Sweet and Salty

Sorry Laura and Adin that this was not open when you were here!  I won't go on too long about this place but it is a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in The Grove.  It just opened and we missed the soft opening but finally made it for lunch the other day. 

I don't know much about this Ramsay guy but the food here was delicious!  I surely made my dad proud by ordering the shepherd's pie.  The decor and menu items were pretty British inspired, down to a new dessert that I learned about -  eton mess.  I had no idea.  And paleo wasn't looking so, I tried it!  It had berries in it, so I claim 80:20 here.  Just saying, gotta live a little.

Shepherd's pie with lamb meat, mac n cheese in the background

Eton mess, from the Internet because we inhaled it before I could snap a shot

Before we could slip into a food coma, we worked our way through the ever famous Dylan's Candy Bar and into the Farmer's Market area.  I strangely only first heard of Dylan's from Project Runway, so sometimes it DOES pay to watch television.  Goodbye teeth.

Over on the Farmer's Market side, they shape their meats, which I thought was really neat...s.  Love a good rhyme, c'mon.  Olive eyes...

Traffic on the way home reminded me of where I live, though it is starting to feel more like home (away from home, of course).

My travel company likes to remind me where I am also, in their control.  Must do this.  Need this paperwork.  Deadlines and risks of being removed from everything I benefit from and enjoy out here.  Thanks, buzzkillers.

My printer is out of ink.  My apartment building is surprisingly out of ink in their printer (as always is the case).  The office wasn't open, so I called on my friend Danielle to borrow her far superior computer room and printer.  It was so fancy in there! Yes, this is really the computer room!  The computers are stored in the wall on the sides where you can't see them.  Very posh...

Thanks Danielle!

If you haven't had a chance to listen to Ellie Goulding's new album, Halcyon, do it!  It has been my obsession since I gave up Florence recently.  I can't stop playing it and continue to fall in love with each song.  Just one more play...

She was, to my surprise, at The Grove this past week.  I made special arrangements to be there to see her and hopefully a song or a mini show.  I waited where I thought she would be (near the Extra stage for her interview) but there wasn't anything set up.  I made a few laps and a pit stop in Dylan's again (whoops!).  I passed Barnes and Noble.  I rechecked the schedule.  I went back to my car before traffic was about to get out of control.  Something must have happened...  When I got to my car, I checked The Grove's Facebook page.  Look at what they had posted three minutes earlier.  THREE MINUTES! 

Rage.

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I bought my tickets for home last night!  Unfortunately, it was significantly cheaper for me to leave Friday instead of Saturday so, we will have to hug it out for six and not seven days instead.  Let's make it count!

With such a big spend, I am trying to behave buuuuuuuuuuuuut.... This is my weekend off from work!  I had a really trying day at work yesterday, in which the charge nurse hugged me and thanked me for all of my efforts with this extremely difficult family and patient.  I left for the evening and she said "I will miss you and your care" so I guess my efforts were noticed.  I learned a lot about working on that unit so as much as it hurt, I grew as a nurse there. 

So on this, my first day to sleep in, I was naturally up bright and early, thank you dayshift.  Luckily for Max, this meant that I had time to make it a puppy spa day!  I went to buy food for him aka learn where the Petco is out here.  To my surprise, his regular food had an updated bag and the food is shaped a bit differently, but he liked it just the same.  As I was picking out his bag, making sure it was the same as before, I noticed a significant updated detail on the bag.  They gave age ranges!  Adult dog is now only 2-6 years old.  If this is true, Max, age 7.75, should be eating the Senior kibble.  What does that even mean!?  I was so flustered and in denial that I knocked the bag off the counter as I tried to quickly pay and escape the rude message that store was telling me.  My puppy who just ran a 5K with me the other day is no senior!

Then we made it to the self wash place, Tailwashers.  Oh boy!  He shivered and shook like he lived on the east coast for a minute ;)  The facility was nice enough, the price was right but the soap was pretty weak.  At least they had a blow dryer for him.  We both left that place covered in hair.  At least one of us smelled nice.  And for that, we thank you Hollywood.

See?  PUPPY.

 
Max can now boast to his fur friends that he gets his hair done at the same places as pets belonging to Rachel Bilson, Kristen Bell, Ellen Pompeo and, surprisingly, Olivia Wilde!  Neat-o!


On our drive there, we detoured through the Warner Brothers Studio Buildings.  So pretty, so famous, so my side streets.  

"in 500 feet, make a right onto Olive" says GPS

Tis the season for holiday movies.  What are your favorite ones to watch?  I love watching these every year around Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I would recommend all of them!

1.  The Descent  2.  The Orphanage  3.  Home for the Holidays  4.  Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas


I am planning on a very Korean evening that starts with drinks on top of the Hollywood Tower Apartment Building overlooking the Hollywood sign.  Looking forward to my next update!  Should be a fun adventure with the girls.  

And there you have it. 

Happy Halloween everyone!

XO

**Down to 4 weeks before I'm home!