From ‘Half’ to whole once again

One half of “Half and Half,” a new comedy series on UPN, this actress uses the weekend to refuel her energy and to keep her spirit whole.

Zen weekends

The weekly series’ pace is kind of hectic, so weekends are the only time I can catch up with friends and relax. I live on the Westside, and there’s a place there that I highly recommend. It’s west of the 405 -- you can really get away from everything. It’s called the Self-Realization Center on Sunset at Pacific Coast Highway. There’s a lakeside shrine and waterfall in this peaceful oasis. It’s not a long walk, maybe a quarter-mile loop around the little temple and lake.

On the nature tip, I love Huntington Gardens; they’re an untapped resource. And there’s no place better for a romantic stroll through those lovely Zen, Shakespeare, bonsai and the grand gardens. I like to pretend it’s my yard.

On the move

I like to take a yoga class on weekends. I go to Goda Yoga on Washington in Culver City. Their classes give you a challenge but are still easy enough for beginners. And I also like to hike in Runyon Canyon and on different trails all over the Santa Monica Mountains. I download audio books then I put them on my hand-held computer and hike and listen. I just finished “The Prince of Ocean Park.”

Just browsing

I’m really into photography. I love my digital camera and I take it everywhere. Sometimes I go to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and take pictures of headstones of all of the stars of old Hollywood. Some of the monuments are so beautiful.

I’m a self-professed computer geek. I love electronics stores -- I love technology. .

When I’m not browsing some electronics store, I browse the clothing shops shopping for vintage clothing or designer wear -- that strip of Abbot Kinney near Sepulveda Boulevard in Venice. There’s Wabi-Sabi, a sushi bar near Venice Boulevard, that I like to stop in when I’m in the neighborhood looking for clothes, then there’s a great little strip of furniture stores, midrange clothing stores with very cute, trendy stuff, a deli, a coffee shop.

It has all the things that I love about Paris right there -- the cafes, places to sit and just watch people go by.

Sometimes the Santa Monica Civic Center will have a trade show and sell vintage clothes and textiles, and I love vintage clothes. Of course, sometimes they’ll have a cat fair and, though I have a sturdy little mutt, I love to go look at the exotic breeds. Sometimes I’ll head to Artesia to check out all of the different fabrics in Little India.

A night out

Nights I’ll go to the Temple Bar on Wilshire in Santa Monica where they’ll play this kind of funky, world music kind of groove. The Jazz Bakery over in Culver City is nice when I want to check out a little jazz.

For treats it’s direct to Mani’s Bakery for an absolutely great assortment of delicious pastries. They’ve got a heart-shaped chocolate truffle cookie that I’ll have with a soy latte. Delicious!

Dream weekend

The ultimate, my dream weekend, would be a spa getaway to the Golden Door spa or flying away to Paris for shopping or to Jamaica or Hawaii. Of course, those destinations would be kind of a long haul, which would make it kind of decadent. But l’d like that.

I’d take scuba lessons. You know, a proper class, because the ocean scares the heck out of me. I’d have to have those big water wings, that’s the only way.

-- Carolyn Patricia Scott