Adios, September!

September was not my friend this year, so I'm glad that it's just about over. October holds way better things; I can just tell. Plus, even if my psychic powers and positive mental energy fail and October sucks too, at least there is candy at the end. In any event, here is September as seen by my phone.

My walk home from the gym along La Cienega.

{Kristen Buckingham Interior Design}

{The Spanish Kitchen}

{Scalamandre - obviously. I really want to start owning that yellow zebra umbrella.}

{olive tree}

This shirt is for sale at Bloomingdale's for fifty dollars. Fifty. Can we all agree that the whole ugly clothes in the name of irony thing has gone too far?

Greyhound with rosemary garnish at Mandrake.

It's almost that time...

Back to Coronado.

A.C. Slater!

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings at the Music Box - never thought I would enjoy bluegrass so much.

*I've been using a new camera app called Camera+. I don't like the filters as much as Instagram, but I do like that you can take multiple pictures and edit them after the fact.

L.A. Woman

{photo by Jean-Francois Chenier}

I realize that is an incredibly unoriginal title...just had to get that out there. Moving on. In an effort to get to know my new city, I am doing what I always do when I don't know where to begin; I'm making a list. There are some basic L.A. things that I need to see and/or do in order to feel like a legit local.  This is totally arbitrary, based on nothing beyond my whim and a few Google searches, and subject to change at any time. Once everything is crossed off the list, I will declare myself an official Angeleno.

{photo by Kevitivity}

I've already hit up many of the typical Los Angeles destinations, but there is always more to see at the Getty. On the other hand, once is enough for some of this stuff. For example, I see no reason to ever revisit the Hollywood schtick of the Walk of Fame and Grauman's Theater. Being bum rushed by fake Princess Leia and a thousand camera-wielding tourists was bad enough the first time, so I'll put it on the list, but I'm not doing that shit again.

{photo by Slices of Light}

To Do in L.A.

1. Ride the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier
2. Go horseback riding by the Hollywood sign
3. Ride bikes along the boardwalk in Venice Beach
4. Take in Hollywood Boulevard
5. Have drinks at Chateau Marmont
6. Picnic and hike in Griffith Park
7. Visit the Museum of Tolerance
8. Drive the Malibu coastline in a convertible
9. Go to a live taping of something
10. Explore downtown - Angel's Flight Railway, Grand Central Market, Cathedral of the Angels
11. Have high tea at the Huntington Library
12. Get your culture on - Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Natural History Museum, Norton Simon Museum
13. Hike in Runyon Park
14. See something at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
15. Check out a book at the Los Angeles Central Library
16. Visit the La Brea Tar Pits
17. Buy something on Rodeo Drive, preferably while dressed like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (pre-makeover)
18. Have a Dodger Dog at a game
19. Hike and picnic in Griffith Park
20. Have a pre-show picnic at the Hollywood Bowl
21. Hike to Escondido Falls in the Santa Monica Mountains
22. Be part of a live studio audience
23. Take daytrips: Oxnard, Pasadena, Santa Inez Valley, Catalina
24. Go camping in Joshua Tree National Park
25. Visit Point Fermin Park and Lighthouse
26. Sample the offerings of the different ethnic enclaves: Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Little Ethiopia, Thai Town, Little Armenia
27. Have dinner at an overpriced, fancy pants, celebrity hotspot 
28. Cruise Mullholland Drive
29. Tour the Kodak Theater
30. See some stand-up at The Upright Citizens Brigade and/or The Groundlings Theater
31. Have Mexican food on Olvera Street
32. Visit the Bradbury Building downtown.

That's it for now. What am I missing?

Summer According to iPhone

I generally bring my big camera with me for all major outings for potential photo-ops, but sometimes it's not allowed or I feel like being attempting to be stylish and ladylike with a bag that holds less than three cubic feet of stuff. In these instances I turn to my Swiss Army phone, and frankly, this thing takes better pictures than any of my previous cameras. Plus it helps me to do so many other awesome things* like...

And you can make calls with it! Amazing. But I digress. Point is, sometimes I take pictures with my phone and then forget that they are there. I will try to be more vigilant going forward, but for now you're stuck with my whole summer as seen by my iPhone. Consider this my back-to-school, "what I did over summer vacation" visual essay.

This summer...

I kicked the season off with Memorial Day weekend in San Francisco for Jimmy and Kisha's wedding.

{Jimmy and Kisha}

{greyhound}

{view from Sausalito}

I did some shopping.  Another great feature of the smartphone - dressing room feedback. 

{This outfit was sister-approved via text message and then purchased.}

{These shoes got an "eh" and were not purchased.}

I loved Lucy.

{And Lucy loved Dog Beach.}

{She also loves rolling in the sand.}

I soaked up Vermont and celebrated Mike and Erin's wedding.

{Fourth of July - Church Street, Burlington, VT}

{stairs, Leddy Park}

{Lake Champlain}

{Lake Champlain}

{sister shoes}

{bridesmaid bouquet}

{first dance}

 I moved, and in packing, turned up some evidence of a former, very crazy landlord.

{letter from Max including picture of his infected arm...??}

 I returned to San Diego...a lot.

{This is where the meditation app comes in handy.}

{wedding dress shopping}

{North Beach}

{Mom's roses}

{Mom's birthday}

{En Fuego, Del Mar}

I took pictures of some strange, only in LA sights...

{missing soccer-playing, magical pony named Tiffany - awesome.}

{woah}

{the waiting room...of my dentist's office}

I watched Tom play music.

{backstage, Humphrey's by the Bay}

{Tom and Devin, Humphrey's}

{Melly Frances and the Distilled Spirits, Casbah}

 I watched other people play music.

{Phish, Hollywood Bowl}

{Goo Goo Dolls, the Greek - whatever, I got to meet Bob Saget that night}

{Brandi Carlile and Ray Lamontagne, the Greek}

{some band, some bar in Silverlake}

 I explored my new neck of the woods.

{Santa Monica pier}

{Santa Monica from the Ferris wheel}

{Zuma Beach, Malibu}

{Ventura County}

{Spice Station, Silverlake}

{Paramount Studios}

 *Another excellent feature of the iPhone? You can record your husband playing with his light saber. Gross, stop it. That's not a euphemism. You didn't think I discovered the light saber ap on my own, did you?