Downtown Los Angeles - Bunker Hill

I've lived in Los Angeles all my life and worked in Downtown L.A. for over four years. I've never actually taken the time to enjoy all the things Downtown has to offer until recently.

I got called to serve jury duty for the city of Los Angeles around the beginning of May and will be serving for over a month. Their lunch breaks are an hour and a half long...which is quite a long time. While at jury duty, I have had the opportunity to explore Bunker Hill (the area of downtown where the courthouse is located). The sights include the Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Angel's Flight, the Los Angeles Public Library, Grand Centeral Market, and more... I decided this would be the perfect time to take in the sights, and take lots of photos.

More pictures after the jump...

Amir's Garden - Griffith Park, CA

Amir's Garden is located high atop a mountain in Griffith Park, CA.

Recently, I've added hiking to the list of things I've become interested in. Griffith Park has many hiking trails that offer a quiet and serene atmosphere which range from moderate to high level of difficulty. A friend of mine told me about an experience she had where a friend took her hiking and and when they reached the top, there was a beautiful garden. I couldn't believe that there would be a garden in the middle of the mountain until I saw it for myself.

This Sunday, I took the one mile hike to reach Amir's Garden. The story is...the garden was built by an immigrant volunteer named Amir Dialameh.Amir was inspired by the acts of volunteerism in this country, that he volunteered his time to build a garden in an area of Griffith Park that had been badly burned by brush fire. With the help of many other volunteers, Amir's Garden is now five-acres.

The garden is filled with picnic tables and benches. In addition, there are several trails and steps that allow you to explore the garden. I spent a few hours taking photos, eating a picnic lunch, and enjoying the scenery.

More Photos after the Jump...

Directions to Amir's Garden

California Strawberry Festival 2010

Each year, on the third weekend in May, Oxnard California is home to the 'California Strawberry Festival'. It's been many years since I last attended this event, but was excited to hear when a few friends would be going. I tagged along and experienced the sweet deliciousness this festival had to offer.

In addition to the strawberries, the festival is a place to see and purchase local arts and crafts, listen to live music, and eat a variety of festival foods. But let's face it, I went for the strawberries! There was a wide array of strawberry dishes which included strawberry beverages (smoothies, wine, lemonade, margaritas, etc.), chocolate covered strawberries, crepes, strawberry nachos, strawberry pizza, strawberry covered funnel cakes, and there was even a booth to build your own strawberry shortcake.

Home Made 'Cookie Monster' Cupcakes...

Well, it's not an original idea, but it's a cute one! --- The office I work at was having an Administrative Day Potluck to thank all the administrative assistants and clerical staff at work. These potlucks usually consist of several people chipping in a few dollars to buy some sort of entree to share. My co-worker and I wanted this potluck to be a bit different than the norm. She suggested we make cookie monster cupcakes. I thought what a great idea, it would definitely be something different and would give me an excuse to make cupcakes. Needless to say, I haven't made cupcakes in years and I've never used a piping bag before. What an experience! It took me over four hours to complete 24 cupcakes. I think I was in way over my head, but the end result was really cute and tasty!

(Yellow Cake Cupcakes with Chocolate Filling, Homemade Frosting, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies - Cut in half, White Chocolate Rounds for the eyes)