MILO + OLIVE

Santa Monica's Milo + Olive serves up some seriously delish wood fired pizza and farmer's market inspired small plates and salads. The first time I ate there, about 3 years ago, I also had the most out of this world prosecco sangria -- I will never forget it! Their original space was tiny and always packed, so I was thrilled to see they have recently expanded into the space next door. Now that we have Brixton, sometimes we like to order our food to-go and eat at the tables and benches at The Brentwood Country Mart, which is nearby. That way B can run around and we can partake in some Sweet Rose Creamery (same owners!) after dinner.

I'll take all of this.

Yummy menu.

The original space looking as cute as ever.

I love all of the art on the walls in the new expanded area.

Sweet Corn Soup, Milo Chop Salad, Margarita Pizza and Tagliarini Bolognese. 

Best picnic ever!! xx

Milo + Olive is located at: 2723 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

IT'S ICE CREAM SEASON: SWEET ROSE CREAMERY

Salted Caramel topped with sea salt crystals and Fresh Mint Chip.

Now that Summer is officially here, it's time to eat lots of ice cream! All season long we'll be scooping up at our favorite ice cream shops. First up, is one of our perennial favorites - Sweet Rose Creamery. We frequent the Brentwood location the most, but we hear that their Santa Monica and Mid-City locations have soft serve!

Why we love Sweet Rose Creamery: They make only small-batch homemade ice cream using organic milk and eggs. They purchase produce from their local Santa Monica Farmer's Market. They don't use any stabilizers and their ice cream, sorbets and dairy-free ice creams are made from scratch on the premises every day. 

They feature year-round classics, as well as monthly and daily seasonal flavors.

Wanna take some home to enjoy later? They have a freezer full of pre-packed pints if you are in a hurry.

Also in the freezer - ice cream sandwiches, bon bons, popsicles and frozen bananas, for all of your frozen treat needs. Happy Summer!! xx

DINNER AT THE TASTING KITCHEN

It seems to me that Venice's Abbott Kinney is pretty much where it's at for restaurants these days. A few gal pals and I had a fun ladies' night out at Chef Casey Lane's The Tasting Kitchen. Featuring a daily changing "bill of fare," we tried a bunch of different dishes and drinks. Here's what went down.

Style is on point with the leather covered Eames chairs and the bare wood-top tables. Love the "indoor" trees.

Today's menu.

The frosted process coupe was a really nice touch, I gotta say.

Cheers, Ladies.

Warm housemate bread and butter is basically the best thing in the world. 

Five cocktails for four ladies. That's about right.

Charcuterie platter. The fluffy empanadas were fun to stuff with meats and burrata. 

Raddicchio Salad.

Pesce Crudo.

Muscles with Saffron Cream.

Tagliarini with Shrimp & Serrano, Roasted Lamb Leg and Creste di Gallo with Calabrian Sausage and Breadcrumbs

I think we tried almost every dessert.

Ice Cream is always king. Especially the house-made mint chip. Ladies night, every night? xx

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The Tasting Kitchen is located at:

1633 Abbott Kinney Blvd.

Venice

Open for dinner 7 days a week and brunch on weekends.

THE NEW AND IMPROVED ROXBURY PARK

Beverly Hills' Roxbury Memorial Park was our childhood park growing up and it holds a really special place in my heart. It recently underwent a beautiful renovation and is now better than ever. At over 11 acres of beautiful greenery, it boasts two (SHADED!!!) playground areas, a sand/water play station and almost every sport court/area imaginable. Even if you don't have kids, it is a great place to go and relax with a book and get some fresh air. I like to consider it The Westside's mini-Central Park. 

I love these pathways taking you into and around the path. The abundance of trees is really lovely. 

The park has a lot to offer. You can play croquet, basketball, tennis, volleyball, lawn bowling, baseball and soccer to your heart's content.

Pretty pots and plants along the tennis courts.

Basketball and racquetball courts in full effect.

The lovely lounge area just outside of the recreation center, overlooks the park.

Super clean BBQ area.

Quintessential all-American baseball field.

I used to kick a ball around this field with my dad. Ahhh. Childhood memories....

As a parent myself now, I cannot express my gratitude enough for these shaded play areas!!!

Brixton couldn't get enough of the sand and water area.

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Roxbury Memorial Park is located at:

417 South Roxbury Drive

Beverly Hills, CA 90212

NOTE: All parking surrounded the park is metered. Please note all parking signs. It is still Beverly Hills after all! ;)

xx

THE BRENTWOOD COUNTRY MART

I'm not sure that there's a place in town that I love more than the Brentwood Country Mart. Even though we don't live extremely close, I like to go there with my family once a week, if we can. Brixton loves it there. It has great shops and food, mixed with the most charming country style. Each spot in the mart could use its own feature, so it was very hard for me to condense this into one post! Here's just some of what you can expect to enjoy there.

Walking into the food court surrounded by super cute shops.

We usually arrive starving, so our first stop is Farmshop, one of our most beloved restaurants and specialty markets in the city. 

We love their gorgeous bar and restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The market section has endless goodies to offer. Have I mentioned how much I love it here?!

They have a fantastic wine selection for your upcoming dinner party and/or host gifts.

We love to get a bunch of different items from their deli case and have a "picnic" out in one of their two food court areas, outfitted with cute tables and benches (and high chairs!).

Someone really likes to ride the old fashioned quarter rides.

Sis and I are both huge fans of Poppy, this lovely children's boutique.

An absolute must for Brixton is checking out everything in the adorable Toy Crazy store. 

I love to stock up on beautiful cards and gifts at Sugar Paper. They really have some of the best stuff around.

Their newly remodeled store looks amazing.

Strolling through the mart's corridors and peeking in all the shops is a favorite activity of mine.

I think we could all agree that this is the cutest Post Office in LA.

Inside the impeccable Jenni Kayne boutique. Does this woman ever do anything less than perfect? I think not.

Another must for us is stopping into the Diesel Bookstore for a new purchase from this great independent bookstore.

Cutest red barn exterior and Intermix boutique on the south end of the mart.

I love small batches of happiness, so every trip to the mart must end at Sweet Rose Creamery. It's the law.

Sweet Rose has some of the freshest ice cream around. They are also the only place I know of that makes their own chocolate sprinkles (sans artificial colors and flavors!).

I'll take one of everything. Thanks.

I changed up my usual Fresh Mint Chip & Salted Caramel cone for a seasonal favorite -- Lemon Chiffon.

I never get sick of this place. It's always the best day when we come here. In the words of Ice Cube -- "Today was a good day."