Home Sweet Home

Jay just returned from a business trip to Georgia where he took a little extra time to visit friends and family. Meow and I missed him a great deal, and were so happy to have him back home with us! Our little apartment seemed very big and empty without him here.

When we first moved into our apartment, I had promised a post showing it off. Well, we've been here almost two years, so we'll call this better late than never! We live in UCLA housing in a neighborhood called Westdale. It's about 5 miles from UCLA, and is on 3 public bus lines. A very pricey neighborhood, and we probably couldn't live here if we didn't have the university to subsidize this complex. I'll have to ask you all to excuse the clutter and any messiness - I didn't clean up, I just snapped some shots while I was making dinner tonight!

Our apartment is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom just around 900 square feet. Since it is just Jay and I, it's actually a good size for us. A little tight perhaps since we were downsizing from a house in Massachusetts and a much roomier apartment in Athens, but still cozy rather than just too small! We live on the second floor. The kitchen, dining room, computer nook, and living room are just one large area with the two bedrooms and bathroom towards the back of the apartment off of a short hallway. Many people live in this complex upwards of 5 years, and they take the time to paint. We just left the walls the white they were painted when we moved - we'd had quite enough of home renovations by then, and needed the break! Below is our kitchen and dining areas:
The computer nook is tucked neatly on the other side of the sink in the above photo; the living room is where I took the picture of the dining room. A couch and chair separate the dining room and living room from one another, but I left them out of my shots. Below is the computer nook and living room:



That leaves the bathroom and two bedrooms. Well, I won't show the bathroom. It's pretty standard stuff :). One bedroom we use mainly for storage, and it has a desk though we never work there. Jay camps out in his recliner with his laptop, and I work at the computer nook or the dining room table. The other bedroom, of course, we use for sleeping. To the left is one view of our "office." We use it mostly as storage. The wall to the left of the desk is covered in shelves. In front of this I hung a closet rod (12 feet) and hung 4 curtains from IKEA to hide them.



Almost all the furniture is from IKEA. Since we lost most of our furniture when I overturned the truck, it was the most affordable option we had for a mass purchase. The shelving there is fantastic, we had tons of options that fit our spaces and budget.

Well, there you have it! Our little pad. Which, by the by, is always open to friends who wander out here to the west coast. We only have an inflatable bed, but the company is pretty good! And we have an excellent wine selection :)!

The Getty Villa

Whenever we have guests visit, we always, always take them to the Getty Center off the 405. It is one of the most amazing examples of architecture I have ever seen. The view of the city is absolutely incomparable. There is also, of course, the art. But this post is not about the Getty Center. It's about the Getty Villa. The Getty Villa is the original J. Paul Getty Museum. When the collection outgrew it's home, the Getty Center was built. The Villa was completed in 1974, and now houses the antiquities portion of the Getty collection. It is modeled after the partially-excavated Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, that had been buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. While it is free to get into both museums, for the Villa you must make a reservation ahead of time as admission is limited. Below is a photo of the entrance to the Getty Villa.
We arrived and had lunch, then dove head first into the collections. There are many pieces from the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan civilizations, some more than 5000 years old. They were all breathtaking. The artistry and craftsmanship is unbelievable, and we took hundreds of photos. Below is a photograph of one of the most famous statues in the collection, of Herakles (Hercules). The floor in this room is a recreation of one from the Villa dei Papiri, and is composed of over 7000 individual marble tiles.
The photo below is of a fountain that is based on one uncovered in the "House of the Large Fountain" in Pompeii. Any detail that couldn't come directly from the Villa dei Papiri was taken from other Roman villas of the time. This fountain is covered with colorful tiles and seashells, and on each side you can see the greek theatre masks.
J. Paul Getty was adamant that the gardens be as accurate as possible, right down to having a working herb garden as would be found in a true Roman villa. There are two main outdoor garden areas in the Getty Villa, the inner Peristyle and the outer Peristyle. Where you see a statue, there had been a statue found in that spot in the ruins of the original Villa in Italy. Truly remarkable! Here I am standing in front of the pool in the inner Peristyle. In the original villa, the pool in the outer Peristyle was 4 meters deep and likely contained fish that were raised for the household to consume.
We spent about 5 hours in total combing through the myraid collections and examining the gardens. There is so much more to learn! You can easily get overwhelmed in a single trip. Afterwards we drove to Ventura to have dinner with Jay's workmate Linda. Linda is a fascinating woman. She lived in Turkey for a little over 20 years, and has had so many experiences in life! Dinner with her was wonderful, we were incredibly well-entertained. As you can imagine, we were exhausted and enjoyed a Sunday of doing absolutely nothing at all. I leave you with a dark image of us in the Atrium of the Villa. Behind us is a little pool. In a true Roman Villa, the atrium was open to the sky and this small pool collected rain water that drained into a cistern below. This water was then pumped throughout the home, so that the Roman nobility could enjoy running water. Nice! I also ask my friends out there to note that my husband's hair is getting a little too out of control. Please feel free to mount an email campaign encouraging him to get his hair cut. I beg you.

Another trip to wine country

This post is an update on what we did two weekends ago. About 2 hours north of LA (you can take either the 101 or the PCH) you can head away from the coast through the San Marcos pass in Santa Barbara. Through the mountains you will be in the Santa Ynez Valley. This area was made famous in the film "Sideways," though to be honest I have yet to see the film. We often make the drive up for a day trip just to get away from LA. The above photo is taken in the car as we drive up the PCH. It was quite overcast that day, which is normal for this time of year in southern California. It's called "June gloom." It's gray and chilly, and I do not recommend visiting this time of year. You will miss the normally wonderful weather we have here otherwise. As you can see, the southern coast here is gorgeous.

We now have a routine for our trips. We start with a wine tasting at Curtis Winery on Foxen Canyon road. The whites here are fantastic! We buy a picnic lunch at the Los Olivos Grocery, and then head to Bridlewood Winery. Bridlewood is a picturesque place, and since we are members we can picnic on the grounds here near the lake. We usually do a tasting here, where the reds are our favorites.

Following our tastings, we head into the town of Solvang. Solvang is a Danish settlement, and the architecture reflects that. We often browse the world-famous antique store (cannot afford a thing in it) or visit the Hans Christian Anderson Museum tucked away on the top story of our favorite used book store. We always get a coffee and pastry at one of the many Danish bakeries in town! Below is a shot of the Solvang windmill.

It's a relaxing and fun retreat from the urban life of LA. We often head to Solvang with friends and stay for dinner.