family sunday funday

the hub is a low key instagram addict.  he finds all sorts of fun stuff to share with us, where it's funny videos or cool places to add to the bucket list or great local spots to visit.  last weekend we decided to get up early and head out to west hollywood's breakfast by salt's cure to try some amazing looking pancakes he showed us.

i swear i was taking a picture of the menu and not the cute boy manning the counter.

it was fairly crowded in there despite the early hour, and after we placed our orders we ended up splitting up, with the bean and me at a small table and the hub, the old lady and her special friend at the bar a few steps away.

i'd gone with the OG - oatmeal griddle cakes served with toasted cinnamon butter, plus a side of the picnic ham.

predictably, the bean chose the chocolate chip pancakes along with a side of over easy eggs.

those pancakes were GOOD.  they don't serve any syrup because the cakes are perfect served the way they are - lightly sweetened, buttery and chewy.  the bean wasn't a fan...she's more of a light, fluffy pancake kinda girl.  but the rest of us devoured our portions and left happy.

as we drove at a leisurely pace on that sunday morning, we found the instagram-famous pink wall that's been posted a bazillion times.  and because it was so early, the hub didn't hesitate to swing around, pull into the alley, and let me and the old lady out to take a couple of pictures.  because why not?

and then we stumbled upon this super hipster farmer's market, which happened to be right near the melrose location of alfred coffee.  the hub had shared pictures from alfred coffee with us months ago, but every time we tried to go it was too late and the place was closed.  we managed to find a great parking spot and decided to walk through the market first to see what there was to see.

time for coffee!

i think they have a favorite slogan.  i'm not sure, but it looks like maybe...

the bean seemed to fit right in as she found a spot at a table and cracked open her sketch pad to start drawing.  all she needed was an open laptop and a latte in the other hand.

there were lots of fun pastries and fresh coconut water.

the hub said i should try their infamous 10-dollar latte, but they were all sold out for the day.  bummer.  he went with his usual keto-friendly espresso with steamed heavy cream, and i had a simple mocha latte made with whole milk.  it was cold and creamy and delicious.

we got out of there and decided to head over to the grove, and along the way we passed this.  remember when my co-leader and i went to the pop-up mcdowell's shop last year?  they had round 2 this year, but we opted out.  this was fun to see, though:

on our way to the grove, we spied this fun looking flea market at fairfax high school and decided to stop and walk around.  of course, this ice cream truck caught our attention:

and of course, upon closer inspection:

ha!  oldest trick in the book.

admission to the melrose trading post is $5 per person, but the money goes to a good cause.

it's kind of like a giant yard sale, or a smaller version of the rose bowl flea market.  i thought i took more pictures, but i guess i was too sweaty to stop.  heh.

this sign caught our attention, and ended up being the only booth we actually made a purchase at.

as we stood there, we noticed this camera crew filming as they walked through the crowds.  the clapboard told us that they were working on something for american airlines.  gotta love l.a.

when we finally made it to the grove, the nike store was our first stop.  the hub challenged the bean to a round of shooting hoops.

and although we were still a handful of days away from halloween, it's already christmas at the grove.

kind of funny to see christmas stuff right next to a sign cheering on the dodgers in the world series.

photo op!

because the bean hadn't really eaten a big breakfast and hadn't ordered anything while we enjoyed alfred coffee, she was hungry.  and so while she dug into a poke bowl from the farmers market, the rest of us shared a charcuterie plate.

the old lady was so excited to try this, and was bummed when it wasn't all she'd hoped it was.

on the way back towards the car, the bean and i hopped onto the trolley.

and as we rode along, happy to avoid walking through the crowds, we caught one more glimpse of that giant tree (and our family walking along off towards the left).

we made one last stop before heading home...at milk for a treat.

it had been awhile since we wandered around on the west side together, and it made for a really fun family outing.  now that the weather is cooling off a bit, i'm hoping we make time to do this more often.  after all, there's always something to do in l.a.!