Bits & Pieces

Month in Photos: May 2011

2012-02-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

Hello! Since I haven't gotten around to posting on here often, I am going to compile my photos into monthly posts. It's hard to believe that it's almost going to be a year!! How the time flies!

♥ First Thursdays in San Pedro 050511

We went to First Thursdays since my friend Kerri was exhibiting some mini head sculptures. I was really excited since I had not seen them in person yet. We got to San Pedro pretty early so we went and grabbed something to eat and a drink at the San Pedro Brewing Co.

These were her little heads. They were really cute and interesting. I got a couple of them myself..

I really liked this tree she did.

And this heart.

There was a lot of other cool art being displayed also.

We stayed for a bit and then headed out. Right next door from the gallery was this strudel shop. We had to take some strudel home with us. It was so good!!

♥ First Fridays at the Natural History Museum 050611

Zuni Fetishes

Kerri trying on the antlers.

After the museum we left to go grab some food. On our way to the museum we always passed this restaurant called La Huasteca off the freeway in Lynwood. We finally decided to go try it out and we were extremely pleased! It's in Plaza Mexico, so everything is made to look like you're in Mexico. I'm really glad we went and tried the food!

We had to start with the guacamole which we devoured in minutes. It was so good!

Upon learning that they sold casuelas, i immediately ordered one. The first and only time I had this drink was in Guadalajara and they made it so good. La Huasteca's is considerably good as well!

My super tasty Chile Relleno on top of rice and vegetables. Soo good! So good, that I have returned to this restaurant multiple times and this is the only dish I get. I can't seem to let it go. I just have to have that flavor.

Another great night at First Fridays and a delicious dinner to end this night was perfect.

♥ Birthday Presents 050711

Birthday presents from N. I love the book and CD. I've been following Simon's Cat for some time now, so the book was great. And Cee-Lo I just love. Awesome presents!

♥ Sasha 050911

Sasha (what we named her) came to us this afternoon out of nowhere. Miraculously she let me bring her in to look at her collar for a number. Unfortunately no number. We put out flyers to find her owners, and within a day they had called. I, of course, got quickly attached to her and her spunky attitude. Plus I've always wanted a Russian Blue cat. Anyways, it was sad to see her go, but I was happy to know that her owners now had her back. I've known that feeling and it's horrible!

♥ Tim Burton Exhibit & Signing 052711-052811

Kerri and I went to the opening of the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA. Even though I had already seen it in New York, I still wanted to make sure to go with my friend while it was in LA. We got to take advantage of the member preview days that were prior to the opening to the general public. Had a great time of course!

We then went to The Yardhouse and had a yummy late lunch on a pretty day. This was our spinach and artichoke dip and the gardein buffalo wings that I LOVE!!!

A few days prior to the exhibit I had heard that Tim Burton was going to be doing a signing at LACMA for the opening. While we were at the exhibit we asked about it and they recommended we arrive very early in the morning. Kerri and I didn't want to arrive too early, but we did still want to go to have our books signed. We got there around 9:30am and the line was already around the corner and insanely long. When we arrived the employees were already telling people that their chances were slim but they could stay if they wanted to. Many people did leave off and on, since the line kept moving up even before the signing had started. This was our location after about an hour of waiting.

What else could I do with all that waiting but take photos.

The sun did feel warm very early in the morning and before we knew it we were quickly seeking shade. The waiting and standing somehow went by faster than I thought, but boy was it tiring!!

Well, after waiting even after the signing was done, we were so very close to getting in but not close enough. Had they taken in another 25 or so people, we could have gone in, but no. By this time, we were pretty drained and tired and needed water and food fast!! We made our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Lynwood..

La Huasteca!

It was just perfect and what we needed!!! This was my chile relleno that is always the best! As soon as I got home I quickly laid down and slept for a little while. Plus I had a minor sunburn too, so needless to say it was a long day! But this meal was a perfect way to end my day!

xoxo Deadzie

Birthday Lunch 041711

2011-11-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

This was a surprising birthday because my dad never wants to go with us and this time he actually came. We decided to go to Mimi's. I love their grilled cheese!

My mom is not one that likes to have her photo taken, but somehow I always manage to get a photo or two. I had such a great time!

Day with Julia 040811

2011-11-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

Julia is my 5th grade teacher. We have kept in touch ever since then. She always would take me to interesting places like the Huntington Library in San Marino. She actually took a group of girls in our class on a day trip here. We had so much fun. Anyways, every time I saw Julia she took me somewhere fun and we ate good food and got caught up. Lately we have seen each other like once a year.

Whenever I'm at her place, I always like taking photos of it. She lives in an old building with a lot of history (Los Altos Apartments) plus I like the way she decorates her place.

After hanging out for a bit Julia had mentioned to me that there was this film she wanted to watch called Miral and it was playing nearby. So we went to catch the movie, and luckily got there right on time. It was a really good film about a girl growing up in the wake of the Arab-Israeli war. Her story intertwines with the stories of three other women and how the conflict affects them. I had no idea that it was a book, so I'm hoping to read the book someday.

After the movie Julia had to run a few errands and we then went to grab lunch since we were really hungry by then. We ended up in Hollywood at Balcones del Peru. This happens to be one of Julia's regular spots to grab some wine and dinner. I fell in love with it.

This was my first time having Peruvian food, so I was very curious to try it.

Julia raved about this dish (and I know why now), the Papas a la Huancaina. It's potatoes in a feta cheese sauce with boiled egg and micro greens. That flavor was so good!

Since Julia and I are both vegetarian, and the menu itself doesn't have any main vegetarian entrees, we asked what they could do. Their typical plate is a Lomo Saltado and they were able to do it with vegetables only. It was so fresh and tasty. The sauce was very light and it had such good flavor. It had celery, squash, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, and red peppers and was served on top of french fries with cilantro and a side of rice. I was new to the french fries on top of a dish like this, but I really loved the combination. Soo good! I have since tried this dish somewhere else but it wasn't the same. The ingredients were not nearly as fresh and good. I crave Balcones del Peru.

We also tried one of their deserts, the mazamorra, which is a maize dessert. This one had apricots I believe. It was really good and heavy. At this point of our meal though we were already stuffed so we couldn't eat much more. It definitely did leave a good taste in my mouth. Everything here was incredibly good!!

There was this really nice sunlight coming in from our window..

After we ate Julia dropped me off at the train station in Hollywood so I could make my way home. It was a really fun day and I'm glad we were able to get together.

Waiting for my train..

xoxo Deadzie

Sunset 040711

2011-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is the view from The Yardhouse when we go eat there. I loved the clouds and sky on this day. The colors were so nice and everything was so calming..

xoxo Deadzie

Miscellaneous 032611

2011-11-09T12:30:00.001-08:00

Tree on a cloudy day..

On the freeway we saw a ton of bikers and then realized that they were with a funeral progression. I couldn't get a good shot of everyone since there was a lot of bikers.

We stopped and grabbed some lunch at George's Greek Cafe. The tiropites were really good! That was actually my first time having them. They are filo triangles stuffed with three cheeses and spices. The hummus was good also.

xoxo Deadzie

Dinner at The Cheesecake Factory 032511

2011-11-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

Spinach and Artichoke dip with chips and stuffed mushrooms in the background..

Pomegranate Mojito..

Can't go eat there without getting dessert as well. This was the banana cheesecake. It was so creamy!

This was the red velvet cheesecake that I have to try next time..

And this was my raspberry cheesecake. So delish!

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds 032511

2011-11-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

xoxo Deadzie

Tree 032411

2011-11-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

We always pass this tree to and from work but I never had a chance to take a photo of it, til today. We happened to be at a red light. I love how wide this tree is.

xoxo Deadzie

Ixi 032311

2011-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I mess with Shiva and let her get me. Well, I didn't really let her, but she still managed to get me good. Ouch!

xoxo Deadzie

Travel Show with Nanny 031911

2011-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Since Nanny and I both share the travel itch, she invited me to the travel show for the day. I took this while walking through the convention center.

We sat in on a panel that talked about ways to save money when booking travel. They gave a lot of good tips.

We also got to catch Rick Steves. He's also full of great travel tips.

It was a fun day at the show and I'm glad I went.

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds 031411-032111

2011-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

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031511

031611

032111

xoxo Deadzie

Loki & Miss Kittie 031111

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

xoxo Deadzie

Pink Sky 030911

2011-11-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

xoxo Deadzie

Miss Kittie & Loki 030911

2011-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

This was them sun bathing before Loki started cleaning Miss Kittie..

This typically happens before one of them starts messign with the other one and then they start fighting. This time they both kept their cool..

xoxo Deadzie

Lunch at The Yardhouse 030311

2011-11-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do is go to The Yardhouse and enjoy their happy hour. This is my typical beer, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse.

I tend to order their veggie buffalo wings, but this time I got the nachos instead and the grilled artichoke, both very good and tasty!

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds 022811-030211

2011-11-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

022811

030111

030211

xoxo Deadzie

Trip to the Bookstore 022511

2011-11-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

I really liked the art on this cover of Wuthering Heights..

These were the goodies I bought at the bookstore. It was a Borders so everything was like 20-30% off. And the Edgar Allen Poe book was a steal. It was only like less than $10. It's funny because when we entered the aisle I saw the book but didn't even look at the price since I figured it would be a lot. Another girl came and looked at it and just about took it, but for some reason she put it back on the shelf and left. My temptation drew me to look at the price and that's when I saw how cheap it was so I got it. Minutes later the girl came back looking for it. I seriously didn't think she was going to come back for it. At that price she should have taken it when she had it in her hands.

It happened to be a rainy night. When we left the bookstore the rain had stopped and it was nice and chilly.

xoxo Deadzie

April 4 022511

2011-11-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

So while shopping at the bookstore I came across this book that had a day to day description of a person born that day. Since I wasn't planning to buy that book, I took photos of my day instead. Unfortunately I didn't get the name of the book though. Found the description pretty interesting..

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds 022311

2011-11-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

xoxo Deadzie

Las Vegas 021811-022011

2011-11-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

On the road to Vegas.

A look at the sky while we stop in Barstow for a break.

We stayed in Downtown Las Vegas. This was the view from our room.

Self portrait with Nanny in the room before heading out.

The next day we started off our day with breakfast and huge cups of coffee!

Walking by the Golden Nugget pool during the day.

Nanny waiting..

Nanny wanted to stop off at a tattoo shop for a price quote. I took a few photos while we waited. I really liked the bottom three animal examples.

We then went next door and grabbed some slices of pizza and fries. These slices were so good and big.

We then took a stroll for a bit before heading back to the room.

After walking around for a bit, we decided to head back to the room to get ready and go out later.

Hanging out at a lounge drinking.

Nanny and I had to make a restroom stop that ended up being like almost an hour long. We decided to go stop by the pool the the Golden Nugget to take some photos before heading back to the lounge.

Nanny was so happy that she started dancing on the way..

This was while we were waiting for the elevator up to the rooftop pool.

Unfortunately it was closed. Obviously due to the cold weather, of course..we just didn't think about it..

After we got back to the lounge we hung out for another while and then walked around. Not long after we went back to the room since everyone else was getting tired. For some reason though, for me, I still wasn't tired. I wanted to get out of the room, grab some food, and have the cold wind hit my face. So this was taken like at 2:30am.

Luckily Nathan went with me since everyone else was already asleep.

It was already almost 4am and it was getting extremely chilly so we finally went back to the room.

The next morning we had free breakfast coupons from our hotel so we took advantage before leaving town.

The clouds were really lovely, and being that I am drawn to them, I immediately took some photos.

Once we checked out, our drive towards the freeway happens to be the strip, so I took some photos while in traffic.

Soon enough we had left Vegas, but of course no Vegas trip is complete without a stop at Alien Jerky.

And as quick as this trip came it also went and it was done. Every trip seems to feel that way. It was more on the mellower side, but it was still a definitely fun trip. This was the sunset that greeted us home.

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds, Food, & a Monkee 021611-021711

2011-10-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

We decided to grab late lunch at Chili's this afternoon. Again, the clouds and sky were really pretty. I had to take a quick photo before heading in.

I really enjoy their margaritas. They're tasty and perfectly large! One or two are usually enough.

This was how Long Beach looked once we were leaving Chili's. It was a really nice evening.

Clouds the next day as I was leaving work.

Lunch at The Yardhouse is always good. I'm glad that they now offer Gardein products. At first I really liked their Veggie Chicken Strips but after having them a second time, for some reason the taste was different. I then tried the Veggie Chicken Wings and feel in love! Now, every time I go I get an order of those. Both are pictured here. They also have firecracker and jamaican flavored wings, both just as good!

And this is Loki, enjoying what's left of their collapsing play house.

xoxo Deadzie

Clouds 021411

2011-10-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

I really liked the way the sky looked on this day.

Especially these clouds and that sunset.

xoxo Deadzie

Grandma 101610

2011-10-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Grandma 101610 (© Deadzie.)
RIP 06/15/1926-07/14/2011

While looking through photos, I remembered that the one year anniversary of my last trip to Mexico was coming up. This made me remember my grandma. Although she's been gone for about 3 months now, to this day I have not written anything about her or her passing. For some reason I had not brought myself to do it, until today. I wrote this a few days ago, but today marks the one year anniversary that I took this photo of her. Me not writing anything about her is probably because I still cannot believe she's gone. It really all happened very fast..within one month she had become sick and passed away. That fast! I have told my mom that maybe it was better that way because she didn't suffer for long. No one wants to see their loved one in pain for a long period of time.

I'll always remember her for being a very strong woman. She dealt with and put up with a lot of shit. She married my grandfather very young, they had many many children (She had 10 children but only 7 survived. 3 died during their toddler years), dealt with my grandfathers infidelity, also dealing with all these kids, and years later was left with my two cousins to care for that my aunt left behind to come to the states. Plus dealing with issues through my grandfathers family, since for some reason they didn't like my grandma. For me this is a lot to deal with. I'll always remember her for her strength and great stories. I always enjoyed when we would visit she would bring out this box of photos and she would show us all these old photos of herself or my grandfather or my mom or aunts and uncles.

I honestly just can't believe that the next time I visit that she won't be there. And that I couldn't be there after she had passed away. I'm glad my mom was there though. This photo happened to be the one and only photo that I got of my grandma from the last time I was there and the last time I saw her. I wish we could have taken some nice photos with her all done up, but we never got the opportunity and the two weeks we were there just flew by us. I didn't think it would be my last time seeing her. In a lot of ways, I do think that it hasn't fully set in, even though I am saying it here. All I can take and keep are the memories and photos that I have left of her. I'll always miss her.

xoxo Deadzie

Yoga at the Park 021311

2011-09-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Beautiful day at the park..

Looking up at the tree..

View from the park..

xoxo Deadzie

Lunch with Katie 021111

2011-08-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

This is Katie, a past co-worker of mine from when I use to work in Downtown LA. I try to meet up with some of my co-workers as often as we possibly can. It was really nice to see her after so long. She took me to Cabbage Patch for lunch

She took me to Cabbage Patch for lunch. I had the grilled cheese with the fries. It was really good and tasty. We sat around and talked during her lunch break. It was nice to spend some time with her. Maybe soon I can go visit again..

xoxo Deadzie

Victor Castillo/Mel Kadel Exhibit 020511

2011-08-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am a part of the Merry Karnowski Gallery newsletter and I really took an interest in checking this exhibit out when I heard about it. I enjoyed Victor Castillo's work a little more than Mel Kadel, but they both were great. I guess I can relate to Victor Castillo's work more. It has that creepy children feel with them having creepy clown faces and partaking in acts that children would not normally do. Another thing I liked about his work is that his colors were really bright and vivid. I definitely had a fun time and always enjoy seeing exhibits at this gallery.

And I end this post with some street art that was outside of the gallery.

xoxo Deadzie

Ramses 020411

2011-07-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ramses relaxing on my Oceanography book. This was during my spring session where I was staying up extremely late to get homework and assignments done.

xoxo Deadzie

First Fridays at the Natural History Museum 020411

2011-07-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

This was a new part of the museum that we had not seen the last time we were there. It was the rotunda that lead to the mammal exhibit. I'm really glad that they are expanding the museum.

This was the new exhibit.

Kerri and I..

xoxo Deadzie

Cloud & Sky Junkie 020411

2011-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Took this right before we walked into the museum for First Fridays. It was such a pretty sunset sky.

xoxo Deadzie

Ramses & Miss Kittie 020211

2011-07-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

xoxo Deadzie

Thai Dinner with Nanny 013111

2011-07-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Eggplant with fried tofu and rice. Soo good!

xoxo Deadzie

Loki 013011

2011-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

xoxo Deadzie

Sunday Morning Yoga 013011

2011-07-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

This year I started going to yoga on Sunday mornings in the park. I didn't go as often as I wished, but I did get to go a few times. This was my first time there and it happened to be cloudy and chilly. It felt really good and luckily we made it through the class. Not until the end did we get rained on and had to run to the car. It really did feel great, and I'll have to make plans to return once it starts back up.

xoxo Deadzie

Loki 012311

2011-07-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

I love that face!

xoxo Deadzie

Loki & Mabel 011711

2011-07-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

So we realized soon after little Mabel started coming around, that Loki liked her. Every time she would pass by the window, he would get excited and would run to see her. They would share a few purrs and meows and she would do her little dance for Loki and then she would leave. We called her Mabel, but we never found out her name. It was a very sweet relationship they had, and even my other monkees started coming around to see her when she came by.

We really wanted to adopt her but we never got the chance. Now it's been some time since we last saw her. I hope someone adopted her.

I'm sure Loki will remember her..

xoxo Deadzie

Pink Sky 011611

2011-07-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

The pink light from the sky this afternoon literally glowed into the kitchen. The blinds were partially down but as soon as I noticed the light I got up to see and found this. It was really something else.

xoxo Deadzie

Jimmy Kimmel Live Night 011211

2011-07-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Going to First Fridays, we got to see a band called Fitz & The Tantrums that we really enjoyed. My friend had found out that they were playing Jimmy Kimmel Live. Since I had never been and thought it would be fun to go and see them, I jumped on getting us tickets to the taping and we went! We had such a fun time!

Afterwards we ended up at El Compadre for some food and drinks. I honestly had no idea that the place would be so busy on a Wednesday. We opted to sit at the bar where we had margaritas and shared shots with our bartender. It was really fun! This place is always a great time and awesome food and drinks!

xoxo Deadzie

Loki 010811

2011-07-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a few photos of my little monkee Loki from my iPhone using Instagram.

xoxo Deadzie

First Fridays at the Natural History Museum 010711

2011-07-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

First Fridays are held at the Natural History Museum from January through June and has become my new favorite nighttime event in LA. My friend had brought up this event to me last year for my birthday and since we enjoyed it so much, we have been going ever since. We keep our memberships updated just for that. They open up the museum after hours and have DJ's spinning music and bands playing. All the lights are dimmed down and drinks and snacks are sold too. I really love that experience. The mix of fun with an educational museum. They also do instructional tours and discussions to get people talking and thinking while having fun.

This little guy was a part of their live bug exhibit where you get to see them up close.

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs..

Another favorite part of the museum for me is the bird exhibit!

My friend and I taking a quick photo.

Here's a dark photo of the life-sized juvenile T-Rex puppet at the museum. It's a part of their Dinosaur Encounters exhibit. They also have a saber-tooth cat! I haven't seen him yet.

After the museum we jumped on the freeway to head back to Long Beach and at the mention of The Rainbow in Hollywood, my friend turned the car around and we headed for Hollywood. I am glad we did. We had some good food and my friend got to people watch and draw over some drinks. This was our Dio booth.

It was a fun night!

xoxo Deadzie

Cloud & Sky Junkie 010611

2011-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's easy to tell that I really enjoy cloud photos by looking through my photo stream on Flickr. I find myself looking up into the sky at the different cloud formations. I have always done that, ever since I was a kid. Lately for some reason, I haven't focused as much. I guess I have had too many other things on my mind. In any case, I took these on my iPhone during a break at work. I love cloudy days like these.

xoxo Deadzie

Hello!

2011-07-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, first post on here. Decided to start using this blog instead of my WordPress blog. We will see how this goes. I decided to start this blog with this year and not go back. To view my old blog you can see it here. And my tumblr can be found here and here as well. Hope you enjoy this blog and what I post :)

xoxo Deadzie