Union Station and the Bradbury Building

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Last week my father and I  spent the week in L.A  visiting a family friend. We stayed in South Pasadena and explored different sections of L.A over the week. We brunched, dined, drank iced coffee each day (sometimes twice!), visited museums, and saw the Hollywood sign.

On Tuesday we took the train to downtown Union Station, and walked to the Bradbury building. Completed in 1893, the Bradbury building was designed by Sumner P. Hunt and George H. Wyman. The interior has a lovely airy feeling, flooded with light due to the glass ceiling. Built in an era with an eye for details, every element of the building is polished and elegant.

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Union Station

the Bradbury Building


I’m now obsessed with the iced chai at Intelligentsia. It was creamy, sweet and perfect in the hot heat of L.A. What’s your favorite drink on a hot day?

Love,

-S

Summer in Tahoe

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I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes it’s hard for me to let myself take a break. I get too caught up in my to-do lists, going to the gym, seeing friends, and all sorts of other random things … Continue reading →

On My Radar

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Since I have summers off as a teacher, I have had tons more free time in the last few weeks. Most of it has been used wisely, such as going to the gym, seeing old friends and catching up on … Continue reading →

Summer Adventures

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In the last 3 weeks of summer I have:

  • Gone berry-picking with my brother

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Summer Adventures

  • Watched Frozen with my brother

Summer Adventures

  • Made strawberry shortcake-yum!

Summer Adventures

  • Visited Natasha at Google, again!

Summer Adventures

  • Had a girls weekend in Pittsburgh with my mother, including these delicious waffles!

Summer Adventures

  • Watched a rain and thunderstorm in Pittsburgh, just outside of this building

Summer Adventures

  • Saw my very first drive-in movie (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Summer Adventures

  • Had a beach day with my girls, and used my newly finished t-shirt quilt!

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  • Followed up the beach-day with some fantastic horchata ice cream from Marianne’s

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Watched a gorgeous sunset with my dadSummer AdventuresSummer Adventures

  • Participated in our family portraits photo-shoot, taken by the talented Andria Hautamaki (more photos coming!)  Aren’t we a cute ‘lil family?!

Summer Adventures

 

  • Knocked 2 things off my 101 list!

So far, its been a great 3 weeks of summer! How’s your summer going? How was your 4th of July? What did you do for it?

Love,

-S

GradNight at Disneyland

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Summer started about about two weeks ago. It began with a crazy, two day spree to Disneyland with my seniors for Grad-night. I have never laughed so hard, or been so tired. It was an epic amount of fun.

We piled onto a large Coach bus with a grand total of four chaperones for 40 odd seniors and tons of snacks and drinks. It took us 8 hours to get there, and had about 8 hours at Disneyland. It was a perfect way to start my summer.

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They had a Grad lounge in Ariel’s Grotto for the chaperones, where they had tasty snacks, and caffeine in multiple forms. It was necessary since we were in Disneyland until 2:30am. California Adventure closed at 10pm to the general public, but was still open for the grad-night students and chaperones, so the lines were short! We saw fireworks in Disneyland and they were beautiful.  They had many Grad-night decorations everywhere, including an awesome lights show at 2am.

We crawled onto the bus and everyone was sleeping like a baby on the way back. I know I will miss my seniors, but for now, it was a great way to end the school-year.

Love,

-S

Cocoon Urban Day Spa

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A few weeks ago, Annie and I booked a day at the spa. We got this crazy fantastic Group-on deal that was honestly a steal. Things had been stressful both at work and at home so spending the day in the city was exactly what this girl needed.We went to Cocoon Urban Day Spa, and I walked away feeling like a million dollars. I got a massage (first time!) and a mani-pedi. I felt so pampered. I picked  a bright summery color.

 

 

 

We followed it up by meeting Huyson for a tasty seafood lunch. We were starving by the time we got to the restaurant and ordered a staggering amount of food! We followed it up with dessert and it was a perfect way to spend a sunny Saturday.

 

The ice cream was unbelievable! I look forward to eating more sweet treats as the weather is warming up and turning into summer.

Going to the Spa was on my 101 in 1001 list and it was so much fun to try something I had never done before.

Love,

-S

A Week in Santa Fe

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To make a long story short, I moved unexpectedly about a month earlier than planned, thus the radio silence here on the blog.

Otherwise, things have been going great! Work has been going very well, and while I am proud of all that I have done this year, I have so many ideas on how to make next year better, both as an art teacher and as a testing proctor. I have things settled enough at my new place, and just got Comcast today. Woot! The return of my internet means I can join civilization again.

Over my spring break my father and I visited an old high school friend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had never been, and it was a glorious week of eating tasty things, art galleries and seeing beautiful new places!

 

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Over the week, my dad and I took a green chile cooking class, hiked a gorgeous mountain, enjoyed a fantastic little bookstore called Moby Dickens, and snarfed some delicious carrot cake!

Happy Weekend! What are you doing for your mother’s day tomorrow?

Love,

-S

Vans Custom Culture Shoe Competition 2014

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Over the last few weekss, I had four industrious students work on designing a pair of shoes for a high school art competition. Hosted by Vans Shoe company, they send high school art teachers 4 pairs of free shoes to … Continue reading →

Sunsets, Sparklers and a Night in SF

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A week ago Friday, a few of my friends helped me knock off another item on my 101 list. We gathered at my parents house, lit some sparklers and tried to draw out hearts, stars and names. We were more or less successful, but we also had a lot of fun!

We have another box of sparklers left so we will do them again sometime soon! There was lots of laughing during this photo shoot (that may have hindered our ability to take clear photos!), and it was a great evening overall.

 

From there we went up to the city and hit up the Starlight Room at the Drake Hotel. Annie’s friend Dereck is a manager there, and always makes us feel so welcomed. This was my second time there and I swear he is ruining all other clubs for me!

I know I had a busy but awesome weekend! How was everyone’s weekend?

Did you get to do some fun things but also take a break?

Love,

-S