Fabulous in L.A.

What do fab single gals do in Los Angeles? I've been into SATC-mode again and I can see what fab single gals in New York can do on their free time, but what was there for me? I thought this to myself as I drove around aimlessly today. After having lunch with some friends I hadn't seen forever at one of my favorite Hainam Chicken places, Savoy in Alhambra (that's for another day...), I ended up driving around, wondering what to do with myself.

I wanted to find a fab coffee shop with free Wi-fi to sit around and write and work on things, but I couldn't think of anywhere but Panera in Studio City, and after having eaten, it wasn't really the right option. I ended up driving through Pasadena, bypassing Old Town, only because of the parking situation, and stopping at 3 of my different favorite boutique shops, which I know I've discussed here before.

CLOVER -- on Silverlake, was having a 50% off sale on some items, but also had some new items arrive. I love their selection of Tulle sweaters and jackets, along with the cute baby clothes and home accessories. I love buying baby clothes -- not because I pine for having a little one of my own, but because the accessories are so darn adorable AND they're so much cheaper than adult's clothes.

PICKETT FENCES -- Larchmont Blvd. is one of my favorite places to walk around in. Friends tell me I will love San Francisco for this reason, and I don't disagree with them. Not only are there boutique shops all down Larchmont, there's also a nice selection of restaurants there as well. Pickett Fences is my favorite boutique shop, a few stores down from one of my favorite beauty supply shops, Larchmont Beauty Supply. I mean first of all, what a cute name is Pickett Fences?? And they have Orla Kiely, a great selection of shoes, jeans, bags, and comfy tees from Splendid, James Perse and such.

PULP/IL LITERATURE -- sadly, they are now one. Their clearance sale for IL Literature is going on this weekend, but I'm sure most of their merchandise has been gone by now. I tried to stop by to snag something in the final days of the sale, but it was from 12-4, and not 12-5 like I had originally thought it was. Poop.

So that was most of my day. I realized after I had driven halfway to the valley that I should've stopped by LACMA to check out the Chicano art exhibit featuring Cheech Marin's (yes, Cheech) vast collection of Chicano art. I had gone to the San Jose Museum of Art last week, and although very tiny compared to LACMA or the MoMas, it was still nice. I love museum stores (much much more than I love the museum itself) and I love the architecture of museums, especially the new BCAM building at LACMA. Too bad it wasn't just a walk away....

Crudo Bar

If there's one thing that makes a diet difficult for me, it's carbs. Breadbar is definitely one of those guilty pleasure places that I'm in love with for the endless varieties of bread. Their standard menu has a lot of tasty treats, but from now until May 15th, they are offering a Crudo Bar menu with Chef Noriyuki Sugie at the Century City location. It's a tapas-izakaya style bar with both a raw bar and a cooked menu. I haven't tried anything in the raw bar yet, but will probably make my back before next week, since my boyfriend is in love with the black cod slider, which are these mini black cod burgers, served individually on a mini cutting board, with an amazing wasabi tartar sauce and mini pickles on the side. We also tried the striped bass karage, which wasn't too exciting to me aside from the yummy tofu dip that tasted like creamy mayonnaise. Visit the site and take a look at the menu or stop by for your own taste.

**I'm going to Pizzeria Mozza tonight for the second time in less than a week. Yum! More on this great new place later!

Moving.....

Pretty soon, I'll get to pass this on my way to work everyday...

After three years for working at my company, our office is moving further east, to Miracle Mile. To me, it's a whole different territory. While I'm happy for the move and the change, it means another 20 mins on Wilshire Blvd. in the mornings, and that after-work romps to Sawtelle for dinner may prove to be more of a challenge, since it will be further.

I'm trying to look on the bright side of things, and the many many things to look forward to on that side of Wilshire Blvd. I'll be closer to Pulp for one, so it'll be easier to make an after-work stop. The LACMA will be much closer and I'll get a chance to visit more often and pass by that beautiful art of collected streetlamps on my way home...it's sort of refreshing.

Red Mango will now be down the street and I'm soooo excited upon realizing this today! Red Mango is actually the original yogurt shop for which Pinkberry's yogurt shop was based on -- Pinkberry had beat them to the punch here in the states, but I must admit, I am

in love with Red Mango. They have a bigger variety in cereals and toppings, and the green tea tastes more like green tea. I will go back to Pinkberry every so often because there's more locations for one, and also because I've grown a liking to that coffee flavor (when it's mixed with the original).

Another great find that I'm very excited about is Andre's. I grew up with this restaurant, and I love their Veal Parmigiana, their baked chicken with mushroom sauce, and their caesear salad. It's not fancy or pretty or like any Italian cuisine. It's actually a cafeteria style restaurant that's been serving the community for years and years -- since I was a kid! A lot of senior citizens and blue collar workers dine there for their great prices, but they also have great simple food. Their daily specials are great, and you can have an entree, the salad, a slice of garlic bread, and a drink for about $10. It's cash only, though, so be well armed. It really is a find, since it's in the plaza on the corner of 3rd and Fairfax Ave. (where the Whole Foods and KMart are....long before the Whole Foods existed) deep inside the makeshift food court.

It's been a bit nostalgic and wistful packing up the office, but I'm excited (and a bit stressed) about our move. I can't wait to see my new office on Monday! :)

Dallas Edition

As mentioned, I spent a few days last month in Dallas, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite finds from the city:

EAT

Of course, when it comes to food, when you think of Texas, you often think of barbeque. I won't object to that -- I love barbeque. My first time in Dallas, a few year's back, I was introduced to Sonny Bryan's and just HAD to go back. The portions are huge, the barbeque sauce is great, and the price can't be beat, as Rachel Ray has attested. Make sure you don't miss it if you're in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. (check the site link for locations near your visit).



In my working/roaming in the city, I also discovered another great place, across from the Sonny Bryan's on Lovers Lane (yes, that's really the name of the street...). Rise no.1 was a great find in the complex across the way, where I was really there for the Inwood Theatre (but got hungry amidst the working). It's a cozy little restaurant that looks seemingly quiet on the outside, but has a fun and lively interior decor -- a winter garden library-like setting with wall-to-wall bookshelves, ornate flowers, and a chef's station that is the focus of the restaurant. You can watch your souffle being made at the chef's station! What caught my eye aside from the food was a beautiful chandelier made entirely of blue wine bottles, and the . I tried to capture it in a photo, but it was just too blurry :( I had the Rise house salad, which was awesome -- a sweet, light dressing over field greens, and tried the smoked salmon souffle. They have both sweet and savory souffles, as well as flavors of the day. If you love French cuisine and love souffles, you should not miss this place!

ROAM

In my attempts to get acquainted with the city via shuttle, I stumbled upon Mockingbird Station, where the first American Apparel of the city is housed, along with the Angelika theatre complex (which is really why I was there). The shopping center is hard to compare to any of the shopping complexes here -- perhaps The Grove? It's a quaint area with lots of boutique shops, a few restaurants, a stationery shop that I fell in love with, but also had a giant West Elm, giant Urban Outfitters, as well as the aforementioned American Apparel. Definitely a nice place to make a stop if you are on that side of the town.

Giant West Elm in Mockingbird Station

SHOP

Northpark Center is definitely the place. It's what South Coast Plaza only aspires to be. I had heard great things about the mall (Mega mall? Things are bigger in Texas, after all). Not only does the mall house your typical mall stores and a theatre (which again, was my primary purpose for the visit), but it also has a number of high end brands, including Tod's, Ferragamo and Gucci, and high-end department stores including the best Barney's I've ever been to, a Nordstrom, and of course a Neiman Marcus (this dept store was after all, born in Texas). The center houses both fancy and chain restaurants, from TGI Friday's to McCormick's and Schmick's. What marveled me the most was how beautifully decorated the entire place was. There was a mini sculpture garden with gorgeous flowers in the middle of the mall. I wanted to walk around the mall for the entire day, but work called :(

Sculpture and garden in the Northpark Center, in front of Tod's

There were so many other wonderful places that I only got to visit briefly. I definitely want to do a Dallas-Austin-Houstin trip, maybe in the summer.

I'm baaaack.....

Big apologies for the long hiatus. Life has been quite busy, with work, more work, and some vacation. :) I finally got to visit Japan (unlimited Japanese food...divine!), went to two other cities for work during my hiatus, and discovered a whole bunch of wonderful shopping and eating and places to hang out along the way that I'm SOOO excited to share :)