When it comes to packing for a trip, my philosophy is that you haven’t packed enough clothes if you can zip your suitcase shut on your first try. Needless to say, zipping my suitcase was a joint effort.

Despite waking up even before my alarm sounded at 4:30am, I was still rushing around in a panic trying to find something light to eat before my flight. As a last-minute decision, Jen booked a flight to California to join Natalie and me. She was flying on a different airline, but also had an early morning departure, so my dad drove the three of us to the airport together.

Behind schedule, we arrived at BWI late, threw our luggage on the scale and prayed that it weighed in under 50 pounds, and ran to security. After anxiously waiting in a line that was longer than usual, I was pulled aside so that an agent could search my bag.

With barely fifteen minutes to board the plane, the agent took out a pair of shoes–or so I thought–from my duffel. After he unraveled the several layers of plastic Target bags, he discovered a 20-ounce bottle of baby oil.

In a hazy state of mind, I haphazardly packed a carry-on bag the night before. I blame my inability to follow TSA’s guidelines on the wine and cheesecake combination that constituted my dinner Tuesday evening.

Relieved, we found our departure gate just before the doors closed and somehow managed to luck into two seats together at the front of the plane. One more turbulent flight, two downloaded movies, and three Oreo cookies later, we hopped off the plane at LAX.

After meeting up with Jen at the baggage claim around noon, we waited for our cousin to pick us up (and successfully surprised him by bringing along Jen as a third guest!).

We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Sherman Oaks, then drove to a few different tourist spots.

I had a Hollywood moment with Mary-Kate and Ashley.

I swooned over the shops on Rodeo Drive.

I said a quick hello to Jimmy.

Seeking inspiration for Living Shabby Chic, we stopped in Rachel Ashwell in Santa Monica and randomly met a girl from Maryland.

We then walked to the nearby pier and played a round of skeeball in the arcade. The night ended with a veggie pizza and a movie On Demand.

If you could pick one celebrity, whose Hollywood star would you choose to see?