weekend to do

finish the puzzle!

and happy new year :)

merry merry

due to a variety of circumstances, we are home for the holidays. and while we will miss our little cottage in the woods this year, we are also happy for the opportunity to do things we usually don't. like sharing Christmas dinner and our own traditions with friends. using the good china, my mom's crystal, and my great grandmother's silver. and do bring some cottage traditions here. like our annual jigsaw puzzle extravaganza.

and Christmas and Hanukkah don't often overlap - giving us twice the magic.













however you celebrate, light and love to you and yours, and merry merry! xo

12 hikes :: 2016! :: o'melveny park

its been while since I posted a new hike - but this was a good one - and worth remembering. friends introduced us to O'Melveny Bee Canyon Trail today.






O'Melveny Bee Canyon Trail
O'Melveny Park
17300 Sesnon Boulevard
Granada Hills, CA 91344
Neighborhood: Granada Hills

Proximity: 13 miles from our home
Hike length: 4.0 miles roundtrip
Bonus features: Beautiful views of the SFV. Dog friendly. Free parking in lot.
Tips: Hard incline (1000 ft elevation gain) on foot path - with some scrambling, so good shoes a must. (Fire road alternative for more gradual incline.)

Progressive Dinner ::10::

how on earth have we celebrated together 10 times?

and how this event has grown!

we gathered together last night - neighbors - for our yearly Progressive Dinner. Robyn and I are hanging up our organizers' hats after this one - with the hope that others will carry on the tradition. (and from all indications, they will.) it is such a lovely event - with multiple generations, backgrounds, views. but as it has grown, it has become much more work. time for some fresh eyes and ideas.

but in the meantime, about last night...

field trip :: Taschen Gallery

David and I snuck out tonight to the opening for David Hockney's A Bigger Book at Taschen Gallery. So good. Really, a genius of our time. And a treat to see his arc from student through to now.

Thankful.

LOVE these people

this year we made

pumpkin
chocolate pumpkin swirl
pecan chocolate
and the always requested banana pumpkin mousse <3

weekend to do

I'm pretty much without words right now. as a "resident alien", I always volunteer during election season for the candidate that best represents my hopes for our girls - who were both born here. The weeks leading up to the election were busy. I put in hours phone banking for HRC and - along with so many I know - and then, was shocked at the results of our presidential election. my heart broke in the early morning hours of Wednesday last. I am still working through what happened, and trying to keep things as normal as possible while not accepting that things are normal at all.

this weekend is about keeping cozy and close. preparing for my favorite holiday of the year. and strategizing how we go forward from here.

so a to-do list for this weekend: a summation of some of my favorite suggestions from friends

1) Communicate with your congressperson. They work for you. Tell them how you feel. Regularly.
2) Inform yourself. Read the daily paper, or better yet two or three papers. Don't rely on the internet (and especially social media) as your dominant news source
3) Frequent minority-owned businesses. Let them know they are an important part of your community.
4) Get to know your neighbors better. Even the ones you usually don't agree with.
5) (But) Don't tolerate the intolerable. Misogyny. Racism. Homophobia. Xenophobia. Not ok. At all.
6) Volunteer. Join local clubs. Help in local elections (school board! neighborhood council! city government! in LA all coming up very soon!) and prepare for volunteer time for the mid-terms.

show day 3 (IEL #1)

fabulous day at the first Interscholastic Equestrian League show of the season. big classes. pouring rain. these rockstars xo

weekend to do

haunted ranch
show weekend :)

weekend to do

homecoming (aka "hoco" by those in the know)
getty lecture
haircut (!)
sukkot dinner

around the house
catch-up!

show day 2

this past sunday E rode in the Spirit Equestrian Think PINK show. another fabulous weekend at a beautiful venue. (oh how I love socal.) this show was in support of breast cancer awareness, and E rode in memory of Anne, a woman I had taken riding lessons with in the beginning of my adventure. she was a bright light at the barn, and is missed. we also thought about our family members who have battled breast cancer (my gramma, my aunt, d's mom.)

now a weekend off then the final show for October. it has been a busy month! so proud of our boy and the girls xo

weekend to do

*

show weekend #2!






*the R.B. Kitaj Estate has installed a selection of iconic book cover prints from the series, In Our Time: Covers for a Small Library After the Life for the Most Part, 1969-70 at Arcana:Books on the Arts, on through January 2017. check it out!

show day!

A fabulous day at the Pacific Dressage Oktoberfest schooling show for this girl & our horse with a red and a blue and junior high score (whoohoo - and a cowboy hat to go with it!). And some of her very best people there with her. Couldn't be prouder.

weekend to do

show weekend!

...

Had to pop in to say what a great night we had at Longines! I was skeptical about the new venue (Long Beach vs. L.A.) but aside from the travel time, and a bit shabbier stadium, they did a phenomenal job. And always a thrill to watch top level jumpers.

We followed that up the next day with Harry and Snowman. Go see this! (Even if you aren't a horse person!) It spoke to me about class structure, immigration, humanity, family, work ethic and unconditional love. A fabulous story about a man and a horse.

weekend to do

Longines Masters
Harry and Snowman
stall maintenance

around the house
plumbing :/