Remembering How...

Has it been almost two years since I blogged? Yowza!

It's funny how time slips away and one week away from your blog rolls into a month, creeps into a year later and ... where does the time go?

A lot has changed, though enough has refreshingly stayed the same, since my last post in summer 2012. I'm enjoying life, which is kinda the point, right? And since my randomness has remained intact, I feel compelled to tell you that I ADORE my new-ish apartment and the old-world charm of my dining area where I'm remembering right now how this blog thing works:

Birthday Hooky

Since my work generously gives you your birthday off, I indulged in playing "hooky" on my special day on Thursday.

The day was low-key, just as I wanted. As you get older, the realization knocks you on the head that simple pleasures and what's authentic is more key to happines than, say, the big to-do.

With that in mind, I enjoyed a latte at Peet's while people watching and flipping through magazines I got at the newsstand (such a weekend thing for me!), talked and texted with family and friends, ambled into a favorite boutique and bought a stellar summer dress on sale, oh, and then walked to the Montage Beverly Hills hotel for a massage I booked on a whim. The spa was gorgeous, and enjoying the relaxation room, steam room, sauna, and salt water pool was an ideal way to round out the afternoon.

Then it was off to The Avalon, a hidden gem hotel in Beverly Hills with cool mid-century modern flair, for drinks around the retro kidney-shaped pool.

After all that, I don't feel so bad about turning 30. I'm, gulp, embracing it...

Molly and me in front of our cabana at The Avalon

I love The Avalon's retro vibe -- they filmed scenes from Dreamgirls here

Take a Hike

I wanted to start the week with a serene mindset, and so I hiked my favorite trail, Temescal Canyon, in the Palisades.

Thank god the temperature had cooled and yet the sun was still aglow, dappling soft light onto leafy trees that canopied the forest scene.

I zipped through the forest that feels like a hidden world, before winding up past sienna rocks to a wooden bridge that hovers over a creek with boulders that are fun resting spots. If it has recently rained, you can catch water trickling down the cragged rock wall facing the bridge, which is neat.

Then, as you're almost at the summit, the forest breaks open to a bright blue sky and there it is ... the ocean stretching to the horizon.

The hills of the Palisades and Malibu are to your right, the shoreline of Santa Monica and Catalina Island to your left, with the rest of L.A. -- Brentwood, West L.A., Century City, West Hollywood, Hollywood, eastside, downtown -- coming into view as you turn even more to the left.

The view is unreal -- it always gets me. I know how lucky I am to be standing there to see it. To enjoy it.

And with that, here's to a really good week...

Happy Fourth!

Life got super busy in June, but now that summer's arrived and with today's mid-week holiday, I'm feeling the joys of lazy days and am esctatic to get back to the blog.

A cup of black coffee is starting my Fourth off with a pow, and then I'll head for a run before going to the Dodgers game for some baseball, beer and the requisite hot dog. Fireworks at the park will be the perfect finale.

Maybe they'll even have S'mores?

Whichever neck of the woods you're in, Happy Fourth of July!

Live Music: From a Church to the Cliff

I'm digging the live music I've seen recently...

Last week Ramona and I got to see Diego Garcia sing his heart out along with a Spanish guitar and cello at a sweet little church in Koreatown.

It was inspiring!

His passionate songs about romance and relationships, love and loss, connect you to something beyond yourself, and you can't help but feel the music. The experience. The now.

While in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend to visit my sister, Natalie, we roadtripped for a day to the Sasquatch Music Festival that was about two hours away at the Gorge Amphitheatre.

This iconic concert venue sits on a cliff overlooking a river, with green foothills glistening in the background. Along with the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., I think it's one of the most spectacular outdoor spots to see live music.

Oh, I got to see Beirut and Bon Iver play, and they both rocked!

High School Reunion in Vegas

Vegas has become a go-to spot for living it up with high school friends. I made the desert drive a few Fridays ago to see Ms. Erica, my partner in crime since sophomore year who trekked around Chicago with me when I visited in April (there will be a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" adventure Part II!).

Vegas was a last hurrah of sorts, since Erica had just graduated from law school and was starting her intensive bar exam classes that Monday.

Drinks. were. in. order!

We met up with the rest of her gang, including her sweet boyfriend Blake and brother Chris, and snagged a coveted booth at Holsteins at The Cosmopolitan for eccentric burgers and famous "bam-boozled" shakes that come loaded with alcohol. My oreo shake with Bailey's irish cream was decadent, Erica's birthday cake version just like the famous treat!

This joint was buzzing, but we made our way to the casinos to do some gambling and properly take in Friday night in Vegas. Erica and Chris have some mad card playing skills, and you bet I was taking notes!

The next morning we lounged at the hotel pool, and it was like no time had passed -- we had our girl talk, our usual stacks of magazines and a cheery outlook for what was to come, whether it be passing the bar or collecting more adventures.

It's these small moments that reel me back to an earlier day, connecting the dots between then and now, that bring loads more meaning to my life.

High school reunions in Vegas, you're on!

Erica and me before the bam-boozled shakes at Holsteins