I just wrapped 5 weeks in LA, and I'm calling it the best decision I've made this year. This is the last The Summer of George from that trip, and I'm getting into all of it — why I went back to a city I hadn't lived in since right after college, what it felt like to spend that much time somewhere on my own, and why getting out of my comfort zone turned out to be exactly what I needed.
I talk through the food (a viral chicken sandwich, a coconut cake I got out of bed for at 2 a.m., and a caesar wrap I ate on the beach), the Dodgers (whoops I said Giants in the episode) game, the comedy shows, the hikes, and the people I finally met in person after only knowing them online. But the part I didn't see coming was a friend.
A while back I recorded an episode about friendship being a reason, a season, or a lifetime, and about losing two friends I thought I'd keep. While I was in LA, a friend I've had since I was 19, someone I truly thought was gone, reached out. We had lunch. And what actually happened between us was nothing like what I'd told myself.
I also get into the dating update everyone keeps asking about, the drive home at 3:33 in the morning to beat the desert heat, and why July ended up being the best month this podcast has ever had.
All right, everyone. Welcome back to my bonus series, The Summer of George. My name is Nikki Corbett and I'm host of the Scarlet Edit Podcast. And if you are watching on YouTube, you can see that I am back in my little, what do I call this? My little like just cozy area up here. My podcast studio is right there. but for these Summer of George episodes, when I am home, I like to record them here because it's just a comfortable spot to hang out. So let's wrap up.
The last week that I spent in LA. So if you have been following along to each one of these Summer of George episodes, you'll know that the last one came out on Sunday because I went on a little side quest to Las Vegas and was gone on Friday and Saturday. So if you didn't catch up on that, you totally should because I think I shared quite a bit about you know how I was feeling and what I did. so anyway, the last few days in LA were seriously.
So awesome. So I want to talk about that, but I also want to talk about just LA in general and how much it meant to me and why I am so beyond grateful that I chose to go and spend that time there. So left you off on Sunday afternoon. after I recorded that episode, I went out and I had a very LA day. I went to a cafe and I got a chicken Caesar salad wrap that was so good. it's called Liora Cafe.
And it was truly 10 out of 10 for me. So I got the wrap, I got an ice latte, drove down to Santa Monica Beach. I had a towel and some water. And I just went and I sat on the beach and I ate and just relaxed. And then I went for a long walk on the beach and the sun came out. And then I went to where did I go? I went to Shutters Hotel and I sat on their gorgeous patio and I had a glass of wine and it was just fantastic. yeah. And then when I left there,
I was driving back to the house and I was hungry. And so I was like, gosh, you know, what do I want? You know, it's like I didn't want to go and sit at a restaurant, but I had no food at the house. So I ended up going to Erawan. Now, Erwan has like, you know, if you have been there, you know it's very popular for not only the food that they have, but also for their prices. and I had never been there. So I decided I'm just gonna go check it out and see.
Well, I did end up buying a few things and I have to say everything was so good. So I totally get the hype. I mean, the prices are out of control, that is for sure. I got a slice of their coconut cake. my God, it was so good. It was so good, in fact, that that night I could not sleep. And I ended up getting up literally at two o'clock in the morning. I think I couldn't sleep because of the moon. Now, I don't know if this happens to any of you guys, but for me, it definitely does. Sometimes when there is a new full moon coming in,
I just cannot sleep and I will be wide awake just sitting with my thoughts. But then I started to get hungry and I was like, why am I hungry at two o'clock in the morning? And then I started thinking about the cake. And then I thought, no, because then I couldn't stop thinking about the cake. So I got up, went downstairs, got the cake, went in the family room, and I could see the moon right out the window. And it was just so pretty. So then I ate all the cake. And needless to say, my stomach hurt in the morning. But you know what? Whatever. It's a memory.
but really the rest of the week was busy but chill, but also busy. there was speaking of food, I'm just gonna talk about food on this episode because that was what the the week really largely consisted of. my friend Amanda, she is a private chef. So she's obviously a big foodie. Not only does she know how to cook, but she also loves like exploring new restaurants and whatnot. So she and I had seen this viral.
Chicken sandwich that was going around from a place called Lake Coupe. So we were like, we have to do this while I am in town because I love fried chicken. So we went. It was truly lived up to the hype. 10 out of 10, would definitely go again when I'm back in LA. So that was really great too. And then I actually went on my very last night, which was
Wednesday night, I went to one of the Korean spas where they, you know, scrub you down real good. And I got scrubbed down real good.
I'm so glad that I can laugh at myself, you know, because if none of you are laughing, at least I'm laughing at myself. But truly, it was amazing. Like you can like feel the skin like coming off of your body. and then your skin feels like so soft and smooth afterwards. So I did that. Yesterday I woke up at three o'clock in the morning, finally got out of bed at like 3:15, and I was literally walking to my car at 3:33. So I was on the road early.
I'm so glad that I did that though, because I was home. Literally, I was in my house at 9 15 and I was sitting on my couch with a cup of coffee by 9 45. So that was really great. And it was just nice to get a lot of the driving out of the way when there wasn't a lot of traffic. And also I really did it because of the heat. Now, if you have not ever been to a desert in the summer, it is really, really hot. Like, like
You can feel it touching your bones when you go outside hot. The sun just penetrates deep into your body. so I didn't really want to be driving in it because then it's like just beating on the car, you know? And I just felt like then the engine's working over time, the AC is working over time. So yeah, I bounced. Now, was I that productive yesterday? No, I really wasn't. But you know what? I got here, I went and got my car washed, I unloaded the car, I went to the grocery store.
Got for the most part everything cleaned up and put away. I do need to unpack my clothes suitcase, but everything else is good to go. So let's just talk about, let's talk about LA in general. Like, I don't know if I ever really explained why I decided to go there. And here's why. So I lived in LA from my, well, right when I graduated from college to four and a half years later. So whatever that is, right?
And LA to me was just a place where I fell in love. I fell in love with the city. I think it was the first time that I fell in love with this city. I've definitely fallen in love with cities since. but I fell head of her heels in love. And then as time went on, it just became more and more challenging to live there. And I decided that it was time for me to go. And I never intended
To live, I moved to Northern California. I never intended to live up there for as long as I did, but you know, life has a way of just telling you, hey, this is what you're up to and this is what you're gonna do. So in March, I went down to LA for an event. And I had such a good time. I loved the energy. I stayed with the same friend that I just stayed with on this trip. it just everything just felt really good. So as
The time went on and I knew that it was gonna start to get really, really hot here. I thought, well, why don't I go back to LA for a month and just, you know, spend time there? I can work from there. I have friends I want to see, I have things I want to do. The energy felt great. So thankfully, my friend that I stayed with, he was open to me coming for that long and then ultimately extending my trip an extra 10 days. so that's why I went. And when I say that it was without a doubt.
The best decision I have made this year. It was the best decision I have made this year. Like, I feel like I jumped timelines. I feel like I am a completely different person, a better version of myself because I decided to go down there and live there and get out of my comfort zone, get out of my way, force myself to do so many things.
That I have been telling myself I'm going to do since moving here, but I just haven't done them. So to go there and really just say, nope, this is what you're doing every day, and then actually go and do it, it just feels so good. and it was just so easy to remain positive. You know, it's like I wanted to get out of the house. I wanted to meet people, I wanted to go to workout classes, I wanted to work at cafes, I wanted to go on dates.
I wanted to do all of those things and I did all of them and more. I mean, I went to a Giants game. I went to two comedy shows. I went on some hikes that I unintentionally hiked up a mountain and for miles. I mean, I went to the beach, I ate so much great food, I met people that I'd only had known online. my God, I reconnected with one of my best friends. You guys, this is seriously crazy. Like, I'm not gonna go into like the the
details of everything that happened because it's between her and I. But, you know, life is crazy. I did an episode a while back and I actually listened to it the other day while I was walking on the beach. I did an episode about friendship. I'll link it in the show notes. I did an episode about friendship talking about how friendship is a reason, a season, or a lifetime. All of our relationships are. They're a reason, a season, or a lifetime. And one of the reasons that I had
I had decided to record that episode is because I had recently lost a couple of friends. And it was just, it was a very bizarre situation that these two women decided to not be friends with me anymore. One of them, I said in the episode, I just don't think that she liked me at the end of the day. And then the other one ended up ghosting me. And they're friends. So whatever. I wish them both all the best. Adios. But this other friend, she and I had had a, I guess, I don't even know if you would call it a falling out.
But she was somebody that I had been friends with since I was 19. And I truly thought that we were going to like grow old together and, always have adventures. And, we called each other twin flames. And then when things stopped, it was like really sad. But I don't necessarily know that I sat enough in my sadness. I think because I was just so surprised at how things had turned.
so anyway, she reached out to me while I was there. And it was a total surprise. You know how like we all have people in our phones and in our lives where we're like, maybe I'll hear from them. Like I didn't think that about her. I mean, I thought maybe at some point someday I would hear from her. I definitely didn't think I would hear from her while I was in LA. but I did. And then when I responded back, I was like, you know, this is kind of random because like I'm actually in LA. I've been here for a month. And she was like, my God, let's have lunch tomorrow.
So we did, and you know, I I I learned that I was partially correct on what I thought happened, but I was mostly wrong on what I thought happened, and what happened was 10x worse than what I had assumed. and we're friends again, and I'm so fucking happy. Like, mm, I can't even tell you. So that was unexpected and absolutely beautiful. So
Yeah. And then I guess, you know, if anyone's still curious about the gentleman that I went on a few dates with, yeah, I will I will see him again. I think I mentioned like we don't live in the same place, like we don't even live in the same country. So there's some ge geographical challenges, I will say. But I will be seeing him again. So when that happens, it'll still be during the summer of George. So there will be an update for sure.
so anyway, yeah, that's it. You know what? One other thing that I want to say before I wrap this up is all of you that have been following along, I thank you so much. This has been such an enjoyable kind of like bonus series side quest for me to do because I feel like it's sharing a little bit more of me with all of you. It's more vlog. Well, I guess it's not really a vlog style. I don't know what constitutes a vlog. But
I mean, these episodes are so fun to record. They're very quick to edit because I'm really just editing out any sort of long pauses for the most part. I'm just, here it is. but it's also helped grow the show. And, you know, it's funny. Sometimes you'll hear podcasters say things like, the summer it really slows down. Not here. July, and this is the last day of July, but this is also like.
the best month this podcast has ever had. So thank you. Thanks for being here. All right. That is it for this week's Summer of George. It's week seven in the books. my gosh. so stay tuned for your regularly scheduled Scarlet Edit episode on Thursday. And then I will be back with another The Summer of George episode next Friday. So thank you all so much for being here. You guys mean the world to me.
