This is something neither Andrew nor I did growing up, but when we lived in Arizona, Michelle introduced us to the wonder and glory of navigating a corn maze after dark …

As in …. I make Andrew be extra birthday-nice to me all month….

Also, it helps to reinforce birthday month when we don’t celebrate with Kaitlin and Joe until mid-way through the month ….

Way to stretch it out

Over the weekend, Kaitlin, Joe and Chris came up from [...]]]> April is BIRTHDAY MONTH!

As in …. I make Andrew be extra birthday-nice to me all month….

Also, it helps to reinforce birthday month when we don’t celebrate with Kaitlin and Joe until mid-way through the month ….

Way to stretch it out

Over the weekend, Kaitlin, Joe and Chris came up from OC to go to breakfast (at noon) with us for my birthday!

There’s a place near us that we had heard good things about and never tried – and I LOVE breakfast restaurants….. I don’t know what it is about them. They’re so cheery!

So Sunday morning we headed over to More than Waffles for a (very) late breakfast….

We got to hear about what is new in Chris’s life … about how Katie and Joe are getting exchange students from China for the summer … talked about our Alaska cruise (!)

Plus some YUMMY food …. Really very good. Andrew and I have already decided to go back some weekday morning when it is not so crowded ….

Andrew and I got a breakfast burrito and waffles with peaches (and shared both)

Breakfast dates might be my favorite thing ever!

And if you don’t know that …. um. …. Shame on you? What are you doing here? I don’t even know ….

Blogging is SUCH an incredible thing. …  I seriously feel so lucky to be able [...]]]> So, 6 days a week I blog tips and inspiration for creatives over at Lemon and Raspberry.

And if you don’t know that …. um. …. Shame on you? What are you doing here? I don’t even know ….

Blogging is SUCH an incredible thing. …  I seriously feel so lucky to be able to connect with all kinds of SMART and CREATIVE people!

Anyway, through that site I’ve made online-friends with SEVERAL different amazing girls around the country (and even the world)….

And 2 of them live in SoCal.

Saturday morning I drove down to Covina to meet with a couple of my favorite girls for breakfast …. at IKEA!

And, by “breakfast” I mean, we got there at 9:30a and left at about 2:30p

We’ve got plans, my friends. Big big plans!

I don’t really have any “real life” friends who understand my blogging and my online career …. So it was great to spend so much time talking to girls who GET IT.

Awesome.

xo

And then I went to Hollywood to pick up Andrew at National Record Store Day!

How was your Saturday?

One of my favorite parts about where we live is that we are within walking distance of a Trader Joe’s….

Not just walking distance – a short 2 tree-covered blocks!

Once you leave our apartment…. walk down the hallway to the [...]]]> We’ve lived in this apartment now …. a year? Plus a couple weeks?

One of my favorite parts about where we live is that we are within walking distance of a Trader Joe’s….

Not just walking distance – a short 2 tree-covered blocks!

Once you leave our apartment…. walk down the hallway to the stairs to the courtyard:

Through the courtyard, out the front double doors to the street (Burbank Blvd):

Turn EAST …. and here is the view…. Yes, Burbank is kind of a busy street, but this first block is always so green and pretty!

At the end of the block, you’ll need to cross a small (tiny) little street. It ends in a cul-de-sac on the right, so you hardly even have to look for any traffic. Andrew’s co-worker actually lives in this blue apartment building (right, across the street)

Walk down that last block … and there’s kind of a big intersection.

This is actually just off the freeway, so there are almost always a lot of cars like this. There are 2 gas stations …. but Trader Joe’s is just there across the street (see the sign already?!)

This particular Trader Joe’s is ALWAYS incredibly busy, so they actually block off one of the entrance driveways to create a couple more parking spots.

It’s crazy busy.

One more reason I’m so grateful we can walk there ….

God Bless Trader Joe’s …. with their vanilla yogurt that tastes like cream cheese frosting, and their roasted red bell pepper hummus ….. mmmmm ….

I love that we can walk there – considering how busy the parking lot is, and how gorgeous the weather is right now, and how expensive gas is ….

What is your favorite treat to get at Trader Joe’s?

Gas is now about $4.25/gallon by our house!

Not a typo. It’s absurd.

We have been saving on gas this week though …. Now that we’re down [...]]]> I had a different blog post planned for today … but the beauty of running your own blog is you can change the schedule whenever you like!

Gas is now about $4.25/gallon by our house!

Not a typo. It’s absurd.

We have been saving on gas this week though …. Now that we’re down to one car.

Yep. That’s right.

Down to ONE CAR at the moment.

Tuesday around noon, Andrew left for work …. and came right up back to the apartment about 10 minutes later:

“Um, my car isn’t where I parked it. So I’m going to take your car and drive around the neighborhood and look.”

OK. Awesome. Exactly the way I was planning on spending my mid-April this year.

It’s now Thursday. Day 3 with 1 car. …..

Those of you who have seen it know Andrew’s car is nothing special. 1996 Honda Accord. Really, people. ~$2200 ? What possible reason would someone have for stealing it?

I keep hoping we’ll get that phone call saying it was abandoned perfectly fine a few blocks away. Joy ride, right?

WHY ELSE WOULD SOMEONE STEAL THAT CAR?

But, the good news is:
One of my coworkers lives just down the street AND works the same shift as me, so I’ve been able to get a ride to work.

The other good news is:
With gas at $4+/gallon I probably should have been carpooling all along

The other good news is:
We HAVE plenty of $ to get a new car. Luckily. There’s no need to apply for a last-minute car loan or anything. That fact alone keeps this from being a stressful situation.

The bad news is:
That $$ was supposed to be for our house down payment. Sigh.

But, living in Los Angeles, with our way different schedules and work locations we’re going to have to get another car soon. It’s nice that my co-worker can take me to work this week … but I’m sure he would appreciate the OPTION of not having to.

L.A. is simply based on a car-culture. I don’t have the option of taking public transportation to work.

Andrew could ride his bike to work, but he runs so many errands as part of his job, he needs a car too.

So, we’re shopping for a second car!

What kind of car do you drive? Do you like it?

One of the ones from that show – Schooner or Later – is down south [...]]]> Andrew and his co-workers watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives during their lunch …. One of the great things about living in Los Angeles is so many of these well-known foodie places are within driving distance.

One of the ones from that show – Schooner or Later – is down south of us, not far from where Kaitlin and Joe live …

One Sunday morning recently we drove down for brunch with Kaitlin, Joe, Chris, Chris’s girlfriend Kahla, Kahla’s mom and some more of their friends …

Schooner or Later is pretty cute …. it’s right on the marina and there’s a dock specifically for Schooner or Later guests …

The *thing* to get there is a SCHOONER of beer (or Bloody Mary) … and The Mess.

So (obviously) that’s what we got!

Good diner food (I kind of love diner food in general) … .but not really worth the nearly 2 hour wait we had.

Oh well.

Breakfast is always fun!

So after visiting LA Renegade, Andrew and I finagled a trip to The Stand on Ventura.

When my family is in town all I want to do is take them to all the good food places we visit…..

So after visiting LA Renegade, Andrew and I finagled a trip to The Stand on Ventura.

mmm …. the pickles are the best … hard to tell if my dad is having a good time or not, though …

Thus ends Christmas with my family …..  we watched some DVDs and played some games Sunday night and then they left Monday morning …..

That Sunday (mid-way through December) it was something absurd like 85 degrees out. Yuck. I am not a fan of heat.

But, since it was “so nice outside” (my mother’s words) we thought we should all go [...]]]> For whatever reason, the weekend my parents were in town, Los Angeles FORGOT that it was December….

That Sunday (mid-way through December) it was something absurd like 85 degrees out. Yuck. I am not a fan of heat.

But, since it was “so nice outside” (my mother’s words) we thought we should all go DO something as a family. Outdoors. In the heat.

After a couple suggestions, we settled on the Los Angeles Holiday Renegade craft fair – which I had wanted to go to but didn’t plan on due to the presence of family in town.

View more photos from the event here (not mine)

We arrived a little after lunch time and immediately got in line for some Kogi (Korean BBQ) tacos (yum!)

Renegade was at a Los Angeles park (with the skyline in the background) that would have been awesome if the weather had been cooler. With so much sun, it really would have been nice if they had chosen a park with trees.

Andrew and I were pretty much done with our Christmas shopping by this time, and I didn’t really have any money set aside to spend (even though I could have easily found a TON to buy) …. so we kind of just browsed, window-shopped and got ideas for our own projects to make….

Like these owl pillows – Andrew thought they would go GREAT with our couch. Cute, no?

We found this amazingly adorable octopus bookend.

Andrew thinks he could make one. We’ll see.

Oooh … one of my favorite booths – and one I would have gladly spent money at had I had it – was ErinZam’s collection of handmade/handbound books. Love.

She even sold tutorials so you could try your hand at making one (droplet.etsy.com)

Sad her etsy shop is closed at the moment….

Since Andrew and I weren’t really there to spend money, we found a shady spot to hangout, play Angry Birds, and wait for the others.

Kevin came walking up with bags of stuff for his girlfriend.

And none for me. Sad.

And then off to dinner …. Andrew and I took them to one of our favorite SF Valley places….

(to be continued)

The $1 bookstore selection was a bit disappointing – the price point makes up for it, though.

Since we were looking [...]]]> Last week Andrew and I made a trip down to Burbank for a little Christmas shopping …. We stopped by IKEA and the $1 bookstore to browse.

The $1 bookstore selection was a bit disappointing – the price point makes up for it, though.

Since we were looking for some Hemingway for Kevin, Andrew suggested we go across the street to the other used bookstore in the area. Still used books but about 1/2 the cover prices (vs. only $1).

It’s called ‘Movie World’ (why? I have no idea) …. and it pretty much looks like my idea of heaven ….

Bookshelves piled feet (and feet) above your head, more books piled on the floor (up to your knees), and SUCH an amazing selection … I found *exactly* what I was looking for. And then some.

For my birthday, Andrew’s going to take me back there and let me SWIM in all those books!

*please excuse the photo quality – we were just running errands so the only camera I had on me was the iPhone*

(This is the “cashier” … see that shoulder? Yea, exactly. This is his “counter”)

I can’t WAIT to go back!

Last year we went to Lombardi Ranch … this year – there’s a pumpkin patch just almost down the street from us.

Pierce College (a local community college) has an agricultural program, with a corn field, strawberries and all … Turns out they also do a pumpkin patch in the fall.