This is a family of Angels fans:
Taken last summer -- our last family outing before Ricky left for college
And this is a family that is very happy … like champagne-toast happy … like let’s-text-each-other-all-day-about-it happy … that Albert Pujols will be joining our team next year!
We can hardly believe it!
Spring training, here we come. …
"The Jets" perform in West Side Story/ photo by Joan Marcus
[Snap-walk, snap-walk, snap-walk …]
Last weekend, Rene and I were graciously invited by my friend Debbie and her teenage daughter (and another friend of Debbie’s whom I know from the book club) to join them at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa to see West Side Story.
We had a great time — we had lunch at Boudin Sourdough Bakery and then walked across the bridge to the show. (No, we didn’t snap-walk like the Jets … but it was tempting. …)
And the show? It was terrific.
Debbie and her daughter, and Rene and I, have all done this before — we used to scout out local musicals to bring the girls (we used to go to an old dinner theater that used to perform here in OC, since the girls were about 6 or 7). We used to let them sort of dress up and take them out to eat and then enjoy the show. (They thought they were very fancy, getting to order Shirley Temples and desserts with chocolate drizzle.) Continue reading
Roger's Gardens, Corona del Mar
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. …
And feel like Christmas, too.
(Well, except for the 87 degree weather.)
But we had a very holiday-ish weekend — kicked off by an elegant office party Friday night in Newport Beach, followed by Christmas shopping, present-wrapping, our first Christmas cards, watching “It’s a Wonderful Life,” family brunch with good friends, popcorn eating, more present-wrapping, and a visit to Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, which has the most fabulous holiday decorations ever.
Roger’s Gardens is a garden shop, originating here in Orange County in the 1970s, but it’s more than just a nursery — it’s a virtual kaleidoscope of color and beauty — everything done with the epitome of taste and elegance. And now it’s become quite a tourist attraction. It houses the original bandstand from Disneyland circa 1955 (Santa poses there for pictures at Christmas; the Easter Bunny arrives in the spring), and has a long-running tiny miniature train that the kids love to look at. It’s also known for its Christopher Radko room, where the designer shows up from time to time to sign his signature ornaments. Continue reading
After the soccer games on Saturday, I dragged the family to help me satisfy my craving for my pumpkin frozen yogurt with the graham cracker topping:
(Golden Spoon, how do I love thee?)
I still want to make the empanadas, though (have all the ingredients now!).
What treats are you enjoying this fall?
You’ve heard of storm-chasers.
But Rene and I became light-chasers on Saturday when we hopped in the car at 4 p.m. and decided to try to make it down to Laguna’s Treasure Island Park to take pictures for my new blog, Things to Do in Orange County.
The sun sits low and deep anyway in the fall, which makes fall afternoons the very best times to take photos of anything (especially people, since it makes everyone’s skin look golden) (so if you’re taking family photos for Christmas, take them around 4 p.m. in November!) but the sun was sinking lower and lower at 4 p.m., and I knew it would set at about 5 p.m.
At 4:07, we were on the road, but I had to stop and get gas! Ahhh! At 4:17, we were heading straight down Crown Valley Parkway, which is a long road that takes us straight to Pacific Coast Highway, the main road that runs up and down the California coast.
“It’s a pretty drive anyway,” Rene insisted as I sighed deeply. I was sure we weren’t going to make it, and I kept flooring the accelerator.
But she was right. Chasing the light is all well and good, but it’s important to enjoy the drive along the way. That fall setting sun makes everything gorgeous — all the leaves, all the flowers, everything looks backlit or lit from within. I eased off the gas, stopped racing the lights, and kept glancing at all the foliage along the roadway. It was such a beautiful drive.
We made it into the Treasure Island parking lot at 4:30, found a miraculously perfect space, hopped out of the car, ran to the pay booth to insert our $2, and dashed up the hill to catch what we could catch.
Here’s some of it:
More of it is on the Things to Do in Orange County blog. And the rest (we did get some good sunset/horizon shots!) we plan to try for the Things to Do header.
It was a really nice evening, chasing the light with Rene. …
