rain rain go away

i have to keep reminding myself what day it is. already i've lost track of time, that's kinda nice until i realise i have a planes to catch in the future. ;)

julie and i had brunch at urth cafe near venice today. scrumptious food and the fact that it's been raining on and off all day kept the crowds away. with full stomachs we stumbled through a cool crafty store where i managed to fall over some fabric i had to buy (summer skirts here i come) before heading into santa monica and third street promenade. this place is buzzing when the sun is out, but honestly i don't think i've ever been here when it's been raining. first time for everything i guess. ha!!

after picking flynn up we kept up the shopping with a stop into macy's so i could buy some fiesta ware plates. yes, i know. i come all the way to l.a. to buy myself some crockery. but it's cute and multi-coloured.


i just bought 6 dinner plates but i just love the brightness of colours, don't you?

julie cooked a fabulous dinner of lasagne and ang came over for a visit. nice to catch up and tease vince. :)

over to the valley...

and universal studios. vince had the day off work, yah, so i had company around the park. he did the same a few years ago for disneyland and has a "system" to getting around to all the adventures with the least amount of fuss and time... of course we were there about an hour before the park opened. haha! so it was breakfast along city walk before we were let in.... woohoo!!


stop one was the new simpsons ride which was a blast.




then down the escalators for jurassic park and the mummy. i swear there was not one ride we went on where we didn't get sprayed with water.








the studio tour was great. after the fire on the backlot a couple of years ago they've rebuilt and replaced a whole lot.




this led onto the king kong portion of the studio tour. this was amazing 3D, best i've been part of. :)





the old faithful jaws.... still managed to surprise me strangely enough.



bit of a stunt show with a couple of cars.


a hitchcockian trip anyone?? this time there was even an actor who slightly resembled norman bates loading a corpse into a car. and then proceeded to chase the tour tram down the road apiece.




the plane crash from war of the worlds was next. pretty impressive. but what they've also done with the park at the moment is set it up for halloween, so there are skeletons and zombies all over the place. would be interesting to see it after hours.... woooooooo.....




the blue screen and "rocks" in front were used recently used in the new pirates of the caribbean movie. what can they do in number 4??



late lunch at bubba shrimp cafe on city walk. run forrest run.



a long day of fun. i do love l.a. especially as julie and i met angela at yoghurtland later in the evening for dessert and chatter. mmm... frozen yoghurt is icy goodness.

this is sunday, honest

this morning was the long beach flea market. strangely enough at long beach, go figure. i had been to this antiques market many many years ago, and really the only thing that had changed was the entry fee and the fact it was overcast, cool and a tad humid. sunglasses on, sunglasses off. you get the picture. i picked up a couple of things, but not for me so my lips are sealed. these were a couple of the cool cars in the parking lot.

then it was onto dale's diner for lunch, yeah, 50s stylin'.






retro row on 4th street came next, this window was just one we passed while driving. classy i know.


retro row in long beach, as the name says, is a block of very cool retro and vintage stores, clothes and furnishings. i turned a little green with envy over all the fabulous furniture i would love to have at home. walked away with only a couple of flowers for my hair. i know, i'm proud of me too. ;) art deco cinema on the row.

a day behind...

but it's not me reporting in but my blog that's running on hometown time...

so after a strangely jet-lagged sleep in, julie and i were out into the world. a stop at starbucks and noah's bagels before a pampering session of manicures and pedicures. truly, a trip to l.a. wouldn't be complete without one. for me at any rate. :) then it was a wander around some shops before lunch. more shops later, we finally got back to w. 134th street. the below pics were taken at target - everyone in town is gearing up for halloween. yes, dress your child as a football or hotdog. julie was seriously considering the football for flynn. hmm....




this next photo was taken after vince had redecorated a little out front. note the bouncy castle up the street... i want one. :)



how cute are these two?

oct 15 in america

i had the best flight from sydney and highly recommend virgin australia. great service and comfy seats. also jagged a really cool travelling companion in steve, so that was lucky.

when i finally got into l.a., through immigration and customs, julie and i managed to miss each other for nearly an hour. turned out she was at the wrong terminal - ha! but i had to find a pay phone to sort that out.

there was a trip to paco's on the ride to hawthorne. mmm... mexican. which was just awesome. beef, beans and cheese and stuff. it wasn't a late night, very tired indeed. and couldn't play with flynn as she was asleep but she's just glorious. julie and vince's place is fantastic. i want it. so if i come home with a 3 bedroom house in my bag and a cute baby, you know why. :)

oct 15 in australia

survived the deluge that blanketed melbourne. wow! i remember vaguely hearing the rain start while i was "sleeping". i blame the couple of wines i had last night for waking me up a couple of times, visions of oddities dancing through my head. maybe i'm not meant to drink afterall??

anyway, my trusty rainbow umbrella covered me on my trip into the city to buy the essentials: a book (i know, i left it this long??? and it really wasn't an inspired choice), a frappacino and a couple of pairs of shoes. i know i could've waited til i got to the states but i'm on holiday so the spending starts now. ;) i'm liking the cute green pair i left at home for summer wear. and summer had better be just around the corner when i get back.

i board in just under an hour, might go and watch an episode of the deep to pass the time. be seeing you from the other side of the globe.

phew!!