Mindless Chatter

New Beginnings

2009-03-09T19:36:00.001-07:00

I'm sure everyone gave up on this blog, but just in case there is life on this planet, I'm not blogging here http://lifesvanillapleasures.blogspot.com/

DIY Fall

2008-10-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me, you already understand my obsession with Fall and how the lack of of my favorite season can get me down. Sure it's nice to have 80 degree weather but during the months of October and November! However, I'm going on nearly 5 years of residency in Los Angeles and I feel I have finally mastered ways to create your own Fall:

1. Glade "Spice" Candles - these delightful sticks of wax create a "fallesk" aroma that can add a cozy aroma to any living space.

2. Hooray for Pumpkin Butter - Trader Joe's only stocks it's shelves with this magical substance during the Fall Season. My lovely friend Emily made my week by surprising me with a fresh can on my desk a few days ago. Pumpkin Butter on sourdough toast partnered with a cup of coffee makes a great start to any Fall day.

3. Cooking is key - It's amazing how you can evoke nostalgic feelings through food. Some of my favorite recipes that take my back to my childhood of jumping in piles of leaves and carving pumpkins include Veggie Chili (recipe to post soon) and cornbread, Roasted Root Vegetables, and any type of casserole dish (my favorite is Veggie Sheppard's Pie).

4. Speaking of Carving Pumpkins - By using any type of Gord or Pumpkin Carving as decoration, every time you walk through the door of your home, you will enter a mini-fall haven (even if it is 78 degrees outside). Above is a picture of the pumpkins my friends and I carved last year, mine is the second from the left and obviously the most child-like (drawing and carving was never my specialty.)

5.Dress to impress - There are easy ways to adapt a "fallish" outfit even in warm weather. Wear tights with shorts or dresses and a short sleeved t-shirt. Light cotton scarves can compliment any outfit and rotating in boots with dresses are a nice way to incorporate your favorite pair into your daily routine.

Blast From the Past

2008-10-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I have not really followed up that well on my last posting! My apologies.. life and work have just seemed to take over. I just returned from a trip to the Bay Area to see my family and apparently just after I left, my mom was helping my grandmother clean out her garage and found an old suitcase of letters from my grandfather to his family and to her during the war.

My mom has been typing batches up and sending them to our family which as been really cool. His letter really capture the essence of the time and his phrases are filled with "Gee's" and "Swells." I can't for her to send one of his letter to her including one my mom found where he asks him mom and sister to pick out an engagement ring for my grandma that included a piece of twine he used to measure her finger. Reading these are just incredible, even though he isn't with us anymore I just feel connected to him again through them. I have included one below for your viewing pleasure....

Tues. Feb 24, 1942

434th Signal Maintainance Co.

Fort Wright

Spokane, Washington

Dear Folks;

How is everything at home? I am hoping that I receive a letter from you tomorrow. I realize though that it takes time for my letter to get to you.

Tomorrow, I believe that I will have a pass, and will be able to go into Spokane – what I will do when I get there is another question. All work and no play gets kind of tiresome. For one thin – I’m going to locate the Christian Science reading room & possibly go to church. Our passes are good any time when we are off duty. We have all day off on Sundays – so if I can drag myself from my comfortable bed early enough I will go to church as often as possible. I’ve got to make friends on the outside if I’m going to get along without being homesick. People that are the same as I am so to speak.

I don’t know how to explain it but, I seem to be living in a different world – a man’s world. At home I was kind of my own boss, with friends & my family. Here I can make friends & the army is supposed to be my family. (Nuts) I like girls (nice ones) that I can talk to & have good times with – and I’m going to do my best to do something about it. Through the church I believe I can make these contacts.

It’s just another adjustment in a guy’s life. This may sound like I’m low but believe me I’m not crying about it. A guy doesn’t do his thinking around here unless he’s told to. They do it all.

Ho! Ho! You ought to se me in a gas mask – I look really goofy. We are now getting training in gases & their effects. I should have had my second shots today but I’ll get them tomorrow, I guess. They don’t bother you until a couple of hours afterwards, then your arm gets kind of sore. Tell Mrs. Strom they are nothing to get excited about.

Well that’s about all I have on my mind right now – I’ll write again after I’ve heard from you. Write air mail & I’ll get it faster. (not all letters – just first ones.)

Tell Rob & Lauralice to write too & I do mean write.

Love

Jack

Apology to All 5 Readers

2008-09-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hello all 5 readers of my blog,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have been super crazed at work and the last thing I have wanted to do with my free time is "be on my computer." However, I am over this hump and will make sure to make up for lost time with future steady blog posts very soon.

“Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is.”-Steve Martin

More mindless chattering to come!

All In a Days Work

2008-08-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today I went to check out another winner from LA Magazines "Best Of" issue. About 45 minutes North of Los Angeles, tucked away in Moorpark, is the Underwood Family Farm where you can pay a small admission fee and pick your own produce. Now not many people I know are into that kind of thing (including Tony.. I begged and still nada) but one of my good friends Rachel who is always down for adventure accompanied me to this mystery farm. The farm is fairly big and has a map of the crops so you know what's in season and where to pick. In addition to the produce, there are tractors pulling children around, pony's and a small stand where people who don't feel like getting down and dirty can pick up fresh produce. Rachel and I picked up an old rickety waggon and carted it around from crop to crop. We picked huge red, orange and green bell peppers, "celebrity" beef steak tomatoes, small root carrots, peaches, cucumbers, beets and just about the last salvageable raspberries we could find. After we felt good about our mini-harvest, we checked out the stands supply of produce. I picked up some huge plump strawberries, white summer corn, cilantro, ginger, garlic and potatoes. When I went to check out from my day of scavenging I couldn't believe that all the veggies and fruit I had personally hand picked and selected came to a total of $25! Ridiculously cheap! So if anyone wants a fun weekend day outdoors I would highly recommend taking the afternoon to get back to nature and grow a new appreciation for how much work goes into growing and supplying produce.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is like tripendicular, ya know?

2008-07-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Love My Way - Psychedelic Furs
From the minute I moved to LA, I've wanted to go to the summer movie series at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This past Sunday, I finally went and saw Valley Girl and It was such a wonderful and unique experience. The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is absolutely beautiful at night. The cemetery is filled with rolling lawns and flowers and the entire space is surrounded by the silhouette of palm trees. The tombstones are very "LA" in the sense that people are even trying to out do each other in the after life to see who can have the grandest grave site.

The film series are definitely dominated by hipsters as the whole environment can feel a bit "Coachella" at times, but as long as you can get past the sea of Ray Bans, pleather tights, and Whole Foods bags, you'll be fine. Once you get into the cemetery, it's all about finding that piece of prime real estate on the grass so you can be close to the mausoleum where they project the films. We scored an awesome spot (all thanks to the swiftness of our friend Andrea) and enjoyed a fine spread of sandwiches, brownies and red wine as we re-lived the prime of the 80s.

Valley Girl was like "awesome ya know" to see there and I would absolutely go back again for another screening.

Breakfast of Champions

2008-07-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sundays are one of my favorite days for cooking as I usually don't have plans on Sundays and I tend to wake up Sunday morning inspired to cook. This morning I let my inner hippie loose and finally made a killer homemade Granola recipe I've been holding onto for months that was posted on a fabulous food blog (AOL owned as well) slashfood.com.

This recipe is super easy and sooo good. Accompanied by Tony's famous soft boiled eggs and a cup of mocha java, this breakfast is the perfect start to a lazy Sunday morning.

Granola: (FYI.. Trader Joe's is a great place to get all of the ingredients for this)
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup toasted almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried fruit (apricots, craisins,blueberries etc... i bough a mixed golden raisin package w/ cranberries, raisins and blueberries at trader Joe's that made this mighty tasty)
1/4 cup cooking oil (anything but olive oil)
1/2 cup honey

Mix the oats, nuts, and grains in a large bowl. Measure the oil into a measuring cup and swirl it around the cup before pouring into the bowl. Measure out the honey in the same unwashed cup (the oil helps the honey exit the cup).Toss everything together until evenly coated, then pour into a baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 mins, turning it with a rubber spatula every 10 mins so everything cooks evenly and looks golden brown. When it's finished cooking, return the mixture to the bowl and add in the raisins, fruit and coconut and stir gently several times so it doesn't clump. Serve with yogurt of milk and enjoy!
**Music Recommendation: For this recipe, I recommend listening to The Weepies "Hideaway" album.
The Weepies-Hideaway

Stars Are Just Like Us

2008-07-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Future SNL star MaryCatherine Hamelin was spotted with her husband Brad and baby girl Matilda at El Segundo's breakfast hot spot "Good Stuff" on June 28th.

We said goodbye to our good friend MaryCatherine and Brad a few weeks ago as they are Brooklyn bound. It was really hard to say goodbye because they are such wonderful and fun people and they are the first of our close friend to move out of LA. It made me think about what I would do if more of my good friends started moving and if this city would be as fun/enjoyable to live in. At least we will have friends to visit when we are on the East Coast and for now, Matilda can join the ranks of the Brooklyn hipster babies and have a throw down with Matilda Ledger to see which Matlida truly owns the playground. MC is also an incredibly talented comedian and I hope that with a closer connection to New York City, she can finally sneak her way onto SNL and give the totally boring new girl on SNL a run for her money! Yeah BOYYYY!!

Oh Heidi..

2008-06-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Just when you think Heid Montag can't get any worse, she puts out another "single." Really Heidi?! When did you decide it was a good idea to sing with a fake Jamaican accent?

All I have to say is "WOW."

http://popsugar.com/1732717

Oh Mine Papa..

2008-05-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of my father for many reasons. Not only is he an incredibly talented musician, artist and poet, but over the past 4 years, he has become an exquisite writer. He has so many amazing stories from his childhood, 10 years of touring with his band, and lifetime of being a musician that 4 years ago, I told him he should write a book. Over the past 4 years, he has sent me chapters from his untitled book and every time I read them I become incredibly inspired and proud. He just sent another one to me tonight and I thought I'd post an excerpt and share.

Leadfield came into being in the 1920’s when ruthless speculator salted the area with lead ore in order to seduce get rich quick suckers into purchasing worthless land. Within a year their hopes had been washed away like so much alluvium; leaving only abandoned holes and decrepit shacks in their wake.

From here the ride gets real good as we descend into the narrows. The walls contract and tower above, leaving only a slim passage for us to navigate. High up sunlight glints off the ramparts, while down in the gully we drive mainly in shadow. Once more we come face to face with nature’s grand architecture, as the road cuts through eons of strata that have been twisted in every direction! We must leave the car and scurry up a seam. Soon we’re high on a ridge, lost in some pre-Cambrian delight. This is the section that unequivocally qualifies the canyon as an “E TICKET.” One that will require numerous revisiting … I recall one trip through Titus in a VW Bus with a sun roof, where we sat on top and the driver steered with his feet, while someone down below worked the clutch and gas. Many times we’d putt along in a Bug with such a low idle, that the car simply drove itself. We could operate it by steering from the running boards; often jumping on and off to run alongside, just for the fun of it. Once we ignored the “Road Closed at Dusk” sign and ventured into the canyon well past dark. (No one ever seemed to shut or lock the gate anyway-so what the hell!) We had an 8 Track tape of the soundtrack from “2001 A Space Odyssey”. This particular voyage just happened to conveniently coincide with a full moon and I can’t impress upon you enough, just how otherworldly and far out it was cruising this alien terrain, with no headlights and Also Sprach Zarathustra blaring from the speakers…a three dimensional, stereo, surrealistic, moonlit world that even Dali or Magritte might envy! Rounding a bend, we gazed up at a monolithic wall; just as the moon topped the canyon rim, hitting us square in the eyes- duh-Da-DA…DUH-DA - a moment of unforgettable serendipity!

Our musical performances at the Ranch had become such a mainstay, that from time to time the management offered us little perks in order to encourage their continuance. On one occasion, a tremendous storm blew in and we were forced to abandon our campsite. What to do? Well, when the resorts’ manager heard of our plight, he offered the use of his social halls to bed down on until the tempest passed. So there we were, snug and dry until the mud had congealed enough for us to get back to the elements. Another time, our man (Dave Davidson) arranged for us to perform poolside at Furnace Creek Inn, for all the high rollers and their families, in exchange for one of their outrageous Sunday brunch buffets. Imagine us, use to a diet of shotcakes, corned beef hash and beans an’ franks heated on a camp stove, with all the fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheeses, bread, pastries and juices we could eat staring us in the face- this was something we would never have dreamed of, let alone been able to afford – which made the multiple trips through the buffet line that much more delicious!
The Inn! Ah, the Inn! Opened in 1927 with the expressed purpose of bringing tourism to the region and catering to the hoi polloi, Furnace Creek Inn has remained a destination for the well heeled ever since.

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Nestled on a broad fan at the base of the Funeral Mountains, overlooking the foreboding salt pan and majestic Panamint Range, the Inn is a luxurious oasis comprised of classic adobe and native stone. It has lush, multi-terraced gardens with water courses cascading everywhere and sits under a canopy of swaying palms. In short, it was way too elegant for schmucks like us… and yet our music gave us accessibility.

We had brought along our stage clothing (black suits, white shirts and ties) in order to get some unique promo shots and decided the Inn would be a suitable backdrop. We hardly looked conspicuous strolling the grounds in our attire, because the Inn strictly enforces a dress code at dinnertime (coat and tie are required for entre’ into the elegant dining room). The night before our shoot, I had broken my glasses while stumbling around drunkenly in the desert…. So here we were, roaming these beautiful gardens, nattily dressed, instruments in hand and me - blind as a bat. After a few shots here and there, I somehow got separated from the other guys and when I finally saw them, they were on the terrace below. It appeared to me that there was an intermediate patch of grass that I could easily jump onto before reaching the guys on the next level, instead of taking the long way around. I couldn’t quite make out what the lads were trying to signal to me as I waved and with my banjo, blithely stepped off the upper ledge onto the grass below. Imagine my surprise, when I instantly realized that this imagined lawn was in fact an immaculately trimmed six foot hedge! I sank like a ton of bricks, finding myself intimately intertwined and up to my eyeballs in its sturdy branches. The boys ran up with mixed expressions of horror and bemusement. It took some wrangling to untangle and extricate the scratched, torn, bruised, slightly bloody and greatly embarrassed wrecks that I and my banjo had become. From then on, our visits to the Inn were confined strictly to nocturnal – evening escapades - sneaking into the gardens with some lovely, in order to introduce her to their magnificence and hopefully, stimulate a romantic interlude.
The mines at Ryan were another source of immense adventure. Our interest was initially piqued on the first “Y” trip, when one of our fellow campers told of how he had once ridden through the tunnels on a gas powered, baby gauged mine train. After hearing that, we were intent on returning to explore!

Before moving their operations to an open pit at Boron CA, Pacific Coast Borax mined mainly in Death Valley and Ryan was their headquarters. This tidy little company town connected to a vast network of mines and underground tunnels. The hillside was honey-combed with shafts and terraced with an abandoned roadbed that had once carried the ore trains to rendezvous with the narrow gauge Death Valley Railroad. The town, although abandoned, was in pristine shape; buildings were well kept up, roofs intact, windows unbroken and paint unpeeled – it had been put in mothball, should the company ever decide to resume mining here. Our greatest interest however, lay below ground.

It was a hefty climb from the road into the Greenwater hills to the mines. The route was over open ground strewn with sharp and nasty volcanic breccias. We encountered numerous signs that warned of DANGER! PRIVATE PROPERTY! KEEP OUT! TRESSPASSERS WILL BE PROCECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW! Of course, since there wasn’t a soul around to enforce such edicts, we just kept trudging up the hill. At the top, we came to a major entrance that was blocked by a cyclone fence and posted with similar warnings. Fortunately, there was a small gap

9

between the gate post and the hillside that we just managed to squeeze through, gaining complete access to the tunnel. We lit the lantern and plunged ahead…after awhile, we came to a trap door that led to a series of ladders thrusting deep into the mountain. It was Bruce, always the fearless instigator, who cavalierly led the way. There were eighteen flights of ladders in all, each flight about fifteen feet in length. At the base of each ladder was a small platform with an opening that led to the next level. Once again, the timbers and all the wood for that matter proved sound; buried deep as they were from rain or shine. As we descended, the gloom and stillness were overpowering, reality was reduced to a six foot wide shaft, with only a hissing Coleman lantern to forestall total blackness. When we finally touched solid ground again, we could see what appeared to be a pinprick of light off in the distance. We also saw a set of rails leading toward the light and decided to follow them. About half a mile up the track, we came to the lights source- in actuality, a 20’ by 20’ entrance, again blocked by cyclone fencing. Just inside the entrance, joy of joys, was what we’d been hoping for – a functional ore car. Having just walked the length of the track and finding it in good shape, we figured a little ride through this underworld paradise was in order. Warren and Bruce rode while Aunga and I pushed to the end of the line, then we exchanged places and reversed course. We repeated this action several times - What can I say, we were happier than a bunch of kids in an abandoned mine had the right to be!
On a later expedition to Death Valley, Steve Hughes, who had joined the band as harmonica, jug and washtub bass player and me, got a wild hair to hitchhike back from there to Modesto. We grabbed our gear and instruments, bid the boys farewell, and tenaciously hit the highway. We got a ride right off that took us to Stovepipe Wells. From there we made it to the turn off to Saline Valley and then things got a little dicey. It was here, that we waited for several hours watching what little traffic there was, pass us by. People starred and honked, but not a car stopped. There wasn’t a tree or bush around for miles. The only shade was the pitiful shadows cast from our dehydrating bodies. The heat was extreme; it glanced off the roadway, doubling its intensity before slamming into our hides. Buzzards circled lazily overhead, casting hungry eyes upon what they perceived to be today’s bill of fare. We were slipping into hopelessness, the romance of hitchhiking wilting under the unrelenting desert sun and blankly gazing across this great nothingness; beginning to think that we were doomed, when up comes a vintage yellow drop top Cadillac and pulls over. The occupants were two hard looking black men, who definitely had an aura of “convict” about them.

“You boys needin’ a ride?” asked the driver, who sported a mean scar down his right cheek.
I gratefully answered YES, but Hughes wasn’t so sure, as alarm bells were simultaneously going off in his head. He was desperately trying to come up with an excuse to decline the invitation- but it was painfully obvious that there weren’t many good Samaritans on the road today, let alone those willing to stop for a couple dusty hippies, so Hughes swallowed his reservations and we climbed in.

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“How bout you come up front wit me” the driver said to Steve. “Blondie, you hop on back there wit LEE-roy!”

“Names An-twon, but you can call me Twon” said the driver as he gunned the motor and that Caddie took off like a bullet. LEE-roy wasn’t much of a conservationist and seemed contented to just sit and glumly stare. Once in awhile he’d grunt a few syllables and cast a jaundiced eye on Steve and me, but mostly he remained mute. Hughes began to silently pray as the speedometer rapidly shot past eighty. We tried to engage in some polite conversation, but it seemed strained. The car fell silent, until Twon produced a jug Night Train. He unscrewed the cap, took a couple swigs and then passed it around. After a few swallows, my tongue began to loosen and I affected my best ghetto brogue, in an attempt

to relate. As I incessantly prattled on, Hughes was anxiously trying to figure out if Twon and LEE-roy were going to rape us before they killed us…or visa versa.
The desert was a blur….as the car topped 100…

Hughes asked the guys if thy wanted to smoke some weed, which of course they did.

At first, he had a hell of a time rolling numbers in the front seat of that speeding convertible, what with the wind and all, but being a seasoned pro, he succeeded and it wasn’t long before we were all pretty high and having a good old time. Even LEE-roy seemed to crack a wicked smile. Being stoned however, only served to increase Hughes’ paranoia, thus every chance he got, Steve would mention that we didn’t have much money-just in case our hosts’ motives were less than honorable.

We finished the Night Train and LEE-roy sailed the bottle off into oblivion.
“Anyone in the mood for a little entertainment?” I enquired. “Just happen to have my

old gui-tar handy!”

Being a folkie and not much acquainted with the blues, I was trying to come up with something the fellas might get off on. Sorting thought the recesses of my smoke-filled memory; I came across what I thought might be the perfect tune: Leadbelly’s “Black Betty!” I was feeling pretty inspired now and let her rip...
“Oooooooo Black Betty. Bam-ba –lam

Black Betty had a baby. Bam-ba-lam. Damn thing went crazy

Bam-ba-lam

Black Betty had a child. Bam-ba-lam Damn thing went wild

Rock steady Black Betty ………………………..”
Hughes wasn’t quite sure at first if I was really singing THAT SONG or if he was in fact hallucinating. Either way, his jaw dropped and upon realizing that I was indeed belting it out, considered his options: crawling into the glove compartment or jumping out of a speeding vehicle. He mellowed some when he saw that the boys were getting a kick out of it….sort of.
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We ended up in Fresno-in the ghetto. Twon stopped the car in the middle of the street and left the motor running while he and LEE-roy bolted into a house. (Hughes is now convinced they’re going for their guns.)

All of a sudden we’re surrounded by a sea of black faces. Kids are pointing, starring and peppering us with questions:

“Who you?”

“What you doin’here?”

“How you know LEE-roy n’ Twon?”

“You narcs?”

“Look at da weasels!”
After seemingly an eternity, LEE-roy and Twon returned and we were off again. We headed for a liquor store. Hughes supposed they were going to rob it before knocking us off. We gave LEE-roy our last few bucks to buy some beer and then we proceeded to drive way out of town, down a lonely country road. We turned into a vineyard, drove to the end of a row and stopped.

As we popped a top, Steve knew: This is it FOR SURE …Here’s where we get popped. But we didn’t! We finished the suds and then were driven to the closest freeway entrance.

We shook hands; our traveling companions wished us well and then drove off into the night. Hughes got down on his knees and thanked God, I stuck out my thumb, we got another ride and soon were rolling up “99“ to Motown.
Once in awhile, twilight Games (a holdover from Y camp days) would take the place of music-making. The games followed supper and required leaving before dusk, in order to find the perfect spot in which to observe the sun set. Once there, we’d partake of a little “attitude adjustment” and then silently watch as night descended over the desert world …the warm wind whooshing past as it sails up the arroyo, twilight- the appearance of the first star, the sweet bouquet of sage, a coyotes’ call, shadows slowly creeping over the land…darkness. Our eyes adjust; we’ll need night vision for the return trip. (When the moon is full night hiking is a breeze since its almost bright as day. However without moonlight, navigation is mostly by intuition. The challenge comes in keeping up a full stride, while avoiding the pitfalls: ledges, rocks, holes and numerous other obstructions).

Once again we find ourselves charging down a canyon, this time in total darkness. We reach bottom unscathed and walk out to the parking lot - empty except for our lone vehicle. Here we stretch out on our backs, on the asphalt which still radiates from the heat of the day and feast upon the heavenly show. The warmth is a balm and soon the asphalt, as well as “the here and now” are forgotten-we fall into a trance. We have become one with the universe. Once again silence is golden, as each of us ponders the cosmos and our respective place therein. We have transcended the earthly bonds and are now lost among the stars…….

For these and so many other reasons, I must return to the desert whenever possible.

For here is a place so deep, that I could be every day of my life and never…ever, cease to be inspired!

Perfect Timing

2008-05-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

Ya'll .....this is the perfect follow up to my Scott Speedman story from Coachella! If you didn't believe it before, believe it now!
http://perezhilton.com/2008-05-12-guess-the-celebrity-stoner-2#more-20142

Happy Coachella

2008-04-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my long anticipated weekend at Coachella. So apparently this years festival was brought to you by Ray Ban. Every indie kid and their indie mother was sporting Neon Ray Bans! I have to say I was a bit disappointed as there is usually a variety of crazy outfits to see but this year, every single person there looked identical! The unofficial uniform for girls consisted of the aforementioned Ray Bans, one piece jumpsuits (complete with ass cheeks hanging out) and fanny packs. For guys it was "I look like I'm a member of Vampire Weekend." Although there was a lot of conformity, here are a few of nominees for best original rickdeezalous outfit:
-Guy who made his own assless chap jorts... it takes some balls to wear that in VIP and we all saw them!
-The Gold lamé Superclan - group of kids who strutted around in gold lamé capes
-And finally, who needs a top when I can just wear a bra girl!

I mean, next year I just want to walk up to these people and say.. excuse me "what is it that you do for a living?" Anyway, overall it was a great weekend. We stayed with our crew from last year (Michelle and Matt) at the Renaissance Esmeralda which has killer beds (slept like a baby every night), a killer pool and an even killer breakfast buffet (I get very disappointed when I wake up to find there is no one in my kitchen to make me a custom omelet). We rented mopeds again to ride out to the venue, which was super fun (even though there was a small mishap with Michelle and Matt's key but it's amazing what locksmiths can do these days so it was no sweat off anyone's back). The actual shows were wonderful... I'd have to say that Cut Copy, Hot Chip and Portishead were my favorites, oh and of course Prince but that goes without saying.

My other favorite Coachella moment was when I was trying to help Michelle with a video project for work where she was asking celebrities if they'd flash the peace sign. We spotted my longtime tv crush Scott Speedman (otherwise known as Ben from Felicity) and when we asked if if he'd be down, he slowly said with a pleasant smile "I'm sorry I'm just so fucking stoned right now" which I totally appreciated as it was a friendly and genuine answer.

All in all, another good year and I look forward to next April. Below are a few photos from the festival.

Artsy Fartsy

Coffee Break

Hot Bitches! No literally it was 100 degrees!

Hipsters Climbing the Tent Towers to Watch Hot Chip

It's So Hard to Leave the Esmeralda!

8 Things

2008-04-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

My friend/co-worker Emily has a fantastic little blog http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/ and she posted a really cute little blurp on "8 Things" so I have to give her credit for the blog posting below (however I altered it slightly). Thanks Em!

Things I Heart
- Ice Cream
-Electro beats I can dance to
-Expensive Flashy Sneakers (but I can never bring myself to drop $ on them)
-Hiking
-licking cake batter of the beater
-Laughing so hard I snort
-Romantic Comedy's
-Vino

Foods I can't Live With Out!-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Veggie Corn Dogs w/ Ketchup
-BBQ'd Corn on the Cob
-Sushi
-Tea Sandwiches
-Samosas
-Pink Lady Apples
-Peanut Butter

Favorite Films to Watch When I'm Sick
-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
-Reality Bites
-Sixteen Candles
-Donnie Darko
-So I Married an Axe Murderer
-Spinal Tap
-Singles
-The Royal Tenenbaums

Books I’ve Read Recently
-Eat, Pray, Love
-Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs
-Jeez... why have both of the books I most recently read have 3 word titles? I might as well only like bands that start with "the!" But seriously, both of these books are fantastic!
-Also.. I'm aware this is not 8 books

Things that attract me to my best friends- Great sense of humor
-Enjoy my wacky antics
-Are always there when I need them
-Are always down for a spontaneous adventure
-Pick me up when I fall down
-Are present during every major life change
-Have kind souls
-I never have to walk on egg shells around them

Things I want to do before I die
-Travel with my husband to Norway to see our college friends
-Eat sushi in Japan
-Have a backyard with a garden that I planted and kept up myself
-Live in at least 3 other cities than the one I live in now
-Have a family that I start my own holiday traditions with
-Take my children to their first concert
-Own a Beagle named "Otto" ( Sorry Mo.. I still love you)
-Leave a legacy of being a kind, helpful and loving person

Bamboozle

2008-04-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

So to be a supportive wife, I accompanied my husband to Bamboozle this past weekend in Irvine. For those of you that don't know, Bamboozle is the worst music festival on the face of the planet. It was held in the parking lot of the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (meaning you are standing on hard concrete all day long) and there is little shade. Not only is this music festival set up horribly, but the line up was terrible. On Saturday while Tony conducted interviews for his acts, I was forced to listen to bands like Story of the Year, New Found Glory and Reel Big Fish. Now don't get me wrong.. when I was a teenager, I was a fan of bands like New Found Glory and Reel Big Fish.. but now they are too old and too fat to be performing wearing bro shorts and wife beaters. Aside from the 2 hours I got to watch fairly decent bands like Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio and Face to Face, I wanted to impale myself of some spikey OC Bro hair. Here are some "lowlights" from Bamboozle...

-Bro shorts and black socks that go on for days
-Trashy women with chunky blonde highlights and Rocket Dog Platform flip-flops who brought their BABIES to Bamboozle.. REALLY.. YOUR BABY AT BAMBOOZLE.. REALLY?!
-New Found Glory BUTCHERING Bob Dylan's hit " It Ain't Me Babe"... shame on you New Found Glory.. shame on you
-Emo kids who think it's okay to smoke cigarettes when the crowd is packed in like sardines. I love when my hair smells like smoke and when 16 year olds accidentally ash on my arm!

All in all... I was very thankful to return to our hotel room after the days events. However, I had to leave once to attend an even crappier after party that smelled like trash and served bottom shelf vodka and fruit punch chasers. The festival was held on Sunday too, but based on my experience from the previous night, I chose to drop Tony off and go shopping at South Coast Plaza instead. Wish I had thought of that on Saturday!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2008-03-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

~The return of The Hills ( I know, I know.. it's sad but true)
~Hot cup of green tea with a pinch of honey
~The Cherry Trees in bloom in front of my office
~A bubble bath and John Coltrane
~Mani Pedi day
~Hot biscuits with butter and jam
~Going to bed before 11 on a "school night"

Road Rage

2008-03-27T15:53:00.001-07:00

Road rage is a very common thing in the City of Angels and there is nothing angelic about it. I'm not one to talk, on my five mile drive to work, I often find myself yelling "Really Dude" at the various obstacles in my way.. old men in BMWs reading the newspaper while driving two miles an hour, douche bag agents on their headsets running through stop signs.. and even though I hate to admit it, the ocational crossing guard who helps school children cross the road but keeps me at a stand still for a good five minutes.

I understand the antsy-ness we all get in our cars, we all feel invisible through our thick steel doors and plated glass windows. But something happened today on my drive that I don't understand. As I was driving down Olympic ( a wide three lane road) the car behind me for some reason felt that my going 50 in a 40 zone wasn't fast enough and proceeded to ride my ass for several blocks. He then tried to swerve to the right lane and pass me there. Now, I can't see the driver in question but I'm imaging that they fit one of two scenarios:

A) A middle aged a-hole in a Maserati who feels the need to show off the power of his car to feel comfortable with his bald head and beer belly, or
B) A tiny blonde LC wannabe in a Mercedes on her cell phone who's recapping last nights episode of American Idol and just isn't paying attention to the road at hand.

But it's neither, the answer is C) a very flamboyant man with a tall head of hair and blonde highlights to high heaven, driving a Saab Convertible with a tiny Terrier in his lap.. that's right a Terrier! This man as he drives past me to cut me off is yelling and his Terrier is barking and scolding me too. It was the host hilarious sight I think I have seen. This is the first time I have experienced road rage from a queeny owner and a queeny dog simultaneously. God.. I love LA

My Weekday Boyfriend

2008-03-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

So lately Tony has been working A LOT. It's not unusual for him to get home from work around 9 or sometimes even 10. At first I tried waiting for him to come home so we could eat together but then I started to binge on goldfish crackers and apples and peanut butter for 3 hours, and realized this was probably not healthy. It's taken a while but I finally got into a groove and have this funny little weekday routine down. I wouldn't say it's ideal, because it's not at all, it's hard not spend any quality time with your significant other during the weekdays which is why I've started to to refer to Mo as my "weekday boyfriend." So my weekday usually consists of this:

I get home to find Mo happily waiting for me by the door ( I swear this animal is a dog trapped inside a cats body), I feed him, fumble through the mail which usually consists of bills and weird home craft magazines from the tenant before us. After this, I make dinner and make a plate for myself then a plate for Tony and cover it with foil and stick in the fridge. From there I eat dinner and catch up on all my girlie netflix Tony would never want to watch with my weekday boyfriend. After Mo and I get some good quality snuggle time in, I take a bubble bath to the tune of Ella Fitzgerald and then clime into bed and read my book. About this time.. Tony comes home and just starts to decompress from his 12 hour day right as I've fully forgotten the woes of my workday.

I know all this cat talk sounds a little bonkers .. trust me.. many times I imagine myself in 50 years, wandering around an old house filled with nick knacks and cats in every nook and cranny and when people come over I introduce the cats as my "boyfriends" and I get a little scared for my future. And if that ever happens to me I hope someone is kind enough to check me into cat rehab, but for now I have to say my weekday boyfriend is a great companion, chick flick buddy and dinner date and he'll have to hold me over until my hubby can find a job that doesn't require slave labor hours.

Grandpa Jack

2008-03-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

To all 5 readers who have probably stopped tuning in due to my lack of blog posts, I apologize. The past month has been a bit hectic and busy. In February I flew up to the Bay Area to be with my family for the last week of my grandfather's life, which was an honor to be present at. The following weeks were spent taking care of family members and flying back for funeral and memorials. Going through my grandfather's death was definitely a learning experience as I have never been witnessed someone go through the process of dying before. It was really hard to watch my grandfather be in tremendous pain and suffering, but although it was hard, there were little bits of wonderful that shined through. For example the last few days of his life, he became completely despondent and stopped talking. One of the days I was in the hospital, he didn't talk all day but at one point grabbed my hand pulled me to him and whispered "I love you" followed by a long pause and then said "so much." It was heartbreaking and wonderful. Just by hearing him say that, it made the pain of being there even more bearable.

Anyway, not that I want to go on and on telling sad stories, but long story short...It was an incredibly humbling experience, that made me want to savor every minute of time I have on this planet. It also (once again) put into perspective what's really important which is family and friends and health.

Much more happy/funny stories to come in the coming months I promise. :)

Clifton's Cafeteria

2008-01-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

Last night I experienced the wonder that is Clifton's Cafeteria. Clifton's is an old school cafeteria style dining establishment that has been a part of downtown LA since the 1930s. The wild west style dining room is full of green fake foliage, stone boulders, lagoon pools, waterfalls and mounted deer heads. There is speculation that Clifton's was the inspiration behind Adventure Land at Disneyland and after visiting, it seems totally possible. Clifton's is a spitting image of Adventure Land if it were to crammed into a restaurant, the only thing missing are the Country Bears and the Tiki Room.

So in the pouring rain, Tony and I drove to downtown LA and walked through the jewelry district until we hit 6th and Broadway. One we walked through the front door, we felt as though we entered a time warp. Guests are greeted by a host stand next to a mini waterfall and a brief photo history of Clifton's, it's founders and their promises to their customers. After taking in a brief history of the establishment, we walked back to what seems like a huge cafeteria line straight out of the 50's. Full of steel counters and a white tile floor, we selected our trays and wandered through a sea of retro comfort food favorites. They had a huge assortment of salads, soups, hot entrees, dessert and gelatin products. I chose a meal of lentil soup, bean salad, hard boiled egg, mac and cheese, ambrosia salad and chocolate pudding. Tony selected green salad, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing and for dessert tapioca pudding and strawberry pie. Our fully packed trays only cost of $29 and of course we selected way more than we could eat.

Once in the dining room we chose a table on the 2nd floor so we could do some people watching. Clifton's is filled with an assortment of characters. I'm sure back in the 30s, 40s and 50s, the cafeteria was filled with business men, families and police officers. The current patrons at Clifton's ranged from young church groups, and large families to the homeless and crackheads who had just wondered off skid row. One of my favorite guests was a woman sitting below us in her late 60s wearing a hair net. She had a tray of dessert and a cup of coffee and repeatedly dosed off to sleep, nearly burying her face in her banana cream pie.

Overall, I LOVED Clifton's. The environment is fun, uniquely themed and a one of a kind experience. On top of that, the food was delicious and the price unbeatable. Plus, the people watching is phenomenal. I also saw on our way out that if you host your birthday party there, they will give you a whole cake for for free. I'm thinking 27 will be celebrated with the help of
Clifton's.

A Film To See....

2008-01-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

After hearing weeks of hype, I finally went to go see Juno. I was trying to pretend I didn't hear all all the great reviews so I wouldn't build the film up too much and then be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all, it was a deliciously witty and wonderful film. The characters were all wonderful and quirky and I really got attached to all of them. If you are toying with the idea of going to see Juno, do yourself a favor and see it. You will walk away feeling happy, nostalgic and grounded.

Take that Ebert and Roeper!

PS. She has a hamburger phone in the movie that is rad. If anyone has a hamburger phone lying around, I will happily buy it off you.

"New Year's Day is every man's birthday." ~Charles Lamb

2008-01-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Ah yes it's that time of year again. The time of year where everyone returns from their various holidays, recovers from week long hangovers and stews over the big question in life of "what is really important?" Or at least, that is what I do.

Over the holidays we packed up the car and headed north to see my family. We spent several days in Napa and a few in San Francisco. It's always great to leave LA and get back to normalcy a bit. Everyone in San Francisco is so friendly and normal and it always takes a few days for me to get use to LA again. For example, when we returned to LA, I went to the grocery store to replenish our fridge and I was instantly shocked at how put together everyone was there. All the woman had a full face of make up, leggings and obnoxious and unnecessary sunglasses in doors. All I could think of was..people are so weird here. But I'm sure after another week it will all seem totally normal.

Basically, the nice long break made me stop to think about what's really important in life. My answers are family, friends and balance. It's so easy to get caught up in the ever going stresses of work and life which I definitely do. And all that BS doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Realizing this made me think, we should just pack up all our crap and move to San Francisco or Portland or some city where there is life and culture without ridiculous unessary things like seven series BMWs, Louis Vuitton purses and low carb bread. I was day dreaming of working for a small environmental firm in San Francisco, or working for Nike in Portland. These are all far fetched day dreams (for now anyway)but it was fun to dream. Don't get me wrong, I do like my job and co-workers and I love my friends. I even like Los Angeles a whole lot, but sometimes it's easy to forget that outside of this bubble there are real people who when bring up the subject of music or movies, they just want to talk about the really awesome base line of their favorite song, or their favorite quote from a film, not about the how the actor in the film they love is sleeping with a friends assistant, or how that bands manager is a huge coke head.

Anyway, long blog short....having realized all this.. these are my "Goals for 2008."

- Re-introduce myself to skills I once mastered (i.e. playing the violin, tennis, cooking, knitting etc.)
- Remain active and healthy and use any any extra time I have on weekdays to pick up one of the for mentioned former skills of my younger years
-Live as eco-friendly as I can
-Remember that above all, these are the things that bring me happiness..... my husband, friends, family, health, humor, the outdoors, cooking, music, a great cup of coffee, a good book, great film and great conversation

Now That's a Knish!

2007-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

So I've been a bit busy and am way over due for a blog post. My apologies to all 5 of you that read this blog for the delay. So back to New York. New York was awesome but cold! I completely forgot how cold other places of the country get. I forgot what it's like to have a physical need for a hat, scarf and gloves and that people use them for function and not just fashion.

So on Saturday, my friend Beth took me out and about to show me a little glimpse of NYC life. We did some shopping in Soho and went to an amazing designers market in an old church on the lower east side that had all sorts of original pieces of jewelry, clothes and bags. I scored these awesome bracelets made out of vintage vinyl that I plan on using as holiday gifts. But really the highlight of my day had to be Yonna Schimmels Knishery. As we walked through the cold and damp streets of the Lower East Side, I grew tired , hungry and chilled to the bone. I think I must have shown my pain while walking as Beth kept asking me if I was okay and through my cold and icy mouth I would respond "oh yeah, totally fine..walking is sooo good for me." Beth promised the walk would be worth it and when we approached the small and paint chipped door of Yonna Schimmel's Knishery, I knew everything was going to be okay. We sat down in the tiny warm cafe and ordered two "Knish Platters" and shared them. This delightful lunch of $8.40 consisted of two GIANT knishes, a bowl of coleslaw and unlimited home made pickles. The Knishes were amazing and warmed every part of my frozen body. This place was truly a gem only something you would find in New York City. I texted my friend Jen who is a true New Yorker to the core (Queens to be exact.... and she would be mentally adding that if she were reading this) and told her I was eating a delicious Knish and thinking of her. She texted be back and asked where I was consuming this delightful Knish and when I told her where I was she replied with such enthusiasm "Now That's a Knish!"

View from my room

Yonna Schimmel's

Knishes... mmmm

Room with a View

2007-11-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

So right now I am on a business trip in New York City. I really hate flying so I wasn't too happy about the 6 hour flight to get here but now that I on solid ground and in the city, the trip has been really enjoyable. My company is putting us up at this ridiculously wonderful 5 star hotel right at Central Park, and I don't know how I managed to get put on the 36th floor but I did and have a full view of Central Park and the surrounding NY Skyline.It's AMAZING!

Every time I come back to the room I just stare out the window at the tiny people walking on the sidewalks or I look at out and adjacent buildings and peer into peoples luxurious places that live in these high rises. Since the duration of my stay, I've been people watching a few people that are on similar floors I am on. I noticed one woman who eats dinner very late at a lavish dining room table. She has granite counter tops, modern fixtures and sub zero appliances but she's eaten alone for 2 nights. There is another apartment below where another woman reads every night on her couch surrounded by her two slumbering golden retrievers. I can't imagine how much these places I'm viewing cost to live in, but it must be nice to live that high up. There also seems to be people ice skating every night and every morning on the outdoor ice rink in Central Park even though it's freezing at both of those times of day. I wish I didn't have to go into the NY Office each day so I could continue to see this little glimpses into other peoples worlds. People watching is much better/more interesting from 36 stories up.

Blast From the Past

2007-11-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Then

Now
\

Last night Tony surprised me with tickets to see Silverchair at the Wiltern. I was really excited as I use to love Silverchair, along with various other grunge rock genre bands from the 90s. I wasn't expecting much out of the show, I thought they'll play some old stuff, they're older, more mellow whatever but they were AMAZING! The boys are much more clean cut than in the old days and their newer songs definitely have a more mellow mainstream sound, but they sounded great! And when they played their old stuff it took me right back to the mid nineties at my parents house, listening to Fogstomp on my very large yet so cool portable boom box in my room.

Daniel Johns is truly an amazing performer. He got the crowd totally amped up, was rolling on the ground, jumping in the air, playing guitar with his tongue (the ladies in the crowd were loosing it at this point) laying on the piano playing with his foot. I was truly blown away with how great the show was. I was talking to Tony about how all music genres of the past are coming back. For instance, new wave is huge in the rock genre now, I wonder when someone will bring back the raw, edgy, heavy base/guitar sounds of grunge. I know it sounds nerdy, but I love grunge rock and I can't wait for someone to bring it back. So if anyone is a thinking of starting a grunge rock band, make it happen! I guarantee you will already have one fan!

Lazy Sunday

2007-11-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today was my perfect Sunday and included the following things:

-Sleeping in.. plus bonus hour due to daylight savings
-Reading the magazines I never get to read during the week over a cup o' joe
-Not showering until noon
-Making Orange Chocolate Cookies
-Watching movies w/ my hubby and cat
-Not doing laundry
-Knitting part of Tony's never ending scarf
-Wearing Ugg boots around the house and not being ridiculed for it

Slutty Blog

2007-10-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

So Halloween is on Wednesday but as usual, the Saturday before the big day there are plenty of drunken costume events to attend. My friend Angelica had a party where every lady attending had to come dressed as Amy Winehouse. Since I love Halloween and dressing up, I was happy to meet the challenge and pull together my best Amy Winehouse attire complete with bee hive wig, pounds of liquid eye liner and powdered sugar smudged nose.

So Saturday comes and before we went to Angelica's party, we have to make a stop at another Halloween party where one of Tony's bands was playing. I don't know why I didn't put two and two together before since the band we had to go see is a metal band, but when we got there I realized I was in the epicenter of a metal rock trash party. Everyone seemed to have the same costume theme.... Slut. I was a lone Amy Winehouse in a giant sea of slutty nurses, slutty fairies, slutty police and slutty angels. You name it, the girls added slut to the end. I mean, not that I'm trying to be old or prudish because when I was in college, sure I had my share of revealing costumes, but never ones where my whole ass was hanging out and barely covered by a pair of fishnets. And never did I wear a transparent shirt with stickers covering up my nipples.

Ahhh it was a classy event. Anyhoo, so I'm sitting on a couch with Tony (who is dressed as Amy Winehouse's husband but all scratched and beat up), and Jen (who is dressed like Lily Allen) and every two seconds some goth dude with chains and creepers or some drunk girl in one of the formentioned costumes above would come up to me and ask "ummmm like who are you supposed to be anyway?" Have these people seriously never heard of Amy Winehouse? I mean I'm wearing a bee hive wig and have the illusion of coke all over my face for God sakes!

I realized I needed to leave this party fast before the keg ran out of PBR and an angry mob of white trash swept through the party kickin' ass. We eventually went to Angelica's and everyone there definitely appreciated my costume. After that I came home, spent a good 30 minutes stripping of layers of eyeliner. Halfway through the deconstructing process, I realized that I totally looked like a drag queen. Thankfully, Tony snapped this picture below to capture this look.

Corporation Blues

2007-10-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

TGIF pretty much says it all. This has been an incredibly difficult week as my company decided to implement a huge layoff that ended up hitting my department, which no one saw coming. I lost a friend and co-worker that started the same time as me and was essentially my "pledge brother." If that wasn't anguish enough, I have spent the whole rest of the week scared of loosing my job in the next round of layoffs. I keep getting reaffirmed that our department won't be "affected" (which is how the head honchos describe being laid off.. like it's some sort of grotesque disease) but that's what they said originally too. As my friend Andy puts it... I have a current case of the "corporation blues." I guess we all get them, I mean Elizabeth Shue did get a case of the babysitting blues.. I suppose.. corporate blues exist too. So in order to turn this frown upside down, I have been trying to take pleasure in the little things in life. The following things are helping to get me out of my funk (sort of)

-Dark Chocolate M&Ms.. damn are they delightful
-Watching 5 episodes of Weeds at a time.... I guess watching Mary Louise Parker's character Nancy go through her own dramatic issues of trying to balance running a suburban pot business, being a mom to two kids and a wife to a DEA agent makes me realize my life isn't so bad.
-Reading my TMZ gossip and laughing at Brittany dig a deeper hole in her giant ditch of a life
-Making Sheppards Pie
-Driving my car.. it's new, it's plaid, it's amazing, and it's all mine

I'm headed to the bay this weekend to visit my Aussie relatives who are visiting my folks. I haven't seen them in years and they always have cheery and bright dispositions so I'm sure I'll come back refreshed and happy.

Hipsters Always Ruin the Fun

2007-10-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see Justice at The Fonda. I was really excited to see them play because they were AMAZING at Coachella, however last night was definitely not like Coachella. The main differentiator was the abundance of hipsters that were present (at Coachella I don't remember seeing crazy hipsters when Justice played the dance tent, although they weren't that popular then and I was probably too busy dancing to notice anyone). So, I understand why hipsters exist, what I don't understand is why the do the following annoying things:

- Wear dirty mismatching clothes from the early 90' with a pair colorful Nike's and not wash their hair for 2 weeks and assume it's hip.
-Constantly bump into people and not apologize...when you become a hipster do you loose depth perception?
-Document every single second of a show with a digital camera even if blinds the people around them.
-Get into ridiculous fights with gay men.

So to note on that last point. We are all laughing, dancing, having a great time when all of a sudden this aggro hipster dude starts screaming at a group of uber fashionable gay men and starts up a fight for no apparent reason. There was pushing, there was shoving and it totally ruined the light hearted " I just want to dance my ass off" mood. Tony and Josh being the good guys they are, jumped into break it up to try and end the scuffle quickly so we could all get back to enjoying the show, but of course that only opened up a can hipster worms and led to Muhammad Ali's drunken girlfriend stumbling through an explanation repeatedly about how her boyfriend was a "crazy Palestinian" and how "he'd fuck them up." After the fashionable gay men got kicked out, and the crazy hipster Palestinian dude returned to his drunk girlfriend to make out, the mood was sort of spoiled and we all called it a night. Next time I go to see Justice, I will tell them not to invite their annoying hipster friends.

Did the Great Pumpkin Pass Me By?

2007-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love everything about fall, the crisp smokey smell in the air, the crunching sound of dried leaves, the cool overcast weather that is warm enough to allow you to be outside if you want, but still cold enough to motivate you stay inside and snuggle by a fire. Not to mention the best clothing in the world are fall clothes.. cute boots, jackets, sweaters, knit dresses etc. All of these things help to get me in the mindset for Halloween and Thanksgiving. All of these traits of Autumn are magical, unless you live in Los Angeles where there is no such thing as Fall!!

This past weekend everyone was complaining about the rain and cloudy weather. However, I took full advantage of this weekend and stayed in sweats all day, turned on a fire with our seventiesesk switch-on fire place, baked yummy treats, knitted the scarf I've been working on for Tony for over 2 years and curled up with my cat and watched movies. It was the best weekend I've had in a long time. Having seen LA affected by Fall-like weather for 2 days, I got excited and assumed that this great weather would continue until I turned on the TV today and saw the damn weather report that says the rest of the week is going to by sunny and in the high 70s! Ewww Gross!

So in order to try and keep up the ritual of welcoming the best season ever, I am going to celebrate Fall in my own little controlled environment by doing the following things:

-Continue to wear Fall type clothes but modified to SoCal (i.e. scarves with short sleeve shirts, boots with skirts but no tights :(, light jackets and light sweaters.. maybe I can trick the universe into being colder?
-Buy the best seasonal Fall products stores have to offer, the wondrously amazing Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter and Pumpkin Ale and tiny drops of heaven otherwise known as Candy Corns
-Cook up Fall by making homemade apple cider, soups and stews served with hearty crusty bread, and dishes made with hearty squash
-Burn pumpkin and spice candles to create the illusion of Autumn smells

If anyone else feels the way I do, please feel free to celebrate your own personal Fall with any of the above ideas. In the meantime, I am going to do an "overcast rain dance" and keep my fingers crossed that the clouds come rolling in.

Been a While......

2007-09-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, It's been a long time since I've written a blog and I have probably lost all 5 of my readers! I have been traveling for the past month which has caused my lack of blogging, but I am going to try and blog more frequently. So to get everyone up to speed, this is what's been going on.

- Celebrated Tony and my one year wedding anniversary in Portland and Seattle. I LOVED Portland, it was beautiful, hip, affordable and fun. No sales tax = happy Marta. I got some anniversary ink on my ankle as a nice souvenir. Seattle was cool but much cleaner and slower paced than I would have imagined. I guess I expected a grungy, dirty, flannel Singles(esk) early 90's Seattle. Seattle was still cool, but Portland took the cake.

-Went to NYC for work and got to attend my very first Yankee game which was also the night dreamy all star A-Rod hit 2 home runs in the same inning. I'm not a huge baseball gal but I think I would be if I lived in NY. There is just something magical about Yankee Stadium. Ventured out to the Lower East Side (all thanks to Josh and Jen) and went to Max Fish which was very fun and I got a glimpse into what East Coast Hipsters are like.

-Went to SF for my best friend from 7th grades wedding which was great. Also celebrated my dad's 60th Birthday with a bunch of local yocals who honored him with music, poems and lots of wine.

-Randomly inherited a pair of tickets to the Emmy's this Sunday and got to walk the red carpet and gawk at celebrities with my college buddy Jewls.

-Currently in exciting Dulles Virginia to go to the current yet soon to be former headquarters. Am staying at a hotel with hundreds of middle age portly business men who all look like they are named Bob. I tried to order a bowl of Chicken Soup from room service only to get 3 calls back to re-confirm that I ordered Chicken Soup.. Yes people I just want a fucking bowl of Chicken Soup!

LOVE IS....

2007-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went home from work sick and was bedridden all day. After 2 episodes of Sex and the City, 1 episode of Rock of Love, Practical Magic (yes, I watched and it and still love it) and half of Walk the Line, I was one more show away from being a zombie. My whole body was aching and I was miserable. Then my knight in shining Fred Perry came home with some delicious wonton soup from pick up stix and the best "get well" gift I have ever received... An Optimus Prime Voice Changing Helmet along with some lemon heads and gummy bears. Can a girl really ask for more than that?

Lake Tahoe

2007-08-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Tony and I went to Lake Tahoe to spend time with my family. It was so great to see everyone, especially our two month old baby niece Issabella.

Lake Tahoe was so relaxing. Everytime we go up there I never want to leave. I can't wait to go back.

Luciano

2007-07-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

To all three of you that read my blog (so sad) I apologize for not keeping it updates this past week. Last week was a very rough week for me as I lost a friend to cancer. It's so horrible because he was only 36 and one of the happiest and well humored people I had ever met. What was even more tragic is that he never drank, smoke, or did drugs and exercised everyday. It's so insane that some of the healthiest people can get cancer and at such a young age.

This Saturday I had planned on going to his memorial which I had braced myself for. I thought, I'll stop by just for an hour pay my respects and go but instead I showed up to a full fledged funeral. The minute I opened the door to the little chapel, I knew it was going to be extremely rough. The funeral room was very formal and grim, like a smaller version of the chapel at Fisher and Son's a la Six Feet Under. There were huge red and gold curtains and dark uncomfortable chairs with red satin cushions. Hardest of all, his coffin was at the very front of the room surrounded by his pictures and huge sympathetic floral arrangements. I have never been to an actual funeral in my life. I have always gone to memorials or celebrations of life where people show pictures and sit around and reminisce so it was even harder to go a "real" funeral of a friend and someone who was so young.

After the funeral, I was in a very weird mood, somewhat reflective and saddened which made it very difficult to go the Daft Punk concert that we had planned to attend to for months. When we first arrived, I hated every moment of it. Here I was, coming from an experience of real and true emotions, and I was entering a room with 20,000 people, half of which were in some drug-educed false state of emotions. Walking through a sea of snooty hipsters and drugged out ravers I had so much contempt for everyone. All I could think was "these people spend so much of their life wasted pouring drugs into their bodies or trying to be cooler than everyone." I had contempt for them because they had body free of illness and so much life they didn't appreciate.

I finally knocked myself out of this angry and void state when we found our group of friends and I saw another friend of ours who is in his late twenties and currently battling cancer. Looking at him, knowing that he was in so much pain but living for every moment of the show, I realized that there was no use being angry at strangers and that I should enjoy this experience. The rest of the night I had a great time and danced with my friends but I couldn't help but think occasionally how none of us know exactly how much time we have in our weird little lives. I can only hope that I remember this when I am complaining about stupid things like work, money, etc so I can stop and appreciate everything I currently have.

Sanity

2007-07-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

It's July now and I can't help but feel the theoretical summer glass is half empty. Whenever I think of summer, I think of hanging out by the beach, eating watermelon, and going on lots of vacations. So far, all I feel I have done is go to the beach twice and work. I suppose that's what happens when you get older, summer becomes a season and is no longer an activity. The two things that are keeping my spirts up are knowing that in 3 weeks I will be in Lake Tahoe and next month, we will be off to explore Portland and Seattle. I don't really have too many things to pour my heart out about at the moment so I'm just going to focus on things that are keeping me sane. I apologize for the similarity in format to the last blog. Hopefully I'll feel more inspired after some highly needed vacation time.

Things that are keeping my sanity:
-Coppola Roso : a delicious and cheap blended red table wine. Just 8 bones with your Ralph's Club Card y'all!
-Dryer's Slow Churned Rocky Road Ice Cream - Makes me feel like I've been outside all day
-Feist The Reminder -helps me to mellow out
-Flight of the Conchords - This show always gives me a good solid laugh and I look forward every week to watching it.. I know.. sad.
-My hubby -my rock.

Love it/Hate it

2007-06-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Things I heart:
-Looking up potential vacations for our anniversary
-Knowing that the idea of a vacation exists in our future!
-Ice Blended Mocha on a hot day
-My new Lacoste red, white and blue sneakers
-Seeing The Police Reunite
-Driving a car with a working air conditioning system
-Hanging with my cat

Things I hate:
-DB guys in my building elevator discussing their detox diet of cayenne pepper and lemon juice
-Being inside an artificially lit building when it's 80 degrees and sunny outside
-People being rude to servers at restaurants
-Gas prices
-Cell phones at the gym

Workin' for the Weekend

2007-06-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend one of my oldest and greatest friends Gen game to town to visit. Usually Tony and I try to give the quintessential LA tour but this weekend, all thing LA just naturally came to place. Friday night Tony scored some amazing orchestra seats to Gwen in the OC which was one of the most fun shows I have ever been to. On the way to Irvine, the 10 East couldn't have been more cliche. While we drove under the Arlington exit, 2 gang bangers where thrown up the chain link fence getting hand cuffed by the cops. Gen was very excited to see this first of many LA stereotypes come to life. Anyhoo, Gwen. She was such a blast to see and provided the best encore ever when all of No Doubt surprised the audience and performed 3 songs. I was jumping up and down like a 12 year old and Tony sat silently and reminisced his young ska days...

Saturday we started our day off right by going out to the beach for our friend Josh and Jen's birthday in "the Bu." On the way to the beach we saw paparazzi crazily chasing a BMW down the PCH.. Um does it get more LA then that?! We spent the afternoon at the beach on a perfect mild day then headed back home, only to get stuck on the highway due to a car that was engulfed in flames. All I could think was.. this car is going to blow up any second (a la Christopher in the last episode of the Sopranos) and we are all going to die in a giant fire ball! After we escaped our near death (okay an exaggeration) we hauled ass home to change and go see The Police at Dodger Stadium. We got stuck in the worst traffic I have ever been in and nearly ran out of gas. Once we realized we had no gas and weren't making any headway, we decided that the only way we would not miss the opening song was to abandon my new car (in Echo Park.. I was praying that it would still be there when we got back) and we walked/jogged through Echo Park up to the stadium. We finally got there and were exhausted, out of breath and our lungs stung from breathing in metal chips and smoking brake pad fumes, but we made it just in time to hear SOS and let me tell you, my $10 bud light never tasted so good.

After rocking out to The Police, we finished the night be grabbing a late night bite at one of my favorite spots , Fred 62 and caught a last call White Russian at the Dresden. A perfect end to a truly LA weekend.

I Think I'm in Love

2007-06-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I hit a milestone in my adult life. I purchased my very first new car. Gretchen the GTI has already brought much joy to my life. It's amazing the things that come standard with a car these days. My past car Pepe the Camry (God rest his soul) was a great and reliable car but after driving that car for so many years, I was amazed at any new features just above a cup holder. This is me.... "wow these keys come with one of them new fangled buttons that locks and beeps."

Gretchen purs like a kitten, rides like a cadi, and drives like a race car.... I think I love her.

Office Space

2007-06-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's the strangest thing.... in my years so far in the corporate world, I have found that the head honchos of any corporation have no etiquette what so ever. At my last job, my monster of a Marketing Director was the biggest slob I have ever met. His shirt was always wrinkled, he chewed with his mouth open, and his desk was always covered with old crusty cookie crumbs. I did not understand how someone with who was making a six figure salary could have such crude behavior, especially one that lived in Japan, a country that has manners and etiquette ingrained into every aspect of the culture!

So today at my current job, it was one of our head honchos last days. In honor of his last day, someone went to Toast and picked up some cupcakes to celebrate his departure. After he did a little speech, a few of us were standing around chatting and he proceeded to reach towards me (at which point I am confused for what he is reaching for) and takes a chunk of my chocolate cupcake with his fingers and then eats it! Who does this?! Even if Tony did that I would be disgusted but someone in management.. come on?! That's like having someone lick your slice of pizza or stick their finger in your jar of peanut butter!!! I don't get it if it was supposed to be an endearing thing... where we are like family and he felt it was okay to do since we are all so "close?" Or maybe it was a "this is my last day so I can do whatever I want thing." Regardless, it was nasty and ruined the appeal of my chocolate cupcake with chocolate sprinkles. I don't even think Lumbergh would have done such a disgrace to Milton! LUMBERGH!

Hollywood Freaks in the Hollywood Scene

2007-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended a UCB show of my very talented and very funny friend Mary Catherine. I felt silly going over to the hipster side of Hollywood dressed in my work clothes (most people who attend UCB dress like they are in a "my sneakers are cooler then yours" competition) but I sucked it up drove east. I stopped at a mediocre Sushi place next to the theatre, ate dinner alone for the first time in 3 years (which was actually quite relaxing and enjoyable.. no offense honey) and stared at the huge Scientology Celebrity Center mansion in all it's creepy glory. Afterwards, I picked up a cookie from the sceney coffee shop two doors down, where the barista spoke with a very cunning British accent and I wondered if he was really British or was just some actor rehearsing for a minor role in a Dyson commercial. From there I wondered into the every growing line which I didn't expect at all for a Monday, ate my cookie and read The Onion quietly while I waited to enter the Theatre.

Now, every time I have gone to UCB, I am usually with a group of people talking and not really noticing my surroundings. What a fucking scene that place is! Every person in line was a wanna be comedian/actor but of the extreme case.. I'm talking high school president of the drama club times 10! I mean these people were worse than talent agents, kissing the cheeks of every fellow UCB class mate, interrupting each other every other word to try and top each other with a funnier or wittier comment. I mean I just wanted to stand up on a chair and yell "IT'S OKAY PEOPLE, EACH ONE OF YOU ARE BRILLIANTLY FUNNY AND LOVED" while simultaneously shoving Xanex down their throats. All I could think was just let me in so I can see my very funny friend MCand can stop listening to you crazies, and THANK GOD I don't work at Innovative anymore where I had to deal with people like you on a daily basis!

My First Blog -Magic at the Greek

2007-05-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

I am a blog virgin. This is my first blog ever. Sure, I've written half assed attempt postings on myspace, but those are not real blogs. I really never felt that I was cool/smart enough to have a blog. I thought, what the hell would I write about and who in the hell would want to read it! But last night, I experienced something so amazing that it inspired me to write about it. So here I am, writing my first blog. I secretly hope it becomes an addiction...

I've been to many great concerts in my three and a half year in LA but nothing like the Arcade Fire show last night at the Greek Theatre. Sure I'd seen them at Coachella, but when you are out in 100 degree weather, fighting for an ounce of shade and a cold glass of beer, and there are so many bodies running around in gold Lemay ridiculousness, it's hard to concentrate on any band, no matter how great they are.

Initially I entered the show annoyed as Tony and I spent 30 minutes in traffic just trying to park. Once we finally wedged our car between a Honda Element and a giant tree amongst a sea of cars, we sprinted to the theatre, our hearts tearing every time we hear the crowd applaud wildly. We finally arrived at our seat in row 7A (which was only a few rows back from the stage and the closest I have ever seen a band at a venue of that size) immediately I forgot about how tired I was from my work day and how I hated moving an inch every 5 minutes just to park our damn car!

The 10 members of the Arcade Fire were the most mesmerizing people I have ever witnessed. Each member was wildly running around stage switching off instruments, yelling into bull horns, smashing down on organ keys, banning on drums, and singing as though their lives depended on it. The entire crowd could sense that every ounce of energy this band had was being poured into each song. The energy was so strong that you felt as if you were going to cry at any point because you were witnessing something incredible that wouldn't be created exactly the same again.

Now, excuse me while I get even more hippie here but just being in the outdoors, surrounded by trees and engulfed in a full moon made this show incredibly magical. There was this weird mesh of smells that filled the air too that added to the experience. The fresh and clean smell of soap, mixed with nutty pine trees and of course the pungent scent of weed coming from the people behind me. All those smells together oddly reminded me of my family's camping trips and how the simplicity of being in nature with great people made me so happy. All of this came back to me and made me so delighted that Tony had dragged me out to a show I thought I was "too tired" to go to.

This was a once and a life time show that one could not shake off. The bands energy was like a drug that made it's way into the blood stream of the audience. Even the numb hipsters and industry snobs in row 7A were dancing. A true testimate to this is Tony, who no matter what show he attends never does more than cross his arms and bob his head. Tony was dancing, singing and clapping with the rest of us who were letting their inner band geek shine on.

I hope everyone can experience a show like this in their lifetime. It was the type of show that motivated you to your core. It made you wish you hadn't had quit your "oh so uncool" violin in 7th grade only to waste your talents at Suzuki Book 5. It made you want to go find bits of shrapnel and start a modern day jug band. It gave you faith, that in a world where so much shit music is shoved down your throat on a daily basis, somewhere in the universe exists talented, innovative musicians who had found their own way with out compromising their own musical style and still"made it."