Kickin' It in the Kitchen with Michelle Calva-Despard

There's something weird about my friend Michelle. She loves to cook. She makes up recipes. She whips up dishes without a cookbook, and the food actually tastes good. Then she writes down her recipes and shares them. Who needs a cookbook when you can do that?

I go into the kitchen and make something because if I don't eat I'll die. Michelle goes into the kitchen and makes something because she's having a blast.

Michelle's new blog and business is/are called Kickin' It in the Kitchen. She offers workshops so we can all learn to enjoy making meals (even me). My favorite thing Michelle does is called "Scrounge" (#5 on the workshops list). When you think your cupboards are bare, give her a call. She'll come to your house and show you how to whip up a fabulous meal with the bits you've got hanging around in the pantry. And she's all about fresh foods.

This? This is some sort of fabulous Greek yogurt dip (traditional, Michelle says). See the note pad? She's making this up as she goes along, and jotting it down. I'd expect this ambrosial concoction will be a recipe on the website soon.

Michelle is the featured foodie this week on Hometown Pasadena's Mangiamo. You can bet I was over at her place when she was putting together the recipe she shares there for Greek Avgolemeno Soup. I like to help when I can.

Obviously she's not having any fun.

The Next Big Thing

Litfest Pasadena, 2012

I've been tagged by best-selling thriller author and former Pasadenamanian Dianne Emley to participate in "The Next Big Thing," an internet meme where authors share what they're working on. Big thank you to Dianne! She's been a friend to PDP since the beginning, and was the first author I profiled here.

The deal is I answer a set of questions about my novel, Camelot & Vine, then tag someone else to answer the same questions about their book next week on their own site or blog. Here we go:

1. Where did the idea come from for the book?
Some years ago I spent most of a summer in England, studying acting at Oxford. I fell in love with the country, its ancient architecture, history, and legends.

2. What genre does your book fall under?
I'd call it "historical time travel adventure." There's no such genre officially, but not every book fits a genre. A bookstore would probably shelve Camelot & Vine under general fiction, or maybe even fantasy.

3. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Update: We decided in comments not to reveal this, because people will picture the characters their own way. Although if you read the comments you'll see who I picture as King Arthur.

4. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
A failing Hollywood actress heals her past and finds her future when she falls through a gap in time and lands in a Dark Ages war camp, accidentally saving King Arthur's life.

5. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm publishing the book under my own label, Boz Books.

6. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft only took a few months. The other drafts took forEVER.

7. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The closest thing I can think of is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. There's no "onstage" sex in Camelot & Vine, though, so if you want sex with your time travel, Gabaldon is a must-read.

8. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I have a strong desire to visit ancient times, to really see history, and I wondered what it would have been like to know someone like King Arthur, had he existed. Because I can never know, I immersed myself in 500 A.D., studying it and visualizing it as completely as I could.

9. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
I set most of the story atop Cadbury Hill, an iron age hillfort in the Somerset region of England. Legend says Cadbury was "Camallate." There's archaeological evidence of an early sixth century settlement on the hill, with a wall, a great hall and a church. We don't know if King Arthur existed, but if he did, the Cadbury settlement would fit. Using real places and real history made the story feel authentic to me.

That's the Q&A. With this Saturday's Bookmarks on PDP, I'll introduce you to Kate Wong, the talented artist who designed Camelot & Vine. We're going to reveal the cover!

My final task with "The Next Big Thing is to introduce you to Kat Ward. Kat is the owner, editor, and head writer at Hometown Pasadena. She's also a novelist. Her "Next Big Thing" post goes up next Wednesday, January 23rd. Be sure and visit her.

Camelot Where You Are #27, JB

JB took this picture in Shaker Village, New Hampshire. I'm not sure how he got there, but he's a worldly guy. He and Ms. JB live part of the year in Mainz, Germany and part of the year in New Zealand, and the rest of the time they're away.

**********

The Camelot Where You Are photo contest returns! We have a guest author tomorrow (yay!), then more entries Thursday and Friday. 

The rate of entries has slowed but the contest is still open, so if you'd like to enter I'd love it if you did. Please read the rules here then send in your photo.

I still don't have a publication date for Camelot & Vine. I appreciate you all being so patient with me. I step on the rug and it moves, 

but it doesn't get pulled out from under me, so I keep on stepping. To quote Kat Ward, owner of Hometown Pasadena and author of Amy's Own: 

"Publishing is like construction; it always takes longer than you think (and can cost more, too). Hang in there!"

Musical Driveway

Its Art Weekend in Pasadena, so a musical driveway is appropriate. There's a lot going on in town, most of it free, so click the link and take advantage.

I'm in the middle of:
putting finishing touches on the audiobook of Belinda's Birthday (to be uploaded to Amazon next week);
having the inside of Camelot & Vine designed and created by the soon-to-be-famous Kate Wong;
figuring out the outside of Camelot & Vine, which I finally have in my head, and now must translate to the book cover;
editing a short story, on deadline;
proofreading every little thing;
and a bunch of other things I've decided not to bore you with.

I actually got one thing finished: I hope you'll check out (or, you know, just read) my review of Margaret Finnegan's The Goddess Lounge on Hometown Pasadena. While you're there you can tweet it, Facebook it, comment on it, or Like it with a capital L. Or, like I said, you can read it.

Before you click away, do vote for your favorite contest entry from this week's Camelot Where You Are contest (rules here). The poll is at the upper left.

Guest Author: Kat Ward

When I first read Kat Ward's articles on Hometown Pasadena I recognized her enthusiasm for discovering the treasures of her new hometown. I know the feeling! No wonder the Dena embraces her; Kat is easy to like. Please welcome today's guest author, Kat Ward.

Saugatuck River, Westport, CT by Kat Ward

What a difference 24 minutes make (and 15.46 miles). From procrastination to proliferation; from unfocused to driven; from stuck to inspired—thank you, South Pasadena.

After eleven years of living in the Hollywood flats, I felt claustrophobic in the mishmash of my neighborhood. Initially, this world spurred my writing. Late at night as I looked out my window, the city lights reflecting yellow-green off the low clouds, I wrote diligently. But years of sirens, car horns, loud drunks and party-goers wrung out my last nerve—my hand constantly held the t.v. clicker so I could raise or lower the volume depending on how expressive the neighborhood was feeling. I began to feel uncreative. I ached for something else.

Artist Jennifer Frank introduced me to a woman who had raised her kids in South Pas. The very day I met her while walking in the Arroyo, she called and told me of an apartment for rent across from her house. I wheedled and charmed the landlords and got what I needed—a bigger apartment that doesn't share a single wall—finally a quiet night's sleep—versus neighbors washing dishes at midnight, dumpster divers outside my window or helicopters with search lights. Best of all, a tub-length shower versus an upright, coffin-sized stall shower and a 10 minute drive to my daughter's school! I suddenly had an extra two hours on my hands five days a week. Divine.

With my time, I have edited my friend Lori Bertazzon's self-help workbook Where Are You Stuck?; have a local professional copyediting my novel Amy's Own and have started a blog loosely based on my current novel Keeping Sane, and Other Aspirations.

The biggest boost was meeting (again through Jennifer Frank) and being hired by Colleen Bates of Prospect Park Media, a small publishing company in Pasadena. Colleen authored the outstanding guidebook Hometown Pasadena and created a website of the same name. After doing a few freebie posts, I was hired to write about local events, kid-focused fun, new shops and charity fundraisers, and to do monthly interviews. I get to go to businesses, use my photography skills and write stories. I am having the time of my life.

 Dubrovnik, Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia) 1988, by Kat Ward

I stay up until two in the morning and awaken with the alarm to get my girl ready for school and I don't miss a beat. One day when she was off on a Sequoyah School camping trip, I stayed up all night, not going to bed until 1 p.m. the next day—I was so amped with ideas, I couldn't wait to put them all down on paper. I was walking on air. Well actually, I was walking on Oxley Street. My new street lined with California Craftsman bungalows and endless trees—where I can walk and walk in the quiet (even at midnight), letting ideas germinate, words gush and adrenaline pump.

Thank you, Hollywood; you did me well, but I have to let you go.

Now my spirit is excited, my mind humming, my writing hand aching, and my composition books filling up. Hello, San Gabriel Valley.

A New Noise

The theater for A Noise Within, the classical theater company soon to be moving to Pasadena from faraway Glendale, is rising atop the Stuart Pharmaceuticals Building like a new layer on a concrete cake. A rendering of what the interior will look like accompanies William Goldstein's article on Hometown Pasadena. In fact, HtP's been covering the move particularly well.

The 1928 Masonic Temple Building ANW leaves behind in Glendale is a lovely old has-been. My guess is she was tough to heat on cold days, impossibly hot in the summer and they probably had to incorporate her plumbing noises into their sound design. But she's an old beauty all the same. I don't know what's in the building's future, but keep an eye on Cinema Treasures. They usually have good info and the best pictures of these faded dames.

Goldstein's article is about ANW's final show in their old space. Right now the nights are neither cold nor impossibly hot. A good time to see a play.

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 8

This is it! It's the last week of the PDP/PPM books contest/giveaway. Let's give a big round of applause to Prospect Park Media and Colleen Dunn Bates for donating the books!

For the final contest question, I thought devoted readers of Pasadena Daily Photo should have the extra edge. You can't Google the answer to this one, you have to just know it.

Who is my favorite dog?

That's this week's contest question. Here are the rules we play by:

1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored but probably not deleted unless they're incorrect.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. I'll put all the correct answers into a hat (or a--well, a bag) and somehow, some way, tomorrow I'll find someone nice and totally unconcerned with the outcome to draw the winning name. I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post.

4. PRIZES!
Our final prize is At Home Pasadena, a beautiful, hardbound, coffee-table book for your drooling pleasure. Designed by James Barkley and written by Jill Allison Ganon and Sandy Gillis, with photos by Jennifer Cheung and Steven Nilsson, At Home Pasadena is Pasadena home town eye candy with sections on gardening, working, collecting--and an out-of-this-world section on bathing. It'll make someone on your list (maybe you) an excellent Christmas gift.

Big thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates of Hometown Pasadena and Prospect Park Media for providing us with all the fabulous books!

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 5

Hey! I've just found out that my newest piece is up at South Pasadena Patch. It's a short history of the Cawston Ostrich Farm, one of the most unusual places ever. I loved finding out about it, and searching out traces of where it once stood.

Now, on to today's important business, about a fascinating place that is very much still standing: What famous San Marino institution just received a $100 million gift?

That's this week's contest question, and in that sentence there's enough information to Google the answer. You might also recognize the institution in today's photo.

Why are we having a contest, you ask? Because it's the holiday season and you need books to give as presents. Because Colleen Dunn Bates, publisher at Prospect Park Media, gave me books to give to you as presents. Because why not?

Here's how we do it:

1. Email the contest question answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers received after that time will be discarded (I got two late ones last week.) Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. Tomorrow I'll ask--well, whomever's wandering around my neighborhood, to draw the winning name from a hat. I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post.

4. PRIZES!
Today I'm giving away my last copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010.
Next week we're going to give away my one and only copy of Prospect Park Media's first foray into novel publishing, Helen of Pasadena by our very own local Satellite Sister, Lian Dolan. Whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here and check out Lian's list of appearances here. Go get her to sign your book!

More giveaways after that, believe it or not, because we have a copy of At Home Pasadena, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town.

Big thanks to Colleen, Lian and everyone at Prospect Park Media!

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 4

Local Pasadenamites (as opposed to what--international Pasadanish?) will immediately recognize this rock formation, even though it's covered with gunite. It's our famous devil of the Devil's Gate Dam. This rock formation gave the dam its name.

But who named the "Devil's Gate" gorge? That's this week's contest question. Once again, I've linked you to the answer. (Read the whole post, it's fascinating.) Many thanks to Ann Erdman, Pasadena PIO, for her great blog.

If you've been checking in for the past few weeks you know the contest rules, but in case you haven't, here they are:

1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. Tomorrow I'll ask my cutest, most innocent neighbor child to draw the winning name from a hat. I will search diligently for an actual child. I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post.

4. PRIZES! For your holiday gift-giving for for your lucky self:

Once again, this week's prize will be a brand new copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates and Prospect Park Media. After today I only have one more copy of Hometown Pasadena to give away. We'll do that next week.

THEN we'll have another week or two of giveaways because we have a copy of At Home Pasadena, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town;
AND
stick around, because we also have a copy of the brand new novel, Helen of Pasadena, by Pasadanish Lian Dolan. The book is now available at bookstores everywhere. Whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here, or meet Lian in person at Vroman's November 14th at 3pm.

Many thanks to Colleen, Lian and everyone at Prospect Park Media.

REM, DST and PDP

Daylight Savings Time ended quietly last night, sometime between periods of rapid eye movement and solid snoring. If we were paying attention we set our clocks back before we went to sleep, and that's good. But everything's a bit off today, and that's...off. You'll hear no complaints from our house, though, as even early darkness is a small price to pay for an extra hour with Morpheus.

I'm not so off that I don't remember it's Sunday, and time to announce Friday's winner of the PDP/PPM books contest. Tada! Congratulations to Trish, a regular visitor, commenter and former Pasadenamanian, and the lucky person whose name was pulled out of the hat yesterday by my cute, innocent neighbor child.

Okay. Here's what really happened: Trish's name was pulled out of a (clean) dog poo bag by my cute, innocent husband, because when I went out with the hat I couldn't find any kids. Where the hell are they these days? Is it soccer season already?

Anyway, like many of you, Trish guessed the correct answer to Friday's question: What historic building is now occupied by Technique Restaurant? It's the old Star-News Building. Trish wins a copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, courtesy of Prospect Park Media. Congratulations, Trish!

Stick around for more chances to win books this Friday.

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 3

At the new Technique Restaurant on Colorado Blvd., depending on which side of the table you choose you may gaze at the ceiling...

...or at what is perhaps a more dramatic view: the kitchen and some quirky, food-related films.

Technique is the new "classroom" kitchen of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. John and I had a lovely meal there the other night. We began with Grilled Haloumi Cheese with compressed watermelon and pickled rind, plus Roasted Bone Marrow with French radishes and toast with house-churned butter (I had to try it). For his meal John had fried, free range Jadori chicken, braised cavolo nero, pommes puree and a biscuit. I couldn't resist trying the Coffee Braised Short Ribs, parsnip puree and house made apple chips, which also came with some delectable root vegetables.

J raved about the cavolo nero all through dinner, of which he ate every bite. I didn't need a knife to cut my short ribs and I can't even begin to define the succulent flavor of that sauce. The parsnip puree alone is worth going back for. I did not eat every bite, I snarfed every bite.

We were too full for dessert. The room is a bit of an echo cavern, but that's the only drawback I can see.

An elegant, fantastic meal, cooked and served by Le Cordon Bleu students, and you won't believe the price. Go ahead, guess. (Liquor license is being applied for, so no wine.)

No prizes for getting that one right, but there is a prize today. We're supposed to be having a contest and indeed we are.

What historic building is now occupied by Technique Restaurant? That's today's contest question.

I've given you all the information you need to Google the answer. As a matter of fact, I've linked you to it.

A quick review of the contest rules:

1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. This weekend I'll ask my cutest, most innocent neighbor child to draw the winning name from a hat. I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post.

4. PRIZES! Once again, this week's prize will be a brand new copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates and Prospect Park Media. I'm down to two copies after today, so the contest will continue for two more Fridays--plus an additional week when Colleen and I will give away a copy of At Home Pasadena, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town.

Stick around, because one lucky winner will receive a copy of the brand new novel, Helen of Pasadena, by Pasadanish Lian Dolan. The book is now available on Amazon, at Vroman's and at bookstores everywhere. Whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here.

Many thanks to Colleen, Lian and everyone at Prospect Park Media.

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 2

I love the faded writing on some of the buildings in Old Town. This says "Keller Bros." something. I can't make it out. I wonder what kind of business the Keller brothers had in there.

We're looking at the back of the Braley Building on Raymond Avenue. The Braley has housed a lot of businesses: an antiques mall, a sandwich shop, an accountant, a theater company, a beloved Italian restaurant--all at the same time, all when I was first discovering Pasadena, all gone now.

The Braley recently underwent a renovation it didn't really need, but new owners can do that if they want to. In this photo taken this past May, if you look closely you can see a worker putting the final touches on the etchings in the middle window on the right.

Who is the owner of the Braley Building?

That's today's contest question. I've given you all the information you need to Google the answer, so you don't have to be a local to figure it out.

Let's review the contest rules:

1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. This weekend I'll toss all the correct answers into a hat and ask my cutest, most innocent neighbor child to draw one name. (The job of cutest/most innocent neighbor child will revolve throughout the duration of the contest. Last week it turned out to be Linda. The kids were all at the park or something.) I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post. (That's Sunday. Last week it was Monday. Change of plans.)

4. PRIZES! This week, once again the prize will be a brand new copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates and Prospect Park Media. I started with five, but last week's winner, Tracie Cohen of Los Angeles, has deprived me of one. Now I have four of these to give away, so the contest will go on each Friday for four more weeks--plus an additional week when Colleen and I will give away a copy of At Home Pasadena, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town.

I'm very excited because at some point during the contest one lucky winner will receive a copy of the brand new novel, Helen of Pasadena, by Pasadenamanian Lian Dolan. The book won't be available on Amazon until November 1st but I saw it at Vroman's yesterday. And you can whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here.

Many thanks to Colleen, Lian and all the Prospect Park Media writers for making this contest possible!

And a Happy Birthday shout-out to my sister, Ginab.

PDP/PPM Books Contest, week 1

Honestly, I don't know what this is. It isn't a grave stone, but I took the photo at a cemetery.

We don't have cemeteries in Pasadena, did you know that? Not a single one. That may be disappointing for anyone who loves Pasadena so much they'd like to remain here for eternity. However, there are several lovely cemeteries nearby.

What's the closest cemetery to Pasadena's northern border?

That's where I took this photo, and it's the contest question for today. I've given you all the information you need to Google the answer, so even if you're not a local you should be able to figure it out.

Here are the contest rules:

1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.

2. That's all you have to do.

3. This weekend I'll toss all the correct answers into a hat and ask my cutest, most innocent neighbor child to draw one name. (The job of cutest/most innocent neighbor child will revolve throughout the duration of the contest.) I'll announce the winner in Monday's post.

4. PRIZES! This week, the prize will be a brand new copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates and Prospect Park Media. I have five of these to give away (maybe more, hint hint), so the contest will go on each Friday for five weeks--plus an additional week (that would be SIX weeks, Petrea), when Colleen and I will give away a copy of At Home Pasadena, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town.

I'm very excited because at some point during the contest one lucky winner will receive a copy of the brand new novel, Helen of Pasadena, by Pasadenyite Lian Dolan. This book is so new it isn't available until November 1st. But you can whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here.

Many thanks to Colleen, Lian and all the Prospect Park Media writers for making this contest possible!

Teaser

Last week I mentioned we're going to have a contest. It doesn't start today, but I wanted to do another teaser. You know, get everybody excited, blahbedy blah.

Beginning Friday, October 22nd, every Friday for five weeks I'll be giving away a copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, THE guide to our home town. The binding isn't paperback but it's not quite hardcover, either. What is that binding, does anyone know? It's flexible and durable at the same time.

On Friday of the sixth week, I'm giving away a copy of At Home Pasadena, definitely a hardcover and too big to tuck into your purse. Mine's on my coffee table, to show off.

You can win both books, so if you want At Home Pasadena, don't let that stop you from entering to win Hometown Pasadena, too. It's possible you could win every week. Holiday gifts! Yowza.

Thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates of Prospect Park Media and Hometown-Pasadena.com for the prizes. Hometown Pasadena is the place to go to know what's happening in Pasadena. And Prospect Park Media--well. They publish these books and many others, including their latest--their first novel, Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan, to be released November 1st. I am very, very excited about Helen of Pasadena.

The contest will work like this: each Friday the photo will depict a question. The Google-able answer will be in the text of the post. For example: if today's photo were a contest photo, which it is not, I might say this is the back of a barn-shaped restaurant on Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, and I might ask you what restaurant it is. All the clues are in that sentence. If you don't know the answer you can Google it.

All correct answers I receive by email, not in the comments, between midnight and midnight Pacific time on contest day will be thrown into a hat and the winner randomly drawn on Saturday by the cutest, youngest, most innocent neighbor I can find. Got it? I hope so, because this post is getting too long!

Update: I received word this morning that a new prize has been added: After November 1st, we'll also give away a copy of Helen of Pasadena! Thank you Colleen, Lian and Prospect Park Media!

The Giving Season

We've been enjoying some wet weather. It feels like winter, southern California style, although it's only a taste. We can expect the heat to be back this weekend, with perhaps more rain next week. Nice.

The weather puts me in mind of what's to come: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and what we like to call "The Holidays": Christmas, Chanukah, New Year's and The Tournament of Roses.

You're going to need fortitude. You're going to need sanity. You're going to need presents.

I'm here to help. At Pasadena Daily Photo, we've got a contest coming up, with prizes courtesy of Colleen Dunn Bates at Hometown Pasadena and Prospect Park Books. Beginning later this month, we have books to give away. Not just any old books, but five (count 'em, FIVE) copies of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010, the definitive guide to our fair city. (That's a $24.95 value.) Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010 is a great gift for your favorite Pasadenan.

My plan is to do this contest-style, beginning Friday, October 22nd and giving away a book each Friday for six weeks until they're gone.

Did I say six weeks? I believe I said I have five books.

Okay, well, the sixth prize will be a copy of At Home Pasadena, a beautiful, hardcover coffee-table book about the artful Pasadena life we'd all live if we were totally creative and organized and had a landscaper, a chef and a cleaning lady. (This book lists at $39.95.)

Hey--I didn't say the presents couldn't be for you.

I'm trying out my Amazon links for the first time today. Full disclosure: if you buy the book from Amazon via the link here, I get a cut. Frankly, I'm not sure how much. I'm probably not going to pay the mortgage with it, but I like to be upfront about these things. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the books, Colleen!

Going Vertical

The skylight and dangling bulbs above the stairway leading to Vertical Wine Bistro make for an intriguing entryway. Ever since the place opened I've wondered what it was like inside. I found out Tuesday night when I attended a get-together to celebrate the success of Hometown Pasadena, the go-to blog for what's happening here in town.

(Actually, Hometown Pasadena is hardly a blog. It's more of an online magazine. It's also a book. Actually, it's hardly a book. It's more of a Pasadena bible. Actually, it's several books. And publisher Colleen Dunn Bates, who oversees it all, is the nexus connecting people to things they love even if they don't know it yet.)

I was so busy connecting with Hometown Pasadena contributors Tuesday that I didn't take time to taste enough of the small-plate treats floating about. But what I had was fab, so I got to Googling and found mattatouille's review. It must be a good one because reading it made my mouth water. His photo gives you a good idea of the cozy-chic look of the bar.

I snapped the picture of the lights as I was leaving. Makes me want to go back already.

State of the Blog

In PDP news:

Editor Colleen Dunn Bates of Hometown Pasadena has named Pasadena Daily Photo on her list of Top Ten Experiences in Pasadena for 2009. PDP proudly shares the #9 slot with Timothy Rutt's powerhouse Altadenablog.

The San Gabriel Valley blogging community is a thriving, generous, positive place where I've been encouraged and buoyed by my fellow bloggers from the very beginning. I'm grateful to Colleen for her recognition, and to all the bloggers I've met for being such cool people.

In PB news:

Each year Pasadena's mayor gives a State of the City address. This year's theme is "Charting a New Course." A video will be presented to go along with the theme of Mayor Bogaard's speech. I auditioned and was chosen to do the voice-over for the video! It was a fun experience and a real departure from my usual :30 second and one minute spots. Linda Centell, Pasadena's assistant Public Information Officer, edited the video.

If you're in town, you can attend this free event on January 28th at 6:30 p.m. at LaSalle High School, 3880 East Sierra Madre Blvd. For more information call (626) 744-4311 or email Inagahiro (at) cityofpasadena.net.

Embracing Our Diversity

Folks said 7:30 was a little early--not to be out of bed, necessarily--but to be showered, dressed and out in public being civil on a Monday. But none of us would have missed it for anything.

It was the Pasadena YWCA's Women for Racial Justice Breakfast, chaired by Ellen Portantino, emceed by NBC's Beverly White and put together (obviously) by a lot of unsung but dedicated people. I was one of the lucky women invited to share a table with my friend and Pasadena's Public Information Officer, Ann Erdman. Did you know the YWCA's whole mission is "Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women"? And the YWCA in Pasadena is huge.

I knew I'd enjoy it. I even knew I'd be inspired. But I didn't know how much.

This year's recipient of the YWCA Racial Justice Award was Marge Wyatt, a Pasadena activist for more than 50 years. Sandra Davis Houston gave Wyatt a rousing introduction, saying there's no way we can know how many lives she influenced over the years. Wyatt has fought for equality in many ways: by writing about it, by standing up for desegregation, as the founder and former board president of Child Care Information Service and as an active presence on the PTA. When asked what his mother did, one of her sons once said, "She goes to meetings." She has spent the better part of 50 years going to meetings to make Pasadena a better place for people of every heritage.

Dr. Joy DeGruy, yesterday's keynote speaker, holds more degrees than a hot day in Pasadena. Her speech was funny and poignant. Most interesting to me, she challenged my assumptions and those of everyone else in the room, from the responses I heard. She spoke for about half an hour but I could have listened to her all day. If she writes like she talks then her book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Enduring Legacy of Injury and Healing, promises to be a hell of a read.

All thousand or so of us took a Racial Justice Pledge together yesterday morning. You can take it, too.

I believe that every person has worth as an individual.
I believe that every person is entitled to dignity and respect.
I believe that every thought and every act of prejudice of all kinds is harmful; if it is my thought or act, then it is harmful to me as well as to others.
Therefore, from this day forward I will strive daily to eliminate prejudice from my thoughts and actions.
I will discourage prejudice by others at every opportunity.
I will treat all people with dignity and respect; and will strive daily to honor this pledge, knowing that the world will be a better place because of my effort.

Other posts about the event: An Inch At A Time, Hometown Pasadena
If you see other posts about it, let me know and I'll link to them here.

If you think about this pledge, it's not an easy thing to do. But let's all take a good shot at it, shall we? And when we mess up, let's keep trying. That's what Marge Wyatt did, and she's succeeded in making the world a better place.

New Swank on South Lake

I'm always poking around on Hometown Pasadena, the brainchild of local publisher, editor, writer and whirlwind Colleen Dunn Bates. You can't help but scare up something great there because Colleen's got a little bit of everything. Last week she hooked me with this: Hometown Pasadena Five to Appear. It was an invitation to the open house for Granite Park Place, the new luxury condos currently under construction at the corner of San Pasqual and Lake. If you RSVP'd and showed up you not only got a peek inside the new condos, you got a free, signed copy of the latest edition of the book version of Hometown Pasadena.

Well, dayum. I wanted my free book.

I've featured these condos before. First here, then here. Obviously I was unprepared for the swank.
(Whether or not the interior design of the model is to your taste, you have to admit the dining table is out of this world. At least admit I need it in my house. It's ceramic or clay or something glazed. It probably cost at least as much as my car. I mean as much as my car cost new.)

The real estate personnel were gracious. Paul Sunshine of Domineum Marketing (right rear above), greeted me upon my arrival. He knew darned well I was not going to buy a condo. He knew I was not with the Pasadena Star-News but a mere blogger. He saw my blue jeans. Yet he gave me a friendly tour of the model condo.

While most people were down the hall chowing down on their beautifully catered bento box lunch, I shared the model condo's living room with no one but the string quartet. I took pictures while they serenaded me with a medley from Camelot. I wonder if the condos come with...? No, no, surely not. But one would have a string quartet if one were going to live in a luxury condo, doesn't one agree? In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot. Hey, I know my swank.

Judging from the number of unavailable units in the building, Granite Park Place is selling like Zhu Zhu Pets, even with the high price tag. Let's hope its presence perks up business on South Lake Avenue.

And oh yes! A coup! I got my free book! Signed by all five authors. Dayum.

Hometown

It's Jacaranda time in Pasadena.

We've got a lot of blogs here in town. A lot of good ones. For keeping up with what's happening the best one is Hometown Pasadena, managed/operated/lovingly filled to the brim by editor and publisher Colleen Dunn Bates, who seemingly can do no wrong. Right now she's got a couple of pretty shots of the jacaranda trees along Del Mar Blvd. 

Then again, what hasn't she got? It's a mind-bogglingly fabulous website that functions like a blog, or about a hundred blogs. I don't know how she does it, but she does it so well.