My New Home @ Mozaic

I have been fortunate to have some pretty neat roommates in my nearly 1.5 years here in the LA area, with only one major exception (you know who you are, and you would never read this blog anyhow). To anyone reading who doesn't know who the exception is, ask me some day when you're up for a hearty saga. :) But I digress. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my roommates heretofore, and have many fond memories to recall, it is time to move on. Our lease was up this month at our charming Culver City house and so I bid adieu to the persistent background hum of 405 traffic, crappy water pressure, the wood floors and stained glass windows I adored, and what I'll miss most of all-- the bike path to the beach. I've traded all of that in for 830 sqft that belong all to meeeee, elevators, a wall of eastward windows that look out to Union Station below, Olvera Street around the corner, The Original Phillipe's within walking distance, and Chinatown just a stone's throw away. This new neighborhood feels like a completely different town (well, it is), and while I only moved, like, 10ish miles away, I feel like my life has already completely changed.

New photos of my new home:

Oh hey, courtyard view from my front door...That's the top of the U.S. Post Office Annex illuminated in the background.

Welcome to my abode:

Palm trees outside my window!

My lil nook:

That's me up on the top floor!

inside Union Station:

Union Station at night.

nighttime traffic on the Avenida.

Motorcycling with Marky-Mark.

holding some constrictors on State Street in Santa Barbara, no big deal.

California:

The most amazing strawberry shortcake ever. Oh hey, Ojai!

Some highlights from my first few months in The Hills.

Out to dinner with my PBL group. What a great first trimester with these guys.

From the October day I tried "studying" at the beach.

Our awesome kindergarteners we taught oral health care (SO happy for toothbrushes!):

what I do in dental school:

first (?) trojan football game

Korean BBQ from our first week of school (I'm the conspicuous blonde on the right):

Peace out, Los Angeles-- I'm headed Home For The Holidays. (Yes, that phrase warrants initial caps.) See ya in a few...

more up north

morro bay, ca

the unbelievable hearst castle, san simeon, ca

above and below is the neptune pool. easily my favoritest part of the entire tour...
can you imagine? living here? coming out onto the patio--to this view-- to meet Cary Grant?
that's exactly what the Hearsts did, like, 70 years ago.

In addition to the main castle itself, there are three other separate houses just off the main plaza, adjacent to the castle. Above is a view from Casa del Sol. the horizon is actually the pacific ocean, and the darker silhouette is the shoreline in the distance. camera shots were strictly to be taken without flash. so all of my indoor pictures don't do justice to the place. But here's an example: Mr Hearst's sitting room, part of his private quarters. (I actually think my favorite room may have been the kitchen. baker's paradise.)

Ali and I were so flabbergasted that someone could live so extravagantly DURING THE DEPRESSION.
This is the second--indoor-- pool. covered with gold inlays. really...made. me... want. to swim....

Solvang = So Cute

I might be an old woman. I like to think I'm pretty adventurous (see boda boda picture from Uganda above ⇑), but in Solvang, CA all I cared to do was meander the sidewalks, sample fudge, and look at the kitschy Norse bric-a-brac-- mostly of tiny viking figurines with giant beards or tiles with clever sayings such as "You can tell a Dane, but you can't tell him much" (harty-harr-harr). Old-women activities, right? With the exception of an elementary school fieldtrip group, Ali and I may have been the youngest tourists in this Danish settlement 130 miles north of Los Angeles. My Los Angeles roommate warned me ahead of time that Solvang was "boring". I think it might be accurate to assume that she was unimpressed with my roadtrip agenda. I don't think she understands that I bring the party. Solvang was not boring. Nowhere I go is boring.

Ali and me on the main drag

Didn't care to try the Medisterpolse, but really wished we coulda tried the Aebleskiver

oh yeah, and they named a church after me.

Stay tuned for more of my trip up north with Ali....