Christmas in May

What did I do today? Nothing. I was on the internet all day. I know... sounds boring. But I saw things I've never seen before. For example.... I found tons of pictures of the Christmas "vitrines" at Galleries Lafayette and Printemps in Paris. Every year the two stores try to outdo each other. Just looking at these made me want to book a flight to Paris for Christmas. I think it would be worth it just to go see what they come up with this year.

Please note, I got all these pictures from searches on Google Images. They belong to other bloggers, websites, etc. Unfortunately, I can not take credit for any of these pictures :( Maybe one day I will create my own. Christmas in Paris???

Surprise Surprise!

AFP/Duke's Auctioneer

A man in London had a cup put away in an old shoe box under his bed for years before he decided to see what it was worth. To his surprise, the cup he had always thought was made of brass, turned out to be an ancient Persian vessel beaten out of a single sheet of gold in the 3rd or 4th century before Christ. It is now being auctioned off at Duke's in London for 500,000 pounds (US$600K-980K).

Loooong Wait... Great Breakfast!

Memorial Day weekend is probably not the best time to go try a new restaurant in downtown San Diego. Well, new to me at least. I don't know how long Richard Walker's has been open in SD but I know that most of the people in line with us were newcomers. We waited around an hour, fifteen which was pretty fast considering the size of this place. The interior is quite small but the floor to ceiling windows make it feel airy. There's a certain coziness: the earthy tones, granite tables, dark wood booths, amber glass light fixtures, and wood-beamed ceilings lend it a Frank Lloyd Wrightish feel. They describe themselves as "an upscale fusion of traditional and gourmet breakfast favorites" and I agree. It's not your regular breakfast place. From the moment we stepped in, the service was excellent. Soon after we sat down our drinks were at our table and our waitress was taking our order (we knew what we wanted since we had looked over the menu while in line.) I had the Chaballa French Toast, Nancy had the Blueberry Belgian Waffle, my mama had the Blueberry and Sourcream Crepes, and my dad had the Eggs Benedict.

All I will say is that we ate EVERYTHING. The coffee was hot, the orange juice was freshly squeezed, Julie, our waitress, came just the right amount of times, and the prices were right. I give this eatery an A.

Eggs Benedict

Blueberry Sourcream Crepe

Chaballa French Toast

Watched Prince Caspian

So I watched the movie today and I must say that I liked The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe much more. For one, there were way too many battle scenes. In my opinion, anything more than one fighting scene in a movie is just a waste of time. Second, there were parts in the movie that I don't recall reading in the book. Of course, the parts that were in the book, I imagined completely different. But overall, they did a great job. Plus I really enjoyed watching Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian. That was a treat!

Prince Caspian

The new Narnia sequel, Prince Caspian opens tonight. Will it be as good as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? I hope so. I grew up reading these books and so I hope that the movie lives up to the story I will let you know what I think.

Robert Rauschenberg Passes Away

"I think a painting is more like the real world if it's made out of the real world." — Robert Rauschenberg.

On Monday, May 12 Rauschenberg died at the age of 82.

A Birthday Gift

Marni gave me a wonderful birthday gift today: a book called Master Drawings of the Italian Renaissance. I especially love the drawing by Andrea Mantegna... such wonderful foreshortening. Love it! Thanks.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Chandeliers at Disneyland

Ever noticed or tried counting the number of chandeliers in Disneyland? These are just a few of them. They are EVERYWHERE you go... even where you least expect them.

I Love Trees

A very Roman pine tree at the Getty Center

Architectural Details at the Villa

The vast collection of ancient Greek and Roman art found at this museum is not the only thing to admire here. It's the architectural details that make this place so special. I especially love the black and white mosaic floors found throughout the museum.

A mosaic fountain in one of the gardens.

Marble inlaid floors.

Geometric designs for black and white marble floors.

I love that the rail for this staircase is carved out of the marble wall.

A simple but beautiful fresco on one of the walls.

Three different window designs in the outdoor peristyle.

At the MCASD

Among the things I do at the Museum, is merchandising. I love coming up with beautiful ways to display things. Neat products and a neat store setting always make it easier. In my years doing this, there's never been anything worse than having to merchandise product that wasn't interesting to me. Here are a few things around the Xstore that I love or just simply wish I had the money to buy right away.

A gold banana bowl...pricey.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith Teapot, mugs, and lemon/lime juicers... I think I like these because of the heads peeking out....kinda creepy.

Porcelain tea cups... I love the indentations for your fingers to grip.

Black porcelain still life of a candlestick and apple... so gothic.

Porcelain Owl Lamp... the light this lamp gives off at night is so soft... very soothing. I wish I had one of these when I was a child. It would have helped me sleep better at night.

City on a Plate... right to left... New Orleans, Berlin, Cairo. These are great because they are heavy-duty ceramic plates... great for dinner.

This is a kid's melamine tray set. I think the reason I like this so much is that it reminds me of the dishes airplane meals are served on.

This year's limited edition Star Wars USB drives. Gotta get one!