Major life goal achieved: I have cooked, all by myself, an entire turkey. We had our own Thanksgiving today after having spent this year here in L.A., with friends, which was nice, but no leftovers. We were kindly entertained by some old friends in Venice on Thursday. This was a unique and beachy Turkey day experience, capped off by a beautiful sunset walk down to Venice pier. However, we desired leftovers.
The opportunity to cook never seems to come. We're too far away to get our families out here for holidays. So, we thought it might be nice to try out the roasting pan we got for our wedding 3 years ago over the weekend and cook a 13-pounder just for the 2 of us.
All I have to say is God bless Martha! I used her cheesecloth-basting method and the bird came out all crispy brown and beautiful. It really works! Soak the cheesecloth in wine, butter and herbs and cover the whole bird with it, then baste every half hour throughout the first three hours of roasting.
Other than that, the holiday season came right up and smacked us just as soon as the car door shut Thursday afternoon. I hit Target for wrapping paper and such on Friday -- the selection's great when you don't put it off til two weeks before the holiday. I'm ahead of the game! (Not.) It's hard to know what to get people for gifts in a year where clearly material goods are flowing freely. Everyone I know seems to have already bought themselves everything they've ever wanted. I am not imagining things, am I? That can't be good.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Akhil and I are suffering from Chosun Galbee hangover today, that is, Korean BBQ O.D. It was Angel's birthday and she and Tony took us out there (corner of Western and Olympic) where this impressive and totally packed establishment in the heart of where else, Koreatown, serves you so much food it's hard to believe. No less than 8 included apps and side dishes, from seaweed soup to potato salad to kim chee, spicy cucumbers, fish cake and who knows what else. We each ate our share of shrimp, galbee (which is their signature beef), sweet potato noodles and fried fish, and only one of us managed to eat a Dots cupcake when we got back home. (Not me, thankfully). Well ok, admittedly, we did sample a coconut-topped, pina colada one before we left the house.
So today I am digesting all of that, but also the incredible mountain of information I absorbed into my brain this week. Starting last Monday, I became an employee of the Mouse, and the week was somewhat of a whirlwind due to this transition, of course. But yesterday, it was house-fixing info that filled my brain to capacity as we had the most incredible landscaper here to consult on the mess that is the "English garden" in our front yard, and a mason from Boston Brick and Stone to tell us how to handle our mish-mosh of an 86-year-old, disfunctional chimney. From there we scrambled over to this amazing, buried treasure of a place out in Highland Park called Mortarless Building Supply, on Fletcher. Places like these are what makes L.A. so continually interesting!
Backing up a bit, I did manage to get some good fun in with Heather here when we saw Joey Lawrence and Edyta do a "Dancing With the Stars" bit at Disneyland followed by numerous rides (like Pirates) and a hearthside cocktail at the Grand Californian (fittingly) before I started the new gig. Then my mom came out to visit all by herself and we treated her to the Getty experience as well as her first taste of Thai at Saladang. Now though, it's back into full overdrive mode, and this weekend we are aiming to get some of the big "Phase 2" home-fixing projects kickstarted.
The garden is my project. I didn't know consulting on such matters was a service that nurseries and landscapers offered, but indeed they do, and I found a great one. There's this little French cafe and bakery on Fremont in South Pasadena, and right next to it, a garden center called Barrister's sells the most beautiful plants and flowers. Well, the proprietor came out and surveyed the scene here yesterday morning and she was a magnificent font of info - I need little more than the hour I spent with her to recommend the place wholeheartedly. We've got a lot of pruning, digging, replanting and weeding to do. It looks like the flippers that sold this house two owners ago had no real long-term cares when they overhauled -- we can't complain much, but when it comes to doing things the right way with just about ANYTHING, flippers kind of suck.
Boston Brick and Stone gave us heartening news on the chimney but the best thing was they pointed us to this little, overstuffed tile place you'd never find on your own out on Fletcher, where the owners have been collecting turn-of-the-century original tile "since they were kids" and have more passion for the stuff than anyone I've seen. Boxes of unused Batchelder, old Malibu and Catalina tile, new reproduction versions of everything and plenty of ideas.
I'm a big fan of California tile now that I live here and was introduced to the whole industry when we discovered the amazing Adamson House in Malibu, where we ended up getting married. Malibu tile is featured in this home-turned-museum, where the Rhoda Rindge Adamson lived when her family owned most of Malibu and ran Malibu Potteries until around 1932. Ernest Batchelder was a Pasadena guy who made tile through his firm from around 1910 to 1932 in his own special style. The stuff is relatively hard to find now, and incredibly expensive if you want anything with a design on it. Friezes can run into the $1000s, sadly. This is the tile style that I'm eyeing though, for a possible redo on the odd textured plaster finish we've got on our fireplace facade. We'd love to get our hands on some of that stuff.
So today I am digesting all of that, but also the incredible mountain of information I absorbed into my brain this week. Starting last Monday, I became an employee of the Mouse, and the week was somewhat of a whirlwind due to this transition, of course. But yesterday, it was house-fixing info that filled my brain to capacity as we had the most incredible landscaper here to consult on the mess that is the "English garden" in our front yard, and a mason from Boston Brick and Stone to tell us how to handle our mish-mosh of an 86-year-old, disfunctional chimney. From there we scrambled over to this amazing, buried treasure of a place out in Highland Park called Mortarless Building Supply, on Fletcher. Places like these are what makes L.A. so continually interesting!
Backing up a bit, I did manage to get some good fun in with Heather here when we saw Joey Lawrence and Edyta do a "Dancing With the Stars" bit at Disneyland followed by numerous rides (like Pirates) and a hearthside cocktail at the Grand Californian (fittingly) before I started the new gig. Then my mom came out to visit all by herself and we treated her to the Getty experience as well as her first taste of Thai at Saladang. Now though, it's back into full overdrive mode, and this weekend we are aiming to get some of the big "Phase 2" home-fixing projects kickstarted.
The garden is my project. I didn't know consulting on such matters was a service that nurseries and landscapers offered, but indeed they do, and I found a great one. There's this little French cafe and bakery on Fremont in South Pasadena, and right next to it, a garden center called Barrister's sells the most beautiful plants and flowers. Well, the proprietor came out and surveyed the scene here yesterday morning and she was a magnificent font of info - I need little more than the hour I spent with her to recommend the place wholeheartedly. We've got a lot of pruning, digging, replanting and weeding to do. It looks like the flippers that sold this house two owners ago had no real long-term cares when they overhauled -- we can't complain much, but when it comes to doing things the right way with just about ANYTHING, flippers kind of suck.
Boston Brick and Stone gave us heartening news on the chimney but the best thing was they pointed us to this little, overstuffed tile place you'd never find on your own out on Fletcher, where the owners have been collecting turn-of-the-century original tile "since they were kids" and have more passion for the stuff than anyone I've seen. Boxes of unused Batchelder, old Malibu and Catalina tile, new reproduction versions of everything and plenty of ideas.
I'm a big fan of California tile now that I live here and was introduced to the whole industry when we discovered the amazing Adamson House in Malibu, where we ended up getting married. Malibu tile is featured in this home-turned-museum, where the Rhoda Rindge Adamson lived when her family owned most of Malibu and ran Malibu Potteries until around 1932. Ernest Batchelder was a Pasadena guy who made tile through his firm from around 1910 to 1932 in his own special style. The stuff is relatively hard to find now, and incredibly expensive if you want anything with a design on it. Friezes can run into the $1000s, sadly. This is the tile style that I'm eyeing though, for a possible redo on the odd textured plaster finish we've got on our fireplace facade. We'd love to get our hands on some of that stuff.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
No further evidence needed: we've been extremely busy this fall. Interior paint, shoe molding, lighting fixtures, electrical upgrade, seismic retrofit and an ongoing list of odds and ends has kept us energized and occupied. Now I get it - "pride of ownership" -- you want people to understand the extraordinary amount of work you had to do to whip the tiny house into shape! Well, we are proud -- it's the best (as long as it doesn't rain -- we have yet to test those 81-year-old window seals).
The jack-o-lanterns on the front porch are all the evidence we need to realize we are truly suburbanite old people now. Some of the kids who came to the door last night were at least as old as I am (in my head) and I know they thought Akhil and I were twelve. The teenagers did not even bother to dress up. That's pretty rude, I thought, but I gave them their Willy Wonka Nerds and Sweettarts like the nice old lady that I am.
Heather comes this week to break in the new "guest room" and then, my mom comes out solo next week. Todd already made it out to visit last month -- and we got in a trip to SeaWorld. Does anyone else find it odd that the place is sponsored by Anheuser-Busch? I mean, they have a Budweiser pavilion and a fleet of Clydesdales. Beer and whales. Hmmm... Whatever.
Congrats to Caroline who welcomed baby James last Monday! I get to see him tomorrow since I am off all this week. And THAT's because...
On top of all this good stuff, I report to duty at a fabulous new job at Disney this month. The choice of company is coincidental, and nothing more - Akhil and I will NOT be carpooling - as we are in different divisions, buildings, towns. But everyone has asked.
The jack-o-lanterns on the front porch are all the evidence we need to realize we are truly suburbanite old people now. Some of the kids who came to the door last night were at least as old as I am (in my head) and I know they thought Akhil and I were twelve. The teenagers did not even bother to dress up. That's pretty rude, I thought, but I gave them their Willy Wonka Nerds and Sweettarts like the nice old lady that I am.
Heather comes this week to break in the new "guest room" and then, my mom comes out solo next week. Todd already made it out to visit last month -- and we got in a trip to SeaWorld. Does anyone else find it odd that the place is sponsored by Anheuser-Busch? I mean, they have a Budweiser pavilion and a fleet of Clydesdales. Beer and whales. Hmmm... Whatever.
Congrats to Caroline who welcomed baby James last Monday! I get to see him tomorrow since I am off all this week. And THAT's because...
On top of all this good stuff, I report to duty at a fabulous new job at Disney this month. The choice of company is coincidental, and nothing more - Akhil and I will NOT be carpooling - as we are in different divisions, buildings, towns. But everyone has asked.
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