Pink

I am a huge fan of the color pink.  I used to deny my love for pink when I was younger to try and separate myself from the rest of the girlishness pack, but as I became older I embrace my love for this color.  In particular, I like the brighter colors of pink such as fuchsia and hence why one of my favorite plants is the bougainvillea and happens to be quite prevalent in Southern California. Poor D had to deal with fuchsia bath towels when we first met, but I have tried to tone down my love for pink since we began living together.  Now that you understand my love for pink, you will understand my intrigue when I came across Little Pink Book . The site combines two of my favorite things: the color pink and business!  Odd combination I know, but I've really enjoyed diving into this online resource for working women.  I decided to sign up for their daily emails and every day I get lovely little snippets of useful information such as suggestions on networking, beginning your own business, diversifying or maximizing your resume, etc.  They also have these cool one-minute video sessions interviewing women in executive management positions on various topics.  Since I've been working from home, its been nice to have these little inspirational emails so I highly recommend any working woman who may need a little pink pep talk to check out the site!

Ice House

Last weekend D and I went to watch John Caparulo perform some stand-up comedy at the "Ice House" in Pasadena.  We got there well before the show started and found a cute little wine bar called "Noir" next the comedy club that helped us happily pass the time before the show.  Next we went into the club and waited in the "VIP" area before we could take our actual seats. This “VIP” area had a couple sets of tables and chairs and a hor d'oeuvres table that included Swedish meatballs and a cheese and cracker plate.  The real kicker for me was that they served the hor d'oeuvres on these little glass plates that reminded me of the dishes I used to wash at a retirement home (yes, I worked as a dishwasher . . . not my worst job ever, but definitely up there). The show itself was great! The club is really small and our seats were fairly close to the stage. And the opening comic was even good too! Can't seem to recall his name though . . . could have been the wine. Then John came on stage and did a great 2 hour set. After the show, we left and as we were leaving the club we ran into John right outside the exit.  I immediately didn't know what to say, but D had it together enough and said "Really enjoyed your show and my wife and I love watching you on Chelsea Lately." John was extremely gracious and thanked us both for coming to the show and shook our hands.  Once I found my voice, I asked if I could take a pic of him and D and he smiled and said "Of course!" After that we hopped in our car and headed home.  Oddly enough, it took us only 30 minutes to get home, while it had taken us over 90 minutes to get to the Club.  Suppose, I have LA traffic to thank for that wonder!

"VIP" Lounge (sorry for no pics of the meatballs and cheese plate)

Opening Comic - forgot his name but know that he did make a guest appearance on "Parks and Recreation"

John Caparulo performing at Ice House

D and John Caparulo

Hot Yoga

Last Thursday I tried Bikram (pronounced BEEK-rahm) Yoga, or also known as "Hot Yoga," for the first time.  The class involves a set of 26 poses that are conducted over 120 minutes in a room that's about 105 F.  Sounds great, right?!  Well, I have a couple of friends who have tried it and they swear by it.  Great way to sweat things out and also to meditate/focus on working out too. I really enjoyed the first class and its recommended that you try the class a couple times in order to get the flow of the poses, so I'll be going back hopefully later this week. The above picture is my favorite pose so far called "Standing Bow Pose."  I certainly didn't look quite like this, but will hopefully get there one day!  I went to the Hot Yoga Center in Redondo Beach and was quite pleased with it, plus you get a bunch of discounts when you're a newbie.  Score!  Watch out, I might just turn into a yoga nerd after officially becoming a running nerd . . .

Weekend Adventures!

D and I were out and about a lot this weekend and had a ton-o-fun.  On Friday night we went to Pasadena for dinner and comedy show, Saturday we recovered and found a great breakfast place, and Sunday our friend L came over for a brunch at our apartment.  Can you tell that D and I enjoy food?!  As much as we enjoy food, we're continuing to explore the greater LA area.  I'll write about Pasadena tomorrow, but I'll quickly talk about the breakfast place we found on Saturday.  We first heard about the Gaffey Street Diner on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" because of its location in the little harbor/working-town of San Pedro, which is only 20 minutes from our place.  Score!  It was a cute little diner and I knew we had picked the right place, because we noticed a group of local firemen AND a ground of the local US Coast Guard.  I had pumpkin pancakes and D had biscuits and gravy, which were both out of this world.  The food was good and filling, we didn't have another meal for the rest of the day, and will definitely be staying on our "Repeat" list.  Check out the clip about the diner on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"!

 

KT's Bridal Shower

A couple of weeks ago I went to a bridal shower for my dear friend KT.  A very fun day of sharing good food and drinks with some of KT's closest friends and family.  The shower was loosely themed off of Barbie, as a salute to KT's extensive collection of Barbie dolls.  My wonderful Father-in-law even photo-shopped a picture of KT on a bridal Barbie for the invites.  I got a little pink Barbie car for everyone to sign as a little memento for KT to remember her shower by :) Very fun day!  My favorite part was when KT opened a shower gift of some sexy lingerie right in front of her fiancee's Mother and then proceed to turn bright red.  KT is not exactly shy, so it was fun to see her squirm a little.  Only six more months till her wedding and I can't wait!

KT opening some gifts

Surf City Half Marathon - Race Day

I did it!  On Sunday, I ran the Surf City Half Marathon!  It was a long road, but a lot of fun.  I didn't beat my previous race time, but I felt infinitely better than I did after the last race.  D, who cheered me on at the race, also noted the improvement over last time.  D said, "Wow, you look great!  You don't look like you're going to die!"  Thanks, dear.  D was such a trooper though, and left the house with me at 5:15 am on Sunday morning to head out for the race.  Once we made it to the race around 7 am, I left him to hang out on his own for a couple of hours until I was done.  The day wasn't too sunny and it didn't rain, which was absolutely perfect for a run.  A lot of TNT folks from all over Southern California were there too, so it was great to get into the spirit of things.  From the Greater LA Chapter of TNT, the race had about 73 Runners & Walkers who raised over $158,000!!! Such a pleasure working with a positive and fun organization!  Highly recommend it!!

Southbay TNT Group (Me on the far right)

Portlandia

Had a fabulous weekend in Sacramento this weekend throwing a bridal shower for my dear friend KT.  Will have some pics up soon, but in the mean time here's a clip of a new show on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) called "Portlandia."  Its suppose to be a spoof on the liberal culture in Portland, but from what I've seen so far, it also reminds me a lot of the kind of folks you run into in SF as well.  Follow the link below and enjoy!

"Portlandia" Clip