Labor Day, Perfected

Though Labor Day technically began because U.S. Marshals took out a crew of striking workers in 1894, we associate it with much sunnier things. Things like laying in the sun, slurping ice-cold cocktails and spending money we don't have on things we don't need at wonderful sales all over town. And this year, we at Style Section L.A. need a break like no other. So we've put together scenarios for how we'll spend our perfect long-weekend of rest complete with beach location, alcohol choices and the books we'll read if we can still see straight when the drink dries up. Feel free to mix and match our choices to create a perfect Labor Day of your own.

Just don't piss off any U.S. Marshals. 

Beach: Beach? What beach? We’re more pool people, ourselves. So just like we did on the Fourth of July, we plan on moseying down to the Viceroy in Santa Monica, buying a cocktail and setting up shop. It isn’t technically squatting if you’ve bought a drink, right?

Cocktail: White sangria. The more fruit, the better.

Book:  The Oilman’s Daughter, A Biography of Alice Barnsdall, By Norman M. and Dorothy Karasick.  You’ve likely heard of Barnsdall Park, the Los Feliz enclave with killer architecture and even better wine tastings. And Alice is the woman who made it all happen. She was an outspoken women’s rights activist, actress, political consultant and one of the few friends to Frank Lloyd Wright after his marital indiscretions were made public. In other words, she was awesome. And we’ve wanted to read this ever since we toured Hollyhock, her FLW-commissioned property, last year. No time like the present.

Fall Shopping List: In truth, we’re saving our sheckles for a rainy day (albeit one in Paris next spring, where we plan to visit if we can muster the funds). So for fall, we’re going to have to be tres creative when it comes to our closet. One item that will be taken out of storage, stat, is a vintage crushed velvet dress by Betsey Johnson that we can only wear if we haven’t eaten in awhile. But this open-back velvet stunner by Alice + Olivia (pictured above, $242. shopbop.com) achieves a similar, show-stopping result for those who haven’t hoarded the clothes they bought back in high school.

Stalk-worthy food truck: In preparation for the above velvet dress we won’t be noshing as hardcore as usual. But a little, tiny piece of gooey grilled cheese never hurt anyone. And since we have yet to try it, Labor Day will be an excellent excuse to finally find that famous Grilled Cheese Truck we’ve been drooling over for months. According to the website, it will be parked outside of The Brig in Venice, as part of First Fridays. We're there.

Sale to peruse: No sale shopping here. But rather a road trip to Palm Springs to check out their glut of incredible thrift stores that are worth braving skin-melting, desert heat for. — Erin Weinger

Beach: Will Rogers is de rigueur, but for those of us gays who didn’t A) adhere to our P90X workout this summer, B) feel a bit wobbly in square-cut Lycra swimsuits, and C) would rather spend the afternoon in a zoned-out, meditative fashion, Veronique de Turenne's blog for LA Observed has always been a helpful guide to navigating less-trafficked Malibu beaches that local property owners would rather have you believe belong to them. Lechuza Beach is one of my favorites.

Cocktail: The wine spritzer. Yes, it’s oft-maligned, intermittently tacky and usually consumed by swinger couples on 1970s television dramas that were cancelled in their first season. But it’s a refreshing drink nonetheless, and I’m not exactly aiming to impress anyone this weekend. My favorite is dubbed the Summer Spritz, courtesy of the folks at Turning Leaf. Here’s the recipe:

1 oz strawberry puree

1 oz pineapple juice

3 oz ginger ale 3 oz Chardonnay

Directions:  Puree strawberries. Combine with pineapple juice and Turning Leaf Chardonnay in a pint glass with ice. Shake well and top off with ginger ale. Garnish with strawberry on glass. Serves one.

Book:  The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker, By Roger Ebert Roger Ebert can no longer talk. Or eat, after he lost his lower jaw to cancer. Yet miraculously he has written a cookbook for those of us too lazy to cook with multiple pots and pans. It’s not exactly a summer read, as the book just came out, but I look forward to the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic’s take on rice cooker cuisine.

Fall Shopping List: My Brooks Brothers weekend bag is now looking like it’s been shoved and squeezed into the overhead compartment one too many times. Sad. Filson’s cotton twill duffle (Pictured, $295. stevenalan.com) is a worthy replacement.

Stalk-worthy food truck: NomNom’s lemongrass chicken banh mi ($5) alone deserves a Michelin star. Even if you’re eating it on a chewing gum-strewn Miracle Mile sidewalk. Westsiders take note: The truck will be parked at Volcano Tea on Mississippi and Sawtelle on Friday night.

Sale to peruse: No time to hit the stores when summer is fleeting. Instead my curiousity is piqued by a Thursday sale on Gilt featuring local label Lova, as well as Juma and Drifter. — Andrew Harmon