Mini pilgrimage on Good Friday--Roaming around San Gabriel Valley (LOVE Sierra Madre!)

Good Friday was a very GOOD FRIDAY this year.  I had the day off and decided to step out of South LA, and spend the day out in the San Gabriel Valley area.  

On the agenda was:

1)  Get hair cut.

2)  Get best boba at Half and Half Boba Tea House.

3)  Get best pho at Golden Deli Pho.

And then because I had time to kill before my evening activity in Pasadena, I decided to have an impromptu visit to a beautiful spot that I hadn't been to in a long time called Mater Dolorosa monastery.  I thought, "What better way to spend Good Friday than at this beautiful Passionist priests monastery?"  Since Good Friday is a day to reflect on The Passion, I knew that this Catholic order was founded upon the power and beauty of The Passion.  

Sadly, denied upon my arrival as there was a friendly guard at the gate, and he let me know that the brothers were in seclusion until later that afternoon.  So I decided to return when the gates would open again, and asked if there was a park nearby to rest and be still.  The guard very kindly pointed me to a park nearby which happened to be in the middle of old town Sierra Madre.

I didn't feel like settling down just yet and was curious about this quaint little old village area.  So I wandered a bit and was delighted to see all of this!

Old City Hall is pale pink!  :-)

All of the park benches looked like this, a big beautiful leaf across the back!

It was a beautiful day on top of finding beautiful buildings and spots throughout the town.  I finally did settle down for a bit on one of those beautiful benches, and had some lovely quiet sacred time and did some journaling.  I stopped by some of the shops and boutiques to look around, and also found this lovely bakery that had some gluten free items, which of course made me very happy.  I bought a green Easter meringue cookie and it was delicious!

The time came soon enough for the gates to open at the monastery, so I headed out there to find that every Catholic in the San Gabriel Valley area was there waiting to get inside as well!  I didn't know that Catholics come to do the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday!

I don't know if you can see this very clearly but there was a VERY long line of cars all the way down the street into the driveway of the monastery.  I ended up pulling over about a block down, and parking on the street and just walking up to the entrance.

I had a really beautiful time reflecting in the the garden of The Seven Sorrows of Mary.  It was a Good Friday, indeed.  

Peace.

OOTD: Vintage Myrjord Veveri Bo Telemark wool woven jacket

Check out this gorgeous vintage woven wool jacket from Norway that I am tempted to buy myself.  Photos shot in front of the World Impact Teen Center.  Posting this on SonshineShopVintage on Etsy so get shopping before I buy this myself!

Like I said, I'm a month behind so this is pre-bangs hair in March.

I would say that YOU NEED THIS JACKET.  It's gorgeous.  

Like our Sonshine Shop Vintage on facebook, instagram, or comment below. 

Buy it on Sonshine Shop Vintage on Etsy directly, or if you're local in Southern California, you can e-mail me at shapeofagirlinla@gmail.com to buy and pick up directly from us!

Peace.

Monthly Bike Rides & Gems of South LA: Tacos Locos

I seem to be a month behind on blog posting.  Oh well, better late than never!  

Awesome friend @stokesauce aka Sarah plans a monthly bike ride here for our dear little South LA community.  Believe it or not, I went from an avid bike rider as a kid growing up, riding my bike all over my neighborhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...to being AFRAID of riding my bike in LA as an adult!  Crazy, huh.  Riding bikes in LA is definitely a different beast 'cause frankly, LA drivers do NOT look out for bike riders very well.  Sorry, LA drivers, but it's true.  I'm confessing that because I'm one of them...I've almost hit bikers before!! 

Anyhoo, I got over that fear when I bought my bike from none other than my very favorite SONSHINE SHOP THRIFT STORE!!  I started riding my bike to work to get a little more exercise (back when I used to live south of Exposition Blvd) and I got over my fear, but always always as vigilant as possible for cars.  Be smart or be dead, LA bikers!

Anyway, I love biking in groups, it's a fun social thing and we always have a great destination to get to, to hang out, eat something delicious, and play.  We have such great weather year round here in So Cal, and these days NO RAIN...so biking can happen anytime!  In March, we took about a 10 mile bike ride round-trip downtown to Grand Park.  

Here we are, all sweaty and squinty from the ride.  Good old John hanging with the women!  Until Tony showed up later.  Grand Park has these fun pink chairs and tables throughout the park.  If you ever steal them, we'll know that they're from Grand Park!!

We threw the frisbee around a bit, and then went to the Starbucks on the top block of Grand Park.  The park spans three city blocks.  

On our way, of course I noticed this lovely little mural painting with an oh so true message!  Adorable, eh?

And you can't resist a roll in their fountain at Grand Park.  The tiny little boy running in the WAAAAY back behind me in his undies taught me a lesson...to play freely like a child often!

Other friends frolicking in the fountain!  

And now for the latest GEM OF SOUTH LA--Tacos Locos located on Venice and Harvard.  Technically not South of the 10 freeway, but close enough and damn good.  What's better than eating a delicious plate of tacos, beans and rice for second breakfast after working up an appetite after a bike ride?  The answer:  NOTHING.  

John eagerly awaiting the deliciousness.  He and Jess ordered huevos rancheros.

Their food.

My food.

Jess is happy.

John is happy.

And I was very very happy.  Now go bike more, enjoy Grand Park, play frisbee, roll and play in fountains, eat delicious food at Tacos Locos, and shop at Sonshine Shop Thrift Store (like us on Facebook!) and Sonshine Shop Vintage!  (I acknowledge that there are only FIVE items on the Etsy site, but I promise that will change VERY SOON!  Photos and posts to come about some amazing new vintage items!)

Peace.

Food For Thought: The Perils of the Fashion Industry

As much as I love fashion as a form of creative self-expression, I am aware that the fashion industry definitely has a dark side at many levels.  I heard an interesting story about the perils of the fashion industry for fashion designers, specifically high fashion designers.  The report on NPR featured a book by Dana Thomas called Gods and Kings:  The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.  Thomas describes the shift of the fashion industry from family owned fashion houses that were bought by big conglomorates.  As a result, the demand and pace of the high fashion industry increased rapidly, and has led to some of the top fashion designers falling, some due addiction and depression.

While I think that there is still creative inspiration from high fashion, when any institution becomes a part of big conglomerates, greed consumes and results in injustice and loss.

Learning these things about the fashion industry deepens my conviction that sustainable, eco-friendly fashion, thrift stores, and vintage clothing and items are the way to go.  Some people feel uncomfortable wearing used clothes.  When I find any item that someone decided to give away to a thrift store, I feel a sense of delight, like I'm finding treasure.  When I research vintage items for the Sonshine Shop, I delight in finding that these old items are worth something, worth quite a lot.  And the older something is, the more it is worth.  Someone else's trash is another person's treasure.  I hope that the world can come to see it more this way...and I hope to help with that!
Peace.