Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Instagram 2016 Best Nine

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Happy New Year! Everyone is once again doing the round-up of their best nine Instagram posts for 2016. I had fun looking at my top posts last year (see my 2015 best nine here), and it was interesting to see which photos generated the most feedback and likes. As we approached the end of 2016, I was curious to see which of my photos were the most popular.

Here are my best nine Instagram photos for 2016:

Instagram 2016 Best Nine

Most Popular Photo – Stickhouse Gelato

My most liked photo (in the top left of the collage) is from Stickhouse Gelato in Santa Monica, California. I had heard about this shop that sells gelato on a stick, and I finally made time to try it in June. It was delicious!

 

Second Most Liked – Alfred Coffee

The middle photo in the top row is from Alfred Coffee in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, near my old office. One weekend, after a meeting, I was able to stop there for an iced coffee. I loved the decor.

 

Photo #3 – Manhattan Beach Sunset

The third most popular photo (top right corner) is of a Manhattan Beach sunset. Sunset photos always seem to be well-liked when I post them, but this one was especially vibrant because the sky was filled with smoke from the Sand Fire in the Angeles National Forest in July. The fire was fueled by high temperatures and windy conditions. I remember when I was walking the dogs along the Strand on that day, everyone was taking photos of the surreal sunset.

Fourth Most Liked – Magnolia Bakery

While visiting New York City in August, I met friends for dinner on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. For dessert, we stopped in at Magnolia Bakery. Their cakes and cupcakes were beautifully decorated. But, I did not have a cupcake – we ordered their famous banana pudding. Oh my goodness, it was delicious. And, I have since learned that they have a location in Los Angeles! It is probably better that it is not too close to home, because I would want to eat a treat there all the time.

 

Middle Photo – Sunset in La Jolla

Our family spent a week in La Jolla, California, in May, renting a house a block away from this beautiful scene at Windansea Beach. Unfortunately, on most days we experienced the, “May Gray,” skies typical for this time of the year in southern California. But this one night, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful golden hour of light before the sun set.

 

Sixth Most Popular – Plane Video!

I used to always want to sit in the aisle seat when flying cross-country, as I liked the ability to be able to stand up and stretch my legs without needing to disturb my seat-mates. Recently though, after a few flights sitting by the window, I now pick the window seat when flying over land. I am often mesmerized looking out the window at the clouds or the landscape below. This is video I took while departing LAX in December. It was a beautiful day for flying.

 

Seventh Place – Santorini

After spending a week exploring Crete in May with fellow travel bloggers, my friend Kat and I took the ferry to Santorini for a short two-night stay. I wanted to see this magical island which seems to always look its best in photos. The stark white buildings, vibrant blue sea and stunning landscape of Santorini did not disappoint.

Poking at the Eighth Spot – Jus’Poke

Jus’Poke is a little restaurant/cafe in Redondo Beach that is in an oddly shaped building, on a busy street. The previous cafe there, a doughnut shop, did not last long. But every time I visit Jus’Poke for my poke-fix, there is a long line, sometimes even out the door! The poke is that good, and the photo makes my mouth water.

 

Last (Ninth) Place But Not Least – Flytographer in Budapest

This photo, from a photo-shoot with Flytographer in Budapest, is actually two years old. I was visiting European Christmas markets on a solo trip in December, 2014. And at the last stop on my trip, in Budapest, I had the opportunity to have a Flytographer photo shoot. Wow, the pictures captured the magic of Budapest’s Christmas markets, and the photographer Roky took so many fantastic pictures, it is hard to pick a favorite one. It makes me want to return to Budapest for more mulled wine and sparkly lights! You can see more photos from my shoot and read more about my experience in my recent post here.

The Best Nine

2016 was so much more than these nine photos, but it is fun to share daily photos and see which photos receive the most likes. Once again, food and coffee photos are popular, as are sunsets on the beach. I try to mix up the things I post, so that there is a sampling of beautiful cars, food and drink, and a travel location. It will be interesting to see in my mix of photos for 2017 what everyone likes the best!

Have you discovered your #2016bestnine?

To generate your, “best nine,” Instagram posts for the year (which nine posts received the most likes), visit https://2016bestnine.com/, type in your Instagram user name, and the site searches your posts and compiles the top photos in a collage you can post to Instagram, share to Twitter or save as an image. The site also compiles your total number of likes (15,935 for me) and the total posts you shared in 2016 (362 – a little more than one each day).

Happy New Year! Here’s to a great 2017!

Celebrating Olympic Day in Pasadena

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Today, June 23rd, is Olympic Day, a day celebrating the Olympics around the world. In honor of this day, local NPR station KPCC hosted a discussion panel with several US Olympians at the Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena, California on Tuesday evening.

At the event, several Olympic pin collectors displayed the hundreds of pins they have collected by trading at several Olympic games. It was interesting to hear their stories of how they started collecting pins and their memories of attending several Olympic games. I have some pins from when I attended the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, but my collection pales in comparison to the pins they acquired through trading.

Olympic Day pins

The moderator for the panel discussion was Olympic Hall of Fame swimmer John Naber (1976 Swimming, 4 gold and 1 silver medals). Before the discussion, John introduced Gordy Crawford and he spoke about the US Olympic and Paralympic Foundation and encouraged everyone to support Team USA – even a small gift makes a difference in helping our athletes train for the Olympics!

John asked questions of each of the Olympians about their experiences at the games, what they remember and the lessons they learned. With a diversity of sports represented, it was interesting to hear their perspectives about what we can expect from the US Olympic Team at the Rio Games this summer.

The panelists included:

  • Shirley Babashoff (1976, swimmer, eight Olympic medals)
  • Dwight Stones (1972, ’76, ’84, high jumper, two Olympic medals)
  • Connie Paraskevin (1980, ’84, ’88, ’92, ’96, speed skater and cyclist, one Olympic medal, four world titles)
  • Paula Weiskopf (1984, ’88, 2012, volleyball player and coach, two Olympic medals)

Olympic Day panel

The Olympic panel with

The Olympic panel. Front row L-R: Shirley Babashoff, Connie Paraskevin, and Paula Weishoff; Back row L-R: Dwight Stones, Gordy Crawford (Chair of the US Olympic and Paralympic Foundation) and John Naber.

After the discussion, all the athletes mingled with audience members, and I spoke with Dwight Jones about his broadcast career – he will be reporting for ESPN International in Rio, calling play by play for track and field, and Shirley Babashoff about her soon to be released book, Making Waves, and the documentary about the 1976 games and the East German swimmers that she knew were doping at the time (but no one else seemed to acknowledge this) – The Last Gold. Shirley brought along her 1976 gold medal in the 4×100 relay and let all of us hold it. What an honor!

Olympian Shirley Babashoff poses with me.

What an honor to meet Shirley Babashoff.

 

An Olympic gold medal!

An Olympic gold medal!

It was an honor to meet these Olympians, and I thank them all for representing our country at the Olympic Games. I am excited for the games in Rio this summer.

Happy Olympic Day!

Amara Chocolate and Coffee Cafe in Pasadena

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Earlier this year, my friends Lisa, Melissa and I were looking for somewhere to meet and catch up with each other. Melissa suggested a few places near her in Pasadena (California), and one of them was a place that served hot chocolate. That quickly became our pick, and we met there on Saturday afternoon.

I arrived first, and since I left the house early that morning, I was hungry. Not knowing if we would be ordering only hot chocolate or food too, I decided to try an empanada while I waited for Lisa and Melissa to arrive.

Pasadena empanada

Beef empanada at Amara

It was the perfect size for a small snack, but you could also order several to make a full meal.

Although I wanted sipping chocolate, I needed some caffeine, so I decided to try a cacao latte, but I had choices as to how dark I wanted the chocolate in my mocha to be, a choice I never had before! I am a big fan of dark chocolate, so I ordered my cacao latte with the 61% dark chocolate. According to Amara’s menu, the chocolate is paired with Guatemalan espresso. It was the perfect combination of chocolate and espresso flavors with a hint of sweetness.

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Amara Cafe’s dark chocolate mocha – note it’s already half gone because I was too excited to drink it before taking a picture!

While waiting, I realized that Amara Cafe was not simply a pastry cafe but a Venezuelan cafe – the empanadas on the menu was one clue. There was a selection of the usual sandwich combinations, but at the register, an ipad displayed photos of other menu items. One thing that caught my eye was a tortilla that seemed to be covered with beans and plantains. There were also churros on the menu! I did not expect that. I knew I wanted to order some but decided to wait to see if Lisa and Melissa were interested in sharing some too.

Melissa arrived next, and while she was looking at the menu, she too noticed the tortilla photo and was intrigued. We decided to order that to share and learned that in addition to the beans and plantains there was beef and cheese as well. It is called an arepa, a Venezuelan corn flat-bread. We ordered La De Pabellon which included the arepa, shredded beef, white cheese, black beans and plantains.

Pasadena pancake

When it arrived at our table, we split it between the three of us (by this time Lisa joined us) – it might make a main entree for dinner, but with both beans and meat, it is pretty filling for one person for lunch. It was delicious – the sweetness of the corn tortilla and plantains balanced nicely with the meat and beans. So, so good!

After finishing that, we had our next big decision – how many churros to order, and with what sauces? We decided on six to share with dark chocolate and nutella sauces.

Pasadena churros

Churros con chocolate -mmm the perfect morning, lunch, mid-afternoon or late night treat!

We were all surprised by this little cafe in the heart of old town Pasadena. While there is typical cafe fare, the Venezuelan menu items – especially the chocolate – give it something to stand out. Read more about Amara’s chocolates on their website.

The space is small, but we were able to find a table with ease to enjoy our orders. There was a steady stream of customers coming in for food to sit and eat or a drink to have on the go.

I would recommend visiting this unique cafe and trying some of their Venezuelan delicacies and chocolates!

Amara Cafe

55 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105
info@amarachocolate.com
Phone (626) 744-1765
90 min Free Parking

Hours

Monday: Closed
Tue-Thu: 8.30am – 7pm
Fri – Sat: 8.30am – 10pm
Sunday: 9:30am – 7pm

Have you ever visited Amara Cafe? What did you think? Do you have a favorite cafe for chocolate, churros and/or coffee? Share your favorite spot below in the comments!

Visiting the LA Auto Show

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The LA Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center (South Hall entrance).

Last weekend, Dave and I visited the LA Auto Show on Saturday. Through Dave’s membership in the Audi Club, we were able to enter the show an hour before it opened to the general public. What a treat to see and take photos of the different car manufacturers displays without crowds of people!

The LA Auto Show is at the Los Angeles Convention Center and is open through Sunday, November 29th, and show hours are 9:00 am – 10:00 pm daily. There are cars to suit everyone’s interest, an aftermarket hall, and opportunities to test drive some vehicles too.

Here are some photos of the cool cars we saw.

We first explored the Audi booth, or rather, we made a beeline to see the new Audi R8 in the Audi booth.

I event sat inside for a little bit – there’s a surprising amount of head room (not an issue for me, but for those with taller builds, I imagine it would be quite comfortable).

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Here are the displays.

BMW:

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Mazda:

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Cadillac:

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Acura:

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The new Acura NSX was on display with a screen above showing the overhead view.

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When I walked by the Alfa Romeo area, most of the cars were still covered, but this 1968 33 Stradale was unwrapped and gorgeous.

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The 1965 TZ2 was also uncovered and looking fantastic.

Alfa Romeo 1965 TZ2

Alfa Romeo 1965 TZ2

The Maseratis were also still under wraps but slowly emerging. I love the look of the Maserati front grill, and their trident logo is iconic.

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We briefly ran through the Mercedes booth, stopping to take photos of this.

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And the SLS

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We left the South Hall and rushed over to West Hall, hoping to see the Ford booth before the show opened. We wanted to be able to ogle the new Ford GT before the crowds came. It did not disappoint in person!

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Both the race car and the street car were on rotating stages so you could see the car from every angle.

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It was really interesting to see the back and look under the car to see how the air flows beneath it. We can’t wait to see this race!

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Although I am not crazy about the yellow color on display, the lines of the street model of the Ford GT are beautiful.

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After staring at the two Ford GTs for a long time, we looked at some of the other Fords on display, like this Mustang GT 350r which Dave declared is, “my next car.”

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We went outside to test drive the Fords. Ford had an Explorer, Edge, CMax, Focus and Mustang to test, but in order to test the Mustang, you had to drive another car first. Dave tried the Explorer and I drove the Edge. Both were nice comfortable rides and handled well on the short drive around Los Angeles’ city streets.

We both drove the Mustang – it has eco boost which makes it not as front heavy as usual. There was also a paddle shift option on the car, which I tried for a small section but it didn’t have the same feel as the manual transmission I am used too, so the Ford representative switched it off.

After our test drives, we went back into the hall to see the Fiat booth – I love the Fiat 500s, and was also interested to see new Fiat Spiders on display.

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We took a quick glance at the Dodge Viper.

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We left the south hall and went to see the Porsche display, which was in its own contained area in Petree Hall. Not surprisingly, it was very crowded.

The 911.

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It was nice to see the race 919 Hybrid FIA World Endurance Champion car on display.

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While I was adding money to our parking meter Dave visited the Galpin Hall and saw the Aston Martin from Spectre…and didn’t take any pictures of it, or tell me about it. I love the beauty of Aston Martins and am bummed I didn’t see any.

In the After Market Hall, there were some modified Lamborghinis and Corvettes on display.

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Of course I spotted some original Abarths – modified by Madness Autoworks in Signal Hill (Long Beach). They are so tiny compared to the modern versions!

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This is only some of what is on display at the show. There are literally hundreds of cars to see, to sit in, and to test drive! It is fun to see the new cars the manufacturers are showing, and also to compare different makes and models of cars if you are in the market for a new one.

It is the last weekend of the LA Auto Show, so head downtown and check it out!

 

South Bay Scenes – Week of Nov 15 – 21, 2015

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The week started with cool (cold for southern California) nights and high winds. We didn’t take the dogs to the Strand then, as the sand was blowing and would get in their eyes. Later in the week, the temperatures rose, and it felt like summer during the day.

Surfer on the beach.
Late afternoon sun.
Clear skies.
Down by the water.
Portions of the bike path were closed due to the sand blown on the path.

On Wednesday night, Manhattan Beach hosted the annual tree-lighting ceremony and open house downtown. The temperature was warmer as I was comfortable walking around with only a sweatshirt.

And the nights, while cooler than in the summer, were still California temperate. But you can see the days are very warm! We traveled downtown for the LA Auto Show on Saturday, and it was much warmer there.

But as you can see, cooler weather is on the way – just in time for Thanksgiving!

 

Flashback: Penn Serves LA: Habitat for Humanity

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When I worked for the University of Pennsylvania’s Western Regional Office in Los Angeles, I was fortunate to help a group of dedicated Penn volunteers as they created opportunities for local alumni to come together to serve the community. Since an initial meeting in April, 2012, this group, called Penn Serves LA, has organized numerous volunteer opportunities for Penn alumni and their families all over the greater Los Angeles region.

Here is a post I wrote on April 1, 2013, for the Frankly Penn blog about their Habitat for Humanity event.

In April of this year (2015) Penn Serves LA is offering several opportunities to serve with Meals on Wheels. You can learn more about the group and register to participate at one of their events via their website.

Here is the original post:

Penn Serves LA: Habitat for Humanity

By Kiera Reilly, C’93  @KieraReilly

On Saturday morning, March 9th, I drove to a house in Lynnwood, California, hoping to take photos of the Penn Serves LA group working on a Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles project. There was a dumpster in the driveway, and a work truck parked out front, so I assumed I had arrived at the proper place. As I walked toward the home, I noticed people on the roof wearing Penn gear. I guess I’m at the right place, but why are they all on the roof? It turns out our job wasn’t to paint, as many of the volunteers expected, but to remove the roof from the house!

I checked in with the Habitat for Humanity on-site managers, and they said, “Oh, sure you can help…just sign this waiver, put on some gloves, grab some goggles and head up the ladder!” Gulp. This wasn’t what I was expecting, but seeing that everyone else was on the roof, I took a deep breath and up I went to join twenty other Penn alumni and friends.

Penn Serves LA volunteers at Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Penn Serves LA volunteers hard at work taking off the roof.

The Penn Serves LA volunteers were all busy working with tools to scrape and pull tiles and nails off of the roof. Others were filling buckets with broken-up roof pieces. That became my job, filling a big paint bucket with roof pieces, walking over to the edge, and flinging the contents over the side into the dumpster. On my first attempt, about half of the contents landed on the ground, and half in the dumpster. The bucket was heavy, and I felt like I might fling myself off the roof with it! The Habitat supervisor encouraged me to go closer to the edge of the roof, and if I felt the bucket going, just let it go. Pretty soon I got the hang of it, and wandered around the roof helping to collect and dump all the tiles everyone was helping to remove.

Penn Serves LA volunteers on the roof for Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Back-breaking work.

The Habitat staff stopped us for water breaks, making everyone climb down, drink some water and rest. And we enjoyed a long lunch break, with a beautifully displayed spread of sandwiches, tangerines, carrots, chips and cookies provided by Jane Gutman, CW’73, PAR’14, PAR’16, one of Penn Serves LA’s directors. While we ate, our group talked about jobs, where we lived, and what we studied at Penn. Everyone seemed happy to be there and were enjoying the tough work since we were doing it together.

Penn Serves LA volunteers work on a garage roof Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

While most of us worked on the house, this group removed the roof from the garage.

Happy Penn Serves LA volunteers at Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Happy Penn Serves LA volunteers.

Penn Serves LA volunteers moving a tarp from the lawn Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Now we had to move the tarp from the front lawn.

The tarp was really heavy for Penn Serves LA volunteers Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

It was really, really heavy!

Habitat for Humanity currently has grants to work on homes in three areas of Los Angeles, and Lynwood is one.  The family we were completing the house for currently lives in 100 square feet of housing.   Recipients of homes are asked to contribute “sweat equity” of 250 or 500 hours, depending on whether their home was remodeled or whether they were receiving a newly built home.  They get 30-year mortgages with no interest, and only one person has ever defaulted because the folks who get the houses are all hard workers with good credit.

The roof our group removed was 1,600 square feet, and we worked alongside the woman and her family who will be living in the house. They were great and so excited about their future home.

“What a fantastic experience it was to work alongside so many terrific young Penn alums and their friends. We got crazy dirty doing really hard work, but it was so satisfying and the group was Quaker strong, determined and indefatigable,” said Jane Gutman.

Jane continued, “I am soooo tired and wait ‘til you see the photos showing how dirty we were…I probably won’t be able to walk or move tomorrow, but the Habitat guys were so encouraging and supportive and our group totally came together and just never stopped…an awesome day!”

Penn Serves LA founder Jane Gutman helping to remove the roof Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Jane Gutman helping remove the roof pieces.

Penn Serves LA director Jane Gutman showing off roof dirt Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles

Jane Gutman showing us all the dirt from the roof!

The Habitat for Humanity event, which was co-sponsored by the Southern California Regional Advisory Board, Wharton Club of Southern California, and PennClubLA, was the fourth Penn Serves LA event since its launch in May 2012.

The Penn Serves LA Habitat for Humanity volunteers after removing the roof! Los Angeles

The Penn Serves LA Habitat for Humanity volunteers after removing the roof! Hurrah, Hurrah!

See all of the photos from our day here.

Are you active in community service? Want to get your favorite nonprofit involved? If you have a nonprofit in mind for a future Penn Serves LA event, let us know. Our initiative provides alumni with the unique opportunity to showcase their favorite charitable organization. Send us an email at pennservesla@gmail.com with your name and Penn affiliation, the organization you would like us to serve, why you got involved and how Penn Serves might help. The group would like to expand to other cities, so please contact us if you’d like to spearhead a similar effort in your town.

Penn Serves LA is an initiative to encourage Penn alumni, parents and family across all schools and all years to come together and serve those in need through established nonprofits working in underserved communities. Children and spouses of alumni and parents of current students are also invited to participate (please check age requirements). Penn Serves LA is regularly scheduling service events throughout the year. Penn Serves LA is working in partnership with PennClubLA, Wharton Club of Southern California, and SCRAB.

You can read about our first event at Turning Point Shelter in Santa Monica, our second event at the Midnight Mission, and our third event at Inner City Arts.

The Penn Softball team volunteered at Habitat for Humanity in New Jersey – here’s the link to a story and video about their experience.

This article originally appeared on the Frankly Penn blog on April 1, 2013.

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Flashback: It’s Cold Outside!

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Given the beautiful weather we’ve been having in Los Angeles the past few weeks, and the frigid temperatures on the east coast, I thought it would be fun to re-visit a post I wrote for the Frankly Penn blog last year (March 13, 2014 to be exact):

I work in Penn’s Los Angeles office, and I always enjoy returning to campus for some seasonal weather. When I was back on campus the last week in February for campus meetings and the annual Penn Alumni board retreat, I was treated to a real winter blast.

I left this in Los Angeles….

Sunny and warm in California (Manhattan Beach, CA)

And arrived for a week of cold weather and some snow!

Snow falling as seen from my temporary office in the Sweeten Alumni House

My Sweeten House colleagues were less than excited to see more snow given the harsh winter this year, but I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I even enjoyed bundling up in all my winter clothes that I never get to wear in Los Angeles, especially on Friday, when the temperatures were in the teens.

Cold temperatures!

Bundled up in a sweater, a down jacket, a hat, a scarf and gloves! Brrr!

College Green looking magical in the snow.

The next time I’m on campus, for Alumni Weekend, campus will be lush and green and in bloom for spring.

This article originally appeared on the Frankly Penn blog on March 13, 2014.