One Year | Month Four: Trip to Seattle

Tim and I left on Friday for a long weekend in Seattle.
The big question we got before our trip was “Why Seattle?”

Admittedly, Seattle is not a tropical vacation spot. Its pretty much known for being gray and rainy. But Tim and I wanted to go because I really liked the city and haven’t been there in over 8 years. And Tim had always been interested in visiting the city in light of its connections with music among other things.

And so in honor of our 29 birthdays which are both shortly coming up, we decided to take a vacation.

Friday we left on Virgin America. We stayed at the luxurious, W Hotel. Which was so much reasonable since Seattle is NOT tropical.

Friday

I dragged Tim over to Pike Place Market for lunch. After looking around about we ate at the Athenian Inn and then got coffee at the Original Starbucks. Probably much to Tim’s annoyance I decided to say “Oh look at Starbucks!” all weekend which exist every block in Seattle.

We went to Dinner at Purple and had awesome Tapas and drinks. It was soooo neat looking inside!

Saturday

After searching for some breakfast. We jumped on the monorail to Seattle Center. Where we took the amazing (and slightly scary) elevator up to the top of the Space Needle.

We then went to the Experience Music Project which was awesome! I learned how to play Louie! Louie! And we got to see Dave Grohl’s Drum Set.

After resting up at the hotel (as Angelenos we are not used to so much walking!) we headed to Pioneer Square. So many neat stores there.

We had yummy steak at a place called Union Square Grill where they willingly gave us the complete recipe for the BEST mashed potatoes Tim and I have ever had.

Sunday

We got up and were told about this place that had “all you can eat” waffles. With the turtle like speed meant that getting more than one waffle was a majority of the morning. We decided the place was more “all you care to eat.”

We walked around Pike Place Market and through an area called Belltown.

We finally experienced the Seattle rain which is more like someone rudely spitting on you.

We considered going to the Seattle Art Museum, but the cost was rather expensive, we browsed the museum store instead. Which is free.

Later when the weather improved, we walked along the water front enjoying how in Seattle, it stays light far later that in LA.

Today we headed back to LA. Luckily there were two seats in first class and Virgin’s upgrade is VERY affordable. And SO worth it. Reclining chairs and food that was some of the best of our whole weekend.

Now we are home, recharged and ready to head into a short work week.

One Year | Month Three: Birthday Season Begins

For some reason Tim and I have an unusually high concentration of friends with birthdays in the April to June months. Due to this, we tend to spend a good deal of these months out at dinners and other birthday related events.

To kick off the birthday season this year, we went out to dinner with our friends Steve and Sophia to a lovely tapas/wine bar called Tasca in honor of Steve's birthday.

Every dish we had was tasty. We ate everything from beef carpaccio to Moules frites. My personal favorite was the zucchini blossoms stuffed with crab. I was the designated driver and also was the only one who is not into wine. But everyone else enjoyed many allegedly good wines and ports with dessert.

We then rolled over to Urth for lattes (espresso for Tim and and I; chai for Steve and Sophia). We discussed pressing issues like why U2 and the Beastie Boys are overplayed and the contents of my purse.

The last stop of the evening was Steve and Sophia's apartment to view funny youtube videos.

We had to take our leave due to Tim's impending trip to San Fran. It is earlier than usual this week for a full company meeting to meet the new CEO.

Next weekend is another celebration because our friends Greg and Angela got married!

One Year | Month Two: Preparations for a BIG trip

Tim and I are planning a big trip. We have been thinking about this trip since before we got married actually.

It is a trip to Japan. Why Japan? Why not, Japan? Tim and I both think it seems interesting and culturally, it seems far more different from the U.S. than places in Europe. So we have been researching when the best time to go would be and what we should see.

Currently, we are shooting to go for a week in October 2008. And as summer approaches we are swinging into full planning mode.

Today however a very important step had to be taken care of...I had to apply for a new passport. I had one once upon a time, when I was an exchange student in France, when I was about 12. So obviously, my passport has expired. And also, I haven't a clue where it is now. So I had to say it was "lost." Which is pretty much the truth. I went to the Tarzana post office, as it was one of the few you could do passport stuff on a Saturday. And after some flubs (you cannot have an application in which you have scratched something out and put something else in apparently)I was done with the application and in the near future I should be getting my new passport.

Next step is to decide what week in October will be best for the trip, start looking for flights.

One Year| Month Two: A new couch

Though in the movies life in Los Angeles is constantly exciting, Tim and I do not live the movie star life (thank goodness). Our excitment this weekend...looking for a new couch.

As of late we have been looking at our well worn futon, which serves as our couch and thinking it was time for a change.

The futon mattress was part of the futon I bought after I had been in LA for six months. For those of you not keeping track, I have lived in LA almost 7 years. When I bought it the store told me it would last about a year with everyday use (it was the cheapest one they had). So I have gotten my money's worth on the mattress. The original frame, ceased to function about three years ago and we have since been limping along with a metal frame from IKEA which cost almost nothing...and it shows.

The metal frame has gotten bent due to poor engineering. And calling the mattress lumpy is probably being charitable. So now that Tim and I no longer live in a single room and have big kid jobs, it seemed like it might be time to buy an actual couch.

But we'd kind of been lazy about actually going to look at couches because, furniture shopping is not the most exciting and thrilling thing to do. And though nice furniture is great, spending your money on a couch...is so grown up.

Today, the weather was nice and Tim was in the mood for some good Middle Eastern food. So we headed to The Farmer's Market where we knew he could get a nice shawarma. It also happens to be in close proximity to a Crate & Barrel, so we decided to at least look at couches.

And we found a great one. The things we were looking for in a couch were:

1. Has style - check
2. Won't look dated in only a year - check
3. Comfortable for sitting - check
4. Seems like a good place to take a nap - check

So once all of those were checked off we walked around a bit and discussed and decided it was time to pull the trigger. Dan, our helpful C&B employee helped us and even aided us in picking out the color for the legs (we got to choose everything - special!)
He even told us that the name of the sofa, Rochelle was after New Rochelle where the Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore show took place because it is kind of retro like that.



We selected the color aubergine because it is both dark therefore being a little more forgiving in the stain department but also not a bland color like brown. We have a bad tendency to gravitate toward browns and tans because "oh hey, it will match anything." And we thought breaking out of that would be a good idea.

Since it is not one of the two stock colors (which were light blue and dark blue) it will be an impossibly long 9 to 11 weeks before our new couch arrives. But we have lived with the old futon for this long another few weeks won't kill us.

Now I need to start looking for some fun throw pillows....

The First Anniversary: Fun, Food, and More Fun (plus a heck of an airport experience)

As you probably know, today is the first anniversary of our wedding. It's hard to believe it's been a year already -- in some ways it seems like the wedding was yesterday; in other ways, it seems like it's been much longer.

This time last year, we were at Malibou Lake Mountain club with a lot of friends and family, enjoying the time and with Hawaii on the mind. Now, a year later, we're back in LA after taking a weekend trip to Las Vegas.

And what a trip it was.

Our flight was scheduled for 8:30 PM on Friday. We left Palisades at 5:30, thinking we'd have plenty of time. Traffic was heavy... really heavy... REALLY HEAVY. We nervously watched an hour go by... we were still five miles from the airport. After two hours, at 7:30, we were just getting into Lot C. We grabbed a bus and got into our terminal around 8PM and ran over to our check-in counter. The lady at the desks said that we'd missed our chance to get on the flight, but we must have had an extra-pathetic look of defeat, because she checked us in and let us check our bags.

Then we got in the security line. It was about ten after 8 at this point.

Security dragged and it took forever -- in perceived time. After about 15 minutes we got through security, but it was amateur hour and there seemed to be a lot of people who didn't understand the drill... ("Oh, you mean I have to check my shotgun and can't take my knives and bombs through the metal detector?")... painful.

I got through security first, and with no attempt at retaining any dignity (we were going to Vegas at all, it'd be out of place), sprinted full tilt through the terminal in my socks, clutching my shoes, phone, boarding pass and jacket. Our gate was of course at the other end of the terminal and it was past 8:25. Yelling "excuse me"'s and hearing the laughs of the amused travelers in LAX, I made a beeline for the gate. When I got there, it looked like the plane was gone. Then a guy ran from behind me towards the actual gate door itself and said, "MY WIFE IS COMING, LET US ON!!"

I then realized the plane hadn't pulled away. I ran over too, saying the same thing, and the guy at the gate said, "No one else can board". The sight of two guys screaming about their soon-to-be-arriving wives must have been too pathetic and he waved us in -- although I think the fact that we both pointed out our wives and my notable addition of, "You've got to let us on, we're trying to make this trip for our first anniversary!!", he finally caved.

"No assigned seats, take the first open seat you see" he said. You didn't need to ask twice.

We were off for Vegas. After an uneventful flight, we arrived, took a shuttle to the MGM Grand, and checked in. Then we got some dinner at the Studio Cafe (turkey sandwich for me, chicken strips for Cecilie) and hit the floor. We then made our way to New York New York, passed through, walked through Excalibur so Cecilie could see how bad it was (worse than I remembered), and took a train to Mandalay Bay. I quickly burned through my money and I don't think I won anything at any point Friday -- not even a 5 cent win on a $1 bet at slots. At this point it was getting late and our legs were sore, so we wandered back to the hotel.

The next morning, we went to the Venetian for breakfast, and stopped at a cafe where we got some great quiche. We explored the shops for a few minutes and also stopped at illy for an INCREDIBLE couple coffees. Seriously, these may have been laced with something. Cecilie was not feeling well and within seconds of the first sip was healed. I actually levitated off the floor and did not touch the ground for about three hours. It was ridiculous. Some of the best coffee I've ever had...

We went up the strip to the one casino I'd wanted to visit the most: The Wynn. It's incredible. It fits the mold of the floors I like (MGM, Venetian, Bellagio) -- darker, lower ceilings, relatively open floor layout with good visibility. I sat down to play some roulette and Cecilie joined me for a minute. She lost her money and wandered off to play slots. I stayed for at least an hour or more and walked away winning over a thousand dollars (holy cow!).

I was ready to get out so we walked to the Mirage, and within about ten seconds, walked out. We then walked to Caesar's and hit the forum shops. I got some chocolate from Vosges and got Cecilie a present out of my winnings. We strolled through the Forum and Caesar's (seeing Pete Rose again) and then took a cab back to the MGM. We were pretty tired and ready to relax.

Saturday night was the big dinner plan: Joël Robuchon, our second five-diamond restaurant. We got there early and hit the slots for a few minutes on the floor, where I got a surprise win. We then went in, but were told our table wouldn't be ready for 20 minutes, but were invited to sit in the lounge while we waited. We did, and got a couple drinks.

After a while the table was ready. We elected to do the 6-course tasting menu which was unbelievable. Each course had a predominant taste, each very distinct. We started with an amuse-bouche of an avocado puree with granny smith apples in it, some sort of tomato, and a whipped light cheese. The second course was eel and avocado wrapped in a truffle paper with a gelee on the side having some sort of celery preparation and truffles. Next up was a seared scallop with pasta. Then sea bass with leeks and asparagus; lamb shoulder, and a long string of desserts.

We left, completely stuffed to capacity. It was incredibly delicious, very different from anything I'd ever had, and fairly rich. We went back to the room and I crashed out, having had too much wine with dinner (a Barolo that was incredible).

We checked out in the morning and played a bit, but there wasn't much luck to be had. We made our way to McCarran airport where we played some more slots and waited for a plane delayed for hours due to SFO's ridiculous flow control that seems to be able to wreck the schedules of anything that gets within 2000 miles. We came home and are now unwinding after a tiring but fun Vegas getaway.

We can only hope the next year is as good as the first has been. It's been a great year with ups and downs but having each other has made it so much better.

PS: Don't take US Airways. Seriously, just don't. Avoid it at all costs.

Month Eleven: When It Rains, It Pours - Part III

At this rate, we're going to develop a water phobia.

No, our ceiling is still in place, and our apartment is completely dry. Fortunately, this time, the rain is outside. Unfortunately, this time, we had to spend a lot of time out in it.

January usually signals the end of fire season and the beginning of the rainy season. This is actually can be a big problem, because when all of that rain comes down in burn areas, there is a tendency for mudslides. Given that Malibu was the site of a couple fires this year, and the predictions have said this storm is bringing the heaviest rainfall in several years (when we saw water shooting up through the 110 freeway), there was some concern.

Not for us, though, we're from the Midwest where we can drive through snow blindfolded with no brakes, right? Not quite.

I got a call from Cecilie around 8:00 and she said she'd hit a rock in Malibu Canyon and her tire was flat. She wanted me to come and be with her because AAA was going to take a while to get there, and it was dark, windy and rainy. Having a vague idea of what it would be like, I left work and started driving. Before I reached our apartment, roughly a third of the way between my work and Malibu Canyon, I'd already passed two parts of PCH that were flooded. There was virtually no one out, which was good. It was also good that I've driven PCH between Sunset and the canyon a zillion times, because the road was not easy to see.

When I got into the canyon, my lights were good for maybe 20 feet and the fog was pretty dense. Cecilie warned me of the rocks and said snowplows were going through the canyon clearing rocks. I didn't see much on the way in but there wasn't much in the way of visibility to begin with. I finally made my way to Cecilie's car, pulled behind it, put my hazard lights on and waited for Cecilie to get in. She got in, told me we weren't expecting a tow for another hour, potentially, and so we prepared for a long wait.

At night the sense of space in the canyon drops considerably and you don't really have a feel for the area. Really, you could mistake it for a country road and wouldn't necessarily think there was a steep drop a few feet off the road. But tonight that closed-in feel was twice as bad, and it was like being in a very small room. With lights flashing in our faces. We waited, watched a movie (Hotel Chevalier on my phone), and then finally the truck came and loaded Cecilie's car.

We began the slow drive out of the canyon and almost immediately had to swerve to avoid rocks in the road -- rocks the size of a basketball on the small end of the scale. There were three or four major slides on the road, with progressively bigger rocks in the road as we moved down. As far as I could tell, all those slides happened in the thirty minutes or so that I'd been in the canyon waiting with Cecilie.

After the absolute most tense drive home I've ever had (sorry, Ragged Point; sorry, Christmas Eve 2002), we arrived at a gas station off of PCH and headed home. The tow truck driver told us that there was a larger slide that completely has blocked the tunnel midway through Malibu Canyon -- and he had several more cars to pull out.

So once again, we hope everyone in canyon country is safe (while wondering why you'd want to live there), especially the road crews and tow truck operators. We are back in the Palisades, warm and dry and just fine, but with another errand to run this weekend.

And to cap it all off, our power has just shut down for the second time; doubtless to go down more tonight. At least it's not a work day tomorrow.

Month Eleven of Marriage: New Year!

Happy New Year's!

It is a beautiful (though red flag)day!

To celebrate New Year's Eve, Tim and I cooked steak and spent the evening at home. Admittedly we didn't stay up very late (I fell asleep 15 minutes before midnight and woke up a little afterward to tell Tim, happy new year)

This morning we got up and went to Urth for some breakfast and are now relaxing at home and listening to the wind outside.

Peaceful and relaxed, the best way to start a new year. We hope yours was just as good.