VISITING TAYLOR SWIFT'S HOUSE + la travels (iv)

Now that I've gotten your attention, I have to say, I've lied - I didn't go to Taylor Swift's house, but I did visit Greystone Mansion, so basically the same thing! I also went to a few places in Hollywood - Commissary at The Line Hotel, Griffith Park, LACMA, and Melrose Ave.

Greystone was such an amazing place to visit.

When I checked the hours online, it said they opened at 8, so we got there then, and realized they weren't technically open until 10! Fortunately, there are no gates to the grounds or anything, so we were able to wander around, and there weren't too many people aside from a summer camp that was just beginning to assemble.

The whole area gave off a Blank Space vibe, and I feel like it could have been the set from the music video! If Taylor Swift didn't have her New York apartment (and if Greystone were for sale), I'm 99% sure she would live here.

Since we were going to be surrounded by a lot of green, I decided to go with a simple white Alexander Wang tee, my (only) jeans, and t-strap sandals I wear in virtually every outfit. This time I'm glad I didn't wear grey!

It drives me nuts when shirts are see through, but only slightly, so when you first try them on, you think it's okay to only wear a bra, but once you're at home and in different lighting, they're a little too see through to wear to work or comfortably to school.

I'm forever on the search for a nice quality (and reasonably priced) white shirt that doesn't have to be worn with a bandeau or tank top. Though this one is super soft and comfy, it doesn't fulfill the latter requirement.

If you guys have any brands/shirts that work well sans more layers, please let me know in the comments!

Greystone has quite a comprehensive list of "don'ts" - they include: no dogs, no picnics, no sports, no personal training (???), no having fun (jk), and no photography/filming unless you have a permit. I looked it up, and a permit is somewhere around the lines of $300/hr for personal use. For commercial use, it's even more!

So, uh, these photos...

(update: I checked on Yelp, and photos are okay if they are unprofessional! Plus Chiara Ferragni did a blog post there, and I don't think she paid $300 for 5 photos)

I've also been playing around with presets in Lightroom! It took me forever to figure out why certain people could get such amazing colors with their cameras, and why my colors always looked flat and dull.

I've been looking around a lot for free ones (mainly for portraits), so if you know of any, please link to them in the comments! <3

Time spent here: ~2 hrs, you could spend more just sitting in the gardens.
Things to note: You can't go into the mansion unless you arrange a tour (not completely sure how to do that). You can peek in the windows though, which we would have done, had we been able to figure out how to get from the gardens to the mansion - it's on a hill above. Also, Beverly Hills has city wide free wifi!
Cost: Free.

For lunch, we went Commissary at The Line Hotel. It's located in Koreatown, and has pretty good Asian fusion food! I'll admit, I mainly wanted to visit because of an amazing Instagram photo I saw on @discoverla, but it was worth it. 

I just had avocado salmon toast, since we weren't very hungry. Their aesthetic is something along the lines of "quirky and mismatched, while still somewhat upscale". The quirky would be their mismatched dining ware (the dishes, glasses, and napkins were all different), the upscale would be their prices. 

Time spent here: It depends on how fast you eat! The service wasn't particularly fast, nor slow. 

Things to note: They have a pool right outside, and I think you'd probably be able to slip in even if you don't stay at the hotel if you act nonchalant. I love the hotel vibe, and the prices aren't too bad. Their lobby also plays really nice music (think Flume and Lorde remixes), and the people watching is great - everyone is so stylish!

Cost: Somewhere between $$ and $$$. I think the toast was around $20, and it wasn't too big. 

We went back to the Line Hotel a few days later, and tried the other restaurant downstairs - Pot. I would not recommend it. It was more expensive (though to be fair we went for dinner instead of lunch), and the food was eh. We ordered a pot of kimchi, given the name of the restaurant we thought it would be good, but it was basically $50 worth of kimchi floating around in watered down soup. 

After heading back to our Airbnb room for a bit to relax (LA was hot!), we headed out again to Griffith Observatory for sunset. We obviously weren't the only people with this idea, and it was crowded both for parking and while there. 

It was definitely worth it though! The sunset was spectacular, and I loved watching the lights slowly turn on. The best part of the sunset is always right after the sun dips below the horizon, and the pastel colors appear. 

I would've loved to see it at sunrise, probably much fewer people, but no way would I have been able to get up then. 

Time spent here: ~1.5 hrs. We didn't go inside the observatory though, only admired the views from the outside.
Things to note: When we went, lots of people were clamoring to get the same coveted photo spots, so please do try and be courteous. I had to wait an absurd amount of time (to be fair, I'm pretty impatient) for this girl to take her 100 selfies from different angles. Although we didn't try it since we weren't dressed for it, there's hiking available too!
Cost: Free.

This trip was full of museums, and I really wanted to get photos in front of Lacma's famous Urban Light exhibit - I did, but unfortunately they didn't turn out very well.

I did really enjoy this museum though - it's huge, and has a very wide variety of art!

No trip to LA is complete without some shopping! We were living quite close to Melrose, so we spent an afternoon there (mainly for the photo ops). I was prepared to take tons of outfit photos, since everyone's probably used to fashion bloggers, but at the last minute, forgot my camera. Oh well.

There are a few affordable shops, but the majority are for window shopping. Some must sees would be Fred Segal, Paul Smith (the pink wall!), Resurrection, and Creatures of Comfort.

For stores in which you can actually afford more than a clothes hanger, I would go to Crossroads and Wasteland. The latter is much more expensive and high end, but both are significantly pricier than the secondhand stores back home. Apparently celebrities go there to clean out their closets!

This is the last post in my SoCal road trip (you can read the other ones here). Summer truly is over, though it's hard to believe I've already been back in school for a month! 

What would you guys recommend to for activities and must dos in LA? What's the best restaurant there? Any affordable boutiques? Let me know in the comments!

xx

Angelina

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road trip: diverse views (i)

I just got back from my 2 week long road trip to SoCal (you may have seen my packing tips here), and it was great! I have so many photos I'll have to post them in increments. In this post, Henry Colwell Redwoods, Carmel Mission, Bixby Bridge, and McWay Falls. 

Henry Colwell Redwood State Park: We rarely get to go to national parks, so when I realized this was on the way, I was super excited to visit! It was a very relaxing walk (we did the Redwood Grove Trail as neither of us had actual running shoes), and quite shady. 

There were lots of children running around since they have some sort of kids' scavenger hunt, so definitely family friendly. 

Time spent here: 1 hr, but more is possible.
Things to note: Camping is available!
Cost: Free, but parking is $10 inside the park.

Carmel Mission Basilica: I really enjoyed it here. It doesn't seem to be a huge tourist attraction, which is even better for me. The mission has an otherworldly feel, and it made me feel like I was in Spain. 

Great photo ops throughout, and not too many people who stare. Would've loved to spend more time, but we had many miles ahead of us. 

Time spent here: 2.5 hrs, would've liked more just for photo ops.
Things to note: Beautiful photo ops, also has a church.
Cost: $2 - 6.50, free parking.

On our way, we crossed Bixby Bridge, so I thought we might as well hop out and take some photos. For photos of the bridge, it's best to find a turnout about half a mile before the actual bridge, and you can get a full photo. The ones below were taken at the turnout to see the bridge.

I would've loved to stay here for sunset, but the road is pretty windy and tough to drive, so we had to make it out before then.

You can go a bit further down, and the water is so incredible and blue - it honestly looks like Hawaii! Am I exaggerating here?

Time spent here: 20-30 mins (camera difficulties).
Things to note: Many people stop here for photos, so try and be courteous and make sure no one is waiting for your spot.
Cost: Free! Park at the turnout.

Of course, we had to stop for McWay Falls! There are so many gorgeous photos of this waterfall online, I have to say I was really hoping for a bit more oomph.

Also the flowers weren't in bloom, which made me a little sad as well, but still a beautiful must-see.

Time spent here: 30 mins.

Things to note: There isn't an address for the falls, it's a little bit north of Julia Pfeiffer State Park, so you can park on the highway and walk to it. You'll know when you're getting close because there are tons of cars parked. 

Cost: Free! Parking can be tough though. 

I hope you guys enjoyed my (photo heavy) first post! I've split my trip into 4 sections, coming out about every week. 

Have you been to any of these places? What other destinations would you suggest for a road trip - either in California, or elsewhere?

xx

Angelina

p.s. if you'd like to pin this, here's a great picture for that!

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life lately: june

Every month, I collect photos I really like, but just don't seem significant enough to receive their own post. Introducing my month in photos, a collection of small moments that will "hopefully" turn into a unique snapshot I can look back on in a few years. 

I have an obsession with taking pictures of my friends' eyes. A lot of them have amazing, colored eyes, with different shades inside, and I just get so jealous of them. You always want what you can't have right? 

When it gets hot in the car, my dog likes having her own seat. So she'll crawl off our laps and onto the front seat, where she'll stay until someone else needs it. Then she'll wander back onto my lap, very reluctantly though. 

The last weekend before school ended, we took a trip up North. One night, while walking off a very large spaghetti dinner, we saw this amazing vineyard. The sun had set a while ago, but there was still enough light that the mountains in the back were illuminated. 

I love how it looks like they're watercolors. The picture captures the mood and feeling I had there pretty well. 

During testing, our school gives out free food, with an emphasis on the healthy. I was pretty tired, and a little kooky from studying, so we decided to take a fun picture with the food!

Recently, I've been doing photoshoots for more people, and I was asked to photograph these two for their three year anniversary. 

It was lots of fun, though I didn't have any inspiration from beforehand, and it was a little awkward. You can read my post about my first time experience shooting couples, and tips for making it go smoother here (coming soon)!

For a friend's birthday, we went to a hill around sunset. It was so nice out, and I love how the lighting gets around this time.

There was also a cake, which was just to die for. It was one of those moments I really wish I could bake. As Julia Child said, "A party without cake is just a meeting". Words to live by!

I spent an afternoon making cute frosted sugar cookies - I'm really proud of them since I haven't baked in at least 2 years. Stay tuned for a post about these as well!

I hung out with one of my closest friends at the beach, and took a ton of photos, as you guys have probably already noticed - (dressing classy at the beach, and one striped top, two ways) I also made a video here. 

Although I do have some more moments, they're more like ones I looked up and casually noticed. You can see those on my VSCO grid here. 

What are some highlights of June for you guys? What are you looking forward to next month? Should I continue this series?

xx

Angelina

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