Getty Villa Birthday Excursion Extravaganza + Feast

My Saturday was devoted to my bestie Elysse! 

Elysse turned 24 about a week ago and because I was not able to go into LA last weekend, we set aside 8/28 as our day to celebrate.  With help from our friend Cole (thanks Cole!), I coordinated a day filled with the Getty Villa, Sprinkles cupcakes, and Spitz kebab (a winning combination if I do say so myself)!  As far as I can tell, Elysse was delighted with the surprise and enjoyed every minute of her Saturday excursion.  Instead of just eating at the Villa or a nearby restaurant, I decided to plan a picnic to make it a little more special.  Cole was in charge of the cupcakes (and he picked Sprinkles...good man) and I packed a bunch of Trader Joe's goodies, like the Australian licorice and kettle corn.  The Getty Villa was well equipped with picnic benches and because the "picnic area" was a bit secluded from the crowds, we had a relaxing and quiet lunch (very peaceful).  I had never been to the Villa before (Elysse and Cole had) and after this trip I can definitely say that I would like to go again.  It is a beautiful location, the architecture and art is fantastic, and the weather on Saturday happened to be perfect.  Overall, a really awesome Saturday for everyone!

After leaving the Villa and on our drive to dinner, Elysse said, "I'm glad you guys know me well enough to know that I would love something like this."  Ya!  It made me so happy when she said that.  I'm glad you loved it Elysse!  Happy birthday, love ya!

And now for the best part, the pictures from our day!

A birthday isn't complete without Sprinkles cupcakes!  Cole got vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cinnamon sugar, and two red velvets (you can never have just one red velvet).  I made the little fabric flags so that we would not have to deal with candles and an open flame.  Tomorrow I will post a little how-to for making the flags...they are super easy! 

These cupcakes had a short life.

Other feast particles.  The bread was for dipping in hummus and for bruschetta (that I made myself).  I also brought IBC root beer because it is my favorite.  The fact that it comes in a glass jar probably has a lot to do with why I love it. 

Elysse and Cole, stuffed from the meal and super happy about it!

And now for some Getty pics:

The main pool/fountain is so gorgeous.  With the cool breeze blowing through on Saturday, I could have sat here for hours.

There is this great herb garden at the Villa, where I took the above picture and the next couple of shots.  They had a healthy basil plant that I wanted to steal for my future bruschetta-making.

There was also a couple different lily ponds which all had flowers blooming.

They had Egyptian papyrus which was neat to see.  It was very beautiful.  Whenever I think of papyrus, I think of ancient papyrus paper so I enjoyed seeing it in its true plant form.  

In terms of art, I probably enjoyed the mosaics the most.  This was my favorite.  I like the incompleteness of it all.

Ceiling detail...love the colors!

Elysse and I doing the touristy shot.  Cuteness!

And now a few of Elysse's pictures because my documenting skills were a little incomplete:

Cole and I lugging the goods!

And us staging the picnic area, preparing for the feast.

Elysse's card was one I bought at the Renegade Craft Fair from Paper Pastries (love their stuff).

And here is what I made Elysse for her birthday.  I designed some stationary for her, highlighting a few of her favorite things/activities including writing, television, cupcakes, glasses, and ketchup (she's obsessed with ketchup)!  I also made the little stuffed heart!

Happy birthday Elysse!  I hope you enjoyed everything!

You can see more of my pictures from Saturday on Flickr here.  

Comments

[Elysse]

Haha, I am prepping a few of those same pics for my blog. Good taste! And obviously I was very happy at the picnic because I forgot to pose in a face-flattering manner! Oh my goodness.

Thanks a billion! If in the future my husband wants to know how to propose to me, tell him to take me on a surprise picnic to somewhere, but not the Getty Villa because that's all yours!

xoxoxo

[rebecan]

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