Santa Monica
Saturday
Bass Pueblo at Palma Lounge
An evening at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel featuring jazz house, Afro-Latin funk, disco, global grooves, and live percussion.
Saturday
The Bungalow Sessions
A community yard sale and social gathering featuring secondhand clothes, books, films, ceramics, drinks, knitting, recipe swaps, bites, and space to shop, hang out, and connect.
Venice
Saturday
Venice Photo Walk with Fujifilm
An evening photo walk and slow-shutter photography workshop at the Venice Skatepark, with Fujifilm cameras available to test, sunset shooting, and a gear raffle.
Saturday
Venice Skate Day
A laid-back community skate meetup at the Venice Skate Circle featuring skating, music, hanging out, and a social afternoon by the beach.
Palisades
Saturday-Sunday
Paige Reopening
Enjoy Avaline wine while you shop, custom patches and embroidery by Rumi Lane, limited-edition product benefiting Steadfast LA, and exclusive gifts with purchase.
Westwood
Friday
Drawing Closer to Plants
A nature and mindfulness workshop at the UCLA Botanical Garden combining sketching, creative observation, and time spent connecting with plants and the natural environment.
Century City
Saturday
Kändi Swedish Sweets Grand Opening
A grand opening celebration for Kändi’s new Century City location featuring Swedish candy, sweet treats, surprises, and special gift bags for the first 50 guests.
Torrance
Sunday
Hynas & Hydraulics
A girls-only lowrider showcase and car meet featuring female-owned builds, women vendors, music, photographers, and a celebration of women in car culture.
Koreatown
Saturday–Sunday
MIXIK x MaDang Summer Glow Pop-Up
A two-day beauty pop-up featuring a color-matching station, the new Cloud Cover Cushion Foundation, photo opportunities, product testing, and exclusive freebies and perks.
Los Feliz
Saturday
Los Feliz Art & Music Block Party + Mural Festival
A free, family-friendly neighborhood block party featuring original artwork, live painting, live music, murals, local artists, and community booths along Hollywood Boulevard.
Silver Lake
Sunday
Gigi Flea
A singles-focused flea market featuring vintage clothing, jewelry, tarot readings, doodle portraits, happy hour, a singles board to meet new people, and more.
Echo Park
Friday
Arete Studios Los Angeles Opening Party
A celebration for Arete Studios’ new LA space featuring new brands and styles to shop, music, photos, drinks, and treats.
Melrose Hill
Saturday
Collage Workshop
A workshop where you can get creative, and cut and paste from vintage magazines.
Hollywood
Friday
About Last Night
A handful of LA locals share their worst dating and hookup stories while a live musician turns the stories into songs after.
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Downtown LA
Friday-Sunday
KCON LA 2026 + Olive Young Festa
A major Korean culture festival featuring K-pop performances, K-beauty activations, food, shopping, fan experiences, brand booths, and interactive programming.
More Information
Saturday
JIYU Los Angeles Pop-Up
JIYU’s first pop-up featuring free matcha, skincare samples, a photo booth, bag charm bar, touch-up stations, music, and beauty experiences.
Lincoln Heights
Sunday
Jazz & Journal
A laid-back evening of full jazz album listening, a live jazz set, and quiet activities like journaling, reading, or sketching.
Pasadena
Saturday
The Makers Hive Market
A community market featuring 30+ local makers and small businesses, handmade goods, art, jewelry, home décor, vintage finds, treats, live music, and a hands-on charm-making experience.
Opportunity Cost
I think we can all agree that being wrong is humbling. However, few things are more humbling than realizing the advice you've been ignoring for years was, unfortunately, excellent.
Being wrong after years of defending your situation and insisting everyone else simply doesn't understand? Apparently, one of my hidden talents. Hidden from me, just to be clear. Everyone else was well aware.
Finally arriving at the same conclusion everyone else reached years ago? Watch me go!
Everyone knows the age-old saying: hindsight's 20/20.
Looking back, there are usually signs. There are warnings. There are people explicitly telling me what to do while I explain in detail why my situation is different (spoiler: it absolutely is not).
There's another saying people like to throw around: Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. Apparently, success also has siblings, cousins, godparents, etc.
And in this most recent case, they've all earned it...
For years, I wanted to make a few career pivots. My friends knew. My family knew. And any unfortunate soul who asked about my career status knew.
But wanting to pivot and actually being brave enough to pivot are two completely different things.
Every time I seriously considered pursuing a new opportunity, my brain skipped right past what I might gain and went straight to listing everything I could lose. Aren't our imaginations so much more fun as adults?
I had built a career I knew inside and out. It was far from everything I wanted, but there were parts of it I valued. So at some point, I convinced myself that wanting something better was too much of a gamble. The risks being: What if the next move solved one problem and created three new ones? What if the few things I knew worked for me were harder to find than I anticipated?
Basically, I wanted change with a money-back guarantee. And because no new opportunity could provide an upfront guarantee, staying exactly where I was kept winning by default.
Which brings me to popular saying #3: The devil you know is better than the one you don't.
But...is it, really?
For years, whenever I'd explain that I was afraid to make a move because I wasn't convinced I'd find the things I wanted somewhere else, my family would say something like: "You've already put yourself in a position to lose."
They were right. (My 20/20 hindsight speaking now.)
But then my imagination would always end up chatting with my anxiety... What if I regretted it? What if I gave up something I couldn't get back? What if I traded the problems I knew for bigger ones?
Essentially, I was comparing the real pros of staying to the imaginary cons of leaving.
So for a long time, I stayed professionally still.
And I'd love to tell you this was an isolated lapse in judgment. But when I told you this was a hidden talent of mine, I meant Olympian level.
For YEARS, my sister gave me a hard time for staying hopelessly devoted to the same woman who did my hair color. Every appointment would follow the same sequence: I'd show her the color I wanted (always the exact same), I'd go home knowing it wasn't quite right and I'd return the following week so she could tweak it. This was our routine for EVERY appointment. For five years. Sounds like a perfectly good system, no?
My sister had a radical idea: try someone else.
My argument: what if someone else was worse?
Hers: But what if they were better? What if you found someone that gave you what you wanted the first time around, every time?
Can you feel me getting personally offended by her logic?!
I mean... this woman knew my hair. And in return, I knew what she was capable of. I knew what could go wrong and (most importantly) exactly how wrong it would go every time.
Was I routinely booking two appointments to accomplish the work of one? Irrelevant.
I had something far more valuable: a system that already accounted for the predictable level of disappointment I could plan around. A problem I already knew how to fix. Zero surprises.
Which brings us back to the devil we know. (Clingy bastard.)
We talk about this all the time when it comes to relationships. In fact, we practically expect it there. People can stay in the wrong ones for years because of comfort.
They know this person. They know the problems. They know exactly what they're getting and exactly what they're not. Leaving means giving all of that up for...what? An unknown set of characteristics with the next person.
Maybe someone better. Or maybe no one. Or worse, six months of first dates with men who pride themselves on being "fluent in sarcasm" (aaaand suddenly that wrong relationship starts making a strong case for itself).
We call it complacency when we watch someone else do it. But where else in our lives are we doing the same thing? What situations are we staying in solely because we can't guarantee we'll be happier if we leave?
Careers, yes. (Hairdressers, definitely.) Friendships? Cities? Routines? And are the loudest neighbors in my condo building really the price I have to pay for two parking spots and in-unit laundry?
At what point does familiarity stop being a reason to stay and become the reason we're afraid to leave?
Because "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" sounds very wise until you actually think about what we're saying.
If we've confirmed the first person is the "devil" in this scenario, then another person would be a stranger. A complete unknown. Yet somehow we've already given them worse odds? How can we be moreafraid of something we've already confirmed from experience isn't good?
That's exactly what I'd done professionally. I wasn't comparing what I had with another opportunity. I hadn't even allowed myself to experience another opportunity yet.
I was comparing what I knew and what felt "safe" with my own anxieties and fears of the unknown.
Until eventually, I was finally fed up enough to put my big-girl panties on (shoutout Skims) and find out what else was out there for me.
I started saying yes. To conversations and possibilities. And to seeing where something might lead without first needing to know exactly where I'd land.
Eventually, those yeses led me into new chapters I never imagined for myself. Chapters that have me feeling more inspired and energized than I have in a long time.
And as wonderful as that feels, there's an uncomfortable realization on the other side of it: I could have done this sooner.
I spent years being afraid of how much I might regret making a change. Now, what scares me is how much I might have regretted never making one.
And how much more time could I have wasted staying still out of fear?
Another year?
Five?
Ten?
We spend so much time being afraid of what could go wrong when we should actually be more afraid of missing out on what could go right.
Now that's terrifying.
—Your Friend