It’s the night before Christmas (Eve), this house is astir, and I’m reflecting on what an eventful week and weekend I had with a few words and instagrams. On Monday and Tuesday, I went to two holiday parties– one at the Department of Water and Power and one at City Hall in L.A. The best part of about the event at DWP was the the gift exchange! I walked away with a book, a cocktail mixer and a few t-shirts, among other things. I also learned a little bit more about modern architecture in Los Angeles, as it was put on by ‘Modcom’, which is short for Modern Committee and part of the L.A. Conservancy. The crowd is super smart and eccentric, and my friend and I were told that the Art Deco Society of L.A. is also worth looking into. The best part of the City Hall Holiday Party was mixing and mingling with city staff, of course, and it wasn’t too shabby being up on the 26th floor, despite the strong winds that chilly night!

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On Friday, I went to a very cozy and cool loft party off of Spring St. in Downtown L.A. The hosts showed us around their lovely loft, sectioned off into three ‘bedrooms’, also offering us a hot spiced whiskey drink as soon as we walked in, which really hit the spot. It was interesting since many of the girls I met that night had spent time abroad and, in fact, were in the process of trying to launch blogs about their travels, doing lots of video editing. We talked about my super fun experience at TBEX not too long ago. I have to say that I am still somewhat enamoured with the idea of living in Downtown and even talked to a few people we met that night about the possibility of it. I like the Arts District since it seems a little less noisy than the Historic Core. In any case, it’s still very expensive and many people seem to think that Silverlake provides the best quality / price ratio and more green space, since it’s nestled up along the northern hills just west of Downtown and heading towards Hollywood. I guess we will see if I can manage to move out to a new place within the next few months. I really like the idea of having my own studio soon.

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Yesterday, Saturday, I went out to Hermosa Beach with my little sister and her friends to celebrate her very special 23rd birthday! I was the designated driver so took it easy for the night. We started the night at ‘Sharkeez’, then headed to ‘Studio’ and ended up at ‘Chelsea Pub & Lounge’. So, we went to three places and they are all very different. I really liked ‘Chelsea Pub & Lounge’ since it is a bit lower-key, but there is still great music and dancing! (Also, I’d been to all the other places, but not there, so it was new for me.) We made sure to dance at each place! It was a group of 8 of us in all. And finally, today, Sunday, our whole family came together for a productive, but still fun and relaxing day of tamale-making. It was the first time I can remember making tamales since I was a little girl– we made traditional ones, as well as more innovative ones. My two sisters came up with recipes using pineapple, strawberries and ‘tres leches’, for example. According to my sisters, we made over 100 tamales. Not sure what we will do with all of them– eat lots and give many more away!

Signing Off,

~ Erica