have i mentioned i love dustin brown yet this week?

BOOM BABY!

 

reunion brunch

My dear, dear friend Jenny came down from Portland this week to see Bruce Springsteen, but managed to plan a mini-high school reunion brunch in her spare time, which took place this morning at CiCi's Cafe in Tarzana. 

If you like breakfast food, especially of the sweet, sugary, pancake/waffle/french toast/crepe variety, this is the place for you! It's totally packed and you will have to wait a while to get in, and once you're in, it's loud and cramped, but it doesn't even matter when you get to eat deliciousness like this:

Jenny had the "healthy" thing on the menu -- Wheat Berry pancakes, which consists of
strawberries, blueberries and almonds on a giant stack of three wheat bran pancakes.
Does this look healthy to you? Yeah, thought not ;)

I decided to be fancy and got the "Strawberries Valentino" crepes, which was delish.
As was the sweet, but not too sweet, ginormous Chai Tea Latte I had for an appetizer
and forgot to take a photo of. But it was very pretty, trust me :)

In addition to the food, it was also great to see some of the girls from high school that I have lost touch with. Thanks Jenny Z for being a great "hub" and organizer. Next time you need to stay longer though! 

baby goalie officially elite :)

This made me soooooooooo happy today!

Quick Named Vezina Trophy Finalist

"Baby Goalie" (my loving nickname for Jonathan Quick, who looks like he's 12) has now been officially recognized as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, something every hockey fan in LA already knows. He is amazing... intense, flexible and -- true to his name -- quick. A true "brickwall" for most of the season, he's the reason the Kings are still playing hockey right now instead of golf :)  He's also totally humble and has his eyes on the real prize...

"It’s a tremendous honor to be put in a category with Hank and Pekka," Quick said. "They’re two great goalies in this league, well-respected goalies. To be put in the same category as those two, it’s a tremendous honor. At the same time though, that’s not the trophy that I set out to win nine months ago, eight months ago, whatever. We still have a shot at the other one, and that’s what we’re working at right now."

Check out some of his most awesome saves this season :)

round 2, here we come!

This is HUGE! How huge? So huge that this story lead Sunday night's LA sports newscasts, ahead of the Lakers' comeback in double OT against D-Fish's new team. Yes, mark the date of April 22, 2012 in history: An achievement by a hockey team was mentioned on the LA news BEFORE a story about the Lakers or Dodgers.

This also means that I get to use these, for the first time since 2001:

Our Round 2 opponent will be the St. Louis Blues.

Here's hoping that Jonathan Quick remains a brickwall and that that other Kings score more goals than the St. Louis Blues. The Kings were 3-1 vs. the Blues this season. Quick shut them out twice, on October 18 and March 22.

Think good thoughts. Knock on wood. No whammies! No jinxes!

GO KINGS GO!

are you there judy blume? it's me...a blubbering fan

Not to brag, but I've met a lot of celebrities thanks to my awesome early career as a kids entertainment journalist. Up until yesterday, there were only three celeb encounters I can remember that made me super-nervous....

1. Luc Robitaille -- aka the reason I love hockey -- who I interviewed in a locker room full of slightly undressed other hockey players, as his then-8-year-old stepson Steven (who is now a regular on The Vampire Diaries) threatened to throw pizza at me.
2. Brendan Fraser, who I interviewed for George of the Jungle and was first introduced to on set. You might remember his costume in that movie was a loin cloth and less than 4% bodyfat. Yep.
3. George Clooney, who I interviewed for Batman & Robin. Did I mention he's George Clooney? Enough said. 

Well, yesterday at the LA Times Festival of Books, I met the reason why I was inspired to put words to paper and eventually, through hard work, great connections and luck, found myself in the role of an entertainment writer and was able to act like a blubbering fool in front of those three hot guys -- the amazing Ms. Judy Blume! And, true to form, I acted like a blubbering fool in front of her too (although I wasn't as giddy as I was with Clooney... ). 

Standing in line waiting to reach the signing table, it hit me that I was about to meet my writing idol -- who, through her books, taught me about bras and periods (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.), bullying (Blubber), sex (Forever), death (Tiger Eyes) and annoying little brothers who eat turtles (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing)... which was kind of monumentally important when I read it because I had both a little brother and pet turtles at the time ;)

Judy Blume made me love reading! And I remember as a young teen wanting to write amazing books like hers...to be able to tell such true-to-life, yet throughly engrossing stories. So, as I stood there on a grassy lawn at USC, I tried really hard to think of something intelligent to say, that would somehow let her know how much she and her stories have meant me. 

I think what I eventually spit out as I found myself standing in front of her was something to the effect of "I read every one of you books as a kid and you inspired me to be a writer." 

"You're a writer now?" the amazing Judy Blume asked me.

Umm... "Well, I went into Journalism and now I work on websites," I blubbered out, all of the sudden ashamed that I haven't written my own version of Superfudge yet. 

"That can be very fulfilling," the amazing Judy Blume replied, trying to reassure me in her lovely way that it was okay I hadn't even written a Kim-version of her 47-page Freckle Juice yet.

And with that, she was done signing the copy of Summer Sisters I'd pulled from my bookshelf that morning, and the new hard copy of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great I'd just purchased so I could have her sign something I'd read during my childhood, and I was shuttled along out of the line.

Argh.

This all just goes to show that there is a reason why I love to write: I suck at speaking.

But it doesn't really matter. I MET JUDY BLUME!!! And she was just like I'd hoped she'd be ... kind, funny, encouraging, a truly lovely human being.

being girly

Today I did something I haven't done since circa 2006: I wore a dress to work, which apparently is so shocking that within 30 seconds of approaching my office door I had two comments on this fact. But I've actually bought three dresses in the last two months, two of which are work-appropriate, so it will be happening more often.

I bought the dress I wore today on Tuesday night when I went to Macy's to replace the cargo pants I wear hiking (needed them two sizes smaller -- woot!). I saw it hanging on a rack in the Lucky Brand section and thought it was so cute and looked super comfy, so I made an impulse girly-girl purchase. Isn't it pretty? :)

things that make me smile...

... the Hockey Edition: Kings almost have series zip-locked down

why we should all love dustin brown...

A pictorial review...

(Note: The LA Times "share" functionality sucks almost as much as the Vancouver CaSucks [not that I'm complaining about the Canadian portion of that statement], so I had to borrow these photos to share here. All are from last night's awesome victory led by my fave player, The Captain, Dustin Brown, and our MVP (who better win the Vezina Trophy), "Baby Goalie" Jonathan Quick.)

He always seems to score goals in clutch situations:

Dustin Brown

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown, left, celebrates with teammate Drew Doughty after scoring during the first period of Friday's playoff game against the Vancouver Canucks.

He's scrappy:

Dustin Brown, Chris Tanev

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown, left, delivers an open-ice hit on Vancouver defenseman Chris Tanev during the first period of Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Friday.

He's a leader ... doing whatever it takes to pump the team (and crowd up) when most needed: 

 Dustin Brown( Jonathan Hayward / Associated Press / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown celebrates following a goal by teammate Jarret Stoll (not pictured) during the third period of the Kings' 4-2 playoff victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

And, as any good leader does, he gives credit where credit is due:

Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, left, is congratulated by teammate Dustin Brown following the Kings' 4-2 victory Friday.

Then if you need more reasons, read my post from last night.

GO KINGS GO! (knock on wood! no whammies! no jinxes!)

go kings go!!

#8 seeded LA Kings take a 2-0 series lead against the Vancouver CaSucks (who finished the regular season first in the whole NHL), and head back to LA for Game #3 Sunday, where I will be screaming my lungs out from section 206!


Dustin Brown scores short-handed goal #2


A few fun facts about tonight's awesome game:

• Dustin Brown is the only Kings player ever to score 2 short-handed goals in a playoff game. Last NHL player was John Madden (Devils) in 2006.
• Third time in Kings playoff history they’ve scored 2 SHG in a game. Previously: 5/21/93 Jarri Kurri and Dave Taylor; 4/9/80 Mike Murphy
• Baby Goalie / Vezina Trophy candidate Jonathan Quick stopped 46 shots in the game.

Here's the full article... 

Kings take 2-0 series lead over Canucks

Brownie actually tied an NHL record. Love how he doesn't care though... it's about wins and we need just 14 more!

happy spring!

Okay, I'll admit it. I've inherited my mom's gardening gene. And now that it's springtime, I've dug in (literally) and attacked the backyard where I now have four gardens. (That fourth one just kind of sprung up last weekend... I guess that's what happens when you have a giant pile of bricks sitting in a corner looking lonely.) I find digging in the dirt and trimming my roses and hedges strangely therapeutic, and based on how the last six weeks have been at work, I've really needed that therapy (plus some vodka... although not at the same time).

So here's what I've spent the last two weekends working on. Just a little more mulching and flower planting here and in the front garden next weekend, and then I'll be done and can sit back and enjoy ... at least for a week or so before I have to start weeding again ;)

The rose garden -- weeded, trimmed and fed, with weed blocker and mulch laid down.
Now if I could only keep the kumquats from falling in it...

And a giant yellow rose... cuz I'm from Texas ;)

Pink roses blooming

My giant flower bed... just waiting on the four transplanted roses on the right to bloom

Pink & purple bouganvillas, gardenias and roses on the right side of new garden #5
(aka where "the pony shed" used to be). Hopefully by the end of this summer, the pink and purple flowers will cover the ugly gray cinderblock wall that was rebuilt last summer.

More bouganvillas and agapanthus on the left of new garden #5.
The agapanthus have always been there and -- other than the Mexican lime tree in the middle --
are all that remain the same about the very back of my backyard since I moved in.

Close-up on pretty purple bouganvillas

When someone leaves a hollow tree stump
in the corner of your yard, turn it into a planter :)

My replanted herb garden -- the 2012 edition. Hopefully the cilantro lives through the summer so I can make guacamole whenever I want. The basil is there to smell good (and go on pizza if I ever get around to making any). And the rosemary is just there to repel bugs from the patio. (It's a very sad plant compared to my GIANT rosemary bush on the side of the house.) 

Potted plant-landia on the back steps -- home of geraniums, pansies, begonias and Mrs. Froggie :)

things that make me smile

Getting stacks of these in the mail....

This was towards the bottom of the stack. I really like this one. I just hope I get to actually use it... unlike the last two years I've ended up putting its predecessors through the shredder by the end of April :(