SPRING BREAK 2017 | LA + PASADENA

LA, you captured my heart for the second time. our whole trip to california was amazing, but the days we spent exploring los angeles were really special. i'd only been there once before on a college visit, so it was awesome to return + be able to have time to do whatever we felt like doing! we started off the trip with allllll the touristy things - hollywood boulevard, warner brother's studio tour, etc. all i can say is that the tour was one of the greatest things i have ever done in my life + i'm not ashamed to say it! movie magic is real, you guys. if you get a chance to tour the WB studios, DO IT. it's the coolest.

we drove around in these little 15-person carts as our tour guide showed us the different sets. it's actually a huge lot, + it's crazy to think about just how many people work in those 142 acres!

^^^ this photo might not mean anything to you, but this is the spot they used for the scene in gilmore girls when rory hits a deer with her car on the way to chilton. my sister + fangirled [i hate that word, but it's true] hard --- so freakin' cool!

ryan gosling stood on this very set, so we're kinda like BFF's now, it's no big deal. but seeing the lala land set in person was another amazing experience! we also got to see multiple gilmore girls spots [including the stars hollow town square, which is actually used for like 1000 different productions] and fuller house shooting locations.

we also got to walk around the giant prop warehouse where directors and set designers can come and tag items they want to use for their movies! often they'll use codenames like "titanic" as to keep the details of their movie a secret, which was really interesting see.

aaaaaand the famous, long-awaited friends couch! would you take me seriously if i said that maybe the whole reason we went on this tour was to sit on this piece of furniture? THE COOLEST. yes, it is the real couch, which made the whole experience like a million times more awesome. all in all, if you have the chance to take this tour - DON'T pass it up.

one of our favorite stops on the trip was after's ice cream. they have locations all throughout california, but we went to the one in pasadena. the ice cream was amazing + the toppings were the cherry on top [pun intended ;)] - i highly recommend.

the morning after afters [ha!], we thought we'd balance out the ice cream cones with some healthy juice aka. juice served here, which was luckily right around the corner from our hotel! i'd only been there once two years ago, + it's changed so much, but only for the better! they serve food now, so it's perfect if you want juice + breakfast in the morning or a snack in the afternoon!

we also stopped in intelligentsia to get a bit of food + caffeine to compliment our juice. they had so many different pastries - we got a churro croissant + a matcha croissant. as you can probably tell from the photos, they were delicious.

okay --- from one pastry to the next! [i'm beginning to feel like these CA posts will basically be food journals #noshame] california donuts will forever be one of my favorite locations on the entire earth, i'm not exaggerating.

^^^ peeps. donut.

AND A REESES DONUT ARE YOU KIDDING ME OKAY YES CALIFORNIA DONUTS I LOVE YOU

we took our donuts to the beach, layed around all morning, got way to sunburnt, + explored santa monica pier. no one in my family had ever been to the pier before, so it was super fun to just walk around, explore, + be tourists. it also made for the best pictures!

^^^ all the sibs in one photo + i'm kinda obsessed with it. that light flare!!

after our day at the beach, we packed up + said our goodbyes to LA. am i narcissistic for posting multiple pictures of myself + our travels? hahah i don't care! + also how amazing is my backpack from atlas supply co?! more on that later, friends! plus, part two + three of our CA spring break recap will be up soon - stay tuned!

p.s. you're a BOSS for making it all the way down here! i promise the other two recaps will be shorter. maybe, idk. ;)