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July 2013

A Little Too Much of Everything

I didn’t write much last week because I had too much free time. It sounds strange but it’s true, mostly. Jane is away at camp and Alexander came home over the weekend. I spent the week alternately working too hard and playing too hard, each method was a failed attempt to not miss the kids too much.

On more than one occasion I went to the gym and yoga. That’s a solid 3 hours of “me time” which historically has been enough to hold me over for a week at a time. Twice I had two yoga classes in a day. I still cannot touch my toes without bending my knees. I’m an enthusiastic yet underachieving yogi. I went to Las Vegas and won enough at the blackjack tables to pay for my plane ticket. Everyone says you should always split 8’s. I’m not sure who everyone is but I think that everyone is wrong.

When I wasn’t gambling, working or exercising I was eating and reading. In Vegas I dropped into Nobu which left me yearning for Katsu-ya. My jaw about dropped when I sat down to a table with disposable chopsticks wrapped in paper. The service was good but missing the near silent attentiveness of the Los Angeles and San Diego restaurants. Also at about $150 a person I don’t want to walk through a casino to use a restroom. I’ll be sitting and sipping sake for hours, I need a real restroom in a real restaurant. The food was almost as good but eating from splintery chopsticks ruined it for me. Of course here in LA we celebrated our anniversary with our son at one of my favorite lunch spots, Crustacean. I think I’ve learned my lesson and Crustacean will remain a lunch spot. We love the crab and the noodles are good too but frankly there’s a really great dive in Reseda that makes it better at about an eighth the price. I’ll never stop loving the lobster and mango salad so anyone who wants a snooty lunch with me can always meet me there.

While we were waiting for our table at Crustacean I saw a mob of tourists outside of Sprinkles with their cameras trained on an SLS convertible and a silver haired man. So I looked at Mr. G and I’m like, “Isn’t that your dad’s car?” And he’s like, “Oh my god they think he’s a celebrity.” And we watched the Senior Mr. G wave to his fans while he grabbed a cupcake. Alexander’s eyes were like saucers, I’m still not sure if he thinks his grandfather is a genius or if every tourist in Beverly Hills is a little bit stupid. I suspect the latter.

Never underestimate the power of good hair and a snazzy car.

During the week I’d been sort of limping through three books, flipping from one to the other. One was a bust so I won’t even mention it, but the other two were perfect reads for me. There was Afterbirth: Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine. Well, the tagline is 100% honest… I’ve never read about a bloody jockstrap in a parenting magazine but they stories are all magazine length. Most are 4 pages long and easily digested. It’s a good summertime book to leave in your purse, enjoy a story… take a nap… read another… have lunch…obviously I’m living in a fantasy world.

The absolute perfect kids are at camp book has got to be Getaway Mom. I don’t want to ruin the whole story because it unfolds so nicely but in Getaway Mom a Long Island mom trades places with her unattached LA sister for part of a summer. It’s fun, readable and uncomfortable all at once which is the trifecta of a good novel. I wish that some of the dialogue rolled off the tongue a little better but the story was so good, it captured the LA conundrum so perfectly that I happily forgave one too many I will‘s and in my head substituted them for I’ll because I’ve decided that is how these characters should speak. It looks to be a 99 cent kindle purchase right now which is a great buy but can’t rival my penny dress. 

DVF dress for a penny

The time before last when I popped into Bloomingdales I found a great black and white DVF wrap dress that I thought was 40% off. I was understandably excited to get the dress for under $200 and over the moon when the cashier asked me for a penny. It’s now my favorite dress and I think I’ve worn it twice in June.

I made my way to the mall again while the kids were gone. Since I’d been the beneficiary of a $364.99 sale I had cash to burn and managed to snag a Tory Burch sundress that wasn’t covered in T’s along with a matching cardigan that was. I’m torn because I love the pale pink but I want to bring to a close the days of wearing someone else’s initials on any part of me.

The week. It was well spent in every way.