Where the Hell Have You Been?

I did my expenses today. I had almost $1,000 in receipts. I totally deserve this.



Haha. Well, there's more to that story. Let's begin, shall we?

1. Went to the Daily Candy offices for work. The staffers all look like the drawings from the emails. Weird.

2. Went to Nashville for work. Saw Crazy, who looks great and fit, in spite of being v. pregnant with Baby #3. It's another boy. He's v. cute (b. 2/20/08)
We had dinner at a great restaurant, Flyte. It's all locavore and organic, but more importantly, really, really, good. They specialize in flytes of salad, lamb, duck... get it? One thing that did make me nuts is that they do the custom bread order thing that I'm seeing more and more. Part of me thinks, awesome - I get to pick my bread or skip it, and part of me thinks, Oh, COME ON!. Flyte gets extra points for having the nicest waiter I've ever met. I explained my allergy, and he brought me a menu with notes from the chef on what I could eat. A clear improvement over the shitty treatment I got at Pastis.

Didn't do much else, except rush from hotel to conference and back. I had a FABULOUS stay at the Sheraton, punctuated with free bottled water and Bliss Mint and Mandarin soaps. Turns out, that makes a huge difference in my stay.

3. Had a Mardi Gras party


It was awesome. Lots of people, everyone drank too much, and it did not feel at all responsible. Phew! My reputation as a lush is safe.

4. Went to LA for work. Was largely unimpressed. Stayed in a very chi-chi, see & be seen, DUMP. I do not recommend it. I would rant, but the photos say it all.


It smelled too. This is the first time I've ever wanted one of those stupid travel candles in a tin. AND, I had the pleasure of sleeping 10 feet from Sunset Blvd. Not to worry. They gave me earplugs.

I ate at the Ivy (yummy and low key), noshed at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (skippable) and snagged See's for the folks back home. Walked through the Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, LACMA, and the LaBrea Tar Pits. Lala, I need to share funny photos of signage, storage, exhibits, fundraising boxes, and REAL LIVE CURATORS ON DISPLAY DOING CURATOR STUFF!!!!!! Hilarious. The Getty was AMAZING. Every Angeleno I asked said that I had to go, and I should skip the art. So, I did. The buildings and gardens were breathtaking, and I'm not usually into that stuff. And then, I got to drive through LA rush hour. JOY.

5. Then I went to San Diego to hang out with Jenny. Met Randy, and he's awesome. He took me to my first surfing competition and my first surfing community live auction and raffle (Hurley bag, sweet belt). He's a sweet pea, much bigger and tanner than I'd imagined (makes sense, since he surfs every day), and you all approve. Trust me. Jenny took me to Coronado for awesome fish tacos, and to the San Diego Zoo (finally!), and the Wild Animal Park, which was my favorite. These cuties with just on the other side of the glass from me. SO COOL.
And, this is Dad. About 10 feet from me. AWESOME. I've waited 20 years to see the zoo, and the park was way better. Which is saying something, cuz the zoo had a gondola, frozen margaritas, and pandas. Basically, the coolest place EVER, except the park.


I could talk about it for days, but I won't bore you. I did buy Tater lots of crap he doesn't need, including a T that says "Stop & Smell the Animals." Hee hee.