bloomfest festival

There has been an upsurge of festivals during this summer season.  I can't complain because it's free and I get to enjoy some decent music, yummy food trucks and beer gardens on a Saturday afternoon.  The Bloomfest festival was held in the Arts district in DTLA and the area manages to change and gentrify every time I visit.  I wonder where the real artists are now because the place is surrounded with luxurious loft spaces and high end condos.  Maybe the artists recieve a discount in living in the art commune because their making the murals or stamping their graffiti on the concrete floor, like the owl above, or defacing telephone poles with stickers, who knows?

It was tons of fun to soak in the sun, eat my Korean bbq and listen to some free music.  I finished my meal with a Coolhaus sammy (red velvet ice cream swirl + chocolate cookie), yummy!

I also did some window shopping from the various vendors, such as the American Apparel flea market.  There were some cute skirts and dresses, but there were defective items with holes and stains, and a bit overpriced.  I also saw some silkscreen prints and while walking about, stumbled upon dry spilled paint on the sidewalk...loved it.

To get everyone excited about art, they had random artists painting on the side walk and displaying their original art for purchase on a stop sign.  There was a section where anybody can grab a paint brush and finish a painting if they desired.  The event was a hodge pod of fun randomness.  Bring on some more festivals to fill in my summer weekends.

a crafty sunday

The mayor of Los Angeles decides to allow free rides on the metro during Carmageddon; we surely took advantage of on anything free and hopped on the Gold line from Pasadena to Chinatown for the Renegade Craft fair (RCF).  It was a nice change from driving around in our air conditioned cars and partake in the fun adventure of public transportation.  The weather was sunny and the temperature was not blistering hot, so it was a great day to be outside for our trip to DTLA.  
The RCF was being held at the historic park, conveniently located off the Chinatown metro stop.
The craft fair had all sorts of handmade jewelry, plush toys, silkscreen posters, canvas bags and a photobooth for kicks. 

 The RCF felt like I was online shopping at Etsy, but minus the shipping and handling.  I ended up purchasing a silkscreen poster of a bicycle @ Strawberry Luna.  The bicycle design reminded me of my trip to Amsterdam and how much fun I had biking all over the city.  They have some amazing designs and the color treatments are vibrant and engaging.  The price tag is not bad either considering it's hand made silkscreen.

Here is moi after my purchase in front of this colorful school bus.  I believe more children would take the bus to school if it looked like this!

carmageddon on a saturday

The scare of bumper to bumper traffic and impending doom due to the 405 closure was more hype than real.  Surprisingly, the roads were clear and it felt like a normal weekend kind-of-traffic.  It was my weekend off, and was I going to be stuck at home twiddling my thumbs? Nope!  The most logical thing was to partake in the Eat Real festival in Culver City because it was free and the majority of Angelenos were scared to drive on a freeway, hence the traffic was smooth and stress free.  I had a great time learning about fresh foods, seeing a hen lay eggs and food coma.  I indulge on a tasty dessert, which consisted of a freshly baked waffle and homemade strawberry ice cream.  The well drinks were yum as well.

summer skin 10'

The summer months do bring us outdoor concerts, Vegas trips and a day out on the beach. The summer season in L.A. wasn't as hot as expected. It never felt like summer because there were nights around the 60 degree Fahrenheit. Anywhoo, It doesn't stop me from enjoying summer. Here are my top summer moments in 2010 and in no particular order.

I spent 4Th of July in Paradise Cove, Malibu with my family. My parents enjoyed the seafood extravaganza and my sisters enjoyed taking in the sun and the sea breeze. I managed to enjoy another day in Paradise Cove and walked along the beach admiring the ocean front view homes.

My annual trip to Las Vegas for my Anni. Surprisingly, Vegas was not too crowded and steaming hot. We stopped by at Peggy Sue diner because I have always wanted to go. Every time I pass around Barstow I see large statues of dinosaurs and was always curious to see the park. The food was typical burgers and shakes, but it's a unique little place. I gambled in Vegas but didn't win as always. Will you ever win in any slot machine? But I did find the most fun slot machine ever, the Sex and the City slot machine. Only a penny and you get to enjoy excerpts of some episodes and match shoes to which Sex and the City gal. So fun! It's always popular since every gal is playing it. Also with 20 bucks, you can play a good amount of time until you loose it all.

I got to participate the 2ND annual Fashion Night Out. I knew about this since last year. I went to Fred Segal to celebrate Fashion Nigh Out last year and who knew the event would blossomed to an all night extravaganza. My sister and I headed out to Rodeo Drive since we were attracted to the free Chanel manicures, a ginormous Ferris wheel and Sprinkles cupcakes. To our surprise, we stumbled to a good friend of mine Trung and his BF Luke. Ooh how fun it was as we chin chin to free champagne in all the lux stores and scored on some free nail polish.

My favorite summer moment to date was when my sis Darah and I received our certification as bonified Open Water Divers on 08/08/10. As always, we didn't know what we were getting into. It's a lot of dedication, time and perseverance. There are lots of times where we were thinking, can we possibly do this? We stuck to it, especially my sis since her nickname is "Girlie" and she is never the sporty type of gal and found enjoyment in breathing underwater. People who never dive do not know the process in diving underwater. There are lots of equipment, troubleshooting, and safety checks before jumping into the water because if these safety checks are not done, you will compromise your life. Even though it's such a high risk sport, it is an amazing adventure breathing underwater among sea life.

Summer always bring out great music and we managed to enjoy La Roux at the Nokia Club, which is a great venue I might add. The place is intimate and the sound is impressive. We also saw Kings of Leon at the Hollywood Bowl and were they badass! We saw our favorite songbird, Mieko in Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. I luv this venue because it reminds me of the coffee houses you see in the movies. The seats are couches, and there are tables all around where you can enjoy a drink while they perform. Great acoustics too.

We spent the last day of summer in Vegas to see Phoenix at Pearl in the Palms Casino. My sis Darah and I will make an excuse to make a road trip to see a DJ, band or art exhibition. For example, we made a weekend to see Paul Oakenfold in SF and to catch the Frida Kahlo exhibit in SFMOMA a couple years back. The last day of summer, we made a trip to Las Vegas to see Phoenix. Las Vegas in the weekdays is amazing! No long lines for anything, we got upgraded to a better room with no extra cost and after the concert, out of no where we see Thomas Mars in Ghostbar. What a crazy night. The venue is pretty intimate too and our seats were not bad at all.

summer skin

Hello stranger! Didn't I say switching careers will allow me to make time for things I enjoy such as blogging? Well, there is no excuse. I have been busy working, working some more and a bit of travel. My summer was something to remember.

Here are my top events in no particular order.

1) I rode in a hot air ballon. Will I ever do it again? Of course! The spectacular views are something not to be missed. Also wine tasting afterwards and massages are not bad either. It was a unique day.

2) My only Aussie friend visits me. It was good to reminisce about Madrid, past travels and show him L.A. from a true Angeleno like moi.

3) A picnic at the Grove and to watch Twilight under the stars.

4) To see some fireworks at the H.bowl and see 2 of my favorite bands (Death Cab for Cutie and The Killers). Also, my first experience in sitting in the box seats; fine wine dining was just lovely as well.

5) A bike ride from San Mo to Venice to see these beautiful canals, priceless.

6) Sammies! Courtesy from Cool Haus.

7) Meiko. A free outdoor concert. Sweet!!

8) Vegas in the summer.

9) My first, LA County fair.

10) Santa Barbara for some wine tasting in Los Olivos, bike riding in downtown SB and Solvang for some Dutch flavor.

Summer of 09' was summery indeed.

summer skin

A long haitus since I have been caught up with school and left brain thinking. 

I had a time to relax and enjoy DCFC before I embark for some more left brain thinking.

summer holiday: playa de carmen, mexico

Playa del Carmen is 50 km south of Cancun, Mexico.  I highly recommend for people to travel there because the place is more central than Cancun.  We were able to venture to neigboring cities in affordable rates.  We trekked out to Tulum via Collectivo for only 25 pesos. (2 something dollars).  Considering it is 50 or some km from Playa del Carmen, you cannot beat that price.  The price for getting in the ruins was also very cheap.  It was affordable to go everywhere without wasting your money on lame planned excursions.  The beautiful part of going it on your own is you make your own time and the adventure to speak to the locals with bad spanish and feelin the vibe of Mexico.

  We stayed in Viva Wyndam Maya Hotel.  It was in hotel row called Playacar.  It must have been a rich area because it was a gated community with hotels and beautiful houses; secure and minutes via taxi to the city.  The decor was modern in the lounge area and spanish style in the rooms.  One of our favorite things to do was sit outside in the lounge area and people watch with our cocktails or cafe con leches.

Our first excursion was Tulum.  It was a trade center for the Mayans.  Most of the structures were intact and the place sits on a bluff over looking the ocean.  You can swim after sightseeing and we fully took advantage of it since it was hot and humid most of our stay.  There was an overcast, but still, you can feel the humidity.  It was a nice treat to dip into the water for some cooling off.

An island Cozumel sits next to Playa de Carmen.  We didn't know what to do there, but we definetly wanted to go.  Cozumel is the home of the second largest reef in the world.  It would have been nice to snorkel, but I couldn't have my back burned into a crisp.  We took a joyride in the island with a vintage bug instead.  Saw the smallest Hard Rock Cafe and more  Mayan ruins.  Also dipped in the water to cool off the summer heat.

Our third sightseeing trip was the Mayan ruins in Coba.  Coba was more difficult to venture on your own and it took much creativity.  Many of the locals we spoke to discourage us to go there because it was far from Playa del Carmen.  We manage to go back to Tulum via Collectivo and take a taxi to Coba and have the taxi driver wait for us until we were finished sightseeing around Coba.  All this creativity didn't cost much since we were in a time crunch.  If we had gotten up earlier, we could have taken the bus to Coba, and saved 300 pesos.  The taxi to Coba, which was an hour away from Tulum was 400 pesos (40 dollars) for both.  Not bad since the driver drove fast to get us in the Coba ruins in time.  It was well worth it because I climbed my first Mayan pyramid.  The view was spectacular and the area was filled with lush trees and many Mayan artifacts.

The holiday did consist of other relaxing activities such as reading books on the beach and enjoying our cocktails.  It was just nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and relax; so relaxed that we never kept track of time. 

Extraordinary Machine

I luv summer concerts, especially outside venues.  So I saw Fiona Apple sing her heart out again and her seizure like dance moves.  Also enjoyed a make shift picnic since the Greek Theatre did not allow food to be brought in the venue.  They suck!  Gelson's have the best of everything, that is why they are so darn expensive. Try the chicken curry with some french bread and camembert cheese and your golden.  I heart picnics.

malibu

The last time I went to the beach to swim was ages ago; my sister and I decided to enjoy a picnic and boogie boarding in Malibu. Using the Topanga Ave. and maneuvering the zig zags, the beach is not far from the valley. There wasn't any traffic and we got to Malibu in 40 minutes. I never swam in Malibu; I usually hit Zuma or Newport. It was so much fun because the tides were low, and the water was refreshingly cool than the usual ice cold temperature. It was just nice to get away from the heat. I suck at boogie boarding because I can never catch a damn wave and when I do, I crash and land my feet on the rocks. One time I somehow got into a surfer's wave. At least he was cool about it and didn't say a thing. The surfers' in Malibu ride the waves like proffesionals. Hmm.. I should try surfing one of these days. Yes, I got sunburned! The sun hates me.

puerto vallarta, mexico

A collage I made from my recent trip in Mexico, June 2005 (just any excuse to get creative). I haven't touched photoshop in months, so it was refreshing to do the collage. I have been drawing here and there, nothing major. My second attempt to draw Bob Marley was such a dissapointment on my part. I saw the first drawing of Bob when I went to Ken's house, and I was stunned how my first drawing came out so much better than my second one. So this means I need to start drawing again and start refreshing my skills. This collage is a start. That reminds me, I still need to finish my scrapbook.