Anna's kittens

Right now I'm headed to Verdugo Mtn. for a hike with Courtney and her doggies. I'm looking forward to it because it's been raining all week here in L.A. and it's clean and clear today, so the views should be breath-taking. It's also a bit chilly, but perfect weather conditions for this hike since it's not very shady.

Last Saturday, I went over to my friend Anna's place to hang out. Here's a few pictures of me playing with her kittens. Kato is only 9 weeks old and completely adorable. I'm allergic to cats, but I couldn't help playing with Kato, and fortunately I didn't have any issues with my allergies while I was there... maybe it's a kitten thing, who knows.

Here's a picture of me modeling Anna's handmade kitty beanie, available on her Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61122731/knit-cat-hat?fref=fb_itemlist
AND it is her birthday tomorrow! Make her day and buy this from her. It makes for a great Christmas gift for someone special:

Her other (shy) kitten, Jasmine.

My favorite pic: look at those eyes!

Friday's Photo of the Week #43

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

I hope you are all stuffed with turkey and other delicious treats.

And I hope you were able to spend time with people you're thankful for.

Sam and I drove up north to Menlo Park with the dogs to spend time with my mom's side of the family at my sister, Jenni's house. We welcomed a new member of the family, Genevieve, to the family (the daughter of one of our relatives, David). She is such a cutie:
Today we went spent some more time with the family, then went to see the Pixar exhibit at the Oakland Museum. It was incredible. Pixar has always inspired me with their creativity. I'm glad they have succeeded. I will post some more pictures when I have more time, hopefully later this weekend. But for now, I hope this finds you happy and thankful for the good things in your life. Take care.

Downtown LA: Bradbury Building

I was anxious to leave a whole post for the Bradbury Building because there were so many good pictures I couldn't decide on just a few. So if you have a favorite, post a comment and let me know!
I wrote a little bit about this building on a previous blog: http://kristingal.blogspot.com/2010/11/fridays-photo-of-week-41.html if you're interested in some of the historic details. It has an unassuming front, but the inside is breath-taking!

The incredible elevator:

The top of the elevator:

The entrance:

And a slightly crooked panorama... I think you can see this a bit better if you click on it.

Mt. Zion loop, Chantry Flats

I've been to Chantry Flats several times, but have never gotten to do this loop. I was thinking it was the 6.5 mile loop that I had heard of, but when I looked it up after the hike, I realized we must have missed a turn somewhere and were tackling the 9.5-mile hike called the Mt. Zion loop. Fortunately, we still got back in just enough time that Jenni made it to her friend's wedding on time.

It was Jenni, Courtney and I, and 5 dogs: Rita and Bo, Annie and Harvey, and Jenni's pup Roxy.

The hike was incredible! Totally beautiful, shady most of the time. Colorful leaves everywhere and crossing a creek from time to time. A couple campgrounds along the way. Every mile had something great to experience.

There was a perfect breeze as well, not too strong or cold. The temperature was just right.

I would suggest taking a look at a map before you go. You hike about a mile down to a bridge and follow the trail on the left. After a few miles, you go through Hoegee's campground, cross a creek, and then come to a junction where you stay to the right. You will be going clockwise, taking Upper Winter Creek Trail, Mt. Zion Trail, Sturtevant Trail, and the Gabrielino Trail. Here is a map of the Chantry Flats area: http://tchester.org/sgm/trails/chantry_flat.html
If I remember right, it took us about 4.5 hours.

Downtown L.A.: Marriott building and Public Library

Here's some more photos from our time in downtown L.A. on Sam's birthday. These are mostly pictures of the new JW Marriott building near the staples center, and the lounge on one of the higher floors. (I'll do a separate post with the pictures from the Bradbury building).

And our time after lunch at the library downtown:

(our friend Nick joined us for the day)

Friday's Photo of the Week #42

Digital Photography School, an online photography forum, challenged me to take 10 great pictures within 10 yards of where I was at that moment. So I went outside and snapped this shot of my car in the driveway with the beautiful fall colors on our block.

I've been sick for the last 10 days, coughing and absolutely drained of energy. I canceled most of my plans and have just been sitting around trying to get rid of this stupid virus that seems to like it's unwelcomed resting place. Still coughing... I've been alternating between my black and white teapots. Fortunately we got the back room set up in time for me to play Dr. Mario and relax with a book or movie and the doggies. Most of my weekend looked like this:

Here's hoping for a better weekend this time around. Much love to all you lovely folks reading this. Thanks for reading my silly little blog.

Jersey Shore and South Toms River

Our time at the Jersey Shore and on the yacht at South Toms River was wonderful. I already posted the lensbaby shots I took, but I wanted to post a few more pictures. Here is a picture of the boardwalk:

This was our Aunt and Uncle's dog Argus, who actually just passed away a week ago. It was nice to spend some of his last few days with him during our trip. He was such a cool dog with so much character.

Gorgeous sunset

Control Deck

Cheryl, Ted, and Argus

I think that concludes the photos from New York and New Jersey! Hope you enjoyed them. I sure enjoyed my vacation. :)

Friday's Photo of the Week #41

I've been sick all week. :( But managed to go on a 9.5-mile hike last Saturday (pictures next week) and celebrate Sam's birthday by going to some landmarks downtown. We went to the Los Angeles Public Library, Bradbury building (picture below), and the new Marriott building. I'll post some more pictures on that next week as well, but for now, please enjoy the picture of the week:

The Bradbury Building was designed by George Wyman, who was the lowly draftsmen of a successful architect at the time. He was reluctant to take the job, but decided otherwise after a Ouija board experience, which he believed was his dead brother's way of telling him to take the job. This was his only claim to fame, but it is a good one! Such an incredible building, it has been in several movies and was built to be "futuristic, for the year 2000!" It is a beautiful building and I've been wanting to see it for years, so it was pretty exciting.

I also hired a friend who's a chef to give Sam a cooking lesson for his birthday! They made steamed mussels/clams, stuffed mushrooms, and creme brulee! Incredible. Truly a fun week, despite the terrible coughing.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

New York City

I see that you're still keeping up and following along. I love being able to tell stories of my life through photography, so thanks for enjoying these posts, you lovely folks out there.

Here are some pictures from our time in New York City, one of my favorite cities to visit. This was our 3rd trip there and the first time we didn't feel pressured to get as much sight-seeing in, which was quite pleasant.

We took a lovely row boat ride around the lake at central park.

And then walked down 5th Avenue from Central Park to Greenwich Village, which is about 70 blocks. I loved taking pictures of all the buildings and the lighting was quite spectacular.