hollywood hills.

if you guys have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that i love my little home in LA. when i first moved down here a couple years ago, though, i was a bit more hesitant to enjoy the smoggy place that's home to movie stars, high taxes, and sunny days galore. honestly? i'll always be a san francisco girl at heart. you can't get past the nostalgia of childhood, and the sweet memories i have there are priceless.

but.

that doesn't mean LA hasn't squeezed it's way into my prejudiced heart. i'm really struggling with the idea of leaving...and it's hard to think that i won't be able to pop down sunset blvd whenever i want to.

i love the hollywood hills and mulholland drive, brentwood and tiny coffee shops and adventures with the crazies on the streets. i love driving down hollywood blvd late at night and looking at the lights and laughing with friends. i've gotten stuck in oscar traffic and visited studios and film sets. i've spent the morning in hollywood, the afternoon on the beach and the night in downtown, run into celebrities and driven a stick shift up hills that rival my city by the bay.

i laugh at tourists (sometimes) and know all the back roads. i've attended book signings by my favorite authors, been stuck on the renowned 405 freeway for hours and can recite hollywood trivia with the best of them. this is my home. yeah, you can criticize california for our ridiculous amount of debt and crazy-daisy politics that keep us bound to high taxes and expensive living.

but.

it's in LA that i've really bolstered my love of writing, where i met people that had a sweet bit of faith, and told me it was possible. newfound friends/professors encouraged me in the smallest ways, and people here work hard.

you come to LA with a dream...mine was to be a writer. to gain experience and find a story to write. in a place that's made up of artists, it's not difficult to find inspiration. i came to LA with a dream (like here and here), and with a couple rejection letters, sturdy criticism and the hardness for heated debate, it's well on it's way. this is a city of dreamers, and you can't get out untouched.

i'm leaving, but maybe you aren't. and all i have to say to you?
welcome to hollywood. what's your dream?

{drivin' the back roads}

{fall}

{my pretty best friend on our favorite route in the hills}

{hollywood hills}

birthday in the city.

a couple of weeks ago, i celebrated my twenty-first birthday. with a whole lot of family in nashville and friends that are far away, my dad decided to make his way down from northern california to celebrate. to say the least? i was excited. it's nice to drive around los angeles in a bmw instead of my college kid jalopy, and i got to show dad all of my favorite places in the city.

dad treated at the bonaventure, where i had my first drink (a lemon drop martini!) and got to patter around in my favorite sky high heels. the hotel is gorgeous, by the way, and stuck right smack dab in the middle of downtown. i have an old friend who always wanted to go, and they spoke of it highly. when i realized that there was a restaurant, i just couldn't resist. the cocktail lounge slowly revolves, so you can see the whole of the city. it was amazing. sweet and simple, just the way i like it ;)

i'm very thankful my dad decided to take a whole weekend off of work to spend time with his displaced daughter. this california girl is now excited to see the whote family again, when we can all hang out together in that place called nashville. such a sweet daddy, huh? :)

{dad's a big fan of hollywood...}

{we clean up pretty good, hey?}

the poetry room.

 

one of my favorite places to go in the city {san francisco} is city lights books. it's an independent bookstore that consists of three stories of eclectic, sometimes downright crazy bits and pieces of the written word. located on columbus avenue in the heart of north beach, you'll be able to grab a yummy cannoli down the street in a hidden italian pastry shop and browse hundreds of books in a creaky, extremely satisfying store.

i first visited when i was eighteen, as my feet will show you.

you can tell by the converse {which i still own/love} that i had just recently graduated high school. this past visit, i thought it was about time to change up the photo. i'm sure you can tell i've changed a bit.

i'll always love this little piece of north beach literary heaven. my eighteen-year-old self, as well as my twenty-year-self, tells you to GO. and take a picture with my favorite poetry room sign. it makes for a neat picture, if i do say so myself ;)

wedding weekend.

if you've been following me for a bit, you may recognize a picture that's kind of similar to the one above...since I wore a maxi skirt/sunglasses/wedges in this post. it's one of the easiest outfits to throw together, especially if you want to look a bit more dressed up in the summer heat. this time around, i wasn't dressed up in a maxi skirt for the hollywood bowl, but for something much more special.

one of my sweet friends got married this weekend at this darling place, and i literally had a heart attack getting ready. have you ever seen one of those movies where the main character is so extremely late it's a bit ridiculous? well. that was me. my wedding look was pulled together in 20 minutes flat, complete with three {yes, three} outfit changes.

i shouldn't have worried. the wedding was a small, intimate affair that was absolutely beautiful. the couple is so in love with the Lord and each other...it was gorgeous. such a God-honoring wedding makes me want to get married, too! {okay not really. i'm good for a bit.} the couple said their vows under a beautiful oak tree hung with vintage window frames and walked down an aisle rimmed with cardboard hearts.

all of the details {as seen below} were truly stunning. i felt like i was transported to anthropologie, due to everything from the vintage books on the tables to the mason jars and vintage candy bar. this is truly one of the most memorable/lovely weddings i have ever had the precious chance to cry through. congratulations, my darling favorite photographer! i can't wait to see what God does with the two of you in your marriage :)

days gone by.

okay, okay. i'll admit it.
i love looking at old photos.

it's one of my favorite things to flip through little pieces of the past, and smile at all the hidden memories that come rushing back. since i'm a big sister, it's always so sweet to see my little sibling's features soften and curve back into those adorable baby faces i miss so much.

there's something that's just so fascinating about the past. it enables us to enjoy the beauty of the present, and be excited for the promise of the future. my siblings faces may not be teeny-tiny any more.  but one day, we'll have our own to squeal over.

am i getting ahead of myself? maybe.
but there's nothing wrong with a little tuesday morning dreaming :)

in honor of the beginning of autumn, here are some of my favorite memories from back home, complete with pumpkins+sunny california weather.

Worker Bee Weekend.

thank heavens. it's friday. i hope you all have an amazing weekend, one full of cookies and milk and ice cream. or...something a little healthier. whatever floats your boat ;)

as for me, the best friend and i will be cleaning our apartment {pics are from a little housekeeping date for friends} and doing lots and lots of homework. oh, yeah. and just watching this amazing photographer get married. it's just going to be gorgeous, no big deal.

other than that? it's all quiet on the california front. i'm trying to talk the best friend into an afternoon in hollywood...wish me luck!

real country.

{a hot air balloon surprise}

i always thought that i knew what, "country" meant. it was somewhere along south shingle, tucked away beyond highway 50. it was anywhere that was nowhere, someplace that's far beyond the access of any car that doesn't possess four-wheel-drive.

or i guess it's in tennessee.

i've been out visiting my family for the last couple days, and we're getting ready to head out to puckett's now (the reason for the short post..). before i run out the door though, i thought it would be neat to show off a little bit of this amazing state. it truly is beautiful.

 {railroad tracks under a blueblue sky}

 {natural tree canopy}

 {hay bales}

summer, 2012

i can't bear the thought that summer is almost over. even though i love the fall, it's going to be hard to leave the long evenings and 80 degree days. the beach just won't feel the same, and ice cream will step aside to make way for hot chocolate.

in the midst of my nostalgic sunday night (gave a tour to some friends at the ol' alma mater...weird.), i decided to go back through the photos of summer. i'll be in nashville for the remainder of the week, so here's a bit of beautiful california before this blog gives way to tennessee posts.

summer, 2012

 {best sundaes. ever.}

 {excuse the hair in my face//it was a bit windy}

 {treats on a saturday}

 {watching the US women's gold medal soccer game}

 {two of my favorite people at the el coyote}

 {malibu trip}

 {someone pulled the fire alarm...in 100+ degree weather}

 {dodgers game with the ladies}

 {this is the, "we just bought tickets to africa" face.}

 {getting ready for a trip home//ice cream for breakfast}

 {filling the vases with flowers//saturday morning tradition}

{love/hate relationship with the glasses: i love, best friend hates} 

{helping the family move}

{in love with old photos}

{iliad//favorite bookstore} 

{berry cake? success.} 

{new hairstyle during june gloom}