i get a lot of emails asking for my favorite things to do in los angeles. i've only lived here four years so i can assure you i am a novice when it comes to this town. having said that, i do have some favorite things to share by neighborhood. of course, i must start on the east side, where i live. this is what a saturday often looks like for us at sunset junction in silverlake...
i look forward to a quiet morning at home with elodie. we play puzzles, have a dance party and then either make breakfast together or get dressed and immediately head out to sunset junction in silverlake to get a small breakfast at food+lab, casbah cafe or an angeleno (the most delicious iced espresso drink) at intelligentsia. sometimes we will invite friends to join us and then will go to dusty's or, my very favorite, cafe stella.
there is always a farmer's market and, over breakfast, we discuss what type of flowers, fruits or vegetables we will bring home with us. elodie loves planning this out and participating in the hunt for the perfect satsuma or bunch of hydrangeas. a farmer's market really has everything for her budding senses; she can smell a handful of mint, eat pupusas from a stand, look at the different people walking by or listen to music (and sometimes play it too.) i love that a trip here fills her vocabulary with such wondrous objects.
so then it's nap time. we go home, read some books and have quiet time for a couple of hours. the sunset junction area can be quite stimulating so i usually try to do something a bit more mellow for the second half of the afternoon. after she wakes up, i pack some snacks and water and take our dog raleigh out for a walk in elysian park or head to the meadow at the silverlake reservoir for some kite flying. being that it's typically in the seventies here, we can always count on being able to do something fun outside. so far we've had a few eighty degree november days!
then there are the days she simply doesn't want to get back in the car. i do think we become accustomed to driving more than we probably have to or should. in that case, we will just hang out in the backyard, work in our modest little garden patch or paint with watercolors. the cost of the day was whatever fruit and veggies we got at the market, a pain au chocolat and iced coffee and the gas it took to get us there. not bad.
here are my favorite sunset junction cafés and restaurants - most are child friendly:
casbah cafe - i've loved you for so long casbah. elodie's first dress was from here. its a french/moroccan bazaar with simple plates like bread, cheese and olives. they have the best fresh mint tea and canelés.
forage - delicious, locally produced food with a casual atmosphere.
food+lab - love the creme fraiche and smoked salmon omelette and big bowl of coffee!
flore - vegan restaurant and juice bar - could not live without this place!
café stella - it's a beautiful place for brunch, a bit fancy, but they don't mind kids.
intelligentsia - the baristas can be ridiculously snobby (which i find hilarious) but the coffee is consistently good.
tacos delta - the best chilaquiles and breakfast burritos ever!!!
there are also loads of fun shops which you can discover walking on this strip. we love the spice station, wee soles for some fun kid's shoes (they also have a yellow motorcycle out front that elodie loves to ride on, and reform school for cool homewares and gifts to name a few. enjoy!
shot on film by photographer lou mora. thanks lou!
elodie's vintage dress here
bags by me & arrow
i look forward to a quiet morning at home with elodie. we play puzzles, have a dance party and then either make breakfast together or get dressed and immediately head out to sunset junction in silverlake to get a small breakfast at food+lab, casbah cafe or an angeleno (the most delicious iced espresso drink) at intelligentsia. sometimes we will invite friends to join us and then will go to dusty's or, my very favorite, cafe stella.
there is always a farmer's market and, over breakfast, we discuss what type of flowers, fruits or vegetables we will bring home with us. elodie loves planning this out and participating in the hunt for the perfect satsuma or bunch of hydrangeas. a farmer's market really has everything for her budding senses; she can smell a handful of mint, eat pupusas from a stand, look at the different people walking by or listen to music (and sometimes play it too.) i love that a trip here fills her vocabulary with such wondrous objects.
so then it's nap time. we go home, read some books and have quiet time for a couple of hours. the sunset junction area can be quite stimulating so i usually try to do something a bit more mellow for the second half of the afternoon. after she wakes up, i pack some snacks and water and take our dog raleigh out for a walk in elysian park or head to the meadow at the silverlake reservoir for some kite flying. being that it's typically in the seventies here, we can always count on being able to do something fun outside. so far we've had a few eighty degree november days!
then there are the days she simply doesn't want to get back in the car. i do think we become accustomed to driving more than we probably have to or should. in that case, we will just hang out in the backyard, work in our modest little garden patch or paint with watercolors. the cost of the day was whatever fruit and veggies we got at the market, a pain au chocolat and iced coffee and the gas it took to get us there. not bad.
here are my favorite sunset junction cafés and restaurants - most are child friendly:
casbah cafe - i've loved you for so long casbah. elodie's first dress was from here. its a french/moroccan bazaar with simple plates like bread, cheese and olives. they have the best fresh mint tea and canelés.
forage - delicious, locally produced food with a casual atmosphere.
food+lab - love the creme fraiche and smoked salmon omelette and big bowl of coffee!
flore - vegan restaurant and juice bar - could not live without this place!
café stella - it's a beautiful place for brunch, a bit fancy, but they don't mind kids.
intelligentsia - the baristas can be ridiculously snobby (which i find hilarious) but the coffee is consistently good.
tacos delta - the best chilaquiles and breakfast burritos ever!!!
there are also loads of fun shops which you can discover walking on this strip. we love the spice station, wee soles for some fun kid's shoes (they also have a yellow motorcycle out front that elodie loves to ride on, and reform school for cool homewares and gifts to name a few. enjoy!
shot on film by photographer lou mora. thanks lou!
elodie's vintage dress here
bags by me & arrow
