It's been over a month since I last posted. Needless to say, it's been quite the busy month!
Without going through and trying to remember all the details of every single day, I'll post the fun stuff :)
The last weekend in August, we went to Fishbone at Saint Rocke on Friday night. Charlie's dad and step-mom, Giann, came into on Saturday. The four of us, as well as my dad and Lisa, went to The Abigaile in Hermosa for dinner. It's a tapas-style restaurant that serves up some delicious food. Between the 6 of us, we probably got about 10-15 dishes. After we were stuffed to the brim, Charlie and I went back to Chuck & Giann's hotel for drinks followed by a Stepping Feet (Dave Matthews cover band) show at Saint Rocke with Luke! Sunday morning, we met back up with Chuck and Giann and took them to Terranea to hike down to the sea caves. It was a gorgeous day, and after a long hike to the water, we had drinks on the Redondo Pier. The day ended with me cooking up a fiesta for all of us -- carne asada tacos, taco dip, beans, and homemade guacamole! As always, it was a quick but fun trip with Charlie's family.
Fishbone @ Saint Rocke
Dinner @ The Abigaile
Stepping Feet @ Saint Rocke
Hike down to the water at Terranea
Margaritas at El Tortio on the Redondo Pier
Opener for Spazmatics
Spazmatics ...the best 80's cover band EVER!
Ozomatli and the dance party/drum circle at the end
Char & Jason
Cobra/Scorpion whiskey
"It tastes like a reptile" - Charlie
Hanging @ the beach in Hermosa
The following weekend we went to see Micah Brown at The Lighthouse. He is a musician from Orange County who we saw at Doheny Days music festival last summer...he's great! That Saturday I worked while Charlie went to a music studio party in Hollywood. Sunday was the Bears first game, so we rode our bikes to Silvios, a Bears bar, in Hermosa. A couple of friends joined us, we drank way too much beer, and had a blast watching our Bears win their first game of the season.
Micah Brown @ The Lighthouse
Daa Bears ...rocking our Hester jerseys @9am!
The week that followed was a busy one! Tuesday we went to Whitney and Andrew's for haircuts (thanks Whit!). As always, we had a great time catching up and playing with their 1.5 year old, Jackson.
Wednesday we went to the Hollywood Bowl for Dave Matthews Band. I packed us a huge picnic of carrots and hummus, two kinds of cheese, two kinds of crackers, chocolate covered raisins, reeces pieces, a bottle of Dreaming Tree (Dave Matthew's wine), and salami. We rode the shuttle from Torrance to the Bowl where we downed the bottle of Dreaming Tree in about 10 minutes. We got there in time to see the opening act (Allen Stone...one of Charlie's new favorites) finishing up and soon after, Dave came on. Charlie's seen Dave about 25-30 times, but this was only my second show. I was completely disappointed. I loved the first Dave show I went to, but this time, the sound was horrible, the crowd was sitting (because of the lack of performance), and he didn't play that great of a set (I personally love his old classics). Although it wasn't the best show, we still had a great time!
On the way to Dave ...the only picture I got before my camera died!
Two days later, on Friday, we had two guys from high school (Peter & Jake) over for dinner. They had just moved to California and were living out of their cars. I thought the least we could do was feed them a home cooked meal. We had a great time hanging out in our living room and cracking up all night!
That Sunday, Charlie's childhood friend, Amber, her boyfriend Oscar, and their adorable pug Darwin came through town. They have been backpacking/camping/traveling the western part of the US for the second half of the summer, so they stopped to stay with us for two nights. On Sunday, we mostly relaxed, drank some beers, made some food, went for a walk on the Redondo Pier. Monday, Charlie and I had to work, but after work, we all went to Saint Rocke for Monday Night Football and Geeks Who Drink (trivia). Although we didn't watch much of the game, we had a great night spending time with great friends! We even ended up winning bacon toothpaste during trivia that Amber and I actually did end up using that night (it was disgusting).
The only picture from our walk on the Redondo Pier
Monday Night Football & Geeks Who Drink
Wrapping Darwin up to sneak him out of our apartment ("No Dogs Allowed")
Tuesday Charlie and I won tickets to Matisyahu and the Dirty Heads at the Palladium in Hollywood. We took two of his friend, Brian and Julian. I was there mostly for the Dirty Heads, as I hadn't seen them before. They were great! Matisyahu put on a good show as always too. The show was actually pretty short, so we stopped by Mike and Luke's on the way home (Amber & Oscar had moved onto their place Tuesday morning). After some beers and some hanging out, we called it a night.
Friday night we met back up with the same crew in Santa Monica. We had a night full of shenanigans...seeing live music, running the streets, shutting down bars. It was quite the send off for Amber and Oscar's last night in town! Once we got home, I spent the next 15+ hours on the bathroom floor after I drank way too much vodka.
Saturday was a horribly rough day, as I couldn't even stand up straight (stomach pains) until about 3pm. We were headed out for the night, so I knew I had to get up and get ready at some point. One of my best friends from high school, Katie, was in town with her boyfriend Ryan (who also happens to be Whitney's brother). The four of us, plus Whitney and Andrew, had dinner reservations at Da Pasquale Trattoria in Beverly Hills and tickets to Ivan Amodei's Intimate Illusions (magic show) at the Beverly Wilshire. The restaurant we went to was a cute little Italian spot. Although Charlie was unhappy with his (poor excuse of a) calzone, everyone else liked their meals. My homemade spinach and ricotta ravioli with a garlic basil marinara was to.die.for. Incredible. After dinner, we headed over to the Beverly Wilshire for drinks before the magic show. The show was 90 minutes, and it was awesome. Ivan had some great illusions, some fun magic, and a hilarious show. He's quite the comedian. After the show, we went out to a great little Mexican spot on Hollywood Blvd. for drinks. After another long night out, we got home around 330am.
Dinner at Da Pasquale
Sunday, we all met in Venice for drinks/lunch. After a walk down the boardwalk, we all parted ways until later in the afternoon. After Whitney dropped off Ryan at the airport, she dropped Katie off to meet me. Katie spent her last night in town at our place! I made the three of us dinner and we watched I Love You Man. The next morning, Katie and I went to breakfast at the Redondo Cafe on the pier, and then I dropped her off at LAX. Although it was a short trip, it's always great to see and catch up with my best friends!
Monday night, Lisa came over for dinner for some AMAZING meatballs (made by yours truly). My dad is in Peoria for over a month (working on rental houses), so I promised to feed Lisa a few times while he's gone :) It was great catching up and getting to relax with family.
Wednesday, Charlie and I got on the guest list for Dispatch at the House of Blues in Hollywood. A band called Current Swell opened for them, and they were amazing. More and more these days, I've been really impressed with openers! Check them out ...you won't be disappointed. Dispatch put on an amazing show, as always. They had a great set list followed by TWO, yes TWO, encores. We were about 6th row (standing room only) for the show, and by the time the second encore started, we had made our way up to the very front. I got some great pictures, and Charlie managed to get a really cool signed poster from the band.
Current Swell
Friday I had to work, as usual. I take Audrey to a place called My Gym (similar to Gymboree, a place were toddlers can run, climb, sing, etc.). I thought it was going to be an average My Gym class...an hour of chasing around a 2.5 year old. However, once we got to My Gym, I saw a man who looked familiar. I immediately knew it was Steve Blake. For those of you who don't know, Steve Blake is a Laker. And everyone who knows me, knows that I am a huuuge, obsessed Lakers fan. I was SO excited and SO nervous. I know he doesn't get to spend much time with his family (especially with the season just a few weeks away), so I didn't want to interrupt his time with his son. Fortunately for me, there was a part of the class where the kids play solo. I made my move ;) Steve had hurt his foot a few weeks ago (just in time for the season to start, YIKES!), so I looked over and said "how's your foot?". He told me it was getting better, but like anything, it's a process. We then made small talk ...I'm a nanny, I bring Aud to My Gym every week, his son is 2, Aud is 2.5, I'm excited for the season and have already bought tickets to a couple of games, told him I'm sure it's nice that he gets to spend time with his kids before the season starts, etc.. After class, I went to put my shoes on, and guess who's were right next to mine?! :-D So Steve asked for my name! I told him, and he shook my hand and formally introduced himself. Now, I've met quite a few celebrities living in Los Angeles. I'm always star struck and usually just ask for a picture and go skipping on my merry way. I didn't ask for a picture in this case, because I didn't want to be rude AND because I'm hoping to possibly get a babysitting gig for his family. However, this was probably the most excited I've ever been after meeting someone famous. He's a freaking Laker! Ahhhh! :-D :-D After My Gym, I took Audrey to a celebratory lunch filled with lots of Mexican food from Wahoo's Fish Tacos!
For those of you who don't know Steve Blake, here he is with Kobe!
Friday night Charlie had won us a pair of tickets to Citizen Cope at The Wiltern. It was definitely not the best show I've been to in a while. I like his music, but as Charlie said, his studio work is way better than his live performances. He was very one-toned during the entire show ...by his 3rd encore song, I was ready to leave. It was also our first time at The Wiltern, and I quickly decided that it's not my favorite venue!
Saturday we street teamed all morning and afternoon. At the end of it, Charlie bought us Pick Up Stix for the lunch. By the time we got home and started to relax, my phone started ringing. One of my best guy friends of all time, Andrew Fillmore, was in town! He knew he was coming on a short trip and didn't think he'd have time to see us. Luckily, we live so close to LAX that he was able to stop for the night. I made us bruschetta and homemade Hawaiian pizza for dinner, we drank way too much beer, and we all had a great time catching up. Have I mentioned how nice it is having my friends in town?! :)
Just hangin with my best fraaand :)
Having some fun with my boys!
After Fillmore left on Sunday morning, I got ready to head to brunch. Lisa's best friend from home, Renee, had been in town since last week, so we (including Katy & Lisa's good friend Rose) all went out to Tapas and Vino. Luckily for me, Tapas and Vino is just up the street from my house. I rode my bike there! We ended up sitting at the restaurant for over 3 hours just chatting, laughing, eating tapas, and having a few glasses of wine. Although it was extremely hot (high of 90), we had a great spot in the shade, and it was fun having some 'girl time'. After brunch (which turned into lunch), I headed home and ordered Showtime. I watched half of Weeds season 7, made homemade beef stroganoff for dinner (upon Charlie's request!), and then we watched the new Dexter and Homeland before calling it a night.
[*PICTURES OF BRUNCH COMING SOON ...Lisa, send me some ;)*]
So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, there's what's been going on in a nutshell. Whewww. It's been an extremely busy, yet extremely fun month (plus a few days).
Tonight Charlie and I are going to watch our Bears play Monday Night Football at Saint Rocke, and tomorrow we will celebrate our official one-year of being boyfriend and girlfriend :)
Adios!
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