my long absence, some news, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

There's a lot to catch up on since my last post a hundred years ago. A lot happened. I kept meaning to post. And, I didn't. I guess I have writer's block. Lately, I have been feeling like I don't have anything interesting to post and am unsure the purpose this blog really serves. But, I guess for now, I've resolved to not caring if it's purposeless.

So, with that, on with today.

To kick off the three-day weekend, Josh and I decided to have date night on Thursday night. I have been craving grilled cheese forever, so we thought we'd check out Grilled Cheese Night at Campanille. I snapped a couple pics with my iPhone.

I ordered the Croquet Madame, a grilled ham and Gruyere cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top. It was delicious! The crunchy bread with the velvety egg yolk -- so good! That plus a stellar glass of red wine, I was a happy camper.


Josh ordered the regular grilled cheese with the onions and mustard. He was a little hesitant about adding the onions and mustard to a perfectly good grilled cheese sandwich, but after the first bite, he was converted.


Our sandwiches came with fries. Perfect texture and salty. Very good.


For dessert, we ordered a fruit cobbler. The ice cream was so creamy. It reminded me of the ice cream my Aunt in England used to buy that was all cream -- so rich and good.


Overall, we gave our experience at Campanille a big thumbs up.

In other news, I am on some sort of weird sewing kick all of a sudden. I have been learning to sew and have completed a few small projects. I may not seem like the domestic type (although, you may know that I love to knit), so I was as surprised as anyone with this new hobby. But, it's so fun! It's nice to be creative and make something that's actually useful! So, now you are prepared for some possible sewing posts in the near future.

Saving the best for last, the most exciting news as of lately is that my little sister, Bug, is engaged! Ajax popped the question last week, and my sis is already planning her spring wedding. I'm so thrilled for her and cannot wait for the big day!

With that, I'm out for now. I'll try not to disappear again for so long. ;)

Birthday dinner: family, pasta, wine, and ... shaved bark?

Josh and I arrived safely in Washington to spend the week with his family for Christmas. Vacation time means time to finally catch up on the blogging ...

So, here's a post I have been procrastinating writing for a few weeks...my birthday! The birthday was back a few weeks ago. To celebrate, we went to a restaurant I have been wanting to try: Trattoria Tre Venezie in Pasadena. Trattoria Tre Venezie, a Michelin star restaurant, specializes in traditional, Northern Italian food (no eggplant parmigiana or lasagna here).

By "we," I mean the usual cast of characters at these things: (clockwise: Josh, me, Bug, Anthony, Cathy, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Jackie, and PJ behind the camera.)


We piled in our cozy corner of the restaurant (the restaurant is small and has a warm, home-in-an-Italian-hilltown feel), ordered some delicious Montepulciano wine (a little Tuscan in with the Venetian) and had our slightly odd waiter give us a lesson on the menu. At first, this was appreciated. After awhile, it became a little condescending. The best exchange of the night:

Grandma (perhaps sounding a little skeptical): "This pasta is made with cinnamon?"
Snooty waiter: "Why yes. What is cinnamon but shaved bark?"

Jackie and I suppressed a major giggle fit. What is cinnamon but shaved bark? Deep thoughts, indeed.

It turns out the cinnamon pasta was delish. Some pics:

On the left, Bug and I shared Cjalsons for an appetizer, an ancient dish from Cania, Friuli. They are essentially savory and sweet raviolis, filled with up to eighteen combinations of ingredients, prepared for special occasions. This was, by far, my favorite dish of the night. Each little ravioli had so many flavors. The restaurant only serves Cjalsons every week or so, and if you have not been to Trattoria Tre Venezie and want to try it, be sure to be there on a day they are serving these little puppies. Truly delish!


For dinner, I ordered the special, Bigoli with crab (left). It was pretty tasty. Josh ordered the Casunziei all'Ampezzana, a ravioli filled with red beets with butter and poppy seeds. It was decent.


Jackie ordered the Tagliatelle alla Cannella (left), cinnamon-flavored tagiatelle with shitake mushroom sauce (a.k.a. the "cinnamon pasta"). I tried a bite of this and really liked it. On the right is the Ravioli al Ripeni d'Agnello, ravioli filled with shoulder of lamb.


For dessert, Josh ordered a cake from Susie Cakes (yum!).


It was marble cake with chocolate frosting, and it was a huge hit.


It was a pretty great birthday. My sweetheart of a husband did a great job planning the little get-together. Now, I am officially 28, which feels ... eh, the same. Two more years until the big 3-0 ...

Friday Night with Cio-Cio San.

Ahhhh, the weekend again. This week was a little slower, which was a nice change. Monday, Bug and I met up with some friends for dinner at the Spring Street Smokehouse. The original plan had been french dips at Phillipe's, but the crowds were insane. (Awesome Monkey recap here.)

The rest of the week was just work and home. Josh had Yom Kippur off on Thursday, so he was a total angel and whipped our house in order. Such a nice surprise to come home to!

Friday, Josh met me downtown and we headed to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. We have season tickets to the L.A. Opera, and we had tickets last night to see Madama Butterfly.


Josh is actually a pretty big opera fan. Fun fact about Josh: He has an absolutely gorgeous voice. He was classically trained, and for awhile, sang in operas. However, he got bored with that, and now would rather start a 90s grunge cover band. I kind of wish he would have stuck with opera, because how many people can sing like that? I mean, if I opened my mouth and all those incredible sounds came out, you would not be able to pull me off stage. A side note to this side note: Josh is fantastically fun at karaoke.

(One more digression: This week, I dug out my old point and shoot camera, so I actually have pictures (I am often too lazy to tote around my big 'ole SLR), although they are a little fuzzy.)

Okay, back on track.

We arrived at the Music Center an hour before the show. I was hoping to have dinner at Pinot Grill, but it was completely packed. Josh and I decided to grab a quick bite at the Spotlight Cafe, a small cafe run by the Patina Group that has sandwiches and snacks.


We got a couple little bottles of wine, and I ordered the grilled portobello mushroom sandwich with arugula, which was quite tasty! (Extremely fuzzy pic below.)


We sat by the fountain, ate our food, sipped our wine, and enjoyed the water show.


After a quick bite to eat, it was time for the show.


Of course, no pictures were allowed or taken during the show. The music was gorgeous, and the set design was very modern and minimalist. It was beautiful -- the stage looked like a moving painting, and the singers would freeze and slowly walk it looked like they were gliding. The stage was a moving, breathing painting. (That said, the theater was quite warm and we had just had a delicious dinner. Some of the slower arias set against the minimal background seemed to drag a little.)

After the show, we trekked home. After the food, wine, and beautiful music, I made a beeline for bed and slept like a baby.

Kitchen Dreams.

For our anniversary, Josh and I kept with our two traditions from last year: a fabulously fancy dinner and a champagne toast using our wedding toasting flutes.

Last year, we ate a multi-course meal at the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena (now the Dining Room at the Langham Huntington Hotel). This year, we decided to make reservations at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel.

Josh is a huge Gordon Ramsay fan. Well before Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen, Josh religiously watched Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and The "F" Word, both on the BBC America.


Walking into the hotel and restaurant is like dying and going to modern art deco heaven. The hotel and restaurant were designed by David Collins. When I win the lottery, we are hiring him to help with the design of our Malibu beach house.

We ordered the chef's seven-course menu. They were very accommodating and did a vegetarian version for Josh. The sommelier paired different wines with each course. Such a treat!


Bread basket! (Josh was in love with the goat cheese cracker bread.)


Course #1: Smoked Mushroom and Foie Gras Chawanmushi
Wine #1: 2004 Baumard, Coteaux du Layon, Carte d'Or


Course #2: Pacific Yellow Fin Tuna with Pickled Daikon, Crab Beignets, Sesame Soy Dressing
Wine #2: Eiko Fuji Junmai Ginjo (sake)


Course #3: Burrata Mozzarella with Heirloom Tomatoes, Cape Gooseberries, Basil Pesto
Wine #3: 2007 Kurt Angerer, Gruner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria

(The tomatoes were probably the most delicious tomatoes I have ever had. So fresh and sweet but still firm. Even Josh liked them, and he's not a fan of tomatoes.)


Course #4: Hand-Dived Sea Scallops, Cauliflower Puree, and Sherry Vinegar Wine Reduction
Wine #4: 2006 Saintsburg Chardonnay, Carneros, CA


Course #5: Rack of Sonoma Lamb and Confit Shoulder, Pearl Onions, Pomme Puree
Wine #5: 1999 Rioja, Lopez de Heredia


Course #6: Cara Cara Orange Three Ways, Cinnamon Ice Cream, and Rose Water Sabayon
Wine #6: Scagliola Moscato d'Asti

(This was the "pre-dessert," and Josh's favorite wine pairing. The sparkling wine plus the dessert tasted like like creamsicle. Delish.)


Course #7: Confit Bing Cherries, Valrhona Chocolate Sponge, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Banyuls
Wine #7: Doke Monestralle


Our server brought us out a scoop of plum ice cream to congratulate us on our anniversary. The ice cream tasted like an actual, tart plum.


We talked with our server, Cooper, a bit throughout the night, and after learning Josh was a fan of Gordon Ramsay, he offered to take us on a tour of the kitchen. Of course, we said yes!






Each glass is hand polished. For each course, we got a fresh wine glass and fresh flatware. So, someone hand polished 14 glasses just for us. Pretty crazy.


My favorite stop ... the cellar!

Gordon Ramsay was great. I would definitely go back again for a special occasion. The service was friendly and everyone was extremely attentive. Plus, the food and wine were truly spectacular -- well paired, flavorful, and interesting.


After dinner, we were completely stuffed. We waddled to the car and headed back to our house.

Josh broke out the champagne and our wedding toasting flutes, and we toasted to our two wonderful years together ... and hopefully many more to come!

Keep on truckin', mama.

Sadly, my mom is in Alaska, so we couldn't celebrate Mother's Day with her in-person. I miss her a bunch and was thinking about her a lot today!

To celebrate Mother's Day with my wonderful grandma, we went to brunch at Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena. In attendance were Josh, my sis, Ajax, my Uncle Frank and Aunt Chris, and their two daughters (my adorable cousins whom I want to kidnap).

Kesley in her stylin' frames.

Josh and Hailey; Bug and Ajax

Uncle Frank and Aunt Chris; Grandpa and Grandma

Firefly Bistro was fabulous, as always. I had the crab hash, which was absolutely delicious! I think Josh won for best breakfast: a tortilla dipped in french toast batter, filled with bananas and caramel. It tasted as amazing as it looked!

The ambiance was great. Firefly Bistro is a basically a big, outdoor tent, so it's bright and airy. For Mother's Day Brunch, there was a guy singing bluegrass and playing a steel guitar. When we were walking out, I smiled at him, and he looked at me, smiled, and said into the microphone: "Keep on truckin', mama." Hahahaha!

The fam

After brunch, we ran some errands and then came back to the house to get some stuff done before the week starts.

After some errands, we went out and grabbed dinner. I had the most glorious burrito. It was really more of a Last Supper because tomorrow begins a diet. I hate to blog about weight and diets, but I am at my absolute wit's end. I have gained an unbelievable amount of weight since the wedding and starting to work. I keep half-assing any sort of plan to "eat right and exercise." I have had enough, so tomorrow I am starting a strict regime I followed before the wedding. Wish me luck!

This evening, we are going to go see Baby Mama. I don't have high expectations, but I do adore Tina Fey. Hopefully, it will be entertaining!

A week in review.

So much to say, so much to say. A lot has happened in the last week. Let's see . . .

Saturday, we went to Josh's rugby banquet at the Cornell Winery. Can I just say, I am in love with this place? It may have something to do with the big, gorgeous chandelier. Or, maybe that it's all the fabulous wine awakened my inner oenophile. It's not yet open to the public (only private events), but I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular once it is. In the meantime, I have dropped some massive hints that this would be a good place for a birthday party . . . Haha. Yes, I'm so subtle.

After the banquet, we met up with my sis, Ajax, my dad, and his girlfriend at this dive bar in Camarillo that Josh and my dad love. I think they love it because of the ridiculous karaoke that takes place there. Well, Bug decided it would be a good idea to have Irish car bombs. Before I knew it, we were belting out a very bad rendition of "Tiny Dancer." The night ended with me jumping into our pool. Enough said.

Sunday, I worked during the day, and then Josh and I met up with Jackie and PJ to see Iron Man at Arclight. I am a big Robert Downey, Jr. fan, so I was easily persuaded. It was a great movie. Exactly the sort of fun, summer movie I have been needing lately. I definitely recommend it if you like the other comic book movies.

The early part of the week was a little rocky, to say the least. However, my week was saved by a wonderful dinner with WeeMo and Trish at Sai Sai. I love these girls and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends.

Also, a random highlight: I ran into the Verizon guy on the corner of the street outside my building where they were, apparently, filming a Verizon commercial! It took all my self-control to not respond to his "hello" with "Can you hear me now? Good!" Haha. Wonder how many times he's heard that!

Today, my co-worker, Ryan, and I had lunch at Yorkshire Grill, my favorite greasy spoon downtown. I had the Yorkshire Special, my fave, a sandwich with turkey, pastrami, swiss and cole slaw in the sandwich. It is so good. Although, it's pretty heavy, which made me want to take a nap!

This weekend is Josh's bday! We have a lot of fun plans, many of which will be blogged about, I'm sure. Tonight, we are kicking off celebrating Josh's birthday by going to see Kids in the Hall at the Orpheum. Josh is a huge fan and is super excited. Should be fun!

**Side note: I am annoyed by the formatting of this post and cannot get it to work for me. Why is some text scrunched and some is not? Grrr, Blogger, grrr.

Reemergence.

After falling off the face of the earth for two weeks, I am finally reemerging into the so-called blogosphere. Those of you with blogs may probably received a ton of comments from me tonight. My Google Reader was not a pretty sight. But, finally, I am caught up.

So much to say since the last post. First. Work. I was placed on a new case, headed for trial mid-June. Fabulous for me professionally, but not-so-hot for my plans to go to China. I am still (perhaps naively) hoping it will all work out. Since I am a wee junior associate (and there is another junior associate on the case) and since the trial will finish three days before we are supposed to leave, I am choosing to remain blindly optimistic. We shall see.

That case plus the rest of my caseload has kept me pretty busy. I've worked through the weekends and am sleepy and boring when I am not working. I have managed to do a few fun things since my last post.

We celebrated Jackie's birthday last weekend! We had dinner at Baja Cantina, which was so delish! My Cadillac margarita was perfect, and the steak nachos were completely out of this world!

Jackie's sis and the ahh-maa-zeeen nachos!

After dinner, there were a few more margaritas at Cabo Cantina, lots of chatting, and overall good times. Jackie seemed to have a really good time.

PJ and Jackie

Hmm....what else? Oh! Monday, I had dinner with some fabulous friends of mine, and went home with a big smile on my face.

On Tuesday, Josh and I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I went in with low expectations and actually really liked it! I would even recommend it.

Hmm. That's about it! I promise not to disappear again (at least for awhile)!

Recap: I have been a slacker blogger.

Gosh, it is shameful how long it has been since I have blogged. However, I am stuck in my office doing the most painful online training known to man, so I have been catching up on my blog reading and now posting.

So, my thoughts might be a bit choppy. After all, I am rusty after all these weeks!

Here are the highlights of what's been going on.

• My mom arrived to town from Alaska on November 28th and is here until January 4th. She brought her two little dogs and is staying in our guest room during her trip. Although we have been known to disagree, my mom and I are really close, so it's nice to have her around. Plus, she is a great cook and has treated us to a few fresh salmon and halibut dinners. Who knew my kitchen worked? :)
  


• I turned the big 2-7 on December 9th! Saturday the 8th, Josh, my sis, her guy, Jackie, PJ, my dad, my mom, and I went to Table 8 for dinner. I ate a lovely filet and had a couple dirty martinis. Yum! After, we had cake from the Bread Basket and then headed to the Sagebrush Cantina, a Mexican restaurant/bar by our house. There was live music and ridiculously cheap margaritas ($50 bought two rounds of 8). The next day, everyone had a bit of a headache (damn you, cheap tequila), but Josh and I managed to roll out of bed and have breakfast at the Side Street Cafe with my dad and his girlfriend. This is our favorite breakfast place, so it was a great way to start the bday! I took a nap during the day and then we went and saw American Gangster, which I thought was a great flick!
  




[PJ and Josh at the Sagebrush Cantina.]


• The firm had its holiday party on December 14th at The Edison, which is one of my favorite spaces in L.A. I hung out with some of my favorite co-workers and savored some pretty spectacular wine!
  


• A few of my animal-loving co-workers and I have a holiday tradition: Instead of buying gifts for each other, we get together with our dogs at a dog park and exchange doggie goodies and gift bags. This year, we went to the Laurel Canyon Dog Park (my favorite dog park!) with our pups. Someone even brought a dog cake from Three Dog Bakery! Nerdy, but fun.
  
  
• Sunday, I attended the 2nd Annual SFAMily Holiday Hoorah. I didn't bring a camera, but I did swipe the picture below from the Monkey, who did an amazing recap (with pictures!) already. She's good like that. As always, I had such a wonderful time and left feeling lucky to have these wonderful ladies in my life.
  
  


• Sunday afternoon, Josh's folks arrived after driving down the coast from Olympia, Washington. They came with tools in tow and have been working away with Josh (who is off for 3 weeks!!!) on our backyard and guest bathroom! [Yes, my mother is still staying with us as is my step-dad. Yes, that means we have two sets of parents in our abode. Yes, I am still alive.]
  
  
• Work has been pleasantly boring and slow. I am done with my hours for the year, and all of my clients and supervising attorneys are out of town next week. Sooo...that means this little associate will be logging in from home next week. Yes, that's right. No office for me for a week! Woohoo!

Phew. Well, that's all for now. I will probably have much more time to blog next week, so I promise not to disappear for three weeks again!

One Year

Today is our first year anniversary! I cannot believe how quickly this year has come and gone. Everyone says the first year is hard, and although there were some growing pains, this year has really been wonderful! I was never one of those little girls who planned her wedding or thought about her "future husband," and so I think the most surprising thing I learned this year is how much of the "marrying type" I actually am. Who knew?! :) I was excited to marry Josh, but I don't think I knew I would love being married to him this much. Even in spite of the rants about beer and music, the guitars peppered throughout my apartment, and the train-like snoring, I still think he's pretty great. :)



Okay, enough mush! Geez, what have I turned into? :)

So, last night we went to dinner at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena to celebrate our anniversary. Our original plan was to go to Santa Barbara, stay at Bacara, and spend the weekend drinking wine, but, alas, work owns me and I ended up having to turn around a project. We may try and do a make-up weekend over Labor Day weekend.

Anyway, dinner was incredible! We sat outside on this pretty veranda that had a gorgeous view of the city lights. We were in our own little corner, so it was very cozy. We ordered a fixed menu prepared by the chef and paired with three different wines. Josh has some special dietary needs, and they were so wonderful and accommodating. The chef even came out to meet us, wish us a Happy Anniversary, and tell us he would "whip up something special." We had seven tiny courses, but I was so stuffed at the end. Everything I tasted was unbelievable. Josh kept saying he felt like we were in the audience of Top Chef. :) It was definitely a fun dinner and perfect for the occasion.

So, this morning I have to turn back to all the declarations I have been writing and crank out a few more. After that, I don't know what we're up to...

Tonight, my dad, grandparents, sister and her guy are supposed to swing by, have some champagne with us, and eat a little defrosted wedding cake. We pulled the top layer out last night to defrost, and surprisingly, it looks really good! I have been a little skeptical. Just in case, we may end up with a small back-up cake...

Procrastination.

So, it has been a busy, busy week. We are filing an opposition to a motion for class certification next week. For those of you lucky enough to not know what a task that is, suffice to say it has basically consumed my week. I have sat on the phone and in interviews with witnesses, and spent the evenings writing declarations and other accompanying papers. Good stuff.

I need to spend the evening and tomorrow morning finishing these declarations (I need to send them to the partner tomorrow by 5 p.m.) so I can have at least half of the weekend celebrate our anniversary with Josh (yeah, I am giving up on aliases...come and find me). What am I doing instead? Well, for one, blogging. Ha. :) Oh, and reading and checking friends' blogs while watching "Flight of the Conchords." Ah, procrastination. I thought I would stop procrastinating after law school. But no, the skill is alive and well....



Other than being busy, the week has been pretty good. One of the highlights was definitely lunch with a friend at Tiara Cafe on Tuesday. She is also a lawyer, but at a different firm and has been practicing a few years longer than I have, and I always really love our chats. They make me feel like I am less crazy. Sometimes it's hard to explain how I feel about my job (or, how my job makes me feel) and it's nice to know someone else gets it, too. Overall, I love my profession, but there are always trying days, to say the least.

Wednesday was a crazy day. Started work at 7 a.m. Finished after 2 a.m. Was back up at 5:30 a.m. for a call at 7 a.m. Thursday and today have been pretty boring, too. Just more work. Hopefully, there will be something good to report after the weekend.

Okay. Back to work.

Weekend Recap

Lately, the hubs ("WB") and I have been pretty mellow, spending most of our weekends lazing by my dad's pool and bbq. Last Sunday, I complained that we live in such an incredible city and never go exploring all the fab restaurants, bars, etc. So, we made a vow: one new restaurant/bar per week and no more take-out from the same old place. Well, we were so excited about our new plan, we went a little overboard this weekend.

Friday night, we went out to dinner at Il Cielo, a romantic Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. Upon arriving, you first walk through a patio where there are dimly-lit tables underneath glowy twinkle lights strung through the trees. The inside feels like a formal dinner inside someone's home, with white linens on little round tables mixes with a couple plush couches, and an overall warm, almost rustic glow. The food was absolutely delish, and we ordered the best bottle of wine (unfortunately, we forgot to write down the name of the bottle). WB ordered risotto and I ordered the scialatielli pasta for dinner and then we had tiramisu and sorbet for dessert with some port for WB (of course) and a cappuccino for me.

Our server, the sommelier, even the host all spoke fluent Italian, and the whole experience was like being briefly transported back to Italy for a couple hours. It definitely made me want to go back for awhile (or, forever) this year. Although, my Italian is probably a bit rusty...


Saturday night, we had dinner with my little sister, Bug, and her boyfriend, Ajax, at Citizen Smith in Hollywood. A co-worker recommended we check it out, so, in the spirit of our new pact, WB and I decided to make reservations. Bug and Ajax decided to take a break from their studying (they are both second year med school students) and join us. The vibe was kind of a laid-back glam: lots of funky chandeliers covered in glass cubes with celebrity images scanned on each pane that hang over a rich mahogany bar. We sat outside on the patio in a little booth. Bug ordered the chicken and waffles which looked amazing, and I ordered a burger that had brie, gruyere, and something else on top. It was so delicious but way too huge.

Bug and Ajax talked a lot about school and the boards (making me very grateful I will never, ever have to take the Bar again). They are such smart cookies, and I am so proud of Bug. She made honors last year (what a braniac!) and is just one step closer to taking over the world.

After dinner, Bug, Ajax, WB, and I met up with Epp and Peej at the Bungalow Club in Hollywood. Epp has been my bff since we were in second grade, and Peej and WB are also long-time grammar school friends. I went to high school with Peej and WB, and Peej's mom and my mom are basically inseparable, so we are all basically family. Peej and Epp are roommates, too. Okay, so now that this all basically sounds like a bad pitch for a cheesy sitcom, moving on...



We sat outside, squished in a little bungalow and had a few drinks. Epp was in NYC for almost two weeks for work, so it was so great to see her and catch up. Epp, Peej, and Bug are all crack-ups, so needless to say my face hurt and I was still smiling at the end of the evening. It was definitely a fun night.

This morning, I was up for an 8 a.m. conference call (yes, I know it's Sunday). I will probably knock out a few work things that need to be taken care of today before we head out to have dinner with my grandparents. WB and I might venture out to the dog park with Woody and Ella (our dogs) at some point. Ella is a holy terror, so hopefully, she will not yap at all the big dogs at the park.

So, yes. That is all for now. I think I have procrastinated work enough for the morning . . . time to get to work. Hope you all had wonderful weekends!