Beep Beep!

My roommate K's boyfriend has a company that involves renting unique and rare cars. He had this one parked outside our place Friday morning. It's so cute!!!

There aren't any side doors. You have to get in from the front.


See how small it is?!

Dagnabit

Last week was a little stressful. I got a flat tire, had an interview with a band, and was feeling just generally stressed about finishing shopping before the holiday. But it all worked out.


The flat was a quick repair job ($15 patch) after I fitted it with the spare. Well, technically, I didn't fit it with the spare, this helpful guy named Richard did. He had walked by when I was lying on the asphalt trying to figure out where to put the jack because nothing under there matched the illustration in the manual. Oh Volkswagen. He asked if I needed help and I said, yes, actually, I would love to know where to put the jack. Of course, because he's a dude (sorry guys, but it's true) he proceeded to change the tire himself, though I kept assuring him I really only needed to know where the jack went...


The interview, which was supposed to be later that day but was pushed to Friday was excellent. I was super geeked to get to go inside the Capitol building to do the interview as it's a Los Angeles landmark that I've always loved. So much so that when I was cleaning out holiday cards I'd received from corporations over the years, one of the few I kept was Capitol's card that had a big photo of the building on the front. Inside, it looks like most other office buildings, except that each floor was having a holiday decorating contest in the waiting areas just outside the elevator bank. One floor was hilarious. They had recreated a nativity scene with the Beatles as the four wise men and baby Jesus was wearing an iPod.

And, regarding the holiday stress, I'm almost done with shopping now, but I'm still a little bummed that we don't have any holiday decorations. I would love to go nuts and decorate the place, but K and I just haven't done so yet. Maybe I'll get some stuff today and just do it up.

Pre-holiday weekend

It's only now eight days until Christmas (would that be maids a milking?), yet instead of spending most of it shopping, S and I took off Saturday afternoon to go for a hike. The night before he treated me to a comfort food dinner at La Cabana as I was feeling a bit stressed after a long week, and Saturday morning we arose to hit two sample sales and grab sandwiches bigger than my head at Santa Monica's Bay City Deli. It was exactly what we needed prior to our hike.

There are, somewhat surprisingly, many places to go hiking in the Los Angeles area. Hence, why S got me a book entitled 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Los Angeles. Though we have both wanted to do the "M.A.S.H." hike, it's a bit of a drive especially when you're not getting started on it until 1 and the sun sets at 5. Plus it's a six mile hike. So we opted for a closer one at Temescal Canyon, right near the end of Sunset Blvd. This is S at the bottom.


It was awesome. It also kicked my butt on the way up. We took the steep way up and climbed one of the canyon's ridges all the way to the top. It also took us a lot longer than it probably should have because I was snapping photos the whole way. Like of this cactus that hikers had carved their names into.


After 45 minutes we started to really wonder if we were going the right way because we hadn't yet reached the top and supposedly this part of the trail was only a mile and a half. And it was starting to look like Sleepy Hollow...


The view was incredible.



Once we reached the top, at first we weren't sure which way to go to get back down.


But we figured it out and on the way found something to play on.


The scenery on the way down differed greatly from that of the ridge. On the way up, there were scrubby bushes and chapparell (the sleepy hollow stuff), the trail was cracked dry dirt, and most of the plants were brown or dull green. On the canyon floor, however, everything was lush. The ground was wetter, the flora was vibrant, and it was cooler as well. If I had looked at photos of both areas, I wouldn't have guessed they were the same trail.


It's down here that I had S pose for some pics.



The view on the way down.


After our long hike, we climbed this awesome tree in the canyon. Look! It's me stuck in a tree!


That night S whipped us up a fabulous dinner of chicken, pasta, collard greens, and salad. Ok, well, I didn't really like the greens, but everything else was fantastic. That night we shot some photos of the canals which are decorated for the holidays.

Every weekend it seems I wake up craving pancakes. It doesn't happen to me during the week, but come Saturday or Sunday morning they're on the top of my list. So, on Sunday before we went our separate ways (me to the mall, him to bartend as a favor for a friend) he figured out how to make me pancakes from scratch! Mmmm.

Thar She Blows

Yesterday morning I nearly drove off the highway.

On my way up to Silver Lake, a small neighborhood north of downtown los angeles, I was struck by the view. It had rained the night before, and the skies were remarkably clear. From the moment I got on the 10, I could see the Hollywood sign far off in the distance, and beyond them, the snow-capped San Gabriel mountains. Later that day, on the way back from picking S up from the airport, my jaw dropped again looking at the Santa Monica mountains on the drive back down Lincoln Blvd - because the air was so clear, you could see all of the crags and curves of the chocolate brown majesties.

This morning, heading East, it felt as if I was going to drive right into the mountains that make up the Hollywood Hills, and S mentioned to me how he can see the snow-capped mountains from his office, even though he's nowhere near downtown! Thank you, wind, for these spectacularly clear days.

This photo (not mine) hardly does the scene justice, but it should give you an idea...


Oh, and P.S., while in Silver Lake, a bird (not pigeon) flew between me and the person behind me in line. So strange! Then moments late, I spotted Sylar...er...Zachary Quinto from the show Heroes with his dog! Cute, despite the giant glasses.

Oooh...Pretty.

The winter issue of Knitty.com has arrived and I've fallen in love with this pattern and would love to make it. However, my yarn budget is a little short this month. Thus, I'm putting the yarn on my christmas list. Here are the details:

1 skein of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (Mohair/silk) in Heavenly (light blue)

Though I'm sure it's at the local yarn store, it would also likely be available on Yarnmarket. It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Going East!

It looks like I'll be making my first return trip to New York! S and I just booked tickets for a long weekend back east, and guess when we're traveling! February! Yup. This it what I remember about February in the city...





But we figured it will be a good weekend to experience the romantic chilliness. We'll be there from the first through the fourth and I'd love to see all of you! It is also Super Bowl weekend, so perhaps we'll hop around to a few parties. I'm hoping to perhaps invite everyone to drinks and dinner at one of the East Village/LES bars (of course) but after S and I plan our trip, I'll keep everyone up to date on the details.

Totally Venice

I'm sitting here working from home this morning and I just saw a long, white surfboard cruise by m front window. On second glance, it was actually a surfboard attached to a bicycle ridden by a dude on a cell phone. Ah, Venice. The land where multitasking on a skateboard or bike is nothing out of the ordinary. Who says a dude cruising down the street on a longboard, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a dog on a leash beside him isn't normal? :)

Thankful

I'm exhausted. Last night, I flew home from Atlanta on a late night flight. The plane was supposed to leave at 10:45 and get me into Los Angeles at 12:42, but between a delay due to weather and strong head winds, the flight didn't land until nearly 2:20. Hence, I'm having a difficult time keeping my eyes open.

But the week was incredible fun. I arrived late Tuesday night and my grandparents and S arrived the next day. My mom and I spent that morning putting together various dishes for Thursday and getting the table ready. The night was spent introducing S to my family and devouring my family's homemade raviolis which are a favorite of mine. Conversations ranged on everything from the usual "tell me about yourself" questions to S asking my grandfather what it was like to be in the 101st airborne. As none of us got great sleep the night before, we all slept well that night.

The next morning came wicked early, which was mostly my fault as I had made a big to-do about wanting to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade which began at nine am. S set his alarm so I wouldn't miss any of it. After watching some of the parade and chowing down on a hearty breakfast, S and I went for a 2.5 mile run to get coffee since my parents only drink decaf and the two of us needed caffeine. Everyone we passed must have thought we were nuts doing a run on Thanksgiving. We had made it part of the way back when my dad and grandfather drove up next to us and asked us if we wanted to get in. "We've got candy!" they exclaimed. Hmm...candy or more running...we got in the car and took the ride back to the house, though I was disappointed when I found out that there wasn't actually any candy!


But there was a cat who wasn't happy to be stuck outside.

For the rest of the day we kept ourselves occupied until dinner with two football games, lots of conversation and some tasty snacks.


And my mom made a mouse (or...I suppose...a bug) out of a pincushion.

Dinner, of course, was good, and featured my favorite dish - my mom's apple crumble pie. I hate all pies except apple, and hers is just fantastic.


The traditional thanksgiving centerpiece: the silly half turkey half pineapple.

The next morning we woke up early again, this time to take a trip down to the Virginia Highlands and Little Five Points, the cool places I've found in Atlanta. The homes have great character down there and it's a lovely place to experience fall.





While there, S and I visited a cozy coffeeshop and picked up some truffles for my parents. On the way, we met a black newfoundland dog the size of a bear.



Nothing makes S happier than a good cup of cappuccino.


S and I also had some fun pretending to be paparazzi.

That night, we were all supposed to go to Aria for dinner, but were wiped out, so instead we ate at a local Mexican restaurant. After dinner, my grandmother showed me how to do my hair in another 40s style which I'm very excited to try out, though it involves some dexterity with bobby pins as I have to create many large pin curls.

Saturday morning, in an effort to avoid the rain, my grandparents got in their car and drove back to Florida, which was sad as I didn't get to spend nearly as much time with them as I would have liked to, but I also understand it's not much fun to drive in heavy traffic in the rain. After that, and much protesting on my behalf, S and I went for another run in the chilly morning air. When we returned, we quickly got ready to go down to the aquarium. I'd been there once before, but it's so much fun to see the adorable garden eels (they're like little worms!) the tiny but vibrant mandrian fish and the enormous whale sharks.


Across the street was the new coke museum. To quote Austin Powers, "Yay, capitalism!"


The four of us spent the rest of the day driving around Atlanta while my parents showed S the giant homes (though most Atlanta homes are giant compared to the homes in California) that line Tuxedo road. We returned to the house in just enough time to get ready for dinner at a Buckhead restaurant known as Aria, a place where it might be worth it just to go for dessert (mine was different flavors of sorbet - banana, grapefruit, mango, lime - stacked on a meringue while S enjoyed a lemon pound cake with a lemon sauce and orange sorbet) and wine, considering the markup isn't bad at all. We shared a bottle of Laetita pinot noir and the difference in cost between there and the store was only $14.

S left early the next morning (sleeping in, not so much an option on this particular trip) and my parents and I took the day to just relax and play a game of monopoly. My dad was so exhausted after winning he decided to take a nap. Note to self, don't trade Boardwalk for the purple property you're missing even if you think no one ever lands there.

Everybody Can Eat Cake!

See?


There's nothing better than cake. Especially at 10:30 in the morning. Mmm.

Zoom Zoom!

The weather is incredible today. It was warm and the skies were blue all day. But now, as the sun is setting and my lil kitty is staring out the window, they're fading from a hazy blue to dusty pink, and I can see the mountains far off in the distance.

This past weekend was so much fun. On Saturday S and I ran some errands and enjoyed a late brunch with his friends which included some hearty pancakes coated in pecan butter before stuffing ourselves silly just hours later on artichokes, potatoes, and blue cheese burgers topped with a compote of caramelized onion and bacon (made, of course, by S and D). We were joined by many friends, including Z and KL. Z had just returned from a conference in Savannah where we was on a panel and he brought be back an awesome t-shirt that says "Super Knitter" on it! KL and I decided she sort of looked like a girl from Teen Titans.


The next morning, three of us (soon joined by D's brother) sped off to the California Speedway for a few hours of Audi racing! There were four different events to do: a high speed lane change, an emergency stop, a slalom course, and finally, a chance to try out our skills on an actual racetrack. For each exercise we were paired with a partner and you got 2-3 laps each. S and I paired up and we soon had each other laughing and screaming (me) as we tore around the corners of the course dodging cones left and right. It was similar to the Mazda event I went to earlier in the summer, but this time we had 2 hours behind the wheel instead of 20 minutes.

Weird Weather

I'm sure it's perfectly normal for it to be near 80 in mid-November in Los Angeles, but for me, it's a little strange. By this time in the year, I'm usually bundled up in multiple layers with a heavy coat and scarf. But today? I'm wearing jeans, a light sweater and my motorcycle boots. However, I could have been equally comfortable in a skirt and heels!

Equally strange? I now think 60 degrees is freezing.

Six Months...

Last weekend, S and I celebrated our six month anniversary. It's been incredible. One of the spectacular events of the weekend was going horseback riding next to the Hollywood sign.


I'd ridden horses before but I really thought I was going to die. Maybe it had something to do with how insistent my horse, Crow, was about walking close to the edge. Once he stopped doing that, it was fun.

Halloween Party

The week before Halloween, S and I threw a joint Halloweenish party at his place. There was a blind pumpkin beer taste test, pumpkin painting, and pumpkin pie eating to be had in addition to the four homemade (all the way from the dough to the toppings) pizzas that S whipped up in his kitchen. All of them were delicious from the margarita to the prosciutto and vegetables to the bbq chicken, but my favorite was mushroom with pesto.

The big winner of the night (and my previous favorite)


SJ rockin' a wig - and well too!


Su with her scrumptious cheesecake


M and B prove that nothing goes better together than beer and cheesecake.


The pumpkins. Some are nice...some are naughty.


My parents used to tell me that I should turn the lights off because the didn't own the electric company...but these people do!