Happy Monday, friends! I’m back from Cali feeling so rejuvenated. Spending time with three incredible females, my mom, sister, and grandmother, made me hopeful and happy and loved. The blue skies and sunshine didn’t hurt at all either. While the trip itself was amazing, what I saw at JFK on my way home was once in a lifetime. I’ll get into that later.
The first day we got there, my sister and I spent an afternoon in Venice, grabbing lunch at The Butcher’s Daughter, shopping on Abbott Kinney, and watching the sunset at the beach before a quick dinner at Rose Café. In between all that, we managed to stop by Salt & Straw for ice cream.
While I don’t eat dairy because it makes me sick, I have a few exceptions where I throw all caution to the wind. Salt & Straw is one of them. With flavors like honey lavender and candied clementine almond cake, it’s a serious experience. I went with roasted strawberry with toasted white chocolate and woah.
It was warm out, but not hot, so pants and a long sleeved top were perfect. I had been dying to wear this cute blush bell-sleeved shirt for a while, so this was a great opportunity. It also comes in navy and white stripes… I think I might need a second one!
After our Venice adventure, we drove east to our grandparents house, where we spent the rest of the weekend. The highlight was visiting the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena on the most beautiful day. If you’ve never done that, I highly recommend the experience. It’s a great way to move your body (lots of walking) while feeling relaxed (the Japanese garden in particular is very zen) and connecting with nature.
As I mentioned above, I saw something pretty incredible on the way home too. Over the weekend, we had been reading about the Muslim ban protests, and were all jumping for joy when the ban was overturned. But what really hit me hard was arriving at JFK to hundreds of protestors, beautifully and peacefully chanting for peace and acceptance. Everyone who came out of the airport was cheering with them, including the workers. I’ve never felt an energy quite like that and it brought me to tears.
It also sparked something inside me, and gave me an idea about what I personally can do to make a difference. You guys have been asking me what my actions steps are going to be, and I finally figured it out. I’m working on a cool project that will hopefully have a major impact and will keep you posted in the next week or two. Stay tuned and have a great week!
Bell Sleeve Shirt / White Jeans / Cross Body Bag / Necklace c/o
Photos by Taylor Kinzie.
