Leo's 1st Birthday

Some of my oldest friends, Rick and Bik, have this baby called Leonidas.  He's a pretty cool, cute and sweet dude.  He turned one on January 22 and we celebrated this milestone on Saturday with cupcakes.

Leo at a couple of hours old
(One year ago)

The happy birthday boy at 1 year of age
(Today)

Amazing cupcakes made by people who love Leo

Make a wish

Leo practiced for a week for this moment

Leo's furry friend wanted in on the cupcakes.

No chocolate for you Bear!

Janeth right before she poached this yummy elephant

Panda cupcake heaven

Um, adorable?  How can you not squeeze those cheeks?

Happy birthday Leo!

If you want to view these photos in a slideshow, click below.

San Francisco

Took a weekend road trip to San Francisco to see Wicked at the Orpheum and to visit Alcatraz Island with the hubby and my good friend Cristina.

This was a very satisfying weekend as I had been meaning to see Wicked when it was here in LA (for like 5 years) but never made it.  I guess it was a good excuse to see the lovely city of San Francisco too.  I have to say I enjoyed it immensely and have not gotten "Defying Gravity" out of my head since.

Another reason this trip was so satisfying is that since I was a young girl visiting my relatives in Oakland my mom would always try to get tickets to visit Alcatraz to no avail.  By the time we would make it there it was always sold out.   Luckily, my friend was clever enough to make reservations ahead of time.  The wet weather was a bit of a concern for us in the beginning but I think the rain made the visit to Alcatraz a bit more magical.  Riding the boat and seeing San Francisco amidst the dense fog was a sight.  Taking the garden tour and seeing the droplets on all the flowers was sparkly.  And feeling the wind whip across the desolate rec yard reminded me that this place was also, at one time, a horrible place to be.

On to the photos!  Click on photo to view larger.

Entering the Orpheum

Taken with my iPhone 3GS

Edited with CameraBag

An adorable little Dorothy poses outside of the Orpheum

Taken with my iPhone 3GS

Edited with CameraBag

Alcatraz in the distance

On the Garden Tour

Banana slug!

Have been wanting to see one in real life for years now!

Raindrops

The view from a small window along the C Block wall

Out of order

Door to nowhere

Creep

Turns out Alcatraz is kinda romantic

If you wish to see more here is a slideshow...

Thanks for stopping by!

What I did over the Holiday

Christmas was spent in Santa Cruz, followed up by a second Christmas in Simi Valley, then a family trip to Disneyland, then visiting the Getty Center for the first time with my sis and the holiday vacation ended with the flu which I didn't take pictures of.

Here are some of my favorite moments captured over the holidays.

My lovely mother-in-law decorates her tree

Santa Cruz

Peacock feathers as ornaments

Santa Cruz

Late afternoon walk with sister-in-law

West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Pelicans heading off in to the sunset

West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Cedric the lighthouse keeper

West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Christmas Eve activity

West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Christmas decor

West Cliff, Santa Cruz

Missy Doodle sunbathing

Santa Cruz

The box the toy came in is the most fun part

Simi Valley

Playing Space Fever while waiting for the Fresno family to arrive

Simi Valley

I think she likes it

Simi Valley

The Ortas

Fantasyland, Disneyland

Doubloon's gold tooth

Fantasyland, Disneyland

Watching the Colombia go by

Tom Sawyer Island, Disneyland

Sis loves looking at art

Getty Center

Eye see you

Getty Center

Stairway to Stephanie

Getty Center

Pushing Daisies

Garden, Getty Center

When I went to the Getty Center I specifically wanted to see the IRVING PENN:SMALL TRADES exhibit.  Portrait after wonderful portrait graced the walls of the gallery of people in their work uniforms from New York, London and Paris.

I love that he took the time to capture everyday people doing what they did.  The kind of people that most wouldn't think to photograph.  Irving Penn did it and I am grateful that he did.  The exhibit is no longer available but here is a link to see a glimpse of what it was like. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/penn/

Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far!

You can view more photos here...