Week 20: Malibu State Park

A few weeks ago, Tom found a list of local "swimming holes." I thought swimming holes only existed in Mark Twain, but apparently they also abound in Los Angeles County. In any event, we ventured to Malibu State Park to check out the swimming hole, and this being L.A., the outdoor set of M.A.S.H.

Since it's been over a month now since we went, I am just going to dump a bunch of pictures on you. Suffice it to say, it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. What was less lovely was the Wednesday morning that I spent at the DMV after losing my license on the aforementioned Sunday afternoon, but that is another story entirely. Anyway...the M.A.S.H. set was cool.

I want a horse.

After about a six mile hike, it was swimming hole time. For Tom anyway.

{debating}

{going for it}

Final analysis? Malibu Creek State Park is a lovely oasis in the middle of the city. M.A.S.H was a terrific program. And Hot Lips Houlihan is a fabulous (albeit slightly sexist) character name. Hurrah for state parks and Hot Lips!

 I was just going to warn you to avoid doing a Google image search for Hot Lips Houlihan because time, or more accurately, the plastic surgeon, has not been kind to her, but then I thought, I've seen it, and I shouldn't have to suffer alone. Avert your eyes if you don't want to tarnish your memory of Nurse Houlihan.

Ah, we can't go out like that. Happily, Hawkeye has aged much more gracefully.

To sum up, go to the Malibu Creek State Park. Do not do Google image searches of tv hotties from the late seventies.

Week 19: Spring Decorating

 Unlike most people who use spring as a chance to clean, I opted to add to the clutter by making totally unnecessary butterfly garlands! This was more a product of my inability to sit still and just watch TV than anything else. Also, I have a tough time throwing magazines away, and this project was perfect for justifying my collection of back issues of O, Real Simple, Shape, Elle Decor, Better Homes and Gardens, Traveler, and The Atlantic. Note to self: consider cutting back on magazine subscriptions.

Anyway, as Tom and I vegged out one evening last month, I whipped up a bunch of these guys. I got the idea and instructions here (how I came across a German blog in the first place is beyond me). In case you aren't fluent in German...

Find a colorful page and rip it out.

Cut out a 10cm x 7cm rectangle and an 8cm x 8cm square (those wacky Europeans with their crazy metric system!).

 Diagonally fold both pieces accordion-style.

Stick the rectangle on top of the square and connect them. I used floral wire.

Do that 10-12 more times, and - boom - butterfly garland!

Week 18: Settling In

Now that we're coming up on almost a year in L.A., I decided it was probably time to hang some things on our sad, empty walls. Obviously, I have hung things on walls before (beginning, probably, with a tapestry and my parents old records in my inexplicable 8th grade hippie stage), but I have never hung things up in Los Angeles before... I know, it's a stretch, but take it or leave it, it's the new thing for week 18. It is slightly more legit, however, because I used a new strategy for creating the gallery wall effect.

Thanks again to the magic of Pinterest, I came across this idea a while back and decided I should give it a go in hopes of avoiding the ridiculous excess of nail holes that usually results when I try to hang pictures unsupervised. I generally end up with about three times as many holes as are strictly necessary. Pinterest seemed to have the perfect solution though, so I got out my parchment paper and started tracing the frames I wanted to hang. Apparently, however, I did not pay close enough attention to the directions because I traced my frames and then cut them out instead of laying them all out on one big piece of paper. This was dumb. It makes way more sense to do it like the nice lady in the example.

Anyway, I taped my paper templates to the wall and pounded nails in the (mostly) appropriate spots. There were a few adjustments necessary because of spacing issues (which would have been avoided if I had followed the dang directions), but I'd say I only ended up with 10% more holes than required.

Week 17: Pinterest Project

On Week 17 (way back in April), I had to run to Michael's for a non-fun, non-crafty reason (specifically, I had to buy 5x7 envelopes for work), but when I took a lap around the store, I found some inspiration in the toy section. Technically, I didn't so much find inspiration as I was reminded of something I had pinned a while back. You see, according to whomever decides these things, brass animal figurines are the hotness right now. Meaning - if I were the type of person who "styled" her home (and, trust, I wish that I were), I would definitely have some sort of a brass animal figurine placed just so on my credenza (naturally, I would have a credenza), or bookshelf, or coffee table...

{ 1 - 2 - 3 }

Apparently however, these delightful, albeit totally nonfunctional, brass animals (branimals?) are pricey, so the internet is full of examples of people making knock-off versions. This is all to say that when I spotted a rubber giraffe in the clearance bin at Michael's, I knew that he should come home with me. This wasn't the first time I have turned a Pinterest pin into reality, but it was the first time for this particular craft (if you can call it that), so I decided that it could count for my new thing of the week. Now, pay attention because this is a blink and you'll miss it type of "craft."

Start with a giraffe. My giraffe is called Melvin, but I don't think it matters if your giraffe has a different name.

Introduce him to some spray paint.

 

Go to town.

Place Melvin (or Phyllis or whatever...) atop a pile of books and call Elle Decor or House Beautiful to see when they would like to come over for the photo shoot.

Week 16: Country Concert

I'm not sure why keeping up with this has been such a struggle lately. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I am easily distracted... I have started to write this a half dozen times, but then a thought buzzes by and I am off on another tab working on something else. Well, sometimes working, sometimes looking at photos of micro piglets hugging strawberries...thanks, Jaime!

{I mean...seriously. Have you ever?}

My friend the internet does present some unique hazards that are particularly dangerous for someone with my highly distractible nature and desire for constant innnnpuuuut (Johnny 5? Anyone?). See. Right there. I just did it again. I felt the need to verify that I am correctly remembering the adorable robot from the '80s classic, Short Circuit, so I turned to YouTube and lost four minutes watching clips. It's a problem. I really do identify with Mr. 5 though, which is, of course, an issue in itself.

                          

Annnnyway, point is, I am going to try to update more consistently because I really do like being able to look back and see what I was doing and thinking at this time last year or two years ago. For example, I'm sure that when I look back on this particular post in a year or two, I will be proud to reflect on the amount of time I once spent thinking about the ways in which my life and personality overlap with that of a fictional eighties robot... Moving on.

I have actually kept to my New Year's goal of doing something new every week, so I have some catching up to do. So, after a ridiculous digression, here's a brief summary of my new thing for week sixteen, which was like a month ago at this point... On April 15th, Tom and I went to see the Zac Brown Band in Irvine.

This was the first time I had ever seen this band, but it was also the first country show I had ever been to, a fact that I find rather surprising considering the amount of Garth Brooks and Mary Chapin Carpenter I listened to in high school. Although, at that time, I am pretty sure that I kept my country music habit on the DL (do people say that anymore) while trying to convince myself that I liked the Grateful Dead more than I actually did. I have matured since then and am now an out, if not quite proud, country music listener. The guitarist plays Yamaha, so we had killer seats.

Now to be totally honest, the Zac Brown Band is not that country. Imagine if Lynard Skynard and Jimmy Buffet had a love child and that love child grew up to form a band with his college buddies...it's kinda like that. They sound something like this:

                           
And this:

                          
So, yes, I realize that this is more pop than country, but their bass player is legit.

{His beard alone has to give them some serious southern street cred.}

Anyway, the show was a lot of fun, and I would definitely see them again. There was plenty of bopping and stomping to be done, plus they played The Devil Went Down to Georgia, and that's always a good time.
                              

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I fell off the blogging wagon again. Oops. Clearly, I need a a better sponsor. Or more self discipline. Anyway, I miss it, and I have some catching up to do, so, I will be back shortly.  In the meantime, here is yet another example of the awesome that is the world wide web.

People doing the conga? The worst. Baby bears doing the conga? Amazing. Without the internet, I might have gone my whole life without seeing a sleuth (collective noun for bears, look it up) of bear cubs turn grooming time into a conga line. Turn the sound on if you want the full effect.
           
Is that a forty second vacation or what? God bless the internet.

Happiness - According to Ms. Luella Bates Washington Jones

I find a lot of joy in the little things. In fact, I find joy in finding joy in the little things, so I try to document those layers of joyfulness whenever possible. Usually, they sneak up on me so my phone serves as my means of documentation. Here are some of the happy things Ms. Luella Bates Washington Jones has captured lately.

{It is absurd how happy a new set of colored pens can make me. My love of school supplies goes way back and was a significant factor in my decision to become a teacher. Then I learned that the students had a tendency to abscond with them.}

{Now that I'm not teaching, it's easier to keep awesome colored pens around, but it's slightly more difficult to justify their purchase. Let's just say my to-do lists are very pretty.}

{This is from a while ago, but the combination of Tom, Lucy, and a healthy glass of Zin makes for a very happy time indeed.}

{Tom and I were very late to the party on this one, but seriously? I love these characters so much that I am willing to believe all the crazy-ass nonsense that they get into.}

{Hi there.}

{Mom busting a move}

{Lucy wanted in.}

{the succulent wreath in action}

Welcome to (West) Hollywood, Baby

Melrose Place, the cross street at the end of my block, not the 90's primetime soap, is a darling little street. It's only a block long, but it's tree-lined loveliness makes it a popular place for photo shoots and the occasional commercial filming. Whenever anything is going to be filmed on Melrose Place, they post a notice on the front of our building. Usually, it's nothing too exciting - a Toyota commercial was the last big excitement, but this last one caught my attention.

TV Drama, you say? I looked up Newsroom and found that it is Aaron Sorkin's next project. This is the guy who brought us A Few Good Men, The American President, The Social Network, so on filming day, I walked down to check out the scene. Apparently Newsroom takes place in New York...

At one point I started feeling like an awkward, wannabe paparazzi (and really, who wants to be a paparazzi?), so I started taking pictures of flowers to pretend I was all L.A. and totally unfazed by the big studio production. Whatevs movie people, I'm not impressed; I just want to stop and photograph the roses.

The lights were still shining into my bathroom at 8pm, so I went back later that evening for more looky-looing. From what I could determine, someone may or may not have killed a baby, the police are involved, and Jeff Daniel's character will be getting out of a taxi at some point... Apologies for the crap photos; I got the impression that walking on set to get better pictures would be frowned upon.

{the "atmospheric smoke effects" promised in the Notice of Filming}