what a wonderful world...

Apologies again to all of you guys not in SoCal...but here's the coolest stuff going down for the next month or so in LA and the surrounding areas. Please note that not all the prices are under $15 this time, due to the fact that when it's the holidays, apparently people get to charge whatever they want. But I made sure to include as many free and super cheap stuff that I could here, so don't throw any snowballs at me, k? :)


Nov. 17th - Yes, we all know how awesome the concerts are at the Hollywood Bowl. So why don't you go check out the concert posters for the Bowl's Poster Art Show, premiering at the Hollywood Arclight movie theatre tonight at 7 pm - there are 13 commissioned posters from the Bowl's 2009 lineup, along with vintage works from the Hollywood Bowl's earlier days. And since you're at the Arclight anyways, check out a movie or stop by Amoeba Music, the coolest record store in all of Los Angeles. Admission is free; the exhibit starts tonight and goes through Jan. 5th, 2010; and if you attend the opening party tonight you gotta RSVP to this email address: hbposter@gmail.com with the subject line RSVP to Hollywood Bowl Poster Show Party 11/17


Nov. 15-20th - Get your art on for free! The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is celebrating their first 30 years by doing two awesome things: a) putting on an amazing exhibit showing off more than 500 works by over 200 artists (the exhibit goes from Nov. 15th to May 3rd, 2010); and letting you in for no admission charge during their regular hours all this week until Saturday, when the price goes back up to $10/person. MOCA's hours are Mon: 11am - 5pm, closed Tues and Wed., Thurs: 11am- 8pm, Friday: 11am-5pm, and Sat. and Sun.: 11am - 6pm. You should also know that if you miss this free week and don't have $10 to spare, admission is free every Thursday after 5pm as well, so no worries.


I've blogged about this in one of my previous About Town blogs, but if you haven't checked out this venue yet, you really should: The Edison Lounge in downtown LA. Yes, driving and parking there are hellish, but hear me out:

Every Wednesday in November, the Edison hosts DJ Imagika and a group of what they call "Fliers and Eccentriques" for Incandescence: The Dark Side of Light, to entertain you and bring you back to the old days of cabaret-style entertainment - it's $10 to get in, but if you bring an unwrapped, brand new toy in before 9 pm, you get in for free.

Every Thursday from 5-7pm at The Edison, they have a mixologist on hand creating a unique happy time drink - that they sell for only 35 cents. Yes, 35 cents.

And every Friday, they serve FREE grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, depression-era drinks at depression-era prices, give 25% of the proceeds to a local soup kitchen, and forward on any letters the customers wrote about their feelings on the economy to LA's Congressional reps. Kick ASS.


Maybe tea is more your style - ever checked out the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens? It's a wee bit on the expensive side - general admission into the gardens is $20 for adults (parking is free) and it's an additional $24.95 to take high tea at the Rose Garden Tea Room, but I've heard the food is amazing. And good GOD but are my nerd senses tingling - two exhibits are on rotating display in their library, and I don't know which one to freak out over more: a) The Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c. 1410) or b) Original poems, notes, and manuscripts from one of my favorite cranky and bad-ass poets of all time, Charles Bukowski.

I am in nerd heaven.

Also, admission to the Huntington is FREE every first Thursday of the month during its regular visiting hours (10:30 am to 4:30 pm) but you do have to make a reservation for their free days.


Nov. 21st - Dec. 27th - ever wanted to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas, performed live? Sure you did... we all still do. :) If you're in Orange County or the San Diego area, go catch it playing at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego - tickets range from $39.00 to $49.00, and kids aged 3 -17 years cost $20.00 to $30.00. Is the price of admission probably worth it? I'm betting yes.


For those of you who still get all warm and fuzzy when a Christmas tree lights up for the first time - I know I do - The Grove in Hollywood is celebrating their annual Tree Lighting ceremony on Nov. 22nd at 7:30 pm with musical performances and maybe a few celebrities - all you gotta do is pay for parking and somehow withstand spending the rest of your money at the Crate&Barrel store.


If you haven't gotten your fill of museums lately, or you need a place to take visiting relatives over the Thanksgiving weekend, consider this - from Nov. 26th through Dec. 9th, 20 different LA institutions threw this together: Holiday MADness (Membership Appreciation Days). Basically, a bunch of museums and other art institutions in Los Angeles got together and wanted to give back to their membership - so if you're a card-carrying member at any of these museums, you can get in for free on the days listed - AND you get 20% off all merchandise at the museum stores, which we all know is the coolest place to get gifts that nobody else will have.


Thursday, Dec. 3rd - the annual Griffith Park Light Display starts up again! For one night only on the 3rd, bicyclists are the only ones allowed to tour the Crystal Springs Drive light displays - and then for the next two weeks, Friday Dec. 4th through Thursday, Dec. 17th, it's only pedestrians. Finally, beginning Friday, Dec. 18th through Dec. 30th, cars will be allowed to cruise slowly through the brightly lit streets. This is a huge hit with most Southern California residents, so do NOT wait until the last minute to do this one :)

Dec. 5th, Saturday - if you've ever felt particularly crafty during the holidays, hop on down to Descanso Gardens in La Canada and for the (somewhat steep) price of $35, materials and an instructor will be on hand to help you make a beautiful, fresh Christmas wreath to hang on your door and greet your holiday guests.


Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, are curious about celebrating it, or just looking for a really good party, look no further than Fiesta Hanukkah!, which is the Skirball's way of blending Jewish and Latin American traditions into one really awesome party. Join the festivities on Sunday, Dec. 6th and learn how to play Jewish Latin games, taste yummy food, and listen to Latin American bands put their own spin on traditional Hanukkah songs. Adult admission is $10, children under 12 years old are free.


And finally - if you are in a singing mood this holiday season but don't want to get made fun of (or dress up like an extra from Scrooged) this might be just the thing: The Walt Disney Concert Hall puts on two performances of Handel's Messiah - and YOU'RE the chorus! Whether you want to sit in your seat and just enjoy the music or stand up and sing along, you're welcome to either way - just make sure you've got your ticket for either the Dec. 12th, 2 pm performance or the Dec. 20th, 7 pm performance, then sit back, enjoy the soloists and full orchestra on stage, and sing along with all your heart if you feel moved to do so. Tickets start at $24.

So there you go, folks! Long blog, as usual, but tons of stuff to do this holiday season. So go forth, eat, drink, and help others be merry.

gray days and good weekends

Don't get me wrong, gray days aren't so bad, especially when you're a resident of Southern California and the temperatures reached the 100s last Tuesday, breaking previous records set in the 1950's. It's nice to feel like spring might actually hang out for a couple more weeks before the stickiness of summer sets in again, and occasional gray days are a nice break from the blinding sunshine that Los Angelenos are used to conducting their days in. But sometimes when you're having the kind of day where the morning dreariness never really leaves, you feel a little...down.

Granted, I don't really have any good reason to feel down. A couple weeks ago I just finished a weekend of shooting behind-the-scenes and extras for Hell Froze Over, I occasionally get to share my office space with a dog that looks like a cross between a pit bull and Doby the House Elf, I have discovered the glory that is the cinnamon melts over at McDonald's, and I can only describe this past weekend as Damn Near Perfect. Yes, it needed caps.

So there is always good to be grateful for. Always. But I do like being warm. And I like my gray days to be my Saturday mornings when I can snuggle under the comforters for another half hour before getting all productive with my day.

In the meantime, I believe I promised a weekly blog that highlights some ways to enjoy life while not necessitating borrowing money for rent. Sounds easy enough. Here's today's tips:

• Are you a big online shopper like I am? Go here to find coupons for 30,000 (yup, that number is correct) online stores. Enter in a store's website in the search bar at the top, then a list of coupons for that store will pop up. Be warned that some coupons are expired or simply don't work (look at the coupon's success rate before using), but I've gotten discounts for many, many online purchases this way, and if nothing else, there's usually free shipping codes to be found for most stores. Try it out and see!

• If you haven't discovered the joy of Etsy yet, for the love of God, stop what you are doing and go visit it. No really. Tell your boss I said it's okay. Etsy is all things handmade and vintage, so you're supporting individual artists with awesome work ethics from all over the world. A lot of the things on Etsy are one of a kind, so don't waver too long on a purchase, and there's a TON of affordable stuff on there. Plus, you can search by color, location of artist, and fun categories that include "geekery" and "books and zines." Some of my favorites on Etsy right now: this, this, and this (I like the owl and giraffe one).
  

• Want that new Tom Clancy novel but can't afford to buy it? There are lots of book exchange websites out there, but here's one that strikes my fancy. (NB: I haven't used this one yet. Let me know how it goes if you use it, and you're not allowed to blame me if things go horribly awry.)

Do you guys know of any awesome websites out there that help you save money, exchange stuff, or get a good deal? Lemme know. And I hope you enjoy your day, whatever color it may be.

apparently my obsession with cheap dairy knows no bounds...

Here you go!

Happy Free Cone Day! Remember, it's only until 8 pm tonight, so get your butt down to your local Ben & Jerry's for that free ice cream cone SOON. Before you have to fight with an eight year old for the last scoop of Cherry Garcia.

What do you get when you combine cheese with AWESOME?

This.

Thanks Elle, for recommending it to me (she left it originally as a comment on one of my earlier blogs, but I wanted to give you guys the direct link.)

And following nicely along the themes of affordable fun that doesn't hurt (although your heart may grow a bit in size due to excess amounts of cheese), the admission fee is $5 and the competition fee is $10.

And who doesn't like grilled cheese sandwiches?

young, somewhat fabulous, occasionally broke

Do you ever have one of those days? When you feel like all the beautiful and nice things in the world, the things that you like so much, aren't actually meant for you, but for someone a little less...broke?

I do. And I'm not even broke, mind you. Yes, the economy sucketh whole-heartedly right now, so we're all feeling the pinch, and I'm an artist, and we all know when it comes to budget cuts and whose value gets overlooked first, it's the artists (see: impending SAG strike) that can take the brunt of it, and I'm not exactly frolicking in fields these days while I wait for my bank account to fill up again (there's also the little matter of my car breaking down about once every 4-6 weeks like Clockwork Orange).

But I love design blogs. They inspire me. Design blogs are basically photography, art, and lifestyle blogs that show you all the neat and pretty things you can buy in life. Some of those things are even useful. Like this, which I saw last week on one of my new favorite design blogs and even though I didn't know it existed twenty minutes prior, my heart yearned and ached for one and my right eye twitched a little. But while it's not outrageously expensive, it is beyond my self-inflicted allowance, and a girl's gotta stick to a budget. And practice self-control.

So I began thinking. What if there were a blog -- not necessarily just a design blog, however, because I believe in the importance of being well-rounded and blogging about different subjects to avoid being boxed in by yourself -- but a blog that focused on affordable ways to make your life better? And not just by consuming STUFF, either, because God knows we have enough STUFF. What if there were a blog that highlighted places to go, things to do and see, ways to get out in the world and meet new people, little things to buy that we can allow to make us just the tiniest bit happy, and the only rule was that any and all of that had to be under $15? Who would write such a blog?

Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Even if the question was posed by myself, thus making it slightly passive aggressive, but in a positive way. Whatever.

Anyways, I've decided to add this as a feature to my blog. At least once a week, I'm going to do my best to blog about something fun, new, exciting, and most importantly, affordable, whether it's a great cafe, a hiking trail I found, or a little trinket that will brighten your day but not set your wallet on fire. And yes, in case this is the first time you're reading this blog and you didn't look at my profile picture, I am a girl. So the small little shiny's will probably be...for girls. Hey, I'll do my best to stop by Woot every now and then and throw you guys a bone too. Or a thumb drive. Whichever.

This thought process actually started because I love reading about designing, architecture, style, art, fashion (within reason -- please, for your own sake, don't ever, ever look to this blog for purse/shoe suggestions; I am a girl, but not that much) and I wanted to take the ideas I was reading about and implement them into my own life. Only I can't afford $300 skirts or $500 coffee tables. Or $37 a plate meals.

As usual, I'm doing things my way, by asking for it all. I happen to think that just because I can't afford a $500 coffee table, I don't have to give up on having good things in my life; emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually. I think each one of us in the world owes the rest of the world our happiness, and happiness shouldn't have a price tag. And under no circumstances should people ever, EVER feel like they can't afford happiness.


So look for my first affordable blog later this week. I'm excited!

Who's ready for April 15th, 2010?

Hi everyone! Did you all survive Tax Day? Yes? And did you all get your taxes done early, made sure to include all those nifty receipts that you kept diligently throughout the year, got all the write-offs you were supposed to get, didn't owe too much to the US government and sat back and relaxed on Tax Day?

No? Well then do I have a blog for you.

Now, there are some things you should know about me. For one, I don't claim to be good at something that I'm not. This is why you won't be reading any cute blogs about me successfully ice skating, playing darts, juggling, or skate boarding. Let's face it, there's just something about that pesky hand/eye/foot coordination thing which I am utterly lacking in, so it's a good thing I play with knives and sticks twice a week in my kung fu and escrima classes. Oh wait..

However, there are some things that I am good at. Noticing people's haircuts. Making deviled eggs. Changing the toilet paper roll. Purchasing Toll House cookie dough at the grocery store and then taking credit for the resulting cookie goodness that ensues after baking them in the oven for 9 to 12 minutes. (Incidentally, this is just enough time to watch an episode of Robot Chicken.)

I am also good with money. This is where you come in! (Oh wait, you've been here the whole time? So sorry for the long introduction. I'll add "brevity" to the list of things I'm bad at.)

So I thought I'd offer up some advice, the day after tax day, so that you may use it for next year's tax day. Good habits take a while to build.

First of all, duh: Save all your receipts. Alllll of them. I save all my gas receipts, food receipts, clothing, books, shoes, car repair, whatever. Use them for tax write-offs, and then use them to balance your checkbook. This is much easier than whatever other way people use to balance their checkbooks. And when you write actual checks (online billing is usually free and saves trees, but sometimes you have to write that check) the date, amount, and whom it was paid to should be written on the back of your checkbook. Separate immediately, not on April 12th, which receipts and bills you will be using for tax write-offs and which receipts and bills just need to be filed. Remember, if it's going with your taxes as backup, you need to keep it for seven years.

Second, and hang with me here, because I feel for you: If you have multiple jobs, like I do, (I know this is hard, but you HAVE to do it) ask for the maximum amount to be taken out for taxes for every paycheck. I know, I know. If you have multiple jobs, it's probably because you need all the money you can get. But have you noticed something? That maybe, after you've worked your butt off at multiple jobs throughout the year, come tax day, you...owe the government money? Does that seem fair?

Here's why. Because the government is looking at your paychecks one at a time. All they see is each paycheck individually, and they see that it's probably a small amount (otherwise why would you need multiple jobs?) so they take out less taxes because it looks like you are in a lower tax bracket. But if you do this with several jobs, each time the government assuming you are in the lowest tax bracket and taking out the smallest amount, you end up adding up all those jobs (and all that money) at the end of the year, and your income probably pushes you into a higher tax bracket that the government had no way of knowing you would qualify for. So you get screwed, because the government didn't take out enough taxes from your paychecks.

How to fix that? Talk to your employer, tighten up your $5 a day latte factor, and ask them to take out more money per paycheck. You'll thank me when it comes time to file your taxes next year.

And if you are well off, paying all the bills and still able to put some money into savings after every paycheck? Do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I just told those multiple jobbers to do. Have the least amount of money taken out of your paycheck and when you are done paying your bills put whatever you have left in your account (minus your allowance money for fun stuff and money to cover inconsisent expenses like food and gas) into savings right away, as in, by the end of the pay week. And here' s why it will work for you: because when you get a refund after tax day from the government, what you essentially did was loan the US money for a year, without getting any interest from it. That's a sucky loan to give to someone when you could have taken that money, put it into savings (try ING -- still a good interest rate in their savings accounts!), let it accrue interest and then pay the government what you owe while keeping the interest that the money earned you.

Got it? Yay! Money is fun! Taxes are...tolerable!