"it never rains in southern california"

nope. not true. it might be a popular 70's song but it's a lie because it poured all day on day 3 of the trip. despite the cold and rain, we still tried to power on and enjoy the day. we hit up pasadena and shopped in old town. it was a really cute outdoor shopping area that would have been much more fun without the downpour. the city hall in pasadena is the building used for filming the city hall on the show Parks & Rec. so of course we had to see it. another sites in pasadena: the rose bowl and the original trader joe's! after spending the afternoon in pasadena, we headed back to long beach but first made a very important stop at sprinkles cupcakes for the most delicious cupcake one has ever eaten! so delicious that this was not the last time we'd be visiting sprinkles on this trip. it was definitely worth the long wait outside to get to one of these cupcakes. since we were right by rodeo drive, we took a little stroll to see the expensive stores and beautiful decorations. as we headed home, we drove through compton, notorious for gang violence and crime and often the setting of one of my favorite crime dramas, southland. i just had to check out this town. it was after dark and the streets were surprisingly empty. probably due to a curfew for the residence. what a difference it was from beverly hills to compton; only about 20 miles apart. despite the rain, we had a really fun day!

 pasadena city hall aka pawnee city hall

 rainy shopping in pasadena

 best cupcake ever!

 rodeo drive

COMPTON!

merry christmas!

{THE nutcracker}

earlier this week, i went to see carolina ballet's the nutcracker.  this is one of my favorite holiday traditions and no matter how many times i see it, it feels just as magical as the first time i saw it!  the scenery is beautiful, the music is lovely, the dancers are incredible, and the theater is so pretty with those sparkling chandeliers.  i love the sounds the dancer's feet make when they are moving across the floor!

one of my favorite scenes is the snow scene.  it made me long for a white christmas but seeing as it's been in the 60s all week, i guess that's not going to happen {but maybe a christmas miracle??}.  seeing the show also made me regret not staying in ballet when i was younger.  is it too late for a career change?  i would love to be a ballerina!  i'll keep you posted on that...

new year...

... new blog heading!

neil patrick harris

oh how i love NPH!  so much that he deserves his own blog post.  after hearing that nph {yea i call him nph, we are tight like that} received a star on the hollywood walk of fame, i knew it would be one of my top places to see on my trip to LA!  we stumbled upon the star on day 1 and as i screamed with joy, people either thought i actually saw nph or had been stabbed.  either very likely scenarios.  obviously, this is such a special site that it required a second trip for a photo shoot.  yay, for nph!!!

christmas e-card

"we got more bounce in california, we like to party all the time"

day 2 in cali was a really beautiful day! the sun was shining, weather was perfect, and there were so many sites to see! we headed up the 405 and stopped in santa monica. our very first stop was for paula. apparently there is some show on mtv about a big girl who works at a clothing store. paula loving a show about fat people. shocker! so we made our way to the store where this girl works. sadly, we didn't see her but paula got a picture so i'd say it was a success!

next we stopped at the santa monica pier where i dipped my toes in the pacific ocean for the first time ever! it couldn't have been more beautiful. beach. mountains. ferris wheel. constant texts about the wolfpack beating clemson. awesome! we sat on the beach for a while enjoying the sites (aka people watching).

once we were done lounging on the beach, we drove through beverly hills and hollywood to go to the griffith observatory. we made it just in time to see the sunset and what a site it was!

after looking out over LA, we checked in to a hotel right in the middle of hollywood. one of allison's friends got us an amazing deal at a marriott so we stayed there saturday night so we wouldn't have to make the drive back to long beach. we found (after a lot of wandering around) a restaurant for dinner and enjoyed hollywood at night!

it really was a perfect LA day.

more pictures from the day...