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DineLA 2020 – Winter Edition

DineLA happens at least twice a year in Los Angeles; once in the summer and again in the “winter”. A nice selection of restaurants from all neighborhoods have a prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menu selection ranging from $15-25 for lunch and $29-99 for dinner. Dinners are usually 3 to 5 course meals so definitely worth the price. I normally try to make it to at least one of the restaurants during this time. Luckily, this year I was able to try two places.

I created a list of all the restaurants that peaked my interest to try for both lunch and dinner. For lunch, I decided to try Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse. This hidden gem is tucked away in Downtown Los Angeles. Upon arriving, I immediately thought this place would be a good recommendation for the summertime. There’s a bit of construction going on around the vicinity but the outside dining area gives a nice, unobstructed view of downtown and a cute little garden area nearby. There was a good selection for the lunch menu. For the appetizer, I went with the caesar salad. For my main entree, I tried the oak grilled salmon atop marinated kale with a nice chimichurri sauce and my husband went with the short rib (my initial choice but I didn’t want to get the same thing). Neither meal disappointed although I will say the short rib was the better option to me. It is a heavier meal for lunch so maybe it caters to a late lunch goer like myself. The flavors were great and overall I’m glad I was able to make it over to this place.

Oak Grilled Salmon

Braised Short Rib

For dinner, I tried Fin located in Culver City. It’s an Asian-fusion inspired restaurant that offered a good variety for its dinner entrees. $29 got me salmon sashimi, baked crab rolls and an 8oz ribeye with mashed potatoes. Definitely not bad for the price. I loved the smoked soy ribeye. The marinade went perfectly with the steak and it was cooked quite well. My husband decided to be fancy and ordered the filet mignon (not on the prix fixe) but it was good nonetheless. I fell in love with the plum reduction sauce used a base for his dish. Overall, the ambiance was very nice and the food was very good but I must admit the service was kind of slow. Maybe there were more diners out trying the DineLA options during the time I visited. I will definitely be back to try it out again, especially since there’s a speakeasy located in the back called ‘The Alley’. Looking forward to the DineLA summer edition 🙂 . If you’re in the LA area during the next one, I would definitely recommend trying one of the many restaurant options that cater to every type of cuisine you can think of.

Hello 2020

As we begin a new year with such ambition and limitless opportunities, I would like to reflect on one of my favorite memories from 2019. That being a girl’s trip which celebrated my sissy’s 30^th birthday in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I could not have asked for a better group of girls to travel with for this special occasion. I was traveling from LA and was the first of the party to arrive. We had the pleasure of staying at the all-inclusive Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa with butler service included. I mean could it get any better than this? (Cues Fancy by Drake) I was welcomed by the friendliest staff with a nice rum punch. You cannot come to Jamaica and not indulge in a few good rum punches. While waiting for the girls to arrive, I decided to have lunch poolside with an infamous Bob Marley daiquiri. I knew from that moment alone this trip would be one for the books.

We had a few things on the itinerary for our trip. On our first night, the hotel hosted a silent headphone party. This was my introduction to this type of party and I had a blast. The multiple channel options of different music provided different vibes which was pretty cool. I would definitely want to attend another one of these. The following day we decided to be more adventurous and joined Jam West Motorsports & Adventure Park for a day filled with a slew of activities including horseback riding and an ATV excursion. It was an all-day adventure but completely worth it for the experience.

For our last full day, we decided to hang out at the resort and enjoy what was being offered right there at our fingertips. Laying out catching a few sun rays, indulging in the full salon and spa service and the unlimited cocktails from the swim-up bar were all ultimately apart of this day of enjoyment and relaxation. There was also different water sports or beach activities being hosted by the resort as well. A nice volleyball match in the pool or banana boat ride were just a few things that you could participate in. Not to mention the mini-bars cooking classic Jamaican dishes fresh to order to satisfy your mid-day cravings. This was by far the best day spent at the resort.

For the finale, the birthday girl planned an all-white dinner which we decided to have at the steakhouse at the resort. To make matters even better, one of the butlers made a special request to the chef to prepare oxtails for our party as well. I’m still craving these oxtails to this day. We finished the night with a champagne toast to more life, success, many continued blessings and endless laughs. I still remember the sounds of the ocean as I sat on the balcony and reflected on the great memories this trip had given me. From the start, I knew this trip would be special and the group of ladies that traveled to celebrate my sissy’s milestone birthday made it that much more special and memorable to me. Yea mon! I wanted to start the year off by sharing a great memory with my readers. For this year, there’s so much I would like to do and have come into fruition for Lifeofacitygal. Hence, I am making this a year of action. Here’s to creating more memories and continued growth. Stay tuned.

Palm Springs

Memorial Weekend was approaching rather quickly and my hubby and I still didn’t have travel plans. Rule of thumb in our household, if you’re off from work this equals vacation time 🙂 I believe that Tuesday or Wednesday before the holiday weekend I found a deal you couldn’t pass up on Hotels.com better known as Old Faithful. I am the BEST person to find a good deal on hotels if I do say so myself. Saturday we hit the road a little after 8am and headed for our first adventure in Palm Springs.

During our stay, we stayed at Musicland Hotel. It was absolutely perfect. We had a nicely renovated room which reminded me of a nice studio apartment in NYC for some reason. Possibly the layout instantly put me back into NYC circa 2014. The feature that got me the most was the cute swimming pool. This is what sold me in the first place. Needless to say, upon arrival we changed into swim gear and had a real pool day. I think I stayed on the watermelon float for at least 2 hours. The weather was perfect. We even had chilled wine poolside which was also an instant hit with the other guests staying at the hotel. During the day, my mother-in-law mentioned a site by Food Network (my fav) that lists places Guy Fieri suggests trying. You just type the location where you are and his food recommendations appear. How genius! One of the recommendations included Frankinbuns which was perfect for a midday snack. I went with the Chicago-style hot dog and it did not disappoint. For future reference, I will be using this website all the time because sometimes it does become difficult to make a solid restaurant choice. Thank you mom and Guy Fieri!

For the nightcap, we found a burger spot called Johnny’s located downtown. This was a cute place which was reminiscent of like Johnny Rocket’s. We decided to stop by Ace Hotel before heading in; this was a great decision by the way. They have a quaint bar called Amigo Bar with about 3 booth seating areas and standing room only for everyone else. I did not catch the DJ’s name but he definitely was in tune with music and the flow of the crowd. What a perfect nightcap.

For this particular trip, we did not plan one single thing which worked in our favor. Just a “go with the flow” vibe this time around. For brunch on Sunday, I yelped a few places and decided to try Broken Egg Café. I’ve gotten kind of hooked on bloody Mary’s as of lately so I started with that and ordered the country chicken steak for my meal. Neither one let me down. Did I also mention they had $6 mimosa flights and there were like 20 flavors to choose from? We also tried this and I think the strawberry flavor was my favorite.

Since LA weather has been sort of weird and rather cool temperature wise, we hung out by the pool again for a bit. This time just to enjoy the sun rays and the book I brought along on the trip. Nothing like being poolside with a good read. I found a couple of rooftops that looked very promising and decided to check out High Bar at the Rimowa Hotel. The ambiance here was unmatched. They had mini booths, dozens of pool chairs and private cabanas for you to sit back and enjoy cocktails and small bites. There was also a pool on the roof so if you wanted to take a swim or just be cute and put your fee in like me, that was perfectly alright too J I watched the sunset and became mesmerized by the shades of pink and blue that lined the skies as the sun went down. I would highly recommend visiting this bar if you take a trip to Palm Springs. You have to experience this for yourself. The restaurant 4 Saints is also located in this hotel. I did not din here this trip but definitely will on the next. For Sunday’s nightcap, we decided on a good pizza from none other than Pizza Hut. We enjoyed this right in the comfort of our hotel room and watched TV until we passed out. I’m leaning everything does not always have to be planned or require an itinerary. Sometimes it’s just best to go with the flow. Palm Springs provided just what we needed. Pure relaxation and chill vibes. Until next time….

LA Vibes

Moving from NYC to LA has definitely required some major adjustments. After landing the perfect place, finding a fulfilling job and trying to build a new network you still have something very vital to think about in your day to day; that something being style. I never want to compromise my style no matter where I live but I can say living in LA, you lean more towards cute and casual. I found myself completely overdressed during my early visits to LA for like a nice outing or dinner because I was so used to the NY way of life. Here you can simply wear a plain tee, biker jacket over the arm as a complimenting accessory or actually wear it once the night falls with nice booties and you’re all set. Heels aren’t a must here in LA (thank goodness)

I say all that to say, I’ve adding a ton of tees to my everyday wardrobe. Simplicity is key. A nice tee with boyfriend or slim jeans and a fresh pair of vans can be worn Sunday-Monday and I’m loving it. The look below showcases a Mondo Taco tee I grabbed from Goodwill for $1 and light washed jeans I snagged from Uniqlo for $9. To lighten the look a bit, I wore classic neon yellow Van’s. I thought this complimented well with the light denim and added a pop of color for a casual, spring look. LA, I’m still learning and adjusting to the vibes here. One thing for sure I am definitely becoming more aligned with comfy looks. Be on the lookout for more comfy, casual looks from this citygal 😊

Birthday Bae

10/27….The best day of the year (to me 😊) So here we are in October in LA and its peaking at above 85 degrees. Talk about a good birthday gift. Over the weeks leading up to my special day, I went over a number of things that I could do and just settled on the fact that I wanted to have loads of fun. So my first trip for this fun adventure began by making it to the infamous Paul Smith “Pink Wall” on Melrose for photo ops. I finally made it!!! Yay. For my day birthday fit, I decided to work with what I had in my closet. It was such nice weather so I went with a black cropped top, my favorite ripped jeans from Zara and an all-black suede Steve Madden mule. If you don’t know by now, I love me a nice mule. I gave so many retro chic 90s vibes with this look. I recently cut my hair so that added a different element to this vibe too of course. Although it is definitely fall, LA allows you to dress for the weather not season.

Afterwards, I went for margaritas at Velvet Margarita and decided to give Halloween Horror Nights a try for the evening. I’m not one that desires to be scared but I went for it and had such a wonderful time. Of course, a night in a theme park required a quick wardrobe change but overall this birthday was one of the best. Doing something that was actually fun (including an impromptu photo shoot lol) First birthday in LA in the books! Check out the great birthday shots I was able to get.

Malibu Wine Safari

California has so many different things you can do for a celebratory occasion. For our 1-year anniversary, we stuck with what now seems like a tradition and traveled to Malibu to enjoy a day at a winery; Malibu Wines to be exact. I’ve only been to one other winery before visiting here so I was excited to see what this one had to offer. This winery gave me a very memorable experience and here’s a bit about what all happened that day.

So let’s start with my attire. Seeing that this was my 2^nd vineyard trip, I wanted to steer away from a long maxi dress or a plaid top with jeans. I don’t know why but those make me think of vineyard attire. So I went with a plain white top with huge ruffled sleeves and floral printed light denim. I purchased both pieces a while back at H&M and decided this look would be perfect for a vineyard. I paired this with camel colored open toe Steve Madden booties and went about my day. The look was multi-purposed for sure; very comfortable for the safari and winery day activities but also easily complimented a scenic ocean view dinner at Geoffrey’s for later that evening.

Okay now back to the actual winery visit. The drive to Malibu itself can be very rewarding. The canyons and mountains are very beautiful to see and often makes me forget that I am even still in California. Upon arrival, we decided to grab kettle popcorn to take on the safari which wasn’t a bad idea. Perfect snack for the road 😊. Along the safari tour we fed llamas, zebras, and even Stanley the Giraffe. Stanley is a fan favorite of the safari and let me get some great pics! There are two stops throughout the duration of the safari. On the first stop you try the white wines. The second stop is saved for the stronger red wines. A huge thank you to our driver for the day that shared the extras from each wine bottle. I think I had two extra glasses for the road. To say we enjoyed our time at Malibu Wine Safaris would be an understatement. The tour guide, driver and amenities offered were all great and I will definitely be back. Especially since I haven’t used my wristband for the 15% discount of a wine purchase. Enjoy the gallery from the safari adventure below.

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Keep it 4Hunnid

I was able to get my hands on this hoodie awhile back at YG’s pop up in NYC. I love, love camo so getting this was a no-brainer for me. I finally decided to pop the plastic and wear this. Just an FYI, this hoodie is greatly made and the material inside feels wonderful on my skin. Now that that’s been covered back to the basics. I simply paired this with black ripped denim from Old Navy. Since its fairly cold, I wore fishnets underneath. I thought this gave a pretty cool look to have the nets show through the rips. Also, fishnets keep you quite warm. For the shoes, I immediately thought about a chill, Cali look. You know what that means. Bring out the classic vans! These paired well with the camo and black. Simple street style at its best. Check out more pics below.

My first winery visit

Georgia is the home to some of the most beautiful cultural attractions, best restaurants and perfect go to spots for pretty much any occasion. One place that I had never been to was the winery and resort, Chateau Elan. I heard such great things before and even thought about having my wedding here. Luckily, my mother-in-law booked a wine tasting and dinner reservation as a surprise gift after our wedding. How sweet is she?

Chateau Elan is a little over an hour outside of Atlanta, specifically located in Braselton, Georgia. Driving into the resort was an experience itself. It looked a like a mini castle from afar in la la land like in the movies. My hubby and I drove mesmerized all the way to the front of the ‘castle’ and just stared in awe. We started with a nice tour of the winery. Great way to learn more about wine and its origin. After the tour, we participated in the wine tasting which included a sample of 8 wines. Of course to go with the ambiance, I added a nice cheese plate. It was nice to enjoy the scenery and walk the trails of the vineyard. This was our first time at an actual vineyard so we were sure to enjoy every minute of it.

The day at the resort was topped off with dinner at one of the fine dining restaurants, the Versailles. I was highly impressed with the decor, attentiveness of the staff and food presentation. We started the meal with the pickled Georgia shrimp which looked like their take on a classic shrimp cocktail. The shrimp laid on top of a homemade spicy tomato sauce with lemon and basil. The flavor of that sauce added such a great taste. For the entree, I decided to have the filet and truffled whipped potatoes. My hubby got a little fancy and went with the pan roasted snapper topped with a lump crab salad. I normally pick the better dish but I think he may of beat me this time. Both were pretty amazing! To top it off, we shared the lemon cake with a light butter cream and blueberry compote garnished with a piece of candied ginger. The overall experience at Chateau Elan was nothing shy of amazing and most of all, memorable. Checkout more pictures in the gallery of our day spent at our first winery visit.

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LA Edition: Part 3

LA is a place known for many notable things. Hollywood, celeb sightings, production and die-hard Lakers fans to name a few. Whenever I travel, I’m always in search of the best food and LA does a good job of providing new places to try. Being a foodie at heart, I will always fit in a nice dinner, new dessert place or quick bite to go. While in LA for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to add some new places to my growing list of favorite food spots. I also came to find out a lot of places are open extremely late or, even better, 24 hours! One of those 24-hour places happens to be Birdie’s in DTLA. I made it by here to try some of their delicious donuts. Another place, famously shown in a John Singleton classic film ‘Baby Boy’, called Lucy’s is also open all day and night and the food here is definitely comforting when its late night.

On this trip, I was actually able to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles. I didn’t even make it to Santa Monica this time around or Malibu and both are 2 of my favorite hangouts, particularly for the beaches. I did stop by Venice beach, because its only right that you do and had cocktails at Wabi Sabi on Abbot Kinney. This is also one of my favorite areas and I made a point to enjoy at least an hour or so in the area. I saw the Farmer’s Market in the Grove on a ton of vlogs so I definitely made a stop there. The Farmers Market seems like a good place to visit when you’re indecisive about what you want to eat because the market offers a variety of food and different types of cuisine. I think I grabbed tacos and a horchata to hold me until we made it to the infamous In-N-Out Burger. In-N-Out is a must try if you never had this before. The menu is so simple and apparently, the way to go, is animal style for your fries. Never disappoints. I also went to another market, Grand Central, located in DTLA solely to try the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from Eggslut. Eggslut is a pretty popular sandwich joint, so much, that another one has opened in Venice. The line was pretty long at the time I went but it was definitely worth the wait. To go with this, I went to G&B coffee for a nice cup of coffee and later found out this is one of the most popular coffee shops in LA, according to Time Out magazine.

BOA Steakhouse was the choice for the LA finale dinner. I normally do at least one nice restaurant when vacating here so why not spend it in West Hollywood for that evening? We started with the blue colossal crab cocktail. As the entrée, I went with their rib eye and added both mac and cheese and creamed spinach with crispy shallots. Wayyyyyy too much food to indulge in at once but I couldn’t resist. Everything sounded so good. Not to forget the cocktail I had for the evening too. I cannot recall the name of it but it was a great choice! To say the least, LA never ceases to amaze me. The vibe is enough to fall in love with but when you start adding all of the other great things like picture perfect sunsets, countless beaches and warm weather all year; it’s just a place you never want to leave. Check out pics of some of the food I was able to enjoy while there. Until next time LA….

http://www.eggslut.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.gandbcoffee.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.loteriagrill.com (The Original Farmers Market 6333 W 3rd St Los Angles, CA 90036)

http://www.rockandbrews.com (143 Main St El Segundo, CA 90245)

http://www.birdiesla.com (314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015)

http://www.in-n-out.com (7009 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028)

LA Edition: Part 2

To continue with my LA edition, I wanted to share yet another casual look fitting for Cali. It was so easy to pack for this trip! For starters, you eliminate packing a huge coat. Also you’d probably only wear a pair of sneakers and need a casual shoe or booties for the nightlife. On this particular day, the high expected was around 70 during the day and low 60s towards the night hours. This was perfect flannel weather to me. I decided to wear a blue and black plaid flannel along with a gray sweater cardigan on top of it, both from Old Navy. The cardigan was light enough to not get too warm throughout the day but heavy enough for the cool breeze expected at night. This paired nicely with a normal washed denim boyfriend jean with the small cuffs, also from Old Navy. If you cannot tell by now, Old Navy is one of my go to’s. Especially since it’s close by my job :-). There’s literally a sale everyday so how could you not indulge? To add to my casual look, I wore my favorites again; NMDs by Adidas. These have to be some of the most comfortable sneakers I’ve ever owned (I probably told you guys this before too). I think I mastered the chill, laid back look for my day in LA, not forgetting my sunnies and Prince pin. Check out more pics below and be sure to follow along my LA journey.