Bird Pick

Location: 6000 Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 1230, Westfield Culver City

I stumbled upon my now favorite tea shop while roaming around the then newly remodeled Westfield Mall in Culver City a few years ago. What drew me in was the dark, dramatic, calming decor; my growing love of tea, the side of me that loves to try anything new, and the unusual name: Bird Pick.

I used to go into this shop so much that I became friendly with the staff, often catching up with them on a first name basis! Shortly after, a new location in Santa Monica opened to my delight at Santa Monica Place so I could and many times did grab a tea while out and about shopping on the promenade.

Last week, after a 6 month or so hiatus from Bird Pick, I stopped by my old stomping ground for a familiar favorite – Black Almond Tea Latte; to find a new staff, and an all new shop in its new location in the mall.

{Prepackaged, loose, and tea accessories galore.}

{Seating area.}

What is so special about Bird Pick is the mass array of loose leaf tea selections artfully displayed around the store. One can buy the finest of teas in bulk, stick with prepackaged options, or head to the tea bar to have a warm or cool concoction made almost anyway you’d like, or play it safe and order from the menu. There isn’t a drink I’ve had here that I haven’t loved. The store is inviting, the staff still friendly, and any tea accessory you’d need, you can find here. A great and healthy option when you’re over Starbucks and need the soothing nature of a little tea to perk you up.

{Bulk teas.}

{Tea bar menu.}

{Store Collage.}

Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize any of the staff during my last visit. I suppose a business like this has a high turn around understandably, but I was still more than happy to be there, check out the new digs, and enjoy some tea on a lovely Friday afternoon.

{Black Almond Tea Latte with Soy Milk = yum!}

Highlights: Last Week

What a crazy week as I look back on it.The weather was indeed fickle last week: warm one day, then foggy and rainy the next, then cold and sunny. In the midst of the strange weather patterns, the election, the AFI film festival, and prepping for my boyfriend’s birthday, I always took a moment to enjoy the small things. Here are highlights from last week:

{A very unusual looking L.A. skyline for us. With the weather came my first few cups of earl grey tea.}

{As I mentioned: rainy one day, sunny the next. A beautiful view of Manhattan Beach while out on a surprise birthday errand for my boyfriend.}

{Wrapping presents!}

{Opening one of the presents early to enjoy a chocolate fudge cupcake from Cupcakes Couture. 🙂 }

{The final remnant of my “I Voted” sticker before tossing it. What a great voting and election experience it was for me personally.}

AFI Fest 2012

AFI Fest officially ends today. 8 days and 133 films from across the globe, screening in some of Hollywood’s most historic theaters. From November 1st though November 8th, hundreds of people waited in lines in front of The Egyptian Theater, The Chinese 6 Theater, and Grauman’s Chinese Theater in an effort to celebrate the undeniable magic of cinema.

Perks of attending this festival: free films, hanging among film enthusiasts and industry “hot shots” alike, enjoying the chaos that is Hollywood, and engaging in some of the most compelling storytelling collectively curated under one umbrella.

Not so great parts: standing in line for up to 2 hours to see a film, getting terrible seats because half the theater is already reserved for said “hot shots,” spending tons of money on parking, and my personal favorite – not being able to see the subtitles on the screen because someone’s head is blocking them. Happened to me twice!

{Personal highlight? Hot Tamales in the old school packaging!}

I appreciate what the American Film Institute aims to do with this festival and was very happy with all 6 films that I saw over the last week. They were excellent stories that brought up injustices in our legal system, shared insight into the wrongly accused, the bullied; and even added a bit of humor to the life of an icon.

Naturally, I have my complaints: the lack of organization with lines and people not knowing where to stand; the strange method of giving a ticket, to receive another ticket, to then get another ticket into a screening seemed wasteful; and consistently starting films late, while expected in a festival atmosphere, didn’t help matters after you’d already been waiting in line for hours.

{Lines.}

I do want to acknowledge that it’s not easy coordinating and pulling off a festival. I can only imagine the amount of planning, scheduling, and rescheduling that went into such a feat and I commend that. However, I’m looking forward to get back to seeing movies the old-fashioned way. Where you pay for a seat, can sit wherever you want, and not a 2 hour-long line in sight! 🙂

My grades on this year’s films I saw:

Hitchcock – Grade: B
The Central Park Five – Grade: A-
West of Memphis – Grade: B
After Lucia – Grade: A
The Hunt – Grade: A
Rust and Bone – Grade: B+

The Aftermath

{Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images}

There was definitely something in the air all day yesterday. An excitement, an anticipation, and even some anxiousness as the sun set here in Los Angeles. Co-workers and I chatted about the expectation. Facebook was abuzz with “I Voted” pictures showing support for the fate of our nation. Election night 2012 had arrived and I was on the edge of my seat in a way that was better than any Hollywood movie. This was life.

What I’ve come to love about this election experience in particular, was how social media tied in so closely with it. Watching as the action unfolded with Brian Williams on MSNBC, while keeping an eye on my Facebook feed laughing along with friend’s commentary made the night an interactive and connecting experience.

It was just me and my boyfriend last night – hanging out, eating baked potatoes for dinner, and cheering as results came in state by state. I don’t know what it is about this last election, but something shifted in me that made me want to really take the time to be more politically aware of what’s going on in this country. Sure, I’ll pay attention when election season comes around, then I become rather uninterested because I have a strong dislike of how politics become more about “red” vs. “blue” and not what’s best for the American people. It becomes a fight for power disguised as a fight for citizens.

I didn’t come from a politically engaged family and for reasons I could understand when I asked my mom years ago. Perhaps it’s because I am older now, and coming into my own, with a more firm concept that what happens in Washington and with California state measures has more of an impact on me that it ever has because I am an educated, professional, working adult.

With that, I will say that I was very pleased with Barack Obama’s re-election. He’s the candidate that is much more in touch with my personal values and is more grounded in the understanding of what day-to-day life is like for the common American citizen. Most people cannot just ask their parents for money when needing to deal with college expenses. I couldn’t believe that came out of a presidential candidate’s mouth.

I look forward to following our government with a renewed enthusiasm for holding our leadership accountable and myself accountable by being a bit more personally informed and engaged politically…not just every 4 years.

Congratulations, Mr. President!

{Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images}

Rockin’ The Vote

I was out the door at 9:15am this morning, sample ballot complete and in-hand, on the way to my polling location next door. No line! Who-hoo! Oh, and did I mention it was 80 degrees this morning? On election day? 2 months into “Fall?”

I won’t get into the specifics of how I think one should vote. It’s a very personal and subjective decision based on experiences in life, upbringing, and environment.

I will say, it felt good to walk out of the polling place this morning knowing that I’d contributed (and before I’ve even had my coffee!). While I have very strong opinions about our presidential race, I wanted to place extra careful thought into understanding our state propositions this year. Typically, these are the measures that seem to hit closer to home, that are oftentimes not given as much weight in favor of who is running for President.

Of course, much emphasis is absolutely necessary in selecting our Commander in Chief. However, I’d argue that we should be getting similar styles of debate material and more information pumped our way in understanding these measures; outside of poorly produced television commercials and banners all over town. I’d like the people who write these measures to get televised coverage of what they are proposing and then open it to a forum for discussion for its acceptance or rejection. One literally has to cram like a college final to educate yourself and become informed independently. I’m not at all suggesting that people shouldn’t work to follow politics, but I am suggesting that we give voters more clear and concise information on what’s being asked of us.

In the end, I figured things out and did feel like a college student again studying hard to learn what measures are politically sound in my opinion. I don’t want to brag (okay, I do) but I graduated cum laude – so we’ll see how those expensive study habits and interpretive skills pay off in just a few short hours.

As soon as I got my “I Voted” sticker, my next politically savvy move was to get some caffeine in me and no question it was iced. 🙂

Roseanne Barr for President! Totally kidding by the way.

Sweet!

Location: 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 201, Hollywood

Talk about competition. There’s a new sugar shop in town that gives Dylan’s Candy Bar a run for their money. Move over, Hollywood has the new candy shop hot spot!

Enter Sweet.

I can’t think of a better name for the latest addition to Hollywood and Highland. The store is massive. The decor unbelievable: colorful, inviting, well designed, themed by station, and decked out to make it the complete interactive and overtly visual experience.

Visit “Lollywood” the section of the store containing lollipops in every shape, flavor and size. Make your way to the “Chocolate Lab” and custom design your own candy bar. Stop over to “Sticky” and get a glimpse at how the most sugar-infused candies are made. Head to “Yucky” and indulge your nasty, yet delicious side. Don’t miss Willy Wonka’s section and have your fill of fine chocolates and meet him yourself.

Bulk options galore. Sugar everywhere. Who knew that there was so much candy in the world? You don’t need to be a kid to feel right at home.

In this case, a picture really is a thousand words and it’s pretty “Sweet!”

LOLLYWOOD

CHOCOLATE LAB

YUCKY!

STICKY

BULK CANDY

WILLY WONKA

STORE RANDOMS

Highlights: As November Begins…

Happy Turkey Month! I’m pleased to report October went out with a bang! A huge goal of mine was accomplished and these recent highlights were the icing on the cake:

I love a good joke. Anything pertaining to humor, poking fun at someone or a situation, especially when the humor is completely true, is always welcome in my world. I saw a red “No Parking” zone spray painted with these delicious words and couldn’t help but stop and laugh (and take a picture!).

Our recent apple picking adventure left lots of apples to get through. An afternoon in the kitchen took our apples from whole fruit to an apple crisp that was fun to make and even more fun to eat.

The American Film Institute Film Festival started November 1st. A visit to the box office to pick-up the tickets was pretty funny when I pulled them all out and lined them up. I’m going to be spending A LOT of time at the movies as you can see.

Enjoy this first November weekend!

Farmers For A Day

Location: 9611 Oak Glen Road, Glen Oak, CA

What I’ve come to love most about the blogosphere is how information moves around so freely. Places you’ve never heard of and ideas that wouldn’t have even been on your radar come your way and your world is changed because of it. This was the case when I learned of Los Rios Rancho in Glen Oak, CA – an apple farm in San Bernadino county. I thought it would be a great mini road trip to spend the day learning about apples, picking them, exploring the property and area; and when I heard they had a pumpkin patch, my boyfriend suggested we grab ours from here this year.

A 2-hour car ride on a Saturday fall morning (unbelievably it was 90 degrees!) was a great way to kick off a memorable day. Random fact about me: I like zoning out and staring out the car window on long trips – it gives you time to think and take in the world from a different perspective. I decided to dress the part and have fun with playing the role of a “semi-farmer” from the city, by breaking out my plaid button down shirt and brown riding boots for effect.

{Dressing the part.}

We arrived around 12 noon and the farm was already busting with activity. We had a quick sample of the day’s available apples in the orchard: rome beauties, double red delicious, and red rome, with a few golden delicious remaining; and after learning how things work (with signs posted everywhere to remind you!), we bought a 5-7 pound peck bag and headed out to the fields. First up, finding the best looking apples we could.

{The rules.}

{Straight from the tree.}

{U-pick and I did!}

After our bag was stuffed with apples, we made our way to the pumpkin patch. It was pretty obvious that we were late in the season, being the weekend before Halloween, so the selection was sparse but we found winners! I got a large one and my guy got a small one (we like to break convention like that!) for our carving session the next day. To see how things turned out, click here.

{The rules.}

{The leftovers.}

From the farm, we went into town for a bit. Oak Tree Village is a small, charming community of quaint shops, places to eat, and activities for the kids. A stroll through the grounds landed me the best glazed almonds and cashews ever, and a taste of Andy’s Mini Donuts that made my tongue dance and my stomach tell me – “stop eating!” Good thing I had all those apples to look forward to, I was going to need lots of fruit in my diet in the near future.

When we made it home late that evening, we took stock of the days’ labor in the fields. 16 apples and 2 great looking pumpkins!