Outfit Details:

Red Valentino Dress (more sizes here and shirt version here), Kate Spade NY Loafers c/o, Celine Bag, Illesteva Sunglasses, Pink Steamline Luggage

A few weeks back, Thomas and I were down in LA for work. We had our first afternoon off to roam around and explore, which we actually haven’t done much of down south. We went to Santa Barbara last month, but only for a quick weekend getaway. That’s one of the reasons why I love California so much, we have such a huge variety of landscapes and cities, all within driving distance. I love being in San Francisco and even more so because it’s great to be able to spend a few hours in the car and get to places like Tahoe, Mendocino, Big Sur, Carmel, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, LA and more. There are endless quick trips you can take, and we’re always on the search for something new.

We checked into the beautiful and very pink, Hotel Bel Air, before heading over to Silver Lake and Echo Park per suggestion from many of you! We had an amazing lunch at Ostrich Farm (seriously so good) and then stopped by almost every bougevvilla we saw, which was a lot. You really can’t beat LA’s amazing sunny weather, which feels amazing coming from the constantly cool SF weather. It’s a nice change to wear a dress sans coat in the middle of spring.

What are some of your favorite spots in LA? We’ll be heading down much more frequently this year and would love to get suggestions on everything from hotels to restaurants to parks, shops and museums. I feel like there is so much to see and we almost get overwhelmed with the options. We’ve found it easier to break up our “exploring” days with picking just one or two neighborhoods since it can be difficult with traffic to pop all over the city. Also, LA is huge, so it’s not really doable to keep jumping around.

This cotton Red Valentino poplin dress is seriously the most comfortable thing ever. It has a slightly oversized fit to the bodice and I love the black and white detailing. I also love a good shirtdress paired with flats or loafers, it’s easily one of my favorite combinations. Luckily, there are so many cute shirt dresses out right now like this pink Tory Burch one, this striped one for under $150, this classic black one under $75, this chambray one and this gingham one.