Sundays at the Standard

The weather is slowly straying away from the its earlier gloomy patterns, and that leaves you with a great opportunity to dip your toes (or whole body) into the rooftop pool at the Standard Hotel. On Sundays, the rooftop of the Standard Hotel hosts a pool-side bar and views of the city's skyscrapers. For $20, ($10 BEFORE 2PM) you can lounge hundreds of feet in the air and enjoy LA from new heights.

LA Film Festival

The annual LA Film Festival is well under way and it is a great opportunity to catch some indie movies and foreign films that you would otherwise probably not have a chance to watch another time. Packages of tickets can become costly starting at $200, but you can certainly still reap the benefits of the experience by purchasing individual tickets priced at $12. The Westwood Village is hosting the film festival this year like it has in the past. Parking is a painful process in Westwood, but the public parking structure hidden off of Broxton Ave. and Weyburn is only $3 after 6pm.

Victorias Secret Semi-Annual Sale

The Victorias Secret Semi-Annual sale begins Tuesday, June 15, 2009. If you are an Angel card holder, you have access to the sale at 7am. The largest Victorias Secret in the area is in the Beverly Center followed by the one in the Westside Pavillion. There is also a Victorias Secret in the Westwood Village and the Third Street Promenade.

LGBT Pride Parade

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community is celebrating their community's existence in Los Angeles all this weekend through Sunday evening. The free, public event hosts concerts, activities, and dining options. Expect unusually high traffic in the West Hollywood area as it will be highly populated by patrons attending the festivities. 

For more information, visit: http://republic.barefootwine.com/events/view/423/

Traffic in Westwood

Expect unusually hight traffic in the Westwood area this evening and both mornings of this weekend because UCLA will be hosting their undergraduate graduation ceremonies. Avoid the immediate Westwood Village area if possible!

New H&M store open tomorrow in West LA

The much anticipated H&M store opens tomorrow at the Westside Pavilion Mall. The store plans to offer door buster deals and special opening day sale items. 

This store is one of several planning to open its doors to Westwood shoppers. Forever 21, a popular women's retail shop plans to open its doors this summer.

Gift Idea for Anyone

Who said computer geeks can't have fun? Defying the square personality stereotype, techies and others have been giving their most technical gadget of all, computers, all the personality it can handle. Computer cases in different colors, fun shaped mice and even glow in the dark keyboard covers are just a few of the accessories growing in popularity. The newest to add to the bunch are fun shaped USB flash disks. Generally, the really crazy ones are found in online stores, but you can still find some unique shapes and colors to bring out your and your computer's personality at most electronic stores!

Restaurant to Rave About: Valentino

A Santa Monica classic, this posh eatery has begun to host it's Monday night specials as a way to celebrate its 35th anniversary. On Monday nights only, they offer a tasting menu dinner for $100 and if you bring your own bottle of wine, they waive the corkage fee!

If you decide to indulge in this level of fine dining, prepare to valet your car with the ranks of bentleys and enter the glass double doors with the like of mink coats and Louboutin pumps. If any of that is intimidating, feel free to test the waters by visiting their newly added, "Vin Bar," aimed to provide a more "casual" sit down at the bar to taste wines and smaller, simpler dishes. You can opt for their $35 3-course menu at the Vin Bar in honor of their anniversary celebration.

To make a reservation, call 310-829-4313.

Concert at the Santa Monica Pier

The California Acoustic Music Project (CAMP) is hosting a free music festival and concert this weekend at the Santa Monica Pier. CAMP is an organization which aims to provide music instruction to students through school curriculum. Stop by the pier today or tomorrow to listen to some live music and enjoy all the other attractions the Santa Monica Pier provides!

Visit http://www.laacousticmusicfestival.com/ for more information. 

Carnevale in LA on Saturday

"June gloom" may have hit our neighborhoods, but leave it to Venice to keep things bright and colorful. Venice Beach is hosting their annual Carneval, aimed to celebrate "cultural and artistic diversity" according to the event website. If you want to join in on the fun, visit Venice Beach tomorrow anytime between noon to 9pm. Admission is free!

You may visit: http://www.carnevale.us/index.html for more details.

Images courtesy of Venice Beach Carnevale.