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I have often admired the bloggers who run around all day with their cameras and are prepared to be inspired and take the great photo for their blog. For some reason, I often forget to take my camera. So on Saturday I went out to run errands and this time I was armed with my camera and ready to snap whatever took my fancy.
The Brentwood Country Mart is really the heart of my neighborhood. It's been around for 65 years. When my daughters were little I would bring them here for sweet little dresses and outfits at the Hansel and Gretel shop for children, which sadly is no longer in existence. They would take a ride on the mechanical pony on the pavilion and have lunch at Reddi-Chick which serves the best rotisserie chicken and fries in Los Angeles. And there was a great toy store.
I still love this place and often find myself there. One of my favorite haunts is Diesel books, the only independent book store in the area and I try to support it whenever I can. Yesterday I was looking for a gift for my husband for Father's Day and I was excited to find "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris" by David McCulloucgh.
Diesel Books
New book by David McCullough
I also love to go to Sugar Paper, a great stationery store for personalized cards and invitations
The inside of Sugar Paper. How pretty is this stationery store!
Botany, an exquisite little flower shop, is also one of my favorites
They made this for me in December
And this one as well, I just took in my vases
Sweet Rose Creamery
And finally, I always have to peek into Sweet Rose Creamery, the latest and most delicious addition to the Brentwood Country Mart. This is Zoe Nathan's old-fashioned ice cream shop. Everything here is made with the freshest and most delicious ingredients. She also owns Huckleberry and Rustic Canyon restaurants in Santa Monica.
Taking photos and putting them on my blog has given me such a wonderful new perspective on my environment. Seeing the photos and telling the story is one of the fringe benefits of being a blogger. I think it adds an extra layer of richness to my life, and helps me appreciate the beauty that is really all around me.
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An exciting postscript -- I wrote an essay for "Women's Voices for Change." You can click here to read it. I hope you enjoy my musings on having a big birthday and a daughter getting married, both in the same month!