DappeR SwaggA: Happy Holidays 2011

For the past 10 days I have had a wonderful time in beautiful Santa Barbara with my sister, her almost husband and their adorable little boy Jared. I truly miss my sister... I realize now that my only quest in life is to be closer to her and her family and to get a job as a Set Decorator and or Designer to the Freaks in Hollywood. Dreams do come true (don't they)? My California family provided so much love and understanding to me over this holiday... that to not be near them is unimaginable as I continue to travel through life. Of course it rain the first five days of my trip... but that was even cool because we spent that time sharing, eating delicious foods and meeting new people. Need I say Xmas dinner was what I wished I could have packaged and sent around the world. Oh and a long lost friend finally came to their senses and contacted me... which made everything even more wonderful.

Another sweet part of this trip was checking out work for Interior Designers, Interior Design fabric stores, hotel lobbies, restaurant lounges and of course the exquisite architecture of Santa Barbara. So after visiting all these beautiful places... Friday became the perfect day for taking a trip to the Getty in Los Angeles. This is a must see museum for anyone visiting LA... and who can appreciate:

•European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts, European and American photographs.

•A selection from the special collections of the Research Library at the Getty Research Institute..

•Modern architecture and gardens.

The 16,000 tons of travertine are from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy, 15 miles east of Rome. Many of the stones revealed fossilized leaves, feathers, and branches when they were split along their natural grain. Meier and his staff worked for a year with the quarries to invent a process using a guillotine to produce the unique finish.

Natural light is one of the Getty Center's most important architectural elements. The many exterior walls of glass allow sunshine to illuminate the interiors. A computer-assisted system of louvers and shades adjusts the light indoors. The paintings galleries on the Museum's upper level are all naturally lit, with special filters to prevent damage to the artworks.

On Saturday we spent the day exploring Montecitio Heights where of course Ms. Oprah lives but she was on vacation in Fiji... so we didn't get a chance to visit or have brunch. But for those who have never
seen the elusive estate please find it below. Ms. Winfrey paid $52M in 2001, it is currently worth $90M. Although we could not get inside to take fabulous photos... below Oprah's almost doubled investment and a few other estates worthy of viewing in her Montecitio Heights zip code.

Happy Holidays