the last day

of 2007 was spent thusly:

Driving up, up and more up to Alta Dena for a hike.


We passed an interesting looking camper while looking for the trail head.


Once there, we consulted the map for the route. We were headed to Dawn Mine. It's sort of been this unattained goal for the last... oh... 7 years. Sigh.


Taking a moment to admire my new hiking boots (I like that they call this color: Spice).


Already up so high, we just kept climbing higher and higher...


Stopping a moment (one of many stops for me) to admire our view.


Self portrait 1.


Self portrait 2. (dear god, but was I tired!)


A mysterious city on the horizon.


I can't believe how beautiful L.A.'s skyline can look.


Leaving the trails, we turned back and noticed that the mountains were pink.


We drove down to Old Town Pasadena in search of dinner and remembered that it was new year's eve. The parade watchers were starting to line up.


These determined folks will be here all night (at this point, it was about 4:30 pm) waiting for the parade to pass their rock star seats the following morning. I hope they brought enough hot cocoa.


We opted instead for barbeque.


If it's got a giant rooster out front, it must be okay right?


The kind of place where you can throw the peanut shells on the floor.


And wash up in a tub if the sauce got out of hand.


And served up cold beer in a mason jar (Shiner Bock, in case you were wondering, which I highly recommend).

Darn. I forgot to take a photo of the food. We were so hungry we just dug in. Pulled pork sandwich for me and baby back ribs for m.

Then home for showers, a little bubbly and a little cozy sitting on the couch to ring in the new year.

Happy new year!

artsy? or just plain obsessive?

I had a folder saved up of all these photos I wanted to post that I thought were kinda artsy. Turns out they are all of the cats. The cats are pretty decent models. Not the most cooperative. But they're always available. And unpredictable. So I have to work fast.


Moody hipsters.


Mysterious and spare.


Extreme closeup.


Intimate and quiet.


Fun crop.


Candid.

our christmas...

... and more fartin' around with the camera

I can't believe the year is nearly over. I know everyone says that. But really. The year. It's almost over. Shazam.

Neither m nor I took any time off since we'd decided to stay put for the holidays. This week was a short one at work but man did it feel long. More on that in a bit.

M and I are a little non-traditional with the holidays. We're not extravagant gift-givers to begin with and with our mish-mosh of religious practices and upbringings none of the usual traditions feel right for us. So our Christmases are usually quiet affairs with the two of us at home just hanging out. I actually forgot to dig out the tree this year. Maybe when we have kids we'll start new traditions for our family.

On Christmas Eve, we did end up going for a walk on the beach. The dolphin beach, as it were.

It was unreasonably bright.


And rather warm, actually.


And there were these teeny little trees that the parks and recreation people had planted in the sand.


Here's a photo for scale lest you think those were boulders next to a fully grown evergreen.

We drove back to our home as the sun was setting. It was lovely.

The city becomes desolate around this time of year. I think it's all the transplants from the east coast or the Midwest gone home for the holidays. They'll be back the first week of the new year ready to reclaim their Hollywood lives.

Until then, we are enjoying a city with little to no traffic.


Good times.


Hope your Christmas was as exciting as crumpled wrapping paper and empty boxes is to a cat.

it's so cute it hurts

Check out this new blogger on the block. For you bookworms (not bibliophiles I just learned) out there who are looking for book reviews from the young crowd. Dude's got 4 reviews so far and I have enjoyed reading each one.

beautiful chairs

I saw these via a link from Apartment Therapy. Here are my favorites:



You know, I used to find it odd hearing people describe cars or computers as sexy. But I gotta admit that that was the first word that popped in my head when I saw this beautiful walnut number designed by George Nakashima. Look at that gleaming wood. Mm-mm-mmmmm...


Here's a fun mid-century Wegner chair. I like the lime green upholstery. I would feel like some sort of evil battlestar commander sitting in this chair. I'm sure it would be mighty comfy too.


Wow. This one is just plain cool looking in terms of design. I don't know that I would have it (or a bunch of them for dining table seating purposes) in my home or what, but I really appreciate their aesthetic. And hey let's face it, at $2550 a pop this is not a decision that I will need to struggle with anytime soon.


But these guys... Gosh. I'd really love to have these as my dining chairs. Perhaps with a different colored upholstery. But they seem like a good marriage of comfort and function. M hates the idea of a dining chair where the food crumbs and bits get stuck in between the back and seat of the chair. Wooden chairs (though lovely) don't offer the same kind of comfort as a padded/upholstered seat. This is important for folks like us as we enjoy gathering around the kitchen table for extended periods or lingering after a good meal. Priced at just shy of a grand per chair (ka-ching, ka-ching), another dilemma that I will not be seriously pondering anytime soon.

cookie factory 2007

When I wasn't supporting indie artists or galavanting off to see shows at up and coming theatres, I spent a lot of time baking. I had holiday thank you gifts to give out to my staff.

God I love these bowls.


My kitchen table is so crowded and my house such a mess, the fruit bowl had to hang out on the floor for a bit.


The Och is surprised at the change. (doesn't my floor and my whole kitchen in fact look amazing? I assure you it's all in the photography. My kitchen isn't that sparkling white, but I am enjoying pretending that it is.)


The chicken that ruled this roost. Okay, I have to confess. I planned this photo just so I could say that. Now that it's all typed up instead of swirling around in my head, it's not even that funny. Or really all that clever. I'm such a dork. But isn't my baking chicken cute? Let's focus on that.


Rolling out these snickerdoodles was fun. Eating them fresh out of the oven was even better.


Packaging. I've discovered that I really enjoy looking at things lined up in a grid-like fashion. So satisfying. Especially if they also incorporate pretty packaging. I think that's why I enjoy browsing at Whole Foods so much. And fabric stores too.


Four different types of cookies. Cause I'm aggro like that. And a dozen in each packages. Cause more is more.


The cutest baking assistant. She just watched. I uphold a strict "no paws" policy with my cooking.

more fun with my new toy

or, What I Did On Friday Night.

I saw my friend donna. She's a high school drama and english teacher. Here she is in her Little Theatre introducing her fall production:


I got to have some fun with my new camera. Don't worry, I'm not one of those assholes who text message during movies or in darkened theatres. I was sitting in the back row (there's like 10) and photographing in a non-obtrusive way.

Isn't she lovely? I had to photograph her because I thought she looked like a dutch painting. Her face is so serene and sweet.


And the costumes were pretty freaking amazing.


Did I mention that this is a high school production?


Oh yeah, and donna's friends with a fight choreographer. If you think this looks hot, you should have seen her spring production of Peter Pan complete with guy-wires. I remember her announcing: We've become the Mark Taper.


Photographing fencers in a darkened theatre is really, really tricky. I have not mastered this art (not even close, sista).


That was a fun night.