Week's end

Going into the weekend. Our de-cluttering and spring cleaning campaign continues. There's more to do!

And I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new pair of walking shoes. I have too many shoes already, but it always seems like I don't ever have the RIGHT shoes.

I want some good shoes for urban walking. I tried on some this evening, and they felt pretty good, but the only colors they came in were bright purple and green, and bright pink. I honestly couldn't see myself wearing them. Everyone's wearing day-glo colored shoes these days - what do you think? Should I do it?

Breakfast at Bob's

It's nice to have a daily routine, and when you change jobs - and work locations - it takes a little while to get into the groove.

On my new commute, I pass a neighborhood grocery store on Ocean Park Boulevard, Bob's Market, and it's become a good place to stop on my way in if I need something to augment the lunch I packed at home.

It's a cheerful place, with brightly colored coin-operated ride toys at the front door. Tom the cat on a motorcycle! While I never see anyone riding them, they look cute. Kids from the nearby middle school come here in the afternoon for snacks.

They have a good sandwich counter, nice produce section, and a case with pre-packaged healthy lunch things like quinoa salads, wraps and sushi.  I haven't ordered a sandwich yet, but maybe some morning I'll make the time.

What I usually do is grab something for breakfast. I bought a box of granola that I keep in my desk drawer, and swing by Bob's for a container of yogurt or some juice. 

At 7:30 in the morning, the place is humming with workers stocking the shelves and the deli-men preparing for a later rush of customers. The cashiers are sweet and friendly. It's a good thing, breakfast at Bob's.

Fashion district

There's a sign on a pole as South Spring Street crosses 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles that says "Fashion District." The center of the garment industry on the West Coast, this 90 block area of town includes retail stores, wholesale distributors, supply and material dealers and factories, as well as schools to train young designers and manufacturers. It encompasses the southern portion of the historic core and runs south and west where low concrete block warehouses line potholed streets.

Here at Spring Street, gentrification hasn't quite touched the old buildings, which are still shabbily beautiful. At 721 S. Spring, we would have completely missed the California Millinery Supply, if it weren't for the sign in the window.

A single piece of white paper was stuck on the glass, in front of the white, winged shapes that were buckram hat frames. "Thoughts," it said, in ornate fraktur script. And a list:

• The greatest handicap                     Fear
• The best day                                  Today
• Easiest thing to do                          Find a fault

And on and on, down to the last:

• Greatest thing in the world               Love

The doors

 We decided to look inside. A set of heavy bronze doors, ornately embossed, stood open, leading to a narrow warren of a shop, display cases and cutting tables on one side, racks and racks of goods on the other.

"Come in, you can look around." The voice came from a grey-haired woman sitting behind a desk. A long-haired grey cat uncoiled itself and jumped down from a chair it was sleeping in, and scurried to the back of the space.

The rows and rows of shelves were lined with braid, ribbon, piping, fringe. There were boards holding samples of silk flowers. The whole place looked like a treasure chest to explore.

"It's funny," I said. "I never wear hats, but now I find myself wanting to make them!"  When we stepped back outside and looked up at the curiously beautiful building, we noticed, up high in a protected niche, a colorful figure of a standing Buddha.

California Millinery Supply has been at 721 S. Spring Street since 1939. 

Pink Saturday - Shopping for pink

Daiso Japan is a Japanese discount store on the ground floor of the MaDang Plaza mini-mall on Western just north of Wilshire in Koreatown, and it's as pretty and as pink as you could wish. Just in time for Beverly's Pink Saturday!

Everything inside costs $1.50 unless otherwise marked, proclaim signs in Korean, English and Spanish, giving the nod to the unique multiculture of Los Angeles. You can get warm fuzzy terrycloth socks, colored crystal bead room deodorizers, laundry baskets, bound blank-book diaries, paper lanterns, hair clips, wrapping paper, and crazy Japanese candy.

And almost everything is PINK!! The place is a schoolgirl's heaven!

You can also get fabulous brightly colored silicon kitchenware, and I couldn't resist a buying shocking pink wire whisk, a chartreuse vegetable peeler, some cute cat-patterned rice bowls, and a pink mandoline slicer - who knows how long it will last in use? But isn't it fun? And it only cost $11 for all of it!

The rest of the stores in Madang Plaza are just as attractive to young people - and I mean very young. When I was there, a double line of six year olds were being led in formation by a teacher on an outing to see the Lego Movie at the third floor cinema. There's one restaurant that operates on the gimmick of serving the favorite lunchbox snacks of Korean kids - targeting young adults who are nostalgic for grade school. Downstairs boba shops and a Beard Papa creme puff shop were both filled with back-pack toting high schoolers.

I felt a little old among all this youth, but, hey - now I have a shocking pink whisk to cook with!

Hippy chick

This past weekend I wandered down to our little community center and stopped in at Bouboulina, a funky little boutique that's been dressing Topanga's hippy chicks for decades.

Get on yer tie-dye, girl!

Dining Alone - Beauty and soup at the mall

I'm not sure whether this is unusual, but I go through season cycles in my personal style.

Winter has brought a lack of enthusiasm. I wear pants with a simple long-sleeved tee-shirt. I wear scarves, but really it's to keep my neck warm more than for style. I stopped wearing make-up; I haven't even been wearing earrings lately.

I can tell I'm coming out of this phase - is it seasonal affect disorder? - because I suddenly had the urge to buy some fresh make-up. I've mis-laid my go-to lipstick, and the little pots of creme I dab here and there are all dried up. My few frowsty-looking eye pencils are blunt and broken. The other day, I saw a video at Une Femme d'un Certain Age about maquillage for mature women, and I thought - give that a try.

Crafty

 

If you're into handmade, home-made, and house-made crafts, there's a new place to visit. Crafted occupies a long, low, wooden warehouse in San Pedro, at the Port of Los Angeles.

Inside the space is divided into market stalls, which are rented to artists and craftspersons. Crafted has been open since last summer.

The idea is great, though there are still quite a few empty stalls. The space is beautiful, with wood beams overhead. Red-painted picnic tables and Adirondack chairs dot the space, welcoming shoppers to sit, relax, and enjoy snacks purchased from food trucks parked outside.

Here's an introduction to some of the vendors at Crafted:

2 Market Street - this retired couple works together. She makes aprons. He makes handmade cookie cutters. You can get almost any shape imaginable.

At World Flavorz Spice & Tea Company, the teas and spices are displayed in bowls that invite shoppers to breathe in the wonderful aromas.(Buyers are given packaged spices).

Tish and Peggy share a stall, where they sell jewelry and hand-knitted accessories. Their stall is so attractively arranged, with such clever displays that I commented on it. Peggy laughed and told a story about how her husband once described her decorating style as "epileptic" - his listener corrected him. "Don't you mean ecletic?" "No," he said, "it looks like it was done in spasms."  I bought a pretty pair of earrings.

At the Krazy Korner stall, Keith Schafer's colorful and punk-inspired glassworks stood out from the more subdued and tasteful surroundings. From a booth lined with old LP album covers, the brilliant colors popped. His mom was manning the stall when I visited.

The Red Car Market is a space that carries artisanal foods made by several craftspersons. Jarred salsas, bottled hot sauces, and relishes are offered. I bought a jar of San Angel mole, and some strawberry/hot chile jam.  Did you know you can buy cake in a jar? Cakebar sells spirit-infused goodies.

Paradise Preserves offers jams, jellies, preserves and other delicious jarred goodies. 

The warehouse is so vast that one half is walled off and rented as an event space. When I was there, preparations for a wedding were taking place.

On weekends, live music adds a festive feeling to the space. Different food trucks are invited to the parking lot outside the big warehouse doors.  It's the kind of place where vendors and customers greet one another like old friends.

If you wanted to take your hand-crafted business to the next level, it's worth looking into Or, if you're looking for unique handcrafts in Southern California, it's worth a visit.

For your inner faun

Here's a pair of cloven-hooved booties seen in London's Brick Lane. Wear them for your Dionysian New Years' Eve revels!

Boxing Day madness

Regent Street on Boxing Day morning

 Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. As traditions go, it's the day that servants and other service workers would receive a 'Christmas box' from their employers or betters. We Americans don't really go in much for this class based culture (although don't kid yourself that class isn't part of American culture..) Yet we can certainly embrace what Boxing Day has evolved into here in the UK - a mad shopping day where everyone scrambles for bargains.

East End sights

Mural on Grimsby Street

Even on a normal Sunday, Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market in East London are buzzing, but on a busy holiday Sunday things are really hopping.

The rain had let up; it was grey but the skies were holding.  We had a reservation for Sunday roast at the noted Hawksmoor restaurant near Spitalfields Market, but we wanted to see the sights first.

Christmas shopping on the Columbia Road

Mistletoe for sale

The Columbia Road is known for its Sunday street market where plants and flowers are sold, but during the Christmas holiday season, the merchants whose shops line the narrow street open their doors on Wednesday nights for shoppers. It's a merry and crowded crush, even on a rainy night.

Any last minute gift-shopping? Here are some holiday sights to tempt you!

 Glass Christmas ornaments

More ornaments - sparkly glass double decker buses, red phone booths, black cabs and Big Ben!

Old fashioned candy at the provocatively named candy store Suck and Chew.

Cosmetics and girly things!

Have a happy leather Christmas!

If you get tired, there's always the pub to retreat to!

Christmas shopping in Beverly Hills

Santa flies over Wilshire Boulevard at Beverly Blvd.

I've lived in Los Angeles for almost fifteen years now, and although I explore many parts of the city, the one place I seldom go is Beverly Hills.

But, today, [The Man I Love] had a business lunch meeting at Spago in Beverly Hills. I was feeling adventurous, so I invited myself to come along. While he was at his meeting, I would shop.

The shopping I do now is the window variety - I'm saving up my shopping money for London. But I get a lot of enjoyment from window shopping and taking in the ambiance and impressions of a place.

Strolling shoppers on Canon Drive

Spago is on Canon Drive just north of Wilshire Boulevard. We pulled up at the valet stand, and had one of those peculiar convivial encounters one frequently finds at the valet stand in LA. An older couple waiting for their car was curious about our Honda Fit. The man pressed his nose to the back window. "Does it have seats back there?" he asked. We assured him it did. [The Man I Love] testified to the Fit's ability to transport cargo like large dogs and upright string bass fiddles. Then their Mercedes was brought around, and we parted ways.

Thematic Photographic - Fall Colors

Carmi at Written, Inc. posts a weekly photo challenge caled Thematic Photographic. This week's theme is FALL COLORS.

Click to "embiggen"

Here in southern California, we don't experience the climate change that brings blazing autmn foliage to northern regions. Our autumn comes in more gently - a little fog here, and little rain there, but mostly our days are still sunny and bright.

Our brilliant autumn color can be found at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers' Market, where the abundant harvest of peppers and eggplant blazes on the tables.

At one stand I found these tawny, striped melons - called Tiger melons. The size of a softball, they have pale white or yellow colored flesh.  What beautiful colors!

Window shopping in Venice

One of the pleasures of Venice, as in many sophisticated cities, is shopping. There are streets where one can find the finest designer fashions, and there are also streets where one can find the cheapest plastic souvenir crap. What I enjoyed the most were the little, out-of-the-way calles where modest little shops opened directly to the stream of passers-by.

DDamn!

My cup runneth over. With sake.

They say that 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size.

The last time I was fitted for a bra was three years ago in Paris, in the venerable Bon Marche department store on the Left Bank. A brisk, nimble grey-haired woman in a black dress with a starched white collar snapped a tape measure around my chest. After almost an hour of frenzied trying, browsing, musing, consideration, snapping on and snapping off, I ended up with three lacy confections costing more than a five course meal with wine and a post-prandial cognac.

Two scoops of gelato in Venice

But that was three years ago. Elastic sags, delicate mesh and lace tear, colors fade. It was time to re-stock my lingerie drawer, but before spending a lot of money, I wanted to make sure of my size. So this afternoon I went to Nordstrom, at Santa Monica Place.

Here, my salesgirl was a perky, dimpled blonde who must have been no more than 25 years old. Even so, she assured me she'd been put through Nordstrom's training as a lingerie fitter. She ushered me into a fitting room, wrapped her tape measure around my chest just as efficiently as Madame had - and to my surprise, I learned that I was no longer a 36C. I am a 36DD.

That's right. DD. The little girl who was taunted in high school as being flat as a pancake, at age 57 now has DD cup bazongas! Yikes.

The salesgirl brought me some bras to try on, and I liked a model by the French lingerie maker Chantelle. I asked her for one in nude and one in black. I also chose a model by Wacoal in deep brown with tawny detail. I went out on the floor and browsed the displays, but soon it became apparent to me that, while 36C is an easy size to buy off the shelf, 36DD is not.Plus, bras with enough support for a DD cup are typically higher priced items than smaller cups. Alas, I waved goodbye to the delicate and colorful La Perlas and Simone Pereles, and stuck with what I had. Three bras, plus three pairs of undies - well, let's just say it's another five-course meal with wine and cognac again.

I had plenty of headroom on my Nordstrom account - I haven't used the card in so long I had to search for it in my desk drawer before heading out. So sticker shock be damned - I won't do this again for another three years!

A little stunned I wandered out of the store with my Nordstrom shopping bag looped over my wrist and into  the cool serenity of Ozumo, a Japanese restaurant on the rooftop Dining Deck. Clearly I needed some sustenance.

Spicy pork and miso ramen

DDamn!

Pink Saturday - Too pink

Pink Saturday - Beverly at the blog "How Sweet the Sound" hosts Pink Saturday. Let the color pink inspire you!

I was strolling down Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, California, stopping in the boutiques to browse and windowshop. And there it was, hanging on the wall of a vintage clothing shop.

PINK. It was flat-out, ultima-Barbie, pink-aisle-on-steriods, Double-Bubble, Pepto-Bismal, eye-popping PINK. So pink it almost vibrated. It was scarey pink.

It was a vintage coat from the '80s by designer Claude Montana. Wool gabardine in a luxurious weight, lined with silk, with a cowl neck and cuffed sleeves.

I asked the proprietor if I could take a photo of it.

"Sure," she said. After I snapped a shot, she took it off the hanger. "Would you like to try it on?"

"What, me?" I said, "um...gosh, it's really not my color, I...." - Okay, Pink Saturday friends, why would I say that?

Because it was TOO PINK!

It was PINKER than I could stand. It was PINKER than I could handle. It was a PINK I couldn't pull off!! I'm not woman enough to wear a coat this PINK!

Leah looks great in the coat!

The proprietor of the store asked another patron to try the coat on for me so I could photograph it.

Look at how beautifully the fabric falls from the shoulder, in kind of a trapeze shape.

Look at the great detail of the off-center fasteners, the cowl neckline that can be worn up or down.

The great zipper detail on the cuffs and slash pockets.

Leah took off the coat and we looked at the label and the price tag. $625.00.

Oh, my. Not only was it too PINK, it was beyond my means.

Yet.....as I walked down the street.....I began to yearn for that coat. That PINK coat. Isn't it a beautiful dream?

There's a pattern for a similar coat being sold on-line. What about you - would you wear such a bright PINK coat?

For everyday, or only for Pink Saturday?