herbiehancock

i had the best time at the jubilee on sunday.  if you've never been, it's a small music & arts festival that is focused on showcasing local bands, comedians, poets, and artisans.  a couple friends of ours are among the team of people who started and run this festival, and i'm so excited i got to go this year! { friends! thanks to tatiana-the-awesome-stylist for this photo. } highlights for me included the ridiculously fun music of the little ones , laughing with great friends, eating out of food trucks, and people-watching {there were so many cute dresses to drool over}.  but the most beautiful part was helping out with the concrete voices booth.  concrete voices is a podcast some friends of mine run focused on life in hollywood, or i guess i should say real life in hollywood {not just what the movie industry makes it out to be}.  previous podcasts were on topics like urban gardening, teen homelessness, and street art.  this next podcast will be a co...

i had an amazing weekend! as i'm sure you can imagine, a large part of that was due to our concert with  joe gil  at the hotel cafe.    everything went fine and it was fun to see so many friends {and even some family} there supporting us.   i couldn't hear any of us very well {the sound guy was less than stellar}, but i had oh so much fun singing up on stage again.  i really do miss that, and the passion within me to perform has definitely been reignited.   look out world! { mr. joe gil }    { me + dannon } a few other fun musical things from my weekend... running into  sia  at intelligentsia {one of my favorite artists & activists}, learning to play " the cowboy song " on the ukulele {from joe vs. the volcano}, getting to hang out with the incredibly sweet guys from  the daylights , and experience the awesomeness/beauty that is their concert! seriously, if you get a chance to see the daylights, DO IT. { thes...

dannon and i have been mumford & sons fans for a few years now, ever since they were a little unknown band in the UK.  so when we saw that they were doing a tour-by-train with edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros and old crow medicine show a mere two weeks before the mister's birthday, we knew we had to go. so friday we drove over to the ship yards of san pedro and wandered around the docks for a bit before making our way into the giant parking lot... er,... concert venue. since we were there early, we found a spot right up front.  this was fine for the first two acts - not too crowded, fun people surrounding us, plenty of room to dance - but come mumford & sons and we found ourselves packed in like a japanese commuter train.  after a few songs up close {with dreamy stairs at the keyboardist - swoon!}, we made our way farther back where we could once again dance the concert away! {*} all the bands were completely amazing. we had heard old crow medicine show...

one of the coolest aspects of living in our neighborhood of echo park {other than the awesome coffee shops and being surrounded by musicians, actors & other creative types} is our proximity to the arts district in downtown LA.  this weekend we took advantage of our next door neighborhood and visited dozens of open art studios at the brewery. the brewery is the world's largest art complex, packed full of amazing live/work studios.  twice a year they have an art walk where artists open their homes for the public to come view the art being created there. here were some of the scenes from sunday: { "machine" - a musical instrument by church of art }  { metal key tree by sandman creations }  { art car ready for burning man! } { an outfit for arting - shirt: sf thrift store, skirt: ruche , shoes: bc footwear, pocketwatch necklace: lunashineshine , t-shirt bracelet: made my me } my most favorite studio, by far, was psycho girlfriend 's. these girls were all wearing han...

our trip to san francisco last week was far too short, but wonderful all the same.  we got to see many of our old friends, eat at our favorite places, and run some errands.  we also had multiple amazing conversations with all the right people.   there have been a number of big life topics that have come up for us lately.  it was so amazing to hear that we are not alone in the things which we're going through right now, and to gain a little perspective from similar experiences.  every conversation we had was just what we needed. here's a little peek at our trip: { eating at our old neighborhood cafe, the bean bag , where we ran into an old friend of the mister's.  that happens all the time in san francisco.  it's really quite a small city! } { during our few free hours we roamed through our favorite thrift shops on haight street. } { the best tikka masala i've ever had, at naan n curry  in the sunset.  mmm! } { our friends we stayed with have ...

last thursday we finally got over to the edison, an amazing lounge/restaurant/bar in downtown los angeles.  we've been wanting to go there for months.  the mister attended a lecture and met the designer of the edison, so the design inspiration was a pretty big draw {the mister is an interior architect/designer}.  plus, we're huge fans of anything in the steampunk or prohibition genre.  and wow! the edison did not disappoint.  i'm pretty much ready to move in  and never leave.     i wish we could have gotten some better shots because it's just gorgeous and magical inside! but you know, it's also pretty dark.  if you're ever in the area, make sure you go experience the awesomeness!  the rest of our weekend was spent relaxing, watching movies {i introduced the mister to dr. horrible's sing-a-long blog , one of my favorites - exactly the kind of film i would love to be in!}, taking walks, watching saturday night live with dana carv...

is it really january?  because it sure feels like the middle of summer.  please don't hate, but it has been in the 70's and 80's for a while now,. . .   and it is glorious! we jumped on this warm, sunny opportunity to go play in venice at the beach.  we watched the sun set, ate delicious panini sandwiches, and roamed through the canals.  the mister and i were reminded of all the reasons we almost moved there.  perhaps in a year or two... in the canals, there was a huge tree filled with gorgeous glass lanterns.  it was so magical!  these photos can't do it justice, but if you live in los angeles and haven't been down to the canals in a while, go find this tree! it's such a romantic spot. after venice, we grabbed coffee at intelligentsia and hung out with friends new and old.  i love how every time we go to venice we end up having a fun conversation with a total stranger, as if we had been friends forever.  this time we met the super swee...

tuesday, i had the distinct pleasure of spending the night on a roof, working on my friend's film shoot.  i had the title of production assistant, which meant helping out in whatever ways they needed, plus i got to do some set design.  it was such a blast!! { setting the scene } my friend's film company is  traveling muse pictures .  here's what they have to say: Traveling Muse Pictures is a collective of filmmakers and artists dedicated to  telling the  stories of people whose voices are not heard, to exploring social activism,  the collisions between  art and spirituality, creating art communally,  and celebrating our vagabond experience.  how amazing is that?! they are very talented guys who are really passionate about making the world a better place through film.  make sure you check out their  website .  { the rooftop had gorgeous views! it also had a full view of the fake "eiffel tower" at the americana. those l...