Fridays at the LACMA

I have a new favorite thing to do on Fridays.

It involves wine, picnic blankets, live music, and art.

Does it get any better?

I'd heard about Fridays at the LACMA before,

but due to my AWOL ("always west of Lincoln") inertia,

I had never gone until last Friday.

And it was wonderful.

Brian and I headed out after work,

picked up some wine at Ray's & Stark,

pulled up a seat on the grass,

and hung out and listened to an awesome jazz concert.

I know nothing about jazz,

but I loved listening, and watching all the other people get really into it.

There was even a group of people behind the stage

doing what I can only describe as "interpretive dance."

It was awesome.

I wanted to join in (I'm embarrassing like that),

but Brian was having none of it.

We even got to see the sold-out James Turrell exhibit

(thanks to a friend who got us tickets),

which I can only describe as trippy and completely mind-blowing.

What a genius that guy is.

We followed it up with a dinner at Angelini,

which I have already proclaimed to be 

the best Italian restaurant I've been to stateside.

Brian agreed, so now it's super official.

All around, last Friday was one of those days 

that the effort of planning and going really paid off.

I was just so happy I went and saw and experienced.

There really is a lot out there,

east of Lincoln.

Oranges for Picking

{at the Arboretum}

Hope you have a happy Easter weekend!

Arboretum II

Peacocks!  And geese!

In L.A.!

This place is awesome.

Arboretum I

{reflection}

Looking through these photos transports me back to that quiet, 80-degree day,

when we strolled through tunnels of bamboo,

and it felt like we were on vacation in Hawaii or Costa Rica (or Jurassic Park...)

except less humid (so basically, paradise).

I could sit by the pond at the Arboretum all day,

and forget I'm in L.A. –

which, to be honest, is nice sometimes,

as much as I do like this place.

I have a feeling I'll be back, this time with a picnic basket

(and a couple more rolls of film).

Rose Bowl Flea Market

I got my first couple rolls of film from my Contax 645 back today!
(I practically cheered out loud when I saw the email from Photoworks with the scanned prints!)

I really didn't know what to expect, since it was my first time shooting with the Contax,
and I wasn't even sure if the camera would work since it's used...

but I am head over heels in love with the way these photos look!

I'm so excited to share them with you :)

Here are some favorites from our Sunday morning at the Rose Bowl flea market,
straight out of the camera, folks!

I really hope someone brought that giant parrot home.

There's gotta be a perfect place for that somewhere in LA...

More photos from the Arboretum on the way!

Pop-Up Par-tay!

What could be better than dining al fresco with a live band, your best friends, and plenty of wine, and then having an all-out raging dance party with a DJ and a bunch of randoms?  While wearing all white?

Nothing.  Nothing, is the correct answer.  The Pop-Up Party wins.

As per usual in my world, the whole event was a little last minute, a little spontaneous, and no one quite knew if it was all going to work out or not.  But the best thing about low expectations is that they're easy to surpass :)  This time, we blew them out of the water.  (Nicely done, team.)

We got the email at 3:00pm telling us the "secret location" for the party was the lawn of the National History Museum.  Obviously, my first move was to go buy some wine (and then promptly break a bottle by tripping on the stairs in my apartment building).

Then there was the usual "what do I wear?" chaos, except this time restricted by an all-white dress code.  I only have one white dress, so that was that, but mostly, I was excited to break out my brand new hair donut!  (I'm obsessed!)  We finally got ourselves together around 5:30pm and headed to Thyme Cafe to pick up some (delicious) picnic-y food.

I grabbed the white tulips I randomly had in my apartment for the table and picked up some tea lights at the dollar store.

When we got there at 7:00pm, almost all the tables were set up already and there were so many people!  A lot of the tables were totally decked out with elaborate floral arrangements, beautiful candelabras, and one even had silver serving plates.  It was all so glamorous!  (We decided our table was the "ghetto" table -- a plastic table cloth, and tea lights in plastic glasses!  Haha!)

We found two people who were sitting alone and joined their table, and they turned out to be really really great!  We all chatted and shared food, and swapped info at the end of the night.  In a place like L.A., where people are not always open and friendly, it was just such a welcome surprise.

Before and after dinner, all the guests do the "napkin waive" where everyone swings their white napkins around over their heads and cheers.  So after the sun set and we ate all our food, we waived our napkins...

...and then it was time to dance!

It was an epic dance party, and an epic night.  I hope it happens again next year!

The LACMA & Ray's

Last Sunday, Brian and I took his parents out to the LACMA for lunch and some art browsing.  It was a gorgeous LA day -- perfect for an outside lunch at Ray's!

Everything we tried at Ray's lived up to the hype.  The chile appetizer and the steak were two of my favorites!  Oh!  And Tabatha was eating a few tables away!  Gotta love a reality-show celeb sighting :)

{loved these giant kitchen sculptures!}

Snow White, the Ballet

{Please excuse me while I gush...}

Saturday night, Leslie and I went to the ballet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and it was such a treat!

 

We went to see Blanche Niege (Snow White) performed by Ballet Prelojcaj, with costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier (yes!  for reals! ballet + fashion design!).  I don't even have to tell you it was incredible.  So so beautiful.  And not in the Disney Princess way.  At all.  It was raw, sexy, dark, modern.  (I think there was a ballet-style orgy at one point...)

See for yourself:

 

Right?

I left so impressed.  Impressed by the dancers, yes of course (ohmygosh their bodies and their grace and the way Snow White and the Prince's bodies moved like they were somehow part of one being!), but also impressed by the set design, the stunning costumes, the production.  It was all done so well.  The moment where Snow White is lifted through the air by her mother's spirit, or where the seven dwarves dance on a vertical mine wall -- those were so much about the lighting, the effects, the set, but in such a subtle way.  The same way that the choreography managed to blend modern and classic without a hitch.  It was breath-taking.

  

{via}

And I can't even think about the costumes without gasping!  The evil queen wore thigh highs and a bustier (omg she was so amazing).

{via}

And Snow White wore this insane fringe ball gown in the last scene:

 

{via}

White fringe!  I died.  Died.

All this talk is making me want to see it again.  It was really that good!  Plus, our tickets were under $40 a pop!

Seriously people, if you're in LA, take advantage of this show while it's in town.  It's so so worth it.

Ktchn 105

Whew, last week a busy one.  Lots of work to be done!  But after a short trip up to Santa Barbara on Saturday and an awesome Superbowl party at our friends' house on Sunday, I'm back to feeling like Ashley, human, rather than Ashley, litigation associate.

Anyway, we've got a lot to catch up on, at least in the food world!  Thanks to my friend, Stefanie, I discovered another great brunch place!  (This city is full of 'em, I swear.)  This one is Ktchn 105.  Have you heard of it?  Maybe you have, but have you been able to find it?  That is a totally different question.

{love the logo}

Ktchn 105 is both too cool for vowels and too cool for signs.  And I love that about it.  Say what you will, but I'm easily impressed by anything remotely secret, hidden, or underground.  Marketing ploy or not, it totally works on me.  So obvi, the yelp reviews had me at "unmarked."

So.  You arrive in a warehouse district just east of downtown.  It's not exactly shady, but it's not exactly un-shady.  You park on the street and start searching for address numbers.  Good luck.  I just hope you find the random apartment building with the gated parking lot and the Ktchn 105 sign stuck to it.  Maybe you should plan for a few extra minutes of searching time.  Ha.

Once you're in the parking lot, you'll see a random piece of furniture with assorted towels on it (so unclear).  Go toward it.  Where there are towels, there must be food (...or something).  Just around the corner is a darling patio (we all know that's my favorite dining accessory, right?).  Nothing beats brunch in the sun.

And the inside is pretty cool too.  It's got that industrial vibe that makes you think, man, I want a chalkboard wall in my kitchen.  (Just me?)  The kitchen is open to the entire space, and so is the bar.   There is something comforting about seeing someone prepare the food you're about to stuff in your mouth eat.  And they have cooking classes here (because it's so cool), so the open-kitchen thing makes sense.

 

OK.  The first thing you have to do is order a Bloody Mary.  I don't care if you're hungover and you don't like spicy things and tomatoes aggravate your acid reflux.  (Ew.)  Just do it.  If you don't absolutely love their Bloody Mary, I'm not sure we can be friends.  Maybe don't tell me.  This bloody gives the Bloody accessorized with scotch egg and crab claw at Ramos House a run for it's money.

I ordered the special that day -- a cornmeal waffle BLT with maple syrup.  It reminded me of the pancake lasagna I had that one time at Eric Greenspan's pop up at Tart, and I loved that it was both savory and sweet.  Solves the eternal brunch dilemma and all that.  Plus, food like this makes me smile :)  (They also had scrambles and french toast for the more traditional breakfast eaters.)

This is my new go-to spot downtown.  It's a keeper for sure.  Just don't forget to make a reservation (it's required)!  And don't forget they're only open on Saturdays and Sundays!  Because, you know, they're elusive like that.  (OMG I love it.)