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!

Fancy Schmancy

The other week, S and I went to an pool party at one of the largest mansions in the Hollywood Hills. The event was celebrating the release of designer David Yurman's new men's line of accessories, which were, of course, behind glass. But the champagne was flowing, the Bravery performed, and the view was incredible. Jeremy Piven and Ashley Olson were also there, but we didn't notice them.

One Awesome Weekend

On the same weekend, the Red Sox won the World Series, S and I went pumpkin picking at a pumpkin patch, and I met my favorite living artist, Takashi Murakami at the members opening of his retrospective at the MOCA. I just shook his hand and said thank you, but joining the museum was worth it for that moment.

Outside the museum


In the outdoor garden sitting on one of his pillows. Wanna buy one? You can, but it'll cost you $990.





The next morning, S and I drove up to Oxnard to go to a pumpkin patch. It was a surprise for me, as all he had told me was to be ready to leave the house around 9am that morning. After a short trip to the farmer's market, we arrived at the patch. Once there, we took it all in...


then searched...


did some dancing...


then found our pumpkin!


...but not before I found a crown.

Fiery Sunsets

As I'm sure all of you know, a few weeks ago, many dangerous wildfires were raging all over Southern California. I remember the morning it all started. S and I were sitting on the beach watching the sunrise and we saw smoke off in the distance. It almost looked like fog, but every few minutes the wind would change direction and you could smell a slight hint of burning in the air.

Though I know people who were close to the fires, I wasn't personally affected by them. However, because of all the pollutants in the air, we did have some remarkable sunsets, which would be the silver lining, I suppose.




The fires had mostly ended by the time the Red Sox won the world series (WOOOO!!!!) but here's one last crazy sunset.

I Have A Power Cord!!!

And that means one thing - I can finally take care of those weeds with my shiny new weedwacker! Well, not really, but it does mean I can finally post some pics!

Last night, S and I played glow-in-the-dark putt-putt (these weird Californians called it mini golf) with some people from his company. I think our golfing skills could use some serious improvement, though it didn't help that the place looked like a psychedelic nightmare.


Afterwards, we went to the book release party for . K had gone earlier, but had left by the time we arrived, so we didn't know anyone there. Of course, that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves for the brief time we were there. The house it was held at was incredible, though from the street you'd never know that because of the tall bamboo trees that shielded the house. Highlights? Playing Addams Family pinball (the original is one of the rarest pinball machines), checking out the koi pond, and ogling the Eames lounger.




Tonight, we're going to a party for my company and then to see his friend's band play up in Hollywood. Should be fun. This morning was great. We took a walk down to get coffee near the beach and then walked out on the pier and watched the surfers try to catch waves until we walked back towards the house. It's a little chilly here now, around sixty degrees, but it makes for perfect sweatshirt weather.