the boy and I wolfed down 4 cupcakes in ten minutes tops!)

The Culture

I ensured that there were some cultural activities on my carefuly crafted itinerary so as not to be drowning in clothing and shopping.  We spent a few hours at the Museum of Tolerance which had a fantastic exhibit on the Holocaust as well as modern day issues such as Terrorism and Racism.  We watched a moving video called "From Hate to Hope"- try and watch this without shedding a tear!

Watch From Hate to Hope video

We also attended the opening of the Love/Hate LA art exhibit at the Strange which featured a hilarious adult Barbie exhibit that I might try and imitate for our bedroom (imagine Barbie and GI Joe in all sorts of naughty poses!)

Captain Chaar at the Museum of Tolerance- Millenium Section

I was having a French moment

The City

Pictures are worth a thousand words for Beverly Hills. Let's just say that I woke up everyday with a smile on my face and I sang and danced in the streets...a lot.  The boy knew I dreamed of driving along the coast of California in a convertible so we rented a Mustang!

I could get used to living here...

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses

I somehow adopted this as my 'model' pose...I should probably keep my day job!

Pure bliss

Only disappointment- I wanted to see more real-life Barbies!

This is what passes as a gas station in Beverly Hills

I die.



The Shopping and the Outfits

Rodeo Drive was purely window shopping as my credit cards don't stretch to designer limits! I did however have a nice shopping spree in Anthropologie and my sweet boyfriend bought me a beautiful gold plated snake bracelet from this fierce clothing/candy boutique called A Sweet.  The highlight of my Beverly Hills trip was walking on Rodeo Drive with my pigtails and Canadian innocence and being stopped by an older woman who called me "So Hollywood" and asked to take a photo of me! Can you imagine- I was wearing an H&M shirt and a thrifted skirt- my outfit probably cost less than $100 in total! Guess it pays to walk with a swagger!

Me Hollywood?!
Outfit:
Shirt- H&M
Skirt-Thrifted
Shoes- Winners
Purse- Thrifted
Sunglasses-Aldo
Belt-Bluenotes

The beautiful snake bracelet from my boyfriend <3

Outfit:
Shirt- Anthropologie
Jeans-Bluenotes
Leopard Pumps- Aldo (gifted from E)
Pleather Jacket-Thrifted
Snake Bracelet- A Sweet, Beverly Hills

Outfit:
Dress- Anthropolgie (originally $160, reduced to $29.99!)
Sandals- Marks & Spencer, UK
Sunglasses- Aldo
Earrings- The Bay
Corset Belt- Boutique Store in Leeds, UK

My purchases thus far (including the really cute skull from Venice Beach and fab designer purple boots from Santa Monica- to be blogged about soon!)

Have a fabulous week everyone!

**P.S. Check out this adorable post my High School BFF (now a fabulous budding journalist in NB) wrote about me on her blog the grownup diaries