Tag Archives: Simi Valley

American Christmas trees at the Reagan Library

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Recently, I visited the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, where I stumbled upon this exhibit — An American Christmas. It was an exhibit made up of Christmas trees, decorated according to a corresponding decade.

This tree was the last, devoid of any decorations from the decade, since this decade isn’t finished yet. I didn’t get to photograph all the trees, and some of my photos came out all fuzzy, because the trees were in dark rooms. But I figured I would share them here, because I always like to see how people decorate their Christmas trees.

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Wedding at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley

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I cannot for the life of me remember all the places I’ve decorated for weddings, which spans all the way from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County — no kidding. So when my buddies Josh and Nicole said their wedding was going to be at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, my interest was piqued — a place I’ve never been for a wedding? Incidentally, those geekier than myself might recognize the spot — its been the site of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, one Star Trek: Next Generation episode and as the power chamber for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, according to Wikipedia. Shamefully, I think I remember this building from the Power Rangers.

But the place is AMAZ-ZA-ZING. (Sorry, Benchwarmers reference there.) Driving up to the place was an adventure in itself — the road up to the institute is a barely two-lane meandering dirt road along the sides of a hill. At night, on the way down, there were no lights. It was much like our drive up Mt. Haleakala in Maui last year. Except this one isn’t 10,000 feet up and a dormant volcano. The day was perfect for a wedding. The sky, which had just been cloudy a day before, was perfectly clear, and the place had an amazing view of Simi Valley’s hills. In this spot, it was hard to believe we were in metropolitan Los Angeles.

Inside, the layout was actually quite cozy — there weren’t too many tables that you felt lost, and everything was very laid back. Each of the tables was named after a tree and the colors brown and purple surprisingly went well together. (It so happens I was wearing a plum dress while my husband wore a brown shirt and tie — go figure!)

Tall centerpieces are always nice — they help keep the flowers above the heads of the seated guests, so as not to impede on conversations. I liked these arrangements — the colors, the flower choices and the stands themselves. I knew Nicole would not disappoint me in this department. Heheh. Nicole’s flowers were done by Ginny G Floral Design in North Hollywood.

The cake table, carrying precious cargo. That was some yummy cake, yo. Not too elaborate, although, I think that’s a petal stuck to the side, there.

The requisite sweetheart table. ^_^ I don’t think my mom or myself can take credit for the sweetheart table concept, but it sure has caught on.

For more pictures on this wedding, see my Flickr stream.
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