Before going to L.A. all my old friends told me that downtown was 'different' now, that it finally had been revitalized. While skeptical at first, I found this to be true-- with the completion of the L.A. Live complex there is now a movie theater there along with scores of restaurants and bars. When I worked downtown it emptied out shortly after 5 every day and there were only chains to eat at for lunch let alone places to go for dinner or happy hour.

Now it's one of THE places to be, with many of the industrial buildings converted into lofts and live/work spaces and small coffee shops, gallery stores and my favorite-- vintage shops--popping up.

Above is one of the institutions I remember from my days at USC, The Standard Hotel, which has a 1960s Mod theme and a swingin' rooftop pool. I love their photo booth, oddly enough it's right next to the entrance to the bathroom.One of the new spots that my friends recommended was The Nickel Diner. It's modeled after an old fashioned diner but has contemporary takes on old classics, like their unique BACON donut! Now, I love all things bacon (sorry vegetarian readers) so I of course had to try it. It was surprisingly amazing, the saltyness of the bacon was the perfect foil to the lightly glazed yeast donut. So good.I also had the strawberry crunch donut per the recommendation of my server but it was too sweet for my liking. After eating all of the above I was nearly bursting, I didn't expect the donuts to be so big!Due to the reflections I couldn't get a good photograph of the display, there were actual peep candies forming an necklace on the vintage mannequin head.Not too far from the diner is a small vintage shop called Flea. The store carried more contemporary shoes and clothing along with older home accessories and fashion. I nearly bought a 1920s dress with bell sleeves but thought it was a little over the top for everyday wear. Instead I bought the softest, plushest black velvet jacket from the 1950s. It has bakelite and rhinestone buttons and a silky lining. So luxurious! I was wearing it in the photo posted the other day.Rows and rows of hats! Unfortunately the two I tried on didn't suit me... I'm definitely going to steal this display idea for my room though.