Go Getty

Yesterday Ryan and I decided to brave a drive up to LA to go to the Getty Center.  It was a spontaneous decision and I'm so glad we went.  It was perfect weather and we got there as soon as it opened.  We hopped into an architecture tour of the grounds, and got lots of background on the history of the museum and the inspiration of Richard Meyer (the architect).  This beautiful museum was opened 12 years ago and cost over $1 billion to build.  Phew!  That's a lot of cash.  It was an awesome experience, and we loved every bit of it.  Go check it out, and bring a lunch with you and eat in the garden.  You'll love it.

Also, the parking is $15 but admission is free, so pile lots of people into the car when you go and save some money.  It's a must see!

Piano Man

Guess who's taking piano lessons finally?  That's right, I've decided at the ripe old age of 23 to start learning how to play the piano.  I'm really nervous.  Sports and physical activities come really easy to me, but the thought of being musical scares me lots.  Lessons start Wednesday, and I'm excited for the lessons and my new teacher.  She's awesome.  Hopefully I'll be able to play some awesome tunes like this guys some day.  What instruments can you play? 

Pillow talk

I bought this cute new pillow on sale at CB2. 

I've been wanting this pillow for a while, but the price tag is $70, yikes!

So I was excited to see this one on sale.  I haven't found the best spot for it yet, I'm still rotating it around the house, so no picture of it in my house.  But I'm excited about my new purchase.  I can't stop looking for new things for the house.  I've lost my passion for clothes shopping now, and all I want to do is hop for my house.  Do you go through shopping spurts like that too? 

Mormon Night

This weekend we went to "Mormon Night at the Padres" with the family.  We all ate everything the park had to offer from garlic fries to red vines.  The Padres honored our "Mormon Helping Hands" by having a large group of those that participated on the field.  Then the San Diego Mormon Chorale sang the national anthem, it was so amazing!  There were so many Mormons that night that the stadium went from an average attendance of 20,000 to 38,000.  Wowie!  Mormons know how to support their baseball teams.

 A series of scary faces from Braeden

 Best view from a stadium.  Love my city.

Inspired

Here are some cool pics from our tour yesterday.  We got a few ideas for our future home, but overall we're not all about modern, but we like to incorporate it into our home.  I don't know if you've noticed but we like to blend styles.  I'd say our style would be considered "traditional modern" or "eclectic" is the technical interior design term.

 House No. 2 - Our favorite house of the tour

 Master Retreat

 Their fence facing the street had cute planter boxes

 House No. 3

 Their front yard had this huge play area.

This wood paneling was through out the house.

Most of the homes had large sliding doors that completely opened up the house, and brought the outside in.  Can't wait to put these doors in our home.  If we can afford it.

House No. 6

I love the carrera marble countertops and the wooden drawer. 

The loft on the second floor.

Cow hides are everywhere, and so was this Eames chair.

Dwell House Tour

We're going to Dwell's annual House tour in LA today.  We're excited to take pictures and be inspired for our future home.  And it's just fun to go through these beautiful and expensive homes.  Pictures to come.

Must must must see!

Ryan and I saw this last weekend, and if I didn't want to go to Paris enough before, now I'm desperate! We weren't too clear on the plot from the preview, but we were so happy with the story line. It's surprisingly clean too. I'm ready to live a few months in paris eating French food and exploring the art, music and culture. You'll love this movie!

Cute.

I was going through an online design magazine and came across these adorable kids furniture.  You'll easily be spending between $1,500 and $2,000 to buy one of these beds, but aren't they too cute?  I love home shopping and decorating, and looking at kid's furniture makes me even happier.

So cute.  I can totally see any one of these in my house.  Too bad they cost an arm and a leg.

Must reads.

I've been able to read four books in the last 3 weeks and it's been awesome.  Here are some you might like to pick up for your summer reading.

 A sequel to her other book Shanghai Girls.  Such an great story and insight into China's history.  You'll be shocked at what the Chinese have endured.

 A truly amazing and spiritually uplifting book.  I don't usually read church books, but this one was too inspiring to pass up.  You'll be crying by page 20.

Another historical fiction.  Such a "bitter and sweet" book about the life of the Japanese Americans during World War II.  You won't be able to put it down.

If you have any books you can suggest for me please do!  Happy reading!