22.12.12

LA instagram diary


Photo from January 2012. All packed up and ready for the long journey from
Iceland to Los Angeles. I took two bags with me, and now a year later I am 
coming home with two more bags. Online shopping is kind of dangerous.



When I first went to Beverly Hills, I was sold. We lived in the middle of Hollywood, 
 so it was a big change from the small town to the busy and oh so loud part of a big 
city. Beverly Hills was more my liking, quite, beautiful and luxurious. I can really
see myself living there one day.



This year we made a lot of new traditions. Since this is the first time that we were
living together it was fun to make new traditions that were ours. One of my all time
favorite one was brunch. There is nothing better than sleeping in on Sundays and 
taking a drive up the coast to Malibu for some delicious brunch. Besides Beverly Hills, 
Malibu is my second favorite spot. I could die for a little beach house.



Another thing that I was introduced to when we moved was Crumbs Bake Shop.
I had heard amazing things of it but when we tried it first my expectations were
not that high which made it even better. These amazing cupcakes are now my all
time favorite and I have stuck to them ever since. My favorite is Red Velvet, yum.



Being able to spend my mornings and afternoons by the pool in the crazy heat was 
amazing and so refreshing. Since I was not working or in school, I had all the free
time in the world so this was definitely my go to spot when I was bored while I
was alone home.


One thing that I really regret is that we did not spend as much time as I would
have wanted at the beach. It is so nice to just lie there and relax while listening
to the ocean and soaking up the sun. Plus, the scenery is so gorgeous.


Driving up the coastline is the best thing. Endless of people playing volleyball,
people skating and cycling along the beach in the amazing weather. It's such a
scenic drive.


The first day at our new place we were so unhappy. We were promised an amazing 
view over the city but when we arrived, we saw nothing but palm trees covering the
windows. We were on the top floor of the building so this was a big disappointment.
A couple of weeks later they were trimmed and we could not believe our eyes when
we saw our view. Waking up to this every morning did not get old, that's for sure.


Enjoying the last rays of the sun at Lake Hollywood Park. It is a dog park and it's
 so nice to just sit and watch the dogs play. Plus the Hollywood sign is just right over 
it and it has an amazing view over the whole city. It's simply breathtaking. 


Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is of course amazing, you don't really expect
anything else. You see so many locations from movies like this hotel from
"Pretty Woman" and across from that the stairs from "Clueless". I love
spending time here soaking up the gorgeous scenery and doing some
window shopping. 


A day spent at Malibu beach. There are so many different beaches in
Los Angeles and so many that I still haven't tried. Malibu was one of
my favorite, so secluded and calm. 


What girl does not love Tiffany's? I am very lucky to have two pieces from
Tiffany's and it's something that I will cherish every day for the rest of my life.


If you are following me on Instagram, you have seen a lot of these before. One
night after dinner in downtown LA I just had to seise the opportunity and try
out some Macarons at Bottega Louie. These are so good and I am hoping that
I will find some in Iceland that are as good as these. Oh, how I will miss them.


Spending every single day with this one is the highlight of my life. Here
we were at Santa Monica Beach enjoying the sun with my little sister.
Sometimes the best pictures are unplanned.


The highlight was definitely getting our friends and family for a visit. My
boyfriends parents came, his friends (I was in Iceland then though) and 
then my sister came. That was the best week ever, being away from family
and friends is so hard and just a second with them is precious. 


I have to have one photo just dedicated to palm trees. I love them. They are so
 foreign since there are none in Iceland and I don't know why but they always
kind of take my breath away every time we drive a palm lined street like this
one. I kind of want to take one with me home.



The Grove is one of my favorite places in LA. It's a outdoor mall and such a 
good spot to shop and just hang out. It's my favorite place during the holidays
since it really is like a winter wonderland. Being here so close to Christmas is
weird, so different from home. I need snow, Christmas lights and my family.


San Francisco was definitely a highlight. We finally went, after 10 months of
talking about it. It's just a 6 hour drive from LA and it has such a different feel
to it. I loved the city and actually was quite sad to leave. I will remember this 
trip forever and will always think what an amazing birthday present it was.


Getting unexpected package from home is always amazing. On a particularly
dull Wednesday afternoon I jumped downstairs to check on the mail. I get a lot
of packages for the blog so I went to pick some of them up and when I got this
one I got so confused. On front of it was my address and all, and of course I
immediately recognized my mothers handwriting and I was so curious. I was
not expecting anything from her so I literally ran upstairs to see what was inside.
The second I opened it a big smile came across my face, inside was a traditional
Icelandic Christmas calendar. The day before, I had just told her that I was so
sad not to get one this year. She knows me so well.


When I moved here I started blogging full time. I never intended to start a blog
where I shared my outfits but it's something that I will never regret. I have had
such a fun time sharing my outfits and my life with you and I am so grateful
for your support and comments and also all the amazing opportunities that 
I have gotten. I am so inspired and driven to make the blog even better and
I can't wait to start blogging from Iceland. I had the amazing opportunity the 
other day to visit the Anine Bing showroom. I had such an amazing time there 
and fell even more in love with her pieces. I got some amazing things that I 
will share with you really soon. 


Rodeo Drive on a beautiful December day. I have spend many days walking this
street daydreaming over the beautiful things over there. Hopefully one day I can
actually go in a and buy myself something pretty.


Since Christmas is getting closer we have been doing our Christmas shopping.
We have a flight home on the 22nd of December and we will arrive in Iceland 
at 7am on December 23rd so we had to finish our shopping here. It is way
better to shop all the presents here since there are so many amazing stores
here that we don't have in Iceland. The Grove is my favorite place to shop
in L.A. along with Beverly Center in Beverly Hills. 


This year is the first year ever that I am not home during the month of december 
when all the holiday preparation goes on. It's a weird feeling missing it all but
I am so glad that I get home just in time for Christmas to spend it with the best
family ever. Since I was lacking the holiday spirit I decided to do something about
it so I baked some Christmas cupcakes with candy cane sprinkles. They helped but
I am hoping that my Christmas spirit will come to me as soon as I get home.


Flying over LA to go back home is a hard thing to do, the big city looks so tiny from
above. Here you can see Malibu, oh how I will miss living here. But change is always
good and one day, I will return.

I can't believe that this year is over. It feels like yesterday when we had just arrived in the city and
were so overwhelmed with everything. Coming from a small town (20,000 residents, 4,000 where
my boyfriend lives) this was a big culture shock and over the year that we stayed here we have both
changed so much in a good way and really matured. It was a great experience to kind of stand on 
your own two feat for the first time and also, to see what is out there.  We are currently leaving for
Iceland and the feeling is mixed with excitement and sadness. But there are great times ahead and 
I can't wait to share all this with you in the new year. Thank you so much for reading and supporting
me through out this year, I am so grateful. The next couple of days will be hectic so be sure to follow
me via Instagram for updates and to see what is going on - @alexsandrab.

What is your favorite place in Los Angeles? If you haven't been, what are you most
excited to see if you ever visit the city?

xxx
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7 comments

  1. Oh girl, you're so lucky! <3 I love all your Instagram photos. :) I wish I was there... Los Angeles seems to be amazing, but it's too far away from Poland unfortunately. Maybe in future I will visit it. :P Kisses!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I WANNA GO TO LA SO BADLY!!
    You're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place

    Francesca xo
    www.goingroundthemulberrybush.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your instagram life, so colorful in all the ways and omg your legs are to die for! I've just celebrated my blog's ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with a recap on the best moments from 2012, tell what you think ;)

    xx The Provoker
    http://www.the-provoker.com/2012/12/one-year-anniversary.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am brazilian and this is my first visit.
    Very nice blog, congratulations.

    xoxo

    http://lululeopoldino.blogspot.com.br/

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved LA when I went a few years ago. I really want to go back soon.

    xo erica

    ReplyDelete

xoxo

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