Category Archives: farmers market

Oktoberfest in LA

This evening we were relaxing in Liv’s nursery using our respective laptops when Story called me to ask me where I was. Confused, I said we’re home but duh, I thought we were going to the Montrose Harvest Festival tomorrow when we were supposed to be going to Montrose Oktoberfest tonight! Aye yi-yi as Ricky Ricardo would say. So I jumped in the shower and got Liv ready in 30 minutes and we hurried over. It took awhile to find parking and it seemed super crowded. Wowzers, it was as packed as the LA county fair!
We met our friends, Story & Chris, Jes, George and Dave and his date. George’s girlfriend was playing in the German band so we hung out and listened to her rock out on the sax. I *of course* had delicious kettle korn and Antz tried German beer. We only stayed for less than 2 hours. A bunch of people stopped us to say how cute Liv was but she was mistaken for a boy *AGAIN!!* and someone asked us if she was ONE month old…ummm ok, drunk person. There were plenty of drunk, obnoxious people and it was quite tricky manuvering the stroller around the crowd. We were more than happy to get home.

Sorry, I’m much too tired to sort and format these pics. Besides, that was the gish of the night, pretty random. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow but our day will most likely be uneventful *we are both spent*. Before I go beddie bye, I found Liv’s BIG TICKET item!!! I LOVE IT!!

I want to ride in it with her but I’m a sasquatch so too small for Mommy. SUPER RAD!

Queen of Lagging

Why has it taken me 3 days to upload my Solvang pics??!! Lame, sorry Liv is first priority and for some reason it takes about 3-4 minutes per photo to upload so it’s been quite tedious. I still have tons more to add but I thought I should post what we did yesterday before I forget. Liv and I went to the bank *tons of fun!* since we need cash for volleyball today *SO EXCITED TO PLAY!* Since we were out and about I looked up what farmers markets were going on and there are very few *only 3* so we decided to try the West Hollywood fm. Oh and speaking of Hollywood, I feel bad because Nic & Ale invited us to come to his apartment so we could go to the Hollywood fm on Sunday morning and he wanted to take us to a place that sells BACON, yep, BACON GELATO!! Lame, we’ll go next Sunday for sure, we were just too tired and needed to clean our house. So on the drive to Hollywood I took a detour to Carroll Street since Liv had never been there before. I LOVE Carroll Street, it feels like your on a movie set *tons of movies have been filmed here*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Victorians are the oldest in the city. The entire block has late 1890’s Victorians and they are all protected as Historic landmarks. It’s really funny how the entire surrounding neighborhood is super scary and gross but this jewel is so well hidden on top of the hill. Carroll Street is like a bit of San Francisco in Los Angeles. I took lots of pics but since I had just gotten my car washed *benefit from getting up early*

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t want to roll my windows down so some pics were taken through my windshield. I could’ve stayed there forever but I had to get to the fm before 2pm so off we went. I found the market easily but dude, how is a farmers market that is held in a beautiful park *Plummer’s Park* end up so lame?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boo, Mommy, this farmers market is lame!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was super small, no good stalls, even the music sucked and no pretty flowers for Liv’s nursery *her spider Mums are on their last petals*. I guess Monday is not the best farmers market day after all. I needed to nurse Liv so I went to a nearby Pavillions for some light shopping and BFing. We got home around 5ish *after stopping by Antz job to drop off Story’s birthday present*. She power napped and I ate lunch. She woke up and we read My first Spanish Words and she gave me a look like, Mom you are saying it wrong, HAHA! I talked to Aimee about our two biggest desires, the first is we want to hire a French tutor and split the cost *yay, at least I’ll have someone to speak French with* and the second is we want to take a road trip up the coast to Sonoma County *she wants to go to Half Moon Bay and I want to go to Big Sur*. Ideally, I would rent an Airstream but we may just take Antz Element and stay at bed & breakfasts.

We hit the farmers market Jackpot!!!!

We had such low expectations for the farmers market when we saw it was in a mall parking lot. I’ve been to Northridge before for a Halloween party so I remember it was a nice neighborhood but it took over an hour to get there. We were shocked when we arrived, I was worried about there not being any kettle korn and I smelled yummy buttery kettle korn in the air as we parked. This FM was 4 rows deep and had everything *pony rides, petting zoo, rock climbing, a full food court, of course kettle corn and roasted peanuts*

Sandwhich anyone?? Too bad banner makers don’t use spell check.

So obviously I went for the huge $5 bag and now I have stuffed my gob with popcorn. It really was worth the drive!! We both got delicious Hawaiian grilled teriyaki chicken and rice *after being sold by a sample*. We didn’t stay long because it was almost time for the market to close and there wasn’t anywhere to sit but we are definitely going back to enjoy it earlier. When we got home I fed Liv and read her Goodnight Moon. I got her to fall asleep but as soon as Antz came in to get a pic, she woke right up.

I am so proud of myself for putting her to sleep without Antz help *he is the sleep master*. She slept so much today, I am surprised she is back to sleep again. Ohh, we chose week 15 but Antz needs to add the tree branch *and our hummingbirds may have a new arrival this week*

She has dominated in foot eating so this is our winner but I have to post her outtakes

This is the cute dress Carlos & Stephanie gave us.

Just when I thought we were burned out on Farmers Markets

We are going to the Northridge farmers market tonight when Antz gets home. I am crossing my fingers they have kettle corn because I really want some. It’s over at 9pm. Tomorrow Aimee is coming by to visist me and Liv and we’ll probably go to Larchmont for lunch. Friday we are giving Antz sister Debra her raincheck for dinner and we are taking her to Sedthee *yum!*. This weekend we are going to Solvang for Story’s birthday *which is Sunday* for wine tasting. We went in 2008 and I was designated driver so I didn’t get to partake in the wine goodness.

They are biking 14 miles before the tasting *I know, they are nutters* and we are meeting them at the Shoestring Winery. Well, it’s almost 6 so I need to get ready. I will post pics and Liv’s week 15 later tonight

*As promised Olivia Lily 15 weeks old*

I love that she has found her feet *so rad* Story commented on facebook that she hopes the egg that is hatching is a dinosaur!! LOL!

Farmers Markets Galore

Our movie night was pretty awesome, we arrived at the 6:30 showing just in time to NOT  win any of the trivia DVDs they were giving out. It’s absolutely fine because the DVDs were beyond lame. It looked like they were setting up for a red carpet event at Paramount but we had to rush home after the movie because I only pumped a lousy 3 oz bottle and Liv was screaming that she was hungry. In fact, she was so upset, Debra had to call us during the movie to ask if she can give Liv a bottle of water. I felt guilty the rest of the film but it was such an awesome movie it was hard to leave early. *I was drooling for Jason Schwartzman, my celeb crush* and Edgar Wright has outdone himself, I thought nothing could surpass Shaun of the Dead *on my top 5 fave movies ever* and I was not happy about Michael Cera *playing the same damn character AGAIN!!* but this movie was amazing!! Very well written, very graphic and visually pleasing, only a little bit gay *thanks to stellar Kieran Culkin* There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about it. *4 thumbs up*

This morning we straightened up the house a little and gave Liv a bath. We dolled her up in her new shortalls. I wanted roasted peanuts so we went to the La Canada/Flintridge farmers market. After getting stellar parking and putting Liv in her stroller, we were disappointed by how sparse the FM was.

There was hardly any food stalls, no peanuts and no kettle corn! We did get a bargain with these $1 dahlia bunches.

Lame, since it was early, I drove to Victory Park in Pasadena to try that FM for my nuts.

This was *again* a pretty lame market, it had plenty of fruit and veggie stalls but the only hot food stall was Mexican soup *Boo* So it wasn’t a total loss Antz bought some walnuts so I can put them in his cookies *I’m baking for our friends coming over tomorrow* I was dying for fresh squeezed lemonade however there was nothing but Horchatata. Antz was ready to call it quits but there was one more market I was willing to check out *and I really wanted my nuts*. I was expecting a mega lame market *in East LA* but we were planning to go to Little Tokyo to check out toys for Liv and it was in the vicinity. Well, I was plesantly surprised! It was located at the East LA Civic Center and although it was the smallest market I’ve been to, it was at a beautiful park and I scored my NUTS!

One nutty lady. The weather was really sunny but breezy so we took Liv by the lake to check out the duckies.

So at this point I was starving and since we were headed to Lil’ Tokyo anyway, I suggested we go to our fave sushi place Tenno Sushi for lunch. However, on the drive towards downtown we passed our friend Leslie’s art gallery *her hubby Stephen is on the board* and saw an event going on so we had to stop by just in case she was there.

No luck seeing Leslie so we hurried back to the car and continued on our journey. It was almost 2pm by the time we parked and it was metered parking so we only had about 45 minutes worth of quarters *really downtown? $2 PER hour!!* OMG! Yummiest lunch ever, and I tried out my new Hipstamatic app.

I am positive Mark Ronson *yummy* is in this photo with the chef, one of these days I’m going to bump into his fine ass!!

After our delicious meal we fed the hungry meter and went to the Japanese Plaza to look for toys. There was nothing at American Apparel *we are constantly hunting for cute socks for Liv*

I was disappointed we didn’t find any cool Totoro stuff but Antz bought Liv this monkey he has had his eye on since I was preggers. Coco Monkey is cute in a creepy way.

I still wanted to look for a map puzzle so we drove ALL the way to Pasadena *for the second time* so we went to South Pasadena to check out the Dinasaur Farm *super cute store*

We bought this doll for her whom we later gave the name Kennedy *love her* We also bought a USA map puzzle *it says the state capital when you put the puzzle together* and a mat with all the presidents for her to study. We got dessert at Fair Oaks Pharmacy *super cute place* I had a yummy root beer float and Antz had what he called *the BEST chocolate milkshake he’s ever had*

We had a busy day, she need to finish cleaning and wash Max. I am still doing laundry and it’s 2:30 am.
Nighty Night

Like, the Valley, you know?

We finally made it to the Calabasas farmers market and you know what? It wasn’t that impressive.

Calabasas is a pretty cute town but the traffic on the way there and the extreme 100+ heat wasn’t worth the effort.

I was seriously melting!! The farmers market didn’t even have a Korean BBQ stall *every FM has had one and Antz loves it*. There was kettle corn but it wasn’t fresh so I passed in lieu of a bag of warm roasted peanuts. We also bought some strawberry lemonade and some pretty spider mums for the nursery.
Leaving the market, I drove past a familiar site. *I know I am a huge NERD*

Yep, I totally took a pic in front of the Kardashian’s boutique. We were dripping hot so we hightailed it to the nearest mall *The Oaks* for some much-needed air conditioning.

We ate at the crowded *Boo* food court. I BF Liv too, it felt weird like I was grossing everyone out.

Of course checked out Janie & Jack and Build-a-Bear

*this guy is super cute but will soon be retired 🙁

and Anthro *I bought Liv’s nursery rug from this store*

I am so disappointed in the *lack of* size of this armchair in person. It was on my wishlist but for $1200 bucks I need a cushy chair that I won’t need assistance to get out of.

I LOVE this lamp/shade!! Very cute *in person* and very retro.

After the mall I wasn’t ready to jump back onto the traffic heavy freeway so I took a detour route and somehow ended up in Malibu. There was a carnival going on but it was tooo hot for us to go.

We drove along PCH *sorry no Seal sanctuary, Olivia spent too much time in the car already* but it was lovely drive.

By the time we made it back home it was after 5pm. We have been tossing around ideas for Leslie’s party tomorrow but so far nothing has inspired us. I am leaning towards this Martha Stewart mag cute idea but Antz pointed out, it’s not a mythical creature *but perfect for Halloween*
*Photo to be uploaded tomorrow*
Tomorrow I will be making my *now famous* honey cornbread to bring to the party.

Modem, we don’t need no stinkin’ modem!!

So I have been in internet limbo since Friday. My laptop said goodbye to me and meant it! I thought I was just booted off so I unplugged my modem and router and expected to be back online in no time. Wrong! I called AT&T and after 2 1/2 hours of resetting my modem and testing every troubleshooting in the book still no connection. I was getting beyond frustrated so we high-tailed it to Apple Valley *after feeding Story & Chris’s cat Turbo* to see if it was a problem with my laptop. At my Mom’s I connected with no problem. So that gave me some hope. We came right back home Saturday night and still scratching my head. I slept on it and Sunday we went back to Story & Chris’s to feed Turbs and then went to the Brentwood Farmer’s Market *bad choice*. I think all of LA had the same idea because we looked for parking for 30 minutes! Then we realized, duh, we didn’t have any cash so we had to find a Chase ATM. Once we got cash, the Market was closing in 15 minutes so we nixxed it. I really wanted kettle corn and fresh flowers for Liv’s nursery so I looked up other FM’s on my iphone in the area. The Palisades market wasn’t over until 1:30 so we drove over there and made it at 1. Despite the stalls closing just as we got there and Liv’s stroller taking up a great deal of room, it was a nice time. The fruit was so pretty I had to take advantage of such juicy looking strawberries

OMG These flowers are gorgeous, of course I couldn’t find any but the mini daisies are sweet for her room.

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We checked out this childrens store and they had the cutest tummy time mat *I really want to go back and buy it!!* So since I had such delectable strawberries, I decided what a perfect time to pick up my baking supplies so I can *attempt* to bake a strawberry pie. Although I needed to get online to find a receipe.

We were going to get this metal pie dish but I thought the stoneware was wider and the pie crust I bought suggested a glass pie dish *they didn’t have any* so I went with the stoneware and I got some cookie mix and which cholocate chips. Lately I’ve noticed Target’s inventory has been a bit sparse. I have been changing Targets just to see if other ones have more merchandise and so far Alhambra, Pasadena, Eagle Rock *my home store*, Culver City *where we were in the above photos* have been disappointing. The Target in Apple Valley *where my Mommy lives* is awesome. They must have fewer shoppers because that’s more of a Walmart *ew* town.

I still need a rolling pin and I really want the cupcake apron from Anthropologie but I won’t have time to pick that up until next week. I found this receipe for Strawberry Icebox pie on Goddess Martha’s site and tomorrow I think I’ll give it a shot.
After Target we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond *Antz sister’s job* to check out this patio set but sadly they were completely sold out of all patio furniture. Our last bet is to go to the BB&B in Arcadia on Thursday. We have been viligilant about watering the grass and the flowers since our S’mores party is this Friday. So far I have 5 confirmed couples so we need seating for 12!!
So we spent the weekend internetless *which may have been a good thing* and Sunday evening I called Dell tech support just to make sure our laptops weren’t the problem *the connection diagnostic said it was my firewall* but to no avail. The consensus was our modem must be the culprit, it is over 9 years old. Monday morning I went to Best Buy and bought a new all-in-one router/modem, a new flash drive and an iphone case. I set up the new modem and connected in 5 seconds *YAY*. Our dear friend *Olivia’s Godmom* Leslie’s birthday was last Thursday and I have no clue what to get her *she’s the girl who has everything, her husband bought her a Tiffany & Co necklace* whatever we get her, I would love to wrap it like this

Off to Market

Since we are currently waterless I thought it would be a great time to check out the Sherman Oaks farmers market *there are so few markets on Tuesday evening* We arrived at the perfect time since it was sunny but cooler than earlier. Antz was on stroller duty while I played photographer

After sampling these white peaches I had to have one. Sooo yummy!! The lady gave me a mini apple for Olivia *which Antz ate*. This was a nice FM but I was disappointed there was no kettle corn stall. So Antz got Korean BBQ *as always* and I got a bag of warm peanuts. We probably won’t return to this market but we are trying out the Calabasas one this weekend. Then we stopped at Baskin Robbins on the way home.

On the drive home we crossed one of my favorite bridges and I jumped out of the car just before the sun went down to get a couple of wacky shots *my Rhoda moment*

 
 


Let me tell you, my legs are sore from so much walking today. I honestly am out of shape and I’m worried when our first trip to Disneyland comes around. I will be mega pooped *such an old lady*. Last time we went to California Adventure, it was Easter and we sat around eating and people-watching most of the time. I need to start playing volleyball once a week again soon. Well, tomorrow is a busy day, we need to get the pipe repaired and we are going to see Inception at 2:30 in Los Feliz *Antz Mom is babysitting for us* then of course, our dinner at Dukes *soooo excited!!* and maybe a walk on the beach with Liv if it’s not too chilly. I will be dreaming of this tonight…

Alert new obsession warning!

I hadn’t checked out Zillow.com in awhile so this morning I was perusing new listings and I came across 2 beauties. One is in Eagle Rock and the other in North Pasadena. We decided to take back the sailor outfit to Janie & Jack and since I was burnt out on the Santa Anita mall we went to the Grove. Unfortunately it was majorly crowded, boo! We had lunch at the Farmer’s Market and walked around a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So on our way home from the Grove I decided to check out the houses I saw on Zillow. Neither have any scheduled open houses but I wanted to see the neighborhood. We definitely liked the house in Eagle Rock better *it’s closer to Antz job and a better neighborhood* but the house in Pasadena is in move-in ready condition and has a better layout. The house in Eagle Rock is $20,000 less but needs close to that amount in repairs and renovations. The cool thing about the Eagle Rock house is, if we did get it, we could remodel it to our taste and it has tons of potential. I am so obsessed with this house, coming soon, a reno mood board!

Eagle Rock House

Pasadena House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am super bummed because Antz has to go back to work tomorrow. I know I’ll be ok without him taking care of Olivia, it just sucks that he may miss out on some of her milestones. Luckily he can come home for lunch and he still has half-day Fridays for the rest of the summer.

Sunday Farmer’s Market Fun

Today is my sweet hubby’s 35th birthday.

Last year I went all out with a big surprise bash at this amazingly cool speakeasy old timey bar in downtown LA called the Edison. It was way cool!

My surprised birthday boy!!

After our night of debauchery we ended up at the Brite Spot diner in Silverlake

Today we made plans to meet our new baby friends, Cobb & Jen and baby Charlotte at the Montrose Farmer’s market. They live in walking distance so we met them at the kettle corn booth *yum*. We also invited Story & Chris to meet us. While we were there our friends Tom & Jes showed up and Antz co-worker, Kat popped up too. It was really sunny and hot so we hung out in the shade and talked. Olivia was fussy whenever we put her in the stroller so Antz held her the whole time. I was so excited for her to wear her sunhat but it was huge on her tiny head.

Of course our camera battery died so I had to use my iphone.

Chris held Liv for the first time.

They took their dog to the Huntington dog beach which sounded like so much fun. I’m a bit bummed because the flower booth we bought these pretty flowers last time wasn’t there today. So no flowers this week. 🙁