LA LA LA

I'm sitting at my desk and there's a specific Stickie on my desktop that is taunting me. I feel a little guilty about my aborted "Things I'll Miss" list about leaving LA. Surely I can do better than just #12.

So, here goes.

#11. Gilbert's
The first restaurant we went to when we visited LA, looking for jobs and apartments, and still the best Mexican food ever. I would sell you for a tostada right now. Pack your bags.

#10. Pavilions
A supermarket made the list. I know, I know. But I was seriously obsessed with my neighborhood s'market. They were so nice! And it was so cheap. Walking into the far crappier chain of markets in Chicago (I'm sorry but it's true. My DC friends will understand when I say it makes Giant look like Whole Foods), I felt a pang for my old hangout. And Vic's car died in the parking lot once and even though we lived a block away, we still ate bread and drank a bottle of wine we got in the store, waiting for the tow truck. Oh, memories.

#9. Sunset Blvd.
Specifically- Sunset Blvd. at 10am on Sunday morning, taking the long way home from Amanda's. Especially that windy part between Beverly Hills and Westwood.

#8. Del's
Some dive bars make you laugh at the sheer thought of them. Even though it played home to one of my most embarassing karaoke moments EVER (cue running out of bar), I know my friend Beal is probably there right now, engaging in purely shady behavior.

#7. My Mini Cooper

#6. That 5 Hour Drive to Vegas
Long, hot and totally worth it. Whenever people ask me if I'm flying, I laugh. That last hill before you see the lights of Vegas? One of my favorite spots in the world.

#5. California travels
I love me some mid-west right now but I am a travel bunny and California is heaven. San Diego, La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, Monterey, Carmel, San Francisco, Yosemite... Sigh.

#4. The proximity to Mexico
I never got to Mexico. But I like knowing it's there if I need it.

#3. Weather

#2. "The movies"
As a child of the movies, especially classic movies, LA was a dream come true. To walk the streets of Bogart, Tracy, Hepburn, and Lombard? I loved being a part of that. Forget all the bullshit. Movies are magic and they're made in LA.

#1. My kids- obviously and for obvious reasons
They made LA home.
Vic, Little, Beal, Michael, Marty, Amanda, Trendz, Becks, Buck, Lo and Eric, Hope and Josh.

Nephew Walks On Moon...

Or really just walks. But still. As Buzz and Neil can attest, all that matters is that first, single step.

Revel in the sheer cuteness of my nephew Aidan as he entertains himself enormously by standing up, sitting down and clapping for himself. I hope he's always so proud of his accomplishments. However, I hope, in the future, that he's wearing pants for said accomplishments.



If you, for some bizarre reason that I don't understand at all, don't want to watch five whole minutes of this (and my sister's baby voice), the money shot is at 3:07.

Other things to note:

- That face Aidan makes when he laughs? The nose scrunch? That is purely my sister's face when she laughs. Whenever he does it, I get that funny little hitch in my chest.

- He can only suck his thumb when he's got Blue, that blue stuffed dog of his. The best is when he simultaneously draws Blue to his chest with one hand and his thumb into his mouth at the exact same time. Score another point for Pavlov.

- I mean, really. My sisters breed giant children. Also I am opposed to the Donald Trump hairstyle he's been sporting but he's not my baby so I have no say.

- Isn't he cute? You can't have him, he's mine.

Is This It?

OMG, Petunia Face tagged me like a month ago and I've been in the black hole of moving. Better late than never right? Right??

I've never done a blog tag before. Forgive me my ignorance, the absence here of sure footing.

1. What did you do 10 years ago?
Grimace. Ten years ago, I was somehow surviving the summer between junior and senior year of high school. I imagine there was a lot of letter writing to my best friend Kate, who lived far far away in Boston. We had just moved, again, this time to the sweet little condo in Amityville. We would move one more time before I graduated from school, three doors down from No. 8 to No. 11. I'm pretty sure if I were 16, I was doing a lot of writing, a lot of sulking, a lot of SNL watching, a lot of daydreaming about college and leaving NY. I was quite the lonely teenager. So far this game is very depressing.

2. Five items on your to-do list today
Hmmm. Send Mandy a birthday card. Online marketing for Culture Clique. I have a super gnarly presentation at 2 (LA time). Later will be "So You Think You Can Dance" with Mark and the kids. Buy wine. Life is so much better at 26 than it was at 16.

3. Snacks I enjoy
Pink lady apples and yogurt covered pretzels.

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
I would write. Write, write, write. I'd buy a massive farmhouse in Connecticut and a little cottage in the English countryside. I'd have dinner tonight in Paris and then stay the rest of the week, practicing French with my tutor. I'd adopt a slew of sheepdogs, the big shaggy ones like Nana in Peter Pan. I'd commission Zac Posen to design me a line of dresses in size 10 only. Buy my parents a villa in Italy. Buy my oldest sister, a social worker/single mom, the house of her dreams. Buy my niece a princess. Buy my nephew a pony. Make my second oldest sister take care of said pony. Then buy her the entire Banana Republic Summer Collection. Oh, and pay off Kate's med school bills. And buy Mandy a store. And Vic a pirate ship. And Trendz a dinosaur from Jurassic Park. God, there's so much to do.

5. Places I would live
Connecticut, the English countryside, Italy (anywhere in Italy), Savannah, Austin, Nashville and Seattle. And maybe a lighthouse in Maine.

6. Bloggers I am passing the challenge on to are:

Sumeba Miyako- Cause she lives in a tropical island in Japan and I don't.

Lesson #1 about Working From Home

Wearing a tube top and taking a video conference call makes you look naked. So there's one of my real life nightmares basically come to life.

Just thought you should all know.