a list after my own heart

Someone posted this on Facebook today and it's -- rightfully -- making the rounds. Numbers 5, 6 and 9 are three of my biggest peeves ever! If I get a resume with any of those not used properly, I automatically disregard it. People need to learn the language. Seriously. It's not that difficult. 

springtime in january

It was 80 degrees this weekend and recent rain, combined with the heat, has accelerated the appearance of weeds in my garden. So yesterday, instead of a typical workout, I spent three hours weeding my front garden and all of my potted plants (which were full of leaves due to the recent winds). You can burn 200 calories an hour by weeding your garden, ya know ;)

I found a flat of 12 primroses for a mere $8.99 Saturday at Costco, so I also planted those in the pots on my patio that were previously home to a bunch of begonias that died. So pretty and colorful!

And check out my cute froggie planter pals! I hate real frogs but really love these :) I found Mr. Frog in Oak Glen last October on our annual apple and pumpkin trip. Then I was lucky enough to find Mrs. Frog in Solvang at the end of November. They are a perfect pair! 

"une délicieuse cuisine" above la

I have a big birthday coming up in three weeks and everyone has been constantly asking me, "What are we doing for your birthday?" The pressure! So in an effort to find a unique, fun place to hang that also has good food, my dear friend Cwennen and I went out last night on a reconnaissance mission to check out two places in Downtown LA.

The first stop was Perch, a French bistro and bar "perched" on the roof of a 15-story building near Pershing Square. The view of downtown on a clear, January night (that had been 80 degrees during the day) was beautiful! This photo doesn't do it justice...

We sat out on the patio, on the side of the building facing the Square, near a fire pit occupied by a bunch of friends chatting over cocktails.

Our lovely waitress Carlina was magnifiquès! She gave us great drink and appetizer recommendations, answered questions about the space/who to contact for private events and checked in on us often. We had read about some amazing-sounding blue-cheese poppers on the website. Sadly, that was on the old menu with the old chef. Carlina apologized but recommended a new starter -- baked Brie cheese sticks with a (what I think was) raspberry sauce. They were awesome! She also helped Cwennen choose a "Jacques Collins" (gin, lemon juice, soda and saffron) over a "French Maid" (cognac, lemon juice, simple syrup w/muddled cucumber & mint) cocktail. I went with the "My Fair Lady," a French cosmo (of course) with quinoa vodka, cranberry, lime and crème de peche. It was sweet, but good. Not too weak, not too strong.

For my entree, I went with the new chef's Steak Frites, which wasn't on the online menu either (Carlina noted they really need to update that!).

My medium-cooked steak was topped with grilled onion and a patty of blue cheese that eventually melted all over my meat as I sliced. It was really, really tasty! As were the perfectly cooked (crispy on the ends, soft in the middle) "frites."

Cwennen had the Bonbon Risotto of sweet corn and pea tendrils with a parmesan crisp. It was also yummy, but could've used a little more greens... we decided small pieces of asparagus would be perfecto!

Overall, the dinner was delish, and the restuarant has a really relaxing, cheerful vibe... accented by the French music (my new, make-me-happy music of choice over the last month since watching Midnight in Paris) playing at just the right volume over the sound system outside.

Perch is a definite possibility for the birthday extravaganza. There is a huge parking lot across the street, as well as two metro stops nearby (either 4th Street or Pershing Square), so transportation should be easy for people. Next I just have to email and get the scary quote on reserving either part of the patio or the safer (since my birthday is in the middle of winter and there is no guarantee it will be 80 degrees that day ;) inside performance space that Carlina says people can reserve from 7-9 for private events.

Souhaitez moi bonne chance! (That's "Wish me luck in French" ;) Because the other place we went to after Perch -- The Edison -- while in a very cool, underground, industrial space with a fun roaring '20s vibe, was just too loud and too crowded for my liking.

cool cabinets

My friend/coworker/poker pal Maureen just bought what she is now referring to as her "money pit" in the Hollywood Hills (across the street from a certain recently-engaged former boy band singer, now pop superstar/actor with the initials of J and T. So she's on the "Homes of the Stars" Tour route. Yay! Not.) Anyway, the house was very '80s when she got it, and while there is still a lot more work she wants to do, especially with the bathrooms and her kitchen, it's looking really amazing. She now has beautiful brown hardwood floors to die for and the house has great high ceilings and tons of windows looking out on the green hills around her, the tall trees protecting that neighbor's property from lookie-loos, and even the "H" in the Hollywood sign. The kitchen, while needing new appliances and redone cabinets, came with this amazing cabinet for glassware that does NOT need to be redone... well, unless it is expanded. (This isn't even all of her glassware. :)  And her bedroom closet is the one closet I've seen since buying my house that makes me jealous -- she has built-ins with sliding trays for her shoes. Ahhh. Oh and a sauna. She wants to flip the house eventually. Wonder if I'll be rich by then....

the good, the bad and the oscar noms

The Oscar(R) nominations were announced early this morning. My tradition is to record the live announcement on E! at 5:30a.m. and then watch when I wake up. Today's announcements -- viewed on TiVo at approximately 6:40a.m. -- were a little surprising...

• Good surprise: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting nominated for Best Picture! There seems to be a backlash going against this film because of their nomination today though. Apparently people don't think it is worthy. Or feel it was just produced as Oscar-bait that the Academy fell for. Whatever. It is a film with great performances that makes you really feel something. I loved it. 
• Bad surprise: The Tree of Life was also nominated for Best Picture. This means I now have to watch it. Ugh. Have not heard good things about it from anyone. And my head already hurts from day-to-day work crazy. I don't need my "entertainment" to strain it more. Oh, and btw, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was NOT nominated for Best Picture. (But sadly, that wasn't a surprise.)
• Good surprise: Hugo -- my fave surprise of screener season -- leads all films with 11 nominations
• Bad surprise: Cars 2 and Golden Globe + PGA Winner The Adventures of TinTin did not get nominated for Best Animated Feature. Eek. 

The acting categories had a few snubs and a few surprises too, but overall, nothing shocking. And it's not like I'm going to complain about a category of noms that means more live coverage of George Clooney and Brad Pitt in tuxes. ;) 

a gordie howe hat trick

It's not often one gets to witness the elusive "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" (a goal, an assist and a fight, all by one player in one game) live and in person. So I feel the need to document this awesome experience, and to share it with you. It was pretty cool... especially since it came from one of the most unlikely (at least where the goal and assist are concerned) of LA Kings players -- Kyle Clifford. Oh, and because the Kings won 4-1. Yay! They are now tied for 1st in the Pacific going into the All-Star break.

bowlin' bowlin' bowlin'....

Went bowling at PINZ in Studio City yesterday to use an about to expire Groupon. It was fun. I miss bowling. I used to do it a lot back home in Thousand Oaks before the bowling alley became a Borders, which became an out-of-business empty building. In fact, I took bowling as my college phys ed course :) 

I took this cool retro shot of our bowling balls using a new app called Retro Camera on my Droid. I was just starting to get the hang of it and like it until I realized this morning that it somehow wiped out all the other photos I'd taken on my phone. So, enjoy this one and only retro shot. Retro Camera has been uninstalled. 

my fave filmmaker's "face"

A pal posted this to Google+ back in December, but I just got around to reading my feed and found it. It's pretty fascinating. It's amazing what you see over and over again, and even love, but don't really think about until someone points it out to you.

 

for the return to runyon

My Runyon workout buddy is always trying to make me do painful things like sit-ups on the benches at the top of Runyon Lookout. But these moves -- Self.com: 8 Moves to Firm Up in Fresh Air Workouts -- are much more in line with what I do now at Pop Physique. So that means they shouldn't hurt as much as the dreaded sit-ups (on a hard wood bench)... right? ;) Maybe if the weather cooperates I'll go try a few out tomorrow.

happy friday!

My 84-year-old grandpa in New Mexico sends me tons of forwarded emails. (Tons.) In my inbox today was an email titled "The Positive Side of Life." It included lots of clip art with positive statements about life on earth. This statement stuck out and made me smile:

"We could learn a lot from crayons: all are different colors.... but they all exist very nicely in the same box."

Speaking of a lot of different colors (or breeds... if you will) co-existing nicely in the same space, the latest viral video from the awesome VW agency -- a teaser for their "Big Game" commercial -- hit the web earlier this week. LOVE THIS! And I really hope mini-Darth Vader will be back in some way, shape or form on "Big Game Day" :)

products i love: yummy goodness

After yet another crazy day at work (that once again proved change is inevitable) and a rather challenging Pilates workout, I came home and treated myself to one of the Skinny Cow vanilla ice cream sandwiches I got for free this weekend (with the purchase of six lean cuisines from Le' Target). I haven't had a lot of ice cream in the last year and this was yummy goodness.... at a mere 140 calories! 

adorkable overload

What's my fave new show this tv season? If you'd asked me back in October, I would have given some highfalutin answer like Person of Interest. And while I do enjoy that drama from the mind of the awesome JJ Abrams, I have to say the new show I most look forward to each week is the adorkable (yes, I just said that) New Girl, starring queen of the adorkables, Zooey Deschanel. It's not like it's ground-breaking TV. And it's never going to unseat Friends as my fave sitcom of all time. But New Girl makes me happy. From the cute theme song ("Who's that girl?.... Who's that girl?.... It's Jess!") to the totally stereotypical three guy roommates who all secretly crush on Jess in their own adorkable (yes I said it again) ways, the show just makes me smile. Maybe it's because I secretly wish I could be as cute, quirky and carefree as Jess... adorkable (yeah, yeah), if you will. Whatever the reason, I'm glad other people agree with me and love the show too. It's very in sync with my unwritten 2012 goal to surround myself with more positivity, so I'm glad it's not in danger of cancellation anytime soon.

Zooey also is co-founder of a cute, quirky, drowning in positivity blog with an adorkable (last time... I promise.) name, HelloGiggles. And while I think I'm probably not their demo (since I'm old now), I still enjoy checking it out every now and then. The Treats section has some good recipes. And the How To's section is always educational. Take this recent post titled How to Small Talk. I learned things you should make small talk about include BBC Masterpiece Classics and your favorite Goldie Hawn movies, and you should never make small talk about your job. This explains a lot about my social life (or lack thereof) and why I hate going to parties where small talk might be required. ;)

hidden gems

So I've just submitted my ballot for the 2011 Producer's Guild Awards. And while I'm not going to say how I voted (although anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows my #1 and 2 picks after my Golden Globes rant last night), I do want to point out some hidden gems discovered in my screener pile, that I probably wouldn't have watched if I didn't get the movie delivered to my home for free. If you are looking for a good film to watch, see one of these. You won't be disappointed.

• Hugo -- I watched this because I had to in order to rank it for voting. It was the last movie of the 10 nominees I watched. And this was probably the sweetest surprise of the year. This movie is heartwarming and beautiful to look at. Great performances, even from Sasha Baron Cohen, but especially from Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Asa Butterfield, who stars as Hugo and has the most sad, expressive blue eyes you'll ever see. This is a great film for anyone who loves stories about underdogs and happy endings.
• My Week with Marilyn -- Michelle Williams is amazing. That's the story that follows this film everywhere, and don't get me wrong, she is. But so is Eddie Redmayne, who plays Colin, narrates the film and provides its emotional center. This film is a sweet love story between the two of them, layered between the story of Marilyn's week of filming on Sir Lawrence Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl, and the insecurities that followed her. It's no best picture, but again, a really sweet story.
• Midnight in Paris -- I usually hate Woody Allen movies, but this didn't feel like a Woody Allen movie. The cast is great and the whimsical storyline, while completely unrealistic, totally appealed to the writer in me searching for inspiration. And I loved that it was set in Paris and had a lovely Parisian soundtrack.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- I would have seen this movie even if I didn't get the screener. I was waiting for this screener. I loved this movie! The cast is amazing and the story -- 9-year-old Oskar's search for the lock that fits a key he found in his father's closet, after his father (portrayed by Tom Hanks) died on September 11th -- is both heartbreaking and life affirming. And Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar, is great. He was discovered on Kids Week of Jeopardy, so you know he's wise beyond his years. 

mmmm... chai tea

I am addicted to chai tea. I freely admit it. Besides the fact that lack of caffeine now gives me a really bad headache, I can't go a day without at least a cup because it's so delish. My go-to chai is the Starbucks Chai Tea Latte -- I drink so many of those I have gold status in the Starbucks Rewards program and get a free one at least every two weeks. At home, I go basic -- a tea bag of either Stash's Double Spice Black Chai or Twinings Spiced Apple Chai -- and hot water. Whenever I go to San Francisco, my go-to breakfast place is Cafe De La Presse, where, upon request, they make a super-yummy Chai latte in a mug almost as big as a soup bowl. It's spicy and sweet and super-frothy. Today, I had brunch at Hugo's, home of a ton of organic teas. If you order non-lattes, you get tea leaves in a press. But I ordered the yummy Organic Black Chai Latte pictured below. It could have been sweeter (I ended up dumping a raw sugar in it), but the froth was perfect, and it looked pretty too :)

inspired

So for some odd reason, I've been really inspired as of late to be here on my blog. I changed the design and have been posting regularly for like a week (lol). Not that there are a lot of people here with me, but I'm enjoying it anyway. It's been a good creative outlet in a time of utter work craziness and sad pet parenthood. A few coworkers have really great blogs seeping with positive energy they've posted links to on Facebook recently, so I have to thank them for my inspiration. I've also been exposed to a bunch of self-help "list" articles the last few weeks. The most recent one is 25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing. Part of item #1 is "Your writing will never chase you — you need to chase your writing." Maybe that's why I am bringing myself back here over and over, writing about little things I like or have seen. I'm chasing my buried creativity and searching for a big idea. I've actually pulled two of my favorite writing exercise books from college off the shelf -- The Artist's Way (which now has a companion blog site) and The Wild Mind. I remember my awesome creative writing professor, my sophomore year of college, leading us through writing exercises... mind dumps where you just put pen to paper and let the thoughts flow, with no roadmap or plan. That's the year I wrote my only printed, personal works... a compilation of poems and short stories titled "From a dusty room... " Now I have housecleaners to dust for me, so maybe its sequel will be shinier.

baby goalie is now an all-star!

Congrats to baby goalie* Jonathan Quick of my LA Kings, who was just named an NHL All-Star for the first time. It's a well-deserved honor since this season he's got a 1.93 goals-against-average, a .934 save percentage and six shutouts (he's ranked first in the NHL in shutouts....just sayin'). He's also the first Kings goaltender in a REALLY long time (like since 1981) to be named an All-Star. For those of you who don't know hockey, that is significant because you aren't gonna win a Stanley Cup without a good goalie. Oh, and did I mention he's only 25 (*but looks like he's 12... thus my nickname for him ;)

products i love: the best lotion ever

I can't remember who first introduced me to it, but I now stockpile C.O. Bigelow's Lemon & Pomegranate body cream in the event some evil corporate decision-maker ever decides to stop producing it. I love the smell (sweet yet with a citrus-y bite). I love the texture (thick and not the least bit greasy). And I love that it makes my skin feel silky smooth. I am not alone in these opinions. This is a top rated item on the Bath & Body Works site... yes, this product from the country's oldest apothecary is sold at that bath gel mecca in the mall. But don't hold that against it. It's awesome. Trust me.

products i love: winter wonder

If you are one of my gal pals, chances are good I've given you one of these as a holiday or hostess gift. I LOVE this candle. It's not a Christmas scent (thus its "Winter" name), but evokes all the same warm and cozy feelings. I just lit my second one this season and am kinda sad I only have one more left in my stash.

hurts so good

So on my December stay-cation, I decided I needed to get my workout schedule back on track. I haven't done much since the time changed in October except weekly Wednesday Pilates (with my awesome instructor Marcy, who some of you may recognize as Quendra [with a "Qu"] on Community). Not much Runyon. Not much Wii Fit. Zero Pop Physique.... yet I had two Groupons about to expire in January. So I decided to suck it up and go to the Studio City location when my fave instructor Mackenzie K. was teaching on New Year's Eve morning. Mackenzie is great... she (per her bio on the site ;) "encourages students to honor what their body is giving them on any given day instead of always wishing it was giving them something else. In essence, be in the moment and work hard, but be patient." She works us hard, but what I love about Pop Physique (aka #buttschool) is they push you right to your limit. Just when you feel you might collapse and die, the instructor moves on to work a completely different part of your body. And over the hour, you work EVERY part of your body. But the constant change-ups, which also include changes in music tracks and volume, as well as lighting, make it manageable. And tonight, it actually went by fast. I was surprised when class was over "so soon." I hope that means I'm getting back in shape. Mackenzie said I'm looking stronger. I just signed up for class every Monday in January. Owie.

wise words for the new year

A friend just posted a link to this blog on Facebook... wise words we all need to remember and think about integrating into our daily lives: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

Then that lead to these great finds:

• 30 Things to START Doing for Yourself

• 12 Things Happy People Do Differently

Enjoy!

2011 - my year in review

At the start of 2011, I set six goals for myself (don't call them resolutions!) with the overall goal of making 2011 better than 2010 by "taking care of myself, and striving for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me." I accomplished 3.5 of them, which isn't bad... although two of them I totally failed at. Let's review :)

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.
• Check! This was my biggest accomplishment this year. I met my weight loss goal (25 lbs) plus some by completely changing my eating habits -- no more fast food except for special treats, very little bread, and lots of salad, chicken, lean cuisine, fruit and yogurt. I also worked out a minimum of 2 times per week, sometimes up to 5 times using the Wii Fit starting in mid-January, keeping up Pilates once a week, hiking/running 1-3 times per week at Runyon Canyon from March-October, and adding Pop Physique classes, which are a mix of Pilates, ballet barre work and light weights. It kicks your butt and shapes it up at the same time :) I also started taking my multi-vitamin everyday again and added an extra 2000 mg of Vitamin D since Vitamin D deficiency is thought to be a cause of MS.
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Fail. I wrote in the journal a few times, mostly about tracking my weight loss goals/successes, but it was in the drawer most of the year. And I only updated this blog 21 times all year. Bad, bad, bad!
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Check! I actually read five books this year, all of which were excellent: Tina Fey's Bossypants, The Help, and The Hunger Games trilogy.
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Fail. I didn't volunteer once this year. I thought about it a lot, but never did. I did increase my charitable donations this year though, especially to the National MS Society, LA Mission, amfAR, and Smile Train -- I helped four kids have their cleft palates repaired so they could smile again and live a normal life. That makes ME smile. 
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;)
• Check! In addition to poker nights and my annual July BBQ and Christmas Cocktails, I also had Grilled Cheese Night again this year and started "Summer Grillin' Saturdays." Oh, and I also co-hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Hilda in August (And she welcomed baby Yevah in September :)
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall.
• Half Check/Half Fail: I did go to Portland and had a fabulous time with my dear friend Jenny and her family. Also went to San Fran in May to see Hugh Jackman's show and visit with my friends Jason and Josh. And went to Orlando for a rainy trip to Disney World and an awesome night at Harry Potter World. But the Italy trip still hasn't happened. I did do a little research on it though... and got a new big suitcase for Christmas ;)

I think those goals were overall good ones so I'm sticking with them for 2012, with minor adjustments. For instance, this year I want to read the classics sitting on my bookshelf that I've never read... The Hobbit, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Jane Eyre. If I get through half of those, that will be a good accomplishment, considering three of them have been on my shelf since high school ;)

And for posterity/since I apparently don't write in my journal anymore, here are some of the memorable things from my 2011:

January:

• Burke Williams trip #1
• Pre-hockey meal at delish Bottega Louie
• My mom and dad celebrated their 41st Anniversary
• Get healthy goal achievial begins
• Game Night #1

February:

• Burke Williams trip #2
• Finally ate at Ford's Filling Station (my 4-years-in-the-making bday dinner with Diana, Daryl and James)
• Stars on Ice in Anaheim

March:

• Hmmm....

April:

• Grilled Cheese Night
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the 2nd time since 2002! Lose to friggin' Sharks

May:

• Trip #1: San Francisco for Hugh Jackman in concert
• The 2011 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Trip #2: (work) Hackensack NJ (yuck) and Chicago (yay) for focus groups
• Afternoon tea at Chado with mom and dad

June:

• U2 at Anaheim Stadium
• Pop Physique starts

July:

• Met my weight loss goal
• Hosted my 2nd 4th of July BBQ (on July 3rd)
• Burke Williams trip #3
• Dolly Parton at Hollywood Bowl, with Mom, Dad, Daryl and Diana
• Summer Grillin' Saturdays begin

August:

• Hairspray with John Stamos at Hollywood Bowl
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl, with narrator James Taylor
• Bella the crazy, adorable puppy joins our family

September:

• Trip #3: Portland to see the Z's

October:

• Trip #4: Orlando for party at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Foo Fighters at the Forum
• Clinton Foundation 10th Anniversary concert at the Bowl with Bono, The Edge, Lady Gaga
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Oak Glen
• The Kings season begins...

November:

• Dinner at Little Dom's ... delish
• Sophie the cocker spaniel joins our family

December:

• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off
• Christmas with siblings and Granny
• Burke Williams trip #4
• Tea at Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena
• New Year's Eve dinner at The Melting Pot in Pasadena (too much food!)

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates: