Production Pause: 2 days in LA



New York-based stylist, Elysha Lenkin shares her tips for downtime while in Los Angeles. 

A recent job had me flying to LA, so I decided to head out a couple days earlier to take in some extra California sunshine.

With two days all to myself, the perfect itinerary was well within reach.

Here are 5 tips for your 2 days off in LA.

1. Upgrade your car rental

The 30 minutes here and 40 minutes there adds up to a lot of time in the car. There was an issue with the AC in my original rental so the company complimentary upgraded me to the next best thing. This was a huge score as comfort in the car made time sitting in traffic way more tolerable.

2. Set KCRW on your radio pre-sets

With so much time spent in the car, it was a total treat to have Morning Becomes Eclectic play live! This show is my favorite way to hear and learn about fantastic artists - both new and old. 

3. Do Yoga

LA has plenty of options in the yoga world so my biggest dilemma was choosing which ones to visit. I based my choices on proximity to where I’d be which took me to One Down Dog in Eagle Rock and Yoga Blend in Burbank. Both offered a solid vinyasa class that had me break a sweat without turbo-ing through the poses.

4. Shop

Naturally, I had to hit the stores. My latest obsessions are Ampersand on Larchmont for high end fashion at not so high prices, Dean in Silverlake for handmade leather handbags and Mohawk General Store also in Silverlake for their quality curation of both indie and well-established brands. 

5. Dance

Without an early call time slowing me down the following morning, I was all clear for a big night out. This included dinner in the garden at LaurelHardware where we enjoyed tasty plates including charred hamachi, lollipop sprouts and skirt steak. When it was time to get our groove going, we headed over to Koreatown’s Line Hotel where Break Room 86 was rocking out the 80s tunes.

Text by Elysha Lenkin 

Photo by Adrian Alston