Mid-February and a GORGEOUS 80 degree-sunny day in LA! Perfect for a lunch break at Grand Park and a neighborhood walk in Downtown LA.
The Broad on Grand Avenue - expected to open in mid-2014.
The shiny & shimmery Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by architect Frank Gehry, and celebrating its 10th year anniversary this year.
Grand Park hosted a special Valentine's Day lunchtime concert with DJ Phyz Ed spinning all LOVE tunes. DJ Phyz Ed is a local DTLA DJ and I always enjoy his selections of tunes and he always gets me groovin'!
GORGEOUS day in DTLA!
I'm originally from NYC and most of my family and friends still reside there. My FB feed was full of updates of the snowstorm and frigid weather. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a sunny day in LA in a t-shirt & jeans while my lunch-date, Jessica, of The Fashionistas Blackbook and my partner for Soiree et Style events, was in a tank top & shorts!
On our walk home, we stopped by Big Man Bakes so that I could pick up some cupcakes for J. He LOVES their carrot cake & I also picked up their special Valentine's day Pink Velvet cupcake. Yum!
Then, we popped into one of my favorite shops in the Historic Core of DTLA, Create Your Health Teas, Healing Herbs and Spices, and saw these adorable piggie salt & pepper shakers! They make a perfect little gift and they're just $5! DTLA Rendezvous members save 10% off your entire purchase at CYH Teas when you use your member card! (More DTLA Rendezvous discounts listed here.)
LOVE CYH Teas' new shelves that nicely display their jarred teas, herbs, & spices!
It was a lovely (long) lunch break, but it was back to work when I got home and when my day was done, I went to the gym. Just as I got to the gym, J text me to tell me that he had a surprise for me and "don't make any plans" and if I did to "cancel them."
J booked a 1-night staycation for us at the new The Line Hotel in Koreatown, easily accessible from Downtown LA on the Metro Purple Line to Wilshire/Normandie (just 4 stops from the 7th Street/Metro Center station). What I love about The Line Hotel is the Sydell Group's concept of "sharing, collaborating, and encouraging the creative process to create unique hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture."
One of their main collaborators is Roy Choi, famous chef and creator of the gourmet Korean taco truck, Kogi, and owner of Chego in Chinatown in DTLA. (Chego's Leafy-T bowl highly recommend for vegetarians). Choi will open eateries Pot and Commissary in the hotel.
Another collaborator at The Line Hotel is Poketo, the husband and wife team that has a brick & mortar shop/gallery in the Arts District of DTLA.
So, even though we were in K-Town, I still felt connected to DTLA. ;D
Good morning from The Line Hotel - room-view facing Wilshire Blvd.
(Foodie tidbit: Boo's Philly Cheesesteaks - delicious, authentic Philly Cheesesteaks - is just up the block in the Brown Derby Plaza. ;D )
We went to the lobby to check-out and leave, and there was complimentary continental breakfast offered to hotel guests! Yay! And yes, another connection to DTLA is that breakfast was by Le Pain Quotidien, which is soon opening a location at the PacMutual later this year!
Hope you liked this blog post, it's been a while since I've written one and felt I had some photos and info to share. Did you find it informative? Did you like it? What would you like to see more of?
