A massive broken neon sign features a roller skate with wings and large red letters reading "SKATELAND"

Gems of Tennessee

May 29, 2025, 1 Comment

From Pigeon Forge to Memphis to Nashville, I fell in love with Tennessee and all it had to offer. Like with many road trips, we made several stops that just didn’t make the cut as a blog post on their own, but they were just too good not to share, so please enjoy this post…

Exterior view of the Ryman, a multi story brick building with white details and a peaked roof.

Behind the Curtain of the Ryman, the Mother Church of Country Music

May 19, 2025, 3 Comments

Running through Nashville is the Cumberland River, and in the 1880s it meant Nashville was a rough and tumble river town with saloons, gambling, and of course riverboats. Thomas Ryman was a man of the river, owning a successful riverboat company, and not exactly a man of God, but all that changed on May 10,…

Vintage Valentine’s Day Cards Vol. 4

February 5, 2025, Leave a Comment on Vintage Valentine’s Day Cards Vol. 4

Vintage illustration art is one of my favorite art forms, from magazine covers to children’s books to greeting cards, there is something so delightful, charming, and wonderful about the warmth of these illustrations. For a long time Patrick and I didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, let alone decorate, but these cute illustrated valentines eventually won me…

A blue, yellow, and white neon sign that reads "Silver Saddle Motel"

The Remnants, Remains, and Random Snapshots of 2024

January 29, 2025, 3 Comments

Back in early 2023 I shared a blog post that was a collection of random photos from the previous year. It was a round up of places and events that didn’t make the cut as a full blog post, but still had merit. The tradition didn’t continue with a round up of 2023 photos because,…

Spread a Little Love

January 22, 2025, 3 Comments

Patrick and I are in the middle of our office renovation, and opted not to ring in 2025 by hosting a New Year’s Eve bash. So after Christmas we went straight into decorating for Valentine’s Day, after a good deep clean of course! This year I added a few more “laundry lines” to the house…

Halloween at Home

October 9, 2024, 2 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Time to showcase our Halloween decor! As I’ve said before, almost every holiday every year since we bought the house has presented its own interesting set of challenges because of one thing or another. Earlier this year we acquired a massive Kodak sign which threw a wrench in how…

Myself, with my red hair down and wavy, wearing a white t-shirt featuring the exterior of the Mexican restaurant El Coyote on it, red and tan corduroy shorts, standing inside the museum, with a large banner reading "Out with the Stars Hollywood Heritage Museum" and featuring images of old menus and matchbooks from various restaurants.

Dining with the Stars at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

July 17, 2024, 3 Comments

Back in April Patrick and I visited the Hollywood Heritage Museum for the first time, we also became members when we heard about the variety of planned exhibits slated for the year, and last month they opened a new exhibit, Out with the Stars, a look at Hollywood and its relationship with food and restaurants.…

Myself, wearing a green, purple and orange paisley print shirt, copper colored pants, and green shoes, sitting next to the Bob's statue, which is of a boy with swooping black hair, a white shirt reading "Big Boy" in blue letters, and red and white checkered overalls, holding a plate with a burger on it.

Burbank’s Bob’s Big Boy: 75 Years of Burgers

May 29, 2024, 1 Comment

Too often I hear that Los Angeles and the surrounding area is a place that doesn’t care about its history, we demolish buildings left and right, and little heritage remains. I think that’s far from true. Many restaurants have lasted 100 years in the area, and one location in Burbank is well on its way…

View of the neon for the Formosa, which is green and sits within white script letters on a red building. A black and white stripe awning juts out from the front.

The Formosa Cafe: Watering Hole for Mobsters and Movie Stars

May 1, 2024, Leave a Comment on The Formosa Cafe: Watering Hole for Mobsters and Movie Stars

L.A. Confidential is one of my all time favorite movies, and any time I can make it to one of the filming locations, I’m overjoyed. The Formosa Cafe is not only where parts of L.A. Confidential were filmed, but also where one of its most iconic scenes (ironically not in the book) happened. The scene…

Myself, wearing a shirt featuring the cover of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which is an image of a cowgirl surrounded by flowers, and jeans, standing just outside the door with a view of the other Tudor cottages behind me.

Spending my Birthday the Faux English Village Gram Parsons Once Called Home

April 24, 2024, 2 Comments

Charlie Chaplin was, and remains, an important icon of motion picture history. His on screen antics are classic, and his contribution to the industry in a variety of ways cannot be underestimated. One way he sought to improve production at his studio, which he built in 1917, was to provide housing for employees close to…

Atomic Redhead

1940s

Gems of Tennessee

Behind the Curtain of the Ryman, the Mother Church of Country Music

Vintage Valentine’s Day Cards Vol. 4

The Remnants, Remains, and Random Snapshots of 2024

Spread a Little Love

Halloween at Home

Dining with the Stars at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

Burbank’s Bob’s Big Boy: 75 Years of Burgers

The Formosa Cafe: Watering Hole for Mobsters and Movie Stars

Spending my Birthday the Faux English Village Gram Parsons Once Called Home