DIY: Christine Haynes - Chic & Simple Sewing

DIY: Christine Haynes - Chic & Simple Sewing
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

Book signing, fashion show, Yudu screen printing demos, sangria & cupcakes all at the Urban Craft Center.

Life: Santa Monica Farmers Market

Life: Santa Monica Farmers Market
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

Farilla and I rode our bikes over to Main Street this AM for a bite to eat and some fresh produce. After watching Food, Inc. last Friday afternoon we were both reminded why it's so important to buy locally grown organic products. If you haven't seen Food, Inc. I highly recommend checking it out asap. You're probably already well aware of some of the info about the American food industry discussed in this film but if Monsanto and GMOs sound foreign to you then you MUST see this documentary.

Life: SMPD Working Hard To Fight Crime

Thanks Pramit!

Photos: GLOW 7.19.08

I was uber-stoked about what I thought was going to be a mini-Burning Man'esque event (minus the 12+ hour drive) right here in our own backyard. Serves me right for having expectations...

GLOW was packed. Reports I've read estimate some 200,000 people were in attendance during the night-long 12 hour art and music event. Apparently traffic and parking sucked. Thankfully, I biked from Command Central in Venice. The restroom and concession lines were out-of-control long. Most of the art was mediocre at best. Though, clearly I'm biased. As a Burner I've had the brain cells specifically dedicated to the appreciation of art completely blown away on multiple occasions out in Black Rock City.

What I did enjoy about the event were the people. Diversity rocks and GLOW brought in peeps from all walks of life. Everyone I witnessed got along well despite the often extremely cramped quarters. The cops didn't seem to be hassling the trippers and I was never asked once about the contents of my no-longer-Klean Kanteen! Aside from my MANY beautiful friends who made their way to GLOW, nature's art was actually one of the highlights for me! Up until now I just thought Grunion were mythical creatures that lived in the same land as unicorns and Big Foot! Wow! I just hope they were actually able to successfully get down to biz with all of the disturbances from the extra noise, light and people pollutants. Sorry little guys!

Because the art was lacking I wasn't particularly inspired to photograph much aside from the NEW and IMPROVED Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier...as you'll soon see!
















The Grunion!



For a few more snaps from GLOW click here.

Running: At The Beach...

Due to some technical difficulties I haven't been able to post my last couple of runs. But for whatever reason my iPod felt this one was worthy of uploading.

Anyway, I left some of my running gear over at the Red House where I was Monster-sitting last weekend so I decided to run at the beach last night rather than come all the way back to the gym at rush hour. From Sunset Park I made my way over to Rose. I took Rose down to the Strand then ran North along the Strand to Olympic. On some back-roads near Olympic I made my way inland back to the Red House. It was a good run and I appreciated the relatively clean air near the ocean (and cooler temps). And I'm TOTALLY loving my new Asics Gel Nimbus 10's! Thanks Starting Line!

If anyone is in the market for a stellar running shoes but doesn't have a clue where to start then I highly recommend The Starting Line in the Marina. They (and by 'They' I mean the 3 fellas 'working' that afternoon) studied my gait by having me walk in socks across the showroom floor. They pointed out that I have very high arches then brought out my Asics first thing. I went outside for a little run up and down the street to test out these sneakers. However, not totally convinced, I proceeded to try on a few more pairs of shoes only to realize that the first pair they recommended were spot on. And just because they're so rad they gave me a totally unexpected 10% discount! w00t!

Life: More Santa Monica Fireworks

Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

Through rainbow glasses!

UPDATE:  (Due to the number of hits I'm getting from Peeps looking for info on the 2008 Santa Monica fireworks show I'm adding this note.)  The annual SM fireworks show was held on Saturday, June 29, 2008. Lame, I know, but the event has passed...if the 4th doesn't fall on a Saturday the City of Santa Monica holds the celebration on the Saturday before Independence Day.

Life: Santa Monica Fireworks!

Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

UPDATE: (Due to the number of hits I'm getting from Peeps looking for info on the 2008 Santa Monica fireworks show I'm adding this note.) The annual SM fireworks show was held on Saturday, June 29, 2008. Lame, I know, but the event has passed...if the 4th doesn't fall on a Saturday the City of Santa Monica holds the celebration on the Saturday before Independence Day.

Art: Promenade New Year Celebration In June?!

Crosswalk Countdown - GuerilLA from Kelly Herrington on Vimeo.

From Urban Prankster:

"GuerilLA had some New Year’s Eve style fun this past weekend. Agent Wilner writes:

In Santa Monica there are many crosswalks that have countdown clocks signifying how long you have until you can’t cross the intersection anymore. We gathered a group of 50 agents and counted down a number of those clocks - very loudly. At the end of each countdown we went nuts - hugging, hi-fiving, cheering, screaming, using our noisemakers, toasting with our fake champagne, etc. Just like on New Year’s Eve. It was amazing! We did this at about seven intersections along the Santa Monica Promenade and then dispersed.

Also worth noting is that two participants got engaged during the mission (you’ll notice they are congratulated at the end of the video.) What better time to get engaged than New Year’s Eve! On June 8!"

Politics: Now That's What I Call A Bumper Sticker

Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

...as spotted on the streets of Santa Monica!

Green: Santa Monica Ficus Tree Debate Comes To A Close

Having lived for a few years on a street in Santa Monica lined by these trees I can truly appreciate how destructive the Ficus root systems can be to one's property.  The sidewalk in front of the Red House was completely buckled and our sewer-line was in shambles and in need of replacing immediately upon move in.  Nonetheless it's quite heartbreaking to see these images of such beautiful specimens (in downtown Santa Monica) being chopped down last week.  For those of you who may not be aware this has been a hot debate around town for the past many weeks.  The Ficus trees are going to be replaced with Gingkoes.

Running: 6 Miles

Farthest run!  I can't believe I ran for 45 minutes.  When I started training again back in January I couldn't even fathom running farther than 3 miles.  Little by little I continue to push myself to set a new distance record.  I ran through Brentwood and Santa  Monica last night so it's pretty easy to just keep going.  Not as many major intersections or hills to throw off my pace.  The only complication is some pain I've been getting in my hip.  I'll have the opportunity to rest it this weekend so I'll reassess the sitch next week.  180 miles down...

Running: 4 miles on San Vicente

Hmmm, don't know why my Nike+ widget isn't working?  Oh well...

Ventured down San Vicente Blvd. yesterday afternoon.  It's nice to change things up from time to time.  An okay but relatively slow run.  Not as far as I wanted to go but I'll adjust the route next time.

The deets:

Mile 1: 7'19"

Mile 2: 7'21"

Mile 3: 7'10"

Mile 4: 6'54"

Finishing Pace: 6'47"

4.4 miles total | 31'21" | 7'04"/mile | ~400 calories 

Can't wait for Boot Camp tomorrow morning!  w00t! The 1.5 hour long session will be broken-up for those of us who want to work with Jeff, a running specialist, during the first half of class.  You can bet that I'll totally be taking advantage of his expertise.  I'll then wrap up with 45 minutes of strengthening with Angela!  Bring it....

Photos: Santa Anita Derby Day :: 4/2008

Our day at The Races!  

The rundown: Monica, Erin and I met tons of peeps who are really up on this whole horse racing thing. KROQ was having their Micro-Brew Fest...beer heaven!  We crashed the UCLA Derby Days Alumni Party which was great because a) they had the ONLY Veg-friendly food around b) every one was super friendly & helpful and c) they promised to play the UCLA Final Four game later that afternoon in the bar.  Although, as you may or may not know, that last point is a little bitter sweet!  Oh, and the Parking Lot entertainment helped to make the crawl back to the car that much more enjoyable.  

First Thing's First!

You Bet'cha!

Best Gift Shop Ever!

Diversified Portfolios!

The Racers!

Party Crashers!

I encourage you to click here for a few more (some, quite interesting) shots from our afternoon at the races. Good times...

Running: The Santa Monica Stairs

No running stats to share this morning. I awoke to another amazingly sunny and clear day in Soul Cal so I decided to mix it up a bit by heading over to the Santa Monica Stairs/Steps. I've lived here long enough to no longer become surprised at the amount of people running, walking and cycling along San Vicente (and the surrounding area) from sun-up to sun-down...7 days a week! With that said, this morning was no different.

I arrived about 8am and was happy to find that the stairs weren't as busy as they have been the past few times I've been here. There were maybe twenty-five or so people at best. This has its pro's and con's namely fewer excuses to slow down. I've never actually counted the steps but I've heard that there are anywhere between 155 to 190 total. To put this in perspective I believe a standard commercial building has roughly 22 steps per floor. So depending on who you believe, a single set on the SM steps is equivalent to the amount of stairs in a 7 to 8.5 story building.

I started off my first two sets doing doubles. Third through 6th sets were 3/4 doubles and the last quarter of each set I finish with singles. Yes, I was definitely feeling this burn! And the cardio workout was INTENSE. I'm happy that I managed to get through 6 sets this morning. I went into this workout with low expectations considering it's been a few months since I was last here. The stairs are pretty steep so by the end of my 6th set when I began feeling muscle fatigue I knew I was done.

Feeling inspired by such a beautiful day I ambitiously went back to my car to drop off my (non-toxic, non-leaching) Klean Kanteen water bottle and to grab my iPod with the intention of getting in a short and easy run along the Santa Monica cliffs overlooking the Bay. I made it about a quarter of a mile before I realized that it wasn't gonna happen...my legs were worked.

I was back in my car by a little after 9am and decided to hit up Velocity Cafe for a non-fat Chai Latte before heading home. As great as it felt to get my workout in this morning I must add that the highlight of my day came as I was leaving Velocity. I was waiting to make a turn onto Lincoln Boulevard when an attractive black man who appeared to be in his 30's, DRESSED AS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY (crown and all), crossed my path. He was carrying a stack of newspapers in his right hand and was wearing a sign across his chest which said something about 'taxes'. WTF?! We made eye contact and he smiled and waved. I smiled and nodded back and we both went our separate ways. Shaking my head I looked down at my clock and realized that by 9:20am I've already had quite an interesting morning.

Not a bad way to start off Birthday Week!

(photo credit Steve Proffitt, NPR)