from raleighwood to hollywood

because food should always be three times the size of your head.

i met a friend for lunch the other day in studio city--which i have now learned is also called "the valley" or "the other side of the hill." in raleigh, we just say "cary" or "durham." we went to pagliacci's and he introduced me to the largest slice of pizza in los angeles. i finished my slice before he did.

and i'm not even embarassed.

now...onto the: 

 1. 90210

i guess santa likes to hit beverly hills early..

don't you guys think it's a little soon to be naming stores after me?

people sure go all out for christmas here.

i mean, this is the 90210. wait...

2. speaking of chopsticks

today, i accidentely ended up in westwood. or was it rancho park? or was it century city? the signs here continue to confuse me. all i know is that i drove PAST beverly hills. my destination was the west side SPCA, but don't worry, i just went to find out some information for when i come back. i did NOT leave with any furry four legged friends. but i sure was close to sticking a few of those kittens in my pocket. while i was there, i saw a newborn kitten (they predicted she was about about three weeks old) and this thing was the size of a squirel. i can't wait to find my fluffy little best friend. after a long afternoon of driving around, what better way to end the day than with a little good fortune?

i even got a 25 :)

aside from some dried goods that reside in the pantry, my kitchen is somewhat scarce since i've been eating everything in sight to keep food from going bad when i'm gone. tonight was a chinese food delivery kind of night, and after MUCH research, i decided on a place called little china. the popular order there is the orange chicken and now i know exactly why! even the spring rolls were light and crispy. it's no neo-china or china star, but it did the job.

friday night: all dressed up for dinner and drinks. saturday night: chinese food delivery and movies on TV. i like to change it up.

3. "what does one wear to a restaurant where they might run into jennifer aniston?"

this is the question i asked my best friend last night as i began sifting through my closet for an outfit. my friend aaron--a fellow foodie--has an ever-growing list of los angeles restaurants that he's been waiting to try. the other day he mentioned a restaurant called pace, which is in lauren canyon and happens to be a place that jennifer aniston (or my cousin, as he likes to call her) frequents often. we went last night for dinner and enjoyed some AMAZING food and wine.

there's jen on the left.

look at the size of this menu! i don't think i decided on my entree until we were finished with our salads. so, want to know what we ordered?! i'm dying to see the pictures again just as much as you're dying to see them for the first time! but you'll have to click here to see the full story :)

highlight of the day:

the truth? the tiny cat that looked like a squirel. but i didn't get a picture. so in that case, i leave you with this picture i found on the internet. bless you google: