californian adventure: this little piggy went to market

my favorite LA stop was the farmers market on fairfax and third. i know a lot of people wouldn't be so excited at the prospect of going on holiday to see a market, but when food and history are in your top interests its hard to resist! it opened in 1934 and has long been a haunt of hollywoods brightest stars. i loved all the old signage, the amazing choice of foods, and just the general ambience. a picture paints a thousand words, so...

i really urge you to visit if you can, its the sweetest place. also there's a cajun food stand where you can get alligator meat. they should change the market's slogan to 'come for the ambience, stay for the alligator'. you're welcome, board of tourism.

californian adventure: snippets of snaps

the last few days have been a bit slow, thanks to the kid being a bit under the weather. we scrapped our universal studios plans and instead took to the pool and a stop at the ihop. i had waffles topped with what i assume was meant to be whipped cream but it was sort of like vanilla flavored air. whaaaaat?

it felt good to relax and let me tell you, swimming in a pool overlooking LA while 'le soleil est pres du moi' by air plays is as close to heaven as you can get.

i'd show you my full body shot in the pool but i seriously look like a corpse in water. its draw! pilgrim, not drowned! pilgrim.

mmm hotel dry cleaning.. and isn't it cute?

we tried walking places, but i'm not one for the sensible footwear (blister city, population: me) so we quickly caved in and started getting cabs. i get a buzz every time i see this sign. argh! i'm in LA!

the florist around the corner from our hotel had these amazing potted, er, things.

i'm no horticulturalist but they looked like cabbages. pretty and possibly delicious sautéed with bacon (thats my pre-requisite for any floral arrangement)

do not stare directly into the whirly pop or you will be compelled to act like a chicken!

hold me closer, tiny condiments... the coke can is there to show scale. aww they're so teensy!

and look at american smarties, in australia smarties are kinda like flatter m&ms. so, y'know, there's that.

adieu lovely hotel... we shall miss you. next stop, disneyland! but come back on monday to hear about that, my next post is all about the fabulous farmers market! come back for an inundation of amazing vintage signage and kitsch treasures.

kid couture: modern kiddo

have you seen modern kiddo, the new children's clothing blog from strawberry lemonade's alex tyler and her friend dottie? it is the place to find cute and quirky duds for the small person in your life. if you read strawberry lemonade you'll know what amazing taste alex has, so you won't be disappointed in the fab finds on modern kiddo.

it was quite the honor for me to design their banners, and what could be better than having the best dressed kid on the block without any of the legwork?!

californian adventure: hooray for west hollywood!

hello! how is your 2010 going? are you in camp twenty-ten or are you a two-thousand-and-tenn-er? as though it matters, this year is gonna rock!!

well, my year is going great so far. january 1 started with trifle for breakfast. it already bettered any breakfast in 2009, case closed. so how could i beat trifle? how about my GREAT CALIFORNIAN ADVENTURE!

yeah, i'm pretty excitable this week (blush) we've been here since saturday and about 2 hours after landing at LAX we were already deliriously in love (30% of that delirium possibly due to being awake for 22 hours). we're staying in west hollywood, at the lovliest hotel ever. the lobby alone satisfies my david lynch flooring fantasies:

the weather is so perfect, around 25 celsius, and with such gentle sunshine. for those of you outside of australia, our sun is nasty. it actually kinda stings your skin sometimes. and for those of you like myself who are of an, er, alabaster/pasty complexion, this is bad, burny news.

speaking of things that get burned to a crisp back home: the lawns here pretty much insist you lie down and roll around on them. green and perfectly manicured, they look so beautiful! i'm fairly sure i came close to being arrested today after i was almost compelled to run bare foot across someone's front lawn on rodeo drive. can they toe-print lawns and track you down? can someone provide an alibi for me? and look at this grass i found in santa monica, it has daisies!

and look at this awesome sears building i found in santa monica too. so elegant!

yesterday we went and hung out at the santa monica pier. i was rather enamoured of all the old coin operated amusements (i know, i know, i'm such a cliche alterna-girl). we played our first ever game of whack-a-mole and won a hot pink fluffy dolphin. also a street psychic told me i'd have another 4 children, and a creative breakthrough this year. guess which prediction i'm more excited about. hint: it doesn't contain the number 4) here are some santa monica gems:

today we walked along sunset boulevard and checked out some hallowed territory for my metal lovin' boyfriend. he is having quite the time here! first night, he had dinner with a rather important guitar guy and met some of his guitar heros, and tonight he was girlishly excited about being on the door list for a gig at the house of blues. i think one could say he is in his element! and to think, i knew him when he was juuuust that guy i loved!

i apologize for my (probably annoying) wide-eyed, touristy ramblings. this is pretty exciting for me and i love traveling and cutting loose in some place new and exciting. but exciting for me is pretty strange, so maybe be warned, i might start posting photos from grocery stores. stay tuned for the rest of the month to see whose lawn i vandalize with my presence, next! it could be YOURS!

PS: angelenos (possibly all americans), you are the most friendly people i've ever seen. people smiling and saying hi as they pass you on the street? what?! shop assistants acknowledging your presence? HUH!? though i can see why you don't like the french... if you've grown up expecting this level of customer service it would be quite a nasty shock going anywhere else!