Weekend Getaway to LA

California will always hold a piece of my heart. As much as I love living in Florida, there are so many things that I miss about southern California. It’s one of my happy places, so I try to find reasons to visit the area a few times a year. Thankfully, my cousin Michelle (a.k.a. Mash Elle) has a similar love affair with SoCal, so she’s my partner-in-crime for west coast travels. This time, we also convinced Teresa from Money Can Buy Lipstick to stay with us and attend the Create + Cultivate conference in downtown LA. Let me tell you, Teresa is a brave soul to deal with our shenanigans – just ask Stephanie (another brave soul). Teresa has the patience of a saint, and she was SUCH a fun travel buddy and a great new friend! Now that you know the cast of characters, let’s talk about the trip.

Our trip started on a sour note. Michelle and I were flying from Orlando together, and we coordinated our flights with Teresa to ensure that we’d arrive at LAX at the same time…and then our flight was delayed for over an hour. I already felt bad that Teresa would have to wait in the airport alone for an hour, and then her plane arrived an hour early. She had to wait for nearly two hours alone in the LAX baggage claim, and if you’ve never been there…that’s probably one of the worst places to stuck at. There’s very few chairs, no restaurants, no stores…basically nothing to do at all. By the time the three of us arrived at LAX and collected our luggage, it was nearly 1am.

We were all exhausted, annoyed, and ready to go to bed, but we still had to collect our car for the weekend. If we had gone with a normal rental car service, we probably would’ve been out of luck. We would’ve missed our reservation, or we would have been forced to wait for a shuttle to drive us to the rental car company, wait in line, and deal with all sorts of forms/insurance/blah blah blah at 1:30 in the morning…which is exactly what you want to do after traveling for seven hours.


Thankfully, we didn’t have to deal with any of that nonsense! The awesome guys at Skurt gave us the opportunity to try out their car service for the weekend, and their app pretty much saved the day on our first night in LA. Unlike traditional car rental companies, Skurt is an app-based car service that’s quick and easy to use. Michelle and I booked a car in less than five minutes right before we boarded our plane in Orlando, and the awesome employees at Skurt tracked our plane while we were flying. With a normal company, we would’ve missed our reservation; however, they saw that our flight was delayed and simply moved the reservation to a later time. AMAZING.

When we arrived in LA, Michelle received a text from our Skurt driver, and he quickly picked us up at the airport. After a quick five-minute drive to drop off our driver at their offices, we were handed the keys and headed to our apartments. If you’ve ever rented a car before, you’re probably confused. Where’s the part where you wait in line for two hours and sign half a dozen forms? Well, that part doesn’t exist with Skurt. We entered our payment and legal information on the app, so we only needed to show ID and our credit card to get the keys to our car. Again, AMAZING. If you’re headed to Los Angeles or Orange County and need a car, definitely download the Skurt app!


After securing our ride from Skurt, which I quickly nicknamed The Silver Fox, we headed to the Sofitel Los Angeles at Bevelry Hills and quickly crashed after a long night of traveling. The next morning we had some time to explore the hotel, and let me tell you, it was a stunner.





The lobby of the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills couldn’t be more beautiful. The decor is a perfect balance between modern and classic design, and the sleek furnishings are accented by gorgeous fresh flowers and little Holllywood touches like a step and repeat photo booth. This hotel has a relaxing ambience, and the staff couldn’t have been more professional. We had a great experience from the moment that we walked through the doors.





I loved that different areas of the hotel had different personalities. While the lobby is sleek and modern, various rooms throughout the hotel are colorful and sassy or peaceful and serene. There’s definitely a spot to sit and relax for every personality type.





Our room was absolutely perfect for our weekend stay. The soft colors and minimalist decor provided a calming environment, and we quickly became obsessed with the ultra-soft beds in our room. At one point or another, we all proclaimed that they were some of the most comfortable beds we’d ever slept on! Our room was filled with simple but luxurious features, like slippers, robes, and Lanvin toiletries, so we felt relaxed and pampered for our entire stay.

One of our favorite parts of the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills is the extraordinarily beautiful Estérel restaurant. The colorful and whimsical decor is straight out of a fairytale, and every room of the restaurant is even more beautiful than the last. It’s basically Instagram heaven.

Shop The Look: Dress | Necklace | Heels | Handbag c/o | Bracelet | Lipstick c/o

After two days filled with seminars and networking at Create + Cultivate, we had such a great time relaxing in the courtyard of Estérel. I was so inspired by the playful color palette of the restaurant that I searched for new home accessories throughout my entire flight home. I would love to create a colorful space like this in my future home, but until then, I’ll keep coming back to this magical little restaurant.

The pool area was another spot perfect for relaxation. Unlike most hotels, their outdoor terrace and pool provide a serene escape from the busy streets of Los Angeles. It’s the perfect place to unwind with a good book and enjoy the perfect California weather. If you’re headed to Los Angeles and need a centrally-located hotel that’s quiet, relaxing, and luxurious, check out the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. I truly enjoyed every moment of my stay, and I will definitely re-visit this hotel during my future trips to the area. It’s such a beautiful hotel, and the customer service is truly top notch!

We had the best time during our long weekend in Los Angeles, and I can’t wait to share the rest of my trip with you in this week’s posts. I’ll be sharing all of the tips I learned from Create + Cultivate, one of my favorite outfits from our trip, and my ultimate travel guide to Los Angeles including all of the fun places we visited in our car from Skurt!

What’s your favorite spot in Los Angeles? Any requests (restaurants, shops, activities, etc.) for my upcoming LA travel guide?

Thanks to Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills for providing our room and to Skurt for providing our car during our stay in Los Angeles. I only work with companies that I truly love, and I’d happily pay for both services with my own money. As always, all stated opinions are my honest thoughts.