On Christmas Day we loaded the entire family into the car and headed to the airport to see my sister in LA!  We had a jammed packed week and new years (just how i like it!) and the weather could not have been better.  Below are some of the highlights of that trip and you can tell we are foodies (we try to eat out every night while in the presence of amazing chefs).  I plan to do a post soon on tips for traveling with toddlers :).

Day 1: Went to Nobu for dinner- Our favorite restaurant in Malibu!
Day 2:  Went to the Aquarium of the Pacific, beautiful animals!
Day 3: Santa Monica Beach & Went to the Yayoi Kusama Infinity mirror exhibit!  (They sell out way in advance, and fast, so go to the site for the cities of this and keep an alert on!)
Day 4:  Rented a Place in Malibu for new years weekend (Same house Kevin Hart happened to have just left!)- VRBO has really affordable ones with great locations depending on where you want to be.  I always save my favorites and go back to them when booking.
Day 5:  Malibu Wine Hikes & Malibu Cafe for dinner – easily our favorite hang out spot with kids.
Day 6:  We woke up and went to the New Years day Rose Bowl Parade!  (recommend Sharp seating to beat the crowds) Rode horses with Los Angeles Horseback riding , Watched the fireworks at Marina Del Rey & had dinner at Charcoal.
Day 7: Beach day & Stopped for amazing ice cream at Salt & Straw then dinner in Venice at Gjelina.
Day 8: We had planned to go to disneyland but since we have been 3 times already in the last two years, we just laid low and dinner at Tar & Roses. (can you tell I’m disney’ed out)

*Tip- Make all reservations month + out for dining, I used opentable and Resy app.  I love Resy because you can put specific alert times on if your time desired isnt available for day of.

*Regarding Lunch:
Cali is home to so many of my favorite acai bowls, so during lunch I would rotate spots to try them all out.   I probably had 10 different ones during the entire week.  My favorites ended up being from:
–Dogtown Cafe
-Backyard Bowls
**If you are local to Raleigh NC, BUOY BOWLS is still my #1 pic hands down, i drive to their food truck twice a week at least!