Break

Life has been a little hectic lately, so I'm taking a short blogging break. Shouldn't be long. . .xoxo

Bowling Night

I should be like Cinderella and go home at midnight. And I definitely should know better than to go "check out a DJ" at 12:30 am on a Tuesday, but sadly what I "should" do is not my reality. Thus, I am succumbing to exhaustion and today's posting about this past weekend's bowling night gets no text. Just pix. Enjoy.

Isla Holbox

I have recently been talking about the remote island of Isla Holbox because next month I am joining Kim & Andrew for a trip there over Memorial Day. We even have our reservations made for swimming with the whale sharks like the photo to the left. It is a good thing we are going soon because Concierge.com has recently listed the island in their eight favorite secret spots. And with raves like the below, I'm sure Isla Holbox will grow to be a popular destination. Concierge.com say:

The island has secluded, pristine beaches and a charming small town square. Many of the bed-and-breakfast accommodations are family-owned. From June to September, you can snorkel with the whale sharks that visit the island this time of year to feed on the abundant plankton. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean. Have your hotel arrange this with a local tour operator. It's an experience you will never forget!

There aren't even cars on the island -- golf carts only! Click on this to see what other secret hot spots were mentioned. What are you doing for Memorial Day?

Near Easter Disaster

That delicious plate of rosemary lamb chops, vegetable quinoa and sauteed spinach was almost the last meal I have ever cooked. . .On Easter Sunday, while whipping up my masterpiece, I noticed smoke coming out of the broiler where the lamb was. To avoid fire alarms shrilling throughout the house, I raced around to open outside doors in the pool room and bedrooms.

With arms flailing to circulate the thick smoke, I walked back into the kitchen area and saw red orange flames dancing around my oven. Very calmly, and bizarrely slowly, I moved past the oven to the sink, grabbed a large bowl, watched the water fill up and returned to the oven. Flames jumped at my hand as I opened the door, I sized up the origin of the fire on the bottom of the range and tossed the bowl of water at the blaze. . .And precisely avoided dampening my lamb chops!

Fire out, lamb chops grilled to perfection. Such Easter excitement!

Happy Easter!

Easter, as far as my limited childhood Catholic education told me, is about Jesus's resurrection and the religious feast that followed. So, in observation of Easter this year, I will be thinking about those in the world that cannot be enjoying a celebratory meal. Specifically the orphaned children of Kenya.

Wandie has been working to create a charity organization called "Act of Mercy" to support the work of her good friend, Father Francis. Unfortunately there is a ton of paperwork and legalities which is slowing down her efforts, but the needs of these kids should be addressed now. Thus, she sent an email to her friends requesting help. And I ask you for the same.

I'm writing to kindly request that you take time out of your busy lives to do a good deed. We all go to the supermarket and we all go to the post office or have a mail room at work. Please buy one or two tall bottles of water and two cans of food or granola bars and send them to the address included below. YOU WILL FEEL SO GOOD AFTERWARDS. It might not solve the root of the problem but it will help the symptom while the solution is developed. If everyone who receives this message sends something, then together we might make a small difference. THANK YOU!!!

The address is:

Father Francis Gaciata
Act of Mercy Mission
PO Box 1602 Meru, Kenya
Africa

Your package will have a huge impact and for such little effort. Please try to send something out. Please.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, hope-filled Easter holiday. Good luck on the egg hunts! xoxo

Luau

Among many of my benign dependencies, my restaurant addiction is powerful and well known. And thus I was invited to the Luau in Beverly Hills to enjoy their new menu items and showcase the restaurant to my influential, taste-maker friends. Therefore, trend-setter Christine, role model Kim and I were wowed by the duck tacos, hamachi sashimi, short ribs and vegetarian curry lettuce cups. And that was just the first course.

I hadn't been to eat at the Luau since the grand opening party, and it is amazing how much it has changed. Love the bar stools, the blowfish lanterns, even the bathroom faucet hardware. If you are ever in the mood for a pupu platter, this is your joint!

Shop at Whole Foods Today!

On Wednesday, April 8, Whole Foods Market will celebrate Community Giving Day. KCRW will benefit, as it receives 5% of net sales from the combined Los Angeles and Orange County stores that day.

I'm sure your cupboards could use some filling -- and why not with some fresh, healthy, eco-friendly food from Whole Foods? Or maybe you have been ignoring KCRW's pledge drive requests -- even though you listen to to 89.9 every day! -- so this is a superb way to give back!

HOME RUN!

In honor of the opening day of the baseball season, BLD Restaurant served homemade hot dogs with beer-battered onion rings. There were seven of us that gathered for occasion and every one of us said that BLD's hot dog was the best one we have ever eaten. Ever. The soft, yet firm bun. The sauerkraut that cooked for four days. The Southern relish that they called piccalilli was flavorful, but not overpowering. And the gentle smokey flavor of the juicy dog. Delicious. We were all blown away.

Pray that the Dodgers make it to the World Series -- the chef said that if the Dodgers do, she'll have hot dog night again!

Oh Julianne!

Cute flower centerpiece.

Group Shot.

And look at Jordan's awesome eco-ness. Love the helmet!

RHOC

You may recall from past posts how much I love Adam Richmond's House of Comedy at the Improv on Melrose. As a reminder, you could, click here or here or here or here or here or here or here.

Now you can view a killer video clip about those fun nights right here. It is beyond hysterical! Satisfaction guaranteed. And when you watch it all the way through (at 12:34), you'll see a familiar face! (It's mine, duh!)

Classy -- maybe not so much. . .

I love the newspaper, and although everyone talks about how the Kindle and the internet will kill the newspaper industry, I disagree. I love the sound of opening and folding the pages. I love the ink residue left on my fingers. And I love the doing the crossword on the same page as the horoscopes and Suduko. That joy will never be replaced with reading from a screen.

Last night, I met Kim at the urbane Craftbar to check out their new menu. The place was bustling with the regular LA crowd, but since it is located in Century City near CAA and most of LA's major law firms, there were a flurry of men in suits. Such a rarity in LA. Mmm. Sexy. Kim and I enjoyed a great California, buttery white wine with our bacon & lobster roll, pork bao and margarita pizza. Yes, an eclectic combination, but we had a hard time deciding since everything Top Chef judge and Craft owner Tom Colicchio does is delicious, so these were the most popular items.

After Craft, we were walking towards the parking structure, and I saw the new Annenberg Space for Photography that I read about in the LA Times article earlier in the week. (Love the newspaper! See how that came together?!) They were doing a lecture on their opening exhibit called "L8s Ang3les" featuring seven local photographers -- my favorite being Greg Gorman. Kim and I managed to convince the security person to let us in, so we strolled through the 10,000 square foot, architecturally awesome building and caught the last 15 minutes of the super moving, eye delighting video presentation.



You'd think that after such a sophisticated evening -- dining at one of LA's top ten restaurants and adding some culture to my life at the photography exhibit -- that I should call it a night.

But no, no I didn't. Instead I met up with some friends at a bar called Eleven. I had never been there before, but I should have suspected what it was by the location. Santa Monica Blvd and San Vicente -- the heart of Boys Town. Oooh how my refined night took a turn!



Above, I am with two of Eleven's dancers -- don't be fooled, these are two out of the many fellas at Eleven who had not a morsel of interest in me and my girlie-ness!

New Favorites

I'm listening to Peter, Bjorn & John's song, "Nothing To Worry About" a lot. These are the guys that came to prominence because of that song, "Young Folks", which everyone renamed, *That Whistling Song.* Please click on the Nothing to Worry About link to watch the video. (Youtube doesn't offer a code to embed it here. Sorry.) I'm completely going to downplay this comment now, but it is the best video I've seen maybe EVER. Although Kate Bush's classicCloudbusting is a nice piece of art, too. Go Donald Sutherland!

And here's one that gets me dancing in my seat at the office. "Happy Up Here" by the Norwegian electronic music duo, Royksopp. Enjoy!