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I LOVE THE 4TH OF JULY…

It's grilled cheese sandwiches, games and unmitigated joy! Preparations start a week before the 4th. Tomatoes give the cheese sandwiches that special something but they have to be sliced thin and well drained. Party favors. The caricature is from the year before, when...

JUNE FLEW BY…

...with memorable moments such as delightful Peggy treating us to an evening of MUSE/IQUE at the Huntington. My birthday celebrations continued with lovely Marine and her delightful sister Eliza treating me at The Capital Grille. Another great movie night with Curtis...

MAY REMINICENSE

April was so very difficult that I'm going to skip right past it to delightful May. Perhaps it's because May is my birthday month but I really think there's so much more to look forward to in the month. Veronica pulled several landscapes for collector Pam to select...

CONTINUING MARCH

A highlight of March has to be being serenaded by Universal Renaissance man, my friend Stanley Penner, playing a bit of Mozart, Brahms and more... ...on his Bösendorfer. I was told to "Look up!" So many treasurers... A lovely "Gratitude Luncheon" at the Athenaeum....

MARCHING THROUGH MARCH

The Children's Festival was a wonderful way to begin the month. Three days of getting up at five, wearing a white apron and helping all the kids find their way to seats at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for an exciting dance performance by the Hubbard Street Dance...

SHORT BUT WONDERFUL

February, being the shortest month, has to cram a lot of joyful happenings..I can't think of a better way to begin the month than by celebrating Susie Kat's birthday at the Jonathan Beach Club! Yours truly, Maggie, Susie's cousin, Carol Soucek King, our amazing...

JANUARY, AND THE NEW YEAR BEGINS…

I'm not too sure what to make of January. Perhaps it's because December is such an amazing high with Christmas and New Years that it's hard to re-focus on business as usual. Well, maybe not as usual but certainly not at the extreme! It took Veronica and me two days to...

THE MOST WONDERFUL NEW YEAR’S …

began with guests getting their bling on. Here Alexis decides on hers. Also, signing the guest book and indicating what yummy treat they brought. Here's Jan making her entry. And with her bling on. Then it was time for amazing Magician Tom to mesmerize all of us,...

CHRISTMAS AND SO MUCH MORE!

Valerie Foster Hoffman is truly the Hostess With the Mostest, a real-life Auntie Mame! And to be at her Christmas party is to partake of an unforgettable experience. Cookies anyone? With Sherry in the garden. With Santa and our Lovely Hostess! Photographer Karl....

MOVING ON TOWARDS CHRISTMAS

The partying began at the California Club for the CTG Affiliates' Annual Christmas Luncheon. There are beautiful mystery boxes that everyone bids on....here's the one I got. Delightful Mary Kay with her treasure box. Sweet Diane chats with Artistic Director Snehal...

THE HUNTINGTON BOTANICAL GARDENS is a GIFT

 …..a treasure right in out midst. This was really brought home to me when Marsha and Stu, my longtime friends from Chicago, were so impressed by all the ‘Gardens’ has to offer, they made a lovely donation after their visit. I wonder, if perhaps because we live...

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FOR THE FOODIES

And you know who you are! Lunch with my cuties, Sandie and Lisa Girl. Laurie Pie and Kita have a major discussion about who gets dinner…... Chinese from Gourmet 88 is the very best! Sandie Girl was brave enough to tackle my Chicken/cheese Enchilada….. It kinda oozes...

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GO INTO ORBIT

…..At The Huntington Botanical Garden’s amazing exhibit on the Celebration Lawn.  This extraordinary experience within a Nautilus-shell-shaped 28 foot ‘sculpture’ is clad in shiny aluminum and you enter an amazing sound experience. Marsha and Stu, my life long...

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A FABULOUS SOIREE FOR THE CALIFORNIA ART CLUB

….at the home of incomparable Valerie Foster Hoffman, Hostess with the Mostest. California Art Club Executive Director Elaine Adams, wife of Peter Adams the plein air artist extraordinaire! Our beautiful hostess whose grandfather painted the remarkable copies of...

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LOVE IS A VERB

 ….and no one expresses it more fully than Miss Judith who is the template for doing good and friendship!  As an Executive Advisory Board Member of the ‘Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Center', Miss Judith includes me in her list of guests for the annual...

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ART and MUSIC, a PERFECT COMBO

Marsha and Stu, my Snowbirds from Chicago, winter in Newport Beach and my assignment is to find new and interesting things to do.  This years adventure began at The Broad and here you see the Jeff Koons installation ‘TULIPS’ hence the name for the third floor...

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A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION for BEAUTIFUL VALERIE

….hosted by Lyn Campbell at the Los Angeles Country Club was just as sensational as the guest of honor, the Hostess with the Mostest, lovely Valerie! Our delightful table favors…. I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship and mentioned it in my last blog. It seems...

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RAIN OR SHINE WE FIND JOY

…and a great joy is anytime I can spend with Beautiful Mary.  We started the year with dinner at the Bistro Gardens, one of my favorite spots for sharing friendship in a lovely surrounding.  I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but if I did, for sure it would be to...

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A BITTERSWEET GOODBYE TO BELOVED TYRUS WONG

  …..TYRUS WAS a ‘DISNEY LEGEND’ for his ground breaking concept artwork on ‘BAMBI’ but that only skims the surface of his many accomplishments attested to by the hundreds who came to pay tribute to him on Friday at Forest Lawn’s ‘Hall of Liberty’. The hall was packed...

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WELCOME…

to my personal blog where I’ll be sharing adventures and how I determine each day to live joyfully as an Artist, Teacher, and Author. My latest book “What If… We Have the Power to Change Our Lives” an inspirational book that hopefully will empower you to live your best life! You can find me and my work at nanraestudio.com My hope is that this blog will inspire you to find joy everywhere and in everything and that is what I wish for you!

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