After 7 years of living in Los Angeles, I FINALLY had the chance this year to attend the city’s beloved FYF Fest. FYF has been an annual Summertime music festival in LA since 2004 and with each new year they seem to continue to raise the bar on themselves. The fact that I got to see Iggy Pop, Bjork, Solange, Nine Inch Nails, Frank Ocean, and Missy Elliott all in one weekend is just downright insane – it doesn’t even seem possible! FYF may have been my fourth music festival this year, but it was easily one of the best weekends I’ve had in 2017. There are few things I’d rather do on a summer day than get dressed up in newly purchased clothes, hang with friends, listen to live music, snack on delicious things, and sip on refreshing Angry Orchard Hard Cider. If I had the chance to do it all over again this weekend, I would. But for now while we patiently wait for next year’s FYF Fest, here are a few things I picked up this weekend to help you prep for your next festival!

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Saunas. So hot right now. (wink wink.) But really – infrared sauna studios are a thing! And HotBox Sauna Studio Downtown has successfully turned me into a major fan. HotBox might not be the first infrared sauna studio, but they are the absolute best when it comes to creating the most appealing and enjoyable sauna experience. The studio opened in Downtown LA just a few short months ago, and already they’ve garnered quite the number of returning sauna goers. With their absolutely stunning branding, their highest of quality saunas, pricing, and overall experience, it really is no wonder.

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There are few better things in life than experiencing a festival in its first year of existence. With the growing popularity of music festivals in general, I’ve been fortunate enough to actually experience several “first festivals”. But my favorite “first festival” so far? Easily Arroyo Seco – a festival that’s actually held right here in Los Angeles. Last weekend on the grounds around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena the very first ever Arroyo Seco Weekend brought 25,000+ fans together to enjoy two days of live music, booze, food, and most importantly – fun.

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[image via @jenvyjams on Instagram]

Have you ever pondered partying in another galaxy? Preferably amongst like minded Star Wars super fans? Well thankfully for us, dreams really do come true sometimes and places like Scum & Villainy Cantina quite literally “pop up”. Truth be told if you actually are a legit Star Wars geek and you live in Los Angeles, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve already been or at least heard of Scum & Villainy Cantina. Scum & Villainy Cantina is a temporary pop-up built to make you feel as though you have been transported to a bar in another Galaxy far far away – much like the one you’d find on the planet Tatooine in Episode IV. So as you can imagine, Star Wars fans are all over this like a slave bikini on Princess Leia.

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Life is but a dream in the City of Angels. When us Angelenos reflect on how fortunate we are to live in such an incredible and diverse place, one of the first things we all agree on is that it doesn’t get any better than having immediate access to the best of what California has to offer: beach/mountains/desert and FORESTS. I feel like I’ve experienced quite a bit within the LA county borders, more than your average Angeleno one might say, but before last week I’d never been to the Angeles National Forest, nor even knew it existed.

I was actually recently inspired to find my nearest forest thanks in part to Boxed Water and learning more about their inspiring ReTree Project. Through this initiative the brand plants two trees for every social post on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter that features their product with hashtag #ReTree. In partnership with the National Forest Foundation, the goal of their ReTree Project is to plant ONE MILLION trees within a five-year period. This year alone they’re planting trees in the Sierra National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest – they’re already up to over 500k trees!

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As of this past weekend, Downtown Los Angeles is officially home to the brand new MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM. Correct. A museum dedicated to the worlds greatest treat. Right here in the City of Angels. I cant believe it either, but turns out it’s real people! And real awesome at that! Last week I got a sneak peek inside the “museum” and trust me, it’s just something you’ve got to see (or taste in this case) to believe. As if I need to give you any more reason to want to go to an ice cream museum besides “ice cream”, here are 10 more things to get you all geared up for your trip to sweet and sprinkle town!

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There’s few things that make my heart go a’flutter quite like having an interaction with a cute animal. I. Love. Animals. Almost a little too much. (Did you cry your whole way through The Legend of Tarzan? Because I did.) Almost all of my extra dimes goes to local animal rescue organizations because it really is something near and dear to my heart, so when I’d heard LA got it’s first official CAT CAFE… you can only imagine my reaction. Embarrassing to some while perfectly acceptable to others! Crumbs + Whiskers is our very own LA based Cat Cafe where yes, you can sip on caffeinated beverages while playing with or petting kitties. The best part about THESE kitties is that they’re all up for adoption, and they’re all such great cats with their own funny little personalities.

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Like droves of Angelenos and travelers alike, last week I ventured to The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve to catch a rare glimpse of what has been dubbed a “super bloom” that is sweeping through many parts of Southern California. Wild flowers be goin’ CRAZY right now thanks in part to all of the rain we got this year, and it truly is an absolutely remarkable sight to see. I had plenty of places to choose from to see these beautiful wild flowers flourishing, but something about seeing California poppies at a designated poppy reserve piqued my interest most.

If YOU have any interest in seeing these blankets of orange beauties IRL, this is what you need to know:

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