Hello, December! Lorraine Devon Wilke, LA Life Photographer, brilliantly captures the stunning LA silhouette. LA Life Fashion Stylist, Felicia Arlin, has you covered with gorgeous looks. Molly Cheek, our LA Life Tasting Tomato, has the skinny on the Donna’s. LA Life Guest Artist Annie Wood is back with an amazing work of art. LA Life Poetess, Lady Penelope, has Christmas on her mind. And I’m here with handy-helpful guides for enjoying the holiday magic and more in our City of Angels. Wishing you all a fabulous holiday season and very Happy New Year!  I’m back February 2025, Tomatoes.

Mountain View Through Cactus: Cover Photo & Story

 Mountain View Through Cactus, from our LA Life Photographer Lorraine Devon Wilke beautiful depicts the environmental diversity of Los Angeles and the incredible views of the gorgeous mountain ranges surrounding us that we never tire of.  Aren’t we lucky Ladies? Be sure to check out Lorraine Devon Wilke’s marvelous photos on her webpage and browse her entire website as it reveals the vast tapestry of Lorraine’s amazing talents.

When I was a girl growing up in Illinois, a young singer out on midwestern roads with a rock band, or a visiting adult back to traverse the state after my move to LA, I never failed to notice that most salient trait of midwestern terrain: flatness. Its sheer flatness. You could drive through good parts of Illinois, Kansas, or Nebraska and have so little obstruct the view that your eye would hit the horizon with nary an interruption. Which had its own kind of beauty, surely, but I was always drawn to the visual disparity and excitement of mountainous terrain. Probably because of those formative years of flatness. Living now in the gorgeous surrounds of Los Angeles, I am greeted daily by any number of views, and most include my beloved mountains: The Santa Monica range that curves around the westside beach cities. The Santa Susana’s framing San Fernando Valley. The Verdugo Mountains are to the east, and, as captured in this photograph, “Mountain View Through Cactus,” the stunning, often cloud-covered, San Gabriel Mountains. These you might know from the ubiquitous Rose Bowl blimp shots that always seem to find the mountains at their most beautiful. As much as the tourists swoon, we locals never tire of their drama whenever they do decide to come out of the clouds.  

Tastes of LA: Donna’s

Our Tasting Tomato Molly Cheek makes you fall in love with Donna’s restaurant.  Molly’s review literally makes your mouth water with her unique and creative brand of style that exudes her adoration for Donna’s and their great food.    I’m certainly putting Donna’s on my wish list, Gals. GET THE DETAILS.

LA Style Stories

In “The Power of Style”, our super-duper LA Life Fashion Stylist, Felicia Arlin, reminds us that we need to follow/know certain fashion rules so we know how can we can break them … with style, of course. And Leopard has evolved as a neutral  solid in much the way the blue jean has. So says Felicia in “Leopard Forever”. Remember, I only highlight a snippet of Felicia’s amazing cur8edme posts so be sure to follow her on Instagram.  And she is the most amazingly insightful guide for helping you to find the right and most flattering style for you.  Just sayin’, Tomatoes. GET THE DETAILS.

Guest Artist Corner: Annie Wood

How could I resist showcasing LA Artist Annie Woods amazing piece “It Was Always There”. Topanga Canyon has always been, in my humble opinion one of the most unique and glorious places in LA and Annie illuminates the Topanga Canyon Sunset brilliantly. “It Was Always There” is an 18 X 24 oil pastel & oil paint on canvas.

“I had prepped a canvas with shapes and texture, then a month later revisited it to create something, and low and behold, the shape of a sun was already there, like it was always there.”

“I spend two months each summer in my husband’s hometown of Rimini in Italy. Rimini is a beach town but when we’re there, we always take trips into the country and the Italian countryside makes its way into my dreams and my art.”

“I spent time with this one, coming back for more and more layers. It is highly textured, varnished, and ready to ship.”

 Annie Wood is an internationally exhibited mixed-media artist living in her hometown of Hollywood, California so as an LA native she is Super LA. Annie Wood is interested in reexperiencing her dreams by painting them, daydreaming new ones, finding order in chaos and chaos in order, seeing familiar things in new ways, and creating visual stories that make people feel peaceful, make them wonder, remember, and pause. You can see all her creations at Annie’s online art gallery  and purchase a piece at anniewood.com.  And you can also subscribe to her free newsletter How to Love the World with poems, stories, short films and art from Annie to you. 🫶🏼

Sonnets from Suburbia

Yes, Lady Penelope has family and she unveils her own ingenious perspective on the family Christmas meal in “Christmas Table”. Penny Peyser (Lady Penelope) has outdone herself with “Sonnets from Suburbia: Romance Dance”. It’s masterful, brilliant and an easy and deliciously entertaining ride.  If  you haven’t already, don’t forget to order a copy of Penny Peyser’s first brilliant book, “Sonnets from Suburbia: More Candles Than Cake” to add to your collection, Tomatoes. FYI: Either of these would make a great Holiday gift. READ MORE.

December 7. Music at the Odyssey: Musicals of the 80’s

Step back into the bold, brash, and brilliantly diverse world of 1980’s American Musical Theatre with Musicals of the 80’s at the Odyssey! Join the Los Angeles Musical Theatre Studio’s All-Star Cast, which includes my dear and amazingly talented friend Eileen Barnett, as they explore the highs and lows of a decade that redefined Broadway.

 The supremely talented cast will guide you through an unforgettable evening featuring iconic hits, unexpected flops, and everything in between. The 80-minute journey through the ‘80s will leave you humming, laughing, and reminiscing. It’s the perfect night out for any musical theater lover!

December 8. CicLAvia – The Valley

CicLAvia is coming to the SF Valley this Sunday, Tomatoes.  Everyone of all abilities are welcome on the 5 miles of car-free open streets along Sherman Way connecting Reseda, Winnetka, and Canoga Park.  Always free, CicLAvia participants just show up anywhere along the route at any time to enjoy this pop-up park for the day with one’s favorite people-powered way, whether that’s walking, jogging, biking, roller skating, skating, or simply spectating with plenty of family friendly activities and programs along the route.

December 12. Hollywood Scandal

Ooh la la, Tomatoes, it’s a Hollywood scandal What could be better?! Hosted by The Pasadena History Museum, Kevin Jones, senior curator at the ASU FIDM Museum in DTLA, leads the journey through the history of a collection of noteworthy 1930’s-1940’s-era film costumes in “Hollywood Scandal! Edith Head and Celanese “Star in Crepe”.

December 14. Funny Women of a Certain Age at The Hollywood Improv

These Tomatoes are fighting ageism AND sexism one joke at a time. Funny Women of a Certain Age (WOACA) is a show straight from the unrestrained mouths and minds of the funniest, most courageous, most experienced people in comedy: these women that have seen it all. Gotta love that, Gals!

These ladies have paved the way for the female comics you see today. Funny Women or WOACA was created to give older women comics a chance to be seen and heard. Frustrated with how women are portrayed on television once they hit 50, Carole decided to do something about it. The women who appear in WOACA are all funny, vibrant and brilliant, they just happen to be of a certain age.

Holiday Shopping with a Purpose

If you would like to give a gift this holiday season that has a great deal of meaning behind it, Tomatoes, then look no further than LA 2050 Social Impact Gift Guide.  80+ gifts with something for everyone!!

Gifts that do good and sourced from local nonprofits, sustainable makers & BIPOC-owned businesses. Launched in 2011, LA2050 is a community-guided initiative driving and tracking progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles. As residents, organizations, stakeholders, and policymakers Angelenos can work together toward a more successful Los Angeles – one that reaches our region’s incredible potential and is equitable, thriving, engaged, and empowering.

 Holiday Events Guide

All across the LA area there is ia ton of exciting and fun holiday events to fill you with joy throughout the season. For your perusal, I’ve compiled a resource list (in chronological order) for Tomatoes to refer to that features the best of the best to make your holidays unforgettable, Tomatoes!

Dec. 6 & 7. “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin”: Latino Theatre Company’s epic holiday pageant, featuring over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers, will take place at L.A.’s beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in DTLA.

Dec. 7.  Cocktails in Historic Places: It’s all about location, Ladies.  So, I highly recommend sipping cocktails that sparkle in the light of the Biltmore’s lavish Holiday décor presented by The Art Deco Society. It doesn’t get more historic or classy than The Biltmore in the heart of DTLA!

Dec 7 & 8. Burbank Winter Arts Festival: Featuring 170+ local, hand-selected uber talented artisans, shoppers can expect to find the best in indie goods including visual art, photography, original fashion, jewelry, paper goods, home décor, housewares, food, and more. Wow!

Dec. 7 – Dec. 15. LA County Arboretum: There are a plethora of cool Holiday events happening at The Los Angeles County Arboretum. So check them out.

 December 7 & 8. Craft Contemporary Holiday Marketplace.: Attendees will enjoy music and complimentary refreshments while they shop and mingle among vibrantly crafted and designed goods by the museums’ curated vendors.

December 7 – 23.  Yuletide Cinemaland: The Heritage Square Museum is screening Holiday movies along with Victorian Home Tours, Sing-Alongs, Holiday treats and drinks, shopping and more.  A unique and entertaining way to celebrate the season.

December 8 & 28. Holidays at The Gamble House:  December 8^th The Gamble House is all decked out for The Gamble House Holiday Gathering. December 28^th it is The Gamble House Holiday Open House Tour. At both events you can enjoy this historic beautifully decorated home in period style at its seasonal best.

December 12 & 19 and December 10 & 17 Holiday Tours of Historic LA: The LA Conservancy celebrates the festive sights and sounds of the season with two special tours: The Holidays at Union Station on December 12^th & 19^th  and The Holiday Highlights Tour on December 10^th  & December 17^th.

December 13 Rockin-Around-The-Christmas-Tree A Holiday Kickoff: The Original Farmer’s Market welcomes you to celebrate the festive spirit and enjoy their fab Yuletide décor with live musical performances and more.

December 14 ^.Holiday Arts & Music Festival: Presented by The Valley Cultural Foundation, you can support local businesses and shop for gifts at Warner Center Park. There’ll be free arts & crafts for the kids, free photos with Santa, food trucks and a fun snow area.

 December 14.  Holiday Family Faire:  Theatricum Botanicum transforms their beautiful grounds in Topanga Canyon into an outdoor winter wonderland with a marketplace, photos with Santa, festive food & drinks, caroling & singing madrigals.

 December 14 Holiday Music at Vromans:  Vromen’s Bookstore in Pasadena will present holiday music featuring the Gone with the Winds, a classically trained Woodwind Quintet, and The Sliders, four slide trombone aficionados.

 December 18 – December 22. “BOTH: A Hard Day’s Night Silent Night”: It’s the Beatles and it’s Christmas at The Open Fist Theatre Company’s annual holiday charity concert spectacular benefitting HOLA.  A rockin’ choir and a swinging live band spread peace and joy, telling the Christmas story through Gospel arrangements of Beatles songs.

Through December 22 Aquarium Holidays: The holiday season at the Aquarium of the Pacific features holiday décor, snowfall in the Great Hall, shopping, and appearances by Santa Diver.

December 20-22. Yuletide Caroling at The Market: Yuletide Carolers will be back at the Original Farmer’s Market to add joy to your shopping and dining experience. You’ll definitely have a festive time.

Through December 24^. “A Christmas Carol”:  A Noise Within’s theatre production of “A Christmas Carol” is a uniquely faithful adaptation of Dickens’ novel featuring innovative staging, whimsical costumes and original music. Perfect for all ages.

Through December 24 The Los Angeles Christmas Market: Yep! The LA Christmas Market has come to Skylight Row DTLA and the festive spirit and the holiday magic is in full swing!

December 24  “LA County Holiday Celebration”: The LA County Holiday Celebration, at the Music Center, is LA’s largest multicultural holiday celebration while being LA’s longest running Holiday Tradition. It’s back with live performances for the public to attend as well as streaming virtually for those who prefer the comfort of their home.

Through December 31. Deck the Hall Concert Series:

Holiday cheer abounds at the Walt Disney Concert Hall hrough the entire month of December and there’s something for everyone!

 December 25-January 2 2025. Hanukkah Celebrations:

When researching Hanukkah celebrations around town, I found the most incredible list on Moms LA. It’s an impressive, informative and super helpful guide to pretty much all the Hanukkah celebrations across the LA region for all those who celebrate. Thanks for your help Moms LA!

 Through January 5 2025.  Bob Baker’s Nutcracker: is their marionette adaption of a ballet classic with 100-plus handmade colorful puppets where fantasy and artistry create a masterful wizardry of strings, will delight and spark the imagination of audiences of all ages. Wow!

Now through January 5 2025.  Christmas Around the World: Christmas Around the World includes 26 exquisitely decorated trees representing the 26 countries that President Reagan visited while in office, as well as a White House Tree. Simply spectacular!

 Through January 20 2025. The Holidays in Downtown Santa Monica: The 3rd Street Promenade has transformed into a holiday immersive experience for the whole family with tens of thousands of colorful lights, decor and garland illuminating convenient shopping and a variety of activities celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah.

 Lights, Lights and More Lights

From the valley, to DTLA, to Midtown and on to the coastal communities, Los Angeles glows particularly bright this time of year because of the plethora of magically inspired twinkling light displays. No matter where the lights are displayed the super creative use of lights in LA to celebrate the season is always masterful, Tomatoes. And let’s not forget there is always an amazing array of lights on the boats in our local boat parades.

 December 7-15 Boat Lights: December 7 is the Venice Annual Christmas Boat Bash, on December 14 there’s the  Marina Del Rey Holiday Boat Parade.  The Huntington Holiday Boat Parade takes place on December 14 & 15 and last but not least is The Naples Island Long Beach Boat Parade on December 21.

 Starting December 7: For over 100 years along Santa Rosa Street in Alta Dena, the Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony and Festival and the stunning lights along the lane have ignited the holiday spirit.  It’s  definitely a SoCal tradition.

 Through December 28: Holiday Road transforms King Gillette Ranch into a winter wonderland complete with everything from the North Pole, Elf Village, Gingerbread Lane, light tunnels, and Christmas tree forests.

 Through December 31: Sparkle DTLA Light Show at the BLOC gives you a magical holiday show nightly with 18 million hues of lights in the night synchronized to festive tunes.

Through New Years Day: Lights on Display returns to Sherman Oaks with a whole new show! Once again, they’ll be collecting donations on behalf of The American Lung Association.

Through January 3: The Holiday Lights Train Ride is a long standing tradition at the Griffith Park Train Rides that takes passenger guests on a mile-long loop at Griffith Park & Southern Railroad, through festive scenes decorated with thousands of lights.

Through January 5, 2025: LA Zoo Lights Animals Aglow at …you guessed it…the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It’s a dazzling, enchanting, eye-popping wild wonderland of light under the stars.

Through Jan 7 2025: Enchanted at Descanso Gardens is an amazingly de-light-ful holiday wonder.  Prepare to be enchanted and leave with a sense of wonder.

 Through January 31 2025: Astra Lumina returns to Los Angeles for a magical night walk at South Coast Botanic Garden that invites visitors to discover the glory of visiting stars.

 Ice Skating

A skating rink is a fab way to ring in the season Tomatoes and burn a few calories while you are at it. Skating in a t-shirt and sunglasses when it’s in the 80’s is a quintessential SoCal experience but I’m personally hoping for the chilly weather in December. No matter what the weather, ice-skating at an outdoor rink during the holidays is bound to bring on the smiles.

 ICE at Santa Monica, open through January 20^th, 2025, combines the magic of the holiday season with the beauty of California’s coastline in Downtown Santa Monica. Through January 12, 2025, the Pershing Square Holiday Ice Skating Rink in the heart of DTLA is a fairy tale like setting and a very popular holiday tradition. Through January 10^th, 2025, LA Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. Live is just that…alive with holiday magic. If you are worried about the possible breakage of a hip, like moi, there is usually a ton of holiday fun happening all around the rinks, Tomatoes.

New Years Eve Celebrations

Secret Los Angeles has top-notch suggestions for celebrating New Years Eve.  Thanks, Secret LA! Also, FYI, the New Years Eve Musical Revue at the Santa Monica Playhouse is considered “one of the ten best New Years Eve Events in LA” by LA Weekly and “16 best things to do New Years Eve” by the Los Angeles Times.

 January 12 2025 Snowy Plover Beach Walk

Calling all Tomatoes who love nature, birds and guided walks along the beach. The Snowy Plover Beach Walk is a perfect January treat, hosted by the Annenberg Community Beach House and the LA Audubon Society, where you’ll explore the restored dune habitat and life cycle of the small, white and adorbs snowy plovers.

Did you know, Tomatoes, that the precious Snowy Plovers make the area around the Annenberg Beach House their winter home? That just tickles me pink.