It's gonna be a busy month
Guillaume reminded me today that we're going to have a full house this month! Starting with Irisa's visit on the 15th, we'll be accommodating someone in our apartment until the 17th of June! After Irisa heads back home on the 21st, Baptiste (who visited Texas last year) will be arriving on the 24th, Guillaume's dad to arrive on the 25th, then Anto & Sev (who also visited Texas last year) will be arriving on the 28th! I hadn't realized how fast-approaching these very exciting visits were, and I feel a little unprepared. We're still living without a proper sofa and a very bad TV connection (although, I'm doubtful anyone will be looking forward to spending their summer vacations miles away from home, watching TV), not to mention no sort of daily routine set-up, yet! No matter, it will still be very exciting (albeit a little crowded) to have some familiar faces around our new 'hood.
So, the score is Guillaume - 4, Sarah - 1. Where are all my friends at? You KNOW I got him beat, so get your arses over here! ♥
So, the score is Guillaume - 4, Sarah - 1. Where are all my friends at? You KNOW I got him beat, so get your arses over here! ♥
Never in my life
Never have I ever paid so much for a tank of gas!
(Yes, that's $49.11 USD for 14 gallons of gas!)
Before I moved to California, people warned me that it's much more expensive to live here, but when I first got here there were no real noticeable differences in price; apartment prices were comparable to those in Austin (the most expensive city to live in in Texas besides Dallas), clothes and shoes were about the same, and even drinks often cost as little as $3.00 a pint. After living here for a month now, I've realized that grocery shopping is a bit more pricey (there ain't no HEBs here, that's for sure), and our fave past-time, eating out, is definitely more expensive - even for fast food! Not to mention that I took a pay-CUT to get closer to my dream-job, and Gui isn't exactly rolling in the dough as an intern. So, paying nearly $50 every week for gas is certainly a set-back and not something I'm looking forward to as gas prices are getting ready to sky-rocket for the summer! Even worse, starting mid-June I'll be driving 3x further than I am now!! It's all a bit scary, but definitely aroused my usually tepid interest in hybrids!
(Yes, that's $49.11 USD for 14 gallons of gas!)Heading to the O.C.
For business and other reasons, my training for work will be relocating to the South Coast Plaza store in Costa Mesa. I'm excited about reducing my commute by half and training at a much smaller and less-hectic store, but I'll admit I'm a little sad to leave Beverly Hills after such a short stay. The Beverly Center has been a neat experience, though, and both Guillaume and I were able to exlplore Beverly Hills (including Melrose & Sunset Blvds) a bit, too. We'll definitely be back, especially when Irisa comes, to dabble in the abundant night-life and various eateries around there. I'm glad I've had the chance to get to know the place a little. Guillaume and I, however, share separate views on the people and community there; while I'd love to live in such a happening and bustling area of LA, he prefers the laid-back, slow-moving and easy-going environment in Long Beach. As much as I love Long Beach and living here, while I'm young, I think a place like Beverly Hills could offer the fun, entertainment and culture (not to mention shopping!) that I want to be a part of before I get too grown-up. Long Beach very much reminds me of Austin, which is really great, but before I left Austin I always pictured myself living in a bigger city before returning to settle in my hometown with a family (with or without kids). Although the LBC is much larger than Austin, it still has the same quaintness and charm that Austin has, so I feel like I'm still in a big-small, hip town. It'll be nice to finally get a chance to experience that hustle and bustle once I make the move to the Hollywood Hills in September, I just hope I'm not disappointed. For now, I'll enjoy my time near the beach and in walking-distance to my favorite coffee shop, bar and pizza joint. Oh, and this nice French wine that Gui picked up at Trader Joe's for a measly 6 bucks!
Only in L.A.
So, while eating lunch today at work and casually browsing through an old issue of GQ (or some other guy magazine), someone made a comment about the cover model, Josh Hartnett, to which someone else replied, "oh, he was in here yesterday...I rang him up." Then everyone started talking about the cool celebs that they've spotted shopping in our store. It just seems so overly-casual that stars enter our workplace daily and no one bats an eye. I wonder how I'd hold up if someone cool approached me at the register to buy a pair of socks. I guess we'll wait and see if that ever happens.
And, since this post is about what goes on in this crazy city, today I experienced my first real frustration with the absurd traffic on the 405. It was particularly packed today and took me an hour and a half to get home, but at least the weather was enjoyable. It's gonna be rough for the next few weeks having to commute, but it's all worth it.
On a side note: For you fashionistas, we are selling the cutest clothes & shoes right now and it's taking all I have to resist the temptation to buy it ALL!!! I love my job!
And, since this post is about what goes on in this crazy city, today I experienced my first real frustration with the absurd traffic on the 405. It was particularly packed today and took me an hour and a half to get home, but at least the weather was enjoyable. It's gonna be rough for the next few weeks having to commute, but it's all worth it.
On a side note: For you fashionistas, we are selling the cutest clothes & shoes right now and it's taking all I have to resist the temptation to buy it ALL!!! I love my job!
Back in business
I know it's been some time since I've posted anything. It's still taking some time to get into a routine. I had a day off yesterday, and expected to get back into the groove of blogging, but just didn't feel in the mood...so I read the book that I've been a little addicted to for the past few weeks. The play for the book is going on here in LA, so if I can afford it (yeah right), I'm going to try to get tickets for it...or maybe I'll add that to my birthday wish list. ;)
So, anyway, I started my 4-week training at The Beverly Center in downtown LA on Monday. It's been great so far, and I'm finding that working in that area definitely has its perks. Apparently, tons of celebs frequent the mall, and many celebs (mostly b-listers, but still) even shop at our store! From what I've heard, all the Road-Rulers, Real-Worlders, Ryan Cabrera, CW actors, etc. come in on a frequent basis, so maybe Irisa has a chance to see her celeb crush, afterall. Besides the high-profile clientele, the mall has a great food court and some of my fave restaurants on the first floor (i.e. PF Chang's & CPK)! I've also had the pleasure to meet a lot of really cool people who are from the area and have generously offered me tons of advice on where to go and what to see around LA and in Long Beach. In fact, 2 of the people I'm working with daily either live in Long Beach or have lived here before, which is really awesome, since they know the ins and outs of the area. I'm most excited about checking out Beauty Bar in LA, to compare it to the one in Austin. I've heard mixed reviews, so I'll be sure to provide an update when I do get around to visiting it.
Besides work, Gui and I have just been hanging out. We're both trying to spend conservatively right now, so it's mostly been dinners at home and not much else. We did get a chance to check out the Grand Prix in Long Beach when it was here; we didn't have tickets, but we hung out outside the gates and got a pretty good view of the events.
We also managed to time our walk to the beach and discovered that from door to sand, we live a 12 minute walk to the beach. Niiice. It's not the best beach ever, but, hey, it's a beach!! Oh, and I almost forgot. As a little treat for our "one-year anniversary" (can you believe that we've been dating eachother for ONE YEAR?!!! I can't!!), Guillaume and I checked out this bar called The Yard House, that has the World's Largest Selection of Draft Beer. It was defnitely a treat, but we each only had one beer: I, of course, opted for my "usual" Strongbow (hey, it's NEVER on draft in the states...I couldn't resist!), and Gui tried something he'd never tried, but not something all that authentic - NOLA's Abita Purple Haze. We were both satisfied and definitely happy about the selection (check out those taps!!).
So, on that note....here's to beer and getting more of it! ;)
So, anyway, I started my 4-week training at The Beverly Center in downtown LA on Monday. It's been great so far, and I'm finding that working in that area definitely has its perks. Apparently, tons of celebs frequent the mall, and many celebs (mostly b-listers, but still) even shop at our store! From what I've heard, all the Road-Rulers, Real-Worlders, Ryan Cabrera, CW actors, etc. come in on a frequent basis, so maybe Irisa has a chance to see her celeb crush, afterall. Besides the high-profile clientele, the mall has a great food court and some of my fave restaurants on the first floor (i.e. PF Chang's & CPK)! I've also had the pleasure to meet a lot of really cool people who are from the area and have generously offered me tons of advice on where to go and what to see around LA and in Long Beach. In fact, 2 of the people I'm working with daily either live in Long Beach or have lived here before, which is really awesome, since they know the ins and outs of the area. I'm most excited about checking out Beauty Bar in LA, to compare it to the one in Austin. I've heard mixed reviews, so I'll be sure to provide an update when I do get around to visiting it.
Besides work, Gui and I have just been hanging out. We're both trying to spend conservatively right now, so it's mostly been dinners at home and not much else. We did get a chance to check out the Grand Prix in Long Beach when it was here; we didn't have tickets, but we hung out outside the gates and got a pretty good view of the events.
We also managed to time our walk to the beach and discovered that from door to sand, we live a 12 minute walk to the beach. Niiice. It's not the best beach ever, but, hey, it's a beach!! Oh, and I almost forgot. As a little treat for our "one-year anniversary" (can you believe that we've been dating eachother for ONE YEAR?!!! I can't!!), Guillaume and I checked out this bar called The Yard House, that has the World's Largest Selection of Draft Beer. It was defnitely a treat, but we each only had one beer: I, of course, opted for my "usual" Strongbow (hey, it's NEVER on draft in the states...I couldn't resist!), and Gui tried something he'd never tried, but not something all that authentic - NOLA's Abita Purple Haze. We were both satisfied and definitely happy about the selection (check out those taps!!).
So, on that note....here's to beer and getting more of it! ;)The quiche that ruined my dress
So, I know it's pretty obvious what this post is going to be about, but let me first say that Guillaume and I finally made the Quiche Savoyarde this past weekend that we've been craving ever since trying the delicious goodness at Melynda's a few months back. We followed the recipe precisely, but opted out of making our own crust since our kitchen is still lacking a few essential tools - like a measuring cup (gasp)!! The only problem I had (as indicated in the title of this blurb) was with the bacon. I never cook bacon, since the microwave stuff only takes 10 seconds! So, while I was cooking the bacon, it decided to get really hot and splatter grease all over my lovely brown dress that I got in at Mango in Italy a few summers back. It's one of my most favorite dresses, so if anyone has any special remedy for removing grease stains from clothes, I'd be most appreciative if you'd share that with me! Either way, I'd almost believe that it was worth it, since the quiche turned out to be so yummy! Our oven is a little ancient, so it took longer to cook, and even then I would've liked it to be cooked a bit longer, but it was still delicious and Guillaume couldn't stop going back for more!
Thanks to Melynda for the great recipe and for sending us such a good gift - the quiche dish!!! It will be used so often now that I know how easy it is to make a quiche!!!! ♥
Thanks to Melynda for the great recipe and for sending us such a good gift - the quiche dish!!! It will be used so often now that I know how easy it is to make a quiche!!!! ♥
(Lovely gift!)
(FYI: I changed out of my dress after the bacon splatter!)
Irisa's coming to town!
I just received the exciting news that my long-time BFF is coming to visit me (and Gui) for my birthday next month! So cool! I can't wait...she'll be our first official visitor, so we'll have to scope out some fun things to do while she's here. Luckily the rock-star company that I work for treats birthdays as paid vacation days! I think we're going to wreak havoc on Cali! ;)
A tribute to Irisa and Sarah
We've been through it all - the good times...
The bad times...
The funny times... (bet you can't tell she's taking the picture!)
The sunny times...
Oh, and did I mention we're having a baby? (hehehe)
Yeah, and I just booked tickets for us to see Jimmy Kimmel Live on my birthday (I think it's Cameron Diaz that day...she's cool, I guess). Now, I'm working on tix for the Price is Right...how cool would that be??
A tribute to Irisa and Sarah
We've been through it all - the good times...
The bad times...
The funny times... (bet you can't tell she's taking the picture!)
The sunny times...
Oh, and did I mention we're having a baby? (hehehe)
Yeah, and I just booked tickets for us to see Jimmy Kimmel Live on my birthday (I think it's Cameron Diaz that day...she's cool, I guess). Now, I'm working on tix for the Price is Right...how cool would that be??
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