WORDS & IMAGES BY OMOLARA OBANISHOLA

California and Los Angeles in particular don?t quite win the accolade of once in a lifetime trip but Los Angeles should be on everyone?s must visit list. With increasingly frequent flights and direct trips costing as little as £500 I crossed LA off my must visit list with a stay in trendy Silverlake.

Located a stone?s throw from Sunset Boulevard and touted as the sunshine states Shoreditch it?s fair to see why people make those parallels, however in many ways Silverlake is more comparable to Berlin.  One of the most notable differences is definitely the pace.

What makes Silver Lake earn its stripes as one of the coolest places in LA to visit is that the area feels energetic; full of creatives, independent shops, restaurants, bars and things to do.

Yet Silverlake is eerily peaceful and actually quiet compared to other creative neighborhoods which have become victims of their own success, add to this a sub-tropical climate and ironically as the locals say? ?It?s chill?.

So what to do in Silverlake and the surrounding area?

Things to do:

5) Griffith Observatory

www.griffithobservatory.org

Visit the observatory for amazing views of LA and contemplate whether a return ticket was the right choice to make.

4) The Museum of Broken Relationships

https://brokenships.com

6751 Hollywood blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Maybe not everyone?s cup of tea but with work donated to the museum anonymously from people all over the world who have suffered break ups and lost loves, The Museum of Broken Relationships offers something refreshingly different in the middle of Hollywood. The second museum has opened in Zagreb, Croatia, with 8000 visitors in just four days.

3) Vintage clothing and record shops around Silverlake and Los Feliz

www.squaresvillevintage.com

1800 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Take advantage of the this being one of the most walkable neighborhoods to explore street art, coffee shops, vintage clothing and record shops.

2) Clifton?s Cafeteria

www.cliftonsla.com

648 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA

A fully restored 1950?s cafeteria in downtown LA with a steep history and comfort food galore. Upstairs contains a large bar complete with forest mural?s and life sized stuffed animals. Must see.

1) The Magic Castle 

www.magiccastlehotel.com

70001 Franklin Ave, Hollywood 90028

It seems slightly unfair to include this one as it is near impossible to get in and they strictly prohibit the use of phones, photos and videos. To experience the magic in action at the Academy of Magical Arts private members club, your options are; become a high roller in the entertainment industry and sign up for membership. As half of Los Angelinos are ?actors? you should be thinking Grammy, Oscar level status. Be an actual world class magician or like me have a friend who is training to be one.

What to eat: This deserves two.

Start your day right at LOCAL 

www.localsilverlake.com/

2943 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA

Locally sourced and organic, naturally.  Choose the eggs served however you like, with salad, toast and home fries (diced potatoes with onion) finish with a bottomless coffee (which is the best morning motivation ever, strong as hell) and eye up the person next to you eating the french toast. Local serves breakfast and lunch with all food locally sourced, organic and reasonable enough to eat here every day. Beware though the staff are so nice you?ll likely end up tipping as much as the cost of your breakfast.

End your day at Diablo..

http://www.diablotacos.com/

3129 W. Sunset BLVD

Oh my taco! If there is one thing that pop ups as a must eat whilst in LA other than Kale it?s Tacos. How a piece of toasted Tortilla with salad, salsa and a choice of meats can taste that good is beyond me but they will become part of your staple diet whilst here. I tried the buttermilk chicken and rockfish taco at Diablo. Located at Diablo is closely compared to a sports bar you can watch all the major games whilst washing your tacos down with

If you?re lucky enough to have never tried a taco before they?ll give you a free T-shirt too.

What to drink:

Michelado: A Mexican drink made with beer, lime juice, sauces and spices. Try a diablo michelada which comes with an ice lolly dropped into the beer mug.  When in Silverlake?

Sleep:

http://www.madonnainn.com

The Madonna inn

100 Madonna Rd, San Louis Obispo, CA

Over a hundred kitsch themed and kitted out guest rooms with names such as Swiss chalet, jungle rock and Harvard sq. If you make it out of your room, indulge in the spa, horse riding or the onsite shopping.

Ask a local: Krystle Tabujara  

?Visit Mashti Malone?s ice cream parlour, it?s over twenty-five years old and has the most awesome flavours like rosewater, cucumber and saffron?.

This is a typical dish from the Caribbean region of Colombia where they are sold on street stalls with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack.

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This spaghetti with red pepper and garlic sauce is very simple to make and great for getting you out of a jam when you need a quick and easy recipe.

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Do not hesitate to try this easy-to-follow recipe for cheese croquettes. It is simply irres

istible!

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This recipe is easy for prepare, healthy and nutritive. It can be served for any meal and in every occasion.

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Bioware

The highly-anticipated Mass Effect: Andromeda begins its worldwide rollout on March 21st, but EA Access members are now able to play 10 hours of the game ahead of its full release (gated to the end of the first campaign planet, while the entire multiplayer mode is unlocked).

Well, the floodgates have opened, and it’s nothing if not fascinating to observe the diverse reactions to the trial. Pre-orders have been cancelled, memes have begun circulating, and the hardcore crowd continues to insist that nothing at all is wrong.

Many expected Andromeda to be an apology for the mess that was the previous game, but going by how divided fans already seem by it, this could be yet another unfortunate stumbling block for the franchise.

It’ll be interesting to see how this initial reaction compares to the eventual critical consensus, but either way, props to EA for granting trial access to one of the year’s most-awaited AAA games, especially as they surely must have been aware of how flawed the end result seems to be.

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Hello everyone and welcome to the first ever BritMums happiness round-up post. I can?t quite believe that I am writing this? but I am! The happiness round-up is a brilliant new category that we hope will leave you beaming from ear-to-ear and itching to go grab your own slices of sunshine.

We have high hopes for gathering up some of the most talented parenting bloggers each month to showcase the very best feel-good, happy posts out there in the blogosphere. No matter how big or small, as I like to say over on 3 Little Buttons: it?s all about dreaming big and making the most of the little things.

As this is the first ever happiness round-up (is it weird that I like saying that?) this month I thought it would be a great idea to start off by introducing the category with a sprinkling of top finds.

Happiness is your first time.

There?s nothing like seeing your little one accomplish something for the first time. Its heart melting? but what about heart stopping when it?s your tiny tot giving skiing a bit of a whirl! I take my hat off to Emma from Little Oat Tree for taking her daughter up on the slopes. What an experience.

It?s not just the littles that have been enjoying firsts this month though. Mama, Eden & Me only got to hang out with Broadway superstar Eden Espinosa for a catch up and coffee, whilst little Eden met the lovely lady she was named after for the very first time.

Happiness is the little moments.

Sometimes it can be as simple as hearing the words you?ve got this from a stranger as Katie from The Squirmy Popple found out. Then, when you least expect it, a little moment will make your heart burst into a million pieces of joy, like Clare from Neon Rainbow Blog when she got hugs for the first time from her little man.

Happiness is taking time to give yourself a pat on the back, because you absolutely deserve it.

The #RockingMotherhood tag has taken the net by storm as mums like Nicola from All Things Spliced have shouted from the rooftops about their parenting wins. The tag was originally brought to life by Patricia from White Camellias who believes that we should be ?proud for all the little things we do right, day after day? and I couldn?t agree more.

Aby from You Baby Me Mummy also reminds us that we need to remember the goodies that have happened to us and making a list like this is the perfect way to keep track.

Happiness is our family.

There is nothing like a big family squeeze to bring out the best in us. The strength of a sibling bond that Tracey from Mummy Shire can see blossoming in her little ones brings happiness and joy all round. Then sometimes, if we are lucky, an unexpected change of plans can bring a new opportunity of doing nothing, yet everything as Nicole from Tales from Mamaville explains.

Finally, happiness is a new venture.

It can be that little step towards making a big difference not only to our own life, but even to the wider community. I did a little happy dance for Kate from Family Fever when she shared her big news on gaining a university place to send her on the way to becoming a midwife. Well done Kate! It just goes to show how important it is to get out there and make things happen!

New ventures can also come from taking a step back to regain our happiness. It took courage for Bridget from Bridie by the sea to realise my job has flex? but it?s not working.

Thanks for joining us for the first ever BritMums Happiness Round-up. If you would like to share a post for consideration, please email me at [email protected] or pop along to link up to the #DreamTeam linky which runs every Tuesday.

See you there.

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Oh me oh my, Wartile [official site] is a pretty one. It?s a medieval real-time strategy game set in cute little dioramas, which even have polished wooden bases. Whoever made those loves their wars. It?s a curious wargame, with customisable figurines and a bit of deck-building with cards that give bonuses and abilities. If you dig the sound (or look) of that, hey, Wartile entered early access today. I?d expect a hexy strategy game to be turn-based but nope, these wee men bounce around in real time. See for yourself in this trailer:

That?s a fair bit of information to pick up just by watching a video so here?s an explanation in word format from developers Playwood Project:

?Each Battle Board is an intricately realised digital diorama complete with tiles that allow players to strategize their tactical moves and attack in real time. Units are fully customizable with armor, weapons and new stat tokens that players can pick up throughout the game by completing special challenges. Stat tokens provide points that players can add to their characters stats which unlock when players level up, stat tokens can be discovered in each of the various Battle Boards in the game. Players can add a tactical edge to their combat by utilizing Ability cards and Godly cards as their figurine gains more experience, and by completing special battle board objectives. Godly cards and abilities can be assembled by the player before engaging in battle and used during combat, these cards can easily change the course of the fight should the odds be stacked against their favor.?

The singleplayer campaign sees Vikings battling across boards to control England and Scandinavia. Multiplayer is in too, obvs.

Wartile is £13.49/17,99?/$17.99 on Steam Early Access, which includes a small launch discount. Playwood say the singleplayer side in this initial early access release is about two hours long. They plan to expand that, and to add more figurine classes, to ?create a deeper combat system? by adding more cards and environment types, to bop in random encounters, and to expand multiplayer with competitive matchmaking and co-op. They hope to launch within 6-9 months.

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The 2017 season is almost upon us and that means the new F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship is too. And we?ve got a special bonus prize lined up for the first race of the year.

You could be among the first people to get your hands on a special new edition of Motorsport Manager, the motor racing management simulation which earned a strong recommendation from F1 Fanatic when we reviewed it last year.

The Motorsport Manager box includes all the DLCOn Monday 27th March a physical edition of Motorsport Manager will launch for PC, Mac and Linux in a limited number of territories. The boxed version will include all downloadable content which has been released to date including Create Your Own Team, Bonus Liveries, Steam Workshop Support and the all-new GT Series.

Motorsport Manager is a highly detailed, best-in-class management experience aimed at fans of motorsport. You?ll hire the drivers, build the cars and embed yourself in the dynamic world of motorsport.

For the first race of 2017 the ten players who submit the best pole position time predictions will each win one of these special editions of Motorsport Manager.

The full line-up of F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship prizes for 2017 will be announced soon. As always we?ll have prizes to be won at every round of the championship plus grand prizes for the highest scorers at the end of the season based on how well you can predict the pole sitter and the top five finishers in the race.

The competition is now open and you can submit your predictions for every round of the championship. Remember you can edit your predictions for each race up until the scheduled starting time for qualifying.

Rules and how to enter

You have until the scheduled start time for qualifying on Saturday to make your predictions for each round. Reminders will be posted during the weekend on F1 Fanatic, the F1 Fanatic Twitter account, F1 Fanatic Facebook page and F1 Fanatic Google + page.

To enter, predict the pole sitter and the top five finishers in the race. You can also enter a prediction for the pole position lap time which this will be used in the event of a points tie between prize-winners.

Enter your pole position lap time prediction in the following format: MM:SS.ccc For example, for a lap of one minute, 23.450 seconds you would enter 01:23.450

You must log in using an F1 Fanatic account to make a prediction. Registration is free and quick:

After submitting your prediction you will receive an email confirming your entry. If this does not happen, or you are concerned your prediction has not been received, please get in touch using the contact form.

The F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship is open and all prizes are available to players in all regions.

Competition terms and conditions
1. Maximum one entry per household.
2. The competition is not open to employees, friends or family of F1 Fanatic, Sega or other F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship prize suppliers
3. In each round players are invited to predict (a) who will be on pole position and (b) what the top five finishers will be (five different drivers) and will accumulate points in each round as follows up to a maximum score of 50:
a. Correctly naming the pole sitter: 2 points
b. Correctly naming one/two/three/four/five driver/s who finish in the top five: 1/2/3/5/8 points
c. Correctly predicting where one/two/three/four/five driver/s finish: 2/6/14/24/40 points
4. Whoever scores the most points in every race counting towards the championship wins the grand prize.
5. In the event of a tie on points the winner will be determined by who is closest to predicting the pole position time correctly. If that fails to produce a winner the editor will choose a means of deciding who has won.
6. Predictions must be entered using the form above. If you have trouble submitting your entry via the predictions form please prediction using the contact form. Predictions will not be accepted via any other means of communication.
7. In the event of a dispute the editor?s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
8. No cash alternative is offered for any of the prizes.
9. Players who have won prizes will be notified by email within 14 days of the winners being announced, so they can select their prize options and supply a postal address. Once this has been done prize delivery may take up to 28 days.
10. For further information see the disclaimer

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