TRAVEL BUCKET LIST: HELLO LOS ANGELES (4TH OF JULY EDITION)

I spent 4th of July in sunny Los Angeles this year to visit my High School friend Yena. I couldn't wait for this vacation to catch up and also check out her new company, Sew FYI. If you are in the L.A area and love to sew or are interested in learning how to sew, you should definitely check them out. 

Watch the video below.

Jonesy & Yena on our way from LAX

In addition to LA I spent time in Palm Springs, CA. It's beautiful there but VERY hot! I protected my hair by using the Marvelous Oil Frizz Defy by Garnier. Marvelous Oil can be used in any of 5 ways:  Pre-shampoo treatment, boost conditioning, blow-dry protector, Hi-Watt Shine: Finish, and as an overnight hair treatment to restore softness while you sleep. I used it for shine finish and also as a heat protector. My main concern was that the desert heat would dry out my natural hair but with this oil it was able to stay moisturized. Yay!

I had several places on my L.A food bucket list but the biggest one was The Boiling Crab (Thanks to John Legends wife Chrissy Teigen who frequently posts images on her instagram from the seafood spot). We went to the location in Koreatown. It was PACKED, the wait was at least 2 hours. 

Here is a tip: if you get your food 2-Go they have a cafe/restaurant across from it that will allow you to eat there as long as you order drinks. They even set the table for you and everything. Its really no different than getting your food at the restaurant except you don't have a server bringing you the food and you save two hours of waiting. The food is messy but super delicious. I believe I got medium heat and my friends who got mild and can usually handle spice said that level was extremely SPICY so beware! 

I didn't get to do too much shopping but I stumbled upon these sneakers! Very cute but unfortunately they didn't have my size. Check out my thumbnail airplane design in honor of my trip! Read more about my experience with Gel Manicures by clicking here.

Or course if I'm in Cali I have to have a taco! I LOVE Mexican food especially fish tacos. On our drive back from Palm Springs we stopped at Crazy Coyote. The tacos were so good! The place has been around for years and definitely didn't disappoint.

On my very last day my friend took me to the L.A flower district. The flowers were so beautiful. I think my favorite was the orchid. They had so many of them! I wish I could of brought one back home with me to New York but it inspired to get one when I got back home.

I was also able to try something I've never had before, soup dumplings! They were so delicious. Have you tried them? We got them from ROC in L.A. We also ordered glass noodles with crab which were delicious and my first time trying that as well. I'm reminded whenever I'm out with friends that I need to be more open about trying new foods, I'm a picky eater. When I posted this image on instagram everyone was so proud of me for eating it. Pretty funny!

Now for the best part of all Blockheads Shavery! What in the world .... I've never had anything so good. Why don't we have this in New York? It seriously made me want to open one so I could eat this stuff all the time. My friend suggested that I try the original flavor and add condensed milk so I did. I also added brownie bites (indulging on vacation) and walnuts. This was so delicious! It's a cross between ice cream and a snow cone. It's a frozen block of sweetened milk that is thinly shaved onto a bowl or plate and topped with various fun things like candy, mochi and red beans. Sooooo good!

Overall I had a super fun trip and I can't wait to go back and visit more friends next time around!