so glad to meet you angeles

We returned to Dallas at 2:15 AM this morning after a five day jaunt through southern California. Danny Ritter married Kellianne Coltrin on June 28 in the Los Angeles temple and we flew out to celebrate their wedding and spend time with friends.

We arrived to LA at 8 AM on Friday and our first stop was Magnolia's Bakery for the best banana pudding in the world. After Magnolia's I marveled at everything in the Marc by Marc store (the only store we don't have but should at Northpark) and we snapped some pics in their photobooth. After shopping on Melrose Ave. we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This was a gorgeous museum, which we kind of zipped through because we were hoping to beat traffic on the way to Huntington Beach.

There was a great contemporary and modern art collection and I especially enjoyed Chris Burden's "Urban Light" outdoor sculpture (is this the sculpture in No Strings Attached when Ashton gives Natalie the carrot bouquet???). After LACMA we braved the infamous LA traffic to Huntington Beach to spend some time with friends and Danny before his big day.

Danny and Kellianne were sealed for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles temple the morning of June 28. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sealing. I met Danny after I started dating Preston and have always been a big fan. So big a fan that I tried to get all my close friends to date Danny, which didn't work out, but he did find a wonderful bride when he met Kellianne. Danny was a groomsman in our wedding and when we heard the news he was engaged, we were so excited to come to LA to attend his sealing and celebrate his marriage. Danny is a great example to Preston and me and is the quintessential guy you would want to take home to your parents. Preston and I are so lucky to call Danny one of our friends and when I met Kellianne very briefly in March, I was excited for both of them. They are both top notch individuals and will make each other so happy. Congrats Danny and Kellianne!!

After the sealing and luncheon we had some time to kill so we drove to the Getty Center, which was on the way to the reception. Preston was very excited about this spot because he used to want to be an architect, and the Getty is an architect's dream. It really is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen in my life and its views of the city are spectacular. Every corner of the Getty was a vision and I couldn't stop taking pictures and fawning over each structure. I can't help but fantasize about how gorgeous of a reception venue this place would make. I highly recommend this spot if you're in the area.

I'm obsessed with Yelp, treats and trying new restaurants. Yelp released a list of top 100 places to try in the United States and several of them were in California. The #5 spot was Porto's Bakery in Burbank which just so happened to be a few minutes away from the reception. We made a stop and I am still dreaming about the cheese rolls and mango turnovers we bought. Do yourself a favor and pay this Cuban bakery a visit. The prices are great and we got 8 sweet and savory pastries for under $7.

This concludes the first 2 days of our California adventure. I have sooo many pictures and so many things to say so I thought I'd break it up into manageable entries instead of one monster post that no one wants to read. Stay tuned for more pics and stories!