Abbott Kinney and the UCC

Erika got a new job! Yay!! She will be the President of KTLA, or some similar title, I sort of forget. All I remember is that she will likely get her own parking spot with her name on it!! Totally important. She starts this week so we looked at a few apartments for her on Sunday. We didn't find any winners but there were a ton of For Rent signs out there so I know she'll find something fabulous. Good luck friend!

After apartment hunting in Los Feliz, we did a little shopping in the area and went to Reform School and Kelly Green in Silverlake. I got the coolest planters at Kelly Green. They're made of bamboo but feel like plastic and come in great colors. After a few years, the planters will crack and start to fall apart, and you just bury the entire planter and plant in the ground and it biodegrades. Neat! They're super cheap too. The biggest one was only like $8 I think. Here's my lot: 

After that Erika took me to Abbott Kinney in Venice because I've never been. It was the cutest strip of boutiques and fun house stores, loved it! The whole street has beautiful landscaping too, these succulents were my favorites:

THEN after that, we went to Santa Monica to go check out the Urban Craft Center, a.k.a. coolest place on Earth! It's a studio space where you can have a monthly membership or even pay hourly to use their space and equipment. They have sewing machines, easels, screen printing stuff, you name it. They also have a giant circular sofa to lounge on and a store attached to the studio full of goodies. It made my heart squeal. If I am to ever leave the world of science, it would be to do something like this. I'm not creative enough to be a full-time artist, but running a creative business is something I could see myself doing. Something to combine what Jeff does (art gallery, illustration instruction, painting) with something I enjoy too somewhere great in downtown Long Beach would be such a dream. Walk or ride a bike to work, be surrounded by pretty fabrics and fun supplies, and to get to craft to my heart's content would be such a dream. Ahhh....

I couldn't leave without buying fabric. I picked up a yard of this Kokka fabric, it's a beautiful purple heavy-weight cotton with hippos and hippo butts on it. Awesome!
This is the storefront. If you're in the area you MUST check it out. 2433 Main Street in Santa Monica. I'm going to take my mom when she comes to visit and hopefully take one of their classes.