When I visited Nashville, Tennessee in January (2014) the last thing I expected to be doing was walking up the steps of the Parthenon, temple of the Greek goddess Athena.
On a tour the day before the International Tour Management Institute symposium started, we had driven past Nashville’s replica of this iconic building in Centennial Park. I knew I had to come back on my own and investigate. So on the last day I skipped the seminars and farewell luncheon and trudged up to the park in the bitter cold. There was actually a heatwave that day… a high of 35 degrees F (1.66 degrees C)… twenty degrees warmer than the previous few days!
I picked two photos from each month of 2019 to represent my year in photography. Just like last year, some months I had too many choices and some months it was hard pickings. So these aren’t necessarily my very best photos but I tried to show a variety of different places.
The photo above is reflections in a puddle at Culver City Park at the end of my street. We had a lot of rain last winter after a seven-year drought.
Red hot poker plants at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. Some friends bestowed upon me a gift membership for which I am very grateful… and I am able to take a friend with me which makes it a doubly wonderful gift!
I was clearing junk out of the garage in February as I was planning to move. That didn’t happen but it allowed me to get rid of a lot of stuff. I took a photo of this painting with my point & shoot before I drove it over to Goodwill. I must have painted this in the 1970s! I hope somebody bought it and is enjoying it. I may print it out and hang it on a wall to give it a new life.
A random photo of the boys. Frankie The Monster, who of course bagged the most comfy spot. And Freddie The Giant Cat who is so laid back and always lets Frankie get what he wants.
The Broad is a contemporary art museum in downtown LA. This was a booth by Yayoi Kusama constructed of mirrors. My selfie is on the right. My friend BG was standing at the other side of the booth so you can see her face in some of the other circles.
I’m not usually good at doing things on the spur of the moment but my friend LA decided she wanted to see the wildflowers. So as long as she was driving I said okay. Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore is about 85 miles from Culver City. We went on a Wednesday and made pretty good time. It was a fabulous day. On the way home we came as close as I have ever come to being killed in an accident. In my mind I was already dead. Make the most of every day because you never know when it will be your last. It just wasn’t our time.
Next door to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) is La Brea Tar Pits with ongoing excavations. The site goes back to the Pleistocene Age. The extinct animals discovered at La Brea Tar Pits were trapped in the asphalt between 11,000 to 50,000 years ago. Outsiders always accuse Los Angeles of having no history… excuse me, we go back a lot further than most places in the US!
I don’t think this is quite what they had in mind when they named the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles, adjacent to Culver City. But I always enjoy looking at this utility box on my walk to Sprouts Market on the LA side of Venice Blvd.
I made several trips to Echo Park Lake this year. Paddling around on these swan Paddle Wheelers is now one of my favorite things to do in LA. It’s relaxing and good exercise at the same time with splendid views of the downtown skyline. I hope can cajole more friends into going with me in 2020. Wanna come along?
I’ve been wanting to visit the South Coast Botanical Gardens for many years. Finally made it in May. It was really delightful. We only saw a small area as my companion wasn’t able to walk far. But I’ll definitely be back to see the rest of it.
My friend SB and I were waiting at the harbor to take the boat back from Santa Catalina to San Pedro. This couple walked by. I loved the way they looked so I asked if it was okay to take their photo. She had made their matching outfits with fabric she had bought at Downtown Disney in Anaheim. She said she often made them matching outfits. How adorable is that?
I am a member of the Natural History Museum and it’s a short train ride from Culver City so I often pop in there, often on my own if nobody else is available or interested. This lovely guy was on display in the special exhibit on Antarctic Dinosaurs, the 25-foot-long, “cold-crested killer,” Cryolophosaurus. The exhibit featured an ongoing scientific expedition from the NHM and Chicago’s Field Museum as they dig for fossils today. La Brea Tar Pits is also part of the NHM.
Rode the Amtrak train to Ventura with a group of friends. We hiked up the trails in the Ventura Botanical Gardens which is still recovering from the December 2017 Thomas Fire. Lovely views from the top. Ate lunch on the pier at Beach House Fish then walked along the pier watching people fishing.
BG and I made an overnight trip to Santa Barbara. Stayed at an historic estate, drove around the area, ate dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant, Due Lune Cucina, across from the beach as the sun was setting. Next day ate lunch on the pier before heading home. Wonderful experience.
Mount Rushmore has been on my bucket list ever since I saw the movie North by Northwest with Cary Grant and the marvelous James Mason. So now I can say been there, done that! It was a trip to look up and see those monumental faces… it’s impossible to imagine how that can be achieved. As you are chiseling away you would only be able to see a miniscule part of what you are working on. Amazing.
We arrived at Old Faithful in Yellowstone in the evening. The glow of the setting sun was a magnificent backdrop to the geyser. This was my second visit to the park. This time we had the privilege of staying inside the park at the Old Faithful Inn. You just walk out the front door and there is Old Faithful right in front of you. Magnificent.
Second Home Pavilion was a temporary exhibit which I visited on one of the hottest days of the year at Hancock Park between LACMA and La Brea Tar Pits. I asked the young lady sitting at the entrance how she was doing and she indicated not too well. I enjoyed walking through the colorful maze of tunnels.
BG and I hung out at LACMA visiting several galleries. At Mary Corse: A Survey in Light we had a little fun as we became the artwork.
The celebration of El Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite times to visit Grand Park. This year there were about 40 altars all personally and culturally relevant to Los Angeles honoring those who have passed over. It coincides with halloween and is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because their loved ones awake and celebrate with them.
Several friends met at the Sunset/Vermont Red Line station and rode the shuttle up to the Griffith Observatory. Half the group attempted the hike to Inspiration Point but it was too hot for me so I sat and chatted with the other half at the cafe and enjoyed the views. The hikers only made it half way before being forced to turn back. So I was glad I didn’t attempt it. I’ve suffered from heat stroke before and have to be careful.
GM, EA and I made reservations for an early lunch at Perch on the 15th floor of the Pershing Square Building. I had eaten there previously and talked so much about it they wanted to experience it too and weren’t disappointed. Perch LA is a French-inspired rooftop bistro with unobstructed views of Downtown Los Angeles for guests to experience the feeling of floating along the skyline. The elevated spaces offer outdoor fireplaces, rooftop fire pits, indoor and outdoor dining experiences, and lounge seating to experience the city skyline views. The food isn’t bad either! This is just one of the many views when you walk around the outside area.
Several members of the Culver City Art Group met at the Getty Center to visit the exhibit Manet and Modern Beauty. You gotta love the staircase with the Manet image leading up to the exhibit. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the artist but I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of his paintings… many I was not previously familiar with.
A friend is a member at Descanso Gardens. She very graciously picked me up at Union Station and drove the rest of the way… I took the E (formerly known as the Expo) Line to the Red Line… one of these days, probably not in my lifetime, the E Line is supposed to go all the way to Union Station. The gardens were beautifully decorated for the holidays. Of course I imagine it is really spectacular all lit up at night but it was pretty good during the day too.
Last but certainly not least, I led my 3rd Annual Downtown Holiday Decorations Walk ending with lunch at the Biltmore Hotel (at left). There were 13 participants… all women this year… but not too surprising. This lovely Christmas tree was located at the southeast corner of Pershing Square. Lined up correctly the star appears between the US Bank Building (Library Tower) and the Deloitte Building (the Gas Company Building). I had to pay those pigeons to take flight just at the right moment!
Thanks for bearing with me. Some months there were a few more photos I really wanted to include… but I had to keep to two from each month and not cheat… you wouldn’t have known if they didn’t appear in the correct months but I would have known!
I wish you all a very healthy, happy and adventurous 2020!
This furry feline was running through the Crazy Horse Memorial Tourist Center (South Dakota) as I was running in the opposite direction. He/she stopped in front of me for an emergency wash so I was just able to grab a quick shot, albeit out of focus. In that split second, I couldn’t decide if it was more important to aim at the cat or Wild Bill Hickok! My motto is always to grab a bad shot than no shot at all!
I am now in the process of recovering from the trip through South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. We covered a lot of ground in eight days… visiting some places I had not seen before and some old favorites. The older I get, the longer it takes me to deflate after a trip…. so I’m still working on it!
As always, Frankie and Freddie texted me every day to keep me posted on their exploits while I was away. My traveling companions told me these texts were the highlight of the trip! I won’t bore you with all of them, just a small sample.
F&F in their favorite room… the bathroom. Their two permanent expressions… Frankie (in the background) looking disdainful and Freddie looking like he was caught by surprise.
Frankie decided to sleep in the ceramic bowl where I keep the postcards from some of my trips and some that other people send me… by the time I got home the bowl was empty with the postcards all over the floor.
I’m happy to be home. I’m in the process of sorting through hundreds of photos and posting some to Facebook. Later on I’ll post my favorites to this blog.
Today I was at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). This artwork by Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) caught my eye. I immediately thought WOW! The cats would love this piece. They could jump around in all the open boxes and scratch their claws on the cardboard. I guess everything is in the eye of the beholder as I have to admit I never really appreciated Rauschenberg’s art before! I wonder if he lived with cats? I should build something like this for Freddie and Frankie!
As I am a fan of the band Queen and Freddie Mercury, I recently saw the movie Bohemian Rhapsody about their rise to fame. When Queen became famous, I was amused to learn that Freddie bought a mansion large enough that each of his many felines could have their own individual rooms! That made me love Freddie even more. And if you should be wondering, yes, my Gentle Giant cat Freddie is named for him. (Don’t get any ideas, boys. All three of us have to share the same bedroom.)
pictures-of-cats.org
Lastly, but by no means the least important, a million thanks to the brave firefighters who risked their lives to rescue animals along with humans during the recent and ongoing horrendous fires in California. This photo says it all!
As this is the 100th Feline Friday post (woo hoo!) I was going to hire a band. But with everything going on in California and the world and my personal life this past few weeks, I decided that a quiet, unobtrusive recognition was just fine! Thank you all for hanging in there!
I had previously visited the California Art Club 107th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition at the Natural History Museum with my friend SB when we stopped by the Butterfly Pavilion a couple of weeks ago. I liked it so much I suggested it as an activity for our Culver City Art Group.
It’s so hard to get people to leave home. One other member, aside from BG and myself, showed up. Too bad as they missed a super exhibit. I have to say I have never seen so many wonderful paintings in one place. The exhibit ended today. I only wish it went on longer as I would have visited it a third time! Not only inspirational for painters but for photographers (like myself) as well.The composition is the same for a painter and a photographer. I get a lot of ideas from looking at paintings. This road cutting through Death Valley makes the painting. You probably can’t see it but there’s a car on the highway with red tail lights. I love this bridge at Yosemite. I’ve taken a few photos of it!I enjoy taking photos of chairs and benches so this appealed to me.
Market Street in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities.
This painting at the entrance to the exhibit was one of my favorites. After the exhibit we ventured outside where members of the California Art Club were painting scenes of the gardens.
BG recognized Xavier Gonzalez, a very talented artist who used to be a member of the Culver City Art Group. He was invited to paint with the California Art Club.
We stopped to talk to this gentleman, Donald Townes, who was painting a very colorful scene. You can see another spectacular ocean painting of his here.
One last painting of Malibu from the vineyards in the hills.
I’m a member of the Natural History Museum and I find it money well spent as I enjoy the permanent exhibits and the temporary exhibits like this one!
This is not P-22, obviously, but a similar mountain lion.
While I was at the Natural History Museum the other day to visit the Extreme Mammals exhibit, I saw the new display about P-22, the mountain lion who lives in Griffith Park.
In the hills of Griffith Park, a mountain lion roams. His name is P-22.
Born in the western Santa Monica Mountains, P-22 crossed both the 405 and 101 freeways, eventually reaching Griffith Park. He lives alone in this small territory by the Hollywood sign, surrounded and confined by the city of L.A. P-22 was first spotted by now NHMLA Citizen Science Coordinator Miguel Ordeñana in 2012 as part of the Griffith Park Connectivity Study, a joint effort of Cooper Ecological and the U.S. Geological Survey.
P-22, and other big cats like him, are often blamed for encroaching on people’s homes. The truth is, people are the one’s encroaching on the home of the mountain lions.
This is a map of the LA area and the city these lions have to deal with. The dark red splodge at lower right shows P-22’s habitat. Basically he is caged in by the freeways all around him. Many cats have lost their lives trying to cross them.
A closer look at P-22’s area. He lives in Griffith Park all by himself.
P-41 is also hemmed in by freeways all around.
The inability to move around to other territories is the cause of inbreeding, as with P-19, who, having no choice, mated with her father. This doesn’t bode well for the survival of the species.
Wildlife crossings over the freeways have been proposed for years but so far nothing has been done. It isn’t just the big cats that suffer from being penned in, it’s all the species of animals, insects, plants that are stuck in small habitats. My answer is, let’s keep people trapped in their own neighborhoods and let the animals roam freely!
Just as important is the habitat of insects like the Delhi Sands fly. If just one small part of the eco-system is endangered it causes a domino effect for all of us.
One fly, one species… and then the human species. We live in dangerous times!
It’s been a while since I posted anything on WordPress. Several reasons, which I won’t go into! Let’s just say I needed a rest.
So many things have happened since my last post that I decided to work backwards with the latest happenings first, for the most part.
I seem to have a habit of leaving things to the last minute. This includes museum exhibits. Often I attend exhibits on the last day even though I know about them months in advance. So, my visit to Extreme Mammals at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum (NHM for short) was on September 10, the last day.
I didn’t know for sure I was really going up until about an hour before I left for the train. But as I’m a member I hate to miss any exhibits that are part of my membership. So I went on my own (except for the company of my Inner Child, of course).
From the website: For over 200 million years, mammals have inhabited the Earth. In this epic evolutionary journey, mammals lived with—and even ate—dinosaurs, swam in the ocean, flew in the air, and became the fastest land animals of all time!
The photo at the top of the page is of an Indricotherium, the largest mammal to ever walk the earth. It weighed up to 20 tons and lived about 23 million years ago. However, a larger mammal lives today: the Blue Whale, ten to twenty times the size of the Indricotheriume . It can grow that large due to the buoyancy of water. The Blue Whale is the largest animal, mammal or otherwise, ever known!
Batodonoides was the smallest mammal, living about 50 million years ago. It could climb up your pencil (if you were around 50 million years ago and there were pencils) and was as light as a dollar bill.
As the sign states, there are more than 5,400 species of mammals alive today.
This sign board explains a lot!
This Synthetocerus tricornatus doesn’t look terribly cuddly. In all instances, horns evolved in animals whose ancestors had no headgear at all.
For millions of years plant-eating glyptodonts the size of cars roamed North and South America. Their closest living relatives are armadillos.
This Macrauchenia was known for being very nosy… sorry…
Yes, a walking whale!
Mammoths living on the islands off the coast of Ventura (just north of Los Angeles) were half the size of mammoths on the mainland due to their isolation, lack of big predators and limited food resources.
Jaws of a Columbian Mammoth and a Pygmy Mammoth.
Ellsmere Island, a mere 600 miles from the North Pole, 50 million years ago. A great stopping place for a cruise.
Beautifully preserved Scarrittia lived in Argentina 29 to 24 million years ago.
Paleontologists have unearthed more than three million fossils at La Brea Tar Pits (next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, shells, and plants.
Ninety-nine percent of all mammals and other species that have ever lived on Earth are extinct.
Pretty soon it’s going to be 100% including you and me! Maybe not quite 100%… the cockroaches will survive…
I have been a Star Trek fan since Season One, Episode One of the original show. That show broke a lot of boundaries, not the least of which was the character of Lieutenant Sulu. The Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles, is currently paying tribute to the actor and activist, George Takei with an exhibit of his personal memorabilia from the many facets of his life.
George Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷 Takei Hosato, /təˈkeɪ/; born April 20, 1937) is an American actor, director, author, and activist of Japanese descent. Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek. He also portrayed the character in six Star Trek feature films and one episode of Star Trek: Voyager.
Takei’s involvement in social media has brought him fresh attention. As of February 2017, his Facebook page has over 10 million likes since he joined in 2011, and he frequently shares photos with original humorous commentary.
Takei is a proponent of LGBT rights and is active in state and local politics. He has won several awards and accolades in his work on human rights and Japan–United States relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum.
The poster reads: Like his most famous character, helmsman Hikaru Sulu of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, George Takei has voyaged through many worlds.
He has not only experienced some of the most critical moments in our nation’s history, from politics and pop culture to activism and the arts, he has also become a driving force behind some its most transformative changes.
This exhibition will take you through events that shaped 20th and 21st-century America, allowing you to experience them through Takei’s eyes, voice, and memories.
I have visited the JANM on a previous occasion. So I didn’t linger in the other areas of the museum which speak to the experience of Japanese people in America, including their internment during World War II… both Japanese and American citizens… which was a part of Takei’s young life.
As I was there with a group of friends we had a time limit before heading off to lunch in Little Tokyo and I decided to focus on George!
Helmsman Sulu’s chair. I am in need of a new office chair and this does look pretty comfy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try it out.
Although on a tour of Paramount Studios many years ago I had the great privilege of sitting in Captain Picard’s chair on a Star Trek set. No matter what amazing things happen (or indeed have happened) in my life, those few moments will always be a highlight!!!!!
Sulu’s uniform and a photo of him wearing it. Who knew way back then, in 1965, before most people were even born (!) this show would become such a phenomenon with far-reaching influences.
Viewing this exhibit was a fascinating look at an interesting man who has lived, and is living, quite an adventurous life.
After lunch four of us decided to hop on the Gold Line to Chinatown just two stops away. On a previous walk through the area we had stumbled upon the Velveteria, The Museum of Velvet Paintings. We didn’t go inside but vowed to come back, so as we were so close by this was the opportunity.
The owners, Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin (click on the website link above to see their photos), own a 3,000 piece collection, with about 450 paintings displayed.
These are not your typical Tijuana tourist velvet paintings. Most of the ones we saw on display are portraits of celebrities like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Didn’t see any images of George Takei in this museum but no worries, Star Trek is still well represented with Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) and the USS Enterprise!
And you’ve got to have a glow-in-the-dark velvet painting for your bedroom! Well, maybe not…
A velvet museum would not be complete without a portrait of Liberace. I don’t know, but it just seems appropriate.
By then we were ready to jump on the Red Line to the Expo Line and home. Just another day exploring downtown Los Angeles…
All photos and content copyright roslyn m wilkins unless otherwise noted. No commercial usage without express permission. Please feel free to pass along this post via email or social media, but if you wish to use some of our images or text outside of the context of this blog, either give full credit to myself and link to One Good Life Los Angeles, or contact us for proper usage. Thanks!
We’re finally getting some rain in LA and that makes me happy. Of course the downside to rain is gloomy skies.
I had heard about some special diamonds being exhibited at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. So after a little discussion with myself about all the other important things I should be doing, I donned my rain jacket and headed for the train.
The nice thing about being a member is I can pop in anytime I like. It was 11:30 by the time I arrived and I had purposefully had no breakfast (a tablespoon of yogurt and a handful of walnuts to be truthful) so I could hit the cafe and order my favorite veggie burger in all of LA.
Outside seating was limited as I assume they had taken all the tables inside because of the rain. And the cafe was packed inside. But I was early enough to snag one of the very few outside tables. The photo at top was my view as I sat outside under the grey skies!
Advertising for the diamonds exhibit was displayed on my table. A true feast for the senses. Not only was I enjoying the most fabulous veggie burger with mushrooms and cheese, but I was visually tantalized by the image of the diamonds I would see after lunch. After the last bite of the burger I drank my coffee slowly, savoring the thought of what was to come next.
But before we get to that, the entrance of the museum was decorated with elegant trees adorned with sparkling jewels. How appropriate for the purpose of my visit today!
Now to the diamonds. This is the Rainbow Diamond Necklace. 35.93 carats total. Blue-grey (extremely rare), green-yellow, orange-pink, purple-pink, brown-orange.
As the UV lighting is gradually turned up you can see the colors changing
With the UV lighting you see the rainbow appear.
Although up close in ordinary light the delicate colors are gorgeous. And in the UV light the colors glow.
The Juliet Pink diamond is 30.3 carats. Pink diamonds occur in less than 0.1% of all diamonds.
On the left is the Victorian Orchid Diamond 1.64 carats). Purple diamonds are among the rarest. On the right is the Argyle Violet Diamond (2.83 carats) another amongst the rarest diamonds ever found. Decisions, decisions, which one do I want to take home?
On the way out (conveniently through the gift shop) I snapped a picture of the Christmas tree. I haven’t had my own Christmas tree for at least twenty years so I enjoy them wherever I find them.
Can’t visit the NHM without a visit to the Nature Garden. What a nice Christmassy display of berries. It was time to hop back on the Expo Line train that stops right outside the entrance to the museum. How convenient is that?
As I write this it is the evening of the same day. The weather forecast claims it was supposed to be raining 15 minutes ago. I stuck my head out on the deck and it is a light drizzle at best. Don’t disappoint me now!!!
Oh oh oh! I hear rain! Yes indeed, ran upstairs to the deck again and it is coming down in giraffes and elephants… I love it!
All photos and content copyright roslyn m wilkins unless otherwise noted. No commercial usage without express permission. Please feel free to pass along this post via email or social media, but if you wish to use some of our images or text outside of the context of this blog, either give full credit to myself and link to One Good Life Los Angeles, or contact us for proper usage. Thanks!
My friend K wanted to ride the new Expo Line extension to Santa Monica on Sunday. After my experience on Friday (see post here) I warned her the train would be stuffed to the gills but she didn’t believe me. And she wanted to go anyway.
At the Culver City station I mentioned we really would be better off riding to downtown LA first so we would have a better chance at a seat on the train. The train to downtown arrived so we jumped on it.
Friday was a day of milestones in Los Angeles. Not only the first day of the passenger train all the way to Santa Monica, but also the day the external fuel tank for the space shuttle arrived at Marina del Rey after its journey from New Orleans through the Panama Canal.
As we neared the California Science Center I scoured Exposition Park just in case there was a sighting of the fuel tank. Sure enough, peeking through the trees I saw the giant orange Cheetos Puff. We had a split second to make a decision to jump off the train before the doors closed, which we did.
Apparently it was being readied to be housed in a temporary enclosure so we were lucky to see it outside. A new museum is being built for the Endeavour shuttle where the shuttle will be displayed upright with the fuel tank attached. This is the only fuel tank in existence so Los Angeles was fortunate to receive it from NASA. It weighs 66,000 lbs. (about 29,937 kilograms) and is as tall as a 15-story building.
We decided to eat lunch at the Science Center as I could imagine finding a place to eat in Santa Monica would be next to impossible with the hoards of people arriving on the Expo Line. Since Trimana took over the restaurant at the Science Center (and Natural History Museum) they have a pretty decent menu.
And absolutely the best mushroom veggie burger in the universe. I was sure I had taken a photo of it on a previous visit but I can’t find it anywhere on my computer. So now I guess I have to go back soon to order another one so I can take a photo. Rats, a blogger’s work is never done!
We finally made it to Santa Monica. As I predicted, the train was standing room only. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and who could resist a train trip to the beach?
We could see that throngs of people were lining the pier so we didn’t even attempt it. As our tummies were already full we were happy to turn around after a short walk and ride the rails back to Culver City. As it was only early afternoon most people were still enjoying Santa Monica so we had no problem boarding the train.
As it had been a pretty hectic three days for me: Expo Line to Santa Monica opening day on Friday, a visit to the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday (blog post coming up) and Sunday’s adventure, I was happy to get back to good old Culver City and my sofa!
All photos and content copyright roslyn m wilkins unless otherwise noted. No commercial usage without express permission. Please feel free to pass along this post via email or social media, but if you wish to use some of our images or text outside of the context of this blog, either give full credit to myself and link to One Good Life in Los Angeles, or contact us for proper usage. Thanks!
RMW: the blog 