Why you should ALWAYS collaborate instead of compete ++ a mini LA guide for those instafamous shots you know you want.

About a month ago, my new friend and fellow blogger, Carmen Varner, came over to my little place to just have a chill day, relaxing and getting to know each other. We talked about future goals, current #girlboss struggles and the in's and out of being a "millennial rebel", as I like to say...We had so much fun on our little day date together, we decided to plan a little road trip a few week down the road. We both had flexible schedules and realized we had A LOT in common. We were both aspiring bloggers/ entrepreneurs/ girlbosses/ wanderlusters/ cool girls who believe they can be anything they want to, who are trying to make t in this big world. Hahahah. It was going to be a good time for sure!Fast forward to road trip day. Carmen and I both admittedly woke up early from excitement. I'm naturally running late. But we get on the road just a little later than expected.A typical commute from San Diego to Los Angeles is about two hours. Soo we sat in that traffic, made jokes, got to know each other, vented about real life struggles, masterminded, listened to music and whatever you else one does on a mini road trip.Even though we enjoyed each other's company and had a great time on the way up, the trip was taking forever! The traffic was tough. We had to pee. We were starving. It was almost 12:30 at this point... so we were ecstatic, to say the least, when we FINALLY got to Alfred's, our first destination!I mean look how cute this place is! It's a darling place for anyone who loves the color pink, cute decor, trendy spots or, boba &/or tea!Then we headed to the ever "instafamous" Paul Smith Wall. Any social media maven knows about the Paul Smith wall. It's a legendary pink wall where anyone and everyone comes to strut their stuff and strike a pose.Once all the boomerangs, snapchats, selfies, posed shots and the "unofficial photoshoot" was over, we started walking back to the car. we passed by Alfred's Coffee on the way back. YES. Alfred's COFFEE.Two separate places.. ahhhh. So we had to stop there to get more pics. I mean. We are up here anyways, time to be shameless and get those insta pics. So we walked in, did our thing && made our way back to my car.I like to say, if you haven't gotten a parking violation of some sort, you haven't really visited L.A. Hahahahah. I saw it from a mile away. The paper on my windshield. I'm contesting it. But ugh, so annoying. I digress...It was getting so hot and we were walking for a while. So we turned on the A/C and made our way for the another "instafamous" hot spot, the ice cream shop Little Damaged.The shop is known for its black soft serve named the "Mother of Dragons". It has activated charcoal which contributes to the dark color. The cones are also black. When we walked in there were three flavors available. Unicorn tears (cake batter), Mother of Dragons (revolving flavor: strawberry cheesecake) and Spicy Mango. There was a plethora of toppings & hi could pretty much just have at it.I got the spicy mango, and mother of dragons on a cone. Topped with coconut shreds, fruity pebbles and Oreo cookie Devil ears ( I asked the guy hahah he looked at me like I was nuts but I was trying to be on brand hahahah).We walked the streets of DTLA, ice cream dripping down our hands while we shouted about the mess and simultaneously laughing about it. Hahah.But then we realized, OMG WE HAVEN'T EATEN REAL FOOD TODAY. !!!! So not good.So we made our way to get food. But naturally we thought..."wait, let's stop by Perch's rooftop bar and get a drink before dinner...." BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Look at this view. Gorgeous!

And then we got lost... a little lost hahah. Like wandering around because we are starving and can think anymore lost...But then we happened stumble upon the best "cafeteria style" buffet I've been to in a while! FINALLY we ate food hahah. And enjoyed it very, very, very much.Well done "Rainforest Cafe For Adults"! We got back into my car and made it way home. The way back felt WAY shorter than the way there. Haha funny how that's how that works. But yeah, we talked about the day, what went well, what we could do better. Haha. Our mini road trip was coming to an end...So why am I even writing this? Well, because it's far too often that people, especially women, compete with each other instead of collaborate. Don't worry, if you're like, "wait, I subconsciously compare with and compete with other women on the daily" we are conditioned to do that. And I'm here to try and show you the light, hahahah. The story of Carmen and my blossoming friendship is, inspiring and empowering (hahah I'm not biased at all...lol) and would have NEVER happened had we been focusing on tearing each other down, or being better than one another... THERE IS NO NEED FOR THAT! Us women need to stick together and empower each other. Raise each other up. Tell each other that WE ARE beautiful! Us women need to genuinely be happy for one another. Especially when we see another woman who is comfortable in her own skin, or maybe she is KILLING IT in her business. Don't try and tear her town. Make her shine brighter! If there is a woman who is doing something you'd like to do/ be a part of/ want to know more about, CONNECT WITH HER. Don't hate on her successes. When we are here for each other we can help each other get to where we need to be.It's funny. I know a lot of women who, "want to blog" or "do instagram" or "be a YouTuber" or whatever, fill in the blank... I mean I'm one of those women, I admit it. I want the shots. You know what I'm talking about. THE SHOTS.  The good ones that you're like, "yes, this is it." And sometimes that requires patience and sometimes a paid photographer/ super good friend/ instagram husband--- especially if you want to diversify your media at some point (you know?) BUUUUUT, #lifehack you're welcome, collaborate with some of your local girl bosses/ entrepreneurs/ cool women  and when BOTH your passions and goals are somewhat aligned, great things come of it. Great friendships. Great memories. Great mini travel guides. Great blog posts. And great shots. Hahahahah.Moral of the story...Don't compete, collaborate. #girlpower #rantover xx,C & CA little about how Carmen is, check out her site --->  www.itscarmen.com @carmenvarner