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Tag: Los Angeles

  • Sweet [Drinks] Are Made of These

    Catherine shares some of her Los Angeles happy hour haunts, from A to Zinque.
    PHOTO: Viva La Foodies
    PHOTO: Viva La Foodies

    Happy Hour [ˈhapē ou(ə)r]: noun. A marketing term for a period of time in which a public venue offers discounts on alcoholic drinks.

    For me, happy hour is any hour while the sun is setting or has already set during which I consume a leisurely drink with or without pleasant company. I love happy hour as much as Alex Kerkovich loves ribs; if I could, I’d go twice a day. My shortlist covers the vast expanse of Los Angeles… and shows you how far I’m willing to go for a good cocktail. Each of these spots is tried and true, setting the scene for a quick first date drink or a lengthy catch-up with friends. To get you in the mood, I added my picks for the right shade of lip color to go with each hour.
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  • Unsung Rivalry

    Born in San Francisco, Catherine shares her struggle with calling Los Angeles “home”

    Sf vs LA
    PHOTO: Pretty Stems

    To some in L.A., the rivalry between San Francisco and Los Angeles is nonexistent. I think this rivalry stems from the deep-rooted rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers in New York City. While only a handful of Angelenos are true fans of the Dodgers, everyone in San Francisco is a Giants fan. (That’s one point for S.F.)

    When I decided to move south for school, I began to discover the difference in the two cultures. L.A. felt cold (in demeanor, not in climate, obviously), and I counted down days until trips home to the Bay Area—the down-to-earth Californian cousin. In college, every time I visited home and returned to L.A. a feeling of dread came over me as the plane approached LAX. I swore I would move back upon graduation. Then I didn’t.
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  • Definition of the Single Girl

    Redefining “single” for a new generation of leading ladies. 

    definition of a single girl

    PHOTO: CATHERINE ABALOS.

    Every group of girlfriends has the quintessential single friend. That’s me. I thought I’d have a boyfriend by the end of high school but by the middle of college I was still single-little-me. At that point, I went full throttle into single mode. I threw myself into school and extracurricular activities, studied abroad, and fostered new friendships.

    This lifestyle served particularly well after I graduated and found that I was seemingly the last woman standing in L.A. amongst my college friends. Essentially, I had to start over in a city I’d lived in for four years; a place I was comfortable in was suddenly strange and unfamiliar.

    While any strange place has the potential to ice a gal into loneliness, if you can embrace the newness and look inward you can turn any strange place into a home. With years of experience under my belt, I faced the obstacle of reclaiming L.A. head-on.

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