The Room: California: Random Stuff

I am back from a lovely week in California. We spent a few days in Los Angeles for a work conference and then we drove down to Laguna Beach for a couple of nights on the ocean. It turned out to be an amazing week; the weather was perfect and we had the opportunity to meet up with friends too.

We were wined and dined every day which meant we had to try and get a little exercise in so we decided that hiking up Runyon Canyon would be beneficial and fun. (Have you seen it on TMZ?) Little did we realize how difficult the hike would be. The "Beware of Rattle Snake" signs combined with the extremely steep slope on the way down made it a little unnerving. Our guide was the celebrity trainer Patrick Murphy. Of course I tried to pry him for information about who he trains, but he said he was sworn to secrecy and could only admit to training Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lawrence. He was super nice and very encouraging.

Here he is telling us that we should be holding in our abs for the duration of the hour long hike. Ya, right!

Another high light of the trip was eating lunch at The Ivy. We didn't see any stars, but we did have a delicious meal. The restaurant is in an old cottage and it is full of the most gorgeous flowers. If you are ever in LA you should make a point of trying it. (It's fun to see the paparazzi out front)

Speaking of flowers, the arrangements as well as the outdoor landscaping at The Ritz in Laguna Beach were stunning....

The view was not too shabby...

Visited Bountiful in Venice Beach where they have a massive collection of vintage dishes and glass ware. The owner told us that all the glasses and bar supplies on Mad Men come from her shop.