Thursday, July 11, 2013

Lady on the Lawn

Last year I created a list of things to do and see in and around Los Angeles. This list was lost when my computer crashed last month (I must remember to back up all files) but I've recreated the list to the best of my ability and I am currently making an effort to cross things off this summer.

Today's adventure took me to Glendale and the adjacent Atwater Village. My first stop was a Scottish pub/restaurant called the Tam O'Shanter. Unfortunately I didn't have a traditional kilt with my family's tartan (not that it would matter because I'm not Scottish) but I did wear my new yellow dress. It added a little sunshine to the dark atmosphere of the pub and also the atypical overcast weather we had today. Luckily, I found some festive flowers which adorned the outside of the pub. 


Below is the sign for the Tam O'Shanter and a picture of the restaurant's exterior. The Tam O'Shanter has been in Atwater Village since 1922. During the day they have a carving station where you can choose from a variety of meats which make for a delectable sandwich. You can also choose from a hearty selection of ale (I chose one from Scotland). This was actually Walt Disney's favorite restaurant and he ate here almost every day. I wonder what sandwich/ale combination Walt preferred?




The real meat of our adventure focused on going to the Glendale branch of Forest Lawn which is not a cemetery (even though it is) but rather is referred to as a memorial park (it all boils down to semantics). The founder,  Dr. Hubert Eaton, wanted to create a park-like atmosphere to celebrate life as opposed to death. His vision was to veer away from the dark and bleak atmosphere of your typical cemetery by eliminating headstones and adding artwork, fountains and landscaping to the grounds.

So why visit a cemetery... I mean memorial park? Well, Dr. Eaton was a patron of the arts and created a museum for all to enjoy on the premises of Forest Lawn. This museum includes quite a hodgepodge of art including stain glassed windows, western bronze statues, suits of armor and a gigantic diorama of the Crucifixion, which is 195 feet in length. For this month Forest Lawn featured an exhibit on, believe it or not, Lego's. That's right, their special exhibit was called "The Art of the Brick" which focused on Lego artwork.

Photos were not allowed inside the museum so I took a few outside of the museum. In a couple of the photos you can see the back drop of the city of Glendale. Well, this was one adventure to check off my list, but there are so many more to go!





Outfit: Dress: Lauren by Ralph Lauren (Another Marshal's find), Shoes: Ann Klein, Necklace: Kate Spade, Bag: LV Alma in Menthe

6 comments:

  1. I think I like your dress better than the Factory dress--what a great find! The floral shoes look so pretty with it.

    I've really enjoyed your exploration of LA through your blog. I graduated from UCLA but never quite appreciated how much the LA area has to offer since I had my nose stuck too much in a book. Grad. school is taking me back to southern CA, so I'm really looking forward to making time to explore this time around!

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    1. I also went to school here in Los Angeles, but didn't have the time to explore as much as I would have liked either. When I moved back out here after grad school I started making an effort to see new things. The only problem with southern CA is the traffic! I would explore more if it wasn't for the horrible traffic everywhere, all the time!

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  2. I love your green blog! I would totally wear this outfit! Great styling choices!

    Colour Me Classic

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    1. Thanks Haley! I appreciate you stopping by and checking out my blog.

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  3. Love the cheery yellow dress! Now on to Glendale... I love the red booth outside of the pub and view of the city! Wished I could check out the Art of Brick exhibit. The National Building Museum hosted the Lego exhibit here last year with all the famous buildings and it was great.

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    1. Thanks Faux ionista! The National Building Museum exhibit sounds really interesting. This exhibit featured mostly people and portraits out of Legos. Seeing historic buildings made from Legos would be really cool too!

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