Lili on the Loose - Lili on the Loose: On Life and Getting Lost

29 12, 2017

7 Days of Black and White

By Lili|December 29th, 2017|Categories: Photography, Travel|Tags: 2017, airplane, Anaheim, B&W, Black and White, Blizzard, California, Christkindl Market, Christmas decorations, Christmas Tree, Colorado, Denver, Denver Christkindl Market, Disneyland, doll, doll head, Fantasy Lands 2017, Harry Potter, Irvine, It's A Small World, Larimer Square, North America, Olivander, Olivander's, Overwatch, Painter, Southwest, statue, Tracer, Universal, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA, Wand, Wand Ceremony, Wands|0 Comments

I had been seeing those "7 Day Black and White" posts on Facebook for a while, but didn't feel artistic at the time. But as my business trip early in the month was coming up, I got inspired and decided to do it as well. Here are my 7 days of Black and White photography. Day 1: Ornate Christmas Tree decorations at the Denver Christkindl Market Day 2: I found one of the infamous Pink Doll's heads that have been popping up around Denver in the last few years. This one is near Larimer Square. Day 3: A Wandmaster at

28 12, 2017

Holidays at Trader Sam’s Disney’s Tiki Bar

By Lili|December 28th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, Disneyland, Disneyland Hotel, Fantasy Lands 2017, North America, Tiki, Tiki Bar, Tiki Lounge, Trader Sam's, Travel Thursday, USA|0 Comments

One thing on my Disney Bucketlist was to visit the infamous Trader Sam's Tiki Bar and my business trip earlier in the month let me check this off my list! Because it was early December the Tiki bar was transformed with holiday decorations. I was lucky to get a seat inside. It's first-come-first-served and a seat yourself situation. After waiting around for 5 minutes, a bunch of us were able to do some shuffling. There was a table top for 4 that was just leaving, a party of 4 sitting at two high tops that only had three seats, me, and a

25 12, 2017

Museum Monday: Santa’s Reindeer

By Lili|December 25th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2016, California, California Academy of Sciences, North America, Reindeer, San Francisco, santa, USA|0 Comments

Last year I visited the California Academy of Sciences on Christmas Eve and they had live Reindeer and handlers to explain what Reindeer are actually like. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

23 12, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Räuchermann – German Smoker

By Lili|December 23rd, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Bavaria, Christmas in Germany 2011, Europe, German Smoker, Germany, Incense, Räuchermann, Rothenburg, rothenburg ob der tauber, santa|0 Comments

Räuchermann are German Smokers, figurines that you place incense in and then the smoke comes out of the figure, in this case, Santa's mouth where a pipe hangs from. I got this beautiful one in the medieval town of Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. This type of crafting is from the same area of Germany that created Nutcrackers, Christmas Pyramids, and Schwibbögen. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

22 12, 2017

Gingerbread Castle

By Lili|December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Photography|Tags: 2016, California, castle, Francis Hotel, Gingerbread, North America, Photo Friday, San Francisco, USA|0 Comments

Last year's Gingerbread Castle at the Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

20 12, 2017

Christmas Dinner at the Three Broomsticks

By Lili|December 20th, 2017|Categories: Food, Food & Drink, Travel|Tags: 2017, California, Fantasy Lands 2017, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, North America, Theme Park, Three Broomsticks, Universal City, Universal Studios Hollywood|0 Comments

If you find yourself at Universal Studios for the holidays be sure to try out the offering at the Three Broomsticks: the special Christmas Dinner. It is a turkey and stuffing dinner, with roasted potatoes, pig in a blanket, braised cabbage, and a mix of roasted veggies and chestnuts, with a spiced citrus cranberry sauce. I really enjoyed the veggies and the flavor of everything was really nice. I also got the Toffee Pudding, which was delicious and complimented the hot Butterbeer well. But be warned it is very sweet, so the ice cream is definitely needed to calm the flavors. I

18 12, 2017

Travel Missteps: Security Scare

By Lili|December 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, bomb, California, dog, Fantasy Lands 2017, John Wayne Airport, North America, Orange County, security, SNA, TSA, USA|0 Comments

I'm currently on the second of three trips this month! But earlier this month I was in California for work, and on the way home triggered a massive security response at John Wayne Airport. You know...the usual. Fearing traffic, I got to the airport very early. That is when I realized Orange County Airport is pretty small and that I had a full bottle of water still to drink. So I found a bench and sat for an hour before heading through security. The bench I picked was occupied by a 40-50's gentleman with his stuff strewn all over. He was on

15 12, 2017

National Ugly Sweater Day – Dinos & Disney

By Lili|December 15th, 2017|Categories: Activities, Photography, Selfie, Travel|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, dinosaurs, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, Mickey, Minnie, North America, Ugly Sweater|0 Comments

Today is National Ugly Sweater Day, so I wanted to share my Ugly Sweater: Dinosaurs wearing Santa Hats! I wore it on my most recent trip to Disneyland, and everyone was commenting and asking where I got it. Mickey and Minnie were also very excited to see it! Both pantomimed what a T-Rex looks like to show they were excited about dinosaurs!

14 12, 2017

Christmas at Hogwarts

By Lili|December 14th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2017, California, castle, Christmas, Decorations, Fantasy Lands 2017, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, North America, Theme Park, Travel Thursday, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA|0 Comments

Christmas at Hogwarts. Words that send chills of excitement to any Harry Potter fan. And I was lucky enough to experience the Universal Studios Hollywood version a few weeks ago. This is the first year they've done it in the US. Last year Universal Japan pioneered the event. And Livingston Studios in the UK has always outdone the holidays. So it was great to visit something closer to home! Everywhere you look the town of Hogsmeade is decorated for the holidays! And you'll find Hot Butterbeer on tap! (It is a unique butterscotch flavor that isn't overwhelming.) And you can get a

12 12, 2017

Local Art: The Art Vending Machine Built on Trust

By Lili|December 12th, 2017|Categories: Art, Local|Tags: 2017, art, art vending machine, Blue, Blue Chipped, Colorado, Denver, Jonathan Saiz, North America, painting, Understudy, USA|0 Comments

In a world where we can have almost anything on demand, Fine Art is something still out of reach for many people. That is why I've been fascinated by so-called "Art Vending Machines", but had yet to see one in person. So when I heard about Blue Chipped an exhibit at Understudy in Downtown Denver, I had to check it out. I’m sitting inside this blue kiosk downtown from 4-8 pm TODAY 💙serving up mini $20 paintings and 1 trillion calories of free blue candy and hot teas... you should come say hi to me through the kiosk windows! 💙💙🍭💙💙🍵💙💙🍭💙💙🍵💙💙🍭 A