I’ve been meaning to post these pics taken last month from my friend’s bachelorette party. I had such a great time hanging with these girls in Joshua Tree. I would give anything to be there in that rad house and rad pool right now!
ps. Can you tell how much I luv that pretzel floaty? I bought mine from UO but it’s sadly sold out. I highly recommend buying it next summer if it comes back on sale.
My sister has become somewhat of a “succulent whisperer” lately. She has babied and collected an impressive lot of it at home and I wanted to take her to The Huntington Library to check out their lovely desert garden. I’ve been to The Huntington a few times before but I never got the chance to check out their amazing desert garden. If you like desert plants and succulents I highly recommend checking The Huntington out. There are so many different varieties of plants there, some I have never seen before. I also suggest going early because their gardens are quite large and it will take time to walk from one to another.
We spent so much time on the desert side that we barely had enough time (before they closed) to check out the Shakespeare garden, japanese garden, and chinese gardens. The Huntington Library is a must go or a visit if you are in So-Cal. It is so lovely!
*of course my sister and I did not miss the opportunity to ham it up!
I went to Catalina for the first time about three weeks ago and have been too busy to post any pics until now. Thank goodness for this Labor Day Weekend. I’m ready for some relaxation and some fun! Hope everyone has a fantastic three days off!!
Btw, Catalina was nice but I think I can do a day or day and a half trip max. Beautiful place but after a while I can see how some people will be bored. Everything we ate was also overpriced and not so spectacular, except for a few dishes. The island is super small and there are areas that are closed off to visitors. We all had fun kayaking and I will definitely do the zip line the next time I go to Catalina.
From the past two weeks…
It was hot hot hot a couple of weekends ago when I helped out my friend from Peanut Butter Dynamite at the Renegade Craft Fair. I think I devoured 6 of those popsies our two days working at the fair. I was able to do a little shopping for myself on Sunday and got two rad hanging air plants from Bird and Feather, a spine ring from Verameat, and truffle salt.
Check out Miran’s shop, she and her mother make the cutest pillows and rugs you will ever find!
We decided to stay out in LA and not have to deal with driving back and forth from, Long Beach(me) and Santa Ana(Miran). We stayed in a boutique hotel in Downtown and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and clean the O Hotel was. For just one night it totally met all our expectations. Our room was clean, the staff was soooo nice and friendly, and the restaurant downstairs was actually pretty good. They also have a pretty decent free continental breakfast for those that are wondering.
This weekend was just relaxing. I visited the family, went to the farmer’s market, and did my best rendition of “Michael Phelps” in the pool. Let me just say I have mad respect for all our olympians. I mean I was OUT OF BREATHE after just 2 laps! (and we are talking about small laps, lol!)
and just because he looked soooo darn cute sitting there on my mantle yesterday:
I had the pleasure of going back to Disneyland again but this time however I went with some friends and got to go into California Adventure (which I haven’t been since it first opened) and have dinner at the exclusive Club 33.
We started in California Adventure first and since I’ve never been on the Tower of Terror, that was our first ride. Omg, that was sooooo fun but I’m not going to lie, it was pretty scary. One of our bags even flew up in the air as we were free-falling! After that we headed towards A Bug’s Life which was completely charming and cute. The big draw of course was Cars Land which everyone was talking about. I never saw the movie but the area where Cars Land was is reallllllly cool. The main ride was fun but I was really looking at the “fake” desert-like surroundings we were in. It looked so real that I almost believed I was out in the desert!
We had spent over 5 hours at that side of the park that when we finally made it into the main park we were only able to ride a few rides before our dinner reservations.
The dinner itself was good, not spectacular. I wasn’t overly impressed and I have to say our service was not that great. For a place that is so strict with its rules, dress codes, etc, we didn’t even get spoons when our bisque came. Our food was never explained to us (we all decided to go with the 5 course dinner), nor was our table ever cleaned off. My dinner along with two others was cold so we decided to have them warm it up. That took forever and my friend’s dinner was still cold so she sent it back a second time. The manager came by later and apologized for the problems and offered us a souvenir that you can only buy in the restaurant. I never looked in the showcase to see what was being offered but our friend Ken did. When asked what we wanted I thought to myself, “please pick the most expensive thing in the case please please please”. Ken says without missing a beat, “I would like the latte mug”. I wanted to die, a mug?!?! We were being asked on the spot and Ken kept assuring all of us that it was the best thing in the window so we ALL got the mug. As I left the restaurant I looked into the case and saw a pen set for $75, my mug…$25. LOL, oh well at least we got something. I still had a fun time and it was definitely memorable.
My cousin and his lovely wife are visiting from England at the moment. It’s her first time to California so what better place to take her than to Hollywood. I know I know, total cheese but you’ve got to experience Hollywood once in your life. I haven’t seen all those foot/hand prints at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre since I was in my early twenties. I too felt like a total tourist, taking pictures and putting my feet into the prints. I was shocked to see how small Rita Hayworth’s feet were!
I also took them to the Aquarium of the Pacific (you know how much I luv that place). My cousin must have taken hundreds of photos of fishes.
We got quite hungry looking at all the sea life at the aquarium. I know it’s awful but we totally went and had a seafood feast afterwards. I blame my cousin, his request was he wanted seafood, wear a bib, and eat with his hands. I guess there is nothing like that in London.
On Sunday I managed to sneak in a hike with my sister. It was so bloody hot and sunny that the hike left me totally exhausted.
I had a blast with the cousins. My weekend was filled with lots of entertainment, laughter, and food. We saw The Lion King one night and it was AWESOME! It did not disappoint. The production, the costume, the singing…oh my gosh soooo cooool!!!
Unfortunately visiting the Neon Museum is by appointment only. The boneyard is fenced off but we managed to snap some pics over the fence. There’s something sad about seeing these discarded old neon signs, all piled up and illuminated no longer. It gives us a glimpse of what Vegas used to be like, before obnoxious LED & LCD screens took over the strip.
There are also plenty of old signs on display in the Fremont East area.
We managed to make a quick stop at the Pawn Stars shop on our last day. It was busy inside, lots of people and the store is roped off to manage the customers. Things were totally overpriced in the shop. They even sell Pawn Stars water and beach towels, so ridiculous.
Has anyone ever been to the Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner in Yermo?? All the times I’ve driven to Vegas I have wondered about this 50’s diner. We mainly stopped here because I wanted pictures of the dinosaurs but when we stepped inside the diner we were pleasantly surprised by its charm. The food is so-so, your typical diner food. The chocolate malt was good but the best part of this diner are all the kitschy decorations inside and the little “dino park” outside.
That last picture is seriously my favorite pic from the whole trip, lofl!! So glad my cousins like to ham it up like me.
We were graced with the most gorgeous sunset on our way back home. Desert skies are really beautiful. What a nice way to end the trip.
I will be helping my friend Miran of Peanut Butter Dynamite at her booth this weekend. Check out all the cool and creative handmade things at this outdoor craft fair. Come on by and say hello! I’d luv to meet some of you!!
Peanut Butter Dynamite also has an Etsy store here.
More info on Renegade here.
My trip here in Hong Kong is sadly coming to an end. A part of me is ready to go back home but I always feel sad leaving my father and his wife who I don’t see often. The weather is finally warm again and very very humid (which I hate), so going home is actually perfect timing.
Today we are all going for Thai food for lunch and afterward I think I may go to Stanley Market. I know it’s a total touristy thing to do but of all the years I’ve been visiting HK I don’t believe I’ve ever visited it. I had read it used to be a fishing village back in the day and now it’s mostly restaurants and shopping stalls. Anyway, maybe I can get some good shots whilst I’m there.
Voltaire No.6 