Hello from Santa Monica, California!
As I mentioned, I’m here for a fitness event today with Jamba Juice! I’m really excited – it sounds like it will be a really cool event (disclaimer: they covered my travel/lodging costs for the trip). I can’t wait to share the details and a recap tomorrow! But until then, follow me on Twitter (we’ll be using #JambaFiTrends) and on Instagram to see what I’m up to before I post about it. :)
Anyway! I arrived yesterday around noon and set out to explore. First stop was FOOD! A bunch of you guys recommended True Food Kitchen, so I was excited to see it was within walking distance.
It was packed with people but I was able to snag a seat outside. I got a green juice (the “Kale Aid” with kale, apple, cucumber, celery, lemon & ginger) to start – planes always make me so thirsty! It was delicious and a little spicy from the ginger! To eat, I had a half portion of the chicken and white bean soup and a half portion of the strawberry/walnut/goat cheese/fennel salad. Both were awesome. Hit the spot!
Thanks to those of you that recommended it – it was delicious!
MY OTHER RECIPES
From there, I headed out to explore a little! It was a cloudy, gray, and slightly chilly (temps in the 60s) day – wtf, LA?! Aren’t you supposed to be sunny all the time? :)
I love this area of the beach with all the cool acrobatic stuff set up. Fun to watch people in action!
And this bike trail along the beach is the best. I was taking a picture right as this guy went by – ended up being a cool action shot!
From the beach, I wandered over to the pier!
You know you’re in LA when… you stumble upon a filming! I totally geeked out, not gonna lie. I was hoping it was going to be some awesome movie, but alas just a commercial – no one I recognized. Still cool, though! :)
Since the weather was kind of gross and chilly, I decided instead of walking around anymore that I would treat myself to a yoga class! Blog reader Whitney recommended Santa Monica Power Yoga in the comments section of my previous post, and after seeing how close by it was and how amazing all the reviews on Yelp were, I was sold. Yoga it was!
I can’t say enough good things about the class and the studio – I went to the 4:30 – 6 p.m. power yoga class taught by Travis, and I absolutely loved it. The studio had a really cool, chill and totally unpretentious vibe, it was a little hippie but not over the top, and the class was great, too. A really good mix of fast flows and holding poses to get deep into the stretch. I left feeling warm and rejuvenated! :)
I’ll leave you with this photo I took last night just before the welcome cocktails & snacks with Jamba Juice’s PR team. It turned into a beautiful night!
Did you do any editing to your pics? They look awesome and really artsy!!
Any of the artsy looking ones are from my Instagram, so I edited them in that! :)
Santa Monica looks beautiful! I can’t wait to hear all about the Jamba Juice event!
I love these photos! Santa Monica is so beautiful even if it’s not sunny!
I went to school in Santa Barbara and was confused when a lot of days it wasn’t warm and sunny since that’s what you think of Southern California! It’s the beach fog! Glad you are enjoying the west coast (aka the best coast ;) ).
I LOVE Southern California, and Santa Monica is one of my all-time favorite places. Enjoy your time there!
I work across the street from TrueFood (next to the Shore Hotel, which is where you might be staying?) — really cool to see pictures on your blog of the places I see every day! If you’re here through the weekend, it’s supposed to get a lot nicer. If you’re interested in a fun brunch place, check out Zengo on Saturday or Sunday. They have an all you can drink (different mimosas, sangria) all you can eat small plates and it’s a really great vibe on the rooftop of Santa Monica Place (above TrueFood!) Enjoy!!
We have True Food in Phoenix, too! It has become my favorite restaurant.
The first spot you hit for food and juice sounds good, would love if we had even one similar place in Ireland! :) Can’t wait to hear more about your adventures!
Love this post! my husband and I are looking to move cross country to Santa Monica and I definitely want to try that restaurant now and that yoga place!
So glad you tried True Food and Power Yoga and loved them both! Sorry about the weather. It’s a common myth that we have fantastic sunny skies everyday, haha. It’s nicer today though, right?! Enjoy the rest of your stay!
So glad to have met you today! Glad you have enjoyed your time in Santa Monica on day 1 (& day 2!)!
It was wonderful meeting you, too! So glad you could come out for the event!
True Food looks yummy! Love the pic of the guy on the bike!
Y’know, despite working down the street from SM Power Yoga for 3 years, I NEVER went for a class. Right now that just seems sad…ha! I always went to The Yoga Collective which I LOVED. If you’re up for a nice carb-loaded lunch, I HIGHLY recommend Bay Cities Italian Deli. It sounds like it can’t be too far from where you’re staying and they have the BEST sandwiches. You can even pre-place your order online and select a pickup time. They’re so good and sometimes get pretty crazy in the afternoons around lunch time. but WELL WORTH IT!
That yoga class sounded good. That acrobatic beach looked cool :)
What a fun day! I have never seen a movie/commercial/tv show set before, that would be pretty cool just to see!
Way to take advantage of the day! The yoga class looks wonderful! Wish I was there but HAVE SO MUCH FUN!!
What a fun trip!!
An awesome start to the trip! Well done. And I love that bike path, too. It is wonderful. Hope the sun came out on Day 2!