Just saw an ad for this exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in LA and can't wait to go see it!
Women Hold Up Half the Sky
The exhibit is based on the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, including pictures, stories, and the beginning of a documentary! I've talked before about how this book really opened my eyes about the treatment of women and young girls in other parts of the world. Highly recommend it if you're looking for a good non-fiction book. A little heavy at times, but very inspiring.
I'll let you know how the exhibit turns out!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wineos
D and I did an overnight trip to Santa Barbara wine country in July. I recognize that it is now October (where the heck did all the time go?!), but I think it’s still fun to revisit our trip. I heart Santa Barbara and could definitely commit to living there. Its go beaches, mountains, and wine! A fabulous combination with only occasional spouts of bad weather (June Gloom is pretty oppressive . . . but I guess that’s merely by Socal standards). Anyway, back to our trip . . .
We drove up from LA and went straight to the Santa Ynez Valley. D used to live in a small town outside of Napa, and since we hadn't made it to any wineries since we moved to SoCal, we were pretty over due for this trip. In fact, one of our first dates was an outing to some wineries in Napa! Without a particular route in mind, we kind of followed the same trail that the wineos used in the movie "Sideways,” but luckily we avoided all of the kerfuffles that the movie's two main characters got into. My favorite part of visiting wineries, other than the wine tasting, is talking with the tasting room attendants. D and I are educated wine drinkers, but definitely not snobs about it. We really enjoy learning about the whole process of making wine and also all of the vineyard dramas that go along with it. My Alma Matter, Washington State University, began offering a Wine Business Management degree right after I graduated from grad school. Since leaving WSU, I’ve wondered if that major had been available while I was in undergrad, if I would have pursued it rather than my Hospitality Business Management degree. Hmmmm . . .we shall never know! After our winery tour and checking into our little hotel in Solvang, we went to dinner at the Hitching Post (which was also in the movie and is a local favorite). Dinner was delicious and the Pinot was even better! The next morning we packed our car up with an array of clinking wine glasses and bottled concoctions, and made on last stop before heading home. We stopped in Solvang to sample their delicious butter cookies. Although we resisted buying the 5 lb. drum of cookies, we definitely snagged a few for the road, ending our trip on a wonderfully sweet note.
We drove up from LA and went straight to the Santa Ynez Valley. D used to live in a small town outside of Napa, and since we hadn't made it to any wineries since we moved to SoCal, we were pretty over due for this trip. In fact, one of our first dates was an outing to some wineries in Napa! Without a particular route in mind, we kind of followed the same trail that the wineos used in the movie "Sideways,” but luckily we avoided all of the kerfuffles that the movie's two main characters got into. My favorite part of visiting wineries, other than the wine tasting, is talking with the tasting room attendants. D and I are educated wine drinkers, but definitely not snobs about it. We really enjoy learning about the whole process of making wine and also all of the vineyard dramas that go along with it. My Alma Matter, Washington State University, began offering a Wine Business Management degree right after I graduated from grad school. Since leaving WSU, I’ve wondered if that major had been available while I was in undergrad, if I would have pursued it rather than my Hospitality Business Management degree. Hmmmm . . .we shall never know! After our winery tour and checking into our little hotel in Solvang, we went to dinner at the Hitching Post (which was also in the movie and is a local favorite). Dinner was delicious and the Pinot was even better! The next morning we packed our car up with an array of clinking wine glasses and bottled concoctions, and made on last stop before heading home. We stopped in Solvang to sample their delicious butter cookies. Although we resisted buying the 5 lb. drum of cookies, we definitely snagged a few for the road, ending our trip on a wonderfully sweet note.
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| Bridlewood Estate Winery - just bought by Gallo Wines |
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| Firestone Vineyard - Owned by the same family who started Firestone tires |
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| Foxen Vineyard - They tried to sell us a Pinot that they called the "Watermelon Jolly Rancher" |
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| Curtis Vineyards |
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| Hitching Post in Buellton |
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| Downtown Solvang |
Thursday, October 6, 2011
iSad
I'm not a Mac gal by any means, but I find myself deeply saddened by the loss of Steve Jobs, one of Apple's original founders. I always admired him and enjoyed how he always strove to be a creative entrepreneur. While mourning his loss, I found the Internet and Facebook to be peppered with quotes, images, and remembrances in his honor. I found a video of a commencement speech he gave to Stanford University graduation in 2005. Although I can't remember who gave my commencement speech in my undergrad graduation, I did graduate in 2005, so I'd like to pretend that Steve Jobs was giving this speech to my graduating class. At the end of the video, he begins to talk about death and living every day like its your last, and I found myself getting choked up. If I died tomorrow, would I be satisfied with what I've done so far? Am I really living my life to its fullest? Is my fear of taking risks, holding me back from finding my true passion in life? Am I happy with my career? His message truly continues to be a wonderful inspiration and the world will miss his calm encouraging nature. I'm sure in Heaven he's stirring things up and continuing to encourage people to look at things outside the box. In case you need a little inspiration or pick me up, here's the video that I was referring to:
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