There are way too many food trucks in LA to keep track, but discovering a new one, a delicious one, is like a receiving an unexpected gift on Christmas.

This Friday I checked out a stretch of road in Granada Hills known as Food Truck Row.  I discovered the place on accident a few weeks ago when I wanted to try the Bun Truck. I was surprised to find not only the Bun Truck, but a good 20 trucks lined up one after the other for blocks. I thought at first there was a street festival going on, but after talking to a few vendors, I realized this was just a regular Friday night.

Discovered some really great trucks, many I had never heard of before. Met some really cool people as well. From what I hear, the trucks are all lined up every Wednesday/Friday night,  in Granada Hills around the area of Chatsworth/White Oaks. Park in the residential area nearby and just walk on over to avoid the traffic.

Here are a few places I tried on Friday:  The Bun Truck, Bollywood Bites, Slap Yo Mama,  Mossie Lee’s, Sweet Beats.

Check out the cool video my friend Dev put together from Friday. He even caught me doing some kind of weird jig!

This past weekend I checked out the Art in the Streets exhibit at the MOCA. I really loved how everything was laid out. Museums can feel quite stuffy, but this exhibit was so accessible and down to earth. It was really awesome to see how different styles developed throughout history and how graffiti was influenced by culture and current events. Overall, I thought it was fantastic and I highly recommend going if you have a chance! Check out my photos below.

For more information, check out their website here. The exhibition runs until August 8, 2011.

Last weekend I attended the LA Times Festival of Books at USC. It was a nerd’s dream come true. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend many of the writer’s workshops scheduled that day, but I had fun checking out all the different vendors. I saw all kinds. Seriously. There were also a lot of people handing out bookmarks and Scientology pamphlets. I swear I ended up going home with a stack of ‘em.

Oh! And in case you’re wondering about the new watermark, they’re from my Indie Craft and Design Blog: Craft in the City. Please check it out if you get a chance.

I have officially lived in Los Angeles for a year now and  today was sadly my first time going to the Santa Monica pier. Embarrassing, I know. Today was a particularly gloomy day in Santa Monica, but it was still fun. The short walk to the pier actually reminded me of Waikiki. Maybe walking with hordes of tourists to any beach area just reminds me of home.

I’m beginning to realize there are quite a few perks to living in LA. For example, Disneyland is now within driving distance. I went there once as a kid, back when the Indiana Jones ride had just opened, and I didn’t go back until moving here. I don’t care what anyone says, that place is damn magical.

A few recommendations:

1) FAST PASS. If they offer it, get it so you don’t spend half the day waiting in line.

2) Don’t be ashamed–buy a Mickey Hat! I totally bought Mickey Mouse ears and wore them all day.

PHONE APPS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE EASIER:
For Verizon only – Magic Mobile (Official Disneyland App)

Iphone – Walkee Wait Times [FREE] (gives you wait times for both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. If you’ve gotten a fast pass already, you can set a timer for yourself so you know when to return to the ride)

Walkee iGuide $3.99 (costs money, but this app packs a punch in terms of Disneyland features)

Diseyland Maps $1.99 (Great map that uses GPS, also shows you where bathrooms and ride wait times)

I learned two things this Halloween: 1) make sure to bring my external flash to properly shoot in WeHo  and 2) be prepared to deal with the repercussions of dressing up  my cat in a halloween costume.

I thought the area was going to be better lit (and way more crowded), so I left my external flash at home, thinking I could just use existing light. Wrong. Many LAers told me that West Hollywood for Halloween is THE thing to do. I’m thinking the LA equivalent of Waikiki on Halloween. They all warned me that it gets crazy busy there, so I went down early at 5pm to snag a parking. I’m not sure if it got crazier after I left (around 9pm), but it actually wasn’t that bad. Sure, it was crowded, but there was room to hang out, take pictures, and admire everyone’s costumes.

I’m so extremely sad that the Halloween season is now over. But, as a plus,  I can use the uncarved pumpkin on my dining room table for Thanksgiving decoration now.

I had been told by numerous people that  Dia de los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is one of the things to do Halloween weekend in LA.  Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. I was vaguely familiar with the Day of the Dead culture and history, but actually experiencing it felt much different than I anticipated.

At the start of the festival, there was a larger than life opening ceremony, followed by a very somber funeral procession through the cemetery. Some of altars were incredibly touching and sad, some were humorous, and all were created with love. I’m glad I attended, but I will admit that I felt a bit like I was intruding, even though everyone there was extremely welcoming.

A perk of living in Los Angeles? I’ve got Disneyland within driving distance. A non-perk? The price! Holy crap, I had no idea the price of Disneyland admission was equivalent to an egg donation.  Geez. It was worth it, though. I hadn’t been there since I was in elementary school and it was still quite magical all these years later. Since Halloween is right around the corner, a few of the rides are themed. In particular, the Haunted Mansion is themed as the Nightmare Before Christmas and it was so adorable.  I’m totally going back next week. And the week after. And so on.

It looks like I’ll be eating pasta and microwave pizza for the next two weeks. This past weekend was the Renegade LA Craft and it was amazing.  Young crafters from all over were there to show off their best.  Joni had the difficult task of making sure I didn’t spend all my money on the first row of sellers (which I totally wanted to do).  There were many times where she’d have to trick me and say, “why don’t we look around first and come back after?”  We all know that’s parent-code for “No.” So bless Joni’s heart for keeping me in check and not letting me blow my entire rent this weekend.

We got there around 11:30am (half an hour after it opened) and it was already packed. There were so many great designers from all over the country, plus a few of my favorites from the Long Beach craft fair last month.

By 2pm, I was sunburnt and broke.  Oh well, I scored lots of good loot!

So I’ve finally made the big move to LA. Sometimes I find it hard to believe I’m here. I wake up some mornings, still disoriented, and go through the day feeling like I’m on a very long vacation. Then on other mornings, I wake up happy with all the newness that comes with moving to a new place. It’s been hectic trying to settle in. But  I finally have most of my furniture, so I don’t have to sit on the carpet and eat on the floor anymore.

The other day, I bought one of those cheap Ikea bookshelves and spent a few hours putting all my books away. After I was done, I stood there and stared at it for a long time.  It’s stupid, perhaps, but in that moment I finally felt at home.

I haven’t been taking photos as often as I’d like, but the other week,  I went down to Universal Studios for some fun.

I promise to do more exploring once I’m finally settled in (and finished with some writing I need to do).