Hi everyone! Welcome back to the final installment of my birthday series blogposts! I can't believe that's a thing, but apparently it is now. I honestly didn't intend for this to happen but I had so many photos and stories to share that there is no way this would have fit in one post. Anyway, today's post starts on the Thursday before my birthday and follows through the rest of the weekend. So, let's jump into it!


Maria got into LA on Thursday morning so we went and picked her up from the airport. First off, LAX is never, ever fun. Not even like "Oh, my best friend is coming to visit me! Can't wait to pick her up from LAX!" It's more like "You couldn't have, like, teleported here or something? Taken a train? Literally anything else but fly into LAX?" Nevertheless, I was super excited to have my best friend come visit me for my birthday! From the airport, we headed straight to a fave burger spot, The Fix Burger, in Silverlake. I wasn't feeling a burger this day so I decided to get a grilled chicken sandwich. It was pretty good but, after watching everyone else eat their burger, I was sad with my decision.

After lunch, we headed to Hollywood. Hollywood isn't somewhere you go just to go. However, neither Maria nor Russell had been, so we figured we could just show them what it was all about. Plus, we may have told Russell he could rent a really nice car for the day and drive it around. We've seen guys renting off Ferrari's and Lamborghini's on Hollywood Blvd plenty of times. Unfortunately, they weren't around today.

We left Hollywood to explore some more of the city before the guys left Maria and I to get our nails done. Once we had perfectly polished nails, we were off to Griffith Observatory! Griffith is a very touristy place (as is most of LA) but I actually really love it there. Sometimes, people bring out their huge telescopes and let you take a closer look at the sky. The view (if it's a clear day) is really nice as well. And the Hollywood Sign is right behind you!


We ended our night with dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Pasadena and some dessert from our new favorite ice cream stand, Afters. If you're ever in Pasadena, go there and get a milky bun! Glazed! You won't regret it!



FRIIIIIDAAAAY! So, Friday was my ACTUAL birthday. "Lori, when's you birthday?" "May 'tirteent'!" True words of baby Lori (according to my fam). I actually love when my birthday falls on a Friday because everyone else is so superstitious about it but I'm over here running around screaming, "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!"


Honestly, what better way and place is there to spend your 25th birthday other than the happiest place on Earth? That's right! I decided to celebrate my turning a quarter of a century at Disneyland! It was probably the best decision I've made. The way I saw it was we live in LA and Disneyland is only an hour away. I'd be crazy not to go at least once. Plus, it's my birthday! I decided to treat myself to something I wanted and knew would make me happy.



I can't go into every detail of our time at Disneyland because then this post would just be ridiculously long. I can tell you, however, that everything on this day worked out so perfectly. We were able to ride all the rides that we wanted, the timing for fast passes worked out just right and just overall the day was basically perfect. It would have been even more perfect if Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't closed! That was pretty much the only downfall to the day.


We did spend a full 12 hours at both parks running back and forth so, needless to say, we were EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. I'd say it was all 100% worth it because I love Disneyland. I can't speak for the others though. You'll have to ask them how they felt about it!



We had to get up bright and early to drop Russell off at the airport on Saturday. After that, Lyle, Maria and I grabbed some lunch at Lemonade. I'm obsessed with their herb roasted chicken sandwich and truffle mac & cheese. Their lemonade choices are always delicious as well! I would stop by just to grab a lemonade.

After lunch, we headed to Venice to check out the canals. I had always seen pictures but never knew where they actually were. We walked around and checked out all the cute houses that were there. Seriously, there were so many cute houses and I wanted just about every single one of them. I feel like it must be strange living there and having people walking around 10 feet from your door and staring at your home.

We wrapped up exploring this area and went to a small beach in Marina del Rey. We laid out for a while and just chilled. It was such perfect weather for a beach day and luckily this beach was not packed at all! I don't think many people know about this spot because for a Saturday afternoon it was surprisingly empty.


After spending a few hours there, we decided to end our day early. We stopped and chilled at a coffee shop in West LA for another hour or so before picking up some chipotle for dinner and heading home.
On Sunday, Lyle and I returned to our normal routine. We had left Maria at the airport around noon and I was sad to see her go. Her leaving only solidified the fact that it was time to get back to reality. SIGH... BORING! We came back home only to sit on the couch and binge on Netflix.



I don't want to end this post on a sad note though. So, I just wanted to say thank you for letting me ramble and share my stories with you! I appreciate all the love so so much you have no idea! I honestly had the best time of my life during my birthday week (that's a thing too.. oops) and I'm happy I have a platform to share it on. As always, let me know your thoughts!