Like most aspects of her life, Lilly Singh approaches the end of the weekend with a clear intention. “Sunday is a big deal to me,” she says. “Sunday is my self-love, reset day.”
The comedic actress and personality began a career in her native Toronto as an early YouTube star. She moved to Los Angeles in 2015, first landing at a spot near the La Brea Tar Pits before relocating to a house in the San Fernando Valley that she shares with her dogs, Scarbro and Soca.
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 moved to L.A. to be warm and the Valley is very warm,” Singh says. “When people are complaining it’s too hot, I am thriving.”
She previously hosted the NBC talk show “A Little Late With Lilly Singh” and led the Disney+ sitcom “The Muppets Mayhem.” Most recently, she co-wrote, produced and starred in the film “Doin’ It,” playing an app-maker who is hired to teach a sex-ed class and decides she needs her own hands-on education in the subject. It opens in theaters Friday.
Singh was a night owl for most of her life, often staying up until the early morning hours and waking at noon. To improve her mental health, she’s adjusted her approach and now gets up during the week at 7 a.m. so she has two hours to mentally and physically prepare herself for the day.
There is a day of the week, however, where she shows herself compassion and makes an exception. “I’m probably not going to set an alarm on a Sunday,” she says.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
9 a.m.: Daily routine
Every morning, I have certain mental health routines. I always am going to have journaling on my front patio, and I’m always going to stretch and do breath work. Those are nonnegotiables.
9:30 a.m.: Market essentials
After I deal with and feed the dogs, the No. 1 stop is the Studio City Farmers Market. I will die on the hill of saying it is the best farmers market. I take one thing at the farmers market very seriously, which is the kefir yogurt. I literally have a yogurt dealer, Orlando. I have to text him on Saturday night to be like, “Hold these flavors for me.” If you go there and you don’t text them, they’re sold out. When the Alphonso mango is in season, you have to get there at 7 a.m. to get it.
I walk both ways, so I’m basically a fit legend because, come on, it’s usually really hot.
10 a.m.: Flower power
I get florals every Sunday. If I don’t get them from the farmers market, I’ll get them at Trader Joe’s. Every Sunday, I reset my house in terms of flowers. I put flowers in every corner of my house. I spend an hour just making little bouquets and putting them on my desk and in my kitchen and in my bathrooms because it’s an easy dopamine-hit hack and it makes me happy throughout the week.
11 a.m.: The best brunch date
Almost every Sunday, I take myself on a solo brunch. No one is allowed to come with me. This is me taking myself on a date.
I go to the same spot every single time: Sweet Butter Kitchen. It’s just down Ventura. I get a two-sunny-side-up egg breakfast with sourdough toast. I get my bacon. Depending on how much I’ve worked that week and how much I want to spoil myself, I will also get pancakes.
I love the ambience. I’ll take my journal or sometimes I’ll just vibe out and enjoy my own company.
Noon: Planning session
Every third Sunday, I do a monthly reflection. I track my last month against my yearly goals.
I’ll also plan my social activities for the next month. Almost every month, I host a poker night. Almost every Thursday, I do a dinner. I’ll make sure my social calendar is full for the next month because in L.A., if you don’t do that, you won’t have friends and you’ll be alone.
I’m very about my journal. It’s a hard-covered journal that is smooth to the touch, with a specific Sharpie 1.0 pen. It’s the only pen I want to use. And the journal has a pen holder, which is also crucial. And it has the string that saves your page — also crucial. And it has lines. I don’t want a journal that doesn’t have lines. It has to have a little flap in the back that will hold all my documents.
In my adult life, I’ve always been this organized. Perhaps not in university or in high school, but as I’ve become a career woman, I like to be very, very organized.
1 p.m.: Tastes from home
I’m ready to eat again because Sundays are for eating. I love Smorgasburg LA. Coming from Toronto, I’m really used to Caribbean food and Asian foods. In L.A., I feel like the best international food I have found is at Smorgasburg.
If I want to hang with the friends or if someone’s in from out of town and I want to show them a good time, we’ll go there.
3 p.m.: Sunshine state
I think sunshine time is so important and nature is so important. Throughout the week, I don’t always get to spend time outside, so I spend as much time as humanly possible outside, and that’s either lying on the grass with my dogs or it’s in my pool.
5 p.m.: On the A-List
I don’t want you to think I’m a loner, but if I’m ever doing things alone, it’s more often going to be on a Sunday. I love going to the movie theater. For me, it is AMC at Universal [CityWalk]. My greatest quality — this is not even an ad — is that I am an AMC Stubs A-List member. I take it very seriously.
I’d probably go to dinner and then a movie. So I don’t have popcorn solely for dinner, which I’ve done many times, but I try to avoid, I’m going to go to Kiwami by Katsu-Ya, which is on Ventura. It’s one of my favorite sushi spots. It feels very small and intimate. They have the best lychee martinis, and I’m a big lychee martini girly. The staff knows me because I go so often and they’re just so fast with the service.
It’s crucial for me to tell you that one of the reasons I go to the movies by myself is I am crazy about watching the previews. My friends always make me miss the previews. I love getting there early and I love being seated for the previews. I’ve gone to the theater sometimes 10 minutes before anything is even on the screen.
I like Universal because it is full of tourists. As someone who was not born and raised in L.A., I love seeing people experience L.A. When I’m walking from the parking lot to the theater, people have their Super Nintendo World stuff and they have their Universal merch. They’re so excited to be there, and it reminds me, like, oh yeah, this is a really exciting place for people.
10 p.m.: Ready for the week ahead
I’ll come home, cuddle the dogs, then I make sure I’m ready for the week. I make sure my house is in a good spot. I make sure my flowers are popping. I probably will do a hot tub or sauna moment, then do my skincare routine.
11 p.m.: One last journal entry
I don’t like to watch anything in my bedroom because sleeping is a huge thing for me. I have a little bit of insomnia, so I really try to wind down. On my night table, I have my nighttime journal and I do a little self-compassion journaling.