Scenes From a Weekend: Downtown Fullerton

Before I moved to Huntington Beach to live with my man, I lived in Downtown Fullerton. I still work in Fullerton, but it’s been awhile since I’ve roamed around my old neighborhood downtown.

So today I drove in to unpack all of the books that have been in a storage unit for the past 4 years. There will be more on that later, I promise.

I decided to make a day of it, to have lunch at one of my favorite places, check out some of the great shops, and stroll down the tree lined streets that I once called home.

I don’t know of another town quite like Fullerton. With CSUF, a large community college, and a smaller private college, you could call it a bit of a college town in a north corner of Orange County. But it’s also a sweet suburb and artsy enclave.

Hearts like this one are painted by local artist and are planted throughout the city.

Many older buildings have been preserved so that colonial revival and art decco buildings from the 1930’s are next to modern strip malls; residential streets are lined with Craftsman bungalows, though a few blocks away you might find a McMansion or two.

That’s the museum that houses a lot of local history, including history of the Fender guitar (created in Fullerton).

You’ll probably see some homeless folks napping on a bench. The downtown area is known for its bars and restaurants, so if you’re unfortunate enough to make it out on a weekend night, you’ll run into the trashy Inland Empire crowd who come in on lifted trucks and fill the streets with cigarette butts and vomit.

But on a Friday afternoon, it is absolutely lovely.

I stopped in for lunch at one of my all time favorites, Les Amis. It’s a Lebanese restaurant that taught me to really enjoy Lebanese pickles, and it’s where I go when I am craving Zaatar (it’s hard to find!).

I like how they bring silverware to each table in a vintage tin.

The decor of the cafe is exotic, chic, and dreamy.

I wandered around some of my favorite spots, like the Villa Del Sol courtyard.

I hear they’re converting the top floors of this building across the street to lofts; how lovely would that be?!

I popped into this new shop on Harbor called Oh Hello Friend.

Take a look at the blog and shop! As I looked around, I wanted to buy ALL THE THINGS! Everything in there was lovely and adorable.Since I am trying to save money (my tax bill is obscene this year!) I settled on only buying an ancient copy of Emereson’s essays and a stop watch necklace, seen here.

 I bought that pair of Seven for all Mankind jeans across the street at Buffalo Exchange, too!

After waving to my old apartment, it was time to fill the car up with books and head down the 57 back home.
I rented a room in the unit on the top right, where there is a For Rent sign.

Luckily for me, I couldn’t fit all of the boxes in my car, so I will have to make another trip tomorrow. 😉