Fun in LA: Disneyland!

Disneyland is a weird concept, if you think about it. You pay a huge amount of money to get into the park (not counting what you have to pay just to park your car), and once you get inside you're pretty much forced to spend more money if you want to eat or drink anything. This is not to mention the cost of any souvenirs you might pick up. You basically pay for the privilege of spending more money and standing in lines longer than the rides themselves. And yet, on any given day Disneyland is packed!

Maybe this is a symptom of becoming an adult who's more conscious about money (hello student loans), but lately I've been more skeptical of Disneyland even though I love it. Up until this week the last time I had been was almost 3 years ago. Even though we talked about going every time I was home for a break I couldn't justify spending so much money in one place, which is why I was so excited when a co-worker of my mom's offered us free tickets. It may be a strange money-making machine, but you can't deny it's fun. 

We got to go on almost all of our favorite rides, Pirates was closed and I didn't want to lose my hat on Space Mountain so we missed out on those. The guide we had on the Jungle Cruise was hilarious! As it is I'm a fan of cheesy humor and I love puns so the Jungle Cruise is right up my alley, and this guide had the best one-liners I've ever heard on the ride. I realized that I had never been on Peter Pan so we braved the line and it was totally worth the wait. It was a fitting day for my first ride because I finally caved and bought the Peter Pan hat that I had been wanting forever. I also got to have my favorite Disneyland treat, a Pineapple Float, so I was a happy camper.

One of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is peek into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and see the little ones getting their hair done like princesses. Honestly I don't know what it is because when I was that little I don't think I would have liked being in the princess dress or having a bunch of glitter in my hair (I had a very strong anti-tulle stance), but seeing the looks on those little kids faces as they get their hair done is too much for me. I just see them there looking like they've never been happier, and how it really is a magical experience for them and it gets me right in the tear ducts. 

As always my mom is not pictured, but rest assured, she had fun as well. 

Outside Club 33

Jungle Cruise

Pineapple Float

Waiting for Captain EO


End of the day, photo credit: mom

Fireworks! Photo credit: mom

All in all it was a magical day, so mission accomplished Disneyland. 

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disposable

Sometime around the end of October I was in line to check out at Target and a two-pack of disposable cameras caught my eye. After that, I spent the rest of the school year carrying a camera in my bag capturing little moments. I got a lot of weird looks and questions, and once they were both filled it took me around 2 months to actually get them developed, but it was a totally worthwhile experiment and an affordable way to play around with lo-fi photography.



Leona Creek

The tree-lined path to the music building

Behind the music building

Thanksgiving with Estrella

Shopping cart Christmas tree statement at the Bay Street Mall

At JT's opening

The first time Ali played at TNS!

Lovely ladies

The three of us on my birthday

This last one is my favorite! I remember when I was in elementary school, we'd all buy disposable cameras for the days when we would have field trips or for Spirit Day, and when I was in London I bought a disposable camera because I wanted pictures to decorate my room with. I really enjoyed the process of taking pictures with film and actually getting them developed. Maybe I'll make a habit of it. When was the last time you had a disposable camera?

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Book Club: Just Kids

Now that my reading schedule is no longer clogged with school-related required reading I'm slowly making my way through the ever-growing booklist I keep at the back of my slingshot. I had put Just Kids by Patti Smith on the list after hearing all the buzz about it and it did not disappoint.

It actually took me a while to get hold of a copy from the library, and once it finally came in it took me a while to pick it up because I had some things going on, but once I had a decent chunk of time to devote to it I was hooked.

I think what struck me most about the book, aside from Smith's descriptions of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, were her descriptions of the Chelsea Hotel and of her early years in New York. To someone with plans of relocating to New York in the relatively near future, maybe her tales of hunger and near homelessness as she struggled to 'make it' should have been more off-putting, but they aren't at all. I'm mesmerized by fleeting moments in time when tons of artists gathered together; Gertrude Stein's Parisian salon, the Beats in San Francisco, the Chelsea Hotel. If anything, Just Kids made me wish I was in New York right now, experiencing the magic for myself.

As for the relationship between Patti and Robert, I don't think I've ever read such a beautiful account of a friendship. 

If you have yet to read Just Kids, definitely get on that.

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FUN in LA: Little Tokyo

Last week Lena, Chelo, and I went out to Little Tokyo. I hadn't been in a while, and I was looking forward to checking out the current exhibit at MOCA, but for some reason I always end up in Little Tokyo on the day that MOCA is closed. (Seriously. I think the last time I went to MOCA I was 15, every time I've tried to go since it's been closed.)

But we still had fun! We caught the Metro and ate at Daikokuya, which was amazing. My only other experience with ramen has been Orochon, and there is no comparison. The broth at Daikokuya was perfect! I ordered tsukemen, and I've been dreaming about it ever since. After lunch, Chelo met up with a friend while Lena and I got coffee at Demitasse. I ordered an orange-thyme latte that was excellent, but it was so strong I was buzzing from the caffeine before I was even half way through it.

The only downside to Little Tokyo is that there's not much to do besides eat (especially when MOCA is closed), but the food alone is definitely worth the trip.

Blurry tsukemen

Lena looking supercute, as usual

Doughnut Day!

Yesterday a few tweets and texts told me it was National Doughnut Day. (sidebar: is it doughnut or donut?) One of the perks of being unemployed is that I had no prior engagements so I decided to put my doughnut pans to use. I used this recipe for blueberry doughnuts from pinterest, but without the glaze. Aside from being slightly misshapen because I overfilled the pans, they were great!





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FUN in LA: The Huntington Library and Gardens

A few Sundays ago me and my mom went to the Huntington Library and Gardens. We've been there before, it's a really nice place to walk around and take in some carefully cultivated nature. Admission is kind of pricey for my tastes, especially since I am now without a student discount, but I still recommend stopping by if you're going to be in the LA area.

It was pretty warm out on the day that we went, so we didn't stay too long but we did get to see the Japanese garden, which is my favorite by far.











As my mom pointed out, we've been there twice and we've never gone inside any of the buildings, but that just means we'll have to go back to check out the exhibits they have inside.

<3
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Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre

Welcome to my room!

We moved into this house just a few months before I moved to Oakland, so before I could really settle in to this room I was already focused on setting up my dorm room. As a result, it hadn't really felt like mine, it had just been kind of thrown together and was mostly full of stuff I didn't want to take to college with me. Last summer I decided I really needed to work on this space, so I took inspiration from  blogs with excellent interior design like Rachel's and I made an effort to spruce it up.

I don't have any pictures of what it looked like before, which I am partially thankful for because it was really a mess. I had a desk in here, my bed was in the middle of the room and it had a bright red duvet that was too big so it draped really heavily over each side. It was very cramped and there was almost no space to walk around in here.

Last summer the first thing I did was move the desk out into another room, and with the extra space I moved my bed, chair, and wicker drawers to where they are now. (I also spray painted my wicker drawers white). I brought in the glass side table from another room in the house, and just that re-arrangement made a huge difference.

I went to Ikea and picked up a duvet that actually fit my bed, along with some new pillows and by the end of last summer I was really happy with the changes I had made.

Since I've moved back, all I've done is add in the gallery wall (which may be my favorite thing about my room now), lamps that used to live in my dorm room, and a mobile that I got in Oakland is now hanging over my reading chair.







I still have a lot of art that I want to frame and put up on the walls, and the space over my bed clearly needs something, but so far I'm proud of how it's turned out.

What's your favorite thing about your room?

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