{safe in L.A. | with a little help from my friends | spring oh twelve}

abstract: a post facto spring oh twelve edition / photo potpourri of my wanderlust in (mostly downtown) LA

{as you survey the pretty visuals, listen to the colourful tune that prompted the title of this post}

bottega louie

home of heavenly and beautifully packaged macaroons 

the last bookstore

   

lemonade - downtown LA

cucumber mint lemonade - yum!

my healthy, over-priced lemonade meal

college night @ LACMA

mid-century modern furniture! :D

los sombreros go 'olé!'

j'adore Chet Baker!

an extremely bashful and overly pixelated sassica

downtown LA art walk

art walk din din @ chipotle / can't go wrong with guac!

accordion musical art display

havin' an old fashioned night cap on an old piano bench @ downtown's speakeasy gem, the varnish

remnants from a post Casey's-Jameson downing and Edison-lounging experience downtown:

the morning-after map

@ it's a wrap! | hah! lady hutch and I thrift-shopped our way home :D

lemonade - Pasadena

cute picnic table design!

watermelon rosemary lemonade

unique LA | spring oh twelve show

bang bang, shoot shoot!

someone stole Mario's hootch :P

I love the moleskin I got from sass&peril!

one of fav booths is 11:11 Enterprises'

creme caramel LA | bread pudding

creme caramel LA | masala chai caramel

orpheum

I'm still mentally kicking myself for missing this show! :0(

umami - downtown LA

cheesy tots from umami's secret menu

nummmm! umami's earth burger never fails at giving me mouth-gasms

fried très leches donut

watch out for the next summer installation of Safe in LA visuals at the end of July oh twelve!

- besitos y sonrisitas -

{lady sassica}

{memorias y sueños del helado | memories and dreams of ice cream}

I LOVE louis vuitton's spring / summer 2012 ads!

the simple summer confection of ice cream reminds of the early days when I sang into a hairbrush to Whitney, Mariah, or Ace of Base. that girl I once was soo "ready to dance with somebody," but far too innocent and prudish to "wanna feel the heat with somebody." those days when I constantly used a chair to prop myself up to the freezer just to jack some ice cream for some Tiny Toons snacking appear simpler in retrospective. ice cream to me was getting a scoop of Thrifty's black cherry ice cream after an optometrist appointment or dreaming of getting that awesome ice cream churner that was part of the American Girl's doll accessories for their Victorian character Samantha Parkington. as long as I was entertained and my belly was satisfied, I was a happy camper. rules and restrictions imposed by my parents sheltered me from the stress of deciding amongst so many choices - a dilemma that we're increasingly confronted with today as we grow older. As suggested by Lars von Trier's brilliant sequel to Dogville (2003), Manderlay (2005), sometimes restrictions and lack of choices make situations simpler, thus allowing individuals to be that much closer to attaining their concept of happiness.

ice cream is a sweet and universal comfort food. it quenches your thirst and ends your meal on a sweet note. even though I've converted my s.o. to the great nummy goodness that is Cold Stone ice cream, Häagen-Dazs ice cream is something that he has always devoured with complete satisfaction when he was a little boy and still does to the point where it's a treat I'd gladly spoil him with - especially to de-stress the fella when all else fails.

this year in comparison to last year's baggage has been considerably drama-less and far more awesome and optimistic. my stress level has been fantastic compared to the year before and I'm so happy that I'm on the right track towards better things and a better me. however, I can't help but still feel bothered by the most trivial things that occurred to me.

for example, I simply can't understand why some random latina mother wearing some nurse scrubs and walking around with two kids could cuss the hell out of me for calmly telling her that the office is closed and that I need to go pee ("you didn't answer my question! don't you walk away from me! you're fucking rude!...." etc.). if the office is closed and unless you want me to piss on your feet, I have absolutely no obligation to help you, you rude bitch who obviously shouldn't even be in the nursing program if you can't even fucking read a freaking sign that says we're closed. I walk out of my office just to go pee and random shit happens. go figure.

it's trivial occurrences like that which really isn't exactly that big a deal and shouldn't affect me that much that makes me worry and want to take action against an outlook/lifestyle of doom and being called a grumpy old bitch in the future. I've been meaning to do this for a long time - to more consciously and actively train myself to be happier, healthier, and better - and I know I'm super busy and tired from working full-time and also working on getting my master's in Library and Information Science - but heck, if I use anything as an excuse, I'll never get to where I want to be and who I want to become.

so I started jotting down notes on things I want to work on and potential outcomes I want to reach. I'm hoping to use Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project and SARK as guides to give me tips on what worked well for some people. I got the ball rolling on this life changing objective - so let's hope that Operation Sassica Metamorphosis would glitter with success at the end of 'oh twelve. wish me luck - and some major self-discipline!

- besitos -
{lady sassica}