Perfect Day: Art in Santa Monica

As satisfying as retail therapy may be, wandering through the mall is not quite on par with wandering through art.  While we would love to hop on a private plane to NYC and spend the weekend strolling through Chelsea, the Met, the MoMA… it simply isn’t always in the cards.  And besides, isn’t NYC currently buried under 10 feet of snow?  Or is it 100% humidity?  We forget.  Screw the plane, ditch the snow shovel, and enjoy an art-filled staycation right here in our very own lovely Santa Monica:

First, start your morning with a lovely picnic on the beach – care of M Street Cafe's $8 breakfast burritos, $7 commuter sandwiches, delicious pastries, and Intelligentsia coffee – and then head to Bergamot Station on Michigan Ave (just off the 10 freeway at Cloverfield) to check out the current shows.  Many of the galleries here don't open until noon, so saunter over leisurely.

Afterwards, stop by our favorite westside bookstores, Hennessey & Ingalls (which has the biggest selection of art and architecture books in the Western US) or Deyermond Art & Books, where you can easily get lost for hours.  Grab some organic coffee or tea at Groundwork on Main Street to refuel.

If you're still craving art, head five minutes south to Venice and check out some of the galleries on Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Head home and curl up with a bottle of red and Herb and Dorothy, a fascinating documentary about two unlikely art collectors that is available as a “watch instantly” option on Netflix.  Life is beautiful.