Figuring Out My Place In Time And Space: #Adulting & Adoring LA

This might be a long one nerds so settle in with your cup of coffee!

There is some good and bad news in this post. I'll get the bad over with first. Ugh.

I'm going to be missing my very first San Diego Comic Con in 8 years. The short answer is #adulting.

When I lived in San Diego and LA it was too easy to attend. I've been thinking about SDCC 2016 extensively since moving to Denver this past January and it really is going to be too much for me. Money wise and vacation time wise. I just started an amazing new job and I don't want to ask for too much time off. I have my brother's wedding only two weeks later and trumps SDCC.

Plus the money. Taking care of myself alone is costly. #surprisednotsurprised. The adult in me says save that money. SDCC will always be there! You nerds have always been there too and I thank you! I'm going to miss you so much this year!

BUT please still check out my SDCC Guide! It is full of so much info that I've learned over the past 7 years at San Diego Comic Con!

Now the good news!

Ocean Eyes and I's first LA vacation was a wonderful success! He fell in love with my LA, I saw him get as excited about experiences as I was and I realized he is my true Number One.

I cried before we left, when we landed and the moment I walked away from my LA Music Squad. I cried when I got my pie, and when I saw The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Let's just say it was an emotional trip. It was hard to leave again. But now that I'm settled back in my very own apartment, I feel much better. I feel happy. I know this year will finish big and I can't wait to live this amazing life!

Here's what I miss most about LA....besides the warmth!

The Friends.

I missed my friends! The moment I saw them it was like not a single day had passed. Though it has been four months! I cannot believe it! These people stayed with me through some dark and difficult times and I can't thank, love or buy them enough pie to thank them!

The Pie.

I MISS MY LA PIE!!!! Here are my top four places to get pie in LA. And no I didn't eat enough!

#4 Sunset Junction Coffee Shop in Silverlake. Favorite: Apple Pie. I adore this diner and this neighborhood. It is the perfect place to write distraction free. They have NO wifi!

#3 The Pie Hole in Pasadena. Favorite: Apple or Pumpkin Pie. Sharing the space with a beautiful flower shop and equally as yummy ice cream shop! It is located on a wonderful shopping street as well!

#2 Brite Spot in Echo Park. Favorite: Apple or Banana Cream Pie. A VERY close second to my number one pick. But my number one pick lives in top in my heart for many reasons! But seriously go to Brite Spot and get their pie! #PIEfection

#1 Republic of Pie in North Hollywood. #duh Favorite: Apple, Strawberry Rhubarb or Banana Cream. I even got a RoP MUG!!!!! And a sticker for my laptop collection!! I am a happy pie girl! #LAPieTour complete!

The Music.

In less than a week I was able to attend FOUR shows. When I knew I was headed to LA, I hit up my two best musical friends singer/songwriter/adorkable nerd Kira and The Filthy Souls. Both were able to have shows while I was in town!

Kira, who I met last summer through Geek Girl Brunch played an acoustic set at my FAVORITE place in LA, Republic of Pie. Her original songs are amazing and she even sang some beautiful covers! Listen to the one above. SWOON!

Right after Kira, The Filthy Souls were playing down the street at my favorite LA pub The Fox and Hounds. Their set was magical because my LA Music Squad + Ocean Eyes were in attendance. I was so excited to be with my girls again and with my favorite guy seeing one of my favorite bands. The Filthy Souls never disappoints me. They cannot write a bad song! I swoon or rock out over every single one of them and we even ended on a fun sing-a-long! The above song is SWOON central!

When I arrived in LA my Pisces Souls Sister sent me a link for a free show in Hollywood that Monday. Her favorite band and now Ocean Eyes' new favorite band Irontom. I've seen them plenty of times and EVERY single time these guys put on an amazing and energetic performance. They are a band you must see live. They are a blast! And the sweetest guys ever!

Last but not least was the band our LA trip surrounded, Walking On Cars. My entire LA Music Squad surrounded me that night and Ocean Eyes as well. The moment Walking On Cars stepped on stage I began to cry. The moment they sang my favorite song I couldn't help but grab my Pieces Souls Sister's hand, just like old times. It was the best night of hugs, sing-a-longs, dancing and just being in my favorite environment! It was defiantly worth the trip. #allthefeelz

Didn't Ocean Eyes do a great job filming my favorite song Catch Me If You Can?! I was too emotional to do anything but stare :)

AND we did visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios but that MUST be a post on its own! Spoiler alert...it was amazing! You can see a preview of our fun over on Instagram!

Ocean Eyes and made it through our very first vacation together. Almost an entire week together 24/7. And guess what I still want more. I loved "living" with him for the week, taking him to all of my favorite places and having him meet some very important people in my life and of course eating all the pie and hearing all the music. One of my favorite things was us learning that we both super adore Blink 182! We listened, sang and rocked out with the windows down the entire trip!

I love learning new things about him. About us.

In less than two weeks we will have been seeing each other for six months. It has been the most crazy six months of my life. The best six months of my life. I've found my lobster.

{I am forever Figuring Out My Place In Time And Space. Learn and grow with me by reading my other heart felt and often over sharing articles!}

5 Awesome Bookstores in LA or 5 Places For ME Dates

Sometimes I just need to get out of bed and into the world of the living. My bed is comfy for the morning, but by afternoon I am ready to face the day. Enter book stores. I LOVE bookstores! They are so peaceful and ALL of your best book friends surround you. Luckily LA has NO lack of awesome book shops! Here are a list of the top five that I have found and fell in love with!

1. The Last Book Store - Downtown LA. This was my first LA bookshop. One of my best friends was coming to visit and I was looking for interesting places to take her. She is a huge book nerd like me so when The Last Book Store popped up I knew it would be perfect.

Inside is gorgeous and spacious and upstairs they have the most gorgeous arch made out of books! They even have records and live music. The only downside is that parking can be a bit of an issue downtown. BUT it is definitely worth the hassle to get lost in this amazing space.

2. Book Soup - Hollywood. I stubbled upon Book Soup while heading to The Viper Room. This lil corner of LA is actually quite perfect. I have my lot I park in pretty cheaply, a Coffee Bean, The Viper Room and Book Soup all in a one block radius.

Book Soup is cute, quirky and always has some type of event going. Authors are always there reading from their books and doing signings. There are stacks HIGH of books and adorable gifts. Book Soup is a small but mighty find.

3. Magic Door IV - Pomona. Another one I stumbled on while heading to a show! The Glass House concert venue is on super adorable street in Pomona. There are a bunch of lil places and one was this tiny book shop! I might have squeed and ran across the street when I spied it.

I stayed in the shop for about an hour looking through all their books. There were so many old ones. It was amazing just to hold a book from 1901! The owners were super sweet and had no problem letting me take the time to nerd out over their little slice of heaven.

4. Iliad Bookshop - North Hollywood. GUYS! There is a sign on the door to this book shop that says be careful not to let the cats out! Cats LIVE in this book shop!!! This is not a drill! I searched high and low for the kitties but could not find them. Apparently they can be shy sometimes. BUT that just gives me a reason to go back because besides the cats this shop is amazing!

Ceiling high bookshelves. A vault of rare books and I even found some really neat old ones just sitting on the shelves! My favorite was a Shakespeare for Children book. It was really old and falling apart, but pure magic. The stories were still in tack, just made shorter for children. PLUS the shop is only a few blocks down from my favorite place Republic of Pie...so I will defiantly be making that a weekly stop.

5. Vroman's Bookstore - Pasadena. Before I talk about this amazing book shop, I have to say that when I parked my car down the street, I unknowingly parked directly in front of a record shop! I about lost my mind. I walked in with the biggest smile and it didn't leave my face until I left with a Record Store Day release that I had been searching for!

NOW the bookstore. Vroman's is a labyrinth of amazing-ness! EVERY corner of this shop has something adorable. I easily did some birthday shopping for friends. The shop is huge and has an upstairs full of YA books where I could spend a day. Downstairs is an adorable lil coffee shop where I of course had to relax and enjoy drinking coffee surrounded by books!

This one is pretty close to home so I cannot wait to make it a regular hangout!

What I loved most about my book shop tour of LA was discovering new places on my own. Having some me dates and taking my time and enjoying things that I love so much. I don't think until the idea for this article came that I was doing much me time. I'm thankful for the inspiration these places have given me and the time to just BE in a moment alone and be ok with that.

Do you have any places you like to go and be alone with people?! I am really enjoying the experience of striking up a conversation with people I come across in daily life. I think we all need to do more of that. Interact with our fellow humans. It is so nice to be in the "real" world after loosing myself in blogging.

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LA Apartment Tour

It is official!  I am now an LA resident!  The movers packed us up on Wednesday morning and I was unpacked before 6 p.m. that same night!  I am so happy to have my house back in order.  It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, but we are getting use to it and settling in, though it still feels like a vacation!

In San Diego, we had a three level town home with two bedrooms, two baths and a two car garage.  In LA we have one bedroom, one bath and two parking spots.  You can say it was a BIT of a shock unpacking.  The living room just barely fits our HUGE couch, but I just love all the light that comes in through the big window.

MOVING to LA!

I cannot believe this is actually happening.  The Hunny and I have been happily living in San Diego since 2009, back in March his company closed down and we have trying our hardest to stay here in San Diego.  As time went buy, nothing was to be found. Luckily, though we are able to stay in SoCal with a short move up the 405 to Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles.

{Kitchen sneak peek!}

The past two weekends we have gone up and looked at apartments, struggling with the prices and locations.  But finally yesterday we found the place that was meant for us and I cannot wait to share it with you when we finally move in!

I debated whether or not to take a blogging break during this time, with San Diego Comic Con coming up.  But we just have TOO much to do and very little time to do it, so I am going to take just a short break until the beginning of July. I'll be back just in time to cover the SDCC schedule release, give you my SDCC Photo Hunt and HOPEFULLY have more info on our Female Geek Blogger's meet up!

{Santa Monica is just a short distance away!}

After SDCC I am excited to share with you all the awesome things I will be doing in LA, in a weekly update!  I cannot wait to explore the city!  If you have any suggestions on what to see, eat or experience...please leave them in the comments below {JOBS TOO!!!} :)

I look forward to seeing you ALL at SDCC...until then please check out my SDCC guide, with TONS of helpful hits for the upcoming con!!  If you are NEW to the site, check out our POPULAR POSTS!  I have some of my favorites there for you!  Learn all about The Nerdy Girlie team on our About US page! xo