NL Goes... | California

 When Patti’s oldest daughter, Madison, decided to move to Los Angeles for a few months, we just knew right away it would be the perfect opportunity to have a Natural Life photoshoot in California! 

Prepping and coordinating models & locations was a lot of work, but we got the dream team together and made it all happen. We only had a week to make the most out of the beautiful west coast backdrop, so we booked five models and packed for four different photoshoots!

Once we landed, we hopped in a taxi and headed to a trendy little boutique hotel in Silverlake. We were running non-stop scouting locations and exploring the area for our first photoshoot with Jenny. Before each day began, we'd walk over to the local grocery store, Erewhon, and get coffee and breakfast. If you have never gone to Erewhon - 10/10 would recommend!

On our third day, we got to shoot Angela Alvarado. You can see her in our latest Live Happy! episode on our blog. We decided to take a little road trip with her to El Matador beach and it was... breathtaking! Parking can be a little tricky, but we got so lucky with a front row spot! We all jumped out of the car with excitement because we were on the edge of the world — literally! The parking lot was on the edge of the cliff, LOL. We hiked down to the beach and got to work. It didn’t feel like work though; the views were amazing and we were able to dip our toes in the sand and feel the refreshing cold water. 

After a few days in Silverlake, we switched houses and made our way deeper into the heart of LA. One of our favorite NL mommas, Lisa, flew out to meet us here and she arrived ready to roll in a big 12-person van that she named the "Silver Bullet”. In the Silver Bullet, Lisa drove us all over... and on our layday, we decided it would be fun to hike up to get a closer view of the infamous HOLLYWOOD sign. Well, this "closer" view took 2.5 hours and burned 820 calories. 10/10 would recommend. If you ever try this, don’t forget good hiking shoes, sunscreen and water because it. was. HOT! After a long day in the sun, we went back to home base to get ready for the evening and, more importantly, the next two days which were our last photoshoot days. 

We spent the next days in Santa Monica and Malibu shooting content for our Live Happy! series with two amazing girls, Corrine - a professional beach volleyball player, and Claire - the happiest talent booker in LA. Make sure to check out their Live Happy videos!

One more day to go! The last day was a breeze. Our house and neighborhood were just too cute, so we decided to shoot there! After we got all the shots on our list, we called it a wrap and enjoyed our last dinner together at The Nice Guy (12/10 would recommend). The food and company were SO GOOD!!! 

Our trip was definitely a lot of work, but SO FUN! We can’t wait for our next spontaneous work adventure. Make sure you follow us so you can see where we go next! ✈