A long standing tradition in Southern California is the Tournament of Roses.  The Tournament of Roses is held every year since 1902 in Pasadena, California.  What once started as a way to showcase the beautiful weather and flowers in Pasadena, turned into a full day of festivities with a parade and football game.  The Rose Parade is watched by millions of people every year.  Here are some pictures from last year’s parade.

Check out the Tournament of Roses website to see what other events will be going on this year.  And if you get a chance in the next couple of days look for the Roses on Parade, similar to the Cows on Parade from Chicago, this is a showcase of 24 different Roses from local artists throughout Pasadena.

In two days we will say goodbye to 2008 and welcome the idea of a brand new year.  I’ve been looking all over the Internet looking for New Year traditions to understand why we sing Auld Lang Syne or why in the South they eat Black Eyed Peas.  It’s fun to see how different cultures celebrate the New Year.  Ever since I was a kid I celebrated the Spanish and Latin American tradition of eating 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds of the year for good luck in the upcoming year.  The website Snopes has a great list from last year with a variety of things to ensure a lucky and prosperous year.  Check it out and have a Happy New Years!

So the final days of 2008 are here and all over the news are stories about the best movies or television shows or books of 2008.  I’ve compiled a short hodgepodge of things that represent the best of entertainment in 2008.  What is your favorite in entertainment in 2008?

Television show:

Gossip Girl

Movie:

Dark Knight

Celebrity comeback:

Britney Spears

Teen celebrity:

Miley Cyrus

Best celebrity impersonator:

Tina Fey

American Idol star:

David Cook

America’s Best Dance Crew:

JabbaWockeeZ

Best book:

Twilight

While most of the country is being slammed by the Arctic weather, here in Southern California we are feeling our own Arctic weather.  Snow is falling on the mountains and temperatures are 15 degrees colder than normal.  Now for many days with 50 degree highs sound good, but for Southern California it’s bone chilling cold.  It’s time to pull out those winter coats and hats and bundle up.  It’s nice to have a little cold weather so close to the holidays.  If the rain keeps up there should be snow covered mountains all the way through the holidays, giving Southern California its very own White Christmas.

With a little less than two weeks left until Christmas I have been spending all my free time trying to find the perfect gifts for my family and friends and have come across some great ideas.  The easiest way for me to shop for my family is to think what I would really want and then find something similar for them.  This year I was dying for a cool new scarf or hat to spice up my winter wardrobe so I decided that would be the must have gift for my friends.  I’ve found some great deals for scarves as low as $10.  I’m obsessed with all of the cute scarves at Anchor Blue has right now.  Of course lounge pants are never a miss and most stores I’ve found them and they were less than $20.  The other great gift is music or gift cards for music.  Music truly is the gift that keeps on giving especially with so much great new music that has come out in the last month.  For any teen the Twilight series would be perfect especially if you turned it into a afternoon event with lunch and the Twilight movie.  Amazon is selling the whole book series for less than $20.  Even the soundtrack is amazing making Twilight the new Harry Potter for this year.

Holiday time is upon us and it’s time to celebrate with great deals!  I have been getting all kinds of emails from my favorite stores telling me what deals they have going on.  I can’t believe some of the prices and some are even starting early.  The best part of knowing the deals early is being able to sleep in on the day after Thanksgiving and ease into the shopping day.  I personally am choosing to pop into an outdoor mall as the weather will be perfect and I won’t feel as crowded from the swarms of people.  I also like to walk a little more with all the turkey and stuffing I eat on Thanksgiving. Take a little time in the next day or so to check out the websites of your favorite stores and make a game plan for all those special people on your list.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I for one can’t wait to enjoy the delicious food and family time I have planned.  Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays as it brings family together, but without all the chaos of Christmas.  I especially love the dessert table with different pies.  I have been scouring the web to find new Pumpkin pie recipes when I came across the cutest pie picture.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

LA has some amazing view points from throughout the city.  Check some of these pics out…

Election Day is here.  People have been able to vote for the last couple of weeks either through early voting or absentee ballots, and today is the day the rest of the United States will get to go out and get their voices heard.  Today can be a very exciting day especially for people who have never had the chance to vote.  I know I felt patriotic punching my choices in.  I decided the best accessory for the day is my “I Voted” sticker.  Besides I got a free coffee from Starbucks and plan to hit up Ben & Jerry’s on my way home for a free scoop of ice cream.