peacocks in the park

Well, it's been a busy few weeks for us with a guest in town and all other kinds of goings on...I hope you've all been doing well!

Here are a few photos from an outing to the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden last weekend. I did take photos of various flora, but I was mostly taken by the many peacocks that were just wandering around the grounds unattended. They made the funniest noises all day long and didn't seem to be afraid of people at all...except once my husband got too close to one when he wasn't paying attention and the peacock turned and fanned all its tail feathers out at him in a big huff. Touchy, touchy!

Please be sure to stop by tomorrow, when author Diana Schoenburn stops by the blog to do a guest post. She'll be talking about her adorable book Puppet Play, which you can preview by clicking on the link.

once in a mega moon...

...I will actually blog.

We went out last night to the Griffith Observatory to wait for the mega moon. It was so cloudy that we weren't sure we would actually see anything, but our efforts were rewarded with an incredibly bright and beautiful viewing. Between the walking and the waiting, we stayed out in the cold night for over two hours, but it was well worth it! After all, it will be another 20 years before we see a moon this bright.

december rainbow

After a week of torrential rain, the sun broke through the clouds yesterday afternoon and a massive rainbow appeared over Los Angeles. Actually, there were two rainbows, one stretching impossibly over the other.

I first heard about them through Facebook and Twitter friends and hurried outside when I saw one arcing behind the house. This positively unreal photo of the rainbow illuminating a church was taken at the end of our street--I ran a couple of blocks in the rain to capture it, so I was literally chasing a rainbow! The sky was still dark and stormy here, but just a head turn away there were glimpses of cerulean blue sky and sun. Pretty awesome.

We aren't quite done with the rain and flooding yet, but it was amazing to be rewarded with such a gorgeous sight after so many dark days. Hopefully a sign of more good things to come.

epicure imports

This weekend, we went to Epicure Imports for some gourmet goodies. The restaurant wholesale warehouse, which is open to the public just six times a year, stocks all kinds of delicious imported foods, including charcuterie, fine chocolates, and packaged goods at a discount.

We went primarily in search of this amazing truffle tagliatelle, which I've been unable to find anywhere in stores. We bought it last winter and it's amazingly addictive with the addition of just a little bit of butter and perhaps some fresh parmesan. For comparison's sake, this particular pasta sells for $18 a box online (ack!) versus $10 a box at the warehouse sale.

We also came away with some cheese, sausage, truffle butter, and a few other goodies, although compared to most shoppers there, our basket was pitifully small. Part of the fun of going is really to see people loading up their shopping carts with huge quantities of food and hearing all the totals being rung up. It's pretty exciting to see the vast amounts of money people are able to spend on food! We certainly don't eat like this all the time, but it's nice to have a little taste of it now and then.

Epicure's website is rather unreliable, but they recently did set up a Facebook page, which is sporadically updated, but I am also posting their 2011 sale dates below.

Epicure Imports 2011 Open Warehouse Dates
6900 Beck Ave., N. Hollywood, CA 91605
818-985-1500

February 11 - 12
April 15 - 16
June 10 - 11
September 23 - 24
November 18 - 19
December 16 - 17

Please remember to call ahead to verify hours and dates. If you're in the Los Angeles area and you love to eat, Epicure is definitely worth a trip.

zoo

The day after Thanksgiving, we wanted to do something outdoorsy after all that food...so we went to the zoo! Apparently this was a popular idea, since we ran into two other parties of people we knew there as well.

It was a really nice day to be out, quite brisk and slightly overcast, and good weather to be walking around in. The animals always see to be more active when the weather is cooler anyway, and we saw lots of playful behavior on display.

Of course, there were also animals that were curled up just trying to stay warm, too. As you may remember, I love koalas, so I was looking forward to seeing them on our outing... and see them we did, although they were all huddled up in balls or clinging to branches by heat lamps. I'm quite fond of the way koala bears fold down their ears when they're sleeping...it's so very sweet and it makes me want to squeeze them with great enthusiasm. It's just as well I'm really not allowed anywhere near them; heaven help the poor bears if I ever get myself over to those places in Australia where you get to hold them.

malibu vineyards and views

A friend of ours was in town this weekend, so yesterday we went on a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to a couple of vineyards. I'd heard that there were quite a few wineries in Malibu but we'd never been, so we decided to take a short day trip to explore the area.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outdoors, sunny and windy and very autumnal. The vineyards were located off the PCH, and the drive through the mountains on the way there was breathtaking, with stunning views of deep green valleys and winding roads with the blue ocean in the background.

We were especially excited to see a copper-colored geodesic dome perched on top of a ridge. My husband and his friend Matt have always been big fans of this type of building, and it's the first time we've seen such a nice one in person. Additional photos of the house show more of the construction and interiors, which apparently has rooms with ceilings that are two and a half stories high! Amazing. It also has windows all around the house to take advantage of its beautiful view.

Eventually we made our way to Malibu Family Wines, where we did a mixed tasting of their Saddlerock wines. It was a rather unusual place in that most of what you could see were scattered tables and chairs, where guests can relax with a bottle of wine and enjoy live music on the weekends. It was really cold in spite of the outside heaters, however, so we decided to go on to a tasting at Sip Cielo Wine Bar, where we did another tasting. It was a really lovely day, and a wonderful way to spend a fall afternoon.

urban barn holiday faire

Yesterday we took a trip out to Escondido, California, which is about 90 minutes away from Los Angeles near San Diego. We went to the Holiday Vendor Faire at Urban Barn, which is a shabby chic-ish home goods store I'd read about on a blog somewhere.  There were pretty filmy dresses and jewelry and holiday decorations and paper ephemera everywhere, with additional vendors set up outside.

We came away with a replacement present for those matryoshka dolls (!), a tinkly vintage holiday pin for me ($2), and a carded set of buttons ($1) for a special project I have in mind. I wish there had been more vendors (both the place and the fair were on the smaller side), especially since we went a little out of our way to attend, but I think Urban Barn is relatively new so perhaps they'll grow in time.

I do so like shopping at flea and antique markets. If I could, I'd always buy gifts that had previously belonged to someone else!

photos from a rainy sunday

Today we went to visit the Lake Shrine Temple in the Pacific Palisades. It was a cold and wet day for a walk, but still beautiful! The mix of architecture was a little unusual, but the grounds were beautifully kept and full of lush foliage and lovely flora. Well worth a quick stop if you're ever by the Pacific Coast Highway in southern California.

The rain actually made some of the flowers look too too picture perfect, what with the raindrops on roses and all that! Many of our leaves actually are turning color now that it's fall (though of course it's nothing like the spectacular color on the east coast), but it's still nice to see life in bloom no matter what season it is.

                

fancy hat + cute apron

I really have to find a garden party to go to. Because I now have the perfect hat to wear to it!

We went to the Pasadena Flea Market again this weekend, and I found this beautiful vintage hat that I absolutely could not resist. It's made of mossy green velvet and covered in gorgeous velvet flowers with a swanky net veil that comes down rakishly just over one eye. So fabulous! The label inside reads "Gene Doris," who was apparently a very well-known milliner in New York during the 40s, 50s, and 60s. This will join my collection of fancy accessories that I don't have an occasion to wear yet, along with my vintage thrifted gloves and such.

I bought another item that was much more practical--a cheery vintage apron in a wonderful colors that reminds me of Hannah's old-fashioned work. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of aprons, but when you see this kind of thing at $5, how could a normal person possibly walk away? It's also a good excuse to get rid of the current ones that are covered in unsightly spills or stains, so I'm calling it a good and necessary purchase.

I'm also on a little bit of a high because this trip yielded a huge bounty of items for a few swaps I'm super excited about hosting, including my favorite A Little House Christmas swap. Participants are invited to exchange stockings filled with items inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I'm bursting with ideas as well as the necessity to keep the Laura items I just bought a secret for at least another month. Isn't it funny how as a child you can't wait for Christmas because you can't wait for all the goodies you'll receive, but as an adult you're even more excited by things you'll be giving?

more leisure photos

Just a few more photos from last week. Our friend was in town for a visit, and we took him to the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, which is about 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles. It's the biggest Buddhist Temple in the United States, and is a really amazing place. Huge, quiet, beautiful, and great place to go for tea or lunch or interesting cultural events.

We also had a dinner out for our sixth wedding anniversary...at Bouchon! I just love Thomas Keller, and our meal of steak frites did not disappoint. Especially since they were followed by profiteroles drizzled in dark chocolate.