Estate Sale

The Wilson's House, 623 North Palm Drive, Beverly Hills

On Saturday I stopped by a very nice estate sale in Beverly Hills. It was about 1-1/2 blocks away from our house during my junior high years. It's always very nostalgic visiting the ol' hood. Many of my friends still live close by.
This house was on Palm Drive. I didn't recognize the name of the family. It was a lovely Spanish Revival, Mediterranean style two-story home with a pool. The walls in the dining room, butler's pantry and kitchen were wrapped and upholstered in a garden style green and white trellis-like print, reminiscent of the 1970's. Very faaaaancy for it's day! There were many architectural features common to higher-end homes of this style, like a telephone nook, good-size maid's room with bath, powder room, step-down living room with a vaulted ceiling and exposed beams. Even the closets in the master bedroom were fairly good sized for house built in the 1930's. It's a large lot, The pool is like a postage stamp in the backyard, even though it's a fairly big swimming pool. What a perfect house for entertaining!
On Saturday the house was packed. Larry and I went back Sunday afternoon and the place was almost empty! There were some lovely paintings and lots of gorgeous china and crystal, tons of books and records too.

Vintage-Crazed Customers

I picked up a few treasures. A beautiful lunch tablecloth, a pristine hankie, a dark green Haeger USA Pottery bowl and a few books. My brother just loves Leo Rosten's books. I'll save that one for his birthday. I have the LACMA book on mid-century architecture, but this is a pristine copy and will make an excellent gift. The prize: The Girl Scout's Handbook from 1963!

Vintage Photo Friday

Snow covers the grounds of the UCLA campus in Westwood. On the right is Royce Hall. View shows the twin towers of Royce Hall, standing on either side of the entrance-way. Royce Hall was built in 1928-29 and designed by Allison and Allison, Architects. It ws constructed in a northern Italian Romanesque Revival style, inspired by Sant'Ambrogio in Milan (12th century). Photo dated January 15, 1932, L.A. Public Library Archives.

Snow at UCLA!?!! I LOVE this photo. For my out-of-state readers, The University of California, Los Angeles is located in Westwood, West Los Angeles, about 10 miles from Santa Monica beach. It must have been a super cold winter in 1932.

It's cold in Los Angeles. We're expecting a storm this weekend. The rain is coming down in Santa Monica right now and looks like this:I certainly hope it doesn't get cold enough to snow! Have a safe weekend, everyone!

Brunch @ The Beach

View from Uncle Mort's Balcony

Last Sunday we zoomed over to my Uncle's house in Playa del Rey for brunch. Uncle Mort loves to cook and entertain. There was just a small group on this most beautiful clear day, overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean.

Larry

Mort prepared a beautiful brunch, including homemade jam, fresh fruit, fixin's for sandwiches, frittata, French toast and more. I always love hangin' with my cousins.

Cousin AmieUncle Mort

Yummy Brunch

Frittata and French Toast

Homemade Jam

My cousin, Andy whipped out his iPad to view some of his latest family photos. The older generation LOVED seeing the photos illuminated on the iPad.

Andy and Mort

Ellen, Roz, Jo

Cousins, Andy and Jo

There's nothing like having everyone in the room with a shared history. It's called family. Thanks for getting us together, Uncle Mort!

The Ackermans @ CAFAM

This past weekend I visited the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile. I was most interested in seeing the exhibition, "A Marriage of Craft and Design: The Work of Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman." I had seen this exhibit in it's expanded format at the Mingei in San Diego last year, but the draw of the Ackerman's wonderful work compelled me to visit again, in my own backyard!

Evelyn and Jerry Ackerman, 2011

"Young Warrior", Mosaic by Evelyn Ackerman, 1954

Campesena Series Tapestry by Evelyn Ackerman, 1971

Jenev Ceramic Vessels, 1954 (JA, EA)

The display at CAFAM is beautiful. The walls are painted in vibrant colors to accentuate the colors in Evelyn's mosaics and wall hangings. Jerry's sculpted ceramics and wooden pieces are also displayed pleasingly. The exhibit is small, but many of my favorite pieces are there.

"Rain", Mosaic 1955 (EA)

Synagogue Doors, Carved Wood (JA, EA)

The Museum was empty last Saturday. Only one other lady was upstairs viewing the work with me. She had on this most beautiful crocheted scarf. Naturally, I had to talk with her about it. Her name is Cecelia and we discovered that we were both on Ravelry. Cecelia's scarf consists of little crocheted stars, using two strands of sock yarn held together. After she crocheted all of the little stars, she arranged them and sewed them together. The crocheted border was added at the end. Cecelia, her husband and her little dog drove all the way up from Irvine to see the Ackerman exhibit.

Cecelia's "A la Sophie" Scarf

Her husband was outside with the dog while she was viewing the show. That's dedication to the art that I totally understand. Now, Cecelia and I are friends on Ravelry. I look forward to viewing her future projects.

The Ackerman exhibit runs through May 8, 2011 at CAFAM, giving you plenty of time to visit. I really recommend it, you never know who you'll meet!

Cecelia's Scarf. Image from Ravelry

Read more about the talented Ackermans here.

Next Obsession

I've been trying out these Japanese motif flowers using different types of yarn. I do love this motif and how it looks once many flowers are connected. The self-striping yarn with long color runs make especially gorgeous flowers without the pesky problem of changing colors and weaving in ends!

Caron Simply Soft, CoralLace Weight/Fuzzy, TaupeLion Brand "Amazing" - Mesa

Noro Silk GardenLion Brand Amazing - OlympiaNoro Silk Garden, Sock - Purples

Vanna's Choice, Worsted WeightLion Brand Amazing - Aurora

Naturally, when Larry sees a swatch lying around the house, he always picks it up and tries to attach it to his body somewhere. Behold, the Japanese Flower Mask, below!

Caron Simply Soft, Pink

Using Recipes

I've been cooking for so many decades, that I usually do not follow a recipe. I make simple food for us at home.....broil, steam, serve. Larry always tells me that he'd be happy with a bowl of cold cereal. Food is just "fuel" to him. Hah!
Lately, I've been sitting around listening to the "gourmettes" at my Sometimes Sunday Crochet group talk about all the fantastic recipes that they've been cooking, so I decided to change up my repertoire and actually follow a new recipe.
On Friday, before this past 3-day weekend, I stocked up on goodies at Trader Joe's, after perusing "The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbok" by Cherie Mercer Twohy. There are a few other Trader Joe-inspired cookbooks out there, but I decided to concentrate on this one.
On Saturday night I whipped up "Pesto Pork." It turned out great and I'd definitely cook it again. The recipe is simple, with excellent results. I sliced a pork tenderloin into 1/2-inch thick medallions and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. until they were almost done I transferred the medallions to a baking sheet and topped each with a tablespoon of Trader Giotto's Pesto alla Genovese and broiled until the pesto was bubbly, about 3 minutes. While the pork was broiling, I deglazed the fying pan with a bit of sweet cherry and thickened it. I poured the sauce over the medallions and served them with a side of Jasmine rice and steamed asparagus. Dinner was divine and there were leftovers for the next night! Thanks for the inspiration, Girls!
Next up: "Okey-Gnocchi with Pancetta & Peas" from "Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's" by Deana Gunn and Wona Miniati,

It was a yarny love-fest at the WeHo SnB last night! We all had a wonderful time! Thanks to everyone who participated and particularly to Natalie for organizing our event! Happy Valentine's Day....again!

WeHo SnB Valentine's 2011 - free slideshow

Thanks again, Karyn for my faboo Ishbel shawlette! I just LOVE it!

Vintage Photo Friday

Mort, Hi and George Bloom - 1946

More sad news for the Bloom family. My Uncle Hi passed away this week, on his 90th birthday. He had been ill for awhile. Uncle Hi and Aunt Betty moved to San Diego around 20 years ago to live closer to their grandchildren. They used to live near us in Beverlywood. I would run into both of them around the neighborhood all the time.

Hi and George with Mort in the background - 1926

We always celebrated Chanukah at Hi's and Betty's house. This was a major production. Uncle Hi would make an elaborate ceremony of lighting the menorah candles and then giving all of us our gifts and calling out our names, one by one. He really infused our get-togethers with tons of fun and laughter.
In the past seven years, since my Dad, George, passed away, everytime I would speak to Uncle Hi on the phone, I'd hear George's voice in Hi's. They had the same tone and timbre to their voices. Sigh.
Uncle Hi was also interested in our family's genealogy. He researched and created a chart of family members and was the keeper of many of our family's photos. We all owe a lot to Uncle Hi for maintaining our family stories and history. We will surely miss you, sweet Uncle Hi.

George, Hi and Mort Bloom - 1993

Japanese Crochet

There's a lot of frenzy over on Ravelry about Japanese crochet, especially on the "We Love Lucy" group. This is a group obsessed with the colors and designs of Lucy from Attic24. She's an excellent British crocheter who implements lots of cheerful colors in her designs! One of the patterns that everyone is trying is the Japanese Flower Motif Shawl. The pattern is part of a Japanese book called "Motif Book" by Nihon Vogue. There are many links on the discussion group to French blogs where you can spy bits and pieces of the motif chart. Sooooo, after sleuthing out one of the charts and then copying a few photos of other's work, I figured out the pattern!
I happened to have some Lion Brand "Amazing" self-striping yarn in my stash, so I whipped out my "G" hook and crocheted a few flowers. I LOVE THIS PATTERN!
Of course, It does look smashing when you change colors every round, but the self-striping yarn with long color runs is so much quicker and reduces the amount of ends to weave in. I'm all about quick.
I ran out of "Amazing" yesterday and I cannot get to the store to purchase anymore until Saturday. I was still itching to work on this pattern, so I got out some Noro Silk Garden sock yarn from my stash and started yet another scarf!! You do know, once I find a pattern I like, I re-create it endlessly!I would also like to see this shawl or scarf in all one color for a more elegant look. To view other images of this beautiful pattern, check this Ravelry link. I'm sure we'll see a version of this scarf at Anthropologie soon, if it hasn't shown up already!