In my own backyard

I'm sad this weekend is almost over...since this has been the best one in a while. 

Started Thursday night with a trip to Malibu Wines with my friend Liz. We bought a bottle of wine each, then watched an outdoor showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's. They have such yummy wine, and it's so much more fun to go when it's not hailing.

Friday, I took a vacation day - slept in, went to the gym, had french toast for breakfast, wine with lunch and a big long nap. Just how a vacation day should be. 

The next day, my cousin and I decided to be brave and venture out during Carmaggedon. (turns out, if you tell LA to stay home...they actually do. Traffic was a breeze!) We are both working on saving money, so here's how we did LA on the cheap:

We took the metro to downtown to escape traffic and parking...plus it happened to be free this weekend! First stop: Bottega Louie. We've been wanting to go together for months and I proceeded to drool all over their pastry displays. We didn't eat lunch there (expensive!), but we both bought a box of 4 macarons for $9. Already dreaming of going back. 

Next, we hiked up a hill to the 500 Days of Summer Park. (Not it's official title, but it should be). Love that movie!

Right next to that park is Angel's Flight. We rode the "shortest railway in the world" for just a quarter. 

Next, we walked to MOCA. I cheated a bit and used my student ID (sorry MOCA), so it was $5. I kinda made up for it, since we ate lunch at their cafe. $10 for pasta, peach ginger lemonade, and the biggest macaron I've ever seen. 

Not really a contemporary art person per say, but it was really cool to see Warhol's Campbell Soup paintings, Jackson Pollock work and huge Rothko paintings. 

Next, we decided to take the metro over to the Renegade Craft Fair. After hoofing it from Union Station to the fair, we treated ourselves to beers ($5). We walked all through the fair - they had tons of cute stuff. We each ended up buying 3 of these postcards ($10): 

On our way back to the metro station, we took a quick wander through Olvera Street, but didn't buy anything. Then, we were back on a train and home again. Overall, our totally fun day ended up costing less than $40. 

Love getting to explore my own backyard a little more. I've lived in So Cal all my life and never done any of the things we did. Already planning more adventures :)