Update!! (finally)
So, after Irisa came and went, the Frenchies arrived in LA! We've been hosting them for a couple of weeks now, and it's been a blast, but a little exhausting. Guillaume's dad came first, and he had a really good time, visiting (as tourists might) a couple of museums, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and had a nice little taste of Orange County and Long Beach. He left us with smiles and thank yous and told us more than once he had a really good visit. It was really nice to hear since we're so new at this whole "hosting people in a new city" thing.
Anto, Sev & Baptiste are visiting now and I like to think they're having equally as much fun as Gui's dad had. Since my days off or usually during the week, I've been able to hang out with them and come along on some of their excursions, too. Most notable on our list of places-visited is Venice Beach, which was beautiful and incredibly odd at the same time. It's home to "Muscle Beach," which allowed our eyes the pleasure of witnessing this insanity. Unfortunately, I was only able to snap this bright picture before my eyes couldn't take it any longer.
The city itself is really very nice, with the canals running through neighborhoods much like they do in Venice, Italy. The houses, of course are gorgeous, which brought about repeated oohs and aahs from us as we walked around. It was a little too chilly for us to make it a tanning day, but we enjoyed some grub at a nice sidewalk cafe, took tons of pictures and browsed the racks of clothes on the sidewalk sales along the path. It was a fun day!
The rest of the past week or so has been full of sun - I visited Laguna Beach, which is DEFINITELY all (and more) it's cracked up to be! Guillaume and I have also converted from Astros to Angels fans (sorry mom & Joe) and we had a chance to go to a game while Gui's dad was visiting. It was good time, and the hotdogs and peanuts were the perfect touch!! We've also been keeping busy at our neighborhood bar and played a game of miniature golf just before the french three-musketeers headed out to San Fran for the weekend. They'll be back next week, though, so more pictures and adventures are sure to come! For now, here are a few pics from Venice Beach, hanging out at our place, and the Angels game. Enjoy!
I finally found a fatburger, but didn't stop since we'd already eaten :( We're planning a trip soon, though, so fear not, Can! :)
Anto, Sev & Baptiste are visiting now and I like to think they're having equally as much fun as Gui's dad had. Since my days off or usually during the week, I've been able to hang out with them and come along on some of their excursions, too. Most notable on our list of places-visited is Venice Beach, which was beautiful and incredibly odd at the same time. It's home to "Muscle Beach," which allowed our eyes the pleasure of witnessing this insanity. Unfortunately, I was only able to snap this bright picture before my eyes couldn't take it any longer.
The city itself is really very nice, with the canals running through neighborhoods much like they do in Venice, Italy. The houses, of course are gorgeous, which brought about repeated oohs and aahs from us as we walked around. It was a little too chilly for us to make it a tanning day, but we enjoyed some grub at a nice sidewalk cafe, took tons of pictures and browsed the racks of clothes on the sidewalk sales along the path. It was a fun day! The rest of the past week or so has been full of sun - I visited Laguna Beach, which is DEFINITELY all (and more) it's cracked up to be! Guillaume and I have also converted from Astros to Angels fans (sorry mom & Joe) and we had a chance to go to a game while Gui's dad was visiting. It was good time, and the hotdogs and peanuts were the perfect touch!! We've also been keeping busy at our neighborhood bar and played a game of miniature golf just before the french three-musketeers headed out to San Fran for the weekend. They'll be back next week, though, so more pictures and adventures are sure to come! For now, here are a few pics from Venice Beach, hanging out at our place, and the Angels game. Enjoy!
I finally found a fatburger, but didn't stop since we'd already eaten :( We're planning a trip soon, though, so fear not, Can! :)
California knows how to party
Well, at least Texans know how to party in California. So, as everyone knows, Irisa made her way west last weekend to spend some time with me (and Guillaume and Scott, I guess). We had such a blast and were able to visit all the touristy places that I'd still not checked out. Gui and I ended up benefitting more than we expected from Irisa's visit, making friends with Scott and his buddies who live just down the coast in Huntington Beach. To sum up Irisa's visit, we visited Burbank where all the TV shows are made, tried to see a taping of Ellen, but settled for watching half of the show from backstage and dancing with the star (so neato!!), sat in the audience of a Jimmy Kimmel Live taping, took a walk around the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theater, had some drinks at Beauty Bar, made many visits to our local dive bar, watched the Spurs make it to the Finals with our fellow Texas fans, took a trip to the beach and the local museum, ate some delicious food at our fave PF Chang's in Beverly Center (where all the stars shop, apparently), did a bit of shopping (for Irisa, of course), and had an all-around good ol' time with a good ol' friend! It was definitely nice to have a little bit of home around for a while. Thanks for coming, Irisa!!!!! Now, it's Gui's turn to host some visitors - Baptiste arrived last night, his dad comes in tonight and Anto & Sev will arrive tomorrow!! This should be interesting!
Here are a few shots from the good times from last week/weekend.
My best friend has arrived...
Yep, IN & OUT...yummy.
PF Chang's for a little birthday dinner.
Irisa treated me to a mani at Beauty Bar (she got one, too!)
Look at those nice nails!
New friends of mine. :)
Couldn't resist.
Doesn't he look just like Gui?
:)
Guillaume was getting into the basketball spirit.
Scott & Sonny...our new friends in HB.
Mm Hmmm...
Scott's sexy pose...the Spurs play SEXY basketball!
New friends!!
Old friends!!
Chillin' with Scottness.
Love this pic!
Hook 'em (where are the horns?)!
Red Room!
Cheers!!
This pose is getting old. ;)
On our way to the Ellen Show!
Posing in the kids' department. Dorks.
Waiting for my discount :)
Doin' it the Cali way. Fun times!
Here are a few shots from the good times from last week/weekend.
My best friend has arrived...
Yep, IN & OUT...yummy.
PF Chang's for a little birthday dinner.
Irisa treated me to a mani at Beauty Bar (she got one, too!)
Look at those nice nails!
New friends of mine. :)
Couldn't resist.
Doesn't he look just like Gui?
:)
Guillaume was getting into the basketball spirit.
Scott & Sonny...our new friends in HB.
Mm Hmmm...
Scott's sexy pose...the Spurs play SEXY basketball!
New friends!!
Old friends!!
Chillin' with Scottness.
Love this pic!
Hook 'em (where are the horns?)!
Red Room!
Cheers!!
This pose is getting old. ;)
On our way to the Ellen Show!
Posing in the kids' department. Dorks.
Waiting for my discount :)
Doin' it the Cali way. Fun times!My new favorite treat
During a quick trip to Target, I scooped up a jar of Nutella, then made my way to Trader Joe's where I came across some fresh and very cheap strawberries. I didn't realize that I'd found my newest favorite delight until I came home to savor the creation. It totally happened by accident, but I can't stop thinking about it!! The best part is that when I came home, I checked my Trader Joe's receipt before throwing it out and realized they didn't even charge me for the very sweet strawberries!! I feel a little guilty, but I figure it's just karma for all those times I've reminded people that they forgot to charge me for something or gave me too much change. It pays sweetly to be honest!
Where everybody knows your name
Guillaume and I have been finding ourselves regular "weekenders" at the little dive bar a couple of blocks from our house. We usually have a pint or 2 of PBR on tap (that's right...ON TAP...love it), pay our 4 bucks a piece and walk back home to scarf on leftovers. Last Friday, though, Guillaume paid with his credit card and was forced to buy a shot (I suggested a lemon-drop since he loves lemony things) to meet the credit card minimum purchase. He seemed to not like it so much (it didn't really taste like the lemon drops I'm accustomed to), but I think it got the job done ... lightweight.
It's a pretty cool place to hang out, and the bartenders are beginning to recognize us, too, with casual "what's up, Texas?" welcomes.
It's a pretty cool place to hang out, and the bartenders are beginning to recognize us, too, with casual "what's up, Texas?" welcomes.
Home Improvements
Since Guillaume and I moved in, we've been living with taking very low-pressure showers and a tub that sometimes decided not to drain very quickly. We also hadn't really done a thorough cleaning of the place - in areas like above the fridge, on the stove and in the bathtub, for instance. So, Sunday we dedicated the entire day (after a quick breakfast at our new Sunday hang-out that I've mentioned in an earlier blog entry) to some much-needed home improvements. We replaced our shower head with a high-pressure one, did a ton of laundry, bought some cleaning products from Target and cleaned up the the nasty little corners of our apartment (which Guillaume, thankfully, took charge of). I also managed to reorganized my clothes in a more orderly fashion and we called about a couch we found on Craigslist, which we'll have just in time for our first official visitor. Thinngs are coming along swimmingly, I'd say.
Picture Post
After realizing how highly-demanded my pictures were (heheh), I decided to post a few to appease the crazed papparazzi! Here are the only pics of me (that I don't think I've posted) that I've had taken so far since I've been here...they're pretty random, but we'll work out some poses for future photoshoots. :)
On the way to the Beach
A random shot by Guillaume
Cute pasty boy...on his way to get a tan!
My best Blue-steal pose
Taking a stroll along the beach
Aren't we "Cool as Ice"?
Please don't make fun of my hair...it was windy, OK?
As you can see, I'm the photographer in this household.
Man, I've had that compact for years! The mirror's so great, though.
Glad to see this here ... too bad no Fireman's 4 in sight.
Our best homeade meal so far! ;)
On the way to the Beach
A random shot by Guillaume
Cute pasty boy...on his way to get a tan!
My best Blue-steal pose
Taking a stroll along the beach
Aren't we "Cool as Ice"?
Please don't make fun of my hair...it was windy, OK?
As you can see, I'm the photographer in this household.
Man, I've had that compact for years! The mirror's so great, though.
Glad to see this here ... too bad no Fireman's 4 in sight.
Our best homeade meal so far! ;)Under the weather
So, yesterday afternoon I started feeling a little tickle in my throat. I know what this means, and it's been happening in my life more often as I've gotten older than when I was a kid. Yep, I'm coming down with something. I don't know what's up with me. A few months ago ... like January ... I had a hacking and un-relenting cough that lasted well over 3 weeks. And, in November when I went to visit Guillaume, I had the same kind of sore throat I'm having now. I still have some meds from those past 2 times being sick, so hopefully I'm on my way to recovery. The last thing I want is to be sick when there's good weather to enjoy. Not to mention, I'm really enjoying my job at the moment, too. I never knew I could work a full 8 hours (sans internet and email) and be happy with my job!! Definitely feeling lucky about that.
Anyway, I'm feeling a little feverish and trying to keep my mind off my sore throat and achy pains, hoping it will subside by the morning and I'll be as good as new. I'm taking off 2 weekdays next week for my bday and to spend as much time with Irisa while she's here visiting, so I'm not about to take another day and jeopardize that. Oh, and speaking of Irisa, we've got standby tix to see the Ellen Show on my birthday, and if I know us persistent girls, we'll be there cheering her on while she's dancing around the audience!! We're planning to get there as early as possible to queue up for a prime place in the standby line, because I hear most early standby-ers usually get through. It's sure to be a memorable Hollywood birthday - Ellen in the afternoon, Jimmy Kimmel in the evening and Beauty Bar in West Hollywood (also know to locals as WeHo) to finish off the night.
Oh, and one more thing I'll mention in this entry while I'm here...today a guy with a Texas cap came in with his girlfriend and we chatted a bit about Austin and moving to Cali and where we went to high school, etc. It was very cool and my first encounter with a Texan...and fellow alumnus here in Cali. I was totally stoked even though I know there are tons of us Texans around these parts.
Anyway, I'm feeling a little feverish and trying to keep my mind off my sore throat and achy pains, hoping it will subside by the morning and I'll be as good as new. I'm taking off 2 weekdays next week for my bday and to spend as much time with Irisa while she's here visiting, so I'm not about to take another day and jeopardize that. Oh, and speaking of Irisa, we've got standby tix to see the Ellen Show on my birthday, and if I know us persistent girls, we'll be there cheering her on while she's dancing around the audience!! We're planning to get there as early as possible to queue up for a prime place in the standby line, because I hear most early standby-ers usually get through. It's sure to be a memorable Hollywood birthday - Ellen in the afternoon, Jimmy Kimmel in the evening and Beauty Bar in West Hollywood (also know to locals as WeHo) to finish off the night.
Oh, and one more thing I'll mention in this entry while I'm here...today a guy with a Texas cap came in with his girlfriend and we chatted a bit about Austin and moving to Cali and where we went to high school, etc. It was very cool and my first encounter with a Texan...and fellow alumnus here in Cali. I was totally stoked even though I know there are tons of us Texans around these parts.
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