We'll start with the art. On October 8, the Orange County Museum of Art opened in its new building on the campus of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. The collection is focused on the works of artists from California and the Pacific Rim.
The unusual building is made of terracotta paneling and was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Thom Mayne.
It has a lot of staircases and terraces and slopes.
I took my MIL, Mimi, as a gift for her birthday on October 18th. We went on November 11th.
We viewed the permanent collection first. I liked this sculpture of the ocean with submarines, since my dad served on submarines during his career in the Navy. It's called "Large Glass Ship" and was made in 1983 by Chris Burden.
This beautiful abstract piece by Lucy Bull was called 1:00, 2021.
I also liked this haunting painting. The technique used to get the filmy nature was interesting to me. This oil on canvas painting was done by Agnes Pelton in 1929 and is called "The Guide."
This large sculpture of some kind of alien type creature was so cool. I took pictures of it from every angle. It's called "Supernova" and was made by Lee Bul in 2000.
My favorite series of paintings are also the favorite choice of many others. These alkyd on panel paintings are vibrant and beautiful - they depict the mysteries and power of the natural world.
This is "Coyota" made in 2020 by Hector Dionicio Mendoza. He is made of corrugated cardboard.
I loved "Buffalo Hunt" by Raul Guerrero.
Look at the buffalo's face.
Then we went up to the Mezzanine Gallery and saw the special exhibit - Fred Eversley - Reflecting back the World. He came to California in the 1960s as a consulting engineer for NASA. His polyurethane lenses were made over thirty years in the NASA lab.
This one reminded me of a solar eclipse.
The gradations of color in this piece were gorgeous.
This large sculpture was mostly violet but look at the lower corners.
There are fuchsia strands that look like fire. They seemed to be moving.
As you went in a circle around this parabolic lens, the bright orange knot of light followed you.
This one reminded me of the iris of a human eye.
That's Mimi behind the sculpture.
We ended our tour in the gift shop. This large, mirrored sculpture by Sebastian Leon displayed costume jewelry by the late Pierre Cardin. I did not buy any- it was quite pricy. But I did encourage one lady to get the piece she was trying on!!
We ended our day out with lunch at Duke's on the Huntington Beach Pier. I want to take Mimi out once a month, even if only for a drive and lunch. She enjoyed our ride up PCH to the pier immensely.
Onto some dog antics. On November 1st, we had a benefits fair at work. I snagged a stuffed duck from AFLAC insurance. Vinni and Pandi had a blast with it.
It ended up in Pandi's bed. I guess it belongs to her now.
She is such an angel when she sleeps. She always has a smile on her tiny face.
When we go grocery shopping, her major contribution is a roll on the reusable bags after the goodies are unloaded.
We have a lot of fruit trees in the yard, so we get our share of wildlife - rats, opossums and an occasional racoon. Vinni caught a 17-inch-long rat.
He was so proud.
Our co-conspirators love to sit on cushions while we watch TV in the evening.
Vinni gets very relaxed.
I had a contractor install a toilet at my rental house in Garden Grove. While he was over getting his check, I had him give me an estimate for regrouting Doc's shower. Pandi was not happy to be disturbed.
We had a neighborhood garage sale. We got this shower seat for the in-laws, but they didn't want it. I happily brought it home to use when I shave my legs. Or sit under the hot water forever.
We also got a combo slow cooker / deep fryer. Doc used one of his new cookbooks to make a delicious stew of London Broil and many vegetables.
He has already mastered desserts - here are one of his cinnamon roll cakes, and a pan of fudge brownies.
I got my November Ipsy bag. It is right up my alley - leopard print with orange accents. Inside, from top to bottom:
1) Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Magnet Mascara - one of my favorites.
2) ONEKIND Clean Slate Cleansing Cream
3) SUR.MEDIC + Clean Slate Cleansing Cream
4) BYROE Pear Serum Oil
5) Firma Beauty 201 Flat Oval Blending Brush
So now we get to the outfits. Way back on Halloween - I wore this grey sheath given to me by a coworker. It's very stretchy and has beautiful intricate seaming.
I wore it with my trusty Adrienne Vittadini booties and a grey and black vintage jacket.
On November 1st, I wore a scuba knit dress from Liz Claiborne. I got it at JC Penney for about eight dollars while I was there looking for a frying pan.
I love the fall border print.
On November 2nd, another knit dress from Ellen Tracy. I winterized it with my black suede boots from Tahari.
On November 3rd, a cashmere dress from Ann Taylor, combined with a sequin belt of unknown origin.
I was looking gutty this day.
On November 4th, I met an old friend for lunch at Oak in Laguna Beach. I went all out and wore this satin dress from Top Shop at Nordstrom.
It's very ruffly and swirly and has a unique cut-out back.
On November 7th, I wore a tweed jacket with boucle trim from Albert Nippon. The grey silk sweater underneath is Joseph A.
I got a lot of compliments on this outfit, but the ivory slacks from White House Black Market are too big right now. They are great when I am at the larger end of my five-pound range, but I am at the lower end currently, and at my petite structure, that five pounds is all butt, and it makes a difference. I'll hang these slacks up for a while.
The next two days had rain just pouring on SoCal, but we needed it. On November 8th, I wore plain black twill slacks and a leopard and pearl embellished cardigan from INC.
It doesn't need any jewelry.
On November 9th, I wore tan moleskin slacks and a sweater from Gucci. These pants don't fit unless I am on the lower end of my range.
On top, a red leather jacket and a silk scarf from Gucci.
On November 10th, I wore Old Navy pixie pants in a deep plum color and a knit sweater from Ann Taylor. It is a slinky knit material and has crocheted edges.
I wore a lot of garnet and ruby jewelry with this.
I got this new leather jacket from Max Mara. I spied it at a thrift store for 13 dollars and snapped it up. They retail for about a thousand dollars.
For the trip to the museum, I wore equestrian print slacks from INC with an ivory ruffled chiffon blouse and a black blazer from Escada.
I look like a fancy pirate.
On Monday, November 14th, I wore this plaid dress from Gypsies and Moondust. It wraps and ties and has bell sleeves.
A lady in the elevator was admiring it and I told her that it was a rebellion from my Catholic school uniform days. She loved that, as she also went to Catholic school.
On Tuesday, I wore this uniquely draped dress from Halston. I wear it backwards - the draping is supposed to go over your butt.
I wore a navy jacket with gold studs from St John on top.
On Wednesday, a no-name knit dress with a placed paisley pattern.
I wore the other version of the St John jacket - black with square pewter studs.
I had a bit of a cold this week and so by Thursday, I felt tired. I wore an easy-care outfit of a pleather skirt from Clio with a cashmere sweater from Joseph A. The elastic belt is White House Black Market.
Today, I finished off the long week with one of my favorite dresses from Connected Apparel. I got it at Boyd's in Philadelphia.
My usual favorite accessories - black plastic waterfall necklace and Hermes CDC cuff finished it off.
Well, that's about all for now. I will work for two days next week, and then have six glorious days off. I'm sure that we will do some cooking and some shopping and some doggie stuff, so I will keep you updated.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
