Back to reality...

I had the BESTEST (yeah, I KNOW it's not proper English, but it's totally true) TIME EVER with Jane and Jeane this past weekend. EVER!!! OMG! It was way too much fun. I picked them up on Friday morning and we hit-

in one day-

LAX-9 a.m. picked J and J up.

Nova Color-simply the best place to buy paints and acrylic mediums. MY paint store of choice!

Graphaids-Jeane discovered this is the best place to buy the world's coolest mechanical pencil! It's a great Mom and Pop art supply store and one of my haunts.

Lulu's Cafe-MY FAVORITE place to eat breakfast food. Hands down. If I like you, and you want breakfast we go here.

Checked them into the world's best hotel to stay if you are in your 20's. I can't wait for them to blog about it and will let them talk about it. If you want friends over in your hotel to make art, you need to rent a room there and play in their kitchen. It was more fun then can be imagined-or believed. If it's a Saturday night at 7 p.m., you leave your hotel door open and listen to a free comedy show. Seriously. I'm not kidding.

FIDM Scholarship shop-holy moly, if you need clothes-cute clothes at cheap prices and you're in college or younger-you need to go here. If you need fabric-you NEED to go here. I can thank my friend Kara for telling me about this place. I bought $20 worth of fabric and could hardly carry it out of the store. Be prepared to dig.

Kino-buy-it-all otherwise known as, Kinokuniya in Downtown L.A. Otherwise known as Pen Heaven, Book Heaven and holy crap-you must go here. The nickname says it all. We all bought pens. We all need more pens like we need holes in our head. Yup.

Zinnia! in So Pasadena!!!!-I LOVE Zinnia!!! WE ALL LOVE ZINNIA! 'nuff said. You're coming to So Ca to shop? You must go to Zinnia. Do not stop or pass go. Get in your car from the airport and drive to So Pasadena. You live in So CA already? Then you know all about this place and the groovy people who work here and the fabulously fun art stuff they carry and sell and display.

Paper Source in Old Town Pasadena-Warning! Warning! Paper Source is DANGEROUS if you love paper. Ask Jeane. She loaded up on their new India line. I, luckily, had already purchased it. I did buy one stamp that I didn't have. I blame Jeane. I did not, however, find my little Buddha Buddha Light Peace Buddhaman that I am searching for. Oy, and they also make Buddha lights. How frickin' cool are those?

Swains in Glendale-I've been going here for years. The last time I was there I fell in love with Stabilo's Woody pencil crayons. I shared the love with my friends who also needed a set.

Porto's in Glendale-YUM. Totally worth the 15 to 20 minute wait-at times, most of the time. I can not go to Glendale without going here.

Back to the hotel for our 'show and tell' of what we bought.

Headed home about 10:30. Exhausted but happy!

Saturday-
9:30 a.m. Picked J and J up. Hit Starbucks-need. black. unsweetened. iced. tea. End of story.

Breakfast at my favorite bagel shop-Bagel Broker on Beverly and Fairfax. You want good bagels? You go here. You want damn good bagels? You go here? If you're a really good friend and we're short on time and you love bagels, I take you here. Ask the ladies who take my once a month Sunday class at Stampin' From The Heart how good the bagels are. I wait in line for 'em, damnit!

Sat in traffic on the 5 and the 91. oy. I had damn good company though so that makes traffic FUN! Plus they got to listen to my running commentary as I drive. I blame David for that. I never ever 'talked' to other drivers until I moved here. Yup.

Gilding the Lily in Fullerton. I will be teaching here in September and I can't wait!!! I could have sat on the floor and spent all day looking through the paper ephemera!!! Dangerous dangerous store!!!!! ;)

More traffic. FUN company though makes traffic FUN. Whodathunkit?

Guess where we ate lunch?

LOL Yup, we drove from Fullerton TO BURBANK! We went to THE OTHER Porto's in Burbank. If I think you're the worth it, I take you to Porto's two days in a row. LOL Chocolate chip cookies, anyone?

A quick stop at a thrift store, disappointment at finding nothing but an extremely crowded store made us look at each other and say, "Let's go back to the hotel and work in our journals!"

Back in Hollywood, we played for HOURS. It was SO much fun. OMG. Talk about laughs. This much fun and art should not be allowed in a hotel kitchen. It was awesome.

Sunday-
9:30 a.m. picked J and J up. Took photos of the fun stuff in their hotel room (lava type lamp anyone? chicken wire in the window glass?), before they checked out.

10:30 a.m. we were at The Firehouse in Venice. OK, if I LOVE you, I take you to my other favorite breakfast place-The Firehouse. It is damn good food. On the way there, we passed Urban Craft Center. I wondered out loud if was open. I mentioned fabric. Jane said yes.

11 a.m. Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica. I swear Jane and Jeane died and went to fabric Heaven. We only had 20 minutes. Did you know how much damage you can easily do in a place like this in twenty minutes? Jane told us to come back later and pick her up. It was that good.

11:40 a.m. Starbucks. Yup. Must have black unsweetened iced tea or can't make it through the day. (Thanks again, Jeane).

12:04 p.m. Stampin' From The Heart L.A. Oh how I love this store. I had a packed class and a FUN day. It was the second time I taught my Transcribed journal. Holy moly, did we have a blast. I love seeing so many different colors, textures and ideas flowing out and onto the pages of everyone's new books. It was the perfect way to end the most fun artists should be allowed to have in one weekend!!!!!

5:15 p.m. Our farewell dinner at Islands in Marina Del Rey. Can we say yum? Can we say tired?
Can we say WOO HOO WE HAD A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!

I dropped Jane and Jeane off at the airport in time to catch their flight home. Hugs and good byes. I drove home with a smile on my face and my head swimming with memories.

It was a damn good weekend.

I can't wait to do it again!!!! Thanks you two for a FABULOUSLY fun weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED every minute of it!!!!!!!!!! When are we gonna do it again? ;)