from raleighwood to hollywood

playing ketchup

so, i thought it would be fun today to just catch you up on everything from the weekend. i have too many pictures to just pick three things!

on my last day of work before the very long weekend (i had off this saturday...yay!), i bought myself lunch at a place across the street from my office. i ended up at a place called corner bakery, which is kind of like the panera bread of los angeles. i got the half turkey frisco and caesar salad combo and it was awesome. this place has a gigantic menu AND a whole case full of desserts--including homemade whoopie pies!

of course once my weekend officially began (friday), it was time for some homemade hashbrowns.

ever since moving into the new apartment, i've been busy with work and other random things. it was nice to have a few days to just relax and enjoy my new space. sometimes, you just need to watch movies all day long.

a friend took me to dinner friday night and i had some unexpectedly AWESOME food. other than the amazing restaurants i experienced while sara was here, i mostly just stick to cooking at home or easy takeout. it was fun to experience a night out for some incredible food. we ate at AOC wine bar (a tapas restaurant) and the first few small plates were so good i forgot to take pictures! but once this lamb burger was slid under my nose, i had to bring out the camera phone. it came with pickled cucumbers, cumin yogurt, and mini sweet potato chips.

we also had the goat cheese with dried figs and saba, the burata mozzerella with root vegetables, and the clams with sherry and garlic toast. i know right, pretty ridiculous.

as for dessert...

this is the chocolate peanut butter brownie with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream.

yes, it was warm. and yes, i almost fell out of my chair.

after a long saturday of movie-watching and relaxing, i decided to take a walk yesterday. i took my usual hike up beachwood and decided to walk on the opposite side of the street to change it up a bit. i forgot how good the view was from that side of the road.

mini history lesson: the famous hollywood sign originally said "hollywoodland" and it represented not the city of hollywood, but the real estate company (which still exists today). apparently the "land" part of the sign kept falling down so they decided to just leave it up as "hollywood". i wonder whatever happened to the person who made the decision to just have the sign say hollywood.

it occured to me that although i've mentioned the place with the best bacon in town, i've never actually taken a picture of it! 

later that night, i decided to run a few errands.

taco bell was NOT on my to-do list, but isn't that always how taco bell ends up in your lap? it also wasn't on my to-do list to give the homeless man outside of walgreens a pack of keebler crackers, but i wasn't willing to give up my cash and the truth is that i'm not crazy about the crackers in the first place.

he looked at me like i had just given him an ipod. it was totally worth it.

throw pillows WERE on my to-do list.

i know you probably have no idea what this is, but if you look closely, you can make out the words "life's a pic-a-nic." that's right everybody, they are coming out with a yogi bear MOVIE! is there anything more exciting?!

why yes, yes there is.

at trader joe's, there were giving out samples of their thanksgiving products so i had my first taste of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and green bean casserole. is there anything more exciting?!

why yes, yes there is.

while i was enjoying my samples, "stronger" by britney spears came on.

not only do my throw pillow really brighten up the room, they match my good karma flags! they also feel kind of hawaiian, which make me think of my sister :) she also gave me the gift card to pier 1 which is how i bought these pillows, so it was only right that they reminded me of her!

other new editions: sconces from the apartment back home! a few years ago, i thought that sconces were something you topped with blueberries and ate with coffee. now, my shower curtain matches my comforter and i use words like "duvet" and "table runner".

shoutouts to those of you who have taught me about decorating.

i also got this awesome pumpkin clove candle as a housewarming present and it's been filling my tiny apartment with all kinds of holiday smells. i have a feeling i'm going to bake a pie soon.

and i don't bake pie.

i ended the relaxing weekend last night with the usual: pizza and a movie. and yes, i put hot sauce on my pizza.

this is my pizza with my new throw pillow.

...clearly i'm still very excited about it.

highlight of the day (weekend):

i got to skype with my parents last night! it was weird watching them in the living room because i'm normally sitting on the floor up against the gold chair while the three of us are watching sarah talk to nani in hawaii. but this time it was my turn. i took them on the tour of the apartment, which obviously didnt' take very long and mostly consisted of my mom saying things like "that bathroom rug looks beautiful!" and "show us the little plates i sent you!"

but my favorite part of the coversation was when i casually mentioned that i had just finished taking a spider outside. i grew up in a house where unless the bug is large enough to borrow your pants, we trap them in tupperware containers and take them outside. yes, even spiders. the funny thing is that i had seen this baby spider in my bathtub yesterday and he didn't move once the entire day. so i decided to just leave him there until i needed to take a shower. my parents seemed slightly surprised that i would allow a spider--even a teeny tiny one--to just hang out in the bathroom. i think sub-consciously it felt like he was my first pet and part of me didn't want to say goodbye just yet. i realize that it's a spider and the truth is that i'm terrified of spiders and would never have one as a pet, but this one seemed harmless. it then occured to me that my first day cleaning the apartment, i let a little bug scurry across the counter without any thought of taking it outside. and then i realized outloud what was going out.

"holy crap. i've been letting little bugs run free in this apartment because they're the only company i have."

i really need a pet.