Pre weekend weekend fun

We went to see the movie "Adam" today. Very sweet and well done.

I neglected to write the all important what we ate portion of this post teehee! I'm going to be big as a house by the time this summer is over. Shame on us - first we went to Loteria Grill at Farmers Market for breakfast, then the movie and then ... we went to the wonderful Cube Cafe on La Brea. I had a very yummy (!!!) Fresh Lima Bean Ravioli (with fresh mint, sheep’s ricotta, red cow parmesan, lemon cream) and hubby had the Maltagliati Pomodoro - hand cut pasta, with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and herbs. mmm good!

I just have to contact them for my $800,000

I just received the following email communique:

"Dear Customer, FedEx Company has been waiting for you to claim your Package of Bank Draft worth of $800,000.00 and some vital documents that were registered with us for shipping to your residential location."

I bet you're all so jealous!

Okay, back to my housework ... I just wanted to let you know of my good fortune!

bwahahahahahahahaha

Little treasures

I was looking at all my little treasures in my cabinet today. Remembering all the stories that go with each. So many things were either my mothers or she gave them to me as gifts. Lots of memories and reminiscing and missing my mom.

I lost half of my knick knacks in the 1994 earthquake. So we're preparing for The Big One over here - we museum waxed all my little treasures in my curio cabinet today and have strapped all the bookcases to the wall. Still lots to do.

The better half keeps shaking the cabinet to prove how well the stickum stuff works - ay yi yi, about gives me a heart attack.

Oh! I just noticed that my Papa Bear and Baby Bear (from my Goldilocks and the three bears) are lying down - not because of the stickum stuff, but because we decided they didn't need the stickum stuff and they fell over during the husband provided "earthquake simulation".

Tardy Tuesday

In which I backtrack and try to catch up ... and realize that my old brain does not remember what I did on Saturday??? Sunday we went to the Antique Fair at the Santa Monica Airport and Monday we went and saw "500 Days of Summer" - so good, you've got to go see it! But what on earth did I do on Saturday??? Middle aged brain melt down.

& I've got some Monday Blog Linky Love on Tardy Tuesday ... the wonderfulness never ends out there in blog land.

blossom
Cart Before The Horse
House of Turquoise
Jane and the Happy Crow
Kayla coo
Kitschen Pink
Lily lovekin tails
Moonlight and Hares
My Country Cottage Garden
Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Piccalilli Days
To the Ocean

MOCA

(photo from Saatchi Gallery)

We went to MOCA yesterday - we're trying to catch up on all of our museum and gallery going this summer. We're not doing very well with our list, having only been to the Getty Villa, LACMA and now MOCA and the end of summer vacation is coming up fast.



Continuing on with the 'what did the Magundy family eat' theme - we went to Mendocino Farms and picked up lunch. Great sandwiches and salads and thankfully, no half hour line as had been predicted.

Friday fun

What's Hindi for chocolate obsession?

Too funny! I changed something in my preferences and when I went to type this post, it was in another language - a language made up of characters and characters totally unknown to me.

I think it was in Hindi but I'm not sure??? I was trying to find how you add labels or categories to your posts and I looked in the wrong place but I happened to notice that something said it was "disabled" in Hindi. I didn't want my new found readers (I have zero readers period, Hindi or otherwise, mores the pity!) to miss out, so I clicked on "enable". D'oh. Even I wasn't sure of what I was saying - truth to tell, that may not be new either.

Anyway, I said there was going to be chocolate. And lots of it. Thus far I have yet to fulfill my promise. So here it is.

Don't you love TasteSpotting?! I could sit here all day looking at photos and recipes. All day. I know. That's very sad, huh?!



The above dessert that I want to lick off the screen is from Citrus and Candy via TasteSpotting.

Monday blog linky love

These are links to blogs I've just discovered or had tucked away in my brain and lost them in the labyrinth of middle age haze. Enjoy!

A Blog for Tilly
A little owl in the kitchen
all the mountains
Angelica Glass
At Home with Kim Vallee
Beci Orpin’s Blog
create change/expand the good
Create my event
Delikatissen
Design Crush
Desire to Inspire
Dolls and things
Explore Dream Discover
First comes love
Goody Goody Gumdrops
How to eat a cupcake
Il giardino dei ciliegi
Images and illustrations
Ink on my fingers
Little Red Caboose
LolliShops
madchen blogt
mati rose
Mel’s Own Place
Mijn Quilthoekje
Mirror Mirror
misako mimoko
moss stitch seed stitch
No life without wife
No time to stamp
Not Eating Out in New York
Oh hello friend
Papier Girl
Polka Dot Bunny
Postitmakingofcipeciop
quaint handmade
Quinn Knits a Twisted Yarn
Remember Me
Rose Red Cottage
Scrap for joy
short stories
Tastefully Entertaining
Tea for joy
The Noshery
the paper pony
The Story Girl
Things of Beauty
This Tiny House
Tozz’s Corner
Vintage Lily
Weekend Stroll Journal
Wyldhare’s Hollow

BabyCakes and other weekend fun

We finally made it down to BabyCakes Baking Company in Torrance! If we hadn't been on the hunt for a new washer and dryer, it might have been another bazillion years before we made it there. A little side story - if you have a puny home like we do, be forewarned, the new swanky washers and dryers will not fit in your home!!! Say what?! Yes, that's right - they're too honking big for our house! Will not fit in our service porch. WAH! So we have been doing a merry dance trying to find a set that will fit in our house that aren't those darling little apartment sized ones - this is no easy task.

Anyway, I was so excited that we could make a stop at BabyCakes after hearing so much about the original New York site and seeing the owner on Martha Stewart.

My plan was thus, BabyCakes first for pastry and coffee and cupcakes to take home for dessert last night. To fortify us for what lay ahead at the appliance store teehee, we had a little late morning pick me up. Hubby got a berry crumble muffin and I got the most yummy banana coffee cake and we both got coffee - decaf.

Or so we were supposed to get decaf. Since both hubby and I could not fall asleep for hours last night, I think we got the high octane stuff instead. I think I got three hours sleep???

And then the alarm clock went off at five in the morning as we had another plan to get to the Long Beach Swap Meet by six thirty this morning. No such luck on that one. Troopers that we are, we did get there a little before eight and beat some of the crowd and the heat. But by nine AM, the heat had begun and the crowds had started to arrive - I'm not good in either situation. Also, there seemed to fewer things of interest today, than on our last outing there - good for the pocketbook but not for the fun meter.

Oh. This blog might as well be subtitled "what the Magundy family is eating" as I think that's all I talk about here! Huh?!

Speaking of which, we did enjoy the cupcakes from BabyCakes and I hope to get back there again. I was sad they didn't have the owners cookbook on display for me to see.

After much wringing of hands at the appliance store - wanting the super duper gorgeous imported W&D set and not being able to have it - we went for more food (!!!), this time for lunch at The Veggie Grill. Um, like it, but not anywhere near as much as our much beloved Native Foods.



This morning, after being roasted by the sun at the swap meet and buffeted by the crowds, we went out to breakfast at our favorite La Serenata (having first been propped up by Starbucks, prior to the journey down south to Long Beach).

See, it is all about the food, isn't it??? So embarrassing. I will have to come up with another topic!

Etsy update and magazine swag

I've added several canceled postage packs to my Etsy Shop, so please take a peek and enjoy!

I didn't get a chance to post that we went to our favorite Indian restaurant for lunch after seeing the latest Harry Potter. We then went to the bookstore & of course, I picked up some magazines. I have a serious addiction. It's not pretty. Although the magazines are, very pretty!

Marie Claire Idees never fails to wow, delight and inspire!





Sew Hip, such a fun new addition to the crafty world - I want to make these veggie softies!





And look at these charming woodland sprites in Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate Fall, made from okras and leaves!

Harry Potter

10:10 AM today + Starbuck's in hand + "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" = pure pleasure!

If it's Tuesday, it must be LACMA

The second Tuesday of every month is free admission at LACMA - not sure if that's all year round or just during summer months??? Anyway, they were also offering half off tickets to the separate special admission exhibit, "Pompeii and the Roman Villa", so we trundled ourselves off down there.

First we had a wonderful lunch at Pentimento (hurray for the Patina Group and all the great food they provide at various museums in So. Cal.!) as always. We're vegetarian and it's always challenging eating out - it's so terrific when there's more than salad on the menu for us.

We enjoyed the LACMA Pompeii exhibit even more than the Getty Villa one. If you save your tickets from the LACMA Pompeii exhibit, you can get into the Getty Villa without a reservation (reservations being hard to come by sometimes there!) - but the parking will still be $15.00 at the Getty Villa - no way around that.

Monday blog love

More more more, new (to me) blogs to love on the dear interwebs:

17 and Baking
18th Century Blog
A Field Journal
absolutely beautiful things
apparently jessy
Art & Ghosts
banquet
Becoming Italian Word by Word
Bella Dreams
Blood Milk
Ceramic Canvas
Cori Kindred
Cozy Homemaking
Curiouser & Curiouser
dottie angel
Fated Follies
Fee un voeu
Frolic
jars of cute
Jenn Cuisine
Joyful Living
Julie Knoblock
Little Glowing Lights
mieke willems
mique moriuchi
Mysterious Letters
Poetic Home
Pretty Gingham
Pure Blog
simple song
sweet william
The Purple Foodie
Three Beautiful Things
Ulrika Olsson Keramik
Wink Designs






and drum roll ... success, we met up with the elusive ice cream truck and guess what we had for lunch yesterday? I had cantaloupe on a ginger cookie and hubs had apple pie on a sugar cookie. Yummers!

The Renegade Craft Fair and other Saturday adventures

Woohoo! We made it to the fair and it was terrific!

After the attempted trip to Felt Club a couple of years ago and no parking to be had & we sadly turned around, with our chins dragging and went home, I was really anxious about this event.

But no worries! We got there at 11:30 and it was just perfect. Parking was easy, no crowds inside, easy sailing through venue, jam packed with goodies. And a panoramic view too. Cool!

I got to meet the darling Cathy of California, such a sweetie and bought one of her vintage flower loom kits. Went to the Super Buzzy booth and I picked up some adorable xmas fabrics – time to start working on those projects or I’ll never get anything done. Last minute Sally here. Sadly Sprout Studio was not able to come as planned and I so wanted to pick up one of her charming birds. WAH!

The Postcard Machine was a blast, so clever & we love our postcard!


sniffle sniffle whine ... the photo booth was out of commission while we were there. Dagnabbit, I really wanted to play.

Saw lots and lots of great stuff and I’ve posted the cards I picked up along the way - I thought I had picked up more?! My husband even wanted to get in the act and get an iPod pouch at MrPoncho but they didn’t have a Star Trek one for him, the eternal Trekkie.

Then … we went to the historic Clifton’s Cafeteria a few blocks away for lunch. I had been there twice as a child but hubby had never been and after watching Huell Howser wax on about it’s wonderfulness, hubby wanted to go. It was fun to see it again, with it’s thematic décor (the downtown one has an outdoors woodsy camping theme) but food-wise shall I say, it left us wanting, something else … entirely. We probably should have tried the food at the fair. Woe is us.



Then we went on another Huell Howser inspired expedition over to the famous Galco’s, purveyors of soda’s and candies of our youth – lot’s of fun. We came home with Bubble Up (my favorite as a kid), hubby got Coca Cola from Mexico, made with cane sugar, not that nasty nasty killer High Fructose Corn Syrup. We went a little berserk in the candy aisle – picking up Flicks, Necco Wafers, those candy button thingies (a personal fave), bazooka bubble gum, the original Life Saver multi-flavor package and possibly something else??? The real treasures of youth, the Look bar, Big Hunk bar etc., were left behind in favor of our teeth and wanting to keep them (in our mouths)!



Then … we went to husbands favorite sandwich spot in Burbank to pick up something for dinner … to go with some uniquely seasoned potato chips from the UK we picked up at Galco’s – I’m sure they were probably available some place else in town but the heat of the moment had smacked us.

Then! I had been wanting to catch up with the oh so cool, COOLHAUS ice cream truck, had been following their tweets for days, weeks and finally they were to be at Bergamot Station last night … or so I interpreted from their post. Checked in on them after dinner about where we were going to enjoy our much anticipated ice cream sandwich (shaped like a house), we had already missed them at Bergamot Station!!! WAH!!!

But then it said they’d be at the Culver City Art Walk. Okay, so we put the shoes back on, get in the car and proceed to --- drive up and and down and all around the length of the Culver City Art Walk for forty minutes and no sighting of the longed for ice cream truck of our dreams. Sniffle sniffle. SIGH.

There are no later tweets from them, so don’t know if they sold out or if they melted away into a little puddle in the night …



I'm all rumbly in my tumbly this morning and shortly we'll be off to Loteria Grill at Farmer's Market (Farmers Market is celebrating it's 75th anniversary this summer) ... again ... for the best chilaquiles verde breakfast. YUM!

First Annual Los Angeles Renegade Craft Fair!

I'm so glad I signed up for their newsletter, I had totally forgotten about this event. I already have plans but am thinking about chucking them for this! It would be a travesty to miss the first one in Los Angeles - specially when I moan and groan loudly about nothing ever coming to L.A.!

I just skimmed their vendor list really really quick and saw that Cathy of California and Super Buzzy are going to be there - two favorites of mine - I'll be doing a more in depth looksee after lunch.

Linkies for you:
Renegade Craft Fair Los Angeles
Artist list

Etsy update and the Getty Villa

Etsy update - I listed a few new stamp listings, including the above yummy berry colored canceled stamps and these never used lovely Republic of South Africa stamps.

We finally made it over to see the Getty Villa today, this was our first time since they had redone it. It is gorgeous and breathtaking and every little detail has been thought out and executed perfectly as always. You can't possibly see it all in a few hours so we'll be heading back soon.

Gone too soon

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

Cambria

We rented a house in Cambria for a few days last week. We had always stayed at a pet friendly motel in the past but struck on the idea of a house when we noticed a rental sign on one when we were leaving last summer.

And it was heavenly. For all concerned. Pampered pooch could run through the house (three times the size of her house at home!), walk on the beach, through the forest, through the nature preserve, see sea lions, deer and cows.

And we had a 180 degree view. WAHOO! Sadly there was tons of fog this time of year and we weren't able to experience the breathtaking sunsets we usually see but the peace and quiet and comfort made up for it, over and over again.

We ate, we walked, we napped, we read.

We had wonderful food at Wild Ginger and Indigo Moon as always. (We had less than stellar breakfasts while in Cambria, very disapointing until we ate at Linn's our last morning there and were presently surprised. And so very thankful and just plain full! Oh and French Bakery across the street came to the rescue and provided us with oh so yummy spinach and feta croissant sandwiches for the trip home.)

We looked at charming antique stores for the first time and visited our favorite stores, Hearts Ease and The Garden Shed - there was so much that I wanted to bring home with me. We made our annual visit to Paws on Main and of course I came home with more rubber stamps.

The Bianchini house restoration and museum project was finally completed but kept being closed every time we tried to see it. Thankfully it was open on our last day and we enjoyed it very much - we had watched it wallow and disintegrate in disrepair for years on end and to now see it restored so lovingly was great.

We saw the sea lions again. We saw a little speck in the distance, high up on the hill, that is Hearst Castle and look forward to go on the tours (we've missed in previous years with our doggie in tow), now that we know we can leave our beloved furry family member comfortably and contentedly in the house. (The one draw back to the house was the tiny back yard, that had a short picket fence gate at each side of the L-shaped yard, so we couldn't leave our dog unattended in the yard, without worry of "the great escape" from said yard, by said dog. Oh and the second drawback was two very crabby appleton resident blue jays that liked to buzz us and swoop at us. I had visions of "The Birds".)

We took the second half of a lovely country road a short part of the way home - from Cambria to Cayucos - and then it was back to the real world of traffic and noise. Thankfully we missed the bulk of the traffic as the way home seems longer and more tedious every time.

Home is indeed a wonderful word and place to return to.