T +4 Days: A Visit to the Los Angeles Arboretum

It is weird....this waiting for the baby to arrive. I have been having moments where I was certain that "tomorrow this is going to happen" right to the flipside and thinking, "this baby is going to be induced".  With such a wide range of thoughts and feelings, my desire to partake in certain activities is also ever changing. Yesterday, I was dead set on staying home and even a routine trip to the grocery store proved to be exhausting. Today however, I felt a bit more recharged (lord know how only after 5 hours of sleep) and was ready to get off the couch and explore. 

The burst of energy sent me to the Los Angeles Arboretum. I had been wanting to check this place out for some time so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to go. And on a Monday no less? Arriving in the parking lot to find spaces within 50 feet of the entrance was both celebrated and unsettling. The celebration is obvious: who doesn't want a close spot while pregnant? The unsettling feelings....well they are a bit more difficult to explain. Entering a life where I now have weekdays to do errands/tasks/activities that were solely reserved for weekends is scary. The abundance of parking was a huge flashing sign that read, "YOU AREN"T WORKING ANYMORE". To be quite honest, I haven't yet fully embraced that notion. Probably because I have been so tied up in my career the past few years to the point where it was a huge portion of my identity. If I wasn't at work, I was talking about work, thinking about work or just plain exhausted from being there........ 

However, that could be a blog of its own. Let us get back to the Arboretum.  For 8 dollars one is granted entry for the day. The sprawling grounds showcase a variety of gardens and there are probably hundreds of micro climates! Greenhouses, rose gardens, shaded ponds, bamboo forests and cacti were some that I came across on my walk. There are dirt paths as well as paved roads that lead you through the facility. It seemed very self guided although I am sure that there is some sort of docent lead tour during the week. Seems like the kind of place. 

One of the highlights for me was to visit the Queen Anne Cottage:

You may recognize the beautiful building from television fame as the home on Fantasy Island.


The cottage is in impeccable condition and careful attention to detail is obvious. The colors are gorgeous and paint is pristine! They must touch this beauty up on a monthly basis! While you can walk around the porch and peek into windows, the doors were closed when I was there.

As I continued through the park, I came across several trees and bamboo shoots that had evidence of lovers' visits. I don't think I could ever justify marking up a tree myself, but I'd be lying if I said the preserved moments didn't bring me a bit of joy this morning.

The final highlight was to visit the greenhouses. Each greenhouse has its own theme. Orchids, airplants and I wasn't too sure what the third one was. All I know is that each trip inside brought me back to the humid jungle-y climate of our Costa Rican honeymoon last August.

All in all, it was a good morning spent walking, getting fresh air and more importantly, getting my mind off this past due date of mine.......

Lens Test: Canon L Series 24mm 1.4

I am SO EXCITED.
Excited enough to warrant using all caps in the first sentence!

But in all seriousness, I am. Getting an L Series lens is something I have been wanting to do for quite some time but considering that the lens itself is triple the cost of my camera, I have not looked too seriously into doing this until recently. With the new baby on the way I really wanted to up both the quality and frequency of shooting images. Being at Samy's last week processing film rolls that had been stashed aside from years made me a bit sad that with work, school and life over the past couple years, photography has take a bit of a backseat in my daily routine.

The past week I had been looking at and bidding on lenses via ebay to no avail. The clerk at Samy's had an observant point that once the bidding gets to a certain price point you really have to look at the pros and cons of purchasing used vs. new and seen vs. unseen.  Unfortunately, the ebay lenses were all surpassing that price point of getting a good bargain.......

Enter two things: The Samy's Camera Father's Day tax free sale AND the delivery of an unanticipated check in the mail. Those two variables meant that I could indeed pick up the lens new.......which I did.
Was is the wisest decision? Ummm, probably not.....I *should* have stashed the check in savings. However, knowing that I will be home most of the summer with the babe, I KNOW that this lens will get put to great use. Filming, shooting the birth announcements and just documenting her first few months here with us are going to be routine with this new gadget.

First shot? Frito of course.......

Dreamy colors, ability to shoot in low light.....I am in love.............

Old School Photos....Fashion Serial Killer, Kathy, Nathaniel, David et al........

One of the things that I did this week was get some film processed that had been sitting in a desk drawer for way too long. One of the rolls is close to 4 years old while one was as recent as our wedding last year. Shot with both my 35mm and my Seagull, here are some of my faves:

2012. Cindy aka Fashion Serial Killer in the mirror. 

2012. Cindy again in the van with Nikki.

6/30/12. David at our family post wedding brunch.

2009 or so? LACMA. 

2009. Kathy at Spring for Coffee.

2009. Nathaniel and Kathy.

2009. Is this the Korean Friendship Garden?

2009. David on the Westside. 

6/30/12. Claire!

Nota Bene: Shoot more with the Seagull this year.......

Weekend of Friends

Nathaniel and his boyfriend Ben came to visit Los Angeles this weekend. Lots of fun was had. Lots of food was eaten. Food that would not be classified as the most healthiest. Today had us dining on fried chicken and waffles at Cliff's Edge. Friday night we were surrounded by the most delicious of Mexican food at Loteria! Grill. This afternoon Cindy and I trekked over to The Grove to check out the new TopShop. All I could think about while trying on clothes was how huge I looked with my ever growing pregnant stomach. And yes....I know my food choices this weekend did not help those thoughts in the slightest! Here are some highlights from this morning:

Cindy and Ben in the beautiful apartment above Cafe Stella

Nathaniel!

Beautiful bottle collection

Dining at Cliff's Edge. Post waffles.

Cindy's amazing pants. 

NYC Proper: Part 1

As mentioned yesterday on Modern Day Bullfight, a proper post about the trip to NYC was in the works. David and I spent 4 excellent (and hot and rainy) days in the Lower Eastside at an amazing hotel called Hotel on Rivington. The hotel, among its many incredible amenities, is equipped with tempurpedic mattresses to ensure a quality nights rest in the midst of a slew of late night hot spots. Yes. It was noisy at night with folks on Rivington well after 4 AM on all 4 nights. However, because of our busy days, sleeping wasn't an issue.

Immediately after checking in, David and I, having not eaten all day, hit the streets to find some slices. After eating some official NYC pizza, I took some time to snap some shots in our area.

Thursday evening found us dining with David's friends Max and Ariane at a little Mexican restaurant called La Esquina. Being from both LA and Phoenix (aka the land of the worlds best Mexican food), we were hesitant to do Mexican in NYC. However, we were persuaded fairly easily to go and both enjoyed our food and the amazing atmosphere. After such a long day, we walked home through Little Italy and called it a night around 11PM.

The next morning found me wishing I had my camera with me. The reason I did not? I laced up the Asics and hit the streets by foot to experience the finest city running any zip code could offer. On foot, I travelled almost 7 miles that took me through the lower eastside, by the Hudson, into the city's civic center and eventually onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Incredible! Running up to the arches of the bridge was one of the highlights of the trip for me. And the desire for my camera? This hit when I came across several padlocks latched on to the bridge's arches in clusters. After close inspection, I saw that there were lover's inscriptions on the locks and through the internet, learned that the keys had been ritually thrown into the river.