Once When I Was

It’s mine!  And I still love cake. 

Thank you to all my amazing friends and family for making this a wonderful weekend and celebrating with me. 

I don’t think this is the same outfit.  I recall her telling me the one where she is sitting is actually a jumpsuit.  A chic red jumpsuit.  That was at Christmastime and she is drinking a Bailey’s on the rocks. 

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How fantastic is Grandpa Norman’s smirk in the photo below?  I love that on New Year’s Eve they wore corsages and boutonnieres!  Stunning. 

Here is Nana Kitty in the 70’s with Uncle Terry, who is older than my Dad (on the far right) and as you can tell much more sophisticated with his poly print shirt compared to Dad in his rock-n-roll baseball ringer tee.  Talk about Williamsburg hipsters, serious ‘stache is happening here!  Grandpa Norman looks straight up Hollywood Beach in the white shorts.  Best of all is Nana Kitty’s crocheted dress.  Her sister Sally was a great knitter and designer so lots of her snazziest outfits were made by her sister.  This is a perfect example. 

(Those pictures on the wall behind them are still up in her house!)

This is the 1st place I ever lived at 53 Paloma on Venice Beach.  I took these photos about 8 years ago on a trip out to LA. 

A few of the biggest memories of my life from age 0-5 in Venice Beach:

Experiencing an earthquake in a room where my mom had a lot of her plants hanging with crystals hanging from them so when the room shook rainbows were flying everywhere so I thought it was the most beautiful and amazing thing and begged for them to do it again. 

The hippie guy on the boardwalk I called the ‘jingle bell man’ because he always gave me bells to tie to my shoes or hair.  He was on roller skates always.  Some people may remember his cameo in the Perry Farrell film The Gift.

Learning to ride a big wheel up and down the boardwalk.  Leaving the apartment at dawn one morning by myself on my big wheel which scared the hell out of my parents and they found me asleep on the beach under the jungle gym bars.  Some people may remember this jungle gym’s cameo in the opening sequence of Three’s Company when Jack Tripper falls off his bicycle.

Wearing a long hippie dress and tripping and falling down the stairs.  The first time in a life time of clumsily falling down. 

Wearing a purple velvet jacket every day.  The first time in a life time of loving a velvet jacket.

Sitting on my dad’s shoulders watching the Beach Boys play in concert.  Yep, my very first concert.  Twenty years later in NYC I would find myself sharing a taxi with David Bowie and discussing this very same concert.

Singing and dancing with my parents to Blondie’s first record.  Being obsessed with The Beatles Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club record AND fold out record cover.  Pretending that my Alice in Wonderland figurines were living with all those people on the cover. 

Here a a few of my Mom (standing) and her hippie friends.

me and my team.  we say it’s better in the 70’s.

oh my gosh, why are you mad at me? i didn’t put you in neon jeans.