Taylor Tomlinson, the comedian and writer who has hosted the CBS talk and variety show “After Midnight” for two seasons, has lived in Los Angeles for nine years. But thanks to a robust stand-up schedule (her now-in-progress “The Save Me Tour” has 76 dates booked across North America and Europe through January, including an L.A. hometown show scheduled for Aug. 10 at the Greek Theatre), she’s only around L.A. for about 20 Sundays a year.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“I try to do two weekends on the road a month,” Tomlinson said. “But sometimes it ends up being three. Usually my Sundays are spent flying home, and I’m doing my leisurely things on a Tuesday at noon.”
She was more than happy to plot out a Sunday plan that doesn’t involve “a layover sitting in a coffee shop in the Phoenix airport.” It would start with making some matcha and head toward a close with sushi and a movie. In between, she’d hit a flea market, a bookstore (to score some spiral-ring notebooks) and the outdoor spaces at the Huntington.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
9 a.m.: Whisk up some morning matcha
In my perfect world, I’d fall asleep at midnight and get nine hours of sleep, which would be perfect. I am not somebody who can handle coffee because I get headaches. So I usually make matcha at home with unsweetened almond milk, and I add cinnamon and usually use a little bit of vanilla protein shake as creamer in it. And I do it iced.
I go to a lot of coffee shops when I’m on the road and always have to ask if their matcha is presweetened, because a lot of places make it with honey or sugar already in it. But more mainstream places are getting unsweetened, ceremonial-grade matcha, and that’s what I use. I’ve got one of those bamboo whisks, and I like the whole routine of boiling water and then whisking in the matcha powder. I really feel like I’m doing something.
9:30 a.m.: Back to bed with a book
Then I’d bring my matcha back to the bed and I’d read for a bit. I really struggle with letting myself read for fun, because, for a long time, I wouldn’t read anything that wasn’t teaching me something or had some sort of self-improvement element to it or was about comedy or business.
I’m working on a book of my own right now, so I’m currently reading Chuck Palahniuk‘s “Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life after Which Everything Was Different,” and for fun I’m reading “The Dragon Republic,” the second book in R. F. Kuang’s “The Poppy War” series.
10:15 a.m.: Self-scramble some breakfast
I like going out to breakfast when I’m on the road but, when I’m home, I like to cook for myself. So I’ll do a scramble with some eggs, turkey, zucchini, spinach and bell pepper and then top it with some avocado.
11:45 a.m.: Make for the Melrose Trading Post
This might [sound like] a really basic Sunday, but I’m not in L.A. very much. So I would go to the Melrose Trading Post [flea market] over at Fairfax High School with some friends of mine because it’s a way to socialize. Zach Noe Towers and Sophie Buddle and I do [stand-up comedy on] the road a lot together, and when we’re home on a weekend, this is something we do together.
I’ve bought a lot of leather jackets there. I have way too many jackets — an insane collection of jackets. It’s a real problem. I bought a weird lamp there. I think the last thing I bought there was this wardrobe [from J. Martin Furniture] that was green, and they said they would paint it any color I wanted and have it delivered. So I had them paint it a dusty rose that matches the flowers on these vintage pillows I had just gotten for my bed. The wardrobe fills out the one blank wall I had left in the bedroom. It’s really cute and makes me really happy.
They have food and music and stuff to drink too. Last time we went we got some Thai food from a truck and hung out for a bit.
2 p.m.: Vroom over to Vroman’s
From there I’d head to Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, which I hadn’t been to until very recently. It’s a huge independent bookstore, and they have literally everything there — books, gifts [and] stationery — so I’d probably buy a notebook. I’ve got so many notebooks. The two things I overbuy the most are vintage jackets and notebooks. I use different types of notebooks for different [purposes], but they’ve all got to be spiral-ring.
I like [notebooks] that are long and skinny for my set lists. I like stenographer’s notebooks for new jokes because [the pages] have a line down the middle; I use one side for jokes I know work and one side for jokes I’m not sure about yet. And I like a really big notebook to journal in. Then there are the kind I find at flea market vendors when I’m on the road where they turn old children’s books into notebooks and leave part of the [original book] text in between the [blank] pages. This one [she holds aloft a spiral-ring notebook with the title “Peter Pan” on the cover] is by Red Barn Collections. I think I picked it up at a flea market in Salt Lake City.
3 p.m.: Head to the Huntington
If I didn’t sit and write in the cafe at Vroman’s, I’d head to the Huntington. I’ve been a member there for years, and sometimes when I have a whole day off, I’ll go there for awhile. I’d either go to the side area where there are a few chairs and sit and read or go to one of the benches that overlook the Japanese garden. If I was writing, I’d do that in the cafe.
5:30 p.m.: Sushi in Studio City
Since the Huntington closes at 5 p.m., I’d head to this sushi place in Studio City that I love called Sushi Tomoki that opens at 5:30. I like to get there right when it opens because it fills up so fast. And it’s so good, and the service is fast even when they’re packed.
7 p.m.: Take in a movie at Universal CityWalk
Since I’m in Studio City and my group of friends and I are all AMC Stubs A-List members, I’d go to Universal CityWalk to catch a movie. CityWalk is what it is, but it’s close to the sushi place. And the AMC theater there is really good. If you go with a bunch of friends, you can split the cost of parking. I love to talk about the movie afterward, so instead of just standing by the car talking about it, we can walk around [CityWalk] and talk about it. The last thing I saw there was “Paddington in Peru.”
10:30 p.m.: Tea time before bedtime
At this point it’s probably pretty late when I get home, so I’d probably drink some tea — I do a licorice or a ginger tea at night — shower and then read for awhile. Or maybe do some journaling or doomscrolling in bed, depending on what my mood is. And hopefully fall asleep by midnight.
