There hasn’t exactly been a lot of time for jetlag since coming home Sunday morning. I find the Sydney summer humidity a struggle usually but it was surprisingly refreshing to have it feel it hit my face with the subtlety of a brick wall when I heaved my trolley out of the airport and over to the taxi rank.
That first cup of tea at home is always a good one.
Last minute school mum errands have been ticked off the list. Officeworks have a good supply of the Lego LED keyrings that the school mums of Instagram recommend as a practical schoolbag charm.
There weren’t any tears on the day. Master SSG found his locker, dropped off his morning tea in the class basket and strode into his classroom.
The harbour was looking stunning as usual.
There’s always room and time for gelato at Messina.
We visited Hobbyco in the QVB for a look at their constantly changing and lovingly maintained model train window. We then went instore for the first time. It was fascinating seeing all the components necessary for assembling a ‘grown ups’ model railway as opposed to the much loved toy trains and tracks that are currently set up on the floor at home.
From miniature cars to people, Hobbyco has it all. The love of model trains seems universal with the store’s customers being of all ages and walks of life.
I hadn’t realized that many model trains are sold just as unpainted pieces that must be put together then meticulously painted. Worlds away from the relatively easy task of assembling Lego and its richly detailed plastic brick components.
Master SSG wasted no time in finding the Brio table. There were many Brio sets I hadn’t seen anywhere else in Australia. I’ll have to return for Christmas, I think.
How has the start of the school year been for you?
If you’re planning on staying Downtown in LA, FIGat7 could be a useful place to know about.
If this is peak winter weather in LA then I’m definitely coming back! |
First up, Target.
So many of my retail dreams were realized on this trip. First, it was the opportunity to take a trolley around Ralph’s supermarket in Camarillo and now the opportunity to wheel a trolley around Target. Living the dream and living my best life. This really is the land of opportunity and #yolo.
My personal favourite were these.
My spoils from Target were rather unexciting but they’re the things I can never find in Sydney when I really need them. Like claw grips for my hair.
I also stocked up on some US only mascara (Voluminous) and some other bits and pieces so I now officially have no excuse to casually browse the Mecca site while I’m doing overnight on call from home….
I can’t really explain why I flew 15 hours to buy a box of Target’s own brand of zip lock sandwich bags but I did and here they are.
These Dr Seuss Mega Block sets are for my nephews. There were two versions available, the other being a Thing 1 and Thing 2 themed set.
Food wise, things looked a little like this.
A chicken and soba noodle salad bowl at Gentaro. That chilli mayo dressing has quite a kick to it but is perfect with the salad,
Sprinkles also have an outlet here and business is brisk. The shelves were a quarter full by mid-afternoon.
I went with a chocolate and peanut butter cupcake.
Much nicer than Magnolia if truth be told.
I began sliding down that slippery slope that is collecting mini antibacterial hand washes from Bath & Body Works. They were doing a five for $6 offer but fortunately for my suitcase, quite a few were unavailable. It’s those names and those labels as well as the scents. I couldn’t resist Peach Bellini and Mermaid Life….
Zara was in the midst of an epic sale so I bought this Zhanel at half off to squeeze into the last patch of space in my suitcase.
And I tried poke for the first time as well. The store I tried was Ohana Poke Co. I had the brown rice with my salmon and tofu. Then I went nuts with the toppings (at the urging of my server) – pineapple, edamame, seaweed, spring onions and crispy onions…. It was delicious. A kind of warm rice salad with the raw fish and seasonings giving it all lightness, tang and heat.
Where do you eat when you travel? Foodcourts at the shops or something more high end? Or do you prefer going off the beaten track and exploring neighbourhoods beyond the bright lights?
‘Airplane Parts’ by Mark Thompson in the grounds of MOCA. I could walk out the back door of my hotel straight into the landing where this sculpture resides. |
Entry to MOCA is $15 USD but entry is free after 6pm on Thursdays. The gallery is closed on Mondays.
Argh. This post is meant to be about the photos so I will stop writing now and let you take in these photos of some of my favourites from MOCA.
These are photos of ‘Toilet Ventilators’ by Gabriel Orozco. That really is toilet paper being whirled around by the fans it is suspended from.
‘I will not make any more boring art’…..
Two works by Andy Warhol, ‘Telephone’ and ‘Flowers’.
Just before I got in the taxi for LAX, I stumbled upon ‘Monumental Words’ by Laura Kimpton. The outdoor public art installation is located on the upper level of Figat7th (more, much more about this fabulous food and shopping destination in DTLA in my next LA post) and is lit up at night.
The titles of the installations are exactly what you read as you look at them,
Art in public spaces makes for some pretty special snaps and I’m so happy to have been able to share mine with you through ‘Life This Week’.
By LA standards, it’s been cold and dreary today.
The El Capitan Theatre where the majority of movies from the Walt Disney Studios premiere.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a piece of Hollywood history. It’s the oldest hotel in the city (openingin1927) and the location of the first Oscars ceremony. Shirley Temple learned tap dance routines on its stairs. Brangelina were guests back in the day. Ownership has changed a few times over the decades and it has been refurbished several times too.
The Chinese Theatre which was originally Graumann’s Chinese Theatre but is now the TCL Chinese Theatre and is home to one of the largest IMAX screens in North America.
The Egyptian is another theatre up the road that I believe was also built by Sid Graumann.
I didn’t know that the columns inside the theatre bear the names of the winners of Best Picture by year. Wikipedia tells me that there is enough space on the columns to fit all winners until the year 2071.
And then it was time to head for home via the horrendous peak hour(s) of traffic that is the commute on LA’s major arterial roads. My last photo of the day was another one from the Rasta Bus. Wahlburger on Sunset Boulevard is part owned by none other than Mark Wahlberg, a man crush of mine. He’s apparently often out and about in the evenings but unforunately, like James Corden earlier in the day, I must have just missed him.
Have you visited Hollywood? Did it leave you feeling a little numb or did you just love the energy that’s there on an average non special event day?
Sorry if there was obvious underwhelm in today’s post. The joy will be back for episode six. Promise.