Happy Holidays to L.A. Fashionistas!

What could be better than shopping and ice cream sandwiches?!?

GILT GROUPE has partnered with COOLHAUS ICE CREAM SANDWICHES and TRINA TURK to offer Southern Californians one sweet holiday treat this Saturday, Dec. 1th.

Gilt Groupe invites you to take a break from your holiday shopping to satisfy your sweet tooth, and fashion fix, to indulge in a guilty pleasure... a free COOLHAUS ice cream sandwich!

Follow @COOLHAUS on Twitter and like them on Facebook to find out where they are located once you're ready for your break.

Plus, they'll be making a spcial stop at the Trina Turk boutique on 3rd St. in Santa Monica from 11am - noon for an appearance by Trina herself and 25% off for shoppers!

For additional times and locations, etc. visit www.Gilt.com/COOLHOLIDAY

First Valentine's Day in California

Random observations, and lessons learned, from my first Valentine's Day in California...

1. If Valentine's Day falls on a weekend and it happens to be 80 degrees and beautiful outside do NOT attempt to drive from Hollywood to Santa Monica to go rollerblading. You will (A) be stuck in traffic for over an hour and (B) won't be able to find parking -- someone needs to invite beach valet please!

2. Grocery store are full of guys buying last minute flowers and bottles of champagne

3. Massive line outside Pink's hot dogs - I have one word for this: GROSS!

This is Why I Don't Make Rash Decisions...

Last weekend, blind sighted by the amazing offer due to my corporate discount, I joined 24 Hour Fitness. BIG mistake!
I will admit, though, it is my fault that I didn't ask for a tour of the place until after I swiped my credit card, instead I should have walked in and asked for a 7 Day Free trial rather than asking to join. But I figured it would be at least the same quality of the 24 Hour Fitness I went to in Dallas or have the same amenities of the NYSC I belonged to in NYC. But no... first of all, the location where I signed up (not going to point any fingers) was incredibly... let's just say I saw some people in there who I'm pretty sure could have passed as homeless! I made a mental note not to return to that location so quickly had to find another location that would be easy for me to drive to in the mornings before work.

Tuesday morning I went to the one in Santa Monica, it was better than the first one and actually the spinning class that morning was awesome but I wasn't in love with the location-- no ab/stretching area and the locker room was a maze.

That evening after work I drove to the nearest LA Fitness where I was given the same monthly rate as 24 Hour Fitness but this time the initiation fee wasn't waved, I'm still trying to argue my way out of that though! But trust me, I had learned my lesson... this time I asked for a tour and a 7 day trial pass before I signed or paid for anything. My week isn't up yet so I still want to check out a few locations but I think that's what I'm going to do. So far it's not as crowded as 24 Hour Fitness, which I have learned through this process is a gym trait that I highly value.

Jumping to the end of my story, my overall most shocking points are that 24 Hour Fitness does NOT offer you free towel (even if you shower there) and most of the Los Angeles-area locations have parking lots you have to pay to park in-- on top of your membership!

If someone would have told me that I would move to LA and suddenly feel like I had been spoiled at NYSC I would have laughed in their face. Now I'm the one telling my friends back in New York to appreciate what they have with NYSC because receiving an unlimited amount of free towels, having a gym on every corner and an overwhelming amount of class selections is a treat!

Fairfax Flea Market

Also known as the Melrose Trading Post...
Last weekend, after brunch at Toast, a couple friends and I decided to check out the nearby flea market. Every Sunday outside of Fairfax High School vendors setup shop selling everything from antique furniture, vintage clothes to old and new jewelry.

Plus, the entrance fee (I think it was $5) goes right back into student organizations at the school. Each week is sponsored by a school club or student organization, which has petitioned The Melrose Trading Post for the opportunity to earn money for activities and purchases not provided for within the school budget. The students from the sponsoring club work the full day at the market.

I only bought a necklace but have made a mental note to go back there once I actually have an apartment of my own. Some of the pieces would be really cool to have- like an old turquoise dresser or antique mirror.

If you've been or if you end up going let me know what you think of it, I'd love to hear what great finds you stumble upon.

FYI: The flea market is located on Melrose and Fairfax and is open from 9am - 5pm every Sunday, rain or shine.

Waxing in Los Angeles

Last weekend was my first full weekend (without my parents) in LA. First order of business: get my eyebrows done! I hadn't had them done since Thanksgiving so I was in need of a good shape-up. At the recommendation of my sister's friend, mind you she's 17- but has great eyebrows, I went to Anastasia in Beverly Hills.

After making my appointment with Jasmine I checked out their website and quickly realized I may have just signed up for the most expense eyebrow wax ever! For two reasons- (1) they don't offer a menu of services on their website, or at least not one that I have been able to find, and (2) the place is widely known for their eyebrow shaping expertise and have been featured in In Style, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and more. Not to mention Kristin Cavallari visits the salon, check out the paparazzi video here.

All the eyebrow waxing stations are out in the open, just like a hair salon would be set up, with similar kind of chairs that just recline a bit more. (Bikini waxing is thankfully done behind closed doors! Haha) I was sitting in the waiting area for Jasmine to finish with her client who happened to be a man in his early to mid 60s. I was totally transfixed by this man and his stunning 30-something wife and her huge diamond ring.
As I sat there I thought, so this is Beverly Hills!
... and I like it! I mean, at least the people watching! It's fun to imagine who these people are, what they see in each other, how they met, etc.

Anyway, back to the waxing experience, it was great, $50, but I walked away loving my eyebrows! I've been getting my eyebrows done since I was in 6th grade and this was the first time the esthetician finished by applying makeup to my brows and brow bone- I loved it!

I'm not 100% sure I'm going to go back though, I think I'm going to try a few more before I decide on just one place.

What I Learned Today in Hollywood

By 2pm this afternoon I had already learned two valuable lessons for living in Los Angeles:

1. Parking Tickets are $50.... and $50 that I don't have! No one ever seems to pay the meters on my street so thus far I have been following their lead. Last night I parked my car out front around midnight, all of the non-metered parking spots were taken so I parked next to a meter and didn't pay it. The sign says 4 Hour Parking from 8am-8am except on Sundays (when it's free) but last Saturday afternoon I didn't pay the meter and I didn't get a ticket so I figured I'd be fine. I walked out of my apartment at 11am to go for a run only to find that I have a $50 parking ticket on my dashboard! Blah!

2. Quarters are a Valuable Commodity... When I was home over the holidays unpacking boxes from NY, packing bags for LA and cleaning out my childhood closet (finally!) I found an entire coin collection so I now have a heavy coin purse in my bag that I carry everyday. Okay so that's the background story... So this afternoon I went to the laundry room in the basement of my apartment building for the first time- keep in mind this walk-up building was built in 1926. I had everything I would have needed in my NYC apartment buildings- my wallet with cash and credit cards, laundry detergent and a bag full of my dirty clothes- oh and my door key to get back in. I assumed that I would pay for my laundry by using a debit card-type machine.... no such luck! The washers and dryers accept 4 quarters and quarters only! So with all my clothes in the washer I went back upstairs to my 3rd floor apartment and get out my newly created coin purse which, unfortunately, is full of nickles, dimes and pennies! Not wanting to drive my parked (and ticketed) car I walked half a mile to the corner liquor store and had the guy give me eight quarters in exchange for seven nickles and twenty two dimes! Needless to say, I felt pretty pathetic and rather annoyed.
My clothes are in the dryer now so all is well. :)

Helping You Find Deals in NYC

A friend of a friend of mine recently launched a new site, Yipit, a deal machine that recommends New York City sample sales, restaurant and bar deals, etc. all based on your location and personal preferences. It takes 12 seconds to join so check it out-- www.yipit.com. It syncs with your Foursquare account to help you score deals right around you and wherever you go!

They have already started receiving some great press from the New York Times, Racked and Eater NY. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Moved Out West...

I figured this massive change in my life required a blog post as it will eventually have an affect on my blog's content.... Three and a half years ago, shortly after graduating college, I moved to NYC. At the time I wasn't too keen on moving to the Big Apple. Senior year of college I had my heart set on moving to Southern California but after graduating I had an internship offer in LA and a job offer in New York so I took the job offer (and so glad I did!).

I knew I would like the city but coming from Dallas I was not looking forward to the cold weather or public transportation. A couple mentors of mine at the time told me to give New York a chance for 3 to 5 years and then move out West if that's still something I wanted to do. So here I am, three and a half years later, sitting in my new sunny Hollywood apartment!

I am thrilled that I have finally reached my goal of moving to California but incredibly sad that New York is no longer my home. I have truly fallen in love with NYC and know that I will miss it every day.

Things I will miss about New York...

• Obviously my amazing NY friends top the list along with the fabulous people in the New York office!
• The variety of restaurants within walking distance to wherever you are
• The abundance of taxis
• Central Park
• The running path along the Hudson
• Broadway shows
• Rolling my eyes at tourists who are so easy to spot once you become a local
• Having a NYSC on every corner
• Walking to and from work every day
• Bumble & Bumble
• The skyline, especially at night
• Working in a famous building (our NY office was in the original Superman movie!)
  

How my blog will change.... I am still not 100% sure what direction I want to take my blog but I think I'll be more casual about my posts and simply write about things that I've attended, tasted, enjoyed and hated- whether it's a restaurant, a spa, a movie, a comedy show, etc. I'll see how it goes and adjust accordingly along the way. However, there are a TON of New York restaurants that I still want to review so I will intersperse those with my other posts.
Hopefully you all will stay tuned and please feel free to give me feedback along the way!