Category Archives: photos

Tramps Like Us (and other random thoughts)

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I have so much to say, but no real desire to sit down and say it.  So instead, I’ll torment you with a slew of random thoughts…

* Having to go to a laundromat is bad enough (stupid rentals in SoCal with no laundry facilities!).  But to have the damn machines rip you off is just wrong!  So very wrong.  It cost me $8 to do two (super) loads of laundry that normally only cost $4.  And of course, the owner wasn’t around *grr*

* I put the Halloween shirt on the pupster today, you know, to get him in the spirit and all that jazz…but he’s just not happy about it.  Instead, he keeps rubbing up against things to try to remove it.

* I’m one of those wives…you know, the ones that shop for their husbands.  Well, my hubby is famous for deciding that he doesn’t like something long after the return period.   I do my best to hang onto the receipts, but this doesn’t always work.  In fact, I got blackballed from Mervyn’s my first year living with him because I returned too many (of his) things without receipts.  And now, I can’t seem to find the receipt for the damn backpack he made me buy for him.  I’ll just have to keep looking, but at least it was on clearance for only $12.

* I was really, really hoping for a new camera before my trip to Albuquerque this weekend.  My little Canon Powershot A520 has been quite good to me, but lately, the lens cap thingie doesn’t always want to open.  So I mentioned it to the hubby, and I kinda had the okay to get a new one.  But then, well, the lens cap thingie started working just fine.  So I’ve decided to give up my dream of a new camera.  Maybe he’ll get me one for Christmas (though if he had his way, I’d just use his original Nikon D70 – but it’s not small enough to fit in my purse and sometimes, that’s what matters!)

* I still can’t get over how weird Sting looked at Herbie’s tribute.  I mean really, who in the world wears brown casual shoes with a black jacket and pants (no, not a suit)?  And why in the world is Chris Botti’s jacket so damn shiny???  Herbie looks good, no?

* And speaking of Sting and Chris Botti…rumor has it there might be a three way going on with wife Trudie.  Strange youtube video as support of said rumor. 

* And on the topic of the Herbie/Monk thing…I just don’t get Joni Mitchell.  Am I missing something?  Or am I just too young?  She tells these stories through songs, but really, they’re not like songs at all.  When I hear her name, all I can think of is the Emma Thompson character in Love Actually.

* And speaking of Love Actually, I still have no idea where that damn movie disappeared to.  I’ve torn the house apart and it’s just not here.  I guess I’ll need to trade in some CDs so I can get a new copy.  Let’s face it, it’s a good movie.

* My medication is kicking in and I feel a thousand times better.  Believe it or not, I can actually drive over the hill and not get totally clogged up.

In closing…the Bruce show was a little disappointing.  Keep in mind, I’m not a big fan, so the older, more obscure stuff was lost on me.   It looked like the fans really loved the show – lots of singing, lots of dancing and lots of fist pumping (my shoulder still hurts from Bad Lands) – and things sounded great.  It’s just hard to get so pumped for a show where out of 2.5 hours of music, I only knew like 6 songs!  Kind of sad.  I loved the Rising tour (saw him twice) and I really enjoyed his folksy stuff from last summer, but this show just didn’t do it for me.  So much so that both M & I decided that neither of us wanted to go again tonight (we thought we’d have to fight it out between the two of us to see who got to go tonight).  The hubby was able to get rid of the ticket though, so no worries.

Flickr Rocks (and other random thoughts)

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A while back, one of my Sonoma photos was chosen for use in the Schmap guide.  Today I got an email that yet another one of my photos was up for consideration for the San Diego guide.  It was one of my Hotel del interior photos.  Pretty cool if I do say so myself considering I don’t edit my photos and they’re taken with my little ‘ol Canon (which I do hope will be upgraded this Christmas or for our upcoming trips since the lens cover doesn’t open more than half the time).

And speaking of Flickr, does anyone know how to remove “friends”?  I tend to keep nearly all of my photos public, but I’ve accidently added some “new contacts” as “friends” from time to time.  And well, I’m not sure how comfortable I am knowing that personal photos and updates are sent out to “friends” on a weekly notice.ve.

On a  non-Flickr related note, the new KT Tunstall is quite good.  The hubby has had it for quite some time now, but he finally released it from his clutches and added it to the insane, ever growing pile of CDs.  Seriously, I have no idea what to do with those stacks since they just keep growing and growing.  It’s not like we can trade them in.  Though I could probably trade in a few to update my DVD library some.  Oh well, I must work on that some more and come up with something.  I’m open to suggestions though.

It’s official, both our Albuquerque and our San Fran/Healdsburg trips are completely booked. I think I’m more excited to go back to Albuquerque than wine country (maybe because our wine stash is also a bit out of control).  Fall in NM is an amazing time, especially if it’s chili roasting time.  Sadly, it won’t be roasting time, but you better believe that I’ll be filling up on more than my share of green chili!!

The Final Resting Place of the Caifornian

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I don’t know what it is, but ever since I’ve moved here I’ve been attracted to this old sign. I love how it’s all rusted and twisted up and obviously from something grand. I figured it was about time to take a picture (next time I head out that way I’ll bring a step stool or something to make me just the slightest bit taller).

I’m assuming it’s from some long ago classic, Hollywood hotel that has since then been demolished (Google isn’t turning up anything worthwhile). Oddly, it just sits behind a fence, just off off Riverside Dr over by Griffith Park amongst storage pods covered in graffiti. How odd.

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Share & Tell: My Desktop Image

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I’ll admit it, today is one of those days that I just don’t have anything planned to write about. Of course, I had tons of stuff swarming my brain yesterday, but it was the weekend so I was holding off on posting. And yep, you guessed, now, I can’t for the life of me seem to remember what it might have been.

So instead of rambling (and I can ramble with the best of them), or bore you with the boring details of my day, I’ll leave you with a Share & Tell – both are photos that I took and both are straight out of the camera with no editing…

My desktop

My laptop

One of the Cool Things About Living in SoCal

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A while back, the hubby and I were driving back from brunch and took a different, more scenic route home through the hills. And as we were twisting and turning along, admiring the houses, I scream “a Frank Lloyd Wright house! Turn around!!!” Thankfully, my husband, does on occasion listen to me. He turned around at first opportunity and let me oogle it for a few minutes.

The hubby was cute though, he looked at me, all confused and asked me how I knew it was a Frank Lloyd Wright house. I explained that I had seen one of his concrete block homes before and I noticed the National Registry plaques. I get the same way when I notice some Green & Green’s. I think he sometimes forgets all the art appreciation classes they make elementary teachers take – LOL.

This is the Alice Millard House, “La Minatura”* (built in 1923). It was his first concrete block house. It wasn’t the one we saw driving in La Crescenta (see below for that one). I do know where this house is though (not all that far from a slew of Green & Green Craftsmans).

This is the one we saw while driving – James Daniel Derby House* – built in 1926 (according to the National Registry)

* these are not my photos – I told myself that I’d go back with a friend (and I did), but I never got around to taking my own photos, we just did a drive-by.

Thursday Thirteen – Chicago, My Kind of Town

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Chicago

1. hung out at the ultra-hip, über-trendy hotel lobby, feeling way out of my element
2. walked around Navy Pier
3. ate Chicago deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due (Uno was too crowded)
4. took the L
5. rode the Metra
6. visited with friends
7. hung out in the suburbs with friends
8. visited the Marshall Fields flagship store
9. had some caramel and cheddar popcorn at Garretts
10. tasted a Chicago Dog
11. got blissed out and pampered at Bliss
12. took tons of photos
13. admired the architecture

Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank, CA

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Originally uploaded by katysabrat.

As you may or may not have heard, in a promotional stunt to back the upcoming Simpson’s movie, a select few 7-eleven stores have gone through a complete overhaul. Here in Burbank, we’re the proud residents of the new Kwik-E-Mart. So of course I had to stop by first chance I got. They did a great job.

Everywhere you looked the signage was all about the Simpsons. The place was packed, but everyone was in good spirits. Folks had their arms full of products all while trying to take pictures. There were plenty of uniformed volunteers on staff to help answer any questions or to offer to help take pictures with Homer (and quite a few local police milling about as well).

The temporary ‘Kwik-E-Marts’ will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO’s cereal and the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees, Squishees. So of course, I had to try a Squishee and a donut. I’m sure I’ll be crashing from that sugar high in no time. I picked up a six pack of Buzz and I’ll be going back a little later to pick up some Krusty O’s since they were sold out. I was kind of bummed that there wasn’t any Duff’s beer, but oh well. And don’t worry about missing out on all this Simpson’s goodness, all over the US and Canada, 7-elevens will be carrying the Simpson line.

The U.S. locations where a 7-Eleven store was transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart are New York City; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Burbank, Calif.; Los Angeles; Henderson, Nev.; Orlando, Fla.; Mountain View, Calif.; Seattle; and Bladensburg, Md. For more information, check out seeyellow.com. Hurry though, the Kwik-E-Marts will only be around for the month.

More photos to be found after the jump… Continue reading →

Off to a Good Start

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Alison Krauss & Union Station @ the Greek
Originally uploaded by katysabrat.

You know it’s going to be one helluva night when it starts out at Denny’s! Yeah well, they hubby figured it was closer to the ATM and wouldn’t have a huge crowd like anything in Silver Lake would have.

We got to the show a little late, but that meant for easy breezy parking. Luckily, since he’d won the company box seats through a work raffle, it also came with premium parking. So we were able to slide right into a parking space and cruise right on in to our seats. Let me just say, box seats at the Greek are nice! And you’re not nearly as cramped and crowded as you can get at the Bowl.

The show was fun. Alison Krauss has an incredible voice. And I had no idea that her bandmates (Union Station) were those Foggy Bottom folks from that weird George Clooney movie. They put on a very entertaining, and very blue grassy show.

Their last song of the evening before heading off stage was Oh, Atlanta. I’ve loved that song since the first time I heard it. Sadly, the band decided to mess with her and played it so slow it just sounded awful. She kept trying to do it, and wound up laughing. Eventually, she just told them to stop. It’s a shame because that’s such an awesome and fun song.

And their first encore was When You Say Nothing At All. That has to be one of the prettiest songs out there. I get goosebumps or tear up whenever I hear it. Again, it was a tad slower than usual, but not nearly as noticeable.

So now we’re home briefly before heading out to the Hotel Cafe for that super secret Hanson/Rob Thomas show. It doesn’t even start until midnight, so we have plenty of time. I’m interested in who their target audience will be. I mean, they’re all married with kids now (I think) and they’re not quite those Mmmmbop boys anymore.

So now back to my chilled glass of Pinot Gris (Valley of the Moon – bought while on vacation) YUM!

Thursday Thirteen – Things that Make Me Smile

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Thirteen Things that Make Me Smile

1. My husband doing his goofy, white-boy dance
2. My pupster smiling when he’s tummy up getting love
3. When our cat tries to snuggle with our dog
4. Reading praise for my website
5. Phone calls and emails from old friends
6. Reading a good book
7. Good chocolate
8. Finding a bargain
9. The first sip of a well-made margarita
10. Taking a great picture
11. A beautiful LA day after a rain
12. Tulips
13. Fitting into a smaller size