Dead Men Tell No Tales

I usually have a rule about decorating for Halloween before Oct 1st, but I broke it.

It was 103F/39.44C degrees in Los Angeles today. We didn't even see those temps in Summer so of course it only makes sense to see them after the 1st day of Fall. I kept the kids inside in the air conditioning and did a bit of Halloween tablescaping.

Believe it or not, all these thing were just lying around my library shelves.

I'll see if I can find my pictures from Kutna Hora for you. They'll make a great Halloween post in and of themselves.

The Absinthe fountain my husband gave me for Xmas after our trip to Prague.

Eat LACMA

We've watched this "green" exhibition grow since July and finally it's at a point that I thought the pictures could really give you the idea of what was happening here. I promised more "green" blog posts and am happy to report from my, very nearly, own back yard.

So much of Art is about food, because of course, LIFE is about food. LACMA took on the task of curating an exhibit about food, sustainability, and art all in one exhibit called Eat LACMA. It's food, it's art, and somewhere in there is a little bit of "green" education.

The Eat LACMA exhibit culminates in an all day event on Nov 7th, 2010. I'll try to check it out and bring you some pictures from the event.

Potatoes!

Lady bugs

Strawberries

Art shot

While this may work as art I don't think it works so much as an actual growing method as these strawberries seem pretty sad to me.

Pantyhose were used to keep the melons from fallen to the ground

 

Fish food for the food pyramid

I really like this idea even if the execution was a bit dodgy. The idea is grow edible plants in the large plastic containers and house/grow fish to eat in the pond below. The plants didn't seem too happy but I know nothing about hydroponics so perhaps that's just they way they're supposed to look.

Re-circulating the water through the plants into the fish pond below.

All made from recycled stuff

Tilapia fish, yes they're hard to see but they're there.

Tomatoes
 

Union Station Downtown Los Angeles

My son is still in the Thomas The Tank Engine phase, so every once in while, we go down to Union Station and let him watch the trains. Union Station has a great vibe and terrific decor. It's often photographed by amateur and professionals alike and many a film and commercials are shot here. The day we were here we were dodging two other photographers setting up shots. 

When so many of Los Angeles "Golden Era" icons have been torn down, Union Station remains. In addition to being a working train station and filming destination, you can also book weddings here.

The original ticket counter, now mainly used for filming

 

It may not be the fastest way to travel but how romantic would it be to book a sleeper car on a train going up the coast.

All Aboard!

Cheers!

J.

This I Believe

This is one of the pieces my husband directed for the Live Earth concert series that Al Gore put on a few years ago.

Meg Ryan

Working with Al Gore and working on Live Earth put us, as a family, on a path to being more environmentally conscience. Living in Los Angeles makes that a little easier so I'm planning on doing more posts about "being green" in the future.

       

Have a great weekend everybody!

(Yes, I know it's only Wednesday, but my daughter's surgery is tomorrow so I won't be back till next week;)

Cheers!

J.

Malibu

Sometimes the best days are the unplanned days. 

So we set out on a drive just to get the kids to take a nap and it turned into a impromptu drive up PCH to Malibu and my daughter got to take her first steps in the Pacific Ocean.

Throughout all of my travels, it has always been the unplanned stop, off the map, off the guide book, the bright shiny object that makes me go, "Hey Look! What's that?!" that have always turned out to be the best parts. Have always led to the stories that we end up telling and the times you remember the most fondly.

And so it was with this unplanned stop at the beach. No packing of picnic baskets, no towels, no gear, no bathing suits, sunscreen or hats. Nothing was planned so nothing was expected.

Which of course meant that everything was perfect.

I always love watching children see and touch the Ocean for the first time.

My daughter, little dare devil that she is, wanted to head straight for the water.

My son on the other, wanted nothing but to dig, with his bare hands, in the sand. 

As far nothing as we were, almost Ventura County, there was little crowding at the beach.

"Stick with me kid, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

Wow, it really was such a beautiful day.


I actually had more photos but my daughter has run off with one of my cameras and now I can't find it!

Ah well, ain't life Grand!?

Cheers!
J.

Ridemakerz

Living near The Grove and having a daughter I've checked out the American Girl store few times. But I also have a son and have often wondered why there isn't a "boy" version of American Girl.

Well there is, it's called RideMakerz. 

Not that I'm sexist, girl's will love Ridemakerz too. 

I outta know, I'm a girl and I thought Ridemakerz was just the coolest thing!

Ridemakerz is located at Downtown Disney. I was planning on doing a post just on Downtown Disney alone, but when I went into the Ridemakerz shop, well they had me at "Foose" rims. 

Ridemakerz is a customizable remote controlled car shop. You pick out your base car and customize it with rims, decals, etc and assemble your final product on site with help from the staff on hand.

 

They even do birthday parties. I'm thinking Karl may get one for his birthday next year given what a Lighting McQueen fan he is.

Ridemarkerz have locations in California, Arizona, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, and Virginia. If you have a car fan on your hands, boy, girl, young, old, this is definitely a place to check out. If there isn't one located near you, you can also build your bear, whoops, I mean CAR online.

Cheers!
J.