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Winter Exploring

*Sponsored Post*

After a super long fall semester filled with an intense class schedule, I'm officially on winter break and with that, making up for my many late nights studying by traveling and exploring.


To kick off my winter break, my hubby and I took a roadtrip to Vegas before we traveled locally to spend time with my family for Christmas Eve and his family on Christmas Day. 

For our alone time, we started with LACMA to see the new Frank Gehry exhibit and to try out my new wide-angle lens....

and this is just the start.

We plan on taking a few weekend getaways, local day trips, explore our local mountains, hike, and of course, catch-up on all the art exhibits we've put on our must-see list before I kick-off film school this spring.


While I'm excited about all my winter exploration plans, with all this moving around and lugging my new camera and video equipment, it makes sense to carry everything in a bag that is not only comfortable, but also keeps my equipment safe.

This is where my SWISSGEAR backpack comes in.


My SWISSGEAR backpack is not only stylish, but also functional. It not only fits my Nikon DSLR camera body, but a couple of lenses, my flash, laptop, accessories, personal stuff, and even a tripod on the side!

I tend to carry my backpack over one shoulder or completely over my back when I'm shooting...and when I need to move around in tight spaces, my hubby takes turns carrying it....and doesn't mind one bit!


Weighing in at just under three pounds, My SWISSGEAR backpack is flexible enough to expand as I add equipment, while at the same time, the side strap streamlines the bag when I carry less.

I also love how the floating TabletSafe™ pocket protection keeps my tablet safe, and the unobstructed, ScanSmart lay-flat design will help me speed through airport security by allowing laptop-in-case scanning through the TSA X-ray machines.

With those features alone my travels this winter will be easier because of my SWISSGEAR backpack!!


Do you also have winter exploration plans you’re looking forward to? Join in the fun by sharing your Instagram pics using #SWISSGEAR to join in the conversation with other wanderlusts!

XOXO

Ana Lydia

Special thanks to my hubby for playing photographer for this post :)
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Drive By Visions

Drive-by Visions (c) Ana Lydia Ochoa-Monaco

My thirty-day break/vacation went by too quick.

But I kicked-off my fall semester with a getaway to the Central Coast and Carmel thanks to the beautiful people from Hofsas House. (more to that later)

On the drive back from Northern California, the answers I was so anxiously looking for, came to me as I lost myself in the journey.

Should I take a break this spring to work -on work- or continue with my education and transfer? 
Transfer. The sooner, the better.

Even if not my accepted into first choice, any one of the colleges that I am looking to transfer to are either in the top ten or top twenty, depending at which ranking I look at. Being that I don't have fifty years to pay-off student loans, the sooner I finish with my new degree, the sooner I can continue with my new career.

Yes, I could take the easy way in. Call a few people. Ask for a favor, or two; and get right in the position I want, and do what I dream of doing. But that's not who I am.

I find pleasure, and knowledge, in the journey. Not to mention, I appreciate the people I'm meeting - some of which will one day become my colleagues.

The deeper I'm in the journey, the more it all makes sense. And as I look back at what I have done, who I have met, and even the obstacles I've had to overcome, it all points to this direction. I was just too stubbornly driven and easily ignored what I 'really' have always wanted to do - because, "creativity is a hobby - not a job."

Funny thing is: my creativity was always the shoe-in to the growth in my career.

If you succeed in one thing, you should stick to it - right?
Wrong.

Anywho - that was also one of those "A-ha" moments during the drive back to Los Angeles.

Took me a while to get it...and trust me, there's days that I still question my sanity of sitting in a room full of bushy-tailed 18 year olds that are just starting their life, while I'm half-way into it...and only now I'm figuring out how to pursue my dreams.

But it's never too late, right?

Ana Lydia


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Coloring Books for Adults

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post that also includes affiliate links.

Have you heard about adults getting together to have a glass a wine, nosh, dish, and color?

Well, now you have....


On a recent weekend I hosted a couple of friends for a relaxing evening at home that included every gals fave's: good wine, mixed fruity drinks, sweets...and coloring books!


My friends and I each picked our own page from one of the two books I received from the publisher: Paisleys: Coloring for Artists or Mandalas Coloring for Everyone.

Once we picked our page, we selected our colors from my stash of crayons, coloring pencils and markers. It was quite fun to see what colors we each gravitated to and whether or not we stuck to a color theme.

The Coloring for Everyone page, as you can imagine, was completed in a couple of hours, while the Coloring for Artists pages were a bit more challenging and more time consuming, albeit just as fun.

I also loved that the pages in these coloring books are perforated, one sided and thick enough to display in a frame once we completed our masterpieces. 

My first masterpiece!
Two other coloring books are also available in this four-book series: Mandalas: Coloring for Artists Paisleys: Coloring for Everyone. Each coloring book includes eleven pages of full-color designs that illustrate the design and coloring of these motifs.


The act of coloring forced us to put aside our worries, reignited our imagination and got us back in touch with our creative soul...which is, in my book, a perfect evening that's worth repeating - SOON!

Ana Lydia
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Misty Copeland Is Promoted to Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theater

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GLP Films has Partnered with National Geographic to Create Travel & Human Interest Visual Stories



It was recently shared with me that GLP Films has partnered with National Geographic to create human-interest and travel films for the National Geographic digital networks.

GLP Films is a company which you may have possibly never heard of, but have more than likely seen or heard about one of their more than 100 award-winning travel and sustainability films, such as the Sustainable Tourism in Mexico series.


This is incredible for many reasons, but for me, the most important reason to follow this partnership and watch these films, is that we will be able to see for the first time stories that have never been told in a short format and available online.


As it is the case with all of the GLP Films, these stories will connect us with people, places and issues that are important for us to learn about and possibly get more involved with.



The films that have been completed through the GLP Films & National Geographic partnership include:

  1. World’s Most Dangerous Road? (Bolivia, 3:45) – Bolivia’s perilous, one-lane Yungas Road has claimed many lives during its time, earning its moniker and inviting adventurers to experience its mysticism, complex cultural history, and death-defying mountain bike tours. .
  2. This Hotel is Made Entirely of Salt (Bolivia, 3:11) – Award-winning luxury salt hotel Luna Salada attracts travelers to the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni, and is built almost entirely from the area’s most abundant resource.
  3. The Most Nutritious Grain You’ve Never Heard Of (Senegal, 4:40) -- Heralded as the “new quinoa” or super food, fonio has drought-resistant, protein rich and gluten-free qualities, making it a power player in the fight to end poverty and world hunger.
  4. Visit a Village on an Island Made of Shells (Senegal, 2:59) -- Created over 300 years ago, Fadiouth, better known as Shell Island, rose from the Sine-Saloum Delta as an island created sustainably by discarded mollusk shells, and serves as a common ground for religious tolerance.
  5. A Toilet Fascination Leads to Social Change (India, 3:59) -- One man’s frustration with India’s exclusive Caste system and his personal fascination with toilets is changing India’s health and sanitation landscape.
_____

Follow GLP Film at www.glpfilms.com and connect with them on:
Facebook
Twitter
Vimeo
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram

Follow National Geographic at www.nationalgeographic.com and connect with them on:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Ana Lydia
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Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition

For my hubby's birthday we were given the opportunity to take part in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the California Science Center.

We were excited to see this exhibit because it's the largest Dead Scroll Exhibit created outside of Israel; and well, to see 2,000 year old manuscripts and more than 600 artefacts is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Unlike typical exhibits set in rows and rows of untouchable and unreachable artefacts that are hard to see, the Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit walks you through a visual timeline of Israel's history.  


Upon your arrival, you view a brief video and presentation about the unique aspects of this exhibit led by California Science Center experts.

The experts also walk you through an explanation of what we are about to see before you enter the main gallery of the exhibit.


From timelines on the ground that match the ceramic pieces and jewelry behind a glass wall case, and even a section of the Wailing Wall, the exhibit is an interactive way to experience Israel and the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The obvious headliner of the exhibit are the sections from 10 selections of the Dead Sea Scrolls, more than half never seen before in the U.S., including parts of the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. 



The Dead Sea Scroll exhibit is on display until September 7, 2015 at the California Science Center. You can purchase "timed tickets" for the exhibition, that are valid only for the time and date you purchased them for. 

Adults - $19.75
Child 4-12 - $12.75
Seniors 60+ - $16.75

Ana Lydia
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Gran Centenario Tequila Searches for Latino Angels in Los Angeles

I was invited to kick-off the Tequila Gran Centenario's Angels in Training program at Blue Plate Taco in Santa Monica.


The Angels in Training program will honor Latinos that live within the Los angeles area who through their selfless actions ultimately let to helping a neighbor or an entire community.

This program will celebrate the many contributions that our Latino community has made through their self-sacrifice, perseverance and commitment to achievement and advancement...and ultimately, make us PROUD to be Latino.


The angels will start traveling throughout Los Angeles to meet potential Angels and work together with local community groups, churches and other organization who will help identify Latino entrepreneurs or individuals who have had a major impact on their neighborhoods.


The way these Angels will be notified, will be to given a replica of the Mexican gold 1921 Centenario Bullion Coin that bears the same Angel of Victory seen on all the Gran Centenario Tequila, and will serve as their invitation to the private celebration honoring their selfless service on May 19th.


As I'm sure you will be seeing an Angel or two walking around Los Angeles, go ahead and Instagram their beautiful white wings and celebrate the Latinos selected as Angels in training, and tag those photos with #GCAngels for us to celebrate as well.

Now THIS is MY favorite way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Ana Lydia
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METROPOLIS II Hot Wheels Kinetic Exhibit at LACMA

Not sure if I shared before, but after a brief membership hiatus from LACMA, we renewed our membership as part of my birthday gift.

What can I say, I prefer couples gifts and things that I can do together with my hubby.

Any who, completely unplanned, but we discovered the Metropolis II Hot Wheels Kinetic Exhibit during our last visit...and I couldn't resist taping a small show-and-tell video.



Both my hubby and I found the exhibit intense, creative, and entertaining...So much so that we couldn't resist walking around all sides, and of course, taping from all angles.

Ana Lydia
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Whale Watching in Long Beach with Harbor Cruises

Thank you to Harbor Cruises for inviting my hubby and me to celebrate my birthday!


When my hubby asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday this year, I told him I wanted to see whales to try out my new camera lens.

Where can you see whales? Actually, not that far from where we live: Long Beach Harbor.


Highly recommended by a photographer friend, we picked Harbor Breeze Cruises because of their experience providing whale watching cruises in Long Beach for over 18 years. 

 Although not guaranteed because animals are unpredictable, we saw several gray whales, dolphins, sea lions, and lots and lots of seagulls...talk about picking the right tour!


Our tour boat was a double-deck 65 foot, 149 passenger vessel, which provided ample space to meander and relax as we got out into the ocean. 

 While Frank mostly chatted with midwest tourists on the outdoor seating area and enjoyed the snacks he bought at the snack bar, I walked around the outside viewing area to get a full view of the ocean in the hopes I would see a whale... 


The tour operator was great and would call out when a whale, dolphin, or any other marine animal was in sight to prepare our cameras....and boy was that awesome!

 Coincidently I connected with a professional photographer that takes the tour every month. So while she was shooting on her pro camera, she would turn to me to give me tips.  

 Call it my birthday field trip!

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday because I got the gift I wanted: I SAW WHALES and was able to immortalize the moment by getting my most sought-after me-gift: PHOTOS!

These are a a few photos of the last whale we saw during our tour:


Harbor Breeze Cruises is located in Rainbow Harbor adjacent to the Aquarium of the Pacific at Dock #2. Exit the 710 South, follow the signs to the aquarium. [click for directions]

The two-hour tour Whale and Dolphin Tour, which typically runs November through April 30 was $35. Harbor Cruises offers seniors discounted tickets for only $30; while tickets for Children 11 and under is $25, and children two and under can ride for free.

Ana Lydia
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Elie Tahari Spring Fashion at Saks Fifth Avenue

(Part 2)

When I agreed to attend the Imagine LA fundraiser and Elie Tahari trunk show at Saks, I wasn't expecting to fall in love with a designer I knew so little about. But after a short introduction by both the Saks and Elie Tahari rep, I not only fell in love with the brand for it's multifunctional and easy to wear pieces, but also because of the story behind the iconic American brand and their recent Elie Tahari Sport collection.



The Elie Tahari & Elie Tahari Sports Collection, are unapologetically simple.

The wearability of the separates are ingeniously designed to be interchanged throughout seasons and worn with existing pieces in any woman's closet.

While mostly classic, the Elie Tahari separates are made with a mix of laser-cut leather, imprinted natural materials, and cutting-edge fabrics that modernizes wardrobe stables.


The spring pieces are available in classic colors -black,white, grey and navy- while the unique fabric choices and asymmetric shapes gave a simple skirt a nice drop, a reversible jacket visual interest, and the little black dress a modern, and flattering, shape.

Prints were few and far, but the oversize florals on the black background gave the classic spring dress after-five wearability.


I very much liked Elie Tahari's spring collection and the new Elie Tahari Sports division; and especially like how both lines meet the needs of the active and more casual Westside woman.

What do you think?

Ana Lydia
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