Easy, Like Sunday Morning...(or Afternoon For That Matter!)

Venice Beach. You gotta love it. It's really some of the best people watching in Los Angeles! Really.  Here are  a few of my photos from today's Venice excursion.  It was a beautiful day, couldn't have asked for better weather!

 

my mom & our friend Carole walking to the beach. (We got a great parking spot, by the way! Difficult to do on beach days)

...
low rider bikes. pretty fuckin awesome!

I caught this guy riding past a couple of times... then i decided to stop him and actually ask for a pic of him w/ the bike...


I feel really bad, cuz I asked his name & I forgot it. I think it was Jose...but honestly I can't remember. I'm really mad at myself cuz I wanted to give him super props in my blog. Sorry, man. I'm an ass for that! But hey, if by chance you ever come across my blogspot, give me your name again so I can give you the proper shout out!

...
This next guy was doing all sorts of trix on his bike... he was showing off for his girl (I don't know if they were a couple or just friends, but I caught him showing off for her nonetheless!)...








(that's her taking a pic of him. Don't worry, he had super control of his bike! Even though it looks like he's about to fall on top of her, he didn't)

...
I feel kinda bad for this guy. He's solo on a tandem bike. But, you know what, maybe it's a mack tactic. Think about it... "Hey baby, I'm looking for a riding partner & I think the seat is just your height. Hop on!" Yeah, baby! Yeeeeeaaaaah!


...
watched the rollerskaters do their thing. I wish I could skate like that! But, alas! I can't! I would break my face. And, that does NOT sound exciting. So, I am content watching and cutting & pasting my face onto their bodies! LOL



The video is nothing exciting, really. It's just my POV. But notice a few things...

(1) The guy in the white shirt & black cargo shorts - totally goes into the splits & pulls himself up! WTF?! If I could do that...I'd have like 35 boyfriends right now!

(2) The guy NOT on skates walking thru the frame in a leather coat! He was dancing on the sidelines. Mind you, it was like 80 degrees or something. He was quite entertaining to watch. I can't blame him for enjoying the music, but his pants kept falling down (I posted a pic below).

(3) The guy who walks by with his bike, a backpack, and a Northface parka. Again...it's 80 degrees dude!

(4) The guy in the gray sweater & blue shorts. He eventually takes his shirt off (his body is niiiiice) At the end of the video he totally cock blocks my video! He told the guy that I was filming with my camera! (If you listen closely, you can hear him refer to my camera. I actually heard him point me out.) Ass! You lost all your cool points dude!

(5) The guy in the army pants totally busts his ass! You can't really see the entire fall cuz Mr. Cock-Blocker is standing in the way!

(6) In the background, you'll see the single tandem guy ride by! Back on the hunt I guess.

I've decided that rollerskaters LOVE to spin around in circles!

**sorry for the shoddy video by the way! I was high. Gotta love California!**

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Here's the flick I was referring to above. His pants are almost to his ankles!

What's funny about this pic is that he looks like he's 2 ft. tall! I think he was actually more like 4'11"

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Hey, Jose! Looks like someone jacked your bike!!


He looks pretty dangerous! Betta not f*ck with this guy!


V-V-Venice Beach y'all!!

Thanks, Erykah!

If it wasn't for others speaking from their heart & from their soul, it would be much more difficult to go thru what I'm going thru right now. So, with that, I say thank you Ms. Badu for releasing your album when you did.  I was SO meant to be listening to it right now!!

I also must give thanks to Robyn for listening. Thanks girl! I reallllllly needed that!  You have helped me immensely.

To Jinxx: don't be mad for how I'm gonna do what I'm about to do soon. I'm not doing it to be an ass or a bad friend, but it's how I have to do it - for me.  I appreciate your understanding.  Honestly, when i really think about it... u probably won't give a #@$% anyway... furthermore, you're probably not reading this either! And THAT is the kicker! ha. Nevertheless, much love to you! U will always be fam to me. Always. See you Monday (maybe Tuesday... I haven't decided yet).  ...And, still, thank you! you REALLY have NO idea. NO idea.

...

::Honey::

so tell me slim what u wanna do/when u know i'm in love with u

er'y time that i turn around/look for ya but you can't be found

fly free baby fine with me/i'm in love with a bumblebee

ooh slim boy ur killin me/but u so sweet to me

honey/u so sweet

honey

sugah got a long way to catch u/u so sweet

honey

all i gotta do is add a lil lemon/u my favorite drank

hey/you make me thank

honey/u so sweet

so tell me slim what it's gonna be/it don't be like this usually

when it come to the what it do/i don't fall for the whooptee woo

ooh boy can you tell me please/wanna know if ur feelin me

ooh slim boy ur killin me/but u so sweet to me

honey/u so sweet/well

sugah got a long a way to catch u/u so sweet

all i gotta do is add a little lemon/u my favorite drank

hey/you make me thank

honey/u so sweet

honey

u got that honey/u runnin from me

u really turn me on

u got that honey/stop actin funny

u really turn me on

so tell me slim/what you trynna do

i'm trynna get me an interview/look for ya all over town

but you gave me the runaround/fly free baby fine with me

i need to know is u feelin me

can you stick your pinky finger in my tea/cuz ur so sweet to me/oh

honey/u so sweet

honey

sugah got a long way to catch u/u so sweet

honey

all i gotta do is add a lil lemon/u my favorite drank

you make me thank

honey/u so sweet

honey

u got that honey/u runnin from me

u really turn me on

u got that honey/stop actin funny

u really turn me on

Vintage Voyagers!

After a fab brunch we went vintage-ish shopping around Silverlake. I found a few things... yay!

At Sunset & Sanborn in Silverlake...




I found this really cute leather jacket...but it was a bit too cute in SIZE for me...


Didn't buy anything at these spots. But i love giant robot! (no no, I'm not referring to myself in the jacket LOL! I'm referring to the STORE go up one more photo...LOL) And the cafe at the end was cute. Looked like they had some good snax!

Another spot we went to across the street had some good finds!

I bought a 3/4 length red leather coat w/ paisley cotton lining. It's missing a button & I have to get it altered, but when i wear it, I'll post some photos. The other amazing find was a 1927 Army coat from WW2. Pretty fresh. I have to definitely get that one tailored. The buttons are amazing. I'll add some pix later.

There was this lady I saw a couple times. I got a photo on the sly...

I should have Will photoshop this image. It would be so dope!

Check out his photography William Springfield

I digress.
It turned out to be a long day. The sunset was amazing. The sky looked psychedelic as it progressed. Look.








yes...all while driving. Don't try this at home kids! I am a professional stunt driver! (huh, Mom?! CJ?! Yvonne?! Michael?! Will?! LOL)







home!

Inspirational Walk & Delicious Food

So, here we are. Walking to Basix to get some deliciousness for breakfast. Not even 100 yards from my front door and mom's already taking pix of all that inspires her...


As I got closer, I got to see what she was photographing...


OMG!

It's Big Bird smoking a blunt in a bush! How inspiring!! Good eye, Mom!


Ten more steps & POW! More inspiration!


Look! I found some inspiration too!

yay!

She stopped to take this one about 2 blocks away...


After taking this flick, she stopped to take some pix of something (I still don't know what) inside of this kids daycare play area. She wanted to get a closer look so she stepped up on the ledge of the flower bed to peer inside the big wooden front gate. There was this lady watering the hedges looking at my mom like "What the hell is this lady doing?" I'm sure she thought my mom was some kind of weirdo, so I said to her, "She's from out of town. She's a photographer!" and the lady looked at me reassured and a bit relieved. Hilarious! It was at that very moment I thought to myself "dammit, you should've taken a picture!!" That would have been classic! If I could turn back time!

That's what happens when you're new to blogging. You forget to take pictures until AFTER you think about the situation you just witnessed (or were a part of!). I'm going to get better a taking more pix. I've kind of already started. So, hopefully the blogs get more interesting as we go along!!

We finally got to Basix after the photoshoot/walk. And ordered. I was SO hungry!
Here's what we ate:

I had the Basix Scramble (or something like that)...


Mom had the Mexican Scramble...!Muy Delicioso!


By the way, Basix has THE BEST Blood Orange Screwdrivers/Mimosas/Martinis EVER! (Basix Cafe 8333 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069) One of my favorite spots in WeHo!

The food was great! As always. I'm never disappointed!

VIsitors...

My mom just got in today....very excited about that! We're gonna do all these super creative things.  She's rediscovered knitting & is exploring so many other creative outlets **she was (is) an amazing sketch artist.  I remember this picture she drew of me when I was about 7.  It was crazy! It looked like she took a photograph.  I remember being shocked and amazed at how well my mother could draw.  I thought it was so cool **Aww! A moment! LOL**  Then...my brother (who was 2 at the time) ripped my newly sketched photograph of my-quirky-little-self.  I was so crushed! **he didn't do it on purpose, of course...the boy was TWO! that's what they do at 2 and he's a boy! LOL**

Anyway, I digress.  All's I'm saying is that my mom is a mighty creative being & I'm very excited to create cool shit with moms!

I'll try and post some photos along the way...

(hell, you might as well get to know more about me along this Adventure...!)

Gorgeous Day...

For many reasons!  Today I am feeling very centered... very "zen", if you will.  I got the word this morning, took a driving adventure thru Downtown LA (it was an adventure because the LA Marathon blocked off every street I tried to cross!), went to my fav coffee spot in Silverlake (Cafe Tropical...the BEST Cuban coffee!! Thanks Carole!), then on to pick up a smokey treat & now I'm home.  Pretty awesome!

SO, as i was driving, music off (and for those of you who know me, know that I don't drive w/o music!)...I just listened.  Listening to the wind as I drive along the 101. Listening to the car engine idling at the stop light. Listening to the birds, to the traffic, and to the sounds of all that surrounded me.  As I listen, I give thanks for my day, for my existence, for my moment of clarity and for my peace of mind at that moment.  It was perfect.  I, for the first time, saw Hollywood for the trees (instead of seeing the "forest for the trees" in case some of you didn't pick up on that *wink*), and thought to myself, "this is pretty amazing! I should definitely do this more often!"

My lesson for the day... in addition to stopping to smell the roses... stop and listen.  I don't mean "stop dead in your tracks or in the middle of traffic," I mean, stop and turn your brain off, turn your phone off, turn your concerns off, just for a moment... and listen.  You will discover so many things going on that you never even realized existed, things you never paid attention to, moments you never knew could exist... and you too will have a moment of clarity. 

It's pretty awesome! Pretty fucking awesome. 

it's a gorgeous day!