That time I visited the Modern Family houses in LA

Given the amount of holiday photos I’ve posted already this week, you’d think I’d be all out of material for my usual ‘Week in Photos’ roundup, huh? You’d be wrong, though: there’s apparently no limit to either the amount of photos I can take, or the number of blog posts I can write about them, so, you know, sorry about that. Think of me as that person who makes you sit through 7 hours of their holiday photos, totally oblivious to the fact that you lost interest 6 hours 40 minutes ago. Because I AM that person.

Here are just a few of the photos I took this week but haven’t posted yet…

AN AFTERNOON AT THE POOL

OK, I didn’t actually take this one myself: that would be impossible. Or any of the other ones I’m actually in, obviously. I wish I hadn’t said that now. Also, I may look all chilled and serene in this shot, like I don’t have a care in the world, but don’t be fooled: just a few minutes earlier I was swallowing vast quantities of pool water (nope, no idea how I even did it: Random Acts of Stupidity come fairly easily to me, though, as you know…), then almost choking to death on it. I just like to keep the family on their toes, you know?

LA BY NIGHT

On Tuesday night we had dinner in West Hollywood, and afterwards we drove up to Griffith Observatory to see the lights of the city by night. Griffith is one of my favourite places in L.A. (which means you’ll be seeing more of it: don’t say you weren’t warned…), and I’d been really looking forward to going back there. Luckily the night was pretty clear, and the city just seemed to go on forever – such an amazing sight.

THE DRIVE BACK FROM PALM SPRINGS

Another amazing sight this week was the sky on the way back from Palm Springs on Wednesday: I know sunset photos are really boring to look at, but it felt like the sky was on fire and we driving towards it. (Er, it was better than I’m making it sound, I promise.)

CASE STUDY HOUSE # 21

I won’t bore you with all the details of the Case Study House programme (you can read about it here if you like, though), but in short they’re a collection of LA houses designed by some of the top architects of the time, with the aim of making inexpensive, efficient homes (which, ironically, are now probably some of the most expensive houses you’ll find, thanks to their status). I love them for the simple, super-modern designs: this one is house # 21, in Laurel Canyon, and it’s now an art gallery, so it’s open to the public. The house itself is small and unassuming from the front, but I loved the interior, which has sliding walls you can move around to create different layouts. Speaking of houses…

THE MODERN FAMILY HOUSES

OK, so if you don’t watch Modern Family, you can just stop reading now (actually, on second thoughts, don’t: just scroll to the bottom so you don’t miss the chicken. You’ll see….), because this will mean absolutely nothing to you. If you do, though, lookit!

It’s Mitch and Cam’s house!

And the Dunphy house! (Which actually looked really different, somehow: I don’t think I’d have recognised it if Terry hadn’t been there with his trusty map…) No mistaking this one, though:

Jay and Gloria’s! Not the greatest photo, obviously, but you can see more of it from the street. I love this one: such a beautiful home, in a street full of beautiful homes – sigh!

Finally…

The chicken that mysteriously appeared in my bathroom on Tuesday. So far, no one is willing to own up to leaving it there, but I have my suspicions…