For years, Justine Lupe shuttled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York.
It wasn't until the pandemic that he decided it was time to stop living out of his suitcase in hotels and short-term sublet apartments. “The world was in convulsion,” says the actor. “My idea of what my life was like was [too].”
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
In 2021, she and her fiancé, Tyson Mason, bought a house in Los Angeles. Then this summer, the couple welcomed a baby boy named Ellis, whom Lupe carried while filming the Netflix romantic comedy “Nobody Wants This,” alongside Kristen Bell and Adam. Brody, who will return for a second season next year.
“I was right in the second trimester sweet spot for most of the shoot, so you have energy, you feel creative, and your body feels good — at least that was my experience,” says Lupe, who plays the sister of Bell and fellow podcaster. -host Morgan.
Lupe, who also starred in “Succession” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” adds that certain concerns she had about working during pregnancy, such as gaining weight on camera, disappeared when she was on set. “It was kind of a magical experience because in this industry there is a lot of emphasis on bodies,” she says. “So being healthy and happy through that experience, embracing my body through that big, big “The change, feeling confident in it and feeling ecstatic about this life inside of me, was just the best.”
On an ideal Sunday for Lupe, 4-month-old Ellis is strapped to her body as they pick vegetables and fruits from the Atwater Village Farmers Market, take a baby yoga class, and walk through a glorious botanical garden.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
7 am: hugs in bed
I mean, 7am sounds great with my baby. A little lazy, lying in bed. I love snuggling with her, Tyson, our dog Lilly, and our cat Addie. It's kind of a fort that we have in our bed with all our little creatures living in it and it's really nice to relax.
8am: Catch up with friends over coffee
I'd probably go get coffee at this place called Amara Kitchen. It's a really nice farm to table place. Everything is organic, grass-fed and ethical. I go there a lot to meet friends, so I would probably meet some friends for coffee. I usually have an iced coffee. They make their own almond milk. If I want something sweet, I'll order a pastry, and if not, just bone broth with my coffee. They make really good pies in-house and have amazing gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate chip cookies that are so much more delicious than you imagine when you say those two words out loud. It's usually too early to eat much, but on days when I have a really long night or am starving, I have their breakfast burrito.
9 am Go to the farmers market.
Then we would all go to the Atwater Village Farmers Market. It's really sweet and small. I already know all the stands well. When I got there, it was kind of a project to figure out which stall had the vegetables I like, which ones had the right eggs that I like, and which ones had the best cheese. Somehow you get to know what positions you prefer and you build relationships with all these farmers. I care a lot about the quality of the food I eat, so it's important to have some kind of relationship with them and find out what their standards and practices are. It's also just lovely. There are flowers and honey, there are so many families there, there are so many children and it is a happy place to be.
I usually buy the ingredients I want to prepare for the week and for anything else I need, I go to Whole Foods. While shopping, I snack on Nature's Fynd, which is a vegan yogurt. It is sustainable, ethical, dairy-free and high in protein. [Editor’s note: Lupe is a brand ambassador for Nature’s Fynd.]
12 noon Yoga for babies
Then I would go to Yoga in Silverlake for a yoga class. It's run by this woman, Juliette Kurth. I found it during my pregnancy and they offer many prenatal classes, postnatal classes, baby and me yoga classes where moms can bring their baby and practice yoga while the babies are there. It's like the sweetest place. She does job workshops and I fell in love with it last year. Having a postnatal class so you can continue to get the care you need and take care of your body after you have the baby and having free childcare, essentially, is just the best. Juliette is just an angel on Earth.
2 pm: Walk through the Descanso Gardens
I would probably go home and make myself something to eat, then the whole family would go to Gardens Rest. It's so pretty and we would walk. You can have a snack at the door and have a small picnic if you want. Sometimes we have coffee or tea and just post somewhere.
5 pm: Dinner pickup.
I would go pick up Accompanying cake either sugar fish on the way home for a cozy evening at home where we just eat pizza or sushi, hang out on our deck, and enjoy being in Los Angeles. [Laughs]
At Sugarfish, we always use the Trust Me or Trust Me Lite box. [which comes with edamame, tuna sashimi, salmon and more] depending on our appetite. It's delicious and sometimes we add a little bit of eel. At Side Pie, we like the house herb ranch salad and the Altadena and Z pizza, which is a vegetarian option with jalapenos. There's another honey ham pizza we like called Honey's Hammered. Is soooo good. Side Pie is a small hole in the wall. You order it inside and then you can eat it in their back area, which is very nice especially during the summer, or you can take it home.
As for my drink, I'm usually the type of person who drinks water with electrolytes, which is very boring. [Laughs] I drink wine, but only because I'm breastfeeding I try to keep it to a minimum and do it right. I have a couple of glasses of wine a week. I'm a pretty light drinker, but when I do, I usually have some cookbook market in Highland Park. They have a great selection of natural wines.
6:30 pm: Luxury bath
Every day the baby and I bathe together. It's really a good break for her and me. Tyson prepares our bathroom area every night. Blow out candles, turn on music, get out our towels, and get out a glass of ice water. It's so sweet that it's a kind of ceremony for us. Then I give him a baby massage, which I also love to do. My daughter has done very well. I say, “I want a massage every night.” [Laughs]
8 p.m.: Watch TV until we fall asleep (and the baby wakes us up)
Then we would get into bed and watch “The Great British Baking Show” or some funny TV show until we fell asleep. I know this is my ideal day, but the reality is that you go to bed saying, “Oh, no. Oh no. Oh no. Here comes the night” because of the baby. [Laughs] He's 4 months old now, so I think he's about to hit that four-month sleep regression. So I think we would go to bed pretty early just because we know we're going to lose sleep. She goes to bed around 7 pm, so we'll probably go to bed around 8 pm and fall asleep around 9 or 9:30 pm.
