Weekend Review...LA Firsts

A Dodgers' Game, An Earthquake and a Dinner Party...Oh My!

Joe's brother was in town last week for work, which meant Joe and I got to play hosts. Hosting a guest from St. Louis has a giant perk...fun activities. On Thursday night (I know Thursday is technically a week night, but since it is towards the end of the week I am including it in my weekend review.) the three of us ventured to Dodger Stadium for a baseball game. I grew up in a baseball town, so I have always been a fan of going to games. I associate baseball games with summertime. There is nothing better than eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the ground. Now that I live in LA I am a Dodgers fan (Go Manny!), but when the Dodgers play the Cardinals I will route, route for my home team. I will never not be a Cardinals fan.

It took us an hour to drive the 3 miles from our apartment to the stadium (note to self...plan to walk to the game next time and never leave the house without going to the bathroom!). Joe's brother managed to get us free parking. It is crazy...these boys have connections all over the country. Our seats were great for only $25 and it was free blanket night. I dreaded trying to find something for dinner (I don't eat meat, so a Dodger Dog was out of the question), but I was delighted when I saw vegetarian pizza. Score! In St. Louis you can get greasy pizza or greasier pizza. The pizza was pretty good for ballpark food, but the frozen yogurt topped with peanuts was a home run. Speaking of home runs...we saw Manny hit a home run and the Dodgers won.

After work on Friday, I was in desperate need of a nap. I was longing for my bed all day long and was so annoyed when I got home and could not sleep because of the noise outside of my apartment. There were several demonstrations taking place near the City Hall and I constantly heard the helicopters flying around. I finally dozed off and was jolted (literally) awake. I often awake in the middle of the night thinking my bed is shaking (paranoia), but this time it really was shaking. There was a small earthquake at 6:11pm. I knew it was more than my imagination when I heard the coat hanger hanging on the knob of a dresser drawer bang against the dresser. It was only a matter of time before I felt my first quake.

Friday night Joe took us to Kincaid's on the Redondo Beach Pier. Kincaid's is one of my favorite restaurants! After a divine dinner (a warm brie appetizer followed by the grilled halibut) we decided to take Joe's brother to a local watering hole downtown. We met up with one of my friends from work and hit 7 Grand. The place was a little lame, but at least we got seats and didn't have to bribe some doorman to let us enter the bar. No cover and no line...I'll take it any day. This bar actually carries Pearl Vodka (unfortunately not pomegranate flavored, but the blueberry is tasty). We had a good time and I made a dance floor (shocker!). After dancing around my feet were in no condition for the walk home. Poor Joe ended up giving me a piggy back ride. I guess I'll let him count that as a workout for the day.

Saturday morning Joe's brother had to go to the airport. We stopped at Hennessey's in Manhattan Beach for breakfast before going to LAX. Hennessey's has the best oatmeal and restaurant coffee. It was sad saying good bye to Joe's brother because we had a good time (fo' sho), but I'll see him next weekend when I go to St. Louis for a wedding, Mother's Day breakfast and baptism (busy weekend!).

On Saturday night a friend from work came over for dinner. I made homemade pizza (one of two meals I cook) and garlic cheesy bread. I forgot how much I love to entertain. I make dinner for Joe regularly and he always says it taste good (but then again I think he might be forced to say it is good if he wants me to continue cooking for him). When other people enjoy the food you cooked, then you know it must be pretty good. It is very rewarding to watch others enjoy the meal you prepared. Something came over me as I was cleaning up from dinner and I decided to take the left over pizza outside to a homeless person. This was a risky plan, but I couldn't stand to throw the food away when there are so many people sleeping on the streets right outside our building. I wrapped up slices of pizza, grabbed a napkin and headed outside to feed someone dinner. I gave the food to a woman sitting on a bus stop bench bundled up with coats, gloves and scarves and surrounded by bags full of her belongings. You want to make someone's day...offer a homeless person dinner. What a small gesture that made a difference in someone's life.

Sunday morning started off great. I finished another book (Misery Loves Cabernet). The book takes place in LA, so naturally I liked the story. It is fun to read about places like Ralphs and the Biltmore Hotel. I finished the author's first book A Total Waste of Makeup a few weeks ago. I can breeze through fun novels, but struggle to get through anything educational. I am also trying to read The Trophy Kids Grow Up, but got bored halfway through when the author kept describing parents that accompany their children on job interviews. My generation has some issues.

It was cycle Sunday at the gym (now that I got hired at 24 Hour I have a legit reason to ride the spin bikes by myself) and then Joe and I ran some errands. We were driving down the PCH and noticed a pet adoption at a pet store. We stopped. Big mistake. Joe and I have been talking about getting a dog for a while now. We even have a name picked out for our dog...Tiesto (after our favorite DJ). We want a pug. My heart broke seeing the dogs up for adoption. We found a really cute one, but it was a female (and she was not a pug). The name Tiesto is clearly best suited for a male dog. Hopefully, I will be writing about another first really soon...our first puppy.