new year...new adventures

this Christmas we were at a loss for what to get my 12 year old. She is "too old" for toys but still "too young for tech stuff or clothes" and I struggle with material things...I am a BIG believer in MOMENTS and MEMORIES.

so. this year we decided her BIG gift was going to be a mom and daughter trip to the Big Apple... the city that never sleeps...yes New York City!! the flights were booked, the hotel was reserved the broadway shows were picked out, the only thing left to do was ride through Central Park in a horse drawn buggy....we had our jackets and even the snow boots packed. we were ready! our flight was in less than 10 hours....

and we got that email...

"your flight has been cancelled due to weather" NOT ONE flight was available into NYC or surrounding areas that day or the day after. her little heart was broken. the tears starting whaling up in her eyes the more it looked like her dream Christmas gift was going down the drain...

I panicked. so I called the airline and we found a flight to LA. within 8 hours of take off we were throwing the snow boots out and digging for our flip flops!

we landed at 11:30am went straight to get our rental car...a convertible of course (they upgraded us to a BMW) which was totally fun and now my daughter decided that is what she wants as her 16th birthday present...dream big baby girl, dream big!!

top down, we drove straight to the coast. our first stop was the Santa Monica Boardwalk where we rode the ferris wheel and of course...funnel cake!

that afternoon we went into LA and checked into The Line hotel for the night. The biggest struggle with this trip was A.) I am not that familiar with the area and "things to do" & B.) up until a few hours prior...we weren't even thinking LA so I had NO PLANS! we took the evening in the room and around the cute hotel, ordered room service and did just that... we made a plan!

that next morning we  got ready and headed out to grab coffee and a yummy breakfast off Abbot Kinney at The Butcher's Daughter and then took PCH1 to Malibu. found a beach and spent most of the day playing in the waves!

she had so much fun in the pacific she decided she wanted to go at it again... although the fogged had rolled in and I thought she'd be a little disappointed,  she casually said "mom I love the fog its kind of mysterious" that is when my heart burst and I KNEW she was a girl after my own heart! a few hours beach hopping and ice cream searching we then headed back and stoped to eat at Malibu Farms over looking the water and back to settle into our super fun and quirky hotel in Venice, The Kinney this time.

we went to the Third Street Promenade for a little people watching and dinner before we went to bed to get good rest (which is important with a 12 yr old...let me make sure I point that out ;) )

our third day in LA we wanted to stay in the city and see all the things... so we drove to Hollywood and did the star walk of fame the wax museum and then found the HOLLYWOOD sign! we checked into the next hotel...Mama Shelter and went to the rooftop to grab lunch and the view! that evening we went to the Little Damage ice cream shop for some BLACK ice cream and walked around The Last Book Store before heading back and packing up.

it truly was such a last minute trip I could have never anticipated it going as well as it did for us. we got sun and fog. we got the coast and the sites of LA... bust most of all...MEMORIES with my girl!