Morning Rituals

These days, I have been hanging out around the Valley a bit more with my better half, so I thought I'd take you through some fun things we like to do on a day off. As early risers & caffeine fiends, we enjoy checking out different cafes in the area. One of our favorite spots right now is M Street Coffee in Sherman Oaks. This warm & inviting corner cafe is always consistent with how great their drinks are, which is probably why they're always full. Luckily, the line moves fast & they have tables and chairs outside all along the front.

Once we've secured our tasty beverages & delicious warm baked goods, usually, we take my girl's fur baby to check out a new dog park or we'll go on a short hike. We were feeling energized after inhaling our iced lattes, so we went for a short & brisk hike on the scenic “Fryman hiking trail” in Studio City. This is always a great way for us to get our cardio in & build up an appetite haha. Once we're done, we hop in her spaceship and zoom to Costco for quick tank refuel, by that I mean gas & chicken bakes. And a hot cookie…OK, and maaaybe the fruit smoothie & iced mocha too. Can neither confirm nor deny, but treats were had.

Movie Break

After taking care of other errands, we retreat to her place where we shower and relax for a couple of hours before going to her nearest theater, the North Hollywood Cinemark, for a mid-day flick! I haven't gone to the movies in a while, so being able to do so and not go too far or break the bank was nice. We watched the new Jurassic World movie, and it was fun! There are lots of great movies and fun popcorn buckets out right now, and of course, we snuck in our favorite candy, nerds gummy clusters. If I'm being honest, I normally would sneak in like 4 crunch wrap Supreme, but we were saving our appetite for something better.

It was still early in the afternoon when we got out of the movies, so we took the little fur ball to roam around the park, specifically Lake Balboa in Encino. This is an amazing park to relax, have a picnic or have a friends/family gathering. It's always fun to rent one of the different bikes/carts they have and ride around the lake. Also, you never know who you'll run into here; One time, when we were leaving, I ran into Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters?!? Couldn't say hi because he was on his bike, but what the heck?!?! Anyway…After playing fetch, and walking around so much, it was getting late, and we were getting Hun*Gry*. We dropped the fur ball off with his food and freshened up for dinner.

Dinner Feast

There's a decent number of restaurants in the Van Nuys area, but as far as Korean BBQ, it is very limited. Normally, we'd head out to Bulgogi hut in Koreatown, luckily we found this little all-you-can-eat kbbq spot that has been hitting the spot whenever we want to stay close, the name: All You Can Eat Gogi. Depending on what time and when you go, it can get a bit full, but once you're in and ordering the food, just keeps coming. Of everything we order, I probably ask for sides like cucumber kimchi and radish paper the most. I need to go to H mart and just get myself a container haha! And cucumber kimchi is absolutely delicious! Another item we enjoy is the marinated pork belly; that one takes a while to cook so we just leave it to get super crispy *mouth watering as I type this*.

Sweet Endings

After our millionth time ordering, I ask for the check and we waddle out and on our way to a tasty treat, because there's ALWAYS room for a tasty treat. Nothing fancy, just the nearest Baskin Robins, which I've noticed there's quite a few in the Valley compared to other LA areas. And all normally across the street from a 7/11, interesting. I'm more of a Cold Stone Creamery guy, but Baskin Robins definitely hit the spot after the feast that KBBQ was.

Hope this blog serves as a good blueprint to spending a fun and tasty day in the Valley.

Los Angeles Self Storage

Even though the Valley's a bit of a drive, days like these remind me how nice it is to have a place back in the city to come home to—and to store all the stuff I don’t need cluttering up my space. Whether it's outdoor gear, seasonal items, or just a little overflow from Costco runs, Los Angeles Self Storage keeps things simple, secure, and stress-free. It's the perfect home base when you’re out making the most of everything SoCal has to offer.

M Street Coffee
13251 Moorpark St
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 907-1400

Fryman Hiking Trail
Laurel Canyon/ Fryman
Studio City, CA 91604

Cinemark Century North Hollywood and XD
12827 Victory Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91606

Lake Balboa Park
6300 Balboa Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91406

AYCE Gogi
7128 Van Nuys Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91405

Baskin-Robbins
13315 Victory Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91401