I saw this man this morning on my way to pick up lunch and lighten the dark cloud I was walking under. He made me so happy and was kind enough to allow me to snap his image. They don't make them like this anymore. Enjoy!
Accordion Man
Happy 5 Year Blog Anniversary
So today I've been officially blogging for 5 year. I think I hoped that this blog would have evolved much more then me changing the layout every once in a while. I have dreamed of this space often. Real life and priorities have kept me from doing more. I wish this blog were my real work life, but it's still a hobby. What made me start this space was my passion for photography, food and travel. I still have that, but I've watch others live the dream and am still only dabbling in an area that I should be excelling in. This post is turning into a self-reflection, which I rarely do publicly.
I continue to struggle whether to but advertising on this site. I've worked in advertising for sixteen years and let me tell you the click thru rate on banners just keeps sinking lower and lower. But the ad dollars may be worth it. I like the simple look, and the blogs with lots of advertising are not as appealing to read. Too much stuff. I have found myself enjoying social media much more than anticipated for this Gen Xer. I'm an avid participant and follower on Instagram and Pinterest, but only a voyeur on Facebook and Twitter.
I continue to bake and cook and read everything under the sun. I wish money and time were no object so we could travel more and take a few of the photography and cooking classes I long for.
All you food, travel and photography bloggers out there continue to inspire me on a daily basis. You challenge me everyday and feed my curiosity. Irony here is what I turned in for my photography portfolio umpteen years ago is still my style esthetic, just a bit more progressive.
So with that self-reflection on this blog my goals in this space for the next year are to take at least one class (cooking or pottery or photography) and travel somewhere new. And let's not forget finishing my Cuba Story. I finally told my dad about our story and he said "
Please finish it."
These goals ask so much from myself, but are tasks I think I can accomplish.
"So self...keep on blogging, keeping on shooting, bake and cook and feed your travel bug, and oh yeah, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!"
Getty Villa and Frances Mayes
In the past I have posted some of my favorite books and one of them that I read often, sometimes once a year is
Under the Tuscan Sun
.
My friend Nancy told me that Frances and Ed Mayes had published a cookbook and that the book tour was bringing them to the Getty Villa in Malibu. I was too excited for words, so I booked a reservation for four people to the Getty Villa, you need to do this on their
. They don't charge per person, but per car, so I assumed my friends visiting and SB would go with me. Alas, on that day everyone had different plans. I called Nancy at the very last minute to see if she wanted to go with me, as I had turned her on to this book and she had told me about the book signing. She already had plans, so I ventured to one of my favorite places alone. Before I get to my story here are few of the my photo's of the Getty Villa, which houses J. Paul Getty's antiquity collection (lots of statues).
Water lilies by the water fall.
A view of the cafe....best museum food I've ever had.
Beautiful tiled fountain.
This is the best view of the pool and if you don't know this balcony below is here, you'll miss it. There is a door to the West of the upstair elevators. Push the handicap button and the doors will open to this balcony and enjoy the view. It's not always open, but if it is, go...and thankfully this is still a well kept secret. There is hardly ever anyone out there.
A hipstamic moment.
I got there at 10AM. No one was there, it was so empty, a class of kids was in the amphitheater and hadn't scattered thru out the museum yet, so I really had the place to myself. I found the book store to purchase this cookbook. You can purchase it
.
At the bookstore they'd asked me if I'd reserved a book, I hadn't and became worried. But they'd ordered extra so I got my book and then hovered near the table and line in the shade waiting for Frances and Ed. When they walked by I recognized her right away and said "hello," like I knew her, really I've never met her but felt like we were long time friends.
Two gentleman went before me in line and had bought every book she ever published and had her sign them all, she kindly did so and chatted them up. This took a while, then they gave her embroidered tea towels, really how can I compete with this thoughtfulness. It did bode well for getting my personal first edition copy of
Under the Tuscan Sun
signed, which I had brought with me. When it was my turn I was so excited and had her sign the cookbook and asked if she'd signed my
Under the Tuscan Sun
copy. I told her and Ed I read this about every year while drinking a nice glass of Prosecco (she introduced me to this delicious bubbly wine). Ed said "Good for you!" The third person at the table happened to be the photographer. I had looked at the photographs and thought they were lovely so when I got to him I asked him if he'd sign his favorite picture. This is like asking someone what there favorite city was on a European tour, or your favorite pastry at Laduree. He couldn't find one of his favorites but described which one it was, it's the vegetables against the plastered walls of Bramasole (the Mayes home in Tuscany). Later on in the day I found it and almost went back to have him sign it.
It was only 10:45 by now and someone mentioned there was a lecture at noon, this series is called: Celebrity Chef Series: Frances Mayes (The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen) Author Frances Mayes speaks on the occasion of the publication of her first-ever cookbook. Mayes talks about how this cuisine transports, comforts, entices, and speaks to the friendly, genuine, and improvisational spirit of Tuscan life.
I wasn't planning on staying that long, but I thought I'd wonder thru the museum as it wasn't crowded and explore images I might want to take and see if there was anything new. I've been to this museum many times before and after the remodel. It's like being transported to Italy. Such a beautiful re-creation of an Italian villa. Below are some of the patterns, textures, and tromp l'oeil you'll see everywhere.
This is technically the entrance of the museum. Make sure to look up, the ceiling is beautiful.
#fromwhereistand
By noon I was still there so I went to see if there were any tickets left, they are free, they handed me one and I went into the auditorium. Bon Appetit introduced her, did you know they manage the cafe at the Getty Villa? This makes sense as the food is delicious. Her reading was poetic and painted many word pictures. I kept thinking how glad I was in this position to come on a Wednesday morning to the Getty Villa at the last minute and hear one of my favorite authors describe the Italian life she'd made for herself and how people thought she was crazy to start this venture, I was inspired and moved. After the reading we were allowed to ask questions. Not many went up, so I asked why she choose Cortona of all the places in Italy to live [she'd initially stayed there on her first visit to Italy as it was centrally located to where she wanted to tour, after that she kept coming back, so it seemed a likely place to set roots]. Someone else asked her about the difference in writing a cookbook versus her travel logs [much different, she hadn't realized the ingredients were listed in the order you put them in dish].
By this time it was 1PM and I was hungry, the cafe was making a few of the recipes in her book, so I went up there and order the crostini. These were so savory. The Pea and Shallot had a hint of mint, a surprising refreshing burst of flavor in your mouth. The other crostini was Pecorino and Nut (walnuts). Nutty from the walnuts and cheese with a tangy salty flavor.
Some of my favorite statues....and well, one that scares me to death, I use to dream about this "chicken lady" chasing me thru the ditches in New Mexico when I was a kid. Yes I know I need therapy.
A Siren...but I call her the "Chicken Lady."
For some reason this one reminds me of the statue I saw in the movie "The Saint". I believe the statue I am referring to is at Oxford, at least it was in the movie.
After this lovely afternoon I walked thru the herb garden and headed home. Funny thing was Nancy deeply regretted that I didn't talk her out of her plans (which I really couldn't have). She ended up having to drive down to Costa Mesa to get a signed copy of the books as the Getty Villa had sold out. It was a fun adventure for the day. I can't wait to have a few more.
Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
(310) 440-7300
Descanso Gardens
It's been a VERY long time since I went to Descanso Gardens. I was probably 10 years old, and well that's a long time ago. The gardens are in La Canada, and worth the drive for us Westsiders. The gardens were lovely and seeing as its spring most of the flowers were in bloom. Admission for adults it's $8 and $3 for children (5-12yrs old)
Tulips were breathtaking. I recently took a quiz about
"which of flower are you?"
Try it yourself
. I am a Tulip, which makes sense why I was drawn toward these gorgeous flowers. Personally Dahlias and Peonies are my favorite flowers, but there were none to be found that day.
Pink and pretentious.
White and purple color palate.
Art and Craft style building on the grounds. I believe you can rent many of these spaces for events. They are pretty spectacular and worth checking in to.
This is the house where the original residence lived. It's pretty amazing.
I wanted to be inside so much but they don't have the house open on Monday's. I made myself go into the house with my reflection on the window and the mirror inside.
Below are my images that are an ode to a few photographers I really admire.
An ode to Ansel Adam's Dogwood image.
Ode to Imogen Cunningham and Georgia O'Keefe.
My college photography professor would have a few unkind words to say about the above image, but I love it, so there.
Bridge with cherry blossoms all around.
Lonely Cherry Blossom tree.
The color palates everywhere were breathtaking.
The Lilac bushes were so fragrant, before you even walk into the area you are surrounded by the perfume in the air.
So many lovely Camellia's.
You must take a day this Spring and stop and smell the roses.
Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Drive
La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Near intersection of 210 and 2 Freeways.
20 Minutes from downtown L.A.
Exploring
Since I've had this time off, and I must say thoroughly enjoying it, you may ask what have I been up to. LIVING is the best way to say it. I've been enjoying the city I live in, which I never do, especially when all I ever saw was my garage, the 10 Freeway back and forth to work and the parking lot.
So, unplanned I've actually been exploring L.A. Thru field trips with my friends kids, off with the Mom's during Spring break and my own spur of the moment decisions.
Here are a few smatterings of images I've taken via my iPhone along the way.
Banksy on the side of a building in downtown L.A.
Looking up on a cool Art Deco building with great lines.
Great old buildings and theater.
Flower mart....including the yellow ball flowers up top.
Here are a few from walking on the beach in the early morning.
SB makes fun of me for taking pictures of the bathroom structure....it's the one thing SM has done right down at the beach, cool architecture and appealing colors...the smell is still bad, but we can't everything.
Art Direction: SB Photographer: ME.
Images below are from a recent trip to Descanso Gardens, driving the freeway's with no one on it is a pure luxury in this town. All taken with Hipstamic on my iPhone.
Leap of Faith
So today is the first day of my "freedom," for a little while I hope. Yes I've taken a great leap of faith and resigned from my Advertising job that I've had for the past 6 years, been in the business for 16 years. New adventures await me, which I couldn't be happier about. What will I do, well today I hope to start a road back to better health and peace of mind. Starting with a nice walk and a better eating regimen.
You may ask, what will I do about work? Will I end up in Advertising again? Who knows, I might. Will I be blogging more? I hope so, but let me tell you my week is already scheduled and quite busy with wonderful things. I'll be busy in my volunteer work, catching up on all the time that I've sacrificed away from what I love to do. SB and I are planning a few field trips that are photo related. I may even get him in another museum or two, yeah let me not push that wish. One museum and a photo field trip. We have guests coming at the end of March so I look forward to spending time with them.
You may ask what is my secular dream job. Here's what I would say:
Travel and food journalist/photographer. I'd love to work for a few publishers and magazines such as Travel &Leisure, NYT, or Conde Nast. I want to write and photograph small stories about the people, places and food that make traveling so fun and culturally enriching. In the meantime, I'll be satisfied with my self-assigned local travel and food stories and live vicariously thru friends that venture out into the world. Come back and see what I'm up to. Hopefully there will be more regular updates.
P.S. I've changed my blog layout, obviously. What do you think?
Route 10
Here's the pictures I've promised.
So this winter I had 1 -1/2 weeks off from work so we decided to take a road trip and visit my family in New Mexico. As the weather was extremely bad we had to take the southern route to Albuquerque. This made our road trip 15 hours instead of the usual 11. Seriously the last 3 hours where the worst and most disappointing as it was so dark and we were going through a part of New Mexico that SB has never seen. The stars where amazing though. Here's a sampling
of what we saw along the road.
Early morning...I love to see the sun rise and the clouds were everywhere so it was amazing.
Palm Springs energy windmills.
Colorado River crossing into Arizona.
Texas Canyon Rocks, in Arizona, very cool.
Sunset time in New Mexico....finally.
Idaho or Bust
Road Trip. I have to say I really enjoy road trips. I've spent many hours in the car growing up driving Route 66 and many other US highways, Interstates, freeways etc...
A few months ago we drove from Los Angeles to Boise, Idaho. Dear friends or ours were
moving up there. We drove their second car and made our way through California, Nevada, Oregon and finally Idaho.
We left LA at the grueling hour of 4am, it was suppose to be 3am (I took that picture above at that time, no turning the clock back for a photo op) so you can imagine how early we had to get
up for this. Our friends have two kids so it was essential to get them in the car asleep a
nd get in a good 6 hours of driving before they woke.
We took the 5 freeway and hit a few pockets of nothingness and then stumbled upon the worst smell ever. And for 5am, it was miserable. Cow's for miles and the stench j
ust wouldn't go away.
After passing the stench we get to the grapes of wrath where there are lines of fieldworkers that define this part of the continent.
Food fair on the road is pretty dismal. My mom use to pack a lunch or stop in some great little hole in the wall diner in some small little town along our route. There weren't that many options this time. So as typical Americans we stop at the usual fast-food, chain restaurants.
McDonald's, Denny's and a Subway, which is the healthiest of the bunch. For some reason this
food is appetizing on the road.
As we drive into Nevada and closer to Reno the scenery drastically changes it becomes beautiful blue sky's, tree line mountains, with patches of snow higher up.
We arrive in Reno about 2PM and are completely spent, it's the ridiculous tired feeling. We stay at the Grand Sierra Resort Casino.
I take a nap, check out the hotel amenenties while SB runs down to the pool with our friend and his two kids.
In Nevada's alternate to Las Vegas, Reno pale's in comparison for casinos, though the vie
ws are
awesome. We do however, decided to head down to the Casino to eat the buffet....seriously we
get there and the line is around the corner, through the slot machines to the race track and through to grandmother's house. Wait is 1 hour. I feel meltdown coming on all of us...finally we can't make a decision and just head to the quickest nearest place possible
, Johnny Rockets.
More burgers, fries and shake...but ooooh so delicious.
We had a great night sleep in a bed that SB absolutely loves so
much that once we
got back he called the hotel to find out what kind of bed as we need to purchase a new one ourselves. We
ate breakfast repacked the cars and took off for some interesting scenery.
You may or may not be surprised how many penitentiaries we passed in the middle of nowhere, not a lovely site.
We really got to see the little towns, abandoned shacks, farms and beautiful places.
Just before entering Boise we came through this town that had wineries and fruit orchards and the like it was really inviting.
After a day waiting for our friends POD to arrive we checked out downtown Boise, reminded me of Portland. It felt very College town like, without the FRAT boys. The next day when the POD arrived we unpacked it and it was barely empty before SB and I had to catch a plane home.
I got very emotional. These are dear friends but because of our busy schedules we didn't get
together as much as we'd like. We really bonded with them and their kids and I for one was sad to leave them. I know they'll adjust to their new 3 bedroom, 2 car garage and yard quickly and
their new friends will come to love them as much as those of us who grew up around them.
Can't wait for the next road trip, I've already got my mind spinning. We were sad to leave our friends behind, but made a promise to visit in the winter, I'd love to see Boise with snow everywhere. We miss you P family.
Chris Burden's Light Installation
If your living in LA you get this great chance everyday to listen to a truly great radio station.
Indie 103.1. This makes the morning commute bearable. Wednesday's are notoriously great as it's called Wino Wednesday, which occasionally my work mates and I
adopt at the end of a particularly grueling day in the office.
In the past couple of months on my way to work Joe Escalante, DJ, from the 80's band the Vandals, has talked about this art installation by Chris Burden on Wilshire Blvd outside LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). He said if you haven't seen it you must.
Joe said he's not artsy but this is super cool. I checked online for Chris Burden info, you've got to check out
take on him.
So I had to drive by, I had to check it out. It's pretty darn cool. Though I went there late in the day, in my opinion it's a night thing. Rows of antique lamppost all lit up. One of the many great things about this city.
Happy One Year Anniversary
Today it's been 1 year since I started this blog. It's been a journey and well worth it. I continue to struggle to find time to talk and photograph and travel to the places I want to see and eat at. Real life gets in the way along with everyday responsibilities. But to all 198 Unique Visitors thanks for sticking around to check out my blog at least once if not a few repeat visits.
I promise to finish my Cuba Bittersweet Tale and I have quite a few photographs and stories I'm working on, one is a local L.A. art installation and of course summer food...even the scary tomato.
Happy Anniversary to itsweetandsavory!!!
Rose Cafe
This place is a Venice institution since 1979, in a once converted Gas Company building.
I've been going here since I was a little girl.
I've enjoyed breakfasts with
mom on the outdoo
r full-service restaurant patio or a quick breakfast at the tables
and chairs near the deli counter and when I have more time a leisurely lunch outside with friends.
At lunch my favorite sandwich is a smoke turkey with a thin slice of nutty salty parmesan and a delicious sweet aioli dressing. It's my perfect combination.
My favorite thing to do is come
early morning, order the breakfast special, croissant, scone or bagel with a wedge of brie cheese, butter and jam and a very dark deep rich cup of coffee, latte or tea.
If you choose the coffee, be warned it's strong so if you like that kind its all yours, go black. I, on the other hand, need the milk, and lots of it.
Early in the morning you'll usually see a pack of elderly men who have just finished their bicycle ride, some scruffy celebrity incognito, or a mix of muscular men, fresh from their work-out, at the
nearby
Golds Gym.
My mom fell in love with the glass mugs here, there basic, but she loves to see the milk swirl around the coffee so I grew up with a set of these at home. Also for the jam lovers, they always seem to give me orange marmalade, so not my favorite, now, ritually I have to ask for the grap
e or raspberry, whatever they have that is NOT orange marmalade.
Every month they change the art work in the cafe, usually local artists, always cool, but not cheap.
And if you get there after 10am you can stroll through the gift shop, this is one of the best places to buy uni
que gifts from Japanese tea sets to funky business card holders.
I almost can never resist a purchase here, it's as eclectic as the Venice neighborhood. Los Angeles Magazine call it the "Best Restaurant Gift Shop." I agree.
Rose Cafe is at the corner of Rose Avenue and Main Street on the border of Santa Monica and Venice.
220 Rose Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
Corner of Main St. & Rose Ave.
1 hr free parking w/ validation
Amandine Cafe
Every Tuesday morning I meet up with C. We do our volunteer work before we have to hit the road for our day jobs. Part of the morning always includes stopping for coffee and a bite to eat. This is where I always order a LATTE and thus resulted in my adventure in the last post.
We usually like to seek out a new place that is quaint and relaxing before we have to multi-task our lives away. What always fits our needs is Amandine's, which is owned by Ryuta Toyshima and has been open since 2003. When we arrive we are shyly greeted by the same two people (Luis and Elice) who are behind the counter in white chefs smocks making your Lattes, delivering to your table, and plating your order. Behind the glass in the back you can see someone frosting their beautiful cakes that will soon be behind the glass to tempt you even more.
I time my visits to when my favorite Amandine pastry is out of the oven, the almond croissant. I don't believe I've ever had something so delicious. The croissant is buttery inside, crunchy on the outside and the sliced almonds are roasted perfectly, this is a comforting treat. I even took one to work and gave it to a coworker. I got an email back in seconds that just said "YUM, what's inside, it's so buttery?"
The fresh fruit on the pinwheel pastry is so tasty and has just enough crunch and butter to put a smile on your face.
They call themselves a European Bakery country style bakery café that features a mouth watering array of freshly baked cakes and pastries, soups, quiche, salads, sandwiches and much more. I have yet to try anything past the brioche, croissants, tarts and scones.
Their Lattes are particularly soothing with the right amount of warm delicious milk and espresso. This just puts you in the right frame of mind to face the LA commute. Every week their Olympia, Washington coffee beans are delivered within 3 days after they’re roasted, which is probably why the coffee is so enticing.
I always get to Amandine's early during the week and the line isn't too bad, but I recently made a trip on a Saturday morning, it's an interesting mix of patrons on the weekend, and the line gets long quite quickly. My favorite place is to sit in the front by the windows next to all the pastries. From here you can study the whole chalkboard menu or decide what pastry you'll try next. Or you how about the croissant aux amandes.
Amandine Cafe
12225 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Dishes, plates and silverware
Dishes, plates and silverware, oh my. I love this stuff, can't get enough of it. Recently, however I decided to retire my colorful "Forbidden Fruit" plates, cups and saucers. I had broken a few and the rest were chipped and tired. So I washed them all, packed them up and took off for Crate and Barrel for some new dishes.
Nothing too exciting at this point. I just wanted some basic white dishes. Food always looks better on white plates. SB insisted on getting a few square plates as well, I'm not adverse to that, I like choices. As dessert is positively my favorite part of any meal, we also purchased a few glass dessert bowls. They are lovely, so big though. I put my Espresso Chocolate Mousse in these cups and wow that was a lot of dessert, I only ate half. A far cry from the martini glasses I served the mousse in last time.
To add to the love of dishes I've decided to start collecting something that I would use. So each time my friends travel to a new destination, here's my request "please buy me a dessert dish" something indicative of the region your visiting.
Here's my first plate from Paris. Thank you blacklashes!!
Spring Time
Spring is my favorite time of year. I love the days getting longer and the flowers blooming, and birds chirping. Well I'm not a big fan of the birds, except a
t the Tiki Room at Disneyland, that I can get into. Long lounging lunches with beautiful surroundings and great people watching is among the finest activities. Today, we had a clandestine lunch at a special place,
. This was in celebration of a good friends promotion and we took full advantage a drank Prosceco's with Blood Orange and Hibiscus, two different drinks. The food was fresh and a tasty and finished off by lovely macarons.
Abott Kinney Festival
This has to be one of the most eclectic street festivals in L.A. In the past 14 years this festival has literally outgrown this 1 mile strip of Venice. I remember back in 1993 going to this festival and there were maybe 10 booths and a few small bands, which consisted of a drummer and a base playing
rythmic
reggae tunes. This day there were over 300 booths and just about every restaurant in
Venice had a presence.
All the local color and lure of this small town was out in full force.
Overall it was fun, though it was a bit crowded for my taste and you really see how much this place has changed. Venice still has it's artsy flavor but the money coming into this town shows the most on
Abott
Kinney Blvd. The shops have changed from local vegetarian stops to French fair and cheap clothing shops turn into high end boutiques. It's great eye candy, but not so nice on the wallet.
