Mi Ranchito

Yummy! Just down the street from where I live.  Dave wasn't around.  My parents took the photo.  Yummy. yummy. Enough said!

 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&view=text&gl=us&q=Mi+Ranchito+Los+Angeles+Mar+Vista&ie=UTF8&hl=en&sll=34.000824,-118.428388&sspn=0.008582,0.006295&latlng=9322824727761053048&ei=cBJxSt6tFISKtQPB35WpCA&sig2=4HybCcG5UXqqyj3qRqBdIQ&cd=2&usq=Mi+Ranchito

only in Venice.

Well, I do remember going to NYC and a guy charged my mom to take his photo on the public bus. He looked like Uncle Sam. Today I asked permission to take the photo of this guy's bike. He asked for I $1 for this photo. The guy's RV is parked outside of my boutique. He was quite nice. I'm fascinated by people's obsessions. But this is LA.

9 AM, 97 degrees, and hiking it!

This morning, Dave & I met our friends Kevin and Becky and Don for a morning hike.  With Angie Mae (my 10 year old boxer), we hit the Chesebro hiking trails in Agoura Hills, CA.  Seasoned hikers know that you need to start super early.  By 9 AM, it was already scorching hot.  3 miles later, we encountered 20+ mountain bikers, 5 horses, and plenty of ants and lizards along the way.  Angie kept us stopping frequently for water and rest, and the picnic was made even more special by Becky's touch of a gingham tablecloth that we set up along the trail.  Photos are before, during and after.  

a summer night at the Venice Pier...

The photo says it all.  Aahh...a nice walk on the beach near the Venice Pier at sunset.    

Typhoon season...all year round in Santa Monica, CA

It was a long week.  My boutique is still new.  Dave's job is brain straining.  By the time Friday rolls around, we need a fun place to have dinner where we can laugh about the week and fill up on something more than our Trader Joe's dinners that we enjoy during the week.  So off to Typhoon restaurant in Santa Monica we went this evening.  Typhoon is located on the grounds of the Santa Monica Airport with a view of the runway.  

I suddenly feel removed from the congestion of LA.  When I go there, I feel nostalgic for my years of being a military brat.  The Santa Monica airport is actually the former home of the Douglas Aircraft company, not an actual military base but still filled with history.  The name Typhoon reminds me of my adolescent years in Japan where I learned to use chopsticks and eat rice with something other than a fork.   

Seating is relatively easy and we seem to always get the Satay Shrimp, Garlic Rice (yummy!), Pad Thai, and Singha Beer (of course!)  

Ok, so where can I go for good Dim Sum in LA?

Sunday mornings in Los Angeles are prime for a Dim Sum outing. The number one spot for Dim Sum in Los Angeles is Empress Pavillion located in the heart of Chinatown.

Dim Sum is an absolute treat to the unfamiliar and familiar alike. There are no menus here. The waitresses push trolly carts around, each with a different type of food. Some have steamed dumplings with your meat or vegetable of choice, others have steamed buns, others have the decadent deep fried item of your choice. All of the food is served on small plates or in small steamer racks. The steamed dumplings are amongst my favorites which you can get with all kinds of filling from pork to shrimp to mixed vegetables. M.E. and I always get a plate of steamed Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce to finish the meal with. They even have Chinese deserts if you like (I like the sesame balls with sweet bean paste filling). For the daring, you can even order a plate of roasted chicken feet. If there is something that you want that is not coming around in the carts, a waiter will happily bring it to you.

I recommend that you arrive early to avoid the crowd - they open at 8:30am. We even met a couple that drove down all the way from Ventura just for brunch at Empress Pavillion.

Empress Pavillion is located at 908 N. Hill St. LA CA 90012 inside the Chinatown Bamboo Plaza. They are open seven days a week and serve Dim Sum daily. Check out their website for their hours:

Empress Pavillion Website

Dwell On Design Event 2009

The 2009 Dwell on Design event happened this weekend at the LA Convention Center. Dave and I headed downtown to get our fix of inspiration and style when it comes to simple, sleek living. We looked at pre-fab sheds, a super cool Airstream trailer, Tesla Motors (electric sports cars!), Ligne Roset chairs (love, love!), Lampinabox.com super cool lighting, and

I even entered a messenger bag design contest (see photo below of computer screen)! We left with a groovy t-shirt, and a heavy dose of uber-design style.