A California Roadtrip
Life Updates, hot tub friends, micro-trips, and a souveiner roundup
This February, Katie and I went on a California roadtrip. We loosely planned a sweeping 900+ mile journey in less than 2 weeks to celebrate our friendship, kickoff Katie’s new job (!), and juice our creativity with a “discovery” fix. Major stops included LA (Venice, Silver Lake, Los Feliz), Laguna Beach, Ojai, then back up to San Francisco.
On this trip, we did it all. We met new friends in hot tubs, pizza joints, hotel lobbies, and wine shops. We struggled through LA traffic, decompressed in Laguna, and healed in Ojai. We talked and talked and talked and I can’t even really begin to sum that up.
As expected, we have a lot of recommendations! We’re experimenting with how to share them all, so stay tuned. Things are always brewing over here. Back to the roadtrip —>
We met in LA. Katie flew in and I drove down. After a 7 hour journey filled with Prof G, Foster Sisters, Glennon, Big Magic, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow - I turned off the 405 and headed to the oasis of choice for our first 2023 IRL reunion, Great White.
I love this place. Delicious organic food, fun natural wine, soft lighting, gorgeous design, nice people, the perfect all day cafe that is buzzing but not too overwhelming. You feel in the mix without being in a scene. Great White is the kind of place that transports you, not necessarily to Venice, LA but certainly somewhere.
Naturally, Katie and I had a 2+ hour dinner. Pro tip: sit at the bar to guarantee a non-rushed experience in an American restaurant. Servers forget about you, no one is hustling you to close the tab, there’s no need to turn the table - you get to chill. Hence, when meeting a friend for a Life Update, consider sitting at the bar.
Zooming and texting is different than showing up eye-to-eye to share the Life Update. A Life Update (capitalized) is a rundown of the major buckets in your life.
You get to pick the buckets - love, family, career, creative passion, travel, projects- but when you meet a close friend for the Life Update, you go deep. We’re talking wayyy beyond the surface, reaching deep down into the well to scrape up the pennies at the bottom- that’s where the treasure lies, aka your most sacred wishes. Life Updates are always thrilling because those dreams get to see the light of day, safely carried up beyond the void by a dear, dear friend.
Being a Confidant is about holding each others’ dreams- helping friends reach into their wishing well to bring hidden gems to light. They’re often buried deep. Under the surface, it’s hard to tell just how shiny they can be, and sometimes you need a friend to help do some digging.
Katie has had a dream at the bottom of her well for years. It’s always caught my eye, that flicker of inspiration and ambition. And this year, after going to hell and back in 2022, she gets to take that dream all the way up into the sunshine. As much as this roadtrip was about friendship and discovery, it was also about Katie starting a new chapter, one she has dreamed about for a long time. That’s her news to share, not mine, but this trip was extra special - closing a chapter to start another.
After our first Life Update, we kicked off a weekend of expeditions around East and West LA. Some highlights included:
Dinner at All Time, a treasured favorite with A+ vibes, cannot recommend it more
Stopping by Olive Ateliers! The stars aligned & we caught one of her drops
A fresh cup of coffee at Canyon Coffee & Maru
Making friends at the Wine Stop - awesome owner, awesome selection
Work session and the most delicious Masala Chai at Obet & Del’s
A sweaty hike up to Griffith Observatory
Visiting my girl Megan and finally meeting her sweet daughter Georgie
And that was just the first 48 hours. More to share next time. Until then, we’re reaching out to a few new friends for a little Q&A from the people behind brands, experiences, and restaurants we loved on our California Roadtrip. Stay tuned!
Micro-trips for Creativity
There is nothing more indulgent than getting 50+ miles away from home to delight in discovering new spaces, people, food, and vibes. It fills up the creativity cup.
You may surprised what you find after a day of leading with curiosity in a place familiar or new. Micro-trips to roadtrips to journeys abroad, all can be designed to cure stagnant creative ruts.
If you have transportation (car, bus, boat, legs) and 24 hours of time, you can indulge in this detox-from-a-creative-rut protocol.
Here is a choose-your-own-adventure postcard of sorts to get you going:
What’s your discovery protocol?
On Our Radar
Roadtrip souvenirs are so fun. Here’s what I picked up on the road, including some inspiring items I’ll be coming back for.
Gorgeous wood serving tray from Olive Ateliers
Great White Nalgene for all the LA hydration
Rory’s Oyster Bar Neon Sign Hat, which goes well with their Sardine shirt
Oo Lamp by Eny Lee, which I did not take home, but gushed over at The Capri in Ojai. Similar ones here, but even better, don’t miss Eny Lee’s collab with Mitzi.
Magic Hour Tea. I don’t drink tea, but then we sipped Queen of the South after dinner at The Dutchess and now I’m drinking one cup per night (which also keeps me from drinking wine!). If you find yourself in Ojai, add this shop to the list.
Canyon Instant Coffee (it’s sooo good) & a bag of Sagebrush
Sean Spellman art, my kind of California memento
Three words: Martha Stouman Spritzer
Discovery
Like always, we love ending our notes with inspiration, so here are some of the people, places, messages, and musings that are inspiring us lately ✨
New arrivals from Casa Shop, like this (now sold out) seashell box
Soundscapes for flow state, loving Endel app so far
If you’re in SF this weekend, don’t miss the Spring Sample Sale
Cap Beauty has some exciting news
- Shape of Our Offerings: A three week class for building ecosystems for creativity and ease between projects. High on my radar to invest in this March.
Thanks for being here! If you have friends who would love this, please send it on- we’re excited to expand this community. xoxo - Your Confidants, Fenny & Katie