When I first moved to Los Angeles, someone told me, "L.A. is what you make of it." The city is rich in so many different things—food, culture, music, shopping, nature, etc. that it really can be whatever you want it to be. For me, I've made L.A. into a town full of great eats, amazing local and indie designers, and a place where my daughter can learn and thrive from all the things L.A. has to offer. Today, I am sharing four of my favorite family-friendly spots in this city—all of which are free or inexpensive to enjoy.

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) | While I love art, I find so many museums to be too precious and too quiet. I need to be able to take my family to a place where kids are allowed to roam free and enjoy their surroundings just as much as the adults do. Ruby loves the giant noodle exhibit at the LACMA so we often find ourselves going there to visit that exhibit. They offer free art classes every day in the children's gallery. And on Sundays, the LACMA has Family Day where families can tour the museum for free.

Afterwards, we love getting a bite to eat at Ray's at Stark Bar. It's fresh, healthy, delicious, and has items that feel fancy yet still totally kid friendly.

Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round | Griffith Park is full of so many amazing little adventures. As you may have seen from our trip to Paris, Ruby loves merry-go-rounds, so we love bringing her here. It's only 10 minutes from our house and such a nice change from our usual afternoon playground trips. They also have popcorn and treats a plenty to add to the fun.

The Hollywood Farmer's Market | Give me row after row of food, and I'm pretty much in heaven! We love going to the Hollywood Farmer's Market on Sundays to pick up fresh produce and flowers for the week and simply to grab lunch from one of the many vendors (Thai, Korean, Mexican, Greek, and so many more). Ruby loves walking through and sampling fresh fruit, getting a balloon animal made, and playing instruments to the reggae kid's song played by Eddie Dread in one of the booths.

Food Trucks | Los Angeles has the best food truck scene hands-down. Because the weather is great year-round, food trucks really thrive so well here. Our favorite weekly treat is a food truck gathering at On the Lot on Monday nights, but we also love finding food trucks whenever we happen to be near one. There's seriously a truck of every kind here—a grilled cheese truck, a lobster roll truck, a beignet truck—you name it, and it probably exists. Of course, one of our favorites is the CoolHaus truck which sells ice cream sandwiches where you can mix-and-match your choice of ice cream and cookies.

You can see a little video here of our adventures in action! One of the biggest things I try to live by as a parent is that even with a child, you can continue to have an active and cultured life. You just have to find places that the whole family will love and activities that keep everyone engaged and inspired.

*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Bugaboo. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for Oh Joy. 

{Photos by Rachel Thurston. Video by Jenner Brown.}