Quick Trip to Beverly Hills

Towards the end of January, I went to Beverly Hills. My stay was short: I arrived on Tuesday and left at 5 am on Thursday. The reason for visiting Beverly Hills was solely for a consultation appointment for cosmetic surgery.

This was my first time on the West Coast. 🌊 I was looking forward to the weather since we, in Quebec, were going through the cold and grey days of winter.

Day 1 – Tuesday

I landed at LAX a little before noon. The weather was warm and sunny, but not humid. As I tried to describe it to someone back home, it felt like a perfect summer day in Montreal.

I stayed at the Mosaic Hotel for its proximity to the medical clinic. The hotel only allowed check-in from 3 pm, but they still let me access my room at around 12 pm (they found a room already available). That was very nice of them.

I won't go in-depth into my hotel room (and neither into this trip since there are so few things you can do in one day and a half), but I want to touch upon the cleanliness of the room.

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Everything looks clean from afar (i.e. in the picture), but, alas, it is an illusion.

There were lots of stains on the carpeted floor. The little couch and the tweed-like armless chair were also stained. I suspect some previous guests had sat on these with their dirty shoes on. The bathroom sink had a beard hair stuck, thanks to some yellow matter (bodily fluid?) that acted as glue. The shampoo, conditioner and body wash were in the shower in medium-sized pump bottles. These seemed not to be replaced but only recharged as the side of my bottle of conditioner was very sticky the first time I used it. 

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Would you sit on this couch 👀

The stains are much more apparent in reality;

the tweed conceals them well in the picture, grr.

Some people reviewing the hotel complained of a mouldy smell in their room. Mine had a stuffy or stale odour mixed with cleaning products. While not unbearable, it was not a delightful smell.

Some positives worth mentioning: I encountered no bugs and the bed sheets were really soft and looked clean.

You may wonder why I chose this hotel. Well, it was the "cheapest" one closest to the medical clinic. The hotel's proximity to the clinic was thus another positive.

After checking in, I roamed a bit in the neighbourhood while looking for food.

What a beautiful day, and in January! 🤩

Shortly after, I came across a place called Judi's Deli. Despite the mixed reviews on Google, I was too lazy to continue my search and decided to try it.

I had a turkey & avocado wrap with honey mustard. It was sooo good. 🤤

Quite expensive but worth it IMO since it was huge and gave me two meals.

The place was buzzing and I was glad to have a table.

I felt well-fed and satisfied. I walked back to my hotel room and rested for the next day.

Day 2 – Wednesday

I woke up early, partly because my room felt so depressing, but also because I had planned to visit Rodeo Drive. I am so happy I decided to go at such an early hour. There were barely any people and I was able to capture beautiful morning pictures.

I get it is Rodeo Drive, but I did not expect the street to be this clean. That morning, I saw a lot of workers cleaning every corner of the street.

I also noticed numerous shop staff dusting the shelves and cleaning the walls.

There was a charming enclave on Rodeo Drive, with its exterior floor being mopped. I was curious, so I peeked inside and found it to be an interesting place. Given its fanciness and cleanliness, I was not sure if it was open to the public, but I decided to walk in anyway. I later learned it is called the Rodeo Collection.

When I visited, most places seemed closed (not yet opened). It was nice to walk around peacefully.

The floor is splendid (as well as the architecture).

It was a total surprise for me to see Dr. Cat's office!

Definitely gorgeous (it is at the penthouse level).

Given that we were the middle of the week (a Tuesday), I was surprised to see so few people walking on the streets, going to work, catching a bus, etc.

After walking around Rodeo Drive, I went to see the lily pond.

That duck was alone in this small greenish pond, which made me sad. Not sure how it ended up there. It kept dipping its head in the water, looking for food. 🥺

I walked a bit more, then took an Uber to the Farmers Market where I discovered The Grove.

The picture does not do this restaurant justice...

It was so perfectly situated.

Beautiful storefronts photo dump ↓

There were some food carts at The Grove. I was tempted to buy something to nibble on tranquilly under the warm sun (there were tables and chairs to sit on). However, I really wanted to eat at the Farmers Market, so I did not buy anything.

This place is the closest I have ever been to experience

a town like Rapunzel’s. So fairytale-like 🧚

Then I visited the Farmers Market.

There was a small supermarket on the right.

I assume it is very practical for the locals!

I ordered a pizza slice at Friends & Family. I remember deadpan asking the employee, "Do I eat it with my hands?". He promptly handed me utensils and looked uncomfortable. In hindsight, my question sounded so snobby. I did want utensils, but for some reason, I thought asking "Do you have utensils?" was too direct, so I tried to ask in a "milder" way, but it was a fail. 🫠

Anyway, karma got me quickly when I realized how impractical it was to cut the pizza (especially the crust) with a plastic knife. I was determined not to hurt my ego, so I continued eating with the utensils as elegantly as possible. I'm not exaggerating, it took me like 45 minutes to an hour to finish. It was awful! And the pizza was so good and savoury; I just wanted to shove it in my mouth.

While walking to my Uber pickup spot, I snapped the picture below. I was curious if these were celebrities' homes in the distance. The sight IRL was impressive to commoner me.

In the afternoon, I had my medical appointment which left me so depressed and hopeless that I returned to my hotel room and stayed there until the next day. 😃

I left Beverly Hills the following morning at 4:40 AM to head to the airport. It was pouring rain.

First Time Buying Liz Lisa in a While

Hi,

After a long time of not buying any Liz Lisa clothes, I rekindled an interest in the brand and bought some pieces on Mercari (with Japonica Market). I still love fashion from the 50s and 60s, but I felt like I missed LL's cute preppy looks. Not that I really dressed preppy in the past, though that was a mistake since I came to realize that fall colours fit me best.

I remember in my previous post wanting to downsize my wardrobe and live on like five pieces of clothing, but then I would get bursts of wanting to dress in a specific style and didn't have the clothes to satisfy my urge. :'D By the way, I was looking at my blog posts back from that period and saw how shitty were some (vintage) pieces I bought. Not only did I buy them, but I went on to take the most hideous pictures and had the audacity to post them on my blog for everyone to see lmao.

OK, back to the haul. Here are the three OPs I bought.

Liz Lisa Fairy Pattern OP
フェアリー柄 ワンピース

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I've liked this OP since I began to buy Liz Lisa, but never got the chance to get it, either because no one was selling it when I was ready to pull the trigger or because I would prioritize other pieces in my purchases.

This print has such pleasing colors and I absolutely love the lacing at the front. I know there's a version with navy blue flowers and I was also – if not more – interested in it, but they were all sold out on online flea markets.

I love the overall fit and the length of the sleeves is perfect. <3 Nothing bad to say about it.

Liz Lisa Heart Check OP
ハートチェックワンピース

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Another dress I liked but never got the occasion to purchase. My main hesitation was the shoulder frills which I tend to stay away from. One, because I often find them too over-the-top, but mostly because I have broad shoulders and these make it worse.

For this dress, the shoulder frills were the right volume, not OTT. So, my only fear was how they would make my shoulders look. This one worry would've normally deterred me from buying the dress, but the tartan and the colours were too enticing.

The heart cutouts are so cute.

The material is some wool and definitely not my favourite, but thanks to the fabric being on the lighter side, the dress isn't terribly heavy to wear.

The fit is OK. I should've thought about it, but maybe because it's an older Liz Lisa dress, there's no zipper, so it's a bit of a hassle to put on. The absence of a zipper also makes the dress less fitted at the bust and waist. As for the shoulder frills, they accentuate my shoulders so much. x_x (It's not that noticeable in the picture.)

If I had had the chance to try the dress first, I would've probably not bought it, but that's the risk when ordering secondhand from Japan. There are, however, ways to fix both problems by adding a zipper and removing the frills. I could also wear the dress with a cardigan at all times, but it's a bit of a constraint.

The pumps in the picture are Liz Lisa's. I bought them secondhand NWT just before I started to dwell away from the brand. Despite selling lots of LL pieces back then, I couldn't part from these pumps. I loved their look and hoped to wear them one way or another. I'm glad I kept them.

Liz Lisa Lace Yoke Frill OP
レースヨークフリルワンピース

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This is a more recent design from Liz Lisa. I was surprised to like it since I'm not a fan of jirai kei and I hate bib dresses, but it was love at first sight with this piece. The amount of details is just enough and everything is arranged so harmoniously.

The dress is missing two little black bows on the bib (it was mentioned by the seller in the description), but I actually prefer it without them.

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The lace trim at the bottom is a light blush colour. I initially thought it was a defect, but found it blends better with the skin which gives a nice effect. And a close-up on the sleeves because I love the two dainty bows.

I'm not pleased with how loose the bust area is, as you can see under my left armpit. On a positive note, I don't raise my arms often. Apart from that, the fit is top-notch.

Pumps in the picture are from Ank Rouge, bought them secondhand on Depop. I love the patent material and the cross straps, but the sizing is a wee bit too big. I can insert soles, but it would've been nice for them to fit as well as my Liz Lisa' (both pairs are a size M).

With the haul now finished, and just to keep my blog up to date (it's been more than a year since my last blog post), I thought I'd share some important stuff that happened:

• February 2022: I changed jobs (different employer). It has helped me to grow significantly while making me busier than before.
• August 2022: I cut a big chunk of my hair, as you may have noticed from the pictures. My hair was a little below my knees by that time. It had been a major part of my life for the past 10 years, but I no longer enjoyed taking care of it and considered it a burden.
• September 2022: I adopted a red toy poodle.

Let me talk a bit about my poodle. Her name is Rose and I adopted her on September 1st 2022. Long story short, I had planned to get gerbils, but I ultimately went with a dog after talking about it with my parents (that change of mind doesn't make any sense I know). I got lucky since the breeder had told me she would not have any potential adoptees at least until 2023, but one month later, she contacted me to see if I was interested in Rose after a cancellation... which of course I was. Three weeks later, I was bringing her home.

First day at home

On the day of her adoption, she was 11 weeks old and weighed a little less than 2 pounds. Whenever I'd sit on the floor, she'd come hop on my legs. It was so cute and I didn't expect her to be this affectionate, especially on day one.

Two days being at home. Sleeping soundly.

Looks innocent but goes demon spawn from time to time.

Picture taken one week ago.

She's now 1 year and 2 months old. She enjoys napping on our legs, our neck, our back, basically as long as she can feel one of our limbs. She loves playing but is also fine with just lying next to me.

I definitely have moments when I'm fed up, but I receive endless support from my parents and get to evacuate my frustrations to them. They help me not to obsess over stuff and remind me that I don't need a perfect dog. This was such an important reminder during the early months of training.

Bringing a pet into your life truly makes you experience unconditional love. When I get back from work or feel moody or tired, she's still happy to be with me... even when I scold her, she comes to cuddle with me minutes later. *teary-eyed*

Finally, my blog underwent a much-needed look makeover. This was among the first things I had planned to do once I got back here.

Before (October 13th 2019 – September 2nd 2023)

Now (September 2nd 2023 – )

I'm using the Watermark theme and lightly customized it. I wanted something journal-like and minimalist that draws attention to the content of my posts. I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

Okay, I'm done for now. Bye!