Apologies for leaving you hanging after the holiday weekend, friends. Honestly, before I started this blog my weekends were filled with home improvement shows and naps and I had all the time in the world to blog. However, these past few weeks have been busier than ever. It's probably because I've become a bigtime blog celeb. But enough about my
bragging complaining.
Let's recap the weekend, shall we?
Saturday morning, Keith and I treated ourselves to THE best breakfast place known to exist in the greater San Fernando Valley area-
Cici's Cafe. This place always has a line out the door, and when your table is ready, you take it. Doesn't matter where it is. You sit and you're thankful. We've been there twice before and both times I ordered the creeps. This time I decided to mix it up a little and order a half stack of the Monkey Business Pancakes. These badboys were 2
plate-sized buttermilk pancakes, topped with banana flambe and whipped cream.
Delicious? Check. Would I go back- hellllllllls yes, I would go back. Cici's, you haven't let me down. 5 out of 5 chins for you, mate.
While we were eating breakfast, Keith dropped the always pleasant bomb on me that he had plans to watch the Lakers game that night. Luckily before my 'roid rage had a chance to kick in, Danielle called and invited me out. And by called and invited me out, I mean she did the calling, I did the inviting.
That night, Danielle and I met up with her coworker Ben, Ben's brother and friend (who, for anonymity purposes, shall be referred to as Brother and Friend for the remainder of this entry), Bao and Emily. Before the night even started, Danielle and I had a good old time playing "Find a Parking Spot". Only the parking lot we were in looked like this. The first spot we pulled into was right next to the parking attendant's booth, so it was technically a good spot, based on the likelihood of not getting broken into. But then I pointed out that we may want to move closer to the entrance of the gate because we will be coming back in the dark and the less walking the better. So we moved the car to spot #2. Then Danielle pointed out that it might be one of those double spots, where you have to leave your keys with the attendant and it's always a pain. So we moved the car to spot #3. This is where it stayed partly because we couldn't believe how ridiculous we were being and partly because the lot attendant thought we were on drugs.
We met up for dinner at Bottega Louie. I'd never heard of this place before and usually I'm pretty wary of new restaurants because I'm typically a fries and nuggs kind of girl. When we reached the restaurant I became even more nervous. The building itself looked like an old museum- come to find out, it had been a Brooks Brothers store for the past 71 years (which is basically the same thing). It looked waaaaaay too fancypants for me and I was pretty sure I'd end up washing dishes to make up for the meal I couldn't afford.
Danielle and I were the first to arrive, so we sat in the bar and ordered a drink. Not long after, the dudes arrived. We all introduced ourselves and were best friends by the time Brother knocked my Birra Moretti over (15 seconds later).
After giving the menu a once over, I decided to order the Chicken Milanese. If you've never tried this before, it can be a really great meal OR it can be totally overcooked and feel like you're chewing on pleather. Luckily, it was a GREAT decision. The large portion of breaded chicken was juicy and came with a side of checca and arugula. Another 5 out of 5 chins meal.
Here are some photo highlights of the dinner:
Ben and Bao.
Emily and yours truly.
As the night progressed, Friend kept showing his drinks who's boss. By the time dinner ended, it seemed like maaaaaybe the drinks were starting to catch up with him (as shown below):
(Protecting Friend's identity)
After dinner, we headed over to this speakeasy type bar called 7 Grand. We stayed there for a few games of pool and another round of drinks. Well, another round for most of us. Friend really went for the gold on this one and had another 4-5 drinks.
(Friend protecting his own identity)
From there, we headed over to another bar that we heard was in walking distance. Friends, before I go any further, walking in downtown Los Angeles AT NIGHT can kind of be one of those life-changing events. And what I mean by life-changing, is actually life-losing. From one street to the next it turned into Skid Row.
This is when Friend really began to shine. Not only did he lose his balance, pulling a Super Mario style tuck-n-roll onto the streets of downtown LA, he also got turned away from a bar for being "too intoxicated". While on our way back, Danielle made up a game with Friend to keep him focused and on track. She explained to him that when she says the word "Fact" he would then state a fact. In theory, it was very simple and a great idea. In reality, the game went something like this...
Danielle: "Fact..."
Friend:
"-FACT!"Game over.
At this point, we decided to go to Ben's apartment and have a dance party. As you can see, Friend was still in his prime by the time we got to the apartment.
It actually turned out to be a really good time and we eventually got our dance. All in all, a good time was had by everyone involved.
Sunday, Keith and I decided to take the dogs to the beach. We'd never taken Kosmo and seeing as how well he took his first swimming lesson the day before (he hated it.), we thought this would be the perfect time. Surprise of surprises, he loved it. Both dogs were on best behavior and didn't try to
maul kiss anyone. They probably didn't want to ruin their chances at having another outting. It was kind of overcast at the beach (as per usual), but it was great for walking the dogs and not getting my sweat on.
Monday, Saint Estelle Getty must have been looking down on me because Keith actually said he would go to the Greek Festival with me. Anyone who knows Keith knows he hates festivals. And crowds of people. And going out, en generale. So we got to Saint Nicholas Church went straight to taking care of business:
Gyros. :::drool:::
I will admit, there isn't really much to do at the Greek festival, but it's still fun to enter the raffle, get your feast on, and watch old Greek fisherman dance.
Plus, all the money goes towards a good cause.
(I can guarantee, that is the longest post I've ever written.)
At first, my stomach was just a little upset. And then all of a sudden it started to RAAAAAGE. And I don't mean like when I say I'm gonna "rage" because we all know that just means "take a nap". My stomach was burning and churning and bubbling and was all kinds of hellish barfy. I was miserable. After about an hour of fighting with this ruler of the dead and lord of the nether world, it dawned on me... Earlier in the day, I had started taking these new supplements. Supplements that had been advised by three different people (no, not doctors, just good friends, ok???) for problematic stomachs. Supplements that go by the deceiving name "Probiotics: The Good Bacteria." Now, I'm not doubting the validity of these little pills. In fact, I'm sticking with my new regimen after speaking with my local nurse practitioner (Dr. Internetz) and learning that probiotics can sometimes be harsh at first because they are cleaning out all the evil, no-good intestinal squatters. My advice to anyone who's thinking of trying probiotics: Do it. Just be prepared for a nasty, glowstick-waiving, middle-of-the-desert rave in your stomach, followed by asshole explosions. 
Giant.Lemon.Tart. I couldn't resist.
