F.I.B.s

This weekend we went up to a Wisconsin for a friend's wedding - it was really beautiful and fun. The reception was held at The Family Farm - a petting barn, so we did some heavy petting before the reception, which featured a marvelous un-stuffy dinner of pulled pork and potato salad, which we gobbled up after being be-bibbed by the bride's mother.
M & M stay clean
After the wedding we stayed at at lovely little B&B in Cedar-Something, WI. It's a real cute little town whose entire socio-economic system seems to be completely built upon bakeries and candy shops. It also had approximately 3 Lutheran churches per square mile. I fear there are not enough hungry people to keep this town in business. Also Lutherans are notorious spendthrifts. Why buy a fancy truffle that was probably made by papists when you could make something jest as good with that frozen cookie dough at the Piggly Wiggly? So.

In ten years, I predict the town will be revived for a third time as a llama destination or something, and they'll give tours like this: "Cedar So-and-So started out as a mill-town that suffered an economic collapse at the advent of mass transportation and the preponderouslessness of the railroad car. In the early aughts it was revived into a bakery and chocolatier economy, which ultimately failed due to rising levels of diabetes and obesity, not to mention intense pressure from local Lutheran groups who believed the town was "putting on airs" with its Belgian chocolates and its Italian coffee. For years, Cedar ___ was little more than a ghost town, until a number of local llama farmers propelled the town from obscurity to world-class wool production. Or maybe alpacas." ¡Cuidado! ¡Ay Llamas!
Does anybody else remember this awesome bit on Sesame Street called "Me and My Llama"? It's about this kid who takes her llama to the dentist (in NYC for some reason?) Anyway, it's like, the best song you'll ever hear about a girl who takes her llama to the dentist. So, like, this llama was really grouchy and hissing and spitting (this is the wedding reception llama, not the Sesame Street thing), but later, he seems to warm up to me. And s/he* let me scratch it's head, and then. And Then! The llama put it's head very close to my head and it's fuzzy face-yness rubbed against my face, and I like to think he was whispering to me, "You're my true companion." My actual companions said s/he was probably just thinking about biting my ear.
A tiny baby miniature horse that resisted
being held in my arms like the tiny little baby it is. ):
But these sheep, these sheep were eating out of my hand.
*Honestly, I don't know the sex of the llama, but it was recently pointed out to me that most people assume all animals are male, which is kind of dumb, right?

Bons Mots

I had another not-so-great weekend because that cold I had last weekend reared its ugly head again. But, I'm always happy when I've got my one true love by my side, so it wasn't so bad. We watched a marathon of Californication, which I think is really hot, and is also encouraging me to curse even more than I do already. *gasp*

M and I went to see MicMacs: à Tire-Larigot. It's a new film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, City of Lost Children...) It's not as terrific as Amelie or City of Lost Children, but it's still pretty awesome, and we had a good time. The lead, Dany Boon, is a fantastic physical actor and comedian, who reminded me a lot of Rowan Atkinson and Roberto Benini. Incredible sets. The title translates to something like Shenanigans all the Time. It's about a man who joins this kind of rag-tag group of folks and together they try to take down a weapons manufacturer and a bullet-manufacturer. Dirty business. As in Amelie, Jeunet makes the film at once very old fashioned and very current. One of the characters loves proverbs and my french is just not so great to catch them all, but I know they weren't all directly translated, which is a shame. (I also love proverbs, in fact, I have a very good book of French ones if you do too called Les Bons Mots: How to Amaze Tout Le Monde with Everyday French.)

Husband made all my dreams come true and got me a hammock stand, now our backyard is something of a suburban wonderland, requiring only health and consistent sunshine to make it complete.

War with the Newts

Last night I saw a fantastic play produced by Next Theatre: War With the Newts, directed by Jason Loewith. My theatre-going-pal, M, is a fan of his and I'm so glad she invited me to this show! It was a really remarkable production.

The play is based on the 1936 book by Karel Capek, whose name Husband not only easily pronounced but also had some familiarity with his œuvre. (It turns out this guy invited the word "robot" back in 1921 in his book R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots. Yo. He knows that shit. I love him.) In the story, people discover and quickly learn to exploit this race of newts (or salamanders). And, then... the newts fight back!

Next Theatre employs a number of theatrical elements to tell the story, like puppets and slides and video, but rather than letting those things run away with the show (as they often do) it was really elegantly done. The art direction was stunning - it's amazing what they did to create mood and atmosphere. Deceptively simple set design. Really terrific performances by all.

The story is SO topical - exploitation of the sea (hello, oil crisis), capitalism run amok, disregard for well-being of others, alas, those universal themes are still hanging around our necks today. (Lately I had cause to marvel about how these "old" stories are surprisingly relevant today, and then I got surprised at my own surprise - human drama hasn't changed that much since Plato started writing.) I encourage you to check it out if you're in the Chicago area...

Oh, Cruel Fate

Finally, a long weekend, and boy did I need it! Alas, I woke up with a cold on Sat. morning and didn't shake it all weekend. That was super-sad and cut into my puttering-around-in-the-garden time, replacing it with laying-around-watching-crappy-tv, which I do all the time anyway. I rallied, because I had a lovely visitor from DC - my good friend, N, and we had a Memorial Day party today. It rained (ARG!) but we all had a nice time indoors.

I guess the question is, why do I think the universe is going to make things go my way? It hardly ever does, and yet I get upset when I get sick on a long weekend. Got to work on that. What do you think, Barbara?

*rubs hands together*

Oh, Sarah Palin! She never disappoints me. She's always got a little something to distract us from, oh, 210,000 gallons of oil that are gushing PER DAY into the Gulf of Mexico for the past MONTH. My idea? Soak it up with all the jerks that chanted Drill Baby Drill along with who? Oh yes, Palin.

She's oddly silent on the oil spill, but lately Palin did declare herself a feminist and set the (actual) feminist blog-o-sphere a-fire with mighty chuckles and reminders that, no, you can't just CALL yourself a feminist and make it so, just like I can't call myself a vegetarian and eat meat for dinner.

If you've been following along, you'll know that Meghan Daum in the LA Times wrote, "... I feel a duty (a feminist duty, in fact) to say this about Palin's declaration: If she has the guts to call herself a feminist, then she's entitled to be accepted as one." Well, sure, I might have the guts to call myself a size 2, but I will never be accepted as one.

So, Palin calls herself a feminist, for who knows what reason. Maybe she's confused about the meaning of the word, or maybe she's co-opting it for political reasons or whatever, but, by most people's definition, she's clearly not a feminist. She doesn't fight for women's rights, she actively fights against them. Done. Not a feminist. Meanwhile, in response to this, true feminists are calling her out on it. And then the types of asshats who troll feminist blogs pop up and say, Hey, lady, who are you to say who is and who ain't a feminist? And that's the part that makes me rub my hands together. It's a simple lesson but it gets forgotten: Words Mean Things.

More theatre! Food! and a New Movie!

Another fine Friday night at the theatre - this week to see Stage Door at Theatre Building Chicago. It was written in 1936 by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman and is surprisingly current! A real theatre-lover's kind of play about art and integrity and truth, etc.

Sat. night, Husband and I had a fine and much-anticipated date at Frontera Grill where all gastronomical desires were met. No Rick Bayless sightings.

I made another mini-movie culled from an Actual Conversation! Enjoy!

Item!

Anyone watching American Idol? By the time it gets to the end, who cares? Am I right? I like that Siobhan person, and Crystal. But otherwise it's totally snoresville. This week's Glee was terrific - I've been waiting for Neil P. Harris to guest star ever since that show came on the air. I Dreamed a Dream was awesome, in a way I never thought it could be awesome post-Susan-Boyle. I found myself mildly outraged as Kevin McHale's character Artie (spoilers!) got up out his wheelchair and sang "You Can Dance" but, the dancing was friggin' incredible and it turns out it was just a (spoiler!) dream anyway. I watched that sequence twice. I like how they shot it flash-mob style. Oh, snap! I just found out Joss Whedon directed that episode. Well, that explains everything.

I'm also watching Modern Family and Parenthood, although I think I'm going to drop Parenthood, despite it's stellar cast, because of it's ridiculously hackneyed story lines. That show plays like a G.D. 1980's family dramedy. It's like watching freakin' Family Ties or some shit. But Modern Family's good television.

recapping

We had a really awesome, busy weekend just past - I saw Cabaret with a friend at the Hypocrites theatre. I work with the actress who plays Sally Bowles and she's just incredible. She sang the most desperate version of Life is a Cabaret I've ever heard. It's a bold, brave performance and it's absolutely impossible for the audience not to be effected by the story. Some of themes in the play really reminded me of The Plot Against America, which I read recently.

Sat. we went to the posh Violet Hour and even had to stand outside in a line to get in, which made me feel super hip (for once). M ordered a drink called the "Tattooed Seaman", and so, you know, the jokes told themselves. And, Sunday we mucked around in the garden and then had a lovely dinner with friends.

Next week there is more theatre and more fancy dinners - I happened to make a reservation for Frontera Grill approximately three months ago (you read that right) and it's finally come around. More on that to come!

poetry time

Befriending Our Feelings

How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at
the beginning of all races - the myths about dragons that
at the last moment are transformed into princesses.
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses
waiting for us to act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest
essence, something helpless that wants our love.

So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises before
you larger than any you've ever seen, if an anxiety like
light and cloud shadows moves over your hands and
everything that you do. You must realize that something
has happened to you; that life has not forgotten you; it
holds you in its hands and will not let you fall. Why do
you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any
miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know
what work these conditions are doing inside you.

RAINER MARIA RILKE, Letters to a Young Poet

Sundays!

Lately we've been in this horrible routine where something in our house drastically breaks/floods/smokes/causes heartache on Sunday afternoon. Last week it was the washer, this week the GD refrigerator. Then, instead of merrily passing the day desperately trying to pretend we don't have to go to work tomorrow, we have to stress out and call appliance people/plumbers and beg them to come to our house in exchange for large amounts of money - cash - even, if they'll only come and allow us to carry on our ridiculous charade that the weekend goes on forever. And it ruins any good feeling we'd desperately built since leaving the office Friday evening.

It remains to be seen whether an elusive part will heal the machine or we'll have to get a new one. The only bright spot is that we could get an in-door ice crusher, which we've dreamed about lo' these many years.

Anyway, it's Mother's Day, and, per usual, I was unable to get moi's mother on the phone and only hope that she checked her email for my slightly unorthodox gift, which was a donation of 15 yards of fabric through Global Giving to a project for women in Uganda. I've been sort of dreaming about what the fabric might look like and hope that it's akin to the fabrics seen on the excellent HBO series No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Have you seen it? I've read most of the books too and it's really very, very good. Happy M Day, Momma. Love you...

Kick Ass

After Kick Ass came out, I heard that it had really graphic violence along the lines of Kill Bill and decided I was out. Then I heard it had a young girl (age 11 or 12?) who swore alot, and in fact, I heard that the graphic violence was disturbing but the little girl swearing was even MORE disturbing, and then I was like, I'm in.

Any way, we just saw it, and I'll tell you that the violence was pretty graphic, but not much more than like, any other violent movie out there, and that the little girl swearing was not disturbing. She says the "c" word (which I do not like nor use myself) once, and she says some other stuff. Of course, I am not disturbed or intimidated or frightened by women or girls expressing themselves, as many people are, which is where I'm quite sure all this nonsense about ohmygodit'ssodisturbingI'mgoingtocallmylocalrepresentativeanddosomethingaboutthis is coming from.

Which is not to say that it's a kids' movie or that even 10% of my vast reading audience would enjoy it.

I mostly thought it was merely representative of The Professional although not nearly as good. Because the movie is clearly about the actress (who's pretty cool - check out this NYT profile on her) and when it comes down to it, the character is really one dimensional (fault of script, not actress.)

Her IMDB is hilarious - it's like:
Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too
My Friends Tigger & Pooh's Friendly Tail
Pooh's Super Sleuth Christmas Movie
Jack and the Beanstalk
Kick Ass

Next she's in an American remake of Let the Right One In. Ah, kids. They grow up so fast, don't they?

Douchebaggery

So, while we were in South Beach, we were having breakfast at a cafe, and this gigantic dbag sits down next to us and absolutely SCREAMING into his cell phone has the most inane conversation I ever heard. Naturally, I rushed home to write it all down and present to you one of probably first in a long, long series of total dbags being themselves.

South Beach

We went on a little mini-break to South Beach last week. I was in desperate need of a vacation. It was super-relaxing and really fun. We stayed at the very posh Shore Club. We splurged on an ocean-view room with a balcony and had to make tough decisions every day like, Do we sit next to one of the pools or by the ocean today? And, What type of fruity cocktail shall I ask for the next time the waiter comes around? Aside from laying around and drinking cocktails, we took lovely walks along the boardwalk at night and checked out the art deco hotels on Ocean Boulevard. And I bought some really cute sandals, which, now that we're back in Chicago, I realize I won't be able to wear for some time.Ready for the beach
Lounging
Miami Style
2gether 4Evah!
View from our balcony

I am an effing ROCK STAR!

I've been meaning to do this for some time but finally found the right materials - namely some tape and M's old music stand, furled. Now I can play the guitar AND sing. At. The. Same. Time. It is awesomely awesome and I'm in Rock Band Heaven.

Will someone please send me one of those harmonica things you put around your neck? I need one.

The garden

The garden is blooming and things are looking gorgeous. Pa and I are hoping it's going to be a good growin' season for tomaters.* Here are some lovely things:Aren't these Bleeding Hearts amazing? They look like jewels.
Kaya in the sun
A slightly obscene tulip.
*We planted radish seeds a few days ago and they're already starting to come up - apparently they only take 21 days to come to fruition or whatever. I'm excited about an early harvest!

Another installment

Ah - I found an interior that's less dorm room. Another (I'm sure you'll agree) fascinating look at our lives.

A re-enactment

Found this really cool "animation" software via Non-Working Monkey a hilarious blog I read.

Like that? There'll be more. Much more.

stuff I like

Last weekend M and I saw How to Train Your Dragon. Neither of us knew very much about it, but the 'Tomato rating was so high we thought we'd better go see what all the fuss was about. We saw it in 3D, natch, and, it was really terrific. The 3D was super-exciting (like riding a dragon!), the animation was really gorgeous, and the story was fun and smart. I couldn't help but compare to Avatar, which was also about flying mythical creatures and had great 3D but the lamest story of all time. I thought the animation in 'Dragon was MUCH better than Avatar and (I don't think I'll ruin either story for you by saying that) UNLIKE Avatar, 'Dragon had a really positive message to make about persons with disabilities.

I read this great interview recently on Feministing by an artist named Sunaura Taylor who talks about persons with body impairments that really made me think for about 2 straight weeks, which I appreciate. I encourage you to read it.

I've watched this commercial about six thousand times since it first came out because I just LOVE the way it was created and the vibe is SO fun. There's a free download of the song on Amazon - go get it!

Happy Easter!

What a lovely easter - we had friends over for brunch and then hung out in the garden enjoying the sunshine. Now it's pouring rain with thunder and lightning! Eek!

I made a crrrrraft for some young chickadees that came today. They're chicks dressed like rabbits, see?

movies!

This weekend we saw The Runaways. I honestly don't know that much about them, but I read this book recently, Lonely Werewolf Girl? And the werewolf girl was really into them. It was a pretty good movie, but it was a tiny bit sad because it could have been much more. It didn't have much more drama then your average Behind the Music on VH1. I found the Runaway's manager creepy in a Silence-of-the-Lambs-kind-of-way, although a friend of mine said he thought he was the best part of the show. Kristen Stewart makes mullet look good. Alia Shawkat (from Arrested Development and Whip It) was sadly under-used.

Also saw Alice in Wonderland on opening weekend, like The Runaways, I thought it could have been so much more. While it was perfectly pleasant to watch, it didn't really make a lasting impression or give me anything to think about, or bring anything new to the oft-told story.

Also got around to watching Push, I mean Precious, on blu-ray. It was very good, although not as good as the book, which I encourage you to start reading today. Gabourey Sidibe was as fabulous as everyone said she was. I love that girl!

Husband arranged a Short Circuit viewing party, which was amusing, but, even poor husband admitted that the movie was a bit longer than anyone could dream possible.

everything's coming up rose campions

Check it out: here are our plants coming up less than 2 weeks after we started the seeds. It's VERY exciting. M & I enjoy mothering them and admiring their progress everyday. Think will start playing classical music for them...Those are tomatoes on the left, rose campion in the middle, and basil on the bottom.

Poked around in the yard and the rhubarb is coming up, as well as a couple of tulips. Some of our herbs are returning and the lamb's ear is re-invigorating itself. Oh, the garden is going to be so pretty!

skiing!

Yesterday we went skiing up in Wisconsin! We used to go to Lake Tahoe for skiing weekends when we lived in California and it was so fun. Wisconsin is no Tahoe, but it was ok. Actually, the "mountains" of Wisconsin are more in line with my skill-set than like, real mountains. M wanted to learn how to snowboard and unfort. had a sort of awful day because he fell down a lot, which is only natural when you're learning to snowboard. But, I didn't fall down at all! And in fact I was very good! I have a couple of tricks to skiing which are:
1. get kinda drunk and
2. follow some moving target (like a little kid).
3. Do not fixate or even look at a non-moving target (like a tree)
Here's M following rule 1.

Peary, Peary, Quite Contrary

M and I started some seeds tonight - we planted some flowers from his grandmother's garden, which hopefully will come out nicely, and a bunch of tomatoes and some herbs. Makes me very positive about spring even though there's still snow on the ground. It's amazing how small they are. I've got an hibiscus pod and seedlings in my hand, and M's got tomatoes there...

Also, because I can't stop, here's a very sad pear.

more amigurumi

I'm still having fun making amigurumi - may have hooked A on it as well as guided her through an ice cream cone which was SUPER cute. I'm especially proud of this little turtle... These little eyes are making all the difference!

satiated

This weekend I had a visit from my good friend A - I took off Friday and we had a full sched of chatting, museum-ing, eating great food, drinking a ton of wine and plotting her move to the Chicago area. After a three-day weekend smashed full of good times (including an awesome book club on Friday night) it's with a heavy heart that I think about going back to work tomorrow. -__-

It's also with a heavy heart (literally) that I think about not eating gourmet food for a few days! My goodness, we did some indulgent eating! Friday afternoon we had brunch at Tweet, Sat. afternoon, lunch at Terzo Piano (the new rest. in the Modern Wing of the Art Inst. It was très chic - check out the dining room below) - handmade tagliatelle and lamb ragu - Sat. evening, dinner at Ante Prima. I was adventurous and ordered Amish chicken liver and gizzard risotto. It was decadent. M ordered a lemon panna cotta that made me realize, for perhaps the first time, that dessert doesn't have to have chocolate in it. Lunch this afternoon at de Cero on the way to the airport. Passion Fruit Margarita, up? Yes, please! Goat cheese tamales? Why not.

An Education

Saw An Education with my mom this weekend - we both really enjoyed it. It's based on a memoir by Lynn Barber as her experience as a school girl in England who had a relationship with an older man. The screenplay is written by Nick Hornby, which surprised me at first because I was all, Hornby can't write about a girl. But, he does, and very well!

The main character, Jenny, is 16 and from a working-class neighborhood of London. She's being sent to a private school by her parents, who hope that she'll go to Oxford one day. She's extremely bright and precocious. She manages to end her sentences with n'est pas and be charming, rather than completely obnoxious. Although her parents want the best for her, her life is mostly about studying and it's only when she meets the dashing David that she begins to go to concerts, auctions (where she bids on a painting at David's encouragement) and eventually go to Paris for the weekend. I don't believe I'll ruin it for you by saying that what Jenny begins to question is why she's working so hard on her education, when a degree from Oxford for a young woman in the early 1960s will only either land her either a teaching job or a marriage. I thought the story was really subtle and smart, witty and very thoughtful. Loved the supporting characters, played by Dominic Cooper (hello) and Rosamund Pike.

Carey Mulligan is absolutely etherial as Jenny, and Alfred Molina is terrific as her dad. Peter Sarsgaard used to creep me out, but he's very suave lately. I thought he had a Ewan McGregor/Colin Firth quality in this movie. Costumes were gorgeous, without being costume-y. Awesome soundtrack - introduced me to Juliette Gréco, my what I've been missing!

amigurimi

Lately I've been amusing myself by making amigurumi, which means "tiny cute thing made of yard" in Japanese. Think I'm joking? So far I've made a Humpty Dumpty, a robot, a carrot, a rabbit and an apple. Cute, huh? If you want to give it a try, here are some patterns. I didn't use a pattern for these, I just got started, and then the creature emerged from the yarn.

Trust Women

This year's Blog for Choice day theme is Trust Women. Look, I get furious, fast, that safe and accessible reproductive health care is not available to Americans, so, when someone asks me, "What does Trust Women mean to you?" my answer is What kind of effing a-hole doesn't believe women should be trusted to make their own GD choices about her own body?

I suppose rage and fury aren't exactly the most useful techniques for battling ignorance and prejudice, but that's how I feel. The alternative to safe and accessible reproductive health is not no abortion, it's unsafe abortions.

Honor women, honor her choices.

Blog for Choice Day (coming soon)

Blog for Choice Day is Jan. 22 - will you be writing?

In honor of Dr. George Tiller, who often wore a button that simply read, "Trust Women," this year's Blog for Choice question is:

What does Trust Women mean to you?

Skinny

So, over on my book blog, Bookish, I wrote this review for a YA book called Skinny, and it's probably the most popular thing I've ever written. It's almost two years old, but it still gets comments. If you would like to read something very amusing, I encourage you to go there, and read said comments, who appear to mostly by young woman who have a book report due tomorrow.

I mostly avoid giving away endings on my book blog because I assume that someone might read my review and perhaps be inspired to read it themselves and I don't want to spoil it. Writing my book blog has drastically increased my memory for the books I read, but not necessarily the endings (which I specifically don't write about). So, actually, I can't even remember how it ends, but if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell them! What does they think teh internet iz? Gawd.

Is it over?

Today we took down the tree and put away the Christmas decorations. Sad. Now we just have to slog through the rest of winter and hopefully squeeze in a trip to a warm-weather location during the intolerable month of February.

Thought I would share a few fun things from our decorations - a gingerbread house and a happy little sugarman. I love the Necco wafers as shingles!

And here's our method of displaying xmas cards - hang two decorative ribbons in the hallway and attach cards with wooden clothes pins. I couldn't bare to take them down yet - I love looking at the cards from everybody we love (and loves us!)

Movies

Over Christmas break we saw several movies in LA - Sherlock Holmes, which was very amusing and fun to watch. So what if the plot's kind of dumb, Jude Law and Robert D. Jr. are in it! It's directed by Guy Ritchie, but, you can still understand it. Mostly. I also saw Young Victoria with and old friend and my sister. It's very pretty to watch and has a somewhat boring plot (highlights include a dull bit on the so-called "Bedchamber Crisis" which is the sort of thing Victorians get in a knot over) but it was quite romantic and had gorgeous costumes and a lot of kissing, the kind with both hands on a persons face and is uh, very nice. Victoria's husband is super-hot, in an Orlando Bloom kind of way.

Sure, those movies suffered from perhaps too much focus on style and less on story-line, but after watching Daybreakers this weekend they rise considerably in my winter-movie estimation (is it Oscar season yet?) Now, you know I love a zombie apocalypse movie, but this one, I can tell you, is NOT worth watching (baring a booze- and shenanigan-filled evening, the result of a dare, mayhaps.) In it, the world is populated mostly by vampires, who live somewhat civilized lives as businesspeople and truck drivers and gardeners and whatnot, only they drink human blood, and almost all the humans are extinct because ... you know. So, the vampires are going to die too. Except for this one vampire? Ethan Hawke? Who's a pathologist? He's looking for a cure. Willem Dafoe's in it too and he has this accent that was surely based on Foghorn Leghorn.

What's really funny is, I'm pretty sure they were going for some kind of Mad Men thing with the costumes and the attitude, but everyone just comes off looking like a maître d'. The ending was so moronic everyone laughed and pointed. But, not as loud as we did during this preview. It actually has a taglines that reads, "Terrifying! Will do for skiing what Jaws did for swimming!"

Holiday Recap Pt. 3

On the last few nights of our trip, thanks to the arrival of our parents, we were able to do something heretofore impossible since the arrival of the beloved nephew: go out at night. So, we stuck those two suckers with baby-sitting duty and hit Tiki-Ti (the tiniest tiki bar I've ever been to with amazing drinks).

And then hopped over to the Dresden. You may remember the Dresden from Swingers - this couple, Marty and Elaine, have been playing there for something like 20 years. Their rendition of Norah Jones's Don't Know Why remains stuck in my head (no matter how hard I try to get it out!) The restaurant is totally Mad Men, and I said next time we should hit the thrift store first, get all Joaned-out, and go for dinner.

On New Years Eve we had the opportunity to watch L play while we noshed on a great food whilst drinking bubbling libations. What a fine evening! New Years Day was rounded out with a nice brunch and two (!) celebrity sightings (that guy from Blink 182 and Gary Sinese.)

Holiday Recap Pt. 2

When we left Lake Arrowhead and went back to the city, we went to the Griffith Park Light Festival, which, perhaps pales in comparison to my hometown's annual light show at the city park (organized by my uncle), but is nevertheless an extremely amusing adventure.
We also satisfied a long-held desire to hang out on the Standard rooftop and lounge around.

Holiday Recap Pt. 1

Just got back from a marvelous trip to LA to visit my sister, brother-in-law and Nephew. We had a marvelous time despite poor M being sick (he's a good sport, that one) that I cried big, embarrassing tears almost all the way home. We rented a cabin for Christmas in Lake Arrowhead which is just a few hrs drive from my sister's place - very beautiful and we found a cozy little spot...