Rubio Canyon

On Sunday, Rick and I went to Rubio Canyon for a short hike/walk. It was a gorgeous day - sunny, blue, clear sky. We hiked up to a waterfall and I took photos all along the way. So great having nice places to walk so close to home!

Here we are in front of the waterfall:


One of my friends said this is called pyracantha and that the berries ferment in the summer. He said the birds get drunk on them and fly into walls and windows. Ack!



And here are some more things we saw...so different from what I'm used to in the Northeast!










See more photos here!

K. Gordon Murray! And more ornaments!

Last night we made more ornaments and watched some K. Gordon Murray Christmas shorts.

Last week we watched K. Gordon Murray's Santa Claus. It's kinda messed up! And fascinating.

Let's see... Santa lives in an ice castle...in space...OVER the North Pole! And he has children from all over the world helping in his workshop. (And they all sing songs from their countries.)

Santa is also very close to Merlin, who helps him out by giving him a flower that makes him disappear when he smells it.

In the movie, a devil is sent to try to spoil Christmas by influencing children and making them BAD. He tries over and over again to screw things up, but is ultimately unsuccessful.

Yup. Santa vs. the devil.

It's a good time.

It's startin' to feel like Christmas!

Last night, Rick and I decorated our Christmas tree. It's a short, stubby thing that's as wide as it is tall! I laugh every time I look at it! I love it. :)



We made a few ornaments using things we had around the house.


We used pictures of trees to make many of them! Here is how they turned out:


Here are the original photos we used:


We even used a photo of a tree top for, well, our tree top! (It's a picture of a tree I could see out my window in Brooklyn - it makes me feel at home!)




It was all highly amusing and we had lots of fun. I'm sure more ornaments will be made before Christmas. :)

Rose Bowl Flea Market

On Sunday, Rick and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, which is held on the 2nd Sunday of every month.



The earlier you go, the more you pay to get in.

5-7:00am $20
7-8:00am $15
8-9:00am $10
9am-3:00pm $8

Parking is free.

So! The best thing about going early is that you get the biggest selection of items. (Although not all vendors are guaranteed to be set up yet.)

The best thing about going at the end of the day is that people want to get rid of their stuff and are more apt to give you deals.

We got there at about 8:15am and were there until 2:00pm. And we only saw the Antiques section! There's also a HUGE area with just clothing. There are arts and crafts. And lots of other stuff too.

I was very excited to go because we were looking for things for our house AND it was a great opportunity to take a bunch of photos.

We had a great time, found some fun stuff, and I'd definitely go again.

Advice...

Bring food and drinks! There's stuff to buy there, but it isn't even as good as what you'd get at a street fair. And it's expensive. $4.50 for a 20oz bottle of soda!

If you see something you want, you might want to buy it on the spot. I was shocked when something happened to us TWICE.

Early in the day, I saw a nightstand I wanted. It was $15. We decided to walk a little further and pick it up when we turned around.

Half an hour later we went back and it was marked $20. We said we wanted it, but that we'd seen it at $15. The guy shrugged and said "You should have bought it then."

Huh?

I might have bought it for $20, if that was the first price I saw. But I'm stubborn. So I skipped it. Towards the end of the day, we saw a couple carrying it - with the $15 price tag back on.

ALSO, we saw a little wooden trunk/bench that we liked. It was $25. Later, we decided to see if it was still there. It was. With a $32 price tag. Still optimistic, I said we were interested in it, but at $25. The woman said "I raised the price. I'm not selling it for $25. Someone else offered me $30."

We walked away.

I don't care if people raise/lower their prices, but I'd think they'd honor the old price. Oh, well.

We did get LOTS of stuff. We spent $132 and got the following:


1 lamp, 2 mirrored curios, 1 Elvis painting, 1 framed photo, 2 small toys, 1 end table, 1 waterfall that lights up and makes sounds.

FUN!

You can get just about anything you can think of.

You can see all of my photos here.

Here are a few of them...













We didn't understand the Tom & Jerry thing. When we saw a second and then third set, we asked. It's an eggnog-like drink! Here is a recipe I found:

Tom & Jerry - "A Must for Every Holiday Feast"

1 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Brandy
1 Egg
1 tsp. Sugar
6 oz. Hot water milk, or coffee

Separate egg in two bowls. Add Rum & Brandy to the yolk and beat together until frothy. In the other bowl beat the egg white until it peaks then add sugar and bet until stiff. Fold into the liquor mixture. Pour into a coffee mug and top with the water, milk or coffee.

FAQ

I've gotten emails and text messages and Tweets from people I know and don't know all asking me the same thing... Am I changing my name now that I'm on the west coast?

The answer?

No.

I will always be Brooklyn Hilary. :)

My new home

I've been in California now for 3.5 weeks. And Rick and I moved into our new little house at the beginning of the month. We still have more to do, but we've managed to get quite a bit done already! I love the house - it's very cute and cozy...

This weekend we are going to go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market to see if we find any more odds and ends. And we'll probably get a Christmas tree too. Fun!

I hope that lots of people will visit!

Here it is from the outside:




The Living room, which has a fireplace with a gas line... Not sure how that works yet! I love the wood and our staircase!




The dining room:


Our little bedroom (we are using the big one to work in and as a guest room):


The dresser was made in Vermont. Yay! (Got it at the Salvation Army antiques store - bargain!):


The work/art room:




The kitchen:

The Price Is Right

On Wednesday, I joined 20 other people (mostly from the San Diego Tweetup group) at a taping of The Price Is Right. Thanks to Jenn (or @jbruin - follow her on Twitter) for organizing the whole thing - it can't be easy getting a group of that many people to get up at 4am and travel from San Diego to LA on a weekday!

One of our group (Peggy, or @thepegisin - follow her on Twitter) was called to come on down! She even won some prizes!

I love going to television tapings - it's fun to see what happens behind-the-scenes. At most shows, there is someone around to get the audience warmed up and excited - someone to tell jokes and get people to hoot and holler and applaud and all that good stuff.

The Price Is Right is different. People are already excited when they walk through the door. They're having fun and excited at the thought of possibly getting the chance to win a new car or a trip or a dining room set! ;)

The music was blasting, people were dancing and singing and cheering. All this without any encouragement from the crew.

Here are a few photos from after the show...

Peggy with her name card:


Our lovely coordinator Jenn, with her brother, who won a car on The Price Is Right a couple years ago:


Ricardo, who will hopefully be on next time!


After the show, we went out to eat and Drew Carey was there! After he finished his meal, he was kind enough to pose for a couple photos. And he even told a knock knock joke!

Reaction to Drew Carey's joke:


Rob, Drew Carey, and Peggy:


We heard from the waiter that he is a great guy and very generous. We saw that in action!

Fun day with fun people. :)

My first west coast holiday party...

Last Saturday night, Rick and I went to a holiday party thrown by a meetup group of local artists. There were writers, painters, photographers, etc.

We ate a wonderful dinner, had some wine, shared our work, and even had a little raffle. (I won a haircut at a salon from one of the women. Great timing - I need a haircut!)

It was a lovely evening and it was nice to meet some new people.

Here are a few photos...

Rick and me:


Our host, Marianne, reading from her new book:


We all made our own little name tags:


Someone made this beautiful, giant cupcake: