The Name Game

I took this from The T-dude's blog who got it from another blog and decided I should make it all mine.... It's one of those made up name games and I believe Rachel will do it next (she likes these type of things).

1. Your Rock Star name (first pet, current vehicle):
Dewey Volvo that sounds gross.
Fiona Rover getting better.
Minnie C70 well that didn't help at all.

2. Your 'gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite shoe):
Dulce Gucci this one was very difficult. Seriously favorite ice cream flavor? Favorite shoe? That's like trying to pick your favorite child. Other options were Vanilla Prada, Pralines Patent Leather, Coffee Lacoste...

3. Your Native American name(favorite color, favorite animal):

Blue Dog see here's the difficulty in doing anything with the word "favorite" - favorite color for what? To wear? To see? For a room? For a car? Eyes? Hair? It never ends...

4. Your Soap Opera name (middle name, city where you were born):

Michael Bellingham

5. Your Star Wars name (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first):

Kehji

6. Superhero name (second favorite color, favorite drink):

Pink Water and the world heaves a sigh of relief that my second favorite color is not yellow as who wants to hear the shout "Look! Up in the sky! Headed this way!! It's YELLOW WATER!!!!

(you can build your own hero)

7. NASCAR name (first names of your grandfathers):

Donald Charles Christ

8. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume, cologne/scent, favorite candy):

Orange Blossom Peanut Butter M&Ms which let's be honest is never going to fit on a marquee so they'll just shorten it to Orange Peanut or Blossom Butter.

9. TV Weather Anchor name (Your 5Th grade teachers' last name, a city that starts with the same letter):

McCormick Minneapolis

10. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, and your favorite flower):

Christmas Lilac

11. Cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now):

Raspberry Flip-flop

12. Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):

Whole Grain Willow

13. "Adult film" star name (first pet, first street that you lived on):
To shake things up a bit, my first "first pet" names were of cats we had when I was younger. For this one I will use the dog we had when I was "less young".

Sophia West North

Okay then, your turn. Go.

Feeling hot, hot, hot

Had a photoshoot in the Valley today. This is the temperature my car told me. Yes, I had the roof down on the car.

Happy Birthday Helen!

Today is Rachel's birthday! I can't tell you how old she is, a lady never reveals her age, but we did go to high school together. Now the problem is Rachel would absolutely tell you her age and that may imply mine. In which case I would have to kill her. To explain the title of the post, Helen is my pet name for her.

Helen wanted a spontaneous birth day. So I waited until we were all ready to go and only then phoned her to see if she'd like to go for breakfast. She is not an early riser by nature so imagine how perturbed I was to find her awake and chipper at 9:30 am. So much for ruining her special day by waking her up and making her run around in a frenzy.

We went to Palihouse for breakfast (which I've written about before) and we started with liquids. Aren't the coffees gorgeous? Mine is obviously the one that is too full as I added cream to it. I like my coffee like my men, blond, sweet and barely warm to the touch. Someone (I can't mention her name on her special day) had a bloody Mary.

The birthday girl had the cast iron eggs: fried eggs over short ribs and potatoes.

I had the thick cut french toast with sweet ricotta cheese and lemon zest.

The cupcakes there are divinely inspired.
More icing than cake! So we got one for the birthday girl.

Helen loves her lemon, cake.

Grande Casa

As I may have mentioned, we went to Casa Grande, Arizona for the weekend last. We drove away on Friday sometime after 3 pm. That is a cursed time to leave the city. 3 pm on a Friday. And though we took the convertible, sitting in traffic with the top down inhaling fumes from all the cars that surround you is not a pleasant way to kick off a trip.

After doing our best to get the hell out of town, we stopped at the outlet mall outside Palm Springs. I had coupon for 30 percent off at Polo that expired on Sunday and I was going to damn well abuse it. To give you an idea, the total AFTER discount was over $200. Yeah, I got some stuff.

But we weren't anywhere near close to our destination of Robb's mum's house so we needed to pack it up and get a move on. Luckily my packing skills are still amazing and we were able to fit our new purchases into the tiny truck without luggage and the roof of the car. We arrived in Casa Grande just after midnight.
Every morning Robb's mum takes a half hour walk through the housing development where she lives. Lyle and I joined her and it was beautiful to see all the desert plants in bloom.

In the evening cocktail hour arrives.

No one drinks the same.
Three people.
Three different mixers.
Three different liquors.

We went to dinner at Bedillon's which also houses a historical museum of the area. They have a large outdoor cactus garden that you can wander through while your dinner is being prepared. I had the salmon on a cedar plank with shrimp, mango and corn relish. It was terrifics! The big hit at our table was the bacon wrapped olives stuffed with jalapeno cheese. Sounds a little odd but bacon wrapped anything is always a winner and the cheese was not overpowering at all.

I'm sporting a new shirt and tie from the Polo outlet.
How come I always look like the giant?

As I promised Lyle, we made a stop at the local Dairy Queen. Hot eats, cool treats.

On our way home we were making great time (shhhh, don't tell my dad that means we were kind of speeding) when we had a flat tire just before the California border. I offered to call AAA but Lyle thought he could change the tire before anyone would be able to get to us and do it for me. Once the tire was changed we had to decide whether to stop and buy a new tire or drive slower home on the spare. We decided it would equal amount of delay and opted to continue for home slower. But that meant we'd hit LA at EXACTLY peak drive time instead of skating in just before it. So were forced to stop in Palm Springs for a late lunch and then an additional stop at the outlet mall. Can you believe it, FORCED to shop again!

We got home about 7 pm and I was beat. Oh, and I've already worn some of my new delightful purchases.

F*cking flat tire

Of course.

Pirate Footy

I bought some new flip flops.

Casa Grande AZ

The desert is in bloom.

Hair apparent

Regrets, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention. However when it comes to hairstyles now we are talking!

I've had dark hair on a Caribbean cruise

I've been blond in Whistler.

I've had big hair in the Virgin Islands.

I've had long hair in Seattle.

I've had famous hair with Fran Drescher.

And yes, I've even had pageant hair at LAX.

I think this is my favorite look so far. Short, up, blond-ish and in Rio.

I'll be there if The Price Is Right

Have I mentioned my extensive television work? I've just compiled my "reel" and wanted to post it here so everyone can see how the camera truly loves me. I'm not a featured player. But I do play an integral part. I'm wearing the bright blue shirt.

Next to me in the plaid shirt is my dad and just behind me in the floral is my mother.

Starmaker

I make celebrities into reality. Or is it the other way around, making reality into celebrity?

From Sarah's blog, a friend of our niece:

Yesterday, I had to run out to grab the umbrella from my room [that got used as a cane on our walk about on Granville Island, but that's not the point of this story], and at the door of O'Doul's was a group of gentlemen, two of whom looked familiar. So familiar, that I had my hand half raised to wave and the syllables for an uncertain hello in my throat. When I realised....

I've never met Robb and Lewis. I've only seen photos of them plastered all over Jim's Blog. They haven't been featured in photos in a while, but none the less, I recognised them from photos on a website.

I apologize for not featuring Robb & Lewis recently. But its their own damn fault for being out of the country for so long. I miss them too and so just to satisfy the needs of my readers... Let's take a photo visit with them again.

Robb gives his best impression of my standard surprise photo face.

Lewis is thrilled to get a bell tower on his head in Rio.

Jesus, that guy in the background is tall.

Hot, hot, hot

You know that scene in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"? Where the whole town comes out and sings:

Fah who for-aze

Dah who do-aze
Welcome Christmas

Come this way!

Well you can't see me in the picture below, but trust me I am outside singing a song very similar to welcome the hot blazing sun of summer! It's gonna' be about 90° today. At last I get to complain that it's too hot!

My early work

Me as Nancy Sinatra

When we moved to Los Angeles and Lyle was in school for computer graphic design, after he finished his assignments and went to bed I would go to town with his precious baby computer.

I wasn't very talented. But I had ideas. Big ideas. ODD ideas. I like to put my face on other people's bodies. No, it's not photos of me in drag. Just photos of me superimposed (poorly) over other people.

I was looking for something today and tripped across some of my early work. They still make me laugh.

Jim Margaret

Me as the Altoids lady.

This one, I took a real photo and placed us all on Broadway!

Okay, fine. I still do this. This was last summer when I was on tour with Madonna.

F*¢#ing Waffles!

I love Belgian Waffles. I ate waffles in Belgium. See me up there? I'm HAPPY. Sometimes late at night, or even in the middle of my day I will stop whatever I'm doing and look for cheap tickets to Brussels just to get a waffle, well, if I flew all the way there I'm sure I'd have more than one. Lyle and I went to Brussels for a long weekend a couple of years ago and after we returned I spent weeks searching for the perfect Belgian Waffle recipe or even restaurant in my area to get one of these tasty treats. I was very unsuccessful. I was also very sad.

So you can imagine my delight last November when just one block away from my house appeared a new take away restaurant called "de Belgu". What could it be except my beloved Belgian waffles?

We took the dogs out one weekend day and walked up to Melrose Ave to get some cash, and lo, shimmering in the distance, de Belgu were open! Having just had breakfast I could stomach getting a waffle so soon, but they were standing outside offering free samples and we each took one. Lyle deemed it yummy and I called it a little cold (it was on a plate outside so what could you expect). We announced we'd be back.

Fast forward to a week later and we decide to go get our big treat only to get there and discover they are CLOSED. We thought there had to be some mistake, they just opened! But as days turned into weeks that rolled into months, they remained tightly shut. That's that we decided. Poor planning. Not enough people love waffles like we do. And I cursed their darkened store front every time I drove by, about 4 times a day.

Then two weeks ago we got this in the mail:
HUH? It didn't make sense. "You wanna' walk up and see?" asked Lyle. No, I've been burned before and I'm not making a special trip up there just to find them still closed.

Our niece is much wiser, "I'll call the number and see if they answer." She called the number on the postcard and got some woman who claimed it was her cell phone and didn't know anything about waffles.

Then we decided that they must have had these postcards printed up in China when they first opened and it took them four months to deliver and then their promotion company didn't check to see if they were still around and they just mailed them out without even checking on the phone number.

After a twenty minute discussion we agreed to go after dinner. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this:
Okay, so Lyle's not very excited to have his picture taken. But they were open! Oh no, what if I could get Belgian Waffles whenever I wanted? How fat would I be in a week? In two months?

Except they aren't exactly the waffles I was seeking. These are Japanese Belgium-style waffles in butter, green tea, coconut, cranberry, blueberry or cocoa. They are not large. You can buy them by the dozen. They are also sitting in the shop ready for you like doughnuts and not made to order (unless they were out of your selection).

I learned that the reason they were closed for 4 months was because they didn't have the right permits from the city for their occupancy and hadn't got all their Health Department paperwork processed in time.

Lyle and I each had one butter flavored waffle, then we got a half dozen and took them home. They were better re-heated in the toaster.
But they just weren't MY Belgian Waffles. Don't get me wrong, we ate them all. Two at a time. Standing in the kitchen like little pigs. But we haven't raced back to get more yet. Perhaps its because I only think of them when we finish dinner and they are closed by then. But I guess I could go anytime during the day. And yet...

I guess the problem is my expectations. Those waffles didn't make either one of us look nearly as happy as Lyle is in this waffle picture from Belgium.
Perhaps it was the lack of whipped cream?

Where does it go?

Where did my weekend go?

Late Sunday night as Lyle and I were both laying with the dogs at the back of the house, exhausted and trying to get up the energy to go have a cupcake I innocently asked, "Why are we so tired? What did we do all weekend?" And for the next 20 minutes we tried to remember. Tried.

Let's see, Friday night:

• We went to the hardware store to get supplies for weekend projects.
• Lyle spread grass seed and dirt around the small patch of lawn we have in the backyard.
• I pulled out every single picture frame we have in the house in storage bins or cupboards in an effort to use them or loose them. It covered the dining room table.
• Stained out a bunch of bamboo for a decor project on back deck

Uh, Saturday morning:

• Lyle went rollerblading and took the dogs with him. I made breakfast.
• Went to hardware store for supplies for new batch of projects.
• Lyle planted things in the backyard. I watched him.
• Moved yard decor around.
• Applied clear gloss varnish to bamboo.
• Places bamboo in pot on deck, filled in with sand.
• Watered pots in driveway and watered front yard.
• Went to mall to shop. Bought nothing.
• Bought new glasses.
• Went to dinner.

Hmmm, Sunday:

• Lyle went rollerblading with the dogs again. I tidied house and found somewhere to go to breakfast (I can't cook every day!)
• Bought a table and three chairs at a garage sale.
• Went to breakfast at new(ish) hotel/restaurant The Palihouse in West Hollywood. I'd read about it online in Early March and like to try new things. I can recommend it quite nicely.

• Went to the dry cleaners, dropped stuff off, got stuff hemmed.
• Bought a table and three chairs at a garage sale.
• Picked up table and chairs, took them to friend's house who was storing a different table of mine.
• Switched out tables (third floor, walk up) and brought our table home.
• Dropped some people off for a writing class.
• Went to hardware store. Are we that unorganized?
• Went to Ross Dress For Less where we had seen some topiary cages that might work for new tomato pots but had seen them last year - strangely they still had a couple - worse,they were still the SAME PRICE from over a year ago. It's called a markdown people, clear out your old stuff!
• Tomatoes in pots.
• Obelisks for pots were wrong color, sprayed the out into brown.
• Pots rearranged.
• Yard watered.
• Dinner had.
• Dogs walked.
• Fall onto bed and wonder what the hell we did all weekend.

I'm sure I've left out loads of stuff (like how much time I spent laying on the lounge chairs watching Lyle clean the pond on Saturday - I don't work in the pond, or the hour I spent trying to organize photo frames and distribute them around the house - thought that project isn't done because photos need to be switched out and nails need to go into walls - but I do know where I want them to land at least, the music playlist I put together to keep us moving without having to keep returning to the ipod...

And now it's Monday.

Here's Lyle and the dogs from December:

Fashion Conscientous

Last night my friend Ellys and I went to a Fashion show cocktail party sponsored by Details Magazine and Macy's benefiting the Trevor Project. The event was held at local gay mega-plex The Abby. Gay bar. Fashion show. Booze. Boys. Good cause. Mid-week excitement. It's all about seizing on the opportunities that Los Angeles has to offer and finding something interesting to tell you on this blog. So really it was a win-win for me.

The producers of this show knew their audience and played to their strengths - in other words, send out models in swimsuits.

From left: Ben Sherman, Hugo Boss, Gant, Theory, Michael Kors.

My friend remarked how awful the middle look was. "Who would wear such short shorts? I would never, would you?" The funny part is I have been searching the globe for just these shorts. Well not THESE shorts but this look. I've been looking since last summer. I know my trends. As we were drinking while watching, I confessed all to his utter amazement. "You would really wear those!?" I have great legs, I explained, of course I would!

However I didn't check the program guide until I got home only to find out that these shorts by (the newly revamped) Gant retail for $175.00. Oh yes, I am looking for shorts like these, but more in the under $50.00 range. Definitely not THESE shorts exactly. So little fabric, so much money...

From left: Ted Baker, Dulce De Leche, Hugo Boss Boss, INC, Just Cavalli.

I like the INC jacket. It's a blue/black/grey plaid. But I fear it may be limited wear. However for $169.00 it's cheaper than that pair of shorts I was coveting...

We asked a random stranger to capture the magic of it all. Though we look a little "happy" its mostly because the man we asked to take the picture was hammered and couldn't seem to get us in the frame or even take the picture. This was our fourth try and the best of all the batman angled pics he took.
On the far left, Ben Sherman plaid shorts... plaid, plaid, plaid... is it a trend? Oh and you can't see the detail very much in this pic but the second pair of shorts from the left are by Hugo Boss and I've seen them in stores. I was all agog over them as they have this great belt detail. Then I realized they are pretty much just cargo shorts with a great belt detail. I can just go get a great belt and wear the shorts I already own.

Ellys steps up on the platform to get his best model look on.

These two did not need a platform they were auditioning for Tyra in the middle of the bar.

And of course our good friend Ryan Seacrest was there in all his glory.

Update:  So at the fashion event I received (well everybody did) a coupon for $50 off any purchase of $250 or more from the participating designers from the show.  You know I went in.  I tried on the Hugo Boss shorts with the great belt - shorts were too long and I didn't care for the "ripstop" cotton fabric they used.

I tried on the $175 shorts from Gant.  Lyle said I looked like the UPS man (the socks probably didn't help much). I told him I definitely had a package for him.  

I tried on the plaid sportcoat from INC.  They didn't have my size and now I have a mission for Monday as I will be going store to store looking for my size.  Yeah, they gave me print out of every store that had at least one but this is Macy's and they don't actually call around and find it for you.  As Michael would say, "Le sigh."