Night scene

I drove past here last night and it made me smile.

The 38th Annual Koreatown Festival

I was inspired!

Public Art Everywhere

One aspect of Los Angeles that I love is that it is such a rich canvas for public art.  I recently discovered Folk Art Everywhere, a movement aimed at displaying local art throughout the city at spaces meant to cultivate community.  I recently visited one of Folk Art Everywhere's spaces at Mercado La Paloma, a great public space with eateries and other small businesses (I highly recommend eating at Chichen Itzen).

Close-up of the mural outside of Mercado La Paloma by Elizabeth Eve.  You can see it from the 110 North.

The Cochinita Pibil at Chichen Itzen

LA Commons is also a great non profit aimed at telling the stories of diverse communities through the work of local youth partnering with professional artists.  Their mission is to tell the stories of immigrant communities all throughout LA such as Koreatown, Thai Town, Chinatown, and others through public murals, installations, and other cool projects.

And finally, this is an installation I stumbled on upon a recent trip to Santa Monica:

'Cradle' by Ball Nogues.  Image from www.designboom.com

It's a public installation on the side of a parking lot.  You can read more about it here: 'Cradle'.  It's really cool in person.  I'll have to get a closer look at it the next time I'm in Santa Monica.  I believe it won an award.

Woolly Pockets

I have seen Woolly Pockets in stores and I always wondered how they worked but was never that interested in them until I watched their cool new video (yes, I'm a sucker for cute marketing).  But seriously, I think a vertical garden is a great idea--especially in small spaces, and especially if you live in urban areas and want to bring the outdoors in.

Washi Tape

I picked up a cute roll of Japanese washi tape this weekend at Kinokuniya for $2!  I call this pattern "Bunny Parade."

The Japanese brand MT also sells really cute washi tape.  I love the polka dots and stripes.  A two pack at Kinokuniya was $6.75 but it seems to go for as high as $9 online.

Image from http://www.suggesteduksites.co.uk/products/Christmas-Gifts.html

Washi tape is great for adding some embellishment to notes or plain cards, or adding a bit of quirk to your gifts.

Cute music video + color stories

This music video is so cute.  I love that it shows a sweet fifteen :)  It's got such a laid back So Cal vibe - love it!  I also love that it mainly uses the colors blue, yellow, white, and gold.  A well executed "color story" really makes a difference!

P.S. I do not secretly wish that anyone was my boyfriend.

Bougainvillea

An easy and pretty way to approach floral arrangements . . .