Author Archives: Elisa Leonelli

Blue Buddha

During one of my walks to greet new businesses opening up in our neighborhood, I discovered that a lovely photography studio recently opened at 2803 Robertson Blvd. It has the evocative name of Blue Buddha Studio. So I walked in … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Leave a comment

Robertson mural

On one on my walks around the neighborhood, I discovered this bright new mural, on the side wall of the liquor store on Robertson, corner Gibson St.  The signature reads Beautify Robertson/septerhed1@gmail.  We located the website and contacted Sept. He … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Robertson | Leave a comment

Shop on Robertson

A few weeks ago, during one of my walks, I discovered that an elegant new shop had opened on Robertson at 2613. So I walked in and chatted with the proprietor, Shannon Colburn, and her son Conor, who created their … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged | 1 Comment

Art Space on Robertson

    A new community art space and print studio opened in our neighborhood PHLAT PHILE at 2805 Robertson: 323-744 7222 On June 2, at the SORO Festival, they launched a group exhibition called “1 Degree of Separation” featuring various … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Robertson | Leave a comment

Jacaranda

Dozens of jacaranda trees have been blossoming in Reynier Village for the past few weeks, their violet purple flowers brightening the neighborhood and blanketing our streets; but they will soon be gone, so you may wish to walk around and … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Garden | Tagged | Leave a comment

FARMERS MARKETS

We are lucky to have so many farmers markets nearby, and we already recommended the closest, on La Cienega at 18th Street within walking distance of Reynier Village, Thursdays from 2 to 7pm. But our favorite is the Culver City … Continue reading

Posted in Culver City, Food & Dining, Local Businesses | Leave a comment

Good Karma Gardens

Our good neighbor who grows bananas in his backyard, tipped us off about the Good Karma Gardens (GKG) in Mar Vista. They provide free guidance for people who wish to grow sustainable food in their backyard. Check it out! Visit … Continue reading

Posted in Garden | Leave a comment

Casa Rocha

For years I had heard stories about this cluster of homes on Shenandoah Street, down a tree lined path from an old sign that says “Casa Rocha.”  So finally I decided to do an Internet search and I was delighted … Continue reading

Posted in History | Leave a comment

New Culver City Restaurants

We had been waiting for months to see the new LYFE KITCHEN-Love Your Food Everyday, open in Culver City, after seeing their name on the boarded up storefront, and that event finally took place this week.  I had read a … Continue reading

Posted in Culver City, Food & Dining, Local Businesses | Leave a comment

Reynier Village-South Robertson

Reynier Village was featured on Departures-KCET, an online exploration of Los Angeles neighborhoods. See above the murals in the alley between Reynier Ave and Shenandoah Street. South Robertson was also explored. See below Barbara Mendes painting a wall of her … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson, RVNA | Tagged | Leave a comment

Garden nurseries

As we were searching for plants to replace the old bamboo and create our new garden, we visited several nurseries. Here’s a list of some we liked. Rolling Greens in Culver City, 9528 Jefferson Blvd, was the most amazing.  Too … Continue reading

Posted in Culver City, Garden | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Redwood fence

I had seen inventive redwood fences with horizontal slats around the neighborhood (Holt and Halm), so, when it came to replace the old wood fences behind the thick bamboo hedge we had removed, I inquired about those custom choices, but … Continue reading

Posted in Garden | Leave a comment

Bamboo removal

I chose Larry Hess of Bloom Landscaping to clean up my bamboo hedge, remove the morning glory and replace a portion of the decaying picket fence, because I knew him from the SORO Green Team. With Paula Waxman he had … Continue reading

Posted in Garden | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Halloween

The Reynier Village Neighborhood Association hosted their annual Halloween party in Reynier Park today.  A jazz band played and lead the costume parade, pizza was served, kids had their face painted and hit the pumpkin-shaped piñata full of treats. If … Continue reading

Posted in RVNA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bamboo

For 25 years, since I bought my home in Reynier Village, I loved the tall and thick bamboo hedge that surrounded my backyard and protected my privacy through its impenetrable branches.  It was planted decades ago, in a time when … Continue reading

Posted in Garden | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Art classes

We were glad to see that the remodeled space at 2803 S Robertson Blvd has been rented to Art Works Studio (310-202 1894). Starting September 10, they offer art classes and workshops for all ages on drawing, painting and mixed … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Local Businesses, Robertson | 2 Comments

Outdoor rooms

We were so impressed by the landscaping of the outdoor spaces of a Reynier Village home now for sale that we asked the owners for some tips on how they accomplished this result, in case other neighbors wished to do … Continue reading

Posted in Garden, Home | Leave a comment

Washington Blvd Restaurants

We had blogged about this stretch of Washington Blvd, between La Cienega and National, in 2010 and 2011, when it comes alive for the annual Culver City Art Walk (this event was sadly canceled this year because of citywide budget … Continue reading

Posted in Culver City, Food & Dining | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Riding the EXPO

It was exciting, even for a jaded adult like myself, to ride the Metro Expo Line on the opening day of the Culver City station at Venice and Robertson, and the kids seemed to love it.  The atmosphere was festive, … Continue reading

Posted in Culver City | Tagged | Leave a comment

SORO FEST

The Annual SORO Community festival celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, on Sunday June 3, 2012.  A new coordinator, Mark Fielder, and many volunteers worked really hard to organize this exciting event, that attracts throngs of neighbors to a Robertson … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Robertson, RVNA | Tagged | 2 Comments

Fracking in Baldwin Hills

Last night we attended a Hammer Forum, a conversation with Bill McKibben, the Vermont author, founder of the environmental action group 350.org, and Josh Fox, director of Gasland, the documentary about the devastating effects of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural … Continue reading

Posted in Energy | Leave a comment

New Restaurants

A few weeks ago, we blogged about our old time favorite nearby restaurants, see post. Now we want to tell you about a few recent discoveries. Earlier in the year, with my neighbor Deni, co-author of this blog, we tried … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Dining, Local Businesses | Leave a comment

Rain barrels

Don’t you wish you could have collected some of the rain that fell yesterday to use it in the coming dry weeks to water your garden? Well, now you can by installing rain barrels under your downspouts. Tree People has … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Garden | Leave a comment

Robertson remodel

Many of you probably noticed that four storefronts are being remodeled on Robertson, painted in bright pastel colors to attract new tenants. We can’t wait to find out which exciting new shops will open there. One of them is already … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Leave a comment

Schools on Robertson

Did you know that you could find so many learning opportunities for yourself and your family on our very own South Robertson Blvd? If you have teenage children, they may attend Alexander Hamilton High School, and qualify for their excellent … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Garden, Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

More on Robertson

There are so many useful places on Robertson, right next door to our homes, and we should support them, because we’d like to make our neighborhood more user-friendly. For instance, I always have my car washed locally, bring my donations … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Art on Robertson

                  A few weeks ago I walked to Robertson Blvd to review some of the new places that have opened recently, in order to update the RVNA website.  I stopped inside the … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture, Robertson | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Local restaurants

For over 20 years, since moving to Reynier Village, I have been going out for meals with friends and family at my favorite nearby restaurants, a short drive away. CAFE BRASIL, opened in 1991.  They were the only place to … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Dining, Local Businesses | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Eat on Robertson

There are not nearly enough good places to eat on Robertson as we would like, so we wouldn’t have to drive to downtown Culver City to find a proper restaurant, however we have some local favorites, like Campos, not a … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Dining, Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Swim on Robertson

When I moved to Reynier Village from Hollywood 24 years ago, in 1988, my daughter was still a baby, but pretty soon I was taking her to swim at the Beverlywood Swim School on Robertson, a local institution that has … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

RVNA Community Meeting

Every year the Reynier Village Neighborhood Association organizes a Community meeting, where our residents socialize and exchange ideas.  Members of the RVNA Board plus APS, SORONC and LAPD representatives make short presentations of their activities, answer questions and concerns. This … Continue reading

Posted in RVNA | Leave a comment

Robertson Blvd

I often take walks around the neighborhood, by myself or with a friend.  Even now that our dog has passed away, I keep up this habit to get some exercise.  Last Sunday I walked on Robertson Blvd, which I don’t … Continue reading

Posted in Local Businesses, Robertson | Tagged , | Leave a comment