$1,350 T-shirt and a Cupcake ATM

Last Saturday, my husband and I decided to take a trip to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. This street is known for its collection of high end designer stores that people will drive to in their Rolls Royce, Ferrari and other exotics to shop and be seen here.

So what’s my unemployed self doing at a place where celebrities send their stylists to do the shopping? Escapism. That’s right, sometimes a girl just needs a moment to experience a different lifestyle.  

Here I am in this photo, trying to look like I belong here. By the way, masks are a mandatory accessory for everyone to wear at all times, except when eating at the recently opened outdoor dining areas. Also note, it was a sunny 70 degrees on this February day. Yep, that’s So. Cal weather for ya! So, on with the journey.  

The first stop is to take a photo of the Stefano Ricci building. It’s a fancy menswear store, but more importantly for the photo, it’s a cool looking building.

Here was an interesting Versace window. Don’t know where I would wear such an outfit, but I guess if you can afford it, that also means you have places to wear it.

I also had a Carrie Bradshaw moment (a.k.a. Sex and the City) looking at these shoes. 

But THIS is how you know you’re on Rodeo Drive…

Here is the House of Bijan (home of the $950 silk tie) with a matching parking meter and Rolls Royce parked right out front!  My husband did the modeling this time. Since we didn’t have an appointment to purchase one of their $1,350 t-shirts, we kept moving.

Of course, you can’t be in L.A. county without some kind of police presence, although I’m not sure what this contraption is used for… 

Oh, and if you’re wondering if we saw any celebrities, the answer is ‘no’. Which is usually the case for me, even though I’ve been to L.A. many, many times.

But I did try my best Kardashian selfie pose in the 3-way mirror inside the ladies restroom. 

Eat your heart out Kim! 😀

Overall I have to say the vibe here was quite strange compared to the last time we were here years ago. The pandemic has really changed the way people engage, or don’t engage with each other. Of course L.A. people are typically a little stand offish to begin with, but the restrictions in place just seemed to take things to another level.

We did have a nice chat with one of the security guards. He said things have picked up a bit since restaurants opened up again. 

Then we had a fun moment with a different security guard as we passed by the store he was guarding. Some sort of exotic car (my husband would know the name) drove by with a loud engine roar and got the guard’s attention. I tried smiling through my mask and said, ‘It must be fun to car watch here.’ He replied with a smile in his eyes, ‘Yes, it is!’

Once we got to the end of our Rodeo shopping tour, we turned left and walked up Santa Monica Blvd. Our destination was Sprinkles Cupcakes. Here’s where we made our only purchase for the day, at their cupcake ATM!

I don’t know why they would sell brownies here, but that’s what my husband ordered, thinking it was a chocolate fudge cupcake. Since I love brownies, I wasn’t too disappointed I didn’t get a cupcake.

Here comes the brownie!

Once we had brownie in hand, we went back to the parking garage on Beverly that let us have the first two hours for free! Hey, free parking in L.A. is like finding gold! 

So what does all this have to do with anxiety. Well, I find my anxiety eases when my husband drives and I can just be the passenger going on a journey. And when the place we visit is so far removed from our reality, it’s like entering another dimension, and I don’t even think about the things I was stressing over. I’m just living in the moment. And a chocolate brownie also helps. 😉

So does visiting different places help ease your mind, or does it create more stress? And since I’m in So. Cal, I’m open to suggestions on other places you’d like to see me visit.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe!