i've got a love and hate relationship with la

 

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saturday, i went to la for the first time in awhile with my parents. 

la is my happy place. my little escape from my every day life. it has been for as long as i can remember. i've always loved visiting, whether it was trying a new restaurant, finding a location i'd seen in a movie, touring one of the studios or attending an event, like a concert or red carpet.  

this time, we visited the new SoFi Stadium. we like taking tours of stadiums and arenas like that. i'm not really a football fan, but i find the stadiums fascinating. and this one really takes the cake. it's unlike anything else i've ever seen. state of the art, up-to-date with all of the latest technology and with their Google hub, they have great internet connection. it's just a beautiful space overall. 

my dad and i always like to do jumping pictures wherever we go

i was supposed to see taylor swift there last year for her Lover Fest concert, but of course, due to Covid, it was canceled. 

but, i digress... we were able to visit the fancy suites, sit in the seats and walk out on the field while learning more about the spaces. we also got to see the press room, which is always fun. we also somehow managed to wander a few floors on our own when trying to find where the group was meeting...oops! no one seemed to mind, though. 

by the time the tour was over, we were ready for lunch. we drove over to the grove and ended up at one of our favorites, Wood Ranch. we also saw jojo siwa, who was practicing next door at cbs studios for dancing with the stars. that was pretty cool! she was meeting up with the rest of her family. 

i always love going to barnes and noble when i'm at the grove, because it's huge and they always have a nice selection of magazines and other items that ours doesn't necessarily have. of course, i didn't walk away empty-handed. i came out with a few design magazines for inspiration. 

we walked around a bit, then stopped to get some candy at See's before heading out. it was also super cute by the Farmer's Market, decorated for fall...even though, it's still always about 85 degrees in California, it felt like a touch of Stars Hollow. 

we made our way over to dodger stadium, found parking and grabbed a soda before finding our seats. it's been about two years since we've been to a game, so it was pretty exciting to be back. we usually sit in the reserve section. it's where we used to have season tickets, aside from the lower level one year. it's always a great view of the entire field. plus, it's easier to see, in case a ball flies out of nowhere. 

the dodgers won!!!! and it was a great night. the crowd was lively. and as much as i'm not a fan of crowds, i have missed the energy of everyone going wild and cheering for the game. we had some fun people around us too that kept it entertaining throughout the night. 

after the game was over, we went straight to the car. there's nothing like seeing the la skyline in all of its glory, lit up and taking over the night sky as you walk out to the parking lot. i love stopping for a few minutes just to take it all in. 

we got on the road pretty quickly - we always park closer to the back exit, which helps with time. we had to stop at walmart to pick up a few things, then made it to Valencia where we stopped for in-n-out. 

my parents dropped me off closer to midnight. what a long, but beautiful day. i can't wait to go back to my beautiful city of angels very soon. 

that's all for now, 

shelby