The Walt Disney Concert Hall

It's been a work-hard-play-hard kind of week (and my aching feet can attest to it).  In the last six days, I've gone to three cocktail parties, a fundraiser for the Creative Visions Foundation (check them out!), an L.A. Phil concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and to top it all off, I got sworn in to the state bar of California!  I'm afraid I didn't get to take many pictures of all the social events, but I do have some pics from the Disney Concert Hall to share!

I've wanted to check this place out since I moved to L.A., so when I saw the Groupon for tickets to "The Hollywood Sound" in my inbox, you bet I clicked that "Buy!" button faster than you can say "the deal is on!"  As you probably could guess, unlike some of my other Groupon purchases (<ahem> the Bar method that expired four months ago), this one turned out to be money well spent.

The Disney Concert Hall itself is absolutely breath-taking.  It was designed by Frank Gehry, who lives in a crazy-cool house he designed right here in Santa Monica (which I will now commence stalking...I will find him if he's findable).  Everywhere you look, the lines of the building soar up, and around, and then plunge down again.  It's so big that it's hard to take it all in.  I am so in awe of Gehry's creativity.

One reason I loved this concert was that all the music was from old(ish) movies (hence the name, "The Hollywood Sound").  Before each set, the composer would explain a bit about what movies the songs came from, and how they fit into Hollywood history - it was so interesting!  Did you know that each movie studio used to have its own orchestra that would record soundtracks?  My favorites were the suites from To Kill a Mockingbird (the piano and flute solos made my heart hurt - the composer said they are supposed to echo the childlike simplicity of the narrator, Scout) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (the organ gave me chills!).  Brian liked "The Hunt" from Planet of the Apes best, and everyone gave a standing ovation after the orchestra played the Superman theme song as an encore (oh Superman...).

The inside seating area is all wood, and the design feels very Scandinavian.  But somehow, despite it's sleek, modern lines and high ceilings, it still feels intimate and warm (there were no pictures allowed in the seating area sadly).  And the "acoustics"?  All I can tell you is that from the perspective of someone who has used the word "acoustics" maybe three times ever, it sounded like I was standing in the middle of the orchestra and they were playing a special concert just for me, and maybe we were in a field with sunshine and fairies involved.  It was that good.

When I was little, every time I went to a museum, I wanted to be a painter; every time I went to the ballet, I wanted to be a ballerina.  I've grown up enough to know that I'll never be a painter, a ballerina, or a concert pianist, but I still leave every performance, every exhibit, every concert, feeling a little more hopeful, a little more optimistic, a little more like a dreamer. Watching artists perform is still the ultimate source of inspiration for me.

The world was a little brighter after the concert today.  I left feeling honored to have had the opportunity to enjoy such talent, and thankful that I live in L.A., where $47 and a 30-minute drive will get me here.

L.A. Faves

{for what it's worth}

It's getting fancy over here at Newly!  If you take a peek up at the top of the page, you'll see that there's a shiny new tab sitting there, just waiting to be clicked!  The (quite straight-forwardly titled) "L.A. Faves" tab has now joined party.

Yep, that's right, another list.  It was necessary, I swear.  You see, I've been thinking about how I haven't written many restaurant posts lately, and to be honest, it's because not every restaurant inspires a post.  Some restaurants stand out to me so much that I just want to tell everyone about how wonderful they are (like this one and this one).  The same is true for when I don't have a great experience, like my first time at Oscar's (but of course, I'll tell you if I change my mind).  But other times, I have a completely enjoyable experience yet I just don't feel like a full post is necessary.  At the same time, I'd like to continue collecting a list of my favorite spots, as much for me as for all of you.  Having a list to keep up and posts to write holds me to my self-promise that I would really get out and see this city and take advantage of what it has to offer, and it also (hopefully) gives some of you an idea of where to go if you live in L.A. or come to visit.

So the solution, of course, was another list (when is another list not a solution in life?).  This weekend, I made a list of all my favorite spots, organized them by occasion, and gave it it's very own "L.A. Faves" page.  Now, you can click on that tab any time and see what I'm loving at the moment, and I'll still write an occasional post when I find a place that I just can't keep to myself.  Convenient, no?  (Side note: I realize that right now, most of the places are on the West side because I'm still in the process of eating my way around this city, but I'll keep updating both my L.A. List and my L.A. Faves as I go, promise).  Now, I know I'm no culinary expert, but I'm always so happy to get a recommendation for a new place in this giant city, so I'm hoping that my recommendations (whatever they're worth) will help you out, too!

And as always, if you have any tips for me of new places to try out, please please share!!!  Now go check out my faves!

An L.A. List Update: Surfing

My 24th year was the year I felt myself age.  Not in an annoying "25 is so old" kind of way (LA hasn't stolen my soul yet).  I'm just saying that turning 25 was the first time I thought about my birthday in terms of aging, rather than just a new age.  Probably because for the first 23 years of my life, I literally was invincible.  I never got sunburned, I never broke a bone, I wasn't allergic to anything, I'd only really been hungover once (after my best friend's 21st birthday...a damn good reason), my ear drum burst on a plane once but it healed up by itself in just a few days, and what was that about not sleeping in your contacts?

But when I turned 24, it was like my body just couldn't keep it all in anymore.*  First, I developed seasonal allergies.  To what, I don't know (because I'm too lazy to go get an allergy test), but it basically means I can't wear contacts for the entire month of September.  Then I became allergic to alcohol.  All of it except for white wine and tequila (mysteriously).  I'm still pretending this does not exist (it's not going so well).  My knees can only take so much on a ski slope nowadays (moguls = death), there's a muscle in the back of my leg that I think is just perpetually pulled, and everything falls apart if I don't take my daily calcium.  To top it off, last summer, I got sunburned and peeled.  It was the end of my youth, I decided.

So learning how to surf seemed far too physical for someone whose young athletic days had ended at the age of 23 (or maybe it was at the age of 16 with the demise of my figure skating career...uh huh, that happened).  I had peaked; there was no reason to rub it in.  But in some delirious moment of confidence, I had put "learn to surf" on the L.A. List, as Brian repeatedly reminded me, and seeing as though I have no excuses as of late (my calendar is conspicuously empty), I gave in.

So we rented a wetsuit and a board and walked to the beach.  Brian explained some stuff about how "surfing is all about speed" (riiiiiight), I awkwardly fake surfed on the sand, and we went in.  I expected a washing-machine wipe-out where salt water painfully shot up my nose and my contacts came out; I was prepared for defeat.  But instead, with some paddling and a push, I was up!  And then I was promptly down.  But for a second, I was up!  And it was awesome!

I got up two more times that day, and I have to admit, I liked it.  It reminded me that my body is stronger, more coordinated, and younger than I give it credit for.  It was proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.  Or maybe it was proof that I'm not an old dog.  Either way, it's good news.  I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't put it on my L.A. List, so here's to making a list and checking it off!









*Granted, 24 was also the year where I had to find a job at the bottom of the recession, and plan a wedding and actually get married, while also trying not to fail out of law school.  Stress could have something to do with all this.

The L.A. List

{just because I like this picture}

It is disturbingly early and I'm about to go take a final exam, but I'm still really excited about this post!  Because today I have a list for you!  A fun list!  A list of places to see and things to eat!  A list for LA! 

I've even made a whole new tab up at the top of this page just devoted to the list.  (See the "L.A. List" tab up there?)  That's how excited I am about it.  There really isn't anything better than a list of things to look forward to.  Organized anticipation.  The best.

So go click away and check out what I came up with.  From what I could gather, these seem to be the "must-sees" and "must-eats" that provide kind of a basic level of L.A. knowledge, and from there, I can really get into the authentic stuff.  It is a baby list, a work in progress.   So please please leave a comment or email me if you have any suggestions to add!

P.S. I just made a res at one of these delish places for next Tuesday - stay tuned for the low-down next week!