Twenty Five.

A few weeks ago I turned 25. As Josh so lovingly reminded me, I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20. So that sucks. But I can rent a car now, so that doesn't suck. My best friend flew up from Florida and we had such a wonderful time together. We celebrated with a bonfire, s'mores, a food festival, a Parachute concert, a gay dance club, brunch at my favorite French spot in town (Le Diplomate), a farmers market, the zoo, puppies, more food, and a movie marathon.

My backyard is a bit magical, isn't it?

My roommates baked me my favorite cake because they're adorable like that.

(Wearing: H&M tank, Hollister sweater)

Parachute is always on top of their game. Fun fact: this venue turns into a gay bar. Of course we went.

Spent the whole weekend with these two. They're great.

(wearing: Garage tank (similar on sale))

The best lunch in town: Founding Farmers featuring brie&apple farm bread and house-made hibiscus soda

(wearing: H&M blouse, H&M pants, Michael Kors purse, Restricted pumps)

And to everyone who took time out of their day to send me a text, write on my Facebook wall, come to my party or send me a tweet: thank you. You all made me feel so loved and I appreciate more than you know.

XO,

Casey

                 

Day 9: Los Angeles, part 2

So today's post is about our last day in LA, or so we thought. The heat wave had started to subside a bit, so we woke up early that Saturday, packed up our car and headed to start our hike up to the Griffith Observatory. Griffith is located in Los Feliz (where we were staying) so we only had to drive five minutes to get to the parking area at the bottom of the trails.

View from the hike to the top

Now, I am not an athletic person. At all. My idea of exercise usually consists of yoga, dance and maybe some squats. But I was determined to complete this hike. Also, I bought super cute work out clothes specifically for this hike so I was kinda forced to put them to good use. Commence torture.

There are a few different paths you can take to hike up to the observatory. We chose the "beginner hike". It's not labeled but after a lot of research we were able to figure it out. We started early to 1. avoid the crowds and 2. try and avoid the heat. That only kinda worked, but it still was a lot cooler than Disney a few days prior. The hike is uphill, obviously, and even the beginner trail is a bit of a challenge in some spots. We did stop a few times for a minute or two to catch our breath, take photos and drink water. Which reminds me, BRING LOTS OF WATER.

Started from the bottom now we're here

The Griffith Observatory

The views are spectacular, and even if I were physically capable of running uphill, I would probably take my time anyway just to see how the city changes the higher you go. I was hoping we would get lucky with a clear day but it was pretty smoggy, which is quite normal for LA.

Not the best view of the sign, but still an incredible sight

Downtown LA is in there somewhere...

I'd estimate it took us about 30ish minutes to get to the top, maybe 45 at most. We hung around the outside of the planetarium for a bit, explored the inside to cool off and then started our trek back down. If you're thinking going down is a lot easier than going up, you're wrong. It's definitely not as tiring, but it's very easy to slip and fall (we watched about 3 people in front of us take a tumble) as the trails are steep, sandy and dusty. Just be careful and take your time.

After getting back to our car and changing, we decided we wanted a better view of the hollywood sign, so we consulted our handy iphones and found a spot we could drive to just a few minutes from Griffith. The drive is gorgeous, winding through the Hollywood hills and passing the most breathtaking homes. Drive slow as the roads are narrow and there are loads of cars going up and down (both residents and tourists).

A much better view from Lake Hollywood park

We snapped some photos and then headed to brunch. Originally, my friend Brian was supposed to join us but he flaked on us and went for a run. Then after we got to Alcove (back in Los Feliz, where Brian lives) he decided to continue his run and ended up literally running to brunch. Brian recommended Alcove and it did not disappoint. I wish I had taken pictures of the outdoor seating area we were in but the photos wouldn't even do it justice. The restaurant is inside a historic bungalow and is surrounded by gorgeous plants and flowers; it feels like a fairy tale. On the weekends you can either order at the counter and have them bring it to you or have a server. We chose the latter. Our server was fantastic and the food was even better. Brian and I both got eggs benedict with build your own mimosas while Naomi got lots of fresh fruit. Everything was delicious.

After brunch, (and after an hour long hunt for our car that we somehow lost/forgot where we parked) we decided we had spent too much time in West LA and headed to explore Beverly Hills. We also stopped by the Urban Light exhibit downtown and hung around that area for a while. We wanted to see the lights at night but had other plans and unfortunately weren't able to stay until it got dark. Downtown LA is a lot different than DC but actually reminded me of Downtown Tampa (where I'm from) quite a bit. So in a way it felt very familiar.

Urban Light - Los Angeles County Museum of Art 

At the last minute we decided not to head down to San Clemente (our next stop) and instead stay in LA an extra day. Our friend Anthony graciously offered his sofa to us, so we headed to his house in the valley, where we ended up having a dinner party and a bonfire that lasted till 2 am. Somehow I managed to forget to take a single picture after our hike, but sometimes it's nice knowing you enjoyed your night without your phone consistently in your hands.

Next: Los Angeles, day 3

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:
Griffith Observatory hiking trail; free parking and entry. Shuttles available to the Observatory, planetarium shows: $3-$7 available for purchase inside the observatory for the day of the show only.
Lake Hollywood Park (view of the Hollywood sign): free parking
Alcove Cafe and Bakery: street parking, valet available, located in Los Feliz
Urban Lights Exhibit: parking: metered on streets nearby, free entry

Wearing:
H&M crop top, Adidas running pants (similar), Reebok running shoes (similar), H&M dress, Mossimo sandals

Day 8: Los Angeles

After our magical day at Disneyland we headed to the room we booked on Airbnb in Los Feliz, showered and headed to bed. We were beat and wanted to catch up on all the sleep we missed in Santa Monica. The next morning we woke up excited to start the 2nd half of our trip in southern California. Naomi and I both have tons of friends in LA and we were making plans left and right to hang out.

After grabbing coffee and pastries at The Coffee Bean (very LA of us, though I prefer Starbucks' bakery items!) we relaxed for a bit and then headed to NoHo to meet my friend Alex. At his recommendation, we headed to EAT for a late brunch. LA was still experiencing an extreme heatwave and the restaurant was somehow even hotter inside than it was outside, so we grabbed a table under the misting fans and each ordered a variety of dishes. I stuck with my usual eggs benedict, but took a chance on the Ned's Benedict (with avocado, my fav) and it did not disappoint. After a wonderful time eating and catching up, Naomi and I headed back to our house and settled in for a nap and catching up on our various Netflix shows (I told you we were party animals).

You can't tell, but we were dying in the heat

We didn't have any definite plans for the evening, so we headed back to NoHo to check out City Walk at Universal Studios. We had intended to spend a day at Universal but after our exhausting day at Disney we thought it would be best to not tire ourselves out too much. That combined with the still horrifyingly high temps and the cost of another park admission kept us just inside City Walk. Naomi wanted Panda Express so we loaded up on their famous orange chicken and checked out the shops and sights around.

Not a bad view from the Universal parking garage

Later that evening we received an invite to a party in Silverlake so we packed up our minion souvenirs and headed to the address we were given. We rolled up, found free parking (also, high five for not once receiving a parking ticket the entire trip!) and met up with Anthony, Sam and Halsey. The host of the party turned out to be an actor on a Nickelodeon show, and his house was incredible with a beautiful outdoor deck and breathtaking views of downtown LA. He was also incredibly nice and welcoming, which was quite refreshing and unexpected. We made plenty of friends that night, learned that not all child actors are stuck up, that others awkwardly grind on each other while no one else dances, and that LA is a very small world. Who knew? We headed back to our house a little after midnight to get ready for our hike up to the Griffith observatory. Yet, as soon as we got home I received about 3 invitations to hang out despite it being 1am. I guess the real parties in LA don't start till way past my bedtime.

Next: Los Angeles, day 2

XO,

Casey

Activities and lodging mentioned in this post:
Room on AirBnb in Los Feliz; $120 for two nights, free reserved parking
City Walk at Universal Studios; $10 parking after 3pm, free entry to City Walk
EAT; on Magnolia Blvd in NoHo, hourly street parking (free for up to 2 hours)

Wearing:
Forever 21 dress (similar), American Eagle hat

Day 7: DISNEYLAND

Well, yesterday I turned 25. So now I'm older and wiser and maybe, just maybe, that wisdom will push me to update this more than once a week. I'm trying, I really am. I'm very excited to share this portion of the trip with you all because it was one of the best days of my life. I've loved Disney for as long as I can remember. I was obsessed with all the movies (and still am), grew up going to the parks in Orlando and even broke out into songs from Aladdin just yesterday with my best friend. Yes, I am 25 and obsessed with Disney. Despite my obsession, I had never made it to Disneyland in California. I'd dreamed of it for years and I swore to myself that I would go no matter what during our trip. And I persevered. I say that because it was over 100 degrees out that day. Yes, one. hundred. degrees. But it didn't matter because I was in the happiest place on earth.

I was set on making the most of my only day at the parks, so we hatched a fool proof game plan. Originally, Naomi wanted to purchase a single park pass. I shot that idea down immediately and convinced her to get a park hopper. It's a great deal because you can go back and forth between the two parks (in Orlando, it's 4 - which is a lot more tiring and time consuming, but breaks down into a better deal price wise) all day without any limitations as far as number of times you can enter the park. This worked out well for us - since we had our handy Disneyland wait times app - and just changed parks to ride the rides with shorter wait times. I will say, Disneyland versus Disneyworld makes this easier, as the Orlando parks are much more spread out, meaning more travel time. Disneyland and California Adventure are literally next to each other and you can just walk from one to the next. Yay!

We got there early (before the parks opened) to beat LA rush hour traffic and park. We also chose to go on a Thursday. Originally our itinerary had us doing the parks on a Saturday and I quickly realized how bad of an idea that was. Disney is always crowded, but weekends, especially near the start of summer vacation, are essentially a no-go for me. Since I consider myself an expert on forecasting park crowds (I'm actually, legitimately, very good at this) I switched the date to Thursday, and we drove down to Anaheim from Santa Monica that morning. We hit almost no traffic, parked in the garage ($17 - though I'm pretty sure it went up a dollar or two since we were there in May) and took the tram to the entrances. I forced (like, actually yelled) Naomi to jog ahead of the crowds and we purchased our park hoppers ($137 each at the time, now listed at $150 online) and skipped our way into a magical day of rides, junk food and lots and lots of pictures. Luckily, Naomi loves Disney just as much as I do so we had an absolutely wonderful time.

The Disneyland castle is a lot smaller than the one in Disneyworld. But still wonderful

We started in Disneyland, grabbed Starbucks (I mean, seriously. Starbucks inside Disney? That's the dream) cried over the castle, rode a bunch of rides, almost died outside of Haunted Mansion because of the extreme heat, ate some surprisingly delicious theme park food, rode more rides, and then headed to California Adventure to do the same.

California Adventure

I'll spare you the details because even though I could literally (and usually do) talk about Disney for hours, I don't remember the order we rode everything in. And quite frankly, it's pretty unnecessary to tell you about. Our wait time app really made all the difference, as we could monitor the super popular rides (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Soarin, California Screamin, etc) and pop over to them when there were much shorter lines. Single rider lines are also your friend if you're with just one other person. More often than not, you'll end up riding together anyway. So if you don't mind sitting next to a stranger while your friend is a row or two behind you, it's a great way to skip a lot of the waiting and make the most out of your day. We ended our day back at Disneyland and stayed until closing. I probably cried while leaving the parks that day and still miss the incredible day I had. In fact, my nostalgia is so bad right now I'm having to hold back from booking another flight out to LA like, tomorrow. But for now, enjoy the multitude of photos I took and I'll be back with another Disney update soon (I went to Disneyworld a few weeks back for my best friend's birthday and have tentative plans to attend the food and wine festival in October!).

Club 33. Has a ten year wait list or something ridiculous & a $11,000 yearly membership fee

Walt Disney's apartment, the light in the window would be on when he was in the parks. It has remained on since his death.

Next: Los Angeles

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:
Disneyland and California Adventure; Individual one day park tickets: $95, one day park hopper: $150, parking: $17 (prices listed reflect those currently on the Disneyland website)

Wearing:
H&M crop top, H&M shorts, Mossimo shoes, Disney Ears, PacSun satchel

An open letter to the girl who complained about 9/11 on Facebook

Yesterday, while browsing Facebook on my bus ride home, I came across a snapshot of a Facebook status posted by a girl named Lauren. I'm leaving her last name out because I don't need to slander her reputation more than she already has done for herself, but I want to address what she said. The status read: "great... it's september eleventh...and that's all I'm probably going to see in my news feed all day today is never forget statuses...#facepalm". At first I was offended, like a lot of people seemed to be. But the more I thought about it, the more upset I became. You see, Lauren, September 11th is arguably the most important day in our generation's history. But you don't see it that way. You see it as a major disruption to your social media browsing. And that's scary to me. On September 11th our entire nation stood still and watched as almost 3,000 of our own were viciously and unjustifiably taken from us. But that doesn't matter to you. And I really don't understand why.

Social media is wonderful in many ways; it reunites us with people we've lost touch with. It connects us to people across the globe who share similar interests with us. It even brings people together to find a lifetime of love and happiness. But people like you are what is wrong with social media. You seem to be so consumed with who is updating their profile picture, telling us what they bought at the grocery store, or dumping ice on their heads, that you can't stop for one day to remember those we lost. Yes, life should go on after 9/11, and in a lot of ways it has and will continue to. But is having to acknowledge a single day of remembrance really that inconvenient to your daily life?

Anyone who was born before that harrowing day has been affected by the tragedy in some way. We all feel the aftermath. Each time we go through seemingly pointless security to get into a building, TSA screenings at the airport, heightened police presence at events; these are all direct side effects of 9/11. Many, many people lost family, friends, significant others, coworkers and more. My mother and my aunt had lunch reservations scheduled at the restaurant on top of the North Tower just a week later. What would have happened to them if they had decided to book their trip a few days earlier? I am incredibly thankful that my family got lucky that day, that my mom and my aunt were at work in Florida and not near those buildings. But other people weren't so lucky, because their work was in those buildings. Some made it out. A lot didn't. And the families of those workers weren't spared that day. For those families, every day is 9/11. They are affected by it every. single. day. For those families, every day is a day of remembrance. And you're telling me you can't observe one day for them? For those 3,000 people who perished? I sincerely hope whatever you were doing yesterday was really that important, though I doubt it was.

For the families and loved ones of those lost on September 11th, as well as the survivors, that day is theirs. That day belongs to them. Not you. Much like April 15th belongs to the victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, and April 19th belongs to those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing. And every other unspeakable tragedy our generation has been influenced by, those days are for them. They're not about us. They are about remembering those who we lost, the legacies they left behind, and the people who continue to fight every day without their loved ones. They don't ask for much, just that we remember the victims on the day they perished. For me, it's pretty easy to give them that day. I don't have to change my daily routine or go out of my way to do something. I go on with my work day like I normally would, but every once in a while I stop and think about that day, and what it means for the people who were affected by it. It's not difficult, and it isn't a grand gesture, but it for me it makes a difference.

So yes, you will see a lot of "never forget" statuses. You saw them yesterday. You'll see them next year. And you'll probably see them every year until you pass. And that is perfectly okay. Because we won't forget. And why should we? Why should we ever forget the day our world changed forever? We shouldn't. And we won't.

Everyone has bad days. Maybe yesterday was yours. Maybe you didn't think about the consequences of your words when you posted them on Facebook. Maybe you really don't care. Maybe you're ignorant and selfish and too consumed with whats on your iPhone to give a damn. Maybe you should think before you speak, or type. Maybe, on 9/11, unless it's something positive, you just shouldn't say anything at all.