One Last Time

Playing: Plug In Baby-Muse
Reading: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Over Memorial Day weekend, I have been spending time at my beach house in Sunset Beach with my family, since we just sold it and wanted to spend some time there before we move out. While there, we decided to visit all the places in the area that we normally don't go to unless we're staying at this house including the San Pedro fish market. I don't remember the name of the restaurant I ate at, but pretty much all of the restaurants there offer the same dishes. For starters, we ordered a container of ceviche, which was fresh and flavorful, perfect for summer.

My favorite thing to order is the shrimp fajitas with vegetables and bread. They serve it all on a tray with onions, bell peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes topped with a spicy sauce that is just wonderful. Even though it's messy, it is definitely worth it and the bread is brushed with tons of butter and then left on the grill until crisp. Then you can use the bread to soak up the extra sauce and to pick up the vegetables. It's spicy and buttery and a must try if you are in the area.

The San Pedro fish market is in an interesting area too, lined up by the harbour. You can eat right next to the docks and look at the sea life below and afterwards, you can explore the little shopping area or drive to one of the nearby parks. Be warned, though: it can be very crowded and the lines can be long.

For the most part, I spend my time at the other house taking long walks on the beach or going kayaking with my dog. How cute is he? His name is Hobbes and he looks ridiculous in his doggy life jacket. He also has issues with taking pictures and rarely looks into the camera or stays still long enough to get a non-blurry photo. This is my first time moving and it feels weird knowing that I will never be coming back to this home. It feels weird to know that some stranger will repaint my room and that if I ever do walk into it again, it won't be my home and all my things will be gone. It's melancholy to know that I won't be jumping off the dock to go swimming anymore and that I won't go to sleep to the sound of waves. It's vaguely nostalgic and maybe I'll feel differently in a few years.

"Beverly Hills, That's Where I Want to Be, Living in Beverly Hills"

Playing: Bad Habits-General Fiasco
Reading: Raise High in the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour:An Introduction by JD Salinger

There is a song by Weezer called "Beverly Hills" that expresses the desire and the wonder that surrounds Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is one of those places that exemplifies the Californian lifestyle so easily and you have to be there to understand what makes it so wonderful. It's the type of place that makes me want to stay in Southern California and not go halfway across the world for college. It's one of the few places that can convince me to go vegetarian (even if it is only for one meal) and that's exactly what it did last Saturday, when I ordered the Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwich at McCormick and Schmick'ss along with a side of the Onion Shoestring Fries. Despite the slightly burnt bun and the arugula, I enjoyed the sandwich, which came stuffed with a tomato salad and topped by a balsamic vinegar reduction.

Beverly Hills is also one of those special places that knows how to make comfort food cost three times more than it should, especially if you go to Sprinkles Ice Cream, which admittedly, I've been wanting to try for a few months now ever since one opened near me. However, the one in Newport Beach has a two hour line, so I was extremely excited when I stumbled upon it in Beverly Hills. I tried the Sprinkles Sundae with Red Velvet Ice Cream and a Salted Caramel Cupcake. The sundae is like an ice cream sandwich and halfway through, the sweetness of the sundae became overpowering and a bit sickening. Either share or go for a lighter ice cream to balance the extraordinarily sweet icing, which Sprinkles is known for.

Just a few blocks off of Santa Monica Blvd., where Sprinkles Ice Cream is located, is Rodeo Drive. Even though South Coast Plaza has almost all the stores Rodeo Drive has, there's an undeniable draw to Rodeo Drive. It might be the busloads of tourists desperate to get a photo of everything including you, or maybe it's the wide range of architecture. For me, Rodeo Drive is home to my favorite Prada store. The interior design is so cool and it's almost like a fun house with green bubbled walls, warped mirror ceilings, and panel's opacity changing along with the music.

The most wonderful thing about Los Angeles is being able to get dressed up totally over the top and not have people look at you oddly. For the most part, people like it when you're just a little eccentric here and that's one reason that I would want to move to LA. Several people took photos of my top hat and a tourist asked to take a photo of my purse, so it's all fun even if I do look a bit like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka here. This was the first time I drove my Gucci Fiat to Los Angeles and I was hoping to park in front of the Gucci store, but all the spaces were taken. I'll just have to keep trying. I wore a San Diego Hat Company top hat, a Calvin Klein blazer, an Ann Taylor LOFT t-shirt, theory shorts, a Gucci purse, and Reed Krakoff boots.

PS Tucking in shirts is so unflattering on mes, so I think it's time to stop.

"She Dressed in White..."

Playing: Up In the Air-30 Seconds to Mars 

Reading: Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (Pretty racist, but it's for school.)

 

Sorry for not blogging recently. Nothing of interest has been going on in my life, since I've been preoccupied with studying for APUSH, physics, and French. The APUSH test is this Wednesday and my physics final is this Monday, so hopefully after that I'll have more free time to do fun things. Last weekend, I picked up a few things I've been wanting after lunch at Tandoori Indian Cuisine. Most of the food was pretty good and the service was friendly, so I'll be back again.

I've been looking for a white blazer for awhile now and it would be nice to own a white pantsuit to wear for formal occasions instead of the same old dresses I have worn a thousand times. Also, all white outfits look so clean and perfect for warmer weather. I love the back of the sweater with the tails and the gold zipper going down it, while the blazer looks rather angular on me and I like that. Both are from Zara and I really like Zara sweaters now. I should just buy one in each color.

Other than holographic accessories, I've also liked lucite accessories for awhile, so I also bought this purse at Zara. It would have been nice to have one without color, but I don't mind the blue. It's really small, so I'm surprised that it can fit my phone and my camera. The only problem I have with clear purses is that everything inside must look perfectly organized otherwise it drives me crazy. This clear envelope is the perfect day clutch too and would make a good addition to my purse collection.

Slightly unrelated but still important, The Great Gatsby was beautiful. Muiccia Prada and Brooks Brothers did a great job with all the costumes. The movie was just what I expected from Baz Luhrmann-over the top and slightly cheesy. Other than the fact that the rap music was inappropriate for the time period, I thought the film captured the glamor and wonder that Jay Gatsby offers perfectly. However, I do understand why critics have not been liking it. Luhrmann films are just one of those things, where you either love it or hate it and I am one of those people that love all of his theatrics. (Edit-Someone mentioned that the movie failed to get you emotionally attached to the characters, which is true. In the book, I found Gatsby's life to be tragic and I hated Daisy intensely, while in the movie, most of my feelings for the characters were shaped by what I had read rather than by the movie itself.)

The title is a quote from The Great Gatsby and after reading the book four times, I'm getting really good at quoting it.

Proud to Be a Victim

Playing: The Dark Continent-Rubik
 Reading: Singer Andrew McMahon on Overcoming Cancer by Angela Haupt

On May 1, The Killers played at the Honda Center in Anaheim and I fortunately got tickets during the presale. Even though the tickets were in the nosebleed section of the arena and were very far from the stage, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The Felice Brothers opened for them, but truthfully, they weren't that good even for a warm up band. I really did want to like them, since they had an accordion player and a guy on the washboard and the fiddle, but they're music was really basic and the lead singer was unenthusiastic.

The Killers however were amazing and made the concert worth it. Brandon Flowers may possibly be the best lead singer out there and I loved how he kept on moving during the performance. He was interactive with the audience and this might be something I only care about, but he is super well dressed.

The Killers were one of the first bands that I've gone to see that used a lot of special effects. They had glittery confetti falling, flames, flares, and fireworks going on during the performance, but The Killers kept it to a minimal so as to not distract from their performance. It was surprising to see Brandon jump into the audience, since you would think crazy fangirls/fanboys would try to attack him. Next time, I would like to get general admission tickets that way I can get a lot closer to the band and hopefully get a selfie with Brandon. That would be ideal. Here's their set list from the night:

• Mr. Brightside
• Spaceman
• The Way it Was
• Smile Like You Mean It
• Prizefighter
• Confessions of a King
• Miss Atomic Bomb
• Human
• Somebody Told Me
•  I Think We're Alone Now
• For Reasons Unknown
• From Here On Out
• When You Wish Upon a Star
• Dustland Fairytale (Brandon said he wrote this song about his parents and how what they mean to him changes and who they are today.)
• Read My Mind
• All These Things That I've Done
• Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
• When You Were Young
• Battle Born

Since the Killers have so many good songs, I didn't get to hear everything I would've liked to hear. That only gives me more of a reason to go see them again. They delivered a strong performance and did all their hits, but it would've been nice to hear some personal favorites like "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" or "Under the Gun." Next time, I will be closer and I'll dress up with some friends. The Killers are definitely still one of my favorite bands and if I ever get the chance, I'd like to meet them one day.