Unless you've got a 6-11 year-old girl in your life, you've probably managed to avoid the notorious American Girl Place at the Grove (and you consider yourself lucky, indeed). Oh, you've heard tell of their ostentatious parties for little darlings and their little darling dollies (that's around $90 a pop to sip tiny cups of tea and get matching hairdos for each girl and her girl doll) but you've steered clear, right?* LAist Featured......

California to Metal Balloons: "You're Fiscally Evil" | Photo by Iain Farrell via Flickr Those cute and innocent helium-metallic balloons we give to kids may soon be outlawed by California legislators. Yes, that's right, the great State of California is outlawing fun. Apparently, if you want the f-word, go to Wisconsin or something. But seriously, Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, proposed to ban metallic balloons filled with helium because when they get loose, they can......

This piece by Tokidoki will cost you $2,500. / Photo by Stephen L. Gould. “Toys,” an exhibit of artwork inspired by classic toy brands, opened at Gallery 1988 on Melrose earlier this week. The collection pays tribute to the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels cars – and LAist was there for the opening. We loved the artists’ representations of playthings we haven't thought about in more than 20 years. Think: a VW van made......

via BoingBoing TV. Check out RoBo's website for more wacky gadgetry.......

A friend of mine told me yesterday that she was feeling left out of all the Christmas merriment--she converted to Judaism prior to her marriage to a member of the tribe--so she sent her husband to the mall to buy her a gift. While my friend is a bit of a nutjob, I can imagine that for those who don't celebrate Christmas today, especially in this age of consumerism, there's a risk of feeling......

Stuffed, A Plush Food Show, features over 30 artists creating culinary feasts made of felts and fabrics....

You know you're in the Valley when real estate options are that old porn studio over there or the former sex toy manufacturing plant over there. Well, the LAPD went for the latter in a $37 million project to build a new station in Canoga Park on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga. The station is tentatively called Northwest Area Division. The reason for this new station in the West Valley is getting officers......