Thursday, April 26, 2012

Thursday Farmers Market


 Almost every day of the week there is some kind of a farmers market her in L.A…. absolutely no excuse to not eat fresh fruits and veggies. My favorite farmers market is Thursday morning in Redondo Beach because there are incredible ocean views, and lots of really great vendors. I probably could have stopped at ocean views, enough said. Seriously love shopping with the big blue ocean in the background. Talk about ambiance! Yes, I am a spoiled girl. J There is a park close by….also with ocean views…so fun for everyone. This is my favorite time of the week. Just me and my baby girl, barefoot and eating strawberries.




Monday, March 12, 2012

My Weekend Hobby

Moving to a new state can be very exciting, but is always a little daunting. When we moved to Tennessee in 2004, I did nothing to explore the area, outside of finding the nearest walmart, and driving to Nashville every once in a while. When we moved to Cali a few months ago, I was determined to make this move a completely different experience. I started by just driving around on Saturday mornings, stopping for the occasional garage sale….soon I was buying and selling vintage on Etsy. My shopping has gotten a bit more refined, so now I tend to forgo the garage sales in favor for estate sales. I have found some incredible treasures, and walked through some truly stunning homes. 

One of the first dresses I bought....from the 20's!

Gorgeous Marilyn pic for my Dad
Really cool, fruit covered chandelier
Things like this are always a little sad. However, not nearly as sad as when they leave personal pics on the walls. 
1930's home in Long Beach. Looks like a fairytale! 

Pyrex nesting bowls....love these! Definitely not for sale. 

Front yard of a home in Palo Verdes
I sold some books! 
This is one of my most favorite finds. An eclectic speller from 1875, with an intact dust jacket! 

Most of the books in this cabinet now belong to me. :) 
Attic of a home in Los Feliz. The home had been closed up for 30 years, so it was a very interesting experience. They found several zebra skins up here...apparently the guy who lived there used to hunt with John Wayne. 
Tons of clothes! 
On my way up to Los Feliz.....tunnels on the arroyo seco parkway. Don't worry, I didn't take the pic while driving. 
First editions of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass....something I have not yet found,  but am always searching for. 
my books - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ComfyCouchVintage?ref=si_shop

my clothes - http://www.etsy.com/shop/RuLuRose?ref=si_shop

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Princess Ariel and the Birthday Boy

Last Thursday we yanked our birthday boy out of school and headed for the happiest and most magical place on earth….Disneyland…unless you are the one paying for it. However, it was still pretty magical for Jason because on the day we were there they were filming an episode of his favorite show, Modern Family. We watched the t.v. filming process for a while, and as to not embarrass my family, I managed to resist screaming for Al Bundy. Anyway, it was a great two days of princesses, fairies, Mickey/Minnie ears, Jedi rides, face painting, unhealthy snacks, and two very happy Rosa kids. 

Landon, bless his heart, sucked it up and let Layla choose our breakfast venue. No surprise, we ate breakfast with the princesses, and she loved every second, and it saved us about two hours of waiting in line. 

Modern Family filming!

Pixie Hollow
 Tinkerbell!
 Hanging out at Minnie's house
 Mickey's Toon Town
 So cute in their Mickey/Minnie ears!
  Under normal conditions, you could not pay me to eat a corn dog. BUT, the hand dipped corn dogs at Disneyland are soooo good! 
:)
 
Kids LOVED the jungle cruise
Can't believe my baby boy is 10 years old! 

Monday, January 30, 2012

A Magical Time

Once you become a mother, there are very few times when you can actually step outside your role and be a kid yourself. Kendra brought her beautiful shining smile to my neck of the woods last week for some one on one mommy time. Usually when we hang out we are surrounded by three little kidos, and while I adore both Laylas and Easton (who reminds me so much of Landon at that age I want to cry), it was so fun to have 1.5 days of non-kid fun.
On Friday we embraced our inner child and headed to Disneyland. Disneyland without kids? I say, yes please! I have not been to Disneyland without a child since I was 15 years old and got in trouble for flipping off my youth pastors camera (in my defense, I had no idea it was his, and yes I agree, a 15 yr old should not be flipping the middle finger, but it seemed cool at the time….fyi, I still have the picture J) Anyway, we acted like kids all day. We ate weird things like turkey legs and corn dogs (Disneyland corndogs are seriously amazing!) for meals, and rode thunder mountain three times, space mountain twice, and even splash mountain once when it was cold and dark…just realized how many times I typed the word ‘mountain’….huh, weird. I did not once have to think of naptime or inevitable fits, or the bathroom requirements of another person. We talked and ate, then ate and talked some more….by the way, food and tower of terror do not mix well. Appropriately, the day ended with fireworks.  In case you were wondering, Jason was such a trooper. He didn't complain once, despite being a little sad to be left out of all the fun.



I have this weird tradition to pose with the Indian on Main Street....
Small World still had Christmas decorations up. Yay! 
Getting in line for our first space mountain experience.
Thunder mountain x 3! 
This is a pic of our second ride on space mountain...we agreed to make funny faces, and while Kendra succeeded, I just managed to look a little crazy. 
This is what happens when you take pictures of pictures. What the heck am I doing?! Super surprised at the  very anticipated drop? Whatever. It looks like I'm getting ready to claw Kendra. 
This is the exact spot where Layla threw her epic fit on Christmas last year. Ahh, memories. :) 


The next day we woke up early and Kendra got to experience my version of a typical Saturday morning. We drove to Santa Monica and hit a few estate sales. Digging through boxes of old dusty books is definitely my version of a good time! Seriously, it is. The neighborhoods in Santa Monica were phenomenal. Every million or multi million dollar house looked like t.v.’s version of upper middle class surburbia. What the heck do these people do for a living?! The first house we explored was built in 1927, and I don’t think it had been updated since then…yeah, I checked it out online and despite the fact it will need to be practically gutted, its still worth 2.7 million dollars!


BOOKS! This was one corner of a room that was full of boxes of books...and the kitchen was full of boxes of books....and the garage was full of boxes of books. I would have been there all day if I didn't have Kendra there to keep me focused and on track. 
Found a framed pic of Marilyn Monroe reading. Love it! 
Anyway, check out Kendra and my dream houses (her's on top, mine below). They are conveniently located on the same street….and though I didn’t get a pic, Gretchen gets the huge house right next to mine. ;)



We snagged cupcakes at Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica, then headed to lunch in Malibu. A very windy day, but the food was delish and the scenery was gorgeous!



 Sadly, it was cold and windy so we didn’t see Matthew McConaughey running shirtless on the beach. Bummer. 
How cute are we? :) 

Monday, January 16, 2012

Birthday and Flat Screens


Jason, in my opinion, is the hardest person to buy a present for. He likes clothes (yes, weird for a guy, and it can be annoying how he looks like he stepped out of a department store catalogue, but whatever), and electronics, which I just cannot buy for him. The last time I tried to buy him an actual present I bought him some really nice headphones, of course he took them back and exchanged them, but the annoying part was he told me the exact kind he wanted, so I was sure I had bought the right ones. Bottom line, I go into mini panic mode on any holiday where I am required to get him a gift. This year however, I lucked out. All he wanted for his birthday and Christmas was a new T.V. Sounds easy enough. He picks out his own present, buys it, and sets it up himself…..all I have to do is dust it every once in a while. Oh how wrong I was. The T.V. arrived and was sent back because it had some minor issue with the screen (I couldn’t see it, but it wasn’t my present). We did this 5 times! Jason would find something wrong with the new tv, and amazon would come pick it up. This would have been fine, but it was the same delivery and pick up guys every time. Of course Jay was at work, so I was the one here to sign for it.
Jason and his Christmas/Birthday present 

In celebration of his actual birthday, I surprised him with chocolate peanut butter cupcakes (so rich its hard to eat a whole cupcake, but so delicious that you eat the whole thing anyway) on Thursday and then made Mexican food a few days later, per his request. See, we went to this amazing restaurant in Sedona this summer and were so impressed we bought the chef’s cookbook. I have made a few things, and sadly they never looked like they did at the restaurant, but they were just as good. J
 Carne Asada with Arbol Salsa. Made with pork, orange juice, soda, milk, and garlic....sounds weird, but sooo good! 
 Sadly, we didn't have this view as we dined, but i live less than a mile from the ocean, so I am in no position to complain. 
Pumpkin Flan

If you are ever in Sedona, I highly recommend Elote for great mexican food. If anyone is interested in recipes, just let me know and I will forward them to you.