only slightly better than a participation trophy

after years of going to the l.a. county fair in sweltering september heat, it’s been a nice change to be able to enjoy it in the springtime splendor (ahhhh, so cheesy).  but for real…may is a much nicer time of year for walking around the fairgrounds.

the hub isn’t really a huge fan of the fair, so when i scooped up discounted tickets for opening weekend it was just me and the kids.  i’d even managed to score a free parking voucher, so on this early day of “may gray,” we headed out to pomona.

i pointed out this sign to the bean, who shuddered at the long-suppressed memories of cheer competitions.  

we walked through a couple of the shopping expo buildings, but emerged empty handed.  it’s kind of a bummer that the days of finding fun random items at the fair seem to be over - it was always one of the best parts of going.  right up there with delicious fried snacks and visiting cute farm animals.  although it was interesting to come across an exhibit of old typewriters - for me, it instantly brought to mind countless days throughout my childhood of writing stories and typing up reports for school.  for the kids, it was like a glimpse of the past, in a time before home computers and laptops and smartphones, like something out of an old movie.  wow.  that makes me feel ancient.  i might as well go and put on my high-necked dress and sit for an oil painting.

and then the kids decided i’d been tortured long enough and we headed into this building to see how my handcrafted entries had fared in their competitions.

i had pulled out some leftover yarn at the last minute to crochet this tote bag, and while i hadn’t been super thrilled with the finished product i turned it in anyway.  and because i knew it wasn’t my best work, i wasn’t surprised to see that it hadn’t won any top prizes.  in fact, it’s the fact that this thing took even 3rd place that has me convinced that everything submitted at these competitions wins something.

my dress actually took second place!  one of the front princess seams isn’t perfectly lined up from the bodice to the skirt, which was a glaring error in my eyes but apparently wasn’t offensive enough to be knocked down to last place.

we found planty and the caterpillar in the same display case.

and i’d totally forgotten that i submitted this tote in the handmade purses category.  it’s a really simple tote bag, lined but with no interior or exterior pockets, but it still won a 2nd place ribbon.

just outside, we came across a whole low-rider exhibit.  it was fun to walk through and see all of the cars on display, and i wondered if the owners of these cars actually leave them at the fairplex for the duration of the fair or if they take them home every night and bring them back in the morning.  i didn’t really care enough to ask about it, so i guess i’ll never know, heh.

they’d announced the list of artists for this year’s concert series a few months before, but none of them really caught my interest.  i was surprised to see that they’d moved the venue from the grandstands to the field area, but i guess they’re doing some major renovations to that area.  maybe next year.

we caught a glimpse of the budweiser clydesdale horses as they paraded through the fairgrounds, and then stopped to see one of their dalmatians.

we’d just missed one of the pig races sessions, but we got to see one of the baby goats that were being shown.

the dubai chocolate craze made an appearance here too, courtesy of the afters ice cream booth.  like most offerings of this nature, it was pricey and just…meh.

i tried to get the old lady to try this with me, but she refused.  she loves pickles AND she was fully pregnant at the time so i figured she’d be good to go but as i often am, i was proved wrong.

cathy’s cookies, on the other hand, was a no-brainer.

and then on the way out, i grabbed this:

a few days later, the hub surprised me by suggesting a day date…at the fair.  color me shocked.

as you can see, the weather was a lot brighter that day.

and while i hadn’t been successful in finding it on the first visit, i was super stoked to discover that the fried cream cheese on a stick actually was available.  i know it sounds gross (the hub definitely thinks so), but it’s so good.  and only offered at the fair!

i took him to see all of my competition entries (without sharing my theory that everyone gets a ribbon, ha) and he was impressed and proud.  and he said that he wanted planty after the fair was over so he could keep him on his desk at the office.  considering he makes endless fun of my granny hobbies, i considered this high praise.

we got lots of steps in as we wandered around the entirety of the fair, visiting the few animals who were present, looking at the flowers, stopping in at the beer garden.  and then we found this funny frog-shaped structure and stopped inside to sit down for a minute.

and that was the end of our time at the l.a. county fair for 2025.  next year, i’m planning to work a little harder on submitting nicer entries for the crocheting and sewing categories and see if i can’t score myself a pretty blue ribbon.

of course, i say that every year and every time i end up rushing through some pieces at the last minute that are cute but flawed.  we’ll just have to see how motivated i get in 2026.

“may” i offer you another photo dump?

yup.  another recap of an entire month in one post.  because it’s easier, and because not every little bit needs its own post, and also because why not?

we kicked off the month of may with a quickie weekend getaway for me and the hub.  it was work-related for him, and also marked the first time we left the bean home alone for more than a few hours.  the destination was a familiar one - the lodge at torrey pines in la jolla.  yes, the very place where we had another fun weekend almost 20 years ago…when we got engaged.  awwwww.

because we stalled so much, we didn’t get down there till well after midnight.

to be fair, the rooms aren’t really anything special.  but they’re spacious and comfortable and quiet, and in this case…free.  woohoo!

the next morning, the hub had an early wake-up call for his golf game while i got to sleep in and relax and basically just veg out.  i didn’t even have to leave for food - i ordered room service.

and then later that evening, we got dressed up and joined the work group for dinner.

the next morning, we checked out and headed into solana beach for some brunch.

one weekend, the kids and i headed to the fairplex in pomona for the l.a. county fair.

this year, they had a category in the culinary competitions for “working professionals” which i technically qualified for since i sell my cookies for profit.  but i wasn’t really feeling it, and instead submitted a few of my crocheted creations and a couple of bags for consideration.  i was pretty stoked to find that all four of my pieces won ribbons:

and then even more so to find that the hot dog on a stick kiosks had brought back the deep-fried cream cheese on a stick:

as afternoon turned into evening, it cooled off pretty nicely and i ended up snagging a new sweatshirt from one of the official fair merchandise booths.

as always, the bean hit up cathy’s cookies for a bucket of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

and then we stopped to see the farm animals.  there weren’t as many animals this year, i’m not sure why.

and then we went home to our own animals.  they’re always happy to see us (despite teddy’s side eye in this photo).

we celebrated the old lady’s birthday with the traditional “shitty cake mix” strawberry cake:

and presented her with a super fun gift basket full of a bunch of her favorite things.

on mother’s day, the bean set me up with this sweet snacklebox full of all my favorite sweet and savory treats.

and the hub hooked us up with some delicious steaks on the grill.

the old lady and i hit up the ‘land for a fun morning together:

while i struggled with conflicting feelings on him (and the old lady and the bean refused to go see him with me), i went to see justin timberlake on his current tour with one of my barre besties and her husband (more on that later).

the annual l.a. yarn crawl weekend snuck up on me, and i only had time to visit one shop this year.

the bean and i had heard of this “fried chicken ice cream” months ago, but never could bring ourselves to pull the trigger on it.  being in california, the only way we knew of to get our hands on some was by ordering it from goldbelly - and you would get ten pieces shipped directly to your door packed carefully with dry ice to keep it frozen to the tune of $150.  eek.  and so when i came across an instagram post from yama seafood in san gabriel that said they were going to have it in stock on a limited basis, i decided to make the drive out and grab some.

no, it isn’t actually chicken, or even chicken flavored in any way.  this is made of waffle-flavored ice cream with a chocolate pretzel “bone” in the middle, dipped in caramelized white chocolate and rolled in crunchy cornflakes.  and while that all sounds like a lot - it’s amazing.  i loved every bite of it.

the bean and i headed to the wiltern theater to see the “good mythical morning” tour (more on that later too).

and then to close out the month, as crazy as it sounds…the bean finished their sophomore year of high school.

i cannot believe that my child is now a junior.  like…they’re halfway through high school now.  and we’re looking at SAT prep courses and planning college tours and discussing different majors and omg. i cannot.