Houses in California

Earlier this week, I was working in the area of

and

In this area, I saw houses like this:

with roofs like this:

Another house:

even had a swing in front...

Dear West Hollywood, will you adopt me?

The Getty

I visited The Getty this week. I attended alone, which was a very unique experience for me. I'm not usually the type of person who likes to do things alone, but I really enjoyed walking around the art museum for six hours, alone. I went through everything once, but I didn't want to leave, so I went through everything again. In between "sessions," I grabbed a sandwich and ate it on the grass. The weather was perfect; I thought I died and went to heaven: the area, grounds and view were breathtaking.

A little known fact about me is that I love art and art history. I dabble in the arts myself, but I mostly love looking at art. I saw some gorgeous art yesterday, and luckily, I got to document most of it. (I have a few contraband photographs - the guards came and yelled at me after taking them. At least I wasn't using my flash, and how was I supposed to know I wasn't allowed to take pictures?)

The following are a few of my favorite pieces from The Getty yesterday. (I loved The Getty so much, I went home and applied for a job there. If any of you know someone at The Getty, put in a good word for me. Ya?)

I love "still-lifes." A lot of times they are called a "memento mori." This is a Latin phrase that reminds the viewer that at some point, they will die. A lot of times you will see flowers, fruit or skulls in these types of paintings - flowers die, fruit rots, and animals die. So will we. Kind of morbid, but interesting to think about. (No, I'm not punk/ gothic or suicidal.)

Gorgeous floral still-life. (Please note that these pictures of the paintings just don't do the actual paintings justice... not even close.)

A hand painted by Rembrandt - absolutely flawlessly detailed. 

Don't ever forget to look up in an art museum... you never know what you might miss. (Perfect example.)

I spy with my little eye, the Los Angeles Temple! Can you find it? (Kind of on the top right side. By the way, the LA Temple isn't actually in downtown Los Angeles, it is in Santa Monica.)

One of my favorite artists... Degas. I had no idea I was going to get to see this piece (pastels), or some of his other pieces, at The Getty. I got really giddy then almost teared up when I walked into this gallery section. I love art, have I mentioned that?

Another Degas. So beautiful. Ballerinas were his specialty. 

This one, by Jean-Etienne Liotard, was probably one of my favorite pieces. She is stunning. 

 Pastel on velum. 

Gorgeous little Cupid. (Ha ha ha, I got a good chuckle out of this painting. What you can't see is a girl (whose hand you see) pushing Cupid away so he doesn't stab her with one of his arrows. Dang Cupid.)

Renoir... this was another surprise. I walked into the post-impressionism room and found the following: 

van Gogh - Irises

Manet... no, not Monet. I absolutely love Manet. (Probably more than Monet.)

Monet

Fernand Khnopff

Another Monet... it is my goal to make it to his gardens someday. 

A section of The Getty Gardens

Ahhh. I could go back tomorrow. 

Another beautiful painting... Mary Magdalene. Not sure if you can really see it, but she has the most beautiful tears running down her cheeks. 

Upstairs. They had chairs all over the place - it was awesome. I loved that I didn't have to buy anything in order to sit there - they were just there to enjoy. Happy!

"The Cardinal." 

"My Legs." 

(I apologize if nudity in art offends you...) This painting is so interesting. Here is a little explanation: the woman in this work (right) represents Fortune. She holds a horn of plenty, flaunting everything she could bring, but sits on a bubble because her favors are totally fleeting. The man, Chance (left), looks longingly toward Fortune as he deposits lottery tickets in an urn - a reference to the civic lotteries in Italy. Interesting, huh? See, that is what you get with art history. 

Another neat painting with a story: in Homer's Odyssey, Penelope spends many years waiting for the return of her husband, Odysseus, from the Trojan War. She is faithful, but she has so many suitors who claim that her husband has been shipwrecked. She promises to marry one of them after she completes a tapestry for her father-in-law. This painting, done by Joseph Wright of Derby, shows Penelope at night unraveling the day's work from her tapestry, a strategy that enables her to remain loyal to her husband. Beautiful? Yes. 

Nike Video/ Awesome Song

During the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, this commercial was going around. I loved the commercial and the song all through the Olympics, but totally forgot about it. Then this past week I was listening to Pandora and the song from this commercial popped up and I immediately purchased it on iTunes.



The song is by Jonathan Elias... and it is called "Move."

Beaching

We went "beaching" today. Loved every minute of it. I even went and played in the ocean... did a little bodysurfing and got my fair share of salty water in my mouth and sand in my suit. Mmmm. I don't know if I'm going to be able to leave California. I love the sun and the ocean too much.

My girls

I love these two girls so much. They fulfill the following roles in my life: friends, roommates, co-workers, confidants, make-sure-I'm-staying-sane checkers, wing-women at parties, fashion consultants and friends. (Yes, I know I mentioned friends twice... I was emphasizing that fact.)

Laker Parade

In preparation for Monday's Laker Parade! "COLBY BRYANT!! YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!" [Yes, I know I spelled Kobe Bryant's name incorrectly... it was on purpose. Watch the video and you'll understand.]

Daddy Day

What do you call your dad?

Dad?
Father?
Pops?
First name?
My personal favorite, Papa?

I know that everyone seems to have a hard time picking the perfect gift for Father's Day... so I would like to suggest to you the following website for some ideas.

This website is called Tiepedia and it includes basically everything you need to know about ties... including Obama's tie trend during the Healthcare bill days. (You'll notice a "blue" trend.)

I got quite a few laughs and learned some new things about ties while on this website. Check it out!

And for those of you who don't like giving ties... hmm... maybe a gift card to Home Depot?

Nie Nie Mormon Message

In my opinion, this is one of the best Mormon Messages made so far. Powerful. So powerful.

If you aren't familiar with Nie Nie, she is a very, very famous blogger. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She and her husband were badly burned in a plane crash and they survived to share their amazing stories.

Good timing

Some things just come at the right time... like this video.

Good reminder

Today, my friend reminded me that "you should never ignore the prompting to do something good."

So, I followed the prompting and went to Baskin Robins.

Friends don't let friends suppress good promptings. Thanks, Abram, for being a good friend.

PS- Abram, you owe me an ice cream for getting that "letter" signed at the liquor store. Go WNBA! Ha ha ha.

Online Portfolio

I finished my online portfolio tonight. I'm excited to finally have some pieces together. This isn't everything I have done, but it gives you a general idea of my work.

Thanks for visiting!

LDS Businessmen - Starting out as Missionaries?

Here is a video done by CNBC on the success of LDS Businessmen starting out as missionaries!

Click here to watch video.

PS- I love the "LOL commercial" right before the video... it made me LOL.

Tunboa? Really? What language is that?

Where in the world do they get the words for those annoying security tests?

You know what I'm talking about, right? The little phrase that you have to type in when you post something on Facebook or on someone's blog? It is ensuring that you are a real person, and not a spammer. Super annoying, if you ask me.

Some of the words they use absolutely blow my mind. Who thinks of these things?! I'd like to meet them and ask where they get their inspiration.

Tunboa?

Postua Grich?

Makli funding?

Polk avidity?

Really?

New Hat

While in Santa Monica this weekend, I bought a hat from a street vendor. On a scale from one to 10 on excitement, I think I'm an 11. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull off this style, but I think I do so quite well.

We walked by this vendor the first time and I had to stop and try a few on. I tried on said hat that was totally calling my name, but I kept walking. I'm not exaggerating - I tried that hat on probably 10 times, but couldn't bring myself to spend money on such a frivolous thing. Finally, my darling mother insisted that I get it. (Birthday present.)

Voila. I have a hat.

Can't wait to wear it with my girls when we go back to Santa Monica on Saturday.

What do you call this type of hat? [ps- stay tuned for pictures of me in my hat.]

The Parentals

My parents came and visited me this weekend. It was heaven. I teared up when I opened my apartment door and saw them standing there. We had a long hug.

I showed them around downtown Glendale and visited Americana at Brand. We got some great Mexican food and hit up Cheesecake Factory for some delish cheesecake. (Dulce de Leche is my fav.)

The next morning I took them to Santa Monica. (No, not to the gay pride festival/parade that was going on...) We visited 3rd Street Promenade and walked around the darling farmer's market. Then we made our way into favorite shops like Zara, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Banana, JCrew and a few others. I melted.

We walked around the beach then went to dinner and a movie. We saw "The A-Team." Loved it. I'd give it a 9.4.

My parents left today. I'm feeling slightly homesick now.

Here are a few pics from the weekend... Love you Mama and Papa! Thank you so much for coming to visit me!

Still in love and flirting it up. I love them so much. 

Temporary Stress

Temporary stressing going on...

Where in the world (literally) should I go after my internship?

I have always had a plan. Graduated high school and went to college. Went on a mission during college. Came back and finished college. Graduated and moved to LA for an internship. Currently interning, but I have no idea what I'm doing next.

I don't like that. Out of all of the jobs to which I've applied, nothing has felt right. I had a phone interview with a firm in Chicago, but as soon as I got on the phone, the recruiter told me the position had already been filled. Say what?! They interviewed me anyway so they could keep me in their database. Whatevs. The "no" brought me one step closer to a "yes."

I am so grateful I have a temporary internship and source of income. I'm frustrated with the job search. I feel so badly for all the people who are unemployed and looking for jobs. What an unhappy situation. I wish them a lot of luck and patience.

LA Art Walk

I had one of the most unique experiences last night - I attended the LA Art Walk. (Check mark in my bucket list box.) I saw (and spoke with) all sorts of people, heard all sorts of music and smelled quite a few different smells (good and bad).

We went through a few galleries - one of them was an absolutely amazing industrial designed gallery. All the walls were exposed brick and the ceiling was also exposed. The art was awesome and so was the music. The night life in downtown LA has opened a whole new world for me! There were two naked guys (they actually were wearing underwear) riding their bikes trying to advertise for a "free ride." (A community naked bike ride...)

We also found an open-air market and walked around there. They had some awesome boutique booths with art, clothing and jewelry. I even got a tap on the shoulder by a guy with long curly hair, wearing skinny jeans and a shirt, jacket and bowtie, and had a cigarette in his right hand. He told me he loved my glasses and that I am "sexy." *ahem* It was slightly awkward, but I changed the subject by telling him I liked his bowtie - he was definitely drunk.

A few pics from the night...

My favorite gallery

One of the pieces of art... I think it would look great over my couch. 

More art... 

More art...

Gourmet cupcake shop... with a chick dancing in the middle of the store. 

Open-air market.

No question. I'm going back next month.

Job search

I've been on the job search for almost two months now.

I'm considering the following:



Which of my friends wants to sign up for the dirty job? He he he.

We get to have a dance party after!

Haircut?

My hair goes through stages. I am currently in the "long hair" stage. But there comes a time when I start to see other girls and their short hair and I think to myself, "I could cut it and grow it back out if I don't like it." How long has it taken me to get my hair long? Long enough. Long enough to know that I don't want to try it again. Over two years. Let's say that.

But, if I WAS to cut my hair... I would consider this style:

The pixie cut.

I am a humongous fan of the pixie cut. Any girl who can pull it off... wow... I give them props, and I envy them just a little. If I was to cut my hair like this, I'd look like a boy. But at least a cute boy, hopefully.

Bucket List Item #2

Before I came to LA, I created a bucket list. For those of you who don't know what a bucket list is, it is usually know a list of things you want/ have to do before you die. Since I don't plan on dying for a while, I decided to make a bucket list specifically for my summer in LA. An example could be if you go to Rome, your bucket list would probably include seeing the Pantheon and the Colosseum. Or, maybe going to Rome period, is on your bucket list.

Anyway, in the past week, I have marked off two items from my bucket list.

#1: I visited the Griffith Observatory in LA with some friends. Seeing how it is in LA, we couldn't see very many stars... not even the Hollywood sign on the mountain across the way. But, we got some food and watched the sunset, as well as saw an awesome show. Worth it? Yes. Would I visit again? Yes. Celeb sighting? Yes: Danny Ainge.

#2: I went to my first Dodgers game! WOOO! My darling friend Hillary invited my roommate Hannah and me to go to the game tonight. We played the Cardinals and kicked some trash. I feel like I got the whole experience: we walked into the stadium and was handed a bobble-head of Jonathan Broxton (a pitcher for the Dodgers); found our seats and took a few pictures; got a Dodger Dog (delish!); sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"; stuffed myself with peanuts because the two older drunk couples in front of us kept giving us peanuts; saw a guy propose to his girlfriend on the big screen (and watched him totally get shafted as she ran away... but she eventually came back and said yes!); saw some very attractive Dodger fans; saw the Dodgers win.

It was an awesome night. Thanks Hillary!

Our seats were bomb!

The said peanuts that the nice people in front of us kept feeding us. That had to have been the biggest bag of peanuts I have ever seen. (See the red bag by my knees? Ya.

WOO! DODGER DOGS!!

Darling friends.

View my old post for more LA bucket list items.