Slacking

{And a Trip to the Huntington Library}

Welp, I've been a neglectful blogger of late. Between wedding plans and a frustratingly slow recovery from a minor neck sprain, this little blerg has been put on the back burner. I do hate to disappoint my dozens (hah!) of readers out there.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to make a work-related Friday errand to Pasadena at a discounted rate under the selfish condition that I could start my weekend early at the Huntington Library. It isn't often that we find ourselves in Pasadena, so when given the opportunity the Huntington Library is a must. True to form I shot only fanciful details that don't quite reveal the overall the beauty of the HL. Oh well, you'll just have to visit it yourself.

{sculpture garden}

{vines}

{hexagonal window, statue - can't take credit for this one though I'd like to}

{fragrant flower}

{flower, branch}

{roof line}

{sculptural wall}

{sun portrait}

{cactus garden}

{cactus garden}

{tiny flowers}

{scale}

{desert tree}

{a flower on one of the most beautiful trees gracing the Library grounds}

A wordless look at what we've been up to...

{they're BEADS. Over 2 million of them.}

weekend.

Ah yes, the first post-holiday weekend. Met with equal parts exhaustion from the first week back at work and eagerness to return to the normal weekend routine (i.e. sleep a tad late, doing whatever the hell we want).

Happy hour and dinner downtown with friends Friday evening was followed by a partially lazy Saturday. Whilst Francis surfed or something, I rode my bike up to a favorite cafe to devour this book (a Christmas gift from my sister, and SO GOOD). Later, an evening jaunt around North Park to admire the local color, a veritable mix of hipster + hardass.

Sunday I forced Francis into a cleaning frenzy with me, and we rewarded our efforts with a beach excursion. There is an area of Sunset Cliffs (well, there are probably many) that can only be explored during the lowest tide. We did just that. I then had a small culinary victory Sunday night when I (with considerable, if involuntary, help from F) whipped up some savory cauliflower soup.

{letter from sister}

{portrait}

{north park} 

{cave}

{only in very low tide can one walk here} 

{pools}

{told to pose like this}

{looking for tiny crustaceans}

{fun with new camera toys} 

{sunset at Sunset Cliffs} 

An Abridged Holiday Photo Diary

{With Captions Where Necessary/Unintentional Hiatus Over}

{December Nights is not for agoraphobes} 

{sister Phoebe should pursue acrobatics}

{...or architecture}

Not pictured: 

-some intense K1 racing that left most of us with bruised hips and spines. And the need for speed. 

-a sickening sum of hours spent playing Bejeweled. 

-most things we did. 

Saturday Beach Bocce

On Saturday, some of us Conrads (+Francis) enjoyed a 'friendly' game of beach bocce ball. I suppose it should be mentioned that my dad and Francis were tied with 8 points each, whilst sister Phoebe and I trailed behind with 2 and 3 points, respectively. With my skillz, I proceeded to win 7 points in a row, clinching the win in what my dad described as an 'impressive display of prowess'. Booyah!

I think we're going to start taking bocce ball very seriously in this family....