Los Angeles Archives

Here is the Real Deal about the Museum of Ice Cream

We took the kids to the much-anticipated Museum of Ice Cream on opening day. I have contacts people!!!! And by contacts I mean my friend Miguel who happens to have a Platinum American Express, without which you could not have bought tickets the first day they went out for sale and, as a result, you could not have gotten tickets for a weekend day because they were sold out within hours… but, because I have friends with excellent credit, I was able to score tickets for the whole family!!! Yeah for me!!!!

Ok, let’s stop bragging about my rich friends and let’s talk about the Museum of Ice Cream. My kids loved it, but I want to come clean, this is not really geared to kids. True, there is some ice cream, lots of colors, and a sprinkle pool, but the entertainment lasts only 45 minutes, kids are not allowed to touch some of the art and the whole experience goes by fast. To be clear, I am not saying kids won’t have fun in this place because they will! I am just saying that the people that have the real fun here are bloggers and influencers because this place is ALL about getting the perfect shot and posting it in SM.

Like this one -although is not related to ice cream at all-:

As an example, when we were waiting to go in, I noticed there were no kids in sight, but a lot of young people dressed for the perfect selfie. In our group, there was a girl wearing a dress with ice cream fabric plus an ice cream bag, surely a fashion blogger. I wonder how long it took her to find that cute outfit! She looked great and I am sure her photos and posts are even better, but as a blogger myself, being surrounded by this made me feel a little bit uncomfortable and kind of fake.

This place should be called the Museum of Instagrammable moments instead of the Museum of Ice Cream. I wonder if it is my age and motherhood status that turns me off from this kind of Snapchat events but I decided right then and there that I would NOT take any selfies while swimming in the sprinkles pool, and I didn’t. As if this would make me a better person, which it doesn’t. Stop judging, Mila!

Granted, we went to the museum on its opening day, so maybe the crowd was a little bit different than it will be the rest of the time, but still, it felt weird. With that said, thanks to being part of that weirdness, I now belong to a special and exclusive club of people that, 1) scored tickets for the museum, 2) Instagrammed about it, and 3) wrote a post on top of that. As you see, I am not any different than the things I dislike and I am pretty wise too, clearly.

Let’s get back to the ice cream situation. We were in and out of that place in 45 minutes. We ate 3 kinds of ice cream and 2 sugary things. My kids were in heaven but I was not because I am doing a no sugar diet (or cleansing, as they call it in the West Side (insert eye roll emoji)) for a month and can’t eat any of these things… before you go on thinking how stupid I am to buy tickets to a place like this while in a “cleansing,” I will remind you that I live in LA, therefore I am required to have a couple of detox months a year. Another reminder is that I am going to be 40 in a couple of years and sugar has a big price to pay. It takes a lot of work to stay at my current weight, I won’t lie, so I pass on ice cream once in a while, which totally SUCKS because I get a lot of pleasure out of sugar like any normal human being does. #sadlife

Back to the subject you are here for, in this place more than any other (almost), images speak better than words so here are my blog worthy pictures of our outing, and, in case you are wondering, more tickets are out for sale TODAY! So run and get them if you are a blogger or if you want to have a crazy colorful experience, which brings me to my final conclusion: the future of art has to be Instagrammable. Just saying.

Take a look inside the museum:
First ice cream!

Max has food coloring on his ears in case you were wondering. No, he is not an alien, just a child that hates to have his ears clean. Ever heard of that before?
Everything in the museum has pink and yellow, except for the room that is all in mint: The popsicle area was fun, the only problem was that humans are not allowed to touch the “art” and that was hard to explain to a kid, but, guess what? I saw photos of another blogger sitting on the blue popsicle… I guess if you have 200k followers is OK to break the rules. Talk about having connections. Cr@zy gummy bears room! And, finally, the best for last: the sprinkles swimming pool! Look at that happiness, you can taste it but not the sprinkles because they are NOT real.

The final ice cream.

If you are wondering why I took so many photos of Victor and none of Max, that is because Max is in his “photo rebel age” where he refuses to look at the camera when asked for.

Hope you enjoyed the post. For more info, go here:

https://www.museumoficecream.com/los-angeles/

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Happy Thanksgiving And Life Lately In LA

November 23, 2016/6 Comments/in Life, Los Angeles, personal /by Mila

Happy long, amazing, social, lazy, and gluttonous Thanksgiving, everybody! I am thankful for having readers like you coming to this site every day. I super appreciate the support.

This weekend we are hosting Thanksgiving and a Friendsgiving. We have parties to attend, friends to see, food to eat, and many spirits to drink. My favorite Holiday of the year…

Because this is family time, I would like to share a post about what we have been up to lately. I haven’t shared a personal entry in a long time, so this is the perfect time to do it, hopefully. If you are not up for it, be back on Monday! I will be sharing some Christmas DIY projects next week.

If you have kids in LA, this is a good post to read too, because it has lots of ideas of what to do with children in this city.

We have been BUSY lately. This Summer and Fall have been crazy, as it always is when you have small children. We had trips, visitors, work, many, many family outings, and that One Room Challenge.

I am thankful for this little family of ours. I am thankful for my handyman and healthy children. Not so thankful for the misbehavior, crying fests, and constant hitting, but let us forget about reality today and pretend life is perfect.

Here are some photos of our lives (and activities) in LA these last couple of months:

Victor graduated from preschool last June. Sniff. Can I say anything else?

Family Festival at the Getty. I like the Getty and find any excuse to visit it. It was my dad’s favorite place in LA. He would go every day to see the art and have lunch at the fancy restaurant. Going there transports me into a different world. Such a beautiful setting. The Getty hosts two Family Festivals a year with many activities for children. We always try to go to at least one of them.L.A. Urban Nature Fest at the Natural History Museum. LA Urban Nature Fest is a great festival for families. There are many booths with crafts and activities for children and they are not crowded. For the Fest, you can easily stay at the museum all day and keep your children entertained with the fun events: butterfly stamps, bracelet made with flowers, studying spiders or snakes, drawing insects, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.Intrude – Public Light Art Installation – DTLA. This installation closed months ago but it was fun to visit. I mean, what is more fun for kids than giant bunnies!!!!!?? Also, it gave us a good excuse to go Downtown, which is my favorite neighborhood in LA.
The Broad Museum – The same day we visited Intrude, we walked outside the Broad Museum. There is a small green park where the kids played for a long time because you can hide behind that white wall and scare your mommy. Well, at least we can say we have been there, even though we have never been inside!!!! Getting tickets is not easy. The waiting list is huge and tickets get released months in advanced, but I promise we will visit soon enough.

First day of Kindergarten with that whale.
First day of preschool with the doggie.

Newport Beach. Nice to have lunch and walk around the Marina. Santa Monica – A beach day is always a good choice in LA.
Max turned three with a Blaze and the Monster Machine cake and a giant three balloon number.
OjaiDirt angels by filthy children.
Camping near Ojai – Ojai is a beautiful little town to visit. My favorite activity was walking around the city looking for vintage shops, because yes, I am obsessive compulsive. What do you think of that purple cactus above? It is REAL! If you follow my Instagram account, you have seen it before, if you don’t, you better follow it here, please!Yes, Jenis!!! When I saw this Jenis truck in DTLA, I cried with happiness. The love is real.
Mcconnell’s Creamery in Santa Barbara. If I am in Santa Barbara, I make sure to stop at this creamery because it is amazing, nothing else. I know there are some in LA too, but not close to my place, so I guess I have to go all the way to Santa Barbara to enjoy the place… I make a lot of geographical sense.

My friend soul mate, Paloma, and her son, Diego, visited in September. Do you have a friend soul mate? Another human that you became best friends with instantly and that also looks like you? I have that soul mate. We have been friends for 20 years.
El Capitan Canyon. We went glamping near Santa Barbara. It is nice to go “camping” without having to deal with the tent and dirty bathrooms, isn’t? Waking up surrounded by nature is a nice treat when you live in LA. Also, that beach is pretty cute, too. Día de Los Muertos Altars at Grand Park. It was raining when we went but it was still a fun morning. Grand Park is a nice place to go to with or without altars. The kids like the water games here, plus, the park is well taking care of. The altars were colorful and cute. I love Dia de los Muertos decorations and my kids do, too, because, as a parent, you have a big influence on the taste of your small and naive children.A selfie with my one and only.

Exercising 4 times a week. One of my goals this year was to exercise 4-5 times a week. Well, last September, finally, I started to do it and it feels good. Going up these stairs in Jefferson is one of my regular workouts. It gets me tired and it doesn’t bore me, plus, this amazing view awaits me at the top of the hill.

Now we head into this long weekend. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving if you live in the US, if not, I hope you have a great Holiday month coming up.

Thanks for stopping by.

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A Guide To Visit The Rose Bowl Flea Market

November 9, 2016/6 Comments/in Los Angeles, Ramble the world /by Mila

Let’s talk about vintage obsession today – not about politics, ok?

When I say my house was 70% built at the Rose Bowl, I mean it.

My house is filled with old scores I have been collecting throughout the years. Thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets…they are all part of my hunting routine, because I am a hunter and a hoarder… but don’t tell that to George because in our relationship HE is labeled as the hoarder.

In LA, the Rose Bowl Flea Market is my usual vintage destination because it is one of the ultimate flea markets in the country. Famous beyond boundaries, filled with amazing pieces, and heaven for vintage collectors.

As good as the Rose Bowl is, there is one problem and that is $$$. You don’t go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market to score a great deal. You go to the Rose Bowl to find beautiful things that others scored at a great deal. Scoring a great deal is hard work, folks. It takes time and effort and a LOT of trips to estate sales, so, if you don’t want to spend that time and effort to find beautiful things for your household, you can go to the Rose Bowl where it is all layout for you in a beautiful, easy, and pricey way.

I take my trips to the Rose Bowl very seriously. I get there early morning – 7am -. I start from the top. Focus. Go vendor to vendor (I already have my favorites). Get out of there by 10am.

Early bird is my middle name and I recommend it is yours, too. After 10am it gets SO crowded and hot! It is hard to walk, bargain, and appreciate the beautiful pieces. On the other hand, if you want to get a good discount, it is better to be the last one standing, so it is up to you.

Here are some tips if you are planning to visit the Rose Bowl:

Get there early. 7 am is the time I like to get there. It costs $15 to get in (after 9am it only costs $9). Vendors are setting up, the place is not crowded, and there is plenty of parking.
Finding parking is easy early morning. I have my favorite parking place right in front of the Exit doors. If you park on the grass, make sure you memorize some kind of landmark near your car. I have seen too many people get completely lost trying to find their cars on that grass. Beware!
Bring cash! Withdrawing money from an ATM on site costs $5, so there you go. Don’t do it.
Asking for a 10% discount when bargaining is the reasonable amount. Always ask for that discount, not much more than that.
Take a cart. This is major for me. It is hard to go around the market with a bunch of stuff in your hands. Another option is to ask vendors to keep your purchases with them until you decide to leave later, but this is such a big flea market that finding the same vendor again is not your easiest choice.
Do not be discouraged if it is raining. Rainy days are the BEST days to go to the Rose Bowl. There are not as many vendors, true, but what you see gets sold CHEAP! Best deals I have ever had at the RBFM happened during rainy days.

Rose Bowl General Information

Opens the 2^nd Sunday of each month

Schedule: 5am-4:30pm – Ticket office closes at 3pm – most vendors start leaving at this time too.

Regular admission starts at 9am: $9.00 per person. Children under 12 are admitted free with an adult.

Express admission from 8:00am – 9:00am at $12.00 per person

Early admission from 7:00am – 8:00am: $15.00 per person.

Special preview VIP admission from 5:00am – 7:00am: $20.00 per person.

Free parking.

No pets allowed

Food and beverages available on site.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any tips. I am happy to answer anything you want!

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An Outing To The Aquarium Of The Pacific

September 29, 2016/11 Comments/in Los Angeles, Ramble the world /by Mila

My friend Paloma and her son, Diego, came for a visit, so we took them to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It is one of my five top places to take friends with children when they come to LA. Kids (and adults) love it so much.

(Places like this remind me of how different was my childhood from the one my kids are having. I was born and raised at the “end of the world,” one of the southern most cities of the American continent Punta Arenas, surrounded by beautiful landscapes and people, but not much access to the “world”. My kids, on the other hand, have access to almost everything the world has to offer, including an amazing, gorgeous, and informative aquarium with hundreds of sea creatures just 30 minutes away! They are spoiled. I know it.)

So, let’s talk about the Aquarium of the Pacific. It is not a HUGE aquarium, but it is big and you can easily spend 5-6 hours there if you enjoy the different events and special exhibitions they have. If you just want to see sea creatures, you can be done in 2 hours. It has two floors and an outdoor area.

My favorite things to look for are the aquariums inside the building with the Horses and Dragons. Sea horses have all the colors and shapes you can imagine. My kids’ favorite is the Shark Lagoon. The sharks and stingrays get fed a couple of times a day; which is a lot of fun to watch. The Lorikeet Forest is a highlight, too. You are allowed to feed the birds while they walk all over your arms and hair. Did I mention there is a baby penguin? And a tunnel that runs in the middle of a seal swimming pool? Yeap, lots to do, for sure.

Here are some photos:

Nemo!!! All kids know Nemo and love seeing it in the natural habitat. This is a shark egg. That right in the middle is a shark. Kids can see all the different stages of shark development inside an egg. Precious.
Look at these glowing colors. Just WOW! Don’t you think?
Jellyfishes are beautiful. So graceful and serene.
Yes, this is a sea horse, can you believe it? The Lorikeet Forest. More and more color.

Paloma and Diego. Love you both!

My only problem with the Aquarium is that is expensive. It is better to buy a family membership and use it many times through out year to make it worth it. Otherwise, you will pay $29.95 for adults and $17.95 for children every time you go there.

Tips for your visit

Get there early to avoid crowds, especially on weekends.
There is a restaurant where you can buy food and drinks. They have healthy options.
There are some water games in the outside area. Some kids can get wet, so you might want to bring a change of clothes.
It is hot outside during the summer, bring sunscreen!

Hope you like it!

Aquarium Address
100 Aquarium Way,
Long Beach, CA 90802

www.aquariumofpacific.com

Open 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m – Every Day of the Year, Except Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and During the Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 15-17, 2016).

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The Arts District, DTLA – A Great Place For A Date

September 23, 2016/2 Comments/in Los Angeles, Ramble the world /by Mila

Right now, it is all happening in the Arts District, DTLA. Nice restaurants (have you been to Bestia?), cool galleries, vintage shops, bars… It is a great place to be so we have been taking advantage of it. It is close(r) to home, not that crowded (yet), and in Downtown, which is my favorite place to go out in LA.

If you are planning a night out with friends, I highly recommend going here. You can see art, have a drink, look at murals, watch people taking photos -million of IG opportunities here-, take a selfie -cause you know why-, and then have dinner somewhere.

Most galleries close around 6 or 7pm, but the Hauser Wirth & Schimmel closes at 8pm on Thursdays. Here you can get a drink and see some art before dinner. Shops like Hammer and Spear close around 7 pm, Poketo closes at 10pm on weekends, etc.

The last couples of times we went there, we ate at Fritzi. A small and modern restaurant; kind of unpretentious but hip. It is small, and never too crowded. The drinks are tasty and the food, too. The fried chicken is their signature dish, and it is delicious. The fries are great – double fried, which is the only way of making good fries. I like to sit outside and do some people watching.

The Arts District Brewing is just next-door. It has great beers and drinks, plus a relaxing vibe.

After dinner, walk over to Little Tokyo. There are even better bars over there and all the fun of a neighborhood that resembles Japan.

Here are some photos I took in one of our outings. Hope you like them.