Artist Date

An "artist date" is a technique recommended in a book titled "The Artist's Way", by Julia Cameron. It is basically a retreat to find inspiration. It can last a day, an hour, or even less. Yesterday I took the Metrolink train from Newhall to Union Station and then the gold line metrorail out to South Pasadena to meet two teacher friends from my last school for lunch. After catching up for a couple of hours and eating our delicious salads (I chose a beet arugula salad with walnuts, green apples, and feta) from Mike & Anne's on Mission St., we took a group photo and went our separate ways around 1:30. I needed to catch the Gold LIne back to the train station at 4:01, so I had time to spare. Loving South Pasadena as I do, I took advantage of the time to walk the streets and enjoy the surroundings. South Pas is a very walkable little area, the train stop is right in the middle of the main drag (Mission St.) First, I meandered over to the public library. Inside, I made my way upstairs to the delightful Friends of the Library booksale, which is actually an entire well-organized room on the second floor. I found the following treasures:

The Inheritance of Loss ($2)
Eat Love Pray ($2) (Already read but longing for my own copy to highlight!)
The Birth of Venus ($2)
The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood ($1) (Hey this might just come in handy sometime...no news yet but I'll keep ya posted!)

Then, I walked back up to Mission St. and visited a craft shop, the local Bellini store (3-4 storefronts wide- let's just say there are LOTS of little ones in South Pas), and finally made my way to Buster's a local ice cream shop. I found an afternoon treat (delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bar) and sat down outside to read for a bit. Later, I found a shady spot under a tree at the train station and read some more. I am currently enjoying several middle grade novels (for research and enjoyment both). Yesterday, the selection was, The Wedding Planner's Daughter, by Coleen Murtagh Paratore. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the two more books already out with the same character...Willa Havisham. Above are some pix from the artist date. (Oh yeah, the picture taking is what really makes it feel like an artist date)