Did I mention that I love my slow cooker? Many thanks again to my brother, Bill, for getting it for me even though I was originally unsure about it. I'm about to head out to work, I've loaded it up, and when I come home tonight, I'll have lentil soup. Add a salad and a slice of hearty bread and a home cooked, healthy and delicious dinner is served. And there will be plenty — I'll be sure to save some for you.
Author: Laren
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Contradictions
Normally I am not a little dog person, but I totally fell in love with Barley, my friends Rachel & Najib's dog this weekend. I think he fell in love with me a little too. Just sayin'. I really couldn't have asked for a better weekend — catching up with Lauren, Caroline & Tara at Highlands and Daddy-o, a run before First Saturday brunch with killer conversations, bacon, homemade granola, and some of the most amazing friends I have, dinner and drinks at the Counting Room (thanks, Vince & Maks!) with @jakehparrott and @jasonmader, late-night bloody mary prep, giving high fives to the marathon runners in Brooklyn, with cameo appearances from Doug, Leora & Galit, hanging on the stoop drinking aforementioned bloodys, Hall & Oates, plenty of laughter, afternoon laziness, a bit of work, and a good night's sleep.PS — if I ever start a band it's going to be called "A Jew Like Me." Think it'll catch on?
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Change is Challenging
Apparently there is a new system on some of the NYC buses these days — it completely threw me for a loop. There are certain buses now where you purchase your ticket in advance, you have to hold on to your receipt, you can enter at any door, and if they check and find you are not carrying your receipt, you have to pay a $100 fine. I must have missed the memo because I was ridiculously confused (so much for that law degree being helpful in the real world). Now I've got it, though.
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Time Warp
It's amazing how hearing certain songs can completely take you back to a certain moment in time. I'm not going to completely embarrass myself by admitting which cheezball song I heard recently that did this, but it completely took me to a moment sitting in my apartment in Brookline just post-college, and it made me think of a certain person in my life at that time. If he heard it, he'd likely think of me too. The scary part was realizing that the particular moment about which I was reminiscing was over fifteen years ago . . .
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Weekend Wrapup
Friday evening workout followed by dinner w/Mom & Stephen at Maya, long run with @krey729 on Saturday, dinner party with Carrie, Bill & Laura (homemade papardelle with mushroom sauce, antipasti, white bean crostini, arugula salad, apple crumble), The Dizzy Fizz's punch party, leftovers for lunch, the Rhum Rhum Room, the Green Fairy & Van Gogh, glitter, Village Halloween Parade, Village People at the 8th Street Wine Cellar, and a little Jesus Christ Superstar. A good weekend, indeed.
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Happy Pro Bono Week!
It's National Pro Bono Week and I thought this wonderful print by Hugh at Gaping Void seemed fitting to honor all of those who do pro bono work on behalf of those in need.
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Blast From the Past
Heard this song last night at Ward III. LOVE IT!!!! Of course nobody else in the whole place knew it. And I couldn't remember the band name, but still . . .
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Has Anyone Seen My Mind?
I think I've lost it. I've gone and signed up for a 15k (approximately 9.3 mile) race. In DECEMBER. I know what you're going to say: "but Laren, that shouldn't be hard for you; you do triathlons!" Well guess what, kids, running is the hardest part of the triathlon for me, and I've never run that far in my life, plus the running in the cold thing is going to be, well, interesting to say the least. Thankfully, a few other crazies have joined me in this challenge, so I'll have company. I'm already about two weeks behind in my training, so no more slacking. Let me know if you want to go for a run!
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Quote of the Day
My stepmother reminded me of this quote yesterday. So very true.
"A good dinner is of great importance to good talk. One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." — Virginia Woolf
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Pacific Time
I returned to NYC from LA on Thursday night but still feel somewhat like I'm running on Pacific time — I slept until 11 both days this weekend (which doesn't happen that often). It could be that I'm just recovering from the trip generally, as it was jam-packed.
I drove straight from the airport to visit my cousin and his family in Culver City, and spent a chunk of the day catching up with them and meeting their baby Kai for the first time (he's adorable, for the record). We had a snack at Ugo Cafe, then I drove to my hotel in West Hollywood, the Farmer's Daughter (which I loved, BTW. Thanks, Sarah!), quickly showered and changed, then @ThirstyinLA picked me up to head to Jonathan Gold's Cocktail Speakeasy fundraiser for Zocalo at Union Station. At the event, I was able to taste food from a wide variety of restaurants and bars — an efficient culinary tour of LA! We went for a nightcap at Varnish, but I was fading fast, thanks to the jetlag.
Sunday I slept late, then headed to Venice for a day with my friend Arielle. We probably walked more that day than most Los Angelinos walk in a week — after lunch at the Venice Beach Wines, we wandered over to the beach to admire the skaters, take in the activity on the boardwalk, and relax in the sand. We walked back to her house via the Venice Canals, then rested up at her lovely, bright apartment watching Garden State before a sushi dinner at Kiriko.
Monday I visited the Original Farmer's Market and started the day with a donut and coffee from Bob's and a walk through the market and the Grove. After a bit of work in the courtyard of my hotel, Marco picked me up for a delicious lunch at Pizzeria Mozza. Highlights included the bruschette with white beans alla Toscana with extra virgin olive oil & saba, the pizza with squash blossoms, tomato & burrata, and of course, Marco's wonderful company. I spent my afternoon hiking of some of my lunch with a hike up and around Runyon Canyon, where I caught my first view of the Hollywood sign, but no celebs walking their dogs (which I was told I might see). After returning home for a bit more work, I met Zac for dinner at BLD, where we took advantage of Dine LA week. Speaking of dogs, Zac's story of his recent dog adoption definitely helped to convince me that I want a dog too. Soonish.
Tuesday I got up early to catch up with Chris over breakfast; I was happy that we were able to catch up and that he was able to squeeze me in before heading off to shoot for Law & Order LA (ah, actors!). Then back to my hotel for some work before meeting yet another Chris (hee) for lunch at Umami Burger, my first of two meaty meals for the day (hatch burger!). He and my friend Jimmy had both suggested visiting Griffith Observatory, so I took a detour there after lunch to wander around a bit before heading downtown to my new hotel. Once downtown, I went to visit Allan at Caña, where Jono joined me for a quick drink. Afterwards, I picked up some work friends and headed to Animal for an amazing dinner, heavy on the pig parts (although the fried rabbit legs might have been my favorite).
Wednesday was a work day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. (eek!) with a meeting, followed by the APBCo Academy. I've got to admit, I'm very lucky to have not only a job that I like that makes a difference in the world, but I've got an amazing pack of colleagues across the country, and it's always inspiring and fun to see them. Plus, we had lunch from the Border Grill Truck — yum! After a long but productive day, I took a nap before heading to Rivera to meet @LushAngeles for some excellent pre-dinner cocktails (V.E.P. Chartreuse Swizzle, anyone?). The last stop of the night was Drago Centro for dinner with @tallnoe.
I headed back to NYC Thursday morning and had a relaxing recovery weekend from my jam-packed trip. Thank you, L.A., for a fun-filled first visit. I'm not moving out there anytime soon, but I had a great time, and, as your Governor says, I'll be back. Thanks to all who were a part of it — it was wonderful to see you and I'm sorry it took me so long to get out there! Pictures from the trip are here.