a walk down memory lane

have i ever mentioned how i once despised LA? true story. i had never spent more than two nights in a row in the city but was quick to dub it a dirty, smoggy greedy mess of a place.

well, people change.

when i met josh i was living in san diego and he was living here in LA. we quickly became a "thing" and being apart really sucked. but we made it work. we talked every night, text and emailed tons during the week, and took turns visiting one another every weekend in our respective cities. we kept that up for two years. that was how long it took for me to concede, to realize that hey! LA was pretty great! and san diego was a bit been there done that. i had grown up there, after all.

so i moved. it was time. and have never looked back or had any regret. this new home has been really good to me. i must have good instincts! i also have to credit my willingness to relocate to josh, who made it his personal mission every weekend i was here to show me just how awesome this city is.

one of our favorite things to do was just walk. contrary to my previous belief, LA is really pretty. especially josh's neighborhood of west hollywood. lush trees line mainy of its streets, home to old abodes with lots of charm. my favorite street was (and still is) vista street. just a few blocks from josh's apartment we always made a detour onto that little piece of heaven, quietly nestled between the craziness of fountain and santa monica boulevard. my favorite part of vista street is the row of brick-walled apartments. each has its own uniquely shaped door and front window. it was always a bonus if it was late in the day and the lucky inhabitants had their lights on so i could eagerly spy in. who knew i would eventually call the second to last unit on the bottom floor home? where i would spend my first thanksgiving and christmas in LA? where i would bring home my first child? with wood beams and bathroom tile like you would not believe?! it was literally a dream come true. i pinched myself everyday.

eventually we grew out of my princess apartment, being that it was just one bedroom. we stayed as long as we could after having max. but after 6 months we decided it was someone else's turn to call it home. the good thing is that we can still visit my first LA apartment, on my old favorite street and go on a trip down memory lane anytime.

and last week we did just that.

vista street is charming on its own, but a major plus is the park located just at the end of it. i never took living next to it for granted and miss it all the time. so we had to stop and play for a bit.

isn't that thing neat? the boys thought it was a snake (somehow they don't find them terrifying which is beyond me) but it is part of an exhibition at the park called "Can You Dig It." this work is titled "And The Tree Was Happy," themed after shel silverstein's book "The Giving Tree." the city of west hollywood (weho) commissioned the project that was conceived to address the current drought in california. because weho is so cool like that.

we began to make our way onto vista to visit the old pad. we stopped to make a few bat wings and watch our shadows dance. kids can make you do the silliest things. it's the best.

my heart skipped a beat when i saw that for rent sign!

and then there she was. my princess apartment with that amazing door. max went right up to it and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

interestingly enough, knox couldn't have cared less, though he was nice enough to pose for a few photos. maybe it was because he never lived there. and because we have a new place, where i am still a princess.

and that's enough of that.

xoxo,

sony.