What We Actually Did in L.A.

Thursday

- V-day gift - massage from Chuck at the Pacific Waters Spa. Chuck has a unique style, blended from all sorts of massage styles - Thai, accupressure, his own techniques. My only regret? That I didn't see the sign for the Waterfall Shower before my massage - it takes 20 minutes to set up.

- Move hotels to Redondo Beach

- Relaxed old skool lunch on the Redondo Pier

- Fight traffic to show H Wilshire Blvd, Rodeo Drive on our way to family friends' place for dinner. Subsequently late for dinner.

- After dinner, show H Sunset Blvd.

Friday

- Drive to Irvine for H's lunch meeting. While away time in the standard but pleasant outdoor shopping center. Find cool shoe store, the name of which I can't remember.

- Play tourist and hit Laguna Beach. Lunch overlooking the Pacific. See MTV-show-like teenagers.

- Fight traffic for an hour. Go 11 miles. H decides that the PCH is actually the better route, so take the scenic trip up the coast, through Long Beach (Snoop wasn't home) and Palos Verdes, to Redondo.

- Dinner with a D.C. friend in Manhattan Beach. Desired restaurant has an hour + wait, so take in the scene at Shade's blissfully open Skydeck. Other than the the barkeep not knowing how to make an actual martini (I kid you not - a vodka martini was vodka shaken with ice with olives, and a gin martini, dirty, was gin shaken with ice, a squirt of olive juice, and olives), great views and a decent vibe. Dinner at Petros surpassed all previously eaten Greek food. Apparently we'd just missed Mama Petros the Sunday before...but her aura was still there. Great modern comfort vibe (a little reminiscent of our own Zaytinya), and brilliant food.

Saturday

- Fight traffic (H loves the 405) to the Valley to meet newfound friends for lunch. Long story, but H met a scarily similar guy on the plane, and he and his wife are fantastic. Wierdness? Her due date (first child) is the same as mine. Lunch at his dad's restaurant, La Fogata, on Van Nuys. Best freakin' Mexican food you've ever had.

- Skirt traffic to hit the Getty faster than you can get from Wilshire to Beverly...oh wait, that's not very fast in rush hour...it's really such an amazing place. Here we have our only celeb sighting - and it's a D.C.-style: Bill Bradley and wife. Gracious when we approached to say hello. See the Icons of Sinai exhibit. Wish we lived here. At the top of the world.

- Skirt more traffic to meet The Liquid Muse in Santa Monica. Hit Tengu for dinner. Apart from H and The Muse torturing me with the lovely sushi this knocked up gal can't eat, had an asbolutely lovely time. Vote for best booze-free cocktail: Dry soda's Lavender. I'll let The Muse rave about it. In the meantime, try it on your own.

- Pleasantly stuffed from dinner, wander down Ocean Drive in search of a dessert place. Everything was packed. Checked out the 3rd Street Promenade, then hit a great bar at the top of a hotel (Muse? help? Do we know the name?). Watched the beautiful people circle around us.

Sunday

- Breakfast at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. No, it's not the one in Jersey. Not related, either. We asked.

- Flight home. Hate Delta.

State of mind: Sad.

First prize goes to the person who notices what's conspicously absent from this report.

What I Actually Wore in L.A.

So when I got there, I got lazy. And comfortable. Thank goodness for the California vibe...made me not need to worry so much about clothing...sounds like an oxymoron, I know, L.A. and not worrying about appearance, but honestly, when you're looking out at the ocean from your balcony after your massage gift from H, who the heck cares?

Tops (yes, I packed too many, but they all fit with room to spare, so why not? You never know how you'll feel, right?)
H&M babydoll sweater*
Favorite brown merino v-neck (Banana) all-weather sweater*
Favorite black holey cowl neck sweater (also Banana?), just in case it's chilly
Banana indigo babydoll T**
I.N.C. nearly sheer, ribbed printed indigo T (yes, I'm apparently in love with indigo)
Brown merino shell (Banana)
Brown F.C.U.K. kinda racer-back tank (yes, brown's a theme, too)Romanian iie (my fallback, ahem, signature, look)
Indian-inspired beaded orange tank (I'd tell you the designer, but it's packed, and all I can remember is that it was a Nieman Marcus purchase and the logo reminds me of Guns-N-Roses)
H's old school warm-up jacket

Bottoms
Ancient Citizens trouser jeans*
Boring but functional (and well-fitting) khakis (Banana)*
Boring but functional (and not-as-well-fitting) pseudo khakis (Banana?) - original plan are still at the cleaners (sorry, H, I forgot, too!)
Too big (but fit the mildly growing bump) Kate-inspired pinstriped trousers**

Sole dress H&M wrap dress (we'll see if I feel up to wearing it, but it packs too well to not come with me)

Shoes
New orange Nine West flats
Ancient and holey Target mocs
Ancient (what will I do if they ever die?!) bronze/gold sandals (for evening with jeans - perfect) ***

*On the original list
**Gotta-go-to-work-don't-want-to-bother-to-change-before-the-plane-wear
***which, since I haven't worn in 3000 years, gave me a BIG ol blister on the bottom of my foot.

Don't Forget! C-Mart opens tomorrow in DC

I know most of you are already setting your alarms, but don't forget! that C-Mart opens up tomorrow just inside the Beltway.
So from a little town off The 405 (I still think it's amusing that Californians use "the" in front of any highway number), with my balcony door open to hear and feel the ocean breeze, I ask you, the DC Fashionistas, to Go Forth and Report...tell us what you find (other than 100s of other madwomen) at the C Mart opening tomorrow.


And if you report in, I promise a juicy (no, still no star-sightings) report from La-La Land when I return.