Books and Looks is a weekly column featuring everything I wore and read during the week. Scroll to the bottom for a little bonus! For the best reader experience, I recommend reading this and all my posts directly on the Substack app.
books
Almost done with Wives Like Us (Plum Sykes), which I started last Wednesday at the beginning of our trip out to Mammoth (more on this below).
I love this book. Set in the gorgeous and idyllic Cotswolds, the characters are fabulous and flawed (and named things like Tata and Selby Fairfax), and Sykes goes into great detail to describe everything they’re wearing, which I really appreciate. The perfect summer read, and one I’ve enjoyed.
looks
Before we took off to Mammoth, I spent a few days at home in LA working and getting ready for the trip.
I found these Zara jeans in the back of my closet and wore them to switch up the denim. I really like the fit, and they are comfortable, but they always look wrinkled, no matter what I do. Maybe that’s just $35 denim for you!
Been wearing my Parker Thatch Charlie bag non-stop. It’s the perfect shape, and I just love the denim with the brown leather.
On Monday, I was first at the door when the paint store opened, so I could pick up a few samples for our new built-in.
Ran errands all morning, and then came back to work from home to get as much done as possible before our Wednesday trip.
My youngest brother, F, is visiting for a few weeks this summer, so I’ve also tried to take lots of breaks throughout the day to hang out with him and do some fun activities.
I changed the pants for a pair of loose jeans that afternoon so we could go to The Huntington for an afternoon walk (and ice cream, of course!!!).
On Tuesday, I re-wore my Huntington outfit. Switched up the bag, cuffed my jeans, and called it a day.
Took F to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch. He ordered Wagyu skewers, rice, edamame, and miso soup, and I got an avocado roll and salmon sushi nigiri.
On Wednesday, we drove up to Mammoth at midday. I wanted to be comfy cozy for the car ride, but also wanted to wear “real” clothes, knowing that I’d be in leggings and hiking gear for the foreseeable future.
Sat shotgun for the five-hour drive, and of course requested a fries and Diet Coke stop.
For the next few days, the routine was as followed: early morning wakeup call by our puppy, followed by a coffee and donut run by my husband (bless him) while I sat on the couch slathered in this Clarins de-puffing face mask (thank you so much, altitude!) solving a Sudoku. Then, getting the backpacks ready with snacks, towels, water, and all the sprays, so we could be out the door by 8ish.
Dear Reader, I am not a seasoned hiker. My husband had to drag me to REI last weekend to get some things for the trip. I usually do our local “hikes” and walks in leggings and a tshirt with my APL sneakers. That wasn’t going to to cut it for this trip!!!
The first half of the trip was relatively cold. I wore a Patagonia jacket as my top layer, and was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the jacket was. Wasn’t hot or cold at any point — temp was just right.
I kept the base layer similar to my classic “hike” outfit — Lululemon leggings and a tshirt. On the two days that it was very hot, I swapped tshirt for an old Terez workout tank. I also wore these Vuori pants as part of the bottoms’ rotation. Wool hiking socks to keep dry (lots of stream and creek crossings), and a very used Aime Leon Dore Yankees hat I got for my husband a few years ago.
I wore these Salomon shoes, and have zero complaints. They were comfortable and sturdy from the first hike, and I felt very supported on all the terrains. A huge bonus is that they’re waterproof.
We drove back to LA on Sunday, and I was SO HAPPY to wear jeans and ballet flats again. Snapped this pic the moment I walked in my house.
Coming home after a trip is one of my top five favorite feelings.
From left: a very sleepy Meadow, who will probably need a whole week to recover from the trip (same, honestly) // homemade pastina for dinner // joining Meadow on the couch.
&bonus
In case you’re planning a trip to Mammoth Lakes, below are my recs. We stayed at a neighbor’s condo close to Old Mammoth, and drove everywhere. Meadow and my brother, F, came along so, all are kid and dog friendly recs!
Hikes and Lakes
McLeod Trail and Lake for our first day. Next to the popular Horseshoe Lake, we took this trail up to McLeod Lake.
Heart Lake Trail for our second day. Steady incline up to the lake, which was totally empty. Gorgeous views on the hike.
Panorama Trail for our third day. Intense but short incline the whole time, but the views are worth it. We walked a lot of Lake Mary afterward and meandered around the area.
June Lake for the perfect morning of swimming and sun. Set your nav for June Lake Beach for easy access ($10 cash only parking).
Snowcreek Resort Meadow Trail every day. We got lucky and had a huge meadow and mini trail system behind where we stayed, so we took advantage and did a version of this trail every day. The views here were my favorite.
From left: my little family at McLeod Lake // Heart Lake trailhead signs // my little family again, this time at the top of the Panorama Trail // views from the Snowcreek Meadow trail // little Meadow swimming in June Lake // views from the Heart Lake Trail
Food
For coffee and donuts in the morning, we tried Mammoth Roasting Co and Looney Bean.
My favorite spot was Roberto’s for delicious “Mexican” food. (in quotation marks because I AM Mexican and what we had was the American version of Mexican food, which is still deliiiiicious).
We also tried The Warming Hut for breakfast/lunch, Mammoth Brewing Company for lunch, Gojira for ramen/sushi dinner, and Nik n Willie’s for pizza dinner.
From left: donuts, coffee, and UNO // the carnitas plate F took down at Roberto’s
‘Till next time! Xx
that mcdonald’s stop is SO crucial 🍟
Looks so fun! And I’m definitely going to have to check out that book!