Hollywood, Miss Piggy and Sizzling Rice Soup!

My 8 year old nephew Benjamin was on spring break, so my sister brought him down to L.A., last week. They went to the zoo, while I was working, then we met up at the apartment before heading to Sushi in West Hollywood at Yoshi Sushi. First time I ever had seared barracuda sushi! And it was great! I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I took the next day off, so I could cruise around with them. Ben said he wanted to go back to Hollywood, and then visit Chinatown, so Penny got tickets to see the new Muppets' movie at the El Capitan Theater. 

El Capitan Theater

1926

The El Capitan is a beautiful old movie palace, on Hollywood Blvd. It opened in 1926, by the same developer that opened the famous Chinese Theater, across the street, and the old Egyptian Theater, a couple of blocks east. It was refurbished and reopened in 1991, just before I moved to Los Angeles.

They do this "show" with the various curtains and scrims, that kind of cracks me up, for some reason.

The Theater and adjacent buildings are owned by Disney, so they open many of their films and have many of the premieres at the El Capitan. They also do a little live show before the movie. In fact, one of the Disney Nature films brought in a whole show with live animals. 

Before Monsters University, they had a couple of musical numbers, with the Monsters … and for Muppets Most Wanted they had Kermit and Miss Piggy "live" on stage. They did a few songs, including Rainbow Connection which, of course, reminded me of me of my childhood and even made me a little weepy!

Kermit and Miss Piggy at the El Capitan

(By the way, I had an awesome Miss Piggy puppet in the 70s)

Rainbow Connection, is on the AFI list of 100 best film songs and has been covered by everyone from Willie Nelson to Lea Salonga. Just saying.

El Capitan ceiling

Not sure if they do this in a lot of cities, other than L.A. and probably New York, but the nicer theaters here often have wardrobe on display, in their lobbies. When we used the bathroom on the lower level, Ben found a room filled with (mostly) Miss Piggy's costumes from the film. We were cracking up!

They had a few other items, from the movie, including this set piece of Miss Piggy's dressing table in "Berlin."

I think this is my favorite! Love the rhinestones on her fishnets! 

And the traditional end to a fashion show … a wedding gown!

Exiting through the gift shop (of course) … the character of "Animal."

Below, looking across Hollywood Blvd., to the El Capitan, from "Hollywood and Highland."

Hollywood and Highland are streets in Hollywood as well as the name of what is basically a mall. They were trying to design it based on a 1916 D.W. Griffith film set extravaganza, for his silent movie Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages. It's kind of strange, frankly, but if you park there, and get a tea at Starbucks, you can validate your parking and pay only 2 bucks.

We headed to Hop Woo for lunch, in Chinatown, after our little Hollywood movie excursion.

Chinatown Los Angeles

 

Hop Woo

The sizzling rice soup was great. We figured Ben would like the orange peel chicken, which he did, as well as the asparagus in garlic sauce and pot stickers. (We over-ordered a bit!) 

It was all pretty decadent, and yummy, though my favorite thing is still the steamed tilapia, that I had on a previous visit. I would recommend that if you want something tasty, that's a little more on the healthy side …

During the week it was pretty slow, and not quite the bustling place that I think Benjamin was expecting. It's always visually stimulating though, and who doesn't love a red lantern!

Slightly strange mannequins? Or is it just me?

In the photo below, is Via Café, where I usually eat when I'm in the neighborhood. It's actually Vietnamese, and has a great crab noodle soup and yummy garlic fish dish with mushrooms and asparagus. (I actually ate there last night!)

Not so busy on a Thursday afternoon ...

We were throwing another bridal shower, that weekend, for my cousin Jenny and put these coins (below) in some little satin coin purses we bought for game prizes. The three coins together, on a red string in your purse, are supposed to give you endless fortune. Figured that endless fortune would make a good little prize. ;)

After our mini tour of Chinatown, I dropped off another painting at my framers, across the street, and Penny and Ben headed back to Ojai. It was a great little visit and as always, very fun having them in my hood.

Oh, here is a little extra shot of me with a couple of Muppets, taken by my favorite 8 year old. It's my new profile pic on Facebook.

Who said that every wish

Could be heard and answered 

When wished on the morning star

Somebody thought of that 

And someone believe it

And look what it's done so far

What's so amazing 

That keeps us stargazing 

And what do we think we might see

Someday we'll find it

The rainbow connection

The lovers

The dreamers …

and meeeeeee!

~Kermit the Frog

by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher

Happy April!

Blessings and light!

Japanese Gardens and Lilacs in Bloom ~ Descanso Gardens part II

OK, so back to Descanso Gardens! One of the most beautiful spots at Descanso, is the Japanese Garden. Especially at the first blush of spring!

from the Descanso Gardens website:

"Discover the tranquility of a Japanese-style garden that blends design elements of classic tea, strolling and zen gardens.

Cross an arched bridge and stroll on shaded paths along a koi-filled stream to the Full Moon Tea House, designed by Whitney Smith and built in 1966. The blue tile roofing, imported from Japan, is especially striking in the spring when nearby pink cherry and plum trees are in bloom. The tea house is open limited hours during the summer as the Camellia Lounge and for special occasions during the year.

Nearby, the minka (traditional farmhouse) was designed and donated by Robert H. Kawashima in 1969. The plant collection features Japanese maples, azaleas, bamboo, and other Asian plants."

And here's a bit of music, from YouTube, for the visit! 

Look at the stream

there are rocks in its way.

Does it slam into them

out of frustration?

It simply flows over and around them

and moves on!

Be like the water

and you will know what harmony is.

~Zen Story

Move

and the way

will

open.

~Zen Proverb

You cannot travel the path
until you have become the path itself.
~ Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden:

the sun,

the moon,

and the truth.

~ Buddha

We cannot see our reflection in running water.

It is only in still water that we can see.

~unknown author

Lilac Garden

Walk slowly and breathe deeply. The scent, I imagine, is what heaven must smell like. 

It's nearly overwhelming … and so beautiful.

Life can be found only in the present moment.

The past is gone,

the future is not yet here,

and if we do not go back to ourselves

in the present moment,

we cannot be in touch with life.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

In the end, only three things matter:

how much you loved,

how gently you lived, 

and how gracefully you let go

of things not meant for you.

~Buddha

To find out more about the various gardens and check out their website, click here.

Believe it or not, there is one more Descanso post to come! (At least, but I will try to edit, because the following Monday I spent the afternoon at the Los Angeles Arboretum, and I just helped throw a party in Ojai!)

Hope you have all been able to enjoy some blooms!

Blessings and light!

Painted Posies and a Lovely Shower!

… And by shower, I mean "bridal."

O.K., quick break from Descanso gardens, to focus on a bridal shower for my cousin Jennifer. The shower was at our Aunt Penny's and as a little party favor for each guest, they would take home seeds of either pansies or sweet peas… 

I was asked if I would decorate an envelope or something, to put the seeds in. If I was going to spend time doing it, I felt like I needed to do it on nice watercolor paper, otherwise it would drive me nuts. 

So, I bought a box of Fabriano watercolor folding cards, (with my 40% off 1 item coupon, at Blick!)  that are a lovely artists'  quality paper … 

 … and voilà!

O.K., not exactly voilà … 

My first plan was to do something really soft and loose (as above) … but trying to do 21 little paintings loose but kind of in control and have them all similar, made me a little crazy. 

The one above was the best of "loose" style. So, after doing 12, I started over. The first one you saw, back at the very beginning of the post, was the more detailed style that I ended up going with.

Here's a little Ella to set the tone ...

Inside each little card, my aunt and I attached a tiny seed pack, and directions for planting the seeds. They were set at each place setting.

The Beautiful Bride ...

 

Who doesn't love a pansy?

And for the sweet pea seed pack …

The bride and her sister Alexandra. There was so much laughter and love, at the shower!

Rejoice with your family

in the beautiful land of life!

~Albert Einstein

We all pitched in, bringing different things to the table. My aunt Vicki made this beautiful Italian cream cake (I probably have that name wrong) sprinkled with fairy dust and roses … 

My sister, Penny, brought the white roses for the table, cousin Elizabeth did the games, and cousin Jen (different Jen) did the invitations … 

One of my friends thought I was crazy, painting all the flowers by hand, but they were all for ladies I love … cousins, aunties, my great aunt and grandmother, and they all appreciate things handmade, and done with love. The bride and my grandma already have theirs framed!

The bride herself is an artist, (she went to Otis) and so is the groom! Anyway, they all seemed to love them and I was happy to do it. Plus, I thought they looked so nice on the tables!

My cousins, lovely Sisters, Jennifer and Alexandra … 

~ The Bride and Maid of Honor ~

It doesn't matter what story we're telling,

we're telling the story of family.

~Erica Lorraine Scheidt

For those of you who don't live in the U.S., or haven't been to a bridal shower in the last 15 years, this (below) might look a little strange. We do weird things at bridal showers here. 

One, is playing a game where we split into teams, and dress a member of the team in a bridal gown of only toilet paper. You can't use tape or any kind of adhesives. You have to get creative, and the best design wins. It also helps if the dress doesn't fall apart as she's walking the "runway."

2014 Spring Bridal Collection 

The Sisters are in the middle, and my adorable little cousin Megan is on the far right. (She's the daughter of my cousin Scott, so does that make her my second cousin? Anyway, she's my cousin.) The gorgeous gal, on the far left, is my 92 year old grandmother, Beverly.

Yes, I said 92. 

I know, total freak of nature. 

No one ever believes it. 

:)

Love makes a family.

~Gigi Kaeser

Next up? 

Back to Descanso Gardens, in the beautiful blooming Japanese Garden!

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Blessings and light!