Click here to watch the movie…

Every November I go to one of my favorite craft shows called Felt Club.  I have been going to this show for about five years now.  This year I picked up the cutest terrarium from Rad Megan as a Christmas gift for K.  I brought it home and fell in love with it. So, I decided to buy another one through Rad Megan’s online store.  Unfortunately she did not have any more of the glass globe terrariums, but I did find some glass globe terrariums at another online store.  Awwww the internets….

I have become completely obsessed with finding unique containers to plant my succulents.  For the past two weekends I have spent hours going through my house to find a new planters.  Ashtrays, trash cans, candle vases, the list goes on.  So, family and friends, guess what you are getting for your birthday this year!?!

It is fun and easy to plant your own terrarium:

1. First start with a layer of gravel; this provides good drainage.

2. Next a layer of soil; I used cactus mix, a fast draining soil that retains little moisture

3.  Then I added some colored sand.  I made the sand go up a bit more in the back to give it a more dramatic look.

Now if you say….”uh Geri, I don’t have time to vacuum, let alone plant terrariums”  well here are a few sites that you might be interested in:

Trend Living

Kaboodle

Etsy

I found the glass globes at:

CB2

Sprout Home

Click here for pictures of my little succulents…

I know I want my next house to be either a spacious modern loft or a cool Prefab Home.  Within the next four years, my dream is to find property and build or renovate an old commercial building.   Look, if I am gonna dream….I am gonna dream big.  I have been watching the new lofts that are quickly springing up in the Downtown and Hollywood areas of Los Angeles.  Now, I have yet to walk into any of the offices and ask for a tour so I can be a “looky lou” and pretend I am a potential buyer.  Not, that I would necessarily move to Los Angeles, but it is pretty much the closest area where they are building these types of modern industrial lofts.

So, when Melissa’s asked if we wanted to see her new Barker Block Loft in L.A.’s Art District, it was hard to contain myself.   I turned a bit green with envy while taking a grand tour of the cool concrete, steel and wood building.   I had not planned to take so many pictures, but the rooftop deck, pool, cabanas and outdoor fireplace were amazing.  There was also a sweet courtyard with fountain and a small yet efficient workout gym over looking the city.  Thanks Melissa for showing us your beautiful home, now I have the urge to change my four year plan to a one year plan.

Click here for pictures of the loft…

The culmination of our jammed packed weekend ended in a Los Angeles Kings hockey game versus the Philadelphia Flyers.  We had Jacob and Jordan join us for the game and they were finally able to meet the Snodgrasses.   The rental was only a few blocks away from LA’s Metro Rail so we took the red line to the Staples Center and saved ourselves 20 bucks for parking!  Los Angeles is dragging behind other large cities when it comes to public transportation, but hopefully in the years to come we will see improvements.

This was our first time at Staple Center.  The last time we’ve seen a game in it was at the Forum.  Damn, how time flies.  We brought the Kings good luck that night….the Kings won the game in a shoot out 2 to 1.

Click here for pictures of game…

Jordan Snodgrass hooked us up with tickets to the world famous Magic Castle, Located in Hollywood.   I have passed this mysterious castle during trips to Los Angeles for as long as I can remember.  You have to be a member or be invited by a member of the Academy of Magical Arts to get in.  Members include qualified magicians, movie producers, writers, magic historians or supporters of the Academy of Magical Arts.

There is a strict dress code at the Castle, with men having to a wear coat and tie and women formal evening wear.  We arrived around 5:30pm, but our dinner reservations were not until 8:00pm.  There were plenty of shows to catch before the “big show” after dinner, so we had a full evening ahead of us.

When you arrive,  you enter into an old Victorian library lined with dark oak bookshelves and red velvet interiors.  After checking-in at a small front desk you walk up to the magic owl on a bookshelf and say the magic words “open sesame.”  The bookcase opens to reveal short hallway to an elegant room with a large stone fireplace and a quaint bar.  Of course, before setting out to explore the castle, we ordered drinks.

We were surprised by how big the place was.  We started out upstairs, passed through the restaurant and down a long windy hallway.  The decorations reminded us of Disneyland.  Throughout the hallways there were small tables where magicians would sit and perform coin or card tricks close-up while you enjoyed  your drink waiting for a show to start.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect.  It could have been cheesy or even creepy.  But I was so wrong, the night ended up being incredible.  We saw awesome magic.   One of the shows we went to see was the close-up magic.  The theater only sat 20 people with a small stage which had a card table and three chairs.  There was stadium seating so everyone could see the magic up close.  Before the show started, the usher picked another woman and me to come sit at the table to be the magician’s assistants.  It was amazing.  The card tricks were unbelievable.  I was inches away from magician, Jon Armstrong, and I still couldn’t believe my eyes.  I was trying not to blink, but it did not matter, it was pure magic…tee hee.

It was a bit after midnight when we finally made our way back into the main lobby to sit and enjoy a “nightcap.”  We discussed the crazy tricks we had witnessed that evening.   Within a few minutes I noticed a guy standing behind Elvia listening to our conversation.  I said hi to him and Andrew invited him to sit with us. We all  strike up a conversation and he ended up being a magician.  David Cotelessa provided a great end to our evening by giving us an amazing private magic show.

Click here for pictures of that magic evening…

Jase and I are not big TV watchers.  There are only a few shows that we will consider watching these days, one of them being “Three Sheets” hosted by Zane Lampery.  In short, Zane travels to cool places around the world to drink with the locals.  He finds out their drinking customs and the clever part, their hang over remedies.

When Andrew told us that Zane Lampery was going to be hosting a New Years Eve Party in Los Angeles this year it didn’t take us long to decided that, “Yes” we were going.  The tickets were crazy expensive, but it included a midnight buffet, open bar and live entertainment.   So, we bought tickets as our Christmas gift to each other.  This was actually our first “professional” New Years Eve party.

We rented a vacation rental with Jordan, Elvia and Andrew which was walking distance from the Knitting Factory (where the party took place).

Click here for pictures of that epic evening…

Hi Mom, it’s me Geri.

I wanted to tell you that Jase and I made tamales last night with the boys. You would have been so proud. Jase has been working hard to prefect the recipe for his Serrano Chili Cheese and Chipotle Chicken Tamales. Both turned out great! Dad would have loved it. We decided to roast the Serrano Chilies, which gave them a good “kick.” We also threw in some fresh corn for added texture. I wish you could try the Chipotle Chicken Tamales. We used a secret concoction of spices that gave it just the right flavor. Not to hot, yet not to mild. The boys are really becoming experts on their tamale wrapping, we made 25 pounds in only about four hours. Oh Mom, as soon as the steam comes out of the pot and fills my house with the glorious smell of fresh masa and chili, I am 13 again back at home trying so hard to spread the masa “just right” with one hand just like you use to.  I feel you.  I hear your sweet voice.  But somehow it rings so clear in my head during Christmas that I can feel you standing right next to me in my kitchen.  Thank you for teaching us this beautiful tradition.  I miss you.

Click here for pictures of Tamale making…

Click here to watch the movie…

We spent our final day with our good friends Scott and Regina. We strolled through China Town, SoHo and Wall Street. It was great to talk about all of our adventures and make plans for a return trip.

Click here for pictures of our seventh day in New York City…

It was well after 11:00am before we finally woke up, which wasn’t enough sleep when you think about it.  We decided to take it easy.  Our plan was to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art located on the East side of Central Park and then visit the Empire State Building as the sun was setting.

As we were walking along Central Park we realized that we had been in New York for six days and had yet to eat a hot dog.  We remedied that dilemma by getting some hot dogs at one of  the hundreds of carts that are scattered throughout the park. They were just what we needed on a cold morning.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is overwhelming, where does one start?  Examining all that the museum has to offer can easily take a week, but we only had a day.  We had to prioritize, so we decided to go on the hour long Collection Highlights Tour and make note of the exhibits that we wanted to go back and see in more detail.  The tour was great for first timers visitors like us and provided essential background information.  After the tour we only had an hour and a half to revisit the areas which we had marked.  Geri and I had wanted to revisit different areas so we split up.  I went to the Arms and Armor Exhibit and Geri visited the Gallery of French Decorative Arts and Jeff Koons on the Roof.  Simply amazing.  Once we met up again we realized that we had not given the museum its proper due and that we needed to plan another trip to New York just to visit it.

We walked back through Central Park for a bit and talked about all we had seen.  The Sun was about to set so we hailed a taxi and made our way to the Empire State Building.  It was obvious that they have been giving tours for a very long time.  Any major amuzement park would be jealous of their setup.  They efficiently loaded us onto the elevator and before we knew it we were off on the long ride to the top.  It was packed and freezing, but the views were stunning.  Stunning views are definitely a repeating theme on this trip.  We watched the Sun go down and before our eyes the city transformed into glowing sea of pinpoint lights.

Click here for pictures of our sixth day in New York City…