Snow!!

It's been freezing in LA the last few days and we've had a lot of rain... and we all know what happens when you have freezing cold weather and lots of rain! That's right kids - SNOW (and ice and closed freeways)!!
These are pictures I took from my desk at work. They are the smaller mountains behind Pasadena. I can't believe how low the snow is, if we get any at all it's usually just at the very top. One of my coworkers had to go to a meeting in Bakersfield yesterday and got stranded out there overnight. All of the freeways are closed going that way because of the snow.
Good thing I'm going somewhere warmer over the holidays - Oh wait. No I'm not.

Vestival Friday

Last Friday everyone wore vests to work. It was a Vestival!

Winter Wardrobe

Today in North Bay, Ontario, Canada it is 3 degrees but it feels like -16.
North Bay is the small city 30 minutes south of the smaller town of Rutherglen where Derek grew up.

This is me and that's what I'll be wearing everyday in Canada.

Living Room : Year 2019

I designed our future living room.

EPTDESIGN Holiday Party

Last night was my company Christmas dinner. For the last month, the men in both offices have been growing their mustaches for charity. They call it Mustaches for Kids. They raised over $8,000 for Make a Wish Foundation.

Check it out : www.eptdesign.com/mustaches

I think they just did it so that they could all have an excuse to grow mustaches and gross out their female coworkers...

Thanksgiving Weekend

Derek's sister, Melanie, came to visit us from New York over the weekend. It was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to going to Canada in a couple weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving Hand

Totally Super Awesome

I came across this guy's website and I really liked it. I decided to send him an email telling him that I liked it. I never thought he would write back or even care. But he did. And now I think he is totally super awesome. See for yourself...
And then I happened to check my horoscope and my day got even more awesome.

Snowing Ash

These are photos that my coworker took at his girlfriend's house. She lives in Brea, one of the areas in the 'Triangle Complex Fire'.

black palms to match all the smoke

Old Man Glasses

Pinching the Sun

Sunset in Santa Monica

Termites are eating our apartment. I've had to pin a sheet to the ceiling in our bedroom to stop the 'dust' from falling on my face while I sleep. After our next big earthquake, our apartment building will turn into a large pile of termites and dust.

Day of the Dead 2008

Saturday night at the LACMA Costume Ball

Halloween 2008

Whoa. I'm way behind on my postings. Happy Halloween!

Celebrity Cash

Last Friday night we went out for Indian Food. On the way to the restaurant we saw Ray Liotta eating dinner. Then I found $5 on the sidewalk. After dinner, I gave the $5 as a tip to the Mexicans that made my green tea latte at Urth Cafe. On Saturday, we were in Hennessey & Ingalls (an architecture bookstore down the street from our apartment) where we saw Sally Fields. Then I found $20 on the floor in a flower shop. I said to Derek 'Next we are going to see Maria Shriver and I'm going to find $50.' Well, I never found $50 but when Derek left in the morning to buy the Sunday Edition of The New York Times he saw Maria Shriver walking down 3rd Street with her daughter and 2 security guards. It was weird.

I thought today that I should have given the $20 I found to a homeless person and then maybe I would have found my $50. Instead, I bought Derek and I an Italian Ice. It was worth it.

Also on Saturday, we discovered the Pasqual Marquez Family Cemetery. We were walking through Santa Monica Canyon. It's a rich neighborhood a couple miles from our apartment. In the middle of this neighborhood is an empty lot, which is unusual to see in an area where the houses are huge and claim any available land that surrounds them. So we stood there in front of this overgrown lot and noticed that in the back of the lot were gravestones - which was even more unusual. So when we got home I looked at the site from Google Earth - because I'm a dork - and noticed the label said Pasqual Marquez Family Cemetery. After a short google search, I found out that this cemetery dates back to the mid-1800's and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles.

Check it out:

http://marquezcemetery.org/cemhist.htm

Maybe on Halloween we should sneak in and look around...

Wedding Weekend

Our friends Vanessa and David got married last weekend. We met Vanessa and David through our other good friends in San Clemente. We were all looking forward to the wedding and party because there was 4 or 5 couples that we knew were going to be there. The ceremony was short and sweet. After dinner, we all started dancing and having a good time. After a while, we noticed that the bride and groom were missing. Shortly after that, we noticed firemen and paramedics running through the dance floor towards the back door. Then we heard people saying that Vanessa had an allergic reaction to something, in the air or in the food, that was causing her to go into shock. She's OK now, but it was kind of scary at the time. Her sister came out and told us that Vanessa wanted us all to have a good time and take pictures. We tried to have a good time without them.
Although the wedding party was cut short, it was still a lot of fun! Here is a photo that Jordan took of the reception ballroom before the party started. The roof opened up during their first dance. It was really pretty.

The Table

I was waiting for the bus this morning, on my way to work, when this homeless guy sat next to me on the bench. He was mumbling something to himself. Then he stood up and handed me this piece of paper and walked away. I was surprised by how nice and clean and white the paper was compared to how dirty he looked.
I thought I would share it with you.
I like the way he wrote 'The Table'.

Another Week in Austin

Austin was hot and dry and dusty and fun. Good times indeed.