How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Lana Condor
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration for where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Lana Condor takes her Sundays very seriously.
The busy actor, best known for her charming performance as Lara Jean in the romantic comedy trilogy “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” also stars in the upcoming “Coyote vs. Acme” live-action/animation hybrid film with John Cena and Will Forte and has a string of projects in the works, including “Valiant One” and “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken,” which hits theaters on June 30.
“Sundays are the most sacred of days,” Condor says from Vancouver, where she’s been working on a new project. “I call them my introverted days. I very much need them to recharge myself for the week. The less people I have to talk to and social interactions that I have on a Sunday, the more prepared I am for the rest of the week.”
Though Condor typically prefers to chill at home on Sundays with her fiancé, Anthony De La Torre, and their two dogs, Emmy and Timmy, she’ll also make time for an “awesome” adventure outside the house — given the right occasion. Here’s how she’d spend the perfect Sunday in Los Angeles. This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
10 a.m. Enjoy a cup of warm matcha in bed
I would wake up at 10 a.m. I’m someone who needs to ease into the day if I want to feel really good. Although, it’s usually like, “Get up and go. Oh, my God!” For my call times, I’ll set my alarm for, like, 10 minutes before I have to be out the door, but it’s not good for my brain. [laughs] Ideally I’d be in bed for, like, half an hour. I’ll do my gratitude journal, and I’ll just read or cuddle my dogs or talk to Anthony. He’ll usually make me matcha in the morning and bring it to me, which is really nice of him. I love starting my day off with a warm matcha.
Which beaches in Los Angeles and Orange counties allow dogs? Check our list to find out.
10:45 a.m. Take Emmy and Timmy for a walk
I’d get up, brush my teeth, wash my face, do my skincare and then Anthony and I would take our dogs out for a walk. I really do try to get, like, 10,000 steps a day, and I think it’s fun for my dogs. One of them is such a bad walker. She pulls so much, so I’m always like, “Here, babe. Take Emmy.”
Scientifically, I think it’s really good for you to be out in the sun kind of the first thing you do. So I like to think that I’m doing something good for myself.
Plus, some of L.A.’s top tacos expand, Korean rice bowls hit Mar Vista and more.
11:30 a.m. Go to Smorgasburg
Anthony and I would pick up my two best friends and go to Smorgasburg. They’re also engaged, and they’ve been my longest friends since living in L.A. We’d stay there for, like, an hour so we could hit, like, four of the food stalls and maybe go to the beer garden, but it can get a little bit chaotic. Shrimp Daddy is amazing. It’s basically Hawaiian–inspired garlic butter shrimp, and it has mac salad on the side and comes in an entire pineapple. I’m actually friends with the owners. I was such a fan of Shrimp Daddy I’d talk about it all the time, and they reached out to me online. So now whenever I go, I’m always like, “I’m here. Can you give me one more shrimp?” [laughs]
Also, I love the pizza at Urbn Pizza. Oooh, and the one that does the langoustines [Lobsterdamus]. They split open an entire lobster and it’s amazing.
1 p.m. Go for a hike in Malibu
We’d probably pop into some of the shops in the area. Then, knowing us, we’d go for a hike. We’d pick up the dogs, then hike for, like, an hour or an hour and a half. There’s one in Malibu that I love called Escondido Falls.
Malibu beaches lined with mansions may seem private, but they’re not. Here’s how to enjoy hidden spots with wonky access rules.
3:30 p.m. Eat seafood on the beach
If we’re in Malibu, then we’d probably go to Malibu Seafood. It’s their fresh fish market, and they have a big patio. We’d get a bunch more food; then we’d walk across the Pacific Coast Highway and eat it on the beach. I get the fish and chips, and if they have oysters, I’ll get raw and fried oysters. All of their fish sandwiches are really good too.
6 p.m. Indulge in self-care at Remedy Place
Then we’d probably drive our friends home, then Anthony and I would go to Remedy Place. It’s a social wellness club that has cryo and hyperbaric chambers, saunas and lymphatic drainage, and basically all the L.A. wellness things that we know and we love. I brought my mom there once when she was visiting me, and she was like, “This is the craziest experience.”
I’m friends with a lot of the people who work there and the owner, and it’s a really good place for recovery if you had a very active day. I’m constantly trying to make my body injury-proof because I have a fear of getting hurt. [laughs] I haven’t always prioritized my physical and mental health, so that’s something as I get older that I’m very much focused on. If I can, when I’m jet-lagged, I go straight there from the airport, because the hyperbaric chamber basically pumps so much oxygen into your body and helps you defeat jet lag.
We’d probably do the sauna for an hour and then do the cryo chamber [for a few minutes]. I recently have been kicking Anthony out [of the sauna] and making him book his own because he doesn’t let me relax. He wants to talk, or he’ll be meditating loudly and stretching in the sauna, but I just want to lay there and read a book. So we’re in a little bit of an impasse right now with our sauna relationship, but we’ll get through it. [laughs]
These recipes use 11 or fewer ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less.
8 p.m. Cook dinner and watch reruns
Now that my body is frozen, I’d probably go home, open a bottle of wine and cook. I love cooking; it’s so meditative for me. Anthony will probably take the dogs out again while I’m cooking dinner. We have very different food preferences, so I feel like I [deserve] awards, because I am the best fiancée. It takes so much extra time [to make two separate meals]! I wish that we could just eat the same things.
For myself, I’m making pasta. Right now, I’m really obsessed with weird, textured shapes, so I love fusilli. I’m making pasta with homemade marinara sauce and basil, and then I’m making one chicken sausage and one Tofurky Italian sausage and a bag of spinach. Then I’d add just a boatload of cheese on top of it. Pecorino is king. It is a controversial statement, but pecorino, in my opinion, is the superior topping cheese for pasta.
Anthony is so allergic to so much food. In fact, this ideal day is his nightmare because he can’t eat anything. He eats the same thing almost every day, so I’d make him ground turkey with garlic and olive oil on a bed of arugula with nutritional yeast on it. He’s like a health guru.
If you dismissed the idea of self-care as self-induglent, then we have news for you: Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s survival.
Then Anthony and I would reconvene on the couch, and if we’re feeling awake, we’d watch a movie. But if we’re feeling kind of sleepy and not wanting to really focus, we’d watch either “New Girl,” “Parks and Recreation” or “The Office.” Those are staples in my life. I think they’ve made up my entire personality. [laughs]
10:30 p.m. Self-care before bed
On Sundays, I like a long self-care day. I don’t wash my hair a lot, so I’d do that. I’d do a face mask. I’d use some of my face tools like the Nuface, and I’d moisturize my whole body. That takes like 45 minutes to an hour if I really want to pamper myself. Then I’d go to bed.
Sign up for our L.A. Times Plants newsletter
At the start of each month, get a roundup of upcoming plant-related activities and events in Southern California, along with links to tips and articles you may have missed.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
