Los Angeles Greater Area
Bring out your inner Ed Ruscha
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at art, now is a great time: The Broad has created an array of hands-on workshops inspired by their collections, each with a downloadable art kit. Oeuvres include everything from pop art and mixed media to collage and more. (The Broad calls them Family Workshops, but you could be a family of one, right?)
Are your indoor plants passé?
Don’t look now, but your fiddle leaf fig is SOOO 2018. If there was ever a time to refresh (or start) your leafy indoor collection, it’s now, when we’re firmly planted at home and longing for a fresh start to 2021. Here are the varieties experts predict will be the most popular in the year ahead. From folding-leafed Prayer Plant to furry Monkey Tail Cactus, they’re just what your spaces need.
33 Black History Month activities to borrow from the classroom
The website weareteachers.com has assembled a long, terrific list of activities geared toward making Black history come alive for students. Most would make great at-home family projects, too. Inspirations include getting to know black artists, exploring National Archives materials, learning about Black military heroes, hearing Black history music, learning the art of stepping, and much, much more.
Valentine’s to-go
True, a romantic tete-a-tete in a candlelit bistro isn’t happening anytime soon. But if you’re not excited about whipping up your own loving feast, some of LA’s best restaurants are delighted to bring their V-Day specials to your door. From lobster and chocolate-covered strawberries to a fried chicken bouquet, here are some deliciously swoon-inducing ways to say I Love You.
San Francisco Bay Area
Independent Films on Display
Tied of old Office reruns? SF IndieFest is back this week with 80 diverse new independent films from directors local and around the world. It’s all-virtual this year, meaning you can watch any movie that catches your fancy from the comfort of your own home. One writer highlights a few in particular that could be worth your time.
Napa noshing
It seemed like it would never happen, but outdoor dining is back! Celebrate this small step back to normalcy with a meal from one of these top restaurants in one of the state’s top culinary destinations in Napa Valley. All are open for take-out, and a few may well have relaunched in-person dining.
Do not pass go
Over the duration of the stay-at-home order in California, you’ve likely become reacquainted with many of your old forgotten board games. If you’re ready to graduate to something beyond Monopoly, Life, and Clue, these independent game shops around the Bay Area can help super-charge your quarantine time killing.
Sharpen your kitchen edge
Whether it’s Chinese dumplings, Indian curry, Spanish paella, or SF-style sourdough, the Bay Area is home to plenty of locally-based virtual classes designed to take your pandemic-enforced cooking game to the next level. As long as you’re stuck in the kitchen, you might as well make the best of it.
