The Getty: AGAIN?!

At the rate I blog about my food excursions, you'd think someone just wheels me out to eateries Wall-e style.




And although that is somewhat accurate, I also do other cool stuff. You know, while I am traveling to an eatery.

Saturdays are always special days. When I was younger they were special because they were the christened cleaning day of the week where somehow mom always found us and assigned us "Saturday Chores." But now that I am older and more of a novelty to have around, my parents take me fun places on their days off!

As we were figuring out what to do, my dad noticed that The Getty Museum had a special exhibit on none other than Ansel Adams. We were both pretty excited for this as good ol' Ansel has been quite a favorite between us for many years. We quickly added it to the itinerary.

While looking for photos of Ansel Adams, I found this one taken by no other than Ms. Dorthea Lange, my other favorite photographer.

It's a bit funny though, because usually something as amazing as THE Getty Museum (you know just the popular one with such paintings as Van Gogh's Irises) elicits eye rolls and groans. Yeah, it is embarrassing, and yeah we are spoiled but growing up it was THE field trip.

I swear we only got one field trip a year but every. time. it was to that dang Getty museum. So every year, our one school-day-of-freedom was spent looking at Irises. Again. And listening to 100 year old docents drone on about the pond scum tiles in the architecture.

Since I've grown older I like to think I have gained a greater appreciation of it, but to be honest I can't be sure. In fact, last summer Ross and I went to The Getty with the family too (see? just can't shake that annual trip).

Gratuitous gorgeous picture of me, with the Los Angeles skyline, Summer 2013.

The exhibit was amazing. I just wish it was larger. It was fantastic to see his original prints. So much of his work was in the execution of the development of his negatives. It is fun to imagine the whole process; from hauling his camera around Yosemite to finishing the development of that final print.

It makes to hard (and just plain snobbish) of me to mention my favorite print, because it just doesn't do it justice. But, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico was absolutely stunning. I mean, it has it's very own Wiki page. I pretty much hung my head in shame after every photo I took for the rest of the day.

Luckily mom took this one.

It was just a short trip to see the special exhibit. I have never seen The Getty so crowded but I have also never been on a Saturday (no field trips on the weekend).

Afterwards we headed to a bookstore mom had on her list. And it will probably continue to be on her list because it is really cool!

Children's Book World is an independent bookstore with lots of fun treasures and employee recommendations. This summer they have weekend events with author book signings. I scored this awesome dinosaur book, Flip-o-saurus.

After we floated over to the Farmer's Market. I spotted a Kmart and after a relatively short return errand and almost getting capped by a grouchy employee, we headed out to eat.

I know right? #finally

Golden State Burger is tiny, but hip. Pricey, but delicious. Oh, so delicious.

The bun alone was amazing, and they put arugula on the burger. Mmm. They use Virgil's root beer in their root beer floats and they have horchata gelato. The caramel brownie flavor was actually better.

A couple stores down there was some club of some sort that everyone wanted to be at. I'm guessing someone famous was outside because there were cameras and everyone wanted their picture taken. #justanotherdayinLA We were in the "TMZ" after all.

It's always pretty entertaining to just drive around.

I'm sad this is my last Saturday with the parents for a while. But I always have a habit of floating back to the 661.

Irene's Burger's Cafe('s?)

Since being in Palmdale my parents have taken me out to eat a lot. My poor mom is barely hanging in there until the end of the school year and by the time she comes home she is just totally worn out.



When Dad and I came home from Blue Sky Meadow we went out to eat at Irene's Burger's Cafe.

It is a really cool place in an unlikely location. It reminds me of a small town diner, where old dudes go to read their newspapers and have tabs. I could definitely tell that some of the customers were exactly that type. As pictured above, dad got a stuffed pepper. My mom got an amazing Monte Cristo sandwich. I got a french dip sandwich. Part of the fun diner/ dinner experience was the waitress flirting with my dad, and of course your classic Palmdale patrons. Like this 6'5", 300 pound bald guy walking in with a damp washcloth on his head, breathlessly asking the waitress to turn up the air.
...

I know it is hot outside, I guess just whatever keeps you cool, sans style?


The shopping plaza with this cafe is largely deserted. Huge stores that are just empty. I guess one of these used-to-be-warehouses is now a bingo playing arena.

Bingo ladies.

They.

Get.

Serious.

And I didn't even set foot in there. But I saw them all hauling their huge bingo bags, 10 different color-coded bingo markers, and bags of Carl's Jr. into the battlegrounds. There were a bunch of crummy plastic chairs outside where they could all get in their smoke break between games. Complete with a huge bouncer and security guard.

The games had already begun, so I was only able to capture a late-comer.

I just love the un-marked, sketchy nature of the ordeal. Always keeping it classy.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

My dad has a pretty cool job. Not really to him, probably, but it is always fun to go with him to one of his various work sites while I am home visiting. I somehow missed the day he was out on the Marine Science Floating Lab, but snuck in the car with him today.

This is my, "going to the mountains!" outfit/ face.

My love for California is deep-rooted in pride. I agree that the mountains of (for example) Utah are amazing. They are beautiful and green and awe-inspiring. But I can't drive along Angeles Crest Highway, in all of it's dried & burned glory, and not smile. They may not be the most beautiful mountains but they are my mountains.

Dad treated me to the World's Best Beef Jerky. And this isn't your "World's Best Coffee" shop in New York. This beef jerky really is amazing.

Greenspot in Mentone y'all. The sweet and spicy brisket, and turkey teriyaki are my favorites.

We reached the Outdoor Science School, Blue Sky Meadow, before long. Ah! The fresh (cold!) mountain air. I'm just like my dad, I love the mountains.

It was a beautiful day. I always love coming up here. I just wanted to lay in the middle of the meadow and stare at the clouds. 

But eventually we made our way back down the mountain, stopping a a local fruit stand where I scored some peaches 99 cents a pound. I always get excited for peaches but then just get let down because they aren't Utah peaches, which are the best peaches in the whole world, I think.

Also, why do fruit stands always have to sell beef jerky and every flavor of licorice straws? Like, is it in some contract they all have to sign? On our way home we drove past the area where, if all goes well, I will be living come August, kind of cool. :) That evening we went out to Irene's Burger's Cafe, which I blogged about here.

The Super-Market Experience

Vallarta.

Just, Vallarta.

It's the main reason that California is the best state in the Nation. While I was looking for places to live in the area Ross and I will hypothetically be living in, Vallarta was the main component. Others were looking at the close proximity of Whole Foods, or popular restaurants or fancy retailers. I'm a little more simple. Give me Mexican food, or give me death.

Vallarta is Latino food store that is gorgeous, so gorgeous I've already mentioned it on the blog before.



You just walk in and you feel like you are at a party, and no, that isn't just the bachata you are dancing to. It's the jugador de six packs, its the palm trees and three foot pinatas. It's the neon lights too.

Let's talk about produce. Oh the glorious produce. When my friend was moving to California we were discussing the cost of living. Taxes are higher, gas is more expensive, but oh the prices for produce will make the most vehement veggie hate load up their cart.

Take a moment to adore the peruano beans and tomatillos. I love you! I have missed you!

When the weekly market flyers arrived in the mail I just stared in jaw-dropped-awe at the advertised prices. 99 cents for a pound of strawberries?
$1 for 3 lbs of bananas?
$1 for 3 pounds of onions (sorry Tay)?
$1 for 2 pounds of Granny Smith Apples?!
$1 for 5 POUNDS of grapefruit?



This truly is a magical place.

They don't always have the American brand you are looking for but they make up for it in the innumerable amount of Goya products, microwaveable pupusas, and submarinos.

Okay actually the Submarinos sucked but I needed them for a recipe.

They have a huge meat counter, their very own sour cream/ crema counter. That whole back wall of the store is covered in all sorts of counters. Then, you have the restaurant and tortilleria! Fresh, steamy tortillas.

The crowned jewel comes near the end of your complete experience. The bakery. Yes, the very bakery I ordered my wedding cake from.



Please never make me leave this place.

I made it out pretty easy, just two pieces of pan dulce, 1 small horchata, 1 slice of tres leches cake, and don't forget the huge thing of refried beans and fresh chips.

I was in Heaven, because if Heaven doesn't have pan dulce, I don't know if I want to go.

If none of this sounds appealing, maybe you want a medium sized saint for $8.99 (don't worry they have large ones too).

Salvadoran Food: Pupusas!

During my time in Grenada I endlessly tried to make my comfort foods. This usually meant Mexican or Salvadoran food. My pupusa venture was pretty disastrous and only left me feeling more hungry and more heartbroken for home. So the The Day of the Pupusa has been very much anticipated.

We tried out this new place called El Majahual, which is apparently a beach in El Salvador.

I don't mean to be dramatic, but those might have been the best pupusas I have ever eaten. They have an, "El Majahual" pupusa that has like peppers, cheese, and shrimp. It was amazing. The service was good and the decor was really awesome. My mom got some garlic shrimp, that the waitress recommend and that was amazing too. Lucky for me, we had a misunderstanding with our order and ended up with a ton of leftovers. Lucky for me (2) I already have a kolashampan in the fridge from my Vallarta trip.

Kwid's Kulinary Adventures Kontinue

I talk about food a lot. Good food is my happy place.

Shortly before my arrival to the U.S. I found out that a wonderful Palmdale-local restaurant was going out of business. Saddened, I knew I would need to ask my parents to take me here one last time.

They have been in business almost as long as I have been alive... 23 years! You can see in the upper left corner that they have gotten the City's Best award for many years.

We ordered some drinks and an appetizer to share.

As you can see, the drinks came in mason jars about as big as my head. We got a root beer float to share and I got a strawberry lemonade, to share as well incidentally. They were amazing. I love when you can see the strawberries just swimmin' around in your lemonade. The appetizer, as you can surmise, was just a bunch of fried American glory.

Between that and the side salads, I honestly don't know why they bothered to bring out the entrees.



Like a true American at risk of high cholesterol, heart failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes, I got the country fried steak. Since I don't drink and I don't smoke, this is my foodie version of YOLO.
Only thing was, it was a huge portion. I went ahead and included my hand so you could see the sheer size of that portion.

Ever played those "What's Different between these Pictures" game. Go ahead and play it now.

SPOILER ALERT: The only difference is about 4 bites and some fries are missing from the picture on the right.

It was a great night, and will continue to be great for how ever many meals I have leftovers.

It was sad to say goodbye. Lots of fun family memories and celebrations were had here. I remember being mortified for how over-dressed I was when I went here for a pre-Daddy Daughter Dance date. Just so happened to find a photo lying around the house a couple days before.



I'll have to save a higher-quality photo for a #tbt. In case you can't figure it out, I'm on the left with my grandpa and my sister Ali is on the right with my dad.

Bye Steer 'n Stein, you will be missed.

Memorial Day 2014

Have I mentioned that I am having a great time hanging out with my folks?

Today was Memorial Day. Usually it is a pretty depressing holiday that makes my liberal come out something fierce. I am in constant amazement not only at those who serve our country, but moreover the families that sacrifice as well. I get greedy about my time with Ross, I can't imagine just not having him around for months on end. Wow.

Like so many American "holidays" my family celebrated it right by stuffing our faces from breakfast to dinner.
Dad made red, white and blue Belgium freedom waffles = strawberries, ice cream & whipped cream, and blueberries. I missed U.S.A. fruit oh so much. For dinner we had a classic BBQ. Dad made tri-tip and ribs. I can't ever stay home for long because I get way too spoiled with amazing food.

Synge got super grabby and since he now thinks he is the family dog, he took the opportunity to chow down on some leftovers. What an animal.



Lucky for me my parents had the day off. We took the time to get some plants and flowers to plant in the garden.

I love that the jalapeno is called "Mucho Nacho," count me in.  Now the only problem is finding a time in Palmdale when it isn't 100+ degrees so we can plant them!

Later that night dad made us ice cream on the beautiful and majestic patio.

Homemade strawberry ice cream was the perfect end to the day.

Week Wrap Up

I've actually been pretty on top of blogging this week but I decided to put together:

Week Wrap Up: All the News that Wasn't Fit to Print - yet!

A lot has gone on in my life this week, or at least more than usual. Ha! Sunday I was in Grenada, then Miami, then Los Angeles, then Utah. Utah for a few days, lightning round of seeing who I could see before I flew out to Los Angeles.

#1 Back in good ol' Palmdale. The clearance section had these classy moustaches that some one had obviously stole a few of. Like that is what you do? You steal little adhesive furry moustaches?! Geez.

#2 As we were driving in The Valley we saw this creepy yard with a "Yard Sale" sign. No one outside though... You can't quite see from the pictures but that is a super creepy Santa that is all dilapidated and freaky looking.

#3 My parent's cat, Synge is pretty bad@$$. Last year the family dog died, and now Synge feels it is his responsibility to patrol the yards. He is taking it very seriously and chases off the neighborhood cats. You might be able to tell that his ears are perked and his fur is on end. I made this awesome video of him growling at a cat in the yard.

#4 Kristen's Kulinary Adventures Kontinues! It seems the thing I have most been enthralled with since being back in America is the food, glorious food. My parents took me out to eat at Sharky's and when the chips and guacamole came to our table, I almost began to weep. The tortilla chip obsession continues.

#5 I was so impressed with the Skirball Center's "Noah's Ark" exhibit that I had to sneak in one more photo. Here all the animals are hanging out in the ark.

#6 Coming back to my parent's house is like living in a gold mine! It is really fun to see all my old stuff; pictures of me and dad doing the Chicken Dance at a school Daddy Daughter event, half-finished school projects, and playing around on the piano with some of the hundreds of sheet music we have lying around.

#7 Friday I was complaining to my mom about wanting fresh strawberries. She mentioned that we should go up to Ventura to get some fresh fruit the next day. THEN a couple hours later my dad come in with a flat of fresh strawberries, a bag of cherries, and blueberries! Amazing.

#8 I don't know why I felt the need to take this, but sitting at a red light, looking a a huge Dr. Pepper wrap on a bus just made me happy.

#9 Tuesday I got to hang out with my infinitely cool big brother. I have missed him a ton while I have been gone. He took the day off to hang out with me and I feel seriously so blessed to get to spend time with him! <3 br="">

#10 Synge is such a cool cat he deserves TWO mentions. Here is an awesome picture of us two cuddling and obviously having the time of our lives!

It's been a great week back in the USA and I can't wait for all the adventures this summer holds.

Skirball Cultural Center

I love being at home with my parents. Not only are they the coolest people ever, but they take me on fun field trips. Today I found yet another reason to love L.A.

I have always wanted to go to the Skirball Cultural Center and today I did.



The Skirball is a Jewish cultural museum. In L.A. we got so many museums, we can have one dedicated to conveying Jewish traditions and history. The museum's mission, "is to explore the connections between four thousand years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It seeks to welcome and inspire people of every ethnic and cultural identity in American life." They have had visiting exhibitions to spotlight different famous & accomplished Jews; including Harry Houdini, Maurice Sendak, and Bob Dylan. 

Currently they have one highlighting the work of Ezra Jack Keats. He is known for his artwork in and authorship of various children's books. I remember my mom reading many of these books to us when I was little, like The Snowy Day and Whistle for Willie. 

The Exhibit was really fascinating. I loved the way Keats used collage to created bright and beautiful pieces of art. It was fantastic to see the original artwork from his books in all their textural glory. I snapped a few pictures of the commentaries before I got called out for taking pictures (sorry!). Shh! Don't tell anyone.



I highlighted the bit I like at the end. Just a few months ago I had a conversation with my friend about how frustrated she was (and this is in 2014) about the difficulty to find books about African American children, or even biracial children.

Above it talks about how important it is that children of color in books are not simply white children colored brown. My sister is the Assistant Managing Editor for a worldwide children's magazine and she finds that illustrators still tend to do this, interesting. 

The exhibit was really fascinating, and it had a wonderful hands-on element for children! I noticed that they intentionally placed some of the art pieces lower so kids could see them at eye level. They also have fun questions to ask kids about the artwork, and interactive props. At the end they have a room with fun furniture that matches the themes of Keats's books, and a wall of books to read. There is also a magnetic wall with "paper dolls" of shapes and sizes and colors. Everything from the clothes to the hair to the windows and stoplights were magnetic. We all had fun moving them around and switching things up. 

Next we moved on the permanent "Noah's Ark" exhibit. It was awesome! The docents at the museum are the friendliest people ever. When I was chatting with one of them, he was telling me that the animals in the exhibit are made out of recycled materials and reflect the animal's temperament or local habitat. For example, the kiwis in the bottom left are very territorial so they are made out of a boxing glove. Clever!

The exhibit is so cool for kids. You can climb and crawl and push and pull and crank and play in all the corners of the ark. Here we have my dad making lightning, me and Dad with puppets, and Mom and Dad playing with magnets in order to feed the animals (strawberries of course).

I think the museum recently added this family of chimps, they are made out of inner tubes, socks, and gloves.

In this part of the exhibit you can move the giraffe's head back and forth, and put little foam animals on a conveyor belt to go up in the ark. I opted to let the turtles stay.

All three of us really had a blast playing around, I can't imagine how much greater it would be if I could actually fit into half of the exhibit. Haha.

The last exhibit we went to was, "Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America." It was really interesting and beautifully done. The exhibit features, "changing displays of works from the Skirball’s permanent collection of Judaica—the third largest in the world—this historically illuminating exhibition chronicles the struggles and achievements of the Jewish people over a span of 4,000 years."

There was this huge Statute of Liberty hand.



It was a surprising and amazing visit. I sometimes get a little bored at museums but not here. I can't wait to go back with my favorite lil' Asher. I think he will love it.

On our way home we stopped at Cupid's. You know you are going to eat good food if you have to tie up your hair before eating.

Oh America, you do it to me every time.