Underwood Farms Pumpkin Patch: Find your perfect pumpkin!

Its no secret that my favorite season is fall. I love changing colors and when there's a slight breeze in the air, but mostly I love the pumpkin patch! I grew up having my parents take me every year to the pumpkin patch. We would spend hours looking for the perfect round pumpkin or finding our way through the corn mazes and enjoying the hayrides around the farm. When it comes to the holiday seasons, my inner kid comes alive. While boozy Halloween parties in cemeteries maybe the thing to do in Los Angeles, what I love most is to put on Casper or Hocus Pocus and carve a pumpkin!

Underwoods Family Farms Pumpkin Patch

This year I went to my favorite pumpkin patch in Los Angeles, The Underwood Family Farms located in Moorpark. It is quite a well known pumpkin festival in which there is hayrides, a petting zoo, a corn cannon, food, and live performers. It brings me back to when I was a kid.

The Petting Zoo

Speaking of kids! I had the great pleasure of bottle feeding these baby goats. I love goats, they are my spirit animal and for only $4 I was not going to miss out on this festive activity!

The Corn Maze

The corn maze will always be near and dear to my heart. As a kid, my parents always took us through the mazes but they were never as big as the one at Underwoods. As an adult, I feel like we often lose that unashamed enthusiasm quality kids have. We see the world often times through jaded lens. This is not the case for me when I enter a corn maze, I'm in there running with the kids, following the clues and looking for the end. :)

Finding the perfect pumpkin

Finding the perfect pumpkin has always been a work of art. I always determine my perfect pumpkin depending on what I want to carve. Last year My pumpkin art was skull (white pumpkin) inside a busting out head (my orange pumpkin) I searched high and low for two pumpkins of the same shape, where the white pumpkin would find snugly inside the carved out orange pumpkin. This year, with no real idea on what I wanted to carve, I was simply looking for a large, oval pumpkin with a fairly flat side in which to carve a design. I ended up with 4 pumpkins, 1 to carve, and 3 of varying size and colors to decorate my porch with (my mothers influence). It was a successful haul.

Pumpkin Carving

This year, with no real design in mind, what I did have was a pumpkin drill. I was so proud of my carved out masterpiece last year that I was not sure which route I wanted to take this year. While my boyfriend carved the iconic scared face of the kid from Home Alone, I poured over picture after picture looking for inspiration. Did I want to settle for Pinterest designs or classic spooky images. I came across this spooky tree masterpiece and while I did not think I was ready for this ambitious feat, I did like this idea of the spooky tree. I had several obstacles to overcome during my own carving (accidental trees being sawed off) but in the end I like how mine came out.Too bad by Halloween, this is how my pumpkin looked. Funny how the other pumpkin looks shocked by the dying pumpkin next to him :)  Oh well. I still love everything about the experience.What are some of your favorite fall activities and what was your pumpkin carving design this year?

1st Annual Catalina Wine Mixer: A Photoblog

I went to the first annual Catalina Wine Mixer and it was awesome. This was my first trip to Catalina ever and I should probably have figured that paradise was a wine party on an island. We spent most of our time at the Descanso Beach Club where the event was held and the party was your typical laid back beach vibe. It was a great day

Silver Lake like a Local

Before moving to LA, the only thing I knew about Silver Lake was that it was hipster central. Then I happened to find my very first LA apartment 2 blocks away from the hippest corner-block and I understood immediately the appeal. I love to wander around Silver Lake because it is more than just Sunset Junction with all the eateries, intelligentsia and shops. You can walk a couple blocks through the neighborhood hills and be looking at gorgeous views of the city. Its so easy to feel like you’ve escaped the concrete jungle that is LA by walking through the lush hillside neighborhoods or hidden staircases (more about that!)

Get Energized!

 Love it or hate it, it has risen to be one of the most iconic spots in Silverlake, from the grenada tile floor to the Carrera Marble Coffee bar, it is a hot spot to sit and see and be seen. It is also really great coffee. My favorite drink is a Dirty Chai and intelligentsia does it well 

Get Brunch!

  A brunch spot tucked between the store fronts on Hoover st. that roots its philosophy in seasonally-driven dishes. It is a true farm-to-table brunch spot to end all brunch spots. If you go anytime between 11-1 on weekends, you will meet a line around the building. It is absolutely worth the wait, especially because it is completely vegan/vegetarian friendly. 

Get Exploring!

 A must do is walk up and down Sunset Blvd. There is such a wide variety of things to do and see and eat. From the cool graffiti to the hole-in-wall restaurants to the hidden silver lake public staircases.  The whole reservoir may be fenced around for security reasons but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a great place to get outside and get active. It is about 2.2 miles around the whole lake. There is also a dog park, basketball court, and Picnic Park attached to southern point of the reservoir. From Silver Lake reservoir and if you hike up the roads you can get a better views as well as explore the lush green holly neighborhoods.  The Sunset Triangle was a pedestrian experiment turned permanent fixture that has existed for 3 years now. The pedestrian square has tables, a public piano, a grassy lawn and even a basketball hoop. The space is used for weekly markets as well as summer movie screenings. The space is encouraging community hang out places, which is needed in a city such as Los Angeles.  Riddled all throughout the hills of Los Angeles, you can find public staircases (often referred to as the “hidden staircases”). They were just meant for pedestrians to easily traverse through the hilly landscape easily before cars became a requirement to survive in the city. These almost forgotten gems now gain attraction when people started creating fun walking tours incorporating all the stairs in a region. Check out Secret Stairs for their curated walks around the city. They even published a book! 

Get Eating!

 Forage is my #1 Restaurant on the list. It is quality food made deli-style and if you ADORE gourmet mac n’ cheese, then this is a necessity! Forage has a great balance between pre-made deli item dishes and made to order entrees consisting of specials, rice bowls and sandwiches. I prefer to order their 3-item deli case meals getting mac ‘n cheese, kale salad and whatever market-veggie dish they have that day (Their specials change daily based on market-available produce), but you can always get the Avocado Sandwich!!!  Silver Lake Ramen is one of those places that you will always be waiting in line for but it is always worth it. I’ve even gone at 3 in the afternoon and there was still a line! Pro-tip, just do take out! No wait, and they always give you so much, you can save it for the next day.  El Condor is one of those places I stumbled upon because it was so close to where I lived. It is Mexican-Californian hybrid cuisine that takes classic Mexican dishes and spins them to include items such as Kale. Their home made salsa is delicious with just enough kick to spice up your meals in a good way. They are also popular for their margaritas and their beautiful (secluded) patio.  Hyperion Public falls into the category of rustic-industrial upscale pub meets swanky nightclub.. Think rod iron and wood decor meets tufted leather walls. The food is delicious, the drinks are craft beer (They even sell my favorite beer Einstock!), crafted cocktails, and the it’s an overall great vibe 

Get drinking!

 The Thirsty Crow is owned by the same people as Sassafras and Bigfoot Lodge: The 1933 Group. Their general mission is create spaces/drinkeries that transport you to a different era, specifically the 1930’s Wild Wild West. They also have a killer Happy hour with 5$ drinks from 5pm-8pm. Even though the Thirsty Crow is small, they still have live music. SIDE-FACT! Father John Misty wrote a song about this place “Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow” Check it out here!  One of LA’s oldest German “Gasthouse” or taverns. You can get traditional german food or Das Boot! (think Beerfest!) It is a split level building with the lower level catering more to sit-down style tavern and the top level beings a hybrid bar/beer garden. Even if authentic German food isn’t your thing, the space alone is crazy awesome. Also did i mention the DAS BOOT!????? with craft German beer!  4100 was another one of my local bars because of the close location. The atmosphere feels secluded and a bit off the beaten path. (It is on Sunset blvd in between a jiffy lube and some businesses.) From the outside, it looks like a shoe box building but inside, you will find a dimly-lit bar decorated similarly to an Armenian Hookah lounge without the Armenians or the hookah. The whole back section of 4100 is comprised of spacious lounge seats and coffee tables. Great for when you want to go out with your lady group! 

Bonus!

 So Taco zone is technically in Echo Park in the Alameda Vons parking lot but they are the absolute BEST tacos in LA and I stand by that statement 100% I like the mulitas best, they are a cross between tacos and mini-quesadillas and they are divine.