Thanksgiving Time

While flipping through the pictures on my Blackberry it seemed like a good time to do another Basket of Berry post. 

As soon as the Christmas tree goes up ontop of the Capitol Records building, the holiday season is upon us.  I spotted it at night last week.  From friends' Thanksgivings, birthdays, and music video shoots to a mini road trip to visit my best friends' family and their two-day Thanksgiving celebration in Rancho Palos Verdes (where getting a picture of that sinkhole is impossible!), to scouring the internet for Black Friday deals to a beachside cookout on Sunday - ever since I snapped this picture of the Capitol Records tree, I've been in a whirlwind of holiday activity!  Okay, maybe a beachside cookout isn't standard holiday fare but when you live in Southern California, actually, it is. 

I came out of my room the other morning to find my roommate had very safely balanced a hot toaster with a bagel in it ontop of a hot coffee pot brewing coffee.  On a wobbly stool.  I would have been terrified if it wasn't so hilarious looking.  Other pictures: cat naps, strawberry basil champagne birthdays, my Nerd Child character for Mad Moni's video, vegetarian Turkey Day appetizers, sunset Mariachi, old timey Hollywood jukeboxes, aforementioned firehazards, childhood Disney idols.

Happy Belated Turkey Day!

You Golden Girl,

Olive

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Sunday Funday

 As my boss observed the other day I'm getting "funkier" as I get older.  I don't know if it's just the inevitable crazy cat lady thing starting to take over, or that I've only recently been uncovering L.A.'s hidden thrift store gems, but in any event I'm embracing it.  I spent today forming some new traditions in my new home: a new yoga studio, a new bakery treat, scouring St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store for new (to me) things, watching movies (All Good Things), reading in the awesome backyard (which you don't realize how much you miss until you go years without one) and taking a long walk to see everything in my new 'hood...

Pretty boring stuff but the best thing about moving far (or at least someplace that thankfully feels far from Hollywood) is discovering all of your soon-to-be-regular haunts.  And sometimes the best way to get out of a rut is to scrap your old routine entirely and focus on the things that make you happy.  I've made it my mission to comb through every thrift or vintage store nearby and to eat my way through the new 'hood - being vegetarian really limits your options sometimes but my new area has a ton of restaurants geared towards veggies. I'm also obsessed with the Ecuadorian bakery nearby and their sweet "quesadillas" (pictured with pineapple coffee cake). 

What are some of your Sunday traditions?

Your Golden Girl,

Olive

Jackie's Circus/West Hollywood Halloween Carnival

I know Halloween was nearly a week ago, but cut me some slack!  A new job and a new home are only two things but they’re a lot to jump into in one week!   (Sidenote: why do I always forget how much work moving is?  You’d think for someone who has moved as much as I have, I’d be some sort of expert at this point but my packing/moving skills remain pathetic.)  New home before and after pics coming soon!  But for now, a belated Halloween update.

On Saturday, my friend and make-up artist/hairstylist Jackie Coon wanted to do a themed night out in Hollywood with a big group of our girlfriends.  She came up with and executed a “Vintage Circus” – complete with a cigar-smoking ringleader, The Human Cannonball, a lion and lion tamer, trapeze girls, the knife-thrower and (my costume) the knife-thrower’s assistant. 

 

It was so fun getting made up by a professional because I usually have an aversion to make-up and sitting still long enough to do anything cool with my hair.  It’s not that I don’t love it, just that I a.) get impatient and frustrated or b.) rub my eyes and face whenever I get tired (which is often) and smear it everywhere.  Not cute.  And I’ve written before about the ongoing fight that is styling curly hair. 

The boulevard was jam-packed with costumed revelers that night but we were definitely the best dressed. 

On actual Halloween night I ventured down to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival with some friends like I do every year.  I love seeing the amount of thought, creativity and effort that people put into their costumes down there! I couldn’t believe how crowded the Carnival was this year – it made getting shots of all the amazing costume difficult.  My favorite this year was “Thelma and Louise” – two girls flawlessly styled as Thelma and Louise, complete with a baby blue convertible around them made from plastic and cardboard! 

Full disclosure: I put together my “Vintage Sailor Girl” costume from stuff I already owned after finding a shark costume for my cat.  It wasn’t the most creative getup but I was definitely warm and comfortable – a must when walking so far for so long!

Your Golden Girl,

Olive

All photos property of VisforOlive.  Do not reuse withour permission and/or credit of site.