sha in LA

Atwater Movie Night & 7RC

I received a nice request today, to please tell people about the new Atwater Movie Night. So consider this my good deed for the day.

Free movie, Free popcorn and a not-free raffle. The screening will be E.T. Located in Atwater Villlage at the Red Car River Park. What is that you may ask? Well, follow the link provided to find out.

Will I be there? Sadly no. 7 Redneck Cheerleaders got extended again!!! I promise this time it will close on October 21st. Mama desperately needs a break from the theatre before she starts up again in late November.

E-mail me if you're interested in getting info on discount tickets.

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an alien in my shoulder

I have an alien in my shoulder and have consequently been uninspired, unable to focus on much except for the intense pain radiating through the left side of my upper body.

So for now I leave you with this:

Checkout the Word Cloud here. Kinda fun.

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Royal Claytons

I should start off every post with "the other day when Eric and I went out exploring...", because that's how this one's gonna start too, bear with me though...it gets better.

About a week ago Eric and Phil went to Royal Claytons which recently "soft opened" in their neighborhood at the Toy Factory Lofts. When Eric and I were trodding around Downtown 2 weeks ago that's all he could talk about. I knew immediately that I had to get my little butt there ASAP. Especially when he said they held out trying the crab cake appetizer until I joined them. Me being a Maryland girl (Maryland is for Crabs) and all...

So in honor of Phil's birthday we went there for dinner tonight. The restaurant will be having an official opening night party on Thursday complete with civil dignitaries and the press so don't be surprised when you start to hear more about this place in the coming weeks.

It occupies the ground floor of the Toy Factory Lofts in the heart of the Warehouse District? Industrial District? Downtown. When you enter there is a decent sized dining area to the right and lounge area with pool table and plasma screen TV's to the left. The ambiance is warm and inviting complete with dim lighting and lots of candles. We sat at a table with a window view of the soon to be converted National Biscuit Company Lofts and immediately ordered drinks and the crab cake appetizer while we debated our main course options.

Between the 3 of us there was hardly a spec of food left when all was said and done. I opted for the Sea Bass (Fennel Encrusted), Eric had the Tempura Battered Fish & Chips and Phil had Chicken and Veggies. For dessert we moved to the bar area for a change of scenery and had some sort of dreamy orange cheesecake and chocolate explosion cake.

My area of expertise is not writing about food so I'll leave that uber breakdown to the Chowhound people and Pat at Eating L.A. I know that I loved every single piece of food that touched my lips.

A big thank you to the owners for opening a restaurant up in that part of town. Eric and Phil are ecstatic to be able to actually walk to a nice restaurant in their neighborhood. Once the Nabisco Lofts open and the misplaced Mill Street thing goes up that little block will be a vibrant slice of Downtown life for those who have taken up residence in the area.

By the way....Sweet Freedom Developments, the people who run this restaurant, will be opening Dietrichs below the Hellman building later this year. It will feature 1920's decor, a cigar bar, smoking room and have space for live musical acts...13,000 square feet of space, not 1,300 square feet as recently reported by the Downtown News.

Pictures from this evening's adventures can bee seen here. Enjoy!

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trash or treasure

Found on the curb in my neighborhood, now lovingly displayed in my apartment. Measuring approximately 3 ½ feet wide by 2 ½ feet tall and mounted on a piece of wood this is an enlarged photo of City Hall and the Graf Zeppelin which made an appearance in the Southland in August of 1929.

I was out with my neighbor Chuckles, walking the dog, when all of a sudden we happened upon this photo, immediately I grabbed it knowing it would make a perfect addition to one wall in particular that has sat barren for the 7+ years I've lived in this apartment. There was also a Fun Machine Organ to be had. We grabbed that too, for those apartment complex BBQ's we've been meaning to throw. You gotta have some entertainment and the Fun Machine will keep you entertained for hours.

Thank you kind neighbor. Your trash has a new home.

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you light up my life (redux)

More often than not recently I've noticed a beautiful sight while driving home at night. The Griffith Observatory. They've been teasing me (and others who live in this neighborhood) with their new exterior lighting. Soon a good majority of Angelenos will once again be able to enjoy the wonderful treasure we lost years ago to renovation.

On October 15th there will be a special preview to two groups in particular that I know of: Friends of the Observatory (FOTO) and Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library History Department. There will be a Galactic Re-Opening Gala on October 29th for those people with deep pockets, one would assume the general public opening will happen sometime after that.

Mark your calendars and remember that for the first few months you'll need a reservation to go visit. Check out the official Griffith Observatory website for more info.

crude photo by me from a few months ago - the first time they were testing the exterior lighting...

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disturbing search terms

Why am I getting google searches for a dead person at the Pacific Electric Lofts??

Anyone?

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streets of love

I think there are two types of drivers in this city. Those who primarily travel on the freeways and those that prefer surface street travel. I'm of the latter. Given the situation I will normally choose to traverse the city via the intricate street network versus the freeway. I feel that by doing this you can really connect to the city. Granted, if one is traveling from say Mid-City to Whittier the obvious choice would be freeway but I'm talking about the short jaunts from Hollywoooood to Downtown and the like.

Here is a brief tribute to a few of those streets that I truly love.

6th Street - Eastbound anywhere from Fairfax to Downtown
Temple - Westbound from Downtown to Virgil
Virgil - the entire length
San Fernando Road - for when you happen to be driving from the Burbank Trader Joes to Los Feliz during rush hour
Glenoaks - ditto and you want less warehouses, more fast food
Riverside Drive -Southbound or Northbound alongside the 5
Stadium Way/Academy Drive - for cutting thru Elysian Park and actually feeling like you've temporarily stepped into another world
Zoo Drive - Southbound thru Griffith Park from Burbank to Los Feliz for the same reason as above
Cahuenga - thru the pass, both sides
Rimpau - North and Southbound, I think I just like saying the name
Olympic - all of it, both ways, from Downtown to West LA

I could go on, there are so many that hold a special place in my heart. And I like to vary it up a bit, try new alternatives. It keeps you alert and, again, more in tune with the city as a whole.

Oh and the only redeeming aspect to driving in the Burbank area...left hand turn lanes with accompanying green arrow. Hallelujah. I've never seen so many left hand turn lanes with arrows. It almost makes it enjoyable to go on errands during my lunch hour. Can't wait until L.A. implements the same, which is coming soon yes?

What are some of your favorites?

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i love open doors redux

As I stated in an earlier post, Eric Lynxwiler and I decided to do some daytime urban exploring on Saturday. Our first trip was an authorized visit to a recent conversion...see 2 posts down. The second visit was somewhat unauthorized however wildly successful.

I've had my eye on a few conversions currently happening in Downtown and was determined to check one of these out, even if it meant scaling a wall...which I've been known to do before. The first step we take is to do a walk-by, whereby we walk the perimeter and attempt to open any and every doorway available. The second step usually varies by building and luckily on this particular occasion we didn't have to go there...we found an open door on our third try. Holy Shit is all I could think to myself. We scurried up the flight of stairs but halfway to the top we heard a voice from below, "excuse me." Damn, foiled. Or maybe not. I explained that I really wanted to see what was happening because I knew it was being converted and asked if I could just take a quick peek. Reluctantly after a few hems and haws about "insurance issues" the kind gentleman, who I will not mention by name, escorted us into a unit. Eric and I were beside ourselves at what we saw. Insane original windows, cool tile in the kitchen and bathroom, nice kitchen appliances (unfortunately it's electric stove) and cupboards, great flooring and an overall sturdy building (it's from the 30's). Our enthusiasm must have rubbed off on him because he showed us another unit as well. I'm sure if we had asked we could have received a full tour (kidding, sort of) but we played it cool and didn't push the subject.

Sadly I can't really divulge which building this is because I don't want to get anyone in trouble but I will definitely hunt down info on the developers and attempt to get a more formal viewing soon. Construction-wise it looks like they are near completion so more info may come sooner than later.

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wired at home

....and it's not from coffee...

anyone notice the late post time?

she's baaaaack.

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Library Court Revisited

This past Saturday I took a trip back to the Library Court to have another look at the apartment homes/lofts/whatever they are called these days. This time I had Eric Lynxwiler with me because we decided that we'd do some urban exploring as well if the time permitted....plus he was curious to see the outcome as we both had been watching this conversion for the past few months.

Rebecca (?) was kind enough to take us around to some of what I considered to be the highlights from my previous visit. Specifically the 14, 15 and 03 units. In addition she showed us the last available townhome, something that I must have glossed over on my first visit because the fact that there were "townhomes" available was news to me. I took some snaps of a few interiors and those of you who want to get directly to that visual aspect can click here and satisfy your appetite.

Eric was pleased overall at what he saw and didn't even mind the odd primary color scheme in the elevator lobby and zen courtyard, something that I am visually opposed to. We both were floored at the Townhouses, 5 in total, each with private deck area and split level. Only one is available, the rest are taken.

There will be another Open House on September 23rd for those that want to have a look with their own eyes. If you're looking for a place Downtown this is definitely worth consideration. I'm more into an older feel of buildings so this wouldn't be the type of place I'd personally buy into however for the location and amenities it's got a lot going for it.

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