Alive in Wonderland

Back posting on my personal blog

This is my personal blog, filled with deeply personal thoughts and experiences...not really. I'll mostly be posting my photos, music and other things that didn't quite make it to my column or OCFamily.com. 

One thing I enjoyed doing here is marrying my photos with lyrics to some of my favorite songs. 

Here are some past photos or you can go to my Flickr group for more photos like this these.  

Find the beauty in your life

I took this photo on the windy terrace of the breathtaking Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast. I love the idea of adding my reflection to the stunning scene behind me. I was there for a mom blogger getaway event for OC Family.  You can read all the glorious details by clicking right here.  

The photo was taken on my well-loved iPhone and spruced up by an app called "Best Camera."  I'll wait while you go download it right now....**tap**tap**tap**...

I learned about the app, and about a brillion other things about photography on Saturday at a class given by the crazy talented gals of Any-Time Art. For 4 hours 15 gals were taught about aperture, and shutter speeds, and dozens of tricks to make our photos of our kids and lives look their very best.  Women helping other women make their lives more beautiful..is there any better way to spend a Saturday morning? 

 

 

I ♥ my iPhone, have we covered this already?

 

I took this photo of the window at Anthropologie at The Irvine Spectrum this weekend (go here to see the entire photo sideshow).   It was taken with my iPhone and the spruced up with the "Best Camera " app.  It's my submission to Mommy iMoments.

I love the colors and cheerfulness of this photo.  When thinking of a song to go with it, this one came right to my mind.  Hope everyone has a colorful and cheerful Monday.  

***

Madalenine Peyroux signing 

"Some fun out of life"

I can't get over how much she sounds like my beloved 

Billie Holiday.  

 

The Kite Song

 

This is a kite that waved and the confetti that floated above Disneyland's Main Street during a ceremony for two Disney legends-- Richard and Robert Sherman.  Two pretty remarkable men you've probably never heard of, but who wrote the soundtrack to many of your childhood memories.

You can read my full story here.  

*****

While I was editing the photo, this song by Patty Griffin came to mind: Patty Griffin's Kite Song.

 

Best Shot Monday: Anaheim Ducks

 

The theme for Tracey Clark's  Best Shot Monday this week is "I **heart** These Faces" and I easily chose this one of Anaheim Ducks players, Teemu Selanne, Jason Blake, Saku Koivu and a boy who is receiving treatment for cancer at CHOC Hospital.  

I took the photo last night while I was doing a story on CHOC night at the Ducks game.  I **hearted** the faces of some of my favorite hockey players a little more after watching how friggin' awesome they were to the boy and his family. Given both Saku Koivu and Jason Blake are cancer survivors, the smiles and encouraging words were even more ***heart***felt.  

So, for the second time in Best Shot Monday, I'm submitting a hockey photo (see my photo and post of Giguere, here). Sometimes it's hard to be a girl that loves hockey, but I think Tracey understands me. 

Story and video coming...

****

More things I've written about the Ducks:

Corey Perry Fights Robots, here.

Hockey Me vs. Girl Me, here. 

Why I love (**heart**) hockey, here.

 

 

 

'Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams and fairy tales'

Emily and I fooling around today on the lawn. This song came on in her room as she was falling asleep and I was editing the photo.  It's like a child's lullaby when you look at it that way and if you know Emily, it's the perfect song for her. 

Little Wing

 

Well she's walking through the clouds

 

With a circus mind that's running round

 

Butterflies and zebras

 

And moonbeams and fairy tales

 

That's all she ever thinks about

 

Riding with the wind.

When I'm sad, she comes to me 

With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free 

It's alright she says it's alright 

Take anything you want from me, 

Anything. 

 

Fly on little wing, 

Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing

Jimi Henrix

 ****

 

I love Sting's version of Little Wings.

Briefly back.

Well Hello!  I'm back from my blogging hiatus and have a lot to share, but only time for a quick post.  This is my photo of The Huntington Beach Pier  for  OC Daily Photo.  The pier is one of my favorite location in OC to shoot.  I don't know if it's because it's my hometown or because the area is so beautiful, but I have taken a mountain of photos of it.  

 

Listening non-stop to Jeff Buckley this last week.  Such a sad story about an Orange County boy: Phenomenally talented, tragically lost. 

"Hallelujah" 

 

Best Shot Monday: Kicking it in pink kicks on Sunday afternoon

 

On Best Shot Monday over at Tracey's blog, she asked us to share a photo from our weekend. This shot is of my daughter kicking it in her pink Converse on the field at Angels Stadium during the Orange County Down Syndrome Association's Buddy Walk. This is well after the walking portion of the day, as we waited for The English Beat (watch video of them performing Twist and Crawl here) to take the stage.

Check out my full story of The Buddy Walk over at OC Family.

 

✻✻✻✻✻

 

Funny side story about these pink Converse: Ben begs me to throw them away because he once had a  bad dream about them. In the dream, they came running down the hallway all by themselves and tried to "make" him eat an orange (which he maintains is the worst fruit ever). He didn't even want me to post this picture because it gives him the creeps. I think they're cute.

 

Pictures in Wonderland: South Coast Shipyard

 

This shot of the South Coast Shipyard building on the Balboa Peninsula is my addition to OC Daily Photo today. I'm the Wednesday photographer, which means every Wednesday I get my chance to show off a little bit of OC with one photo. 

 

✺✺✺✺✺

Wednesday is also the day I share what I've been listening to on my Blip.Fm Channel.

This week it's JAZZ and lots of it. 

Specifically, my favorite gals signing jazz standards: Ella; Billie; Diana; Sarah. You can listen to my playlist by clicking over. Just consider it another way I can impose my taste and mood on you. YAY!

Pictures in Wonderland: The Filling Station

This is my photo for Orange County Daily Photo this week. This shiny Rolls Royce was sitting in front of The Filling Station in Old Towne Orange just begging to get its picture taken. If you haven't eaten at The Filling Station yet, you've got to get down there while the weather is still nice, sit on the patio and have a Veggie Burger and Iced Tea. 

 

It's great people watching (read: Chapman students in skinny jeans and architects eating salads). Then you can head over to the The Heavenly Hostess (which I wrote about here), who has moved to the location right under the Flats, and pick yourself up something you don't need, but must have.

✺✺✺✺✺ 

Spending time at "The Circle" always reminds me of hanging out there in High School.  This song is one of my favorites.  

The Jam's "Beat Surrender."

"Fill your heart with joy and gladness. 

You've lived too long in the shadow of sadness."

The last day of summer...

 

...at least for our family it is. My kids go back to school next week, so today marked the unofficial last day of summer. 

 

It hardly felt like summer arrived and now it's gone. This summer seemed more like a movie trailer rather than the full length feature--it was fun, but just flashed by.  I love summertime (see my post here as to why) and I'm sad to see it go.

✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻

The Beach Boys' "We've Been Having Fun All Summer Long"  seems like a good soundtrack for today.  

This song includes one of my favorite lryics from a song, ever: 

"Remember when you spilled Coke all over your blouse?" 

I love a good obscure or sharply personal reference in a song, don't you? Brian Wilson was the master of it. 

✻✻✻

I took the picture above in Corona del Mar.  It is one of hundreds of submissions from photographers from around the world to SkyWatch Friday. 

 

"You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face..."

"...and show the world all the love in your heart." Carole King 

Good Morning! This is My Best Shot for the week.  

"You don't always have to hold your head, higher than your heart"

I'm going to take a week break from blogging to get this summer jump-started. 

We aren't taking vacation this year, but we plan on roller skating, making some art with chalk, catching the $1 movies, celebrating Emily's 8th birthday, and exploring on the beach.  It's going to be awesome!

See you next week.  

❇❇❇❇❇❇❇

Jack Johnson's "Hope."

"You don't always have to hold your head, higher than your heart."

Fancy free

We went to a graduation party for my friend LeAnn's daughter on Saturday night.  I felt like dressing up, but a new dress was not in our budget.  So, standing in my closet,  I went through my older clothes.  

I mean, I bought everything in there.  I should be able to find something I loved, or at least liked.  Then I saw this sequenced, corduroy, girlie skirt I bought at Anthropologie years ago.  

This skirt I do love.  So I went to the party--fancy free. 

✽✽✽✽✽

At the party, one of my favorite bands played, 

"Mike Brady's Permanent Wave." Heard of them?   

They sang this song, which I also love, it's so sad, but so hopeful at the same time...Train's "Calling all angels."

"I won't give up if you dont give up"

Daydreaming over ahi

Sometimes when I download photos I look at an image and realize I was daydreaming through my camera. Like in this picture above.

This was taken at a restaurant while enjoying some ahi and a lemon drop martini.

Have a great weekend and get some daydreaming in...

✻✻✻✻✻✻ 

Music to daydream by, 

Luka Bloom "Open up your arms" 

"Let some light shine in..."

✼✼✼✼

Other things I've been doing around blogland: 

Orange County Daily Photos: South Coast Plaza Balloons 

MomCrush: My write-up on The butterfly release ritual at The St. Regis. 

Flickr: I was featured on the front page of Explore on Flickr! I was honored. If you've never browsed the Explore page, you take some time and do it.  

The butterfly release ritual at The St. Regis

(My daughter holding a Monarch butterfly.)

Last Saturday night my family and I joined a handful of other families at The St. Regis Monarch Beach for their weekly Butterfly Release Ritual... and I am so glad we did! I'm always looking for inexpensive activities to do on the weekends and the cost of the whole evening was just $5 for the valet! (Plus tip, of course.)

At seven o'clock we gathered around a small table on the terrace overlooking the ocean, as the staff served (again, let me restate, free) Champagne to the adults and apple juice for the kids. The butterflies were brought out in a large glass jar. The kids gathered around and a white-gloved man read a short poem about making wishes (or something along those lines) while the butterflies readied themselves for flight.

(Look at how beautiful they are.)

Then he released the Monarchs into the soggy Dana Point sky. But what the staff did next was nothing short of magical for the kids. They pulled out tiny triangle cardboard boxes, each containing one perfect, magnificent butterfly and placed them on the fingers of the fidgety, awe-faced children. The Monarchs didn't bolt right away either, they sat on their fingers, for sometimes up to five or so minutes, allowing the kids to pass them back and forth to each other, getting a once in a lifetime, up-close view.

Now, that would have made the trip worth it right there. Free-of-charge magical moment for my kids? Check! But, we were then invited to their storytelling time down by the lawn. We headed down just in time to see Little Red Riding Hood, complete with cape and basket, sit herself down and begin to read her own story. The kids then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores and we all sat around sipping hot chocolate talking to the other families.

Did I mention this was all St. Regis' treat?

When we were waiting for our car at the end of the night, Emily told me that her heart was beating so fast when they brought out the butterflies, she could hardly breathe. You just have to go sometime this summer. It happens every Saturday until Sept. 7th at 7 p.m.; story time is at 7:30 p.m.

✹✹✹✹✹✹✹

My suggestions for other free things to do in Orange County:

The Santigo Art District's Art Walk--Next one June 20th-Watch my video from last year.

Walking the Bolsa Chica Wetland.

Watching the skateboarders at Van's Skatepark at The Block.

June gloom calls for Ella

Today's Ben's last day of preschool and Em's last day is Friday.  It's hard to imagine it will be summer vacation since the weather is so gloomy and dreary.  But, if you grew-up in Orange County, this is what you expect. It was a tradition to wear your shorts and tank tops the last week of school--and pretend you weren't freezing.  

The great thing about June gloom is by late afternoon the sun usually wins out, like in the picture taken in Huntington Beach.  I love the beach when it's empty and orderly like this, so peaceful.   

✺✺✺✺✺

When the weather is dreary, I have to listen to Ella Fitzgerald. 

All butterflies and lemon drops

I'm so glad I didn't let this one slip by...We almost didn't go to the St. Regis Monarch Beach on Saturday Night to participate in their Butterfly Release ritual. The weather has been gloomy and we were all grousing around all day Saturday, not feeling up to being "amazed" or anything like that. 

Sometimes making those special moments happen for your kids takes an actual effort on our part--the nerve--but it's true. 

 

The staff at the St. Regis brought out the butterflies in a big, beautiful jar, read a story about wishes (or something) and then released twelve Monarchs into the gray, soggy sky. They then pulled out tiny white cardboard boxes, each containing one perfect butterfly and placed them on the sticky fingers of the fidgety children. 

 

It really was a sight to see and later Emily told me her heart was beating so fast she couldn't breathe. I'm so glad we rose above our petulant moods and made the trip. It lifted our spirits. The Lemon Drop helped in the lifting of my spirits, too. I love it when that happens.   

I will write up all the details on The St. Regis later this week on MomCrush.

New blog: Orange County Daily Photo

“Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.” Ansel Adams

Creating an Orange County Daily Photo Blog has been on my mind for a while. I used to post a daily photo right here on Alive in Wonderland, but it became too difficult to keep up with it regularly and I felt it infringed on my writing time. But the desire to share Orange County through photography was still there, so I started this collaborative blog that launches today:

Orange County Daily Photo

The photographers include Marcy, Jeff S., Chris, Jeff D., Tracey,  Susan, and moi. Head over and take a look. We love Orange County and hope to show you why with our photography and stories.

You can also follow us on Twitter:  OCDailyphoto.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

Earth, Wind and Fire

"That's the way of the World."

"Don't hesitate, cause the world seems cold.

Stay young at heart ‘cause you’re never, never old at heart"