I’ve been on a working vacation in LA for the last two weeks, taking in as much of the sights and sounds as I can. While I’ve visited LA many times in the past, my stays were never for very long and I barely ever made it outside of Hollywood. This has been a nice change of pace.

Joey, Rocky and I spent last week in West Hollywood but this week, we’ve been taking it easy in Venice. I really love it on this side of town — I keep mentioning to Joey that it reminds me a lot of S.E. Portland, just with a whole lot more palm trees…well, that and a beach close by!

We’ve been staying in a place that normally belongs to an architect and to say that I’ve fallen in love with it is the understatement of the century. It’s what I dream of for an office space for Branch and it’s given me a lot of ideas of what to look for when the time is right.

Intelligentsia isn’t too far away and I have long been an admirer of their branding.

For me, one of the coolest parts about being in Southern California is taking in all the different trees, plants and flowers — it’s such a departure from what we have in Portland (where we barely have palm trees — though Joey’s attempted to plant two in our back yard!)

Calling this place home for the week has me feeling really inspired to step it up with our house. We have a long ways to go…but seeing how other people put their spaces together makes me realize that it’s those bold, simple touches that make a big difference.

Big hats forever. Need I say more? I scored this at H&M right before I left for my trip and it’s served me well.

This is where I’ve been spending my days working. That table has my heart.

I absolutely love the acrylic sign for All Things Fabulous.

My LA dinner spot of choice has been Lemonade. Served cafeteria-style with plenty of healthy options (and of course, amazing lemonade — blood orange has been my top pick so far), I’ve been there with a few different friends…and hope to make it in for one last fix before it’s time to leave.

More (future) office inspiration: this rug.

We’ve been taking long walks all around Venice every chance we get — I’m feeling a bit spoiled this week with having the beach so close.

Have a great weekend, friends. I’m trying my best to soak up the last few days before re-entering reality…