from raleighwood to hollywood

1. nothing better than hanging out with some deer friends

despite the rainy weather, i've been trying to keep up with doing my hike almost everyday. i've been on the lookout for rattlesnakes and coyotes, but nobody told me i was going to meet some lovely deer! (sorry for the crappy picture, i didn't want them to run so i took it fast)

at our house in raleigh, when you sit down at the kitchen table and look out the giant window, you can almost put money on the fact that you'll see at least one deer. north carolina deer must be a little more skittish because they'll see us peeling a banana and run for the woods. when i came around the corner at griffith park and stood face to face (well...twenty feet away) from these two deer, they looked at me like i had just interrupted their dinner. west coast deer must be more laid back. i'm surprised they didn't ask if i wanted to hang my jacket on their antlers.

2. a day at the beach

although getting out to do the hike every day has been great, sometimes you just need a change of scenery. my griffith park hike also happens to be about a fifteen minute jog from the apartment, so i was feeling the need to get a little further away.

santa monica may be a bit of a drive, but the view is kind of worth it.

the weather has been a bit cooler this past week--in the 50s which is like alaska here--so i knew that this beach day wouldn't necesarrily be a laying out day. it would be a running on the boardwalk and finding a good lunch spot kind of day. i was craving something healthy and had done some research on good salad places in the area.

this yummy soup and salad came from urth cafe on main street.

the urth salad: hearts of palm, olives, cherry tomatoes, feta, and chickpeas.

mushroom barley soup.

if i said that the food wasn't good i'd be lying, but if you know me, i have a tendency to overly rave about everything that i eat (the joke i usually get from my best friend is: "oh my gah! this is the BEST splenda packet i have EVER had!") the sad part is that it's not really an exagerration. what can i say...i love food! ironically, i wasn't super impressed with what i got at urth cafe. i'm sure they have lots of other delicious sandwiches, salads, sweets, and coffees--but what i ordered wasn't exactly worth the $15 i paid for it. i mean really...fifteen dollars for a half salad and some soup? i realize that i'm in a pricey area, but you can get that at panera for nine dollars. and that's WITH a sweet tea. needless to say, i was a little ticked off about paying so much for something that wasn't even THAT fantastic.

so,

i did what any girl in my position would do.

i took home a few of THEIR dollars with me.

it wasn't exactly a refund...but it made me feel better.

plus i was on my last roll at home.

3. better than flowers

if you read my last blog post, you saw that my dad had offered to buy me dinner for valentine's day since i wasn't home to go out and celebrate with him and my mom. i very willingly accepted his generous offer and brought home some sushi the other night. olive and i enjoyed our delicious dinner and rented a movie from blockbuster.

it was the best valentine i've ever gotten.

it's not that i'm opposed to flowers...but you can't dunk flowers in soy sauce and eat them.

highlight of the day:

the joke about hollywood is that EVERYONE is either an actor or a model.

guess what?

yall were right.