Weekending in Los Angeles

As my previous post indicated, my youngest sister Katherine is in town. The day before her birthday we drove to Beverly Hills for the ultimate 17th birthday weekend. Our trip started with a long drive from USD to the heart of Beverly Hills, with only one pit stop along the way somewhere off the 405 I hope to never visit again.


We checked in (relived to be out of the car and away from Los Angeles traffic for the time being) and hopped right into the pool. A martini, a Shirley Temple and an ice water sipped poolside, we realized this weekend was going to be one of the best of the summer.

Our first evening in Los Angeles we decided to walk down the street to Sprinkles, then wandered around Rodeo Drive and the surrounding streets. After trying several cupcake shops around the country, I think Sprinkles is still my favorite. There is a different taste to a Sprinkles cupcake. Maybe it's the "all natural" ingredients they use, or the fact that it was the first famous cupcake I tasted. Every time I have one, no matter what flavor, I simply love it. Friday night's flavor was milk chocolate, but of course on Sunday I picked up a lemon and chocolate coconut to bring home and share with Glenn. Yum.


Friday evening we decided to head to another famous LA establishment - Pink's Hot Dog Stand. Waiting in line for an hour was part of the experience, and we were only happy to do it. Left to right we had the guacamole dog (Katherine), the Rosie (me), and the 10 inch stretch chili cheese dog (Corrie).




Saturday we woke up moderately early to spend Katherine's birthday at Disneyland! Of course we had to stop by her favorite place - Starbucks - before we went into the park. Seeing as we were celebrating, chocolate croissants and cheese danishes were definitely the way to go.




Once inside the park, we rode our favorite rides, enjoyed a fabulous lunch (see below for pictures!) and ended the day with the new fireworks show. A perfect birthday, if I do say so myself.

Filet Mignon with a tempura onion ring and polenta, served in a simple red wine reduction sauce.

Grilled monk fish in lobster sherry bisque.

Roast chicken with vegetables and truffle macaroni and cheese.


On our last morning in LA we had the driver at the hotel drop us off at a local breakfast spot - Panini Cafe. Corrie and I shared a veggie omelet, Katherine had a breakfast panini with egg and brie and sipped on a latte. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.