The Last Weekend by LA

ON FRIDAY I GO HOME!!! Not that LA hasn't been good to me, but I'm really ready to sleep in my own bed. Even if it is just for 2 days because then I go to Florida/Bogota for 2 weeks. Nonetheless, Dominic and I tried to do as much LA shit that we didn't get to do in the last 2 months, all in one weekend. And here's what we did:

1) Saw a silent movie at The Old Town Music Hall! This was clearly the highlight of the weekend. It was so much fun, what with Christmas sing-a-longs and watching Scrooge as an old guy plays the organ to accomodate the silence. It was seriously a hoot. And if I lived here, I'd make this a monthly ritual.

2) Did my normal 2 hikes. Well, they weren't my regular hikes but they were nice and sunny and filled with lots of deer. I will miss the variety and abundance of hiking the most.

3) Ate dinner at Real Food Daily. I've heard a lot about this vegetarian place and was happy with the results. Both our dishes were vegexcellent.

4) Went to West 3rd Street to see the cutesy little boutiques. I never end up buying anything, because who really needs $20 luggage tags? Still, Dominic and I always end up having fun just petting and being silly in these ridiculously trendy stores.

5) Rodeo Drive. It's pretty much exactly what you think. We didn't even bother getting out of the car for this one.

6) Taco truck. Not sure if we just happened to go to a bad one, but the ones we frequent in Seattle is hands-down way better. When I asked the girl if they had Horchata she pointed to the soft drinks and said if it's not down there, then no. This makes me believe, a)she's hard of hearing or b)she doesn't know what Horchata is, which is totally frightening if you own a Taco Truck - especially in LA.

And when I asked for my tacos, she asked, "with everything". Usually tacos should only come with 2 things: Your Choice of Meat and Radishes. But apparently they put hot sauce, navy beans and onions. ONIONS! Barf, I asked for radishes instead and they were happy to oblige, but still.

We weren't too thrilled with our TT experience and didn't feel bad that I forgot my camera for this one.

7) Took Dominic to the Venice Canals. I had seen them once, but was dragged along them by two people who were clearly in a rush and it was at night. Dom + I went during the day, on a very peaceful Sunday. That is, until a neighborhood feud broke out over some very loud elevator music coming from one of the fancy little houses. I think we talked the upset neighbor down, agreeing that the loud, elevator music was definitely an earsore. He seemed happy to know someone was on his side, as anyone who hates John Tesh would be.

8) Walked along the Venice boardwalk to look for shitty gifts. I wanted to get the family something from Venice that was borderline cheesy, borderline useful. But man, do these no talent artists make it hard. Do I really want to waste $15 on someone's crayon drawing? Or $20 on beads connected by dental floss that I know I could get for $5? The answer came up NO every time, and I ended up with nothing.

9) Saw fancy houses in Hancock Park. They were fancy and ugly, in my not so rich opinion. Usually I can find one house on the street that I'm like Ooh I want that one. But nope, these huge columns and bland styles weren't doing it for me.

And that's it. I've pretty much have done everything except In-And-Out Burger. And I'm doing that tonight.

Now get me the fuck out of here so I can breathe again.

Sick again by LA

This is the 3rd time I've been sick here. I keep telling people that I think LA is trying to tell me to leave. And believe me, I'm trying.

So now I'm in bed, bored out of my mind. A few years ago I would've reveled in watching TV all day, doing nothing. But now, my brain has switched into go, go, go mode and I'm totally losing it. If I have to watch The Hills one more time or look at this fucking internet for one more minute I might freak. And of course the book I'm reading is all about rape. Not a curl-up-in-bed-while-your-ears-pop-and-your-nose-drools kinda book. In fact, I think it's making me sicker.

That said, I've been trying to accomplish things I haven't gotten around to. Like downloading my LA pictures. So here they are. The good, the bad and the Richard Simmons!

This is how I see Los Angeles.



This is me and that famous theater.



This is Frank Sinatra's hands and feet.



This is The Dresden, also known as where Swingers was filmed:



This is Dominic and The Hollywood sign:



This is El Rey, where we saw Ask A Ninja and the hilarious? Patton Oswalt:



This is one of the best tacos Dominic has ever had, and what seems to be a common trend in my now sickly life, soup:



This is the San Diego Zoo:



This needs no words:



Achoo,
Barrie

Holidays by LA

This really has nothing to do with LA and everything to do with what I'd like if I got lots of presents for Hanukkah. Usually, we all get each other something small and/or handmade. And since I've been knitting for the last few years I can pretty much predict that for the rest of my life I'll be getting something yarn related. This is fine of course, because I love these things. But I have many hobbies, and knitting is just one of them.

And then it's my birthday in January, so usually I go home and get the holiday/birthday gift wrapped up in one. Or I get a card with money. Both very much appreciated and more than I could even ask for.

But now that I have this blog, I give my mom and sister not so subtle hints as to what I want and this has proven to be the best way to go. There's no guessing involved, and best of all, no gift cards (although one or two at Anthropologie wouldn't hurt every now and then).

I've been scouring the world for the perfect wallet. This one is close and could work while I find the one that's meant for me.

Back when I lived in Atlanta and I was going to grad school and racking up $65,000 in loans I realized I no longer lived in 80 degree weather. I actually needed some winter gear for the first time in my adult life. So I went to Burlington Coat Factory and bought the cheapest, ugliest down coat I could find. It's perfect for cold morning in Seattle, when I'm going to the gym and no one can see me, but as far as walking around past 6am I'd love to wear this.

Did I hear you say you wanted to give me expensive jewelry that I would never buy for myself? If so, I'd love this or that. But then again, I haven't tried those on so it's probably best not to waste $200 on little old me.

Besides Anthropologie, I love shirts that say things about tacos and blood, tank tops that talk about blowjobs and tops that speaks to motherfuckers everywhere. Small please.


I can't really see this going with the decor of my apartment, but it's still awesome.

But if you did want to get me things for the home, I wouldn't mind this arrow.

I'm not really a smelly lotion kinda girl. I'm more of a "it better have SPF cause that's the only thing I'm putting on my skin" person. But every now and then, I like to smell like almonds and aloe. And then cover my eyes with paper cucumbers.

I haven't quite decided if I love these yet, but I like how they look half way fashionable and I can splash around in the rain if I ever make it back to Seattle.

For 90210 DVDS, things about hiking in Seattle, lotion with olive oil, a CD that has one of my favorite cover song and of course knitting books you can always check out my amazon wish list by typing in my full name and/or email address under FIND SOMEONE'S WISH LIST. And if you're my mom or sister you should know that what I really, really want is to see you guys healthy, happy and safe.

Celebrities by LA

So, it's inevitable that I was bound to see a celebrity in LA. I mean, every day I walk around the boardwalk or drive to work I see hoards of people around video cameras and booms.

But I never would actually see anyone famous. Until this weekend.

First, I saw Richard Simmons. Maurene and I went to a workout class with the one and only weight loss guru. He is everything you imagined and then some. He's totally fabulous and crazy and gay, in the happiest way. He actually hugged me in the middle of the intense work out, and kept calling me Ballerina.

He kicked our ass, while singing and yelling and dancing around with our arms going this way and that. It was more like trying out for the "special" cheerleading squad.

I could see why at $12 a class, so many people wanted to join in on the fun. For people who are overweight, he really does make working out fun. He's so motivating and happy and ends the class with his whacky words of wisdom. The rest of the day I couldn't stop smiling and I have him to thank for that.

The second celeb was one of those moments when you see someone you know is famous, but it takes a few hours to figure out what movies he was in and end up using IMDB to get his name.

I saw Cole Hauser while shopping for broccoli at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. He was tall and chewing on a toothpick. And then I ran to find Dominic, who was insanely jealous. We circled the market 3 times to see if we could find him again, but alas, he was gone. Probably off to go to a premier or something fabulous like that.

In other so exciting news, I PAID OFF MY LAST CREDIT CARD TODAY!!!!

Now, I can really chip away at my $55,313.27 I have in loans. And yes, that's the exact amount, with interest. Ugh.

But, hot damn my credit card debt is so done.