I’ve been working diligently to check the items off my “Thirty Before 30” bucket list, and a weekend trip just took care of another one! I wanted to make it a point this year to visit someone I hadn’t seen in a while. So I helped plan a family trip to Los Angeles to visit a longtime friend, John Thomas, who has been like a younger brother to me. Mom and I packed our bags, hit the airport, and joined his family for a quick California weekend!

Story time here—mom met “Crazy Debbie” in flight attendant training for Southwest Airlines when they were in their 20s! They sat next to each other in that first class, and the rest is history. Best friends through careers, marriages, kids and beyond. We call her Crazy Debbie, because she really is just the life of the party and you never know what she’ll say or do next! Aren’t those the best friends?! Her children are John Thomas and Staci who are pretty close in age to my sister and me. I think I speak for all of us when I say both our families have been blessed by the other’s friendship.

Gang’s all here! (Minus Margo and the dads..) Love this crew.

My only request for the entire weekend, and my first time to LA, was to eat at Pizzeria Mozza— a restaurant whose chef I fell in love with on the Netflix series “Chef’s Table.” Pizza, pasta and salad. Let me just say it did not disappoint! We order the caprese salad (the best I’ve truly ever had), fried squash blossoms, and different pizzas. The kids shared some wine, and we all shared good stories. We were THAT table in the restaurant that was scream laughing while everyone else was trying to enjoy a nice Friday night out!

The next morning, we woke up with the sun to go on one of those epic California hikes! We hit the Runyon Canyon Summit, which is one of John Thomas’ weekend staples. The weather was perfect, the incline was needed, and the views were vast. Lots of happy dogs dotted the trail and fresh-squeezed orange juice was offered at the start and finish of the route (of course! Exactly what I had imagined for this city.)

John Thomas, me and Staci on Runyon Canyon Summit. Perfect way to start our LA morning!

Saturday afternoon, we were the typical LA tourists and embarked on a Hollywood Homes Tour! Outside of quality time with family, this was the highlight of the trip! We had so much fun rolling through the neighborhoods, pulling up to the front gates of the biggest stars, listening to our tour guide who deserves a Hollywood star of his own. My personal favorite? The old home of Lucille Ball. I love Lucy!

An added surprise to the trip was meeting up with one of my best college girlfriends for a drink that weekend! Bailey lives in New York, I in OKC, and we didn’t even know the other would be in LA that weekend until she saw the photos I was posting. We met up at the E.P & L.P rooftop bar and really got to catch up! Side Note: You know you’re with a good friend when you’re chatting, losing track of time, and completely walk out on the check without realizing until you’re in your respective taxis home! Full disclosure, she turned around and righted our wrong haha. That was a first!

It was a quick 36 hours away, and then it was back to the airport. But on the heels of this trip, I really got to happily reflect on it. It was one of those vacations that reminds you of what really matters most in this life—and it’s not things, it’s not titles on your business card, but rather who surrounds you at the end of the day. The good friends and family you adventure with, who laugh and cry with you, who know the good, the bad and the ugly. Who aren’t affected by time and distance, and who you can be equally happy with at a fabulous dinner downtown or in a hotel bed sharing a bag of Raisinets in the middle of the day. That’s the good stuff. So here’s to future getaways and to investing in your people. Happy Monday, friends. Make it a good one.
xo,
MM