BYE BYE BRENTWOOD

Brentwood, my love! I am going to miss you oh so much! Okay, so don’t stress, I am only moving next door to Santa Monica, but still, I am going to miss so many things about living in this quiet little enclave, tucked discreetly into the expansive city of Los Angeles. First and foremost, this has been my home for seven years, the first place I lived after moving to Los Angeles. I came right after graduating college with my best friend from high school, Emma, who wanted to work in television (which spoiler alert- she did and continues to do) and since I knew I’d be choosing a graduate school to attend, I figured I’d apply in Southern California too. Once I was accepted into a program here, it was pretty much decided that Los Angeles would become our new home! Our first encounter with Brentwood was back when we visited about a year prior to moving. Emma’s family friend moved here from the East coast when she was about our age too and hasn’t left Brentwood since. She took us to Katsuya, which at the time was one of the most trendy restaurants in Los Angeles and I was excited because an episode of The Hills was filmed there. Aside from that, it’s actually a great restaurant and remains my favorite place for crispy rice! Since our first taste of LA sushi, so many more things have happened and coming home to this wonderful place has always made me feel safe and happy. It’s no shock that pretty much all my close friends live within a mile radius as well and that is perhaps the hardest part about saying goodbye. As sad as I am to say goodbye, I’m still extremely close by and have since been back almost 3-4 times per week so perhaps I am making too big a deal of this but I figured it deserved a nice little send off! So today I am sharing the things I have loved most about my seven years here. Enjoy!

1. Brentwood is small -nothing is really “happening” in Brentwood. No noisy bars or restaurants, no historical sites or venues (the Getty center is technically in Brentwood but it’s tucked into the hills on side of the 405 with it’s own freeway exit). Brentwood has always felt really safe and easy for those reasons. I have never seen tourists, although the site seeing buses do pass through every now and again since a lot of celebrities live here, but there aren’t massive crowds of people on the streets taking selfies or looking for a bakery with a reality show on E! Although, I do highly recommend the original Susie Cakes if you’re in the area, they have a million other locations now too and the marble cake is to die for. But in general, Brentwood is a very family friendly place where a lot of young adults choose to live because of it’s proximity to all the other areas with more going on like Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Venice. Brentwood maintains a more relaxed, peaceful atmosphere for day to day living and I just can’t think of a better place to call home.

2. The Country Mart –which you should know by now is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles! It’s the best spot for many reasons, the biggest one perhaps is that I love how small and quaint it is. So many adorable shops like sugar paper, diesel bookstore and sweet rose creamery. I love sitting outside after grabbing an almond latte at Caffe Luxxe and the peanut butter cookies from the Farmshop bakery counter with a friend. It’s also a great spot to grab a causal lunch or pickup a last minute gift. Farmshop’s market has lots of good bottles of wine, delicious cheeses and specialty items any foodie would appreciate. For lunch I love the tacos counter or Reddi Chick, the only place I’m willing to eat fried chicken at. There’s also a shoe repair, barber shop and post office for your regular errands and the place is very family friendly! Brentwood also has way more good places to venture to, but this is hands down my favorite. More Brentwood places on my LA Guide here.

3. My Running Path -which for the most part was an on and off again way to exercise for me. I usually would get into patterns of loving or hating running but about two summers ago it really crystalized for me. And what a beautiful path it is, starting from Brentwood, going west on San Vicente either all the way to the beach at back or my more usual turn at the Brentwood Country Mart down to Montana Avenue, around the country club and then back up to Brentwood. I also used to go to 14th street and back depending on the time of day or my genuine stamina for the day. It’s a pretty easy path, scenic and with plenty of other runners around to motivate. It was for so many afternoons my saving grace after a long day, the perfect way to clear my mind and rejuvenate; more in this post.

4. My Girlfriends -who mostly all started with Lauren Conrad’s (and every other twenty something’s) idea that the world revolves around West Hollywood, have all since migrated west to this small neighborhood. It’s been so convenient to walk to each others apartments for a glass of wine, grab dinner at Pizzana or start an efficient Uber train to some cooler restaurant or bar in West Hollywood. Between having SoulCycle, Whole Foods and Caffè Luxxe within walking distance it was basically a utopian society for basic young women and there were many weekends I didn’t even get into my car. Avocado toast and Pressed Juice Freeze (which if you haven’t tried I highly recommend) were all within reach and every Sunday a walkable farmers market was setup nearby. Fortunately, Santa Monica isn’t too far but I will miss the ease of walking over in yoga pants to watch The Bachelor!

5. Bagel Breakfasts -on Sunday at New York Bagel. I have been going to this place ever since I first moved in seven years ago, almost religiously, every Sunday morning. Emma’s family friend has been going for the last twenty years and obviously introduced us to this gem of a breakfast/deli spot that I am now forever obsessed with. Sometimes I will even pick up take out if a friend can’t join me or I am working from home that day. It’s probably not the best bagel spot in Los Angeles, but it’s sort of become a little home to me. It was the place where I would often come the morning after, shall we say, “a big night out” and spill all the fun details of my life to friends. It was the closest we got to the deli Carrie would regularly meet up with all her girlfriends at on Sex and The City. I love that I always order the same thing every time (although I recently started getting egg whites) and haven’t opened the menu since the first day there. It’s a great, easy, cheap and convenient spot for anyone who find themselves in Brentwood in the morning.

And perhaps I am being dramatic here, but I still have a beautiful path to connect me from my first LA home to my next. The one that took me too the beach, on beautiful afternoon runs, and then eventually to and from Arthur’s place and now, into my next chapter.

-MGN

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Authentically,