Just Something Pretty

Playing: Dropout (The So Unknown)-Jack's Mannequin
Reading: Carine Roitfeld, Going Her Own Way by Eric Wilson

For Labor Day, I went to Los Angeles with my parents to try Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, which Chef Duff recommended on Best Thing I Ever Ate. I even ordered exactly what he recommended, the Carol B. Special, which includes one deep fried chicken breast with one fluffy waffle. The chicken meat is marinated in some spices before it's deep fried, so it's extra flavorful and the breast was surprisingly moist. I ate it the way Chef Duff said to, so a bite of chicken with waffle, smothered in butter, maple syrup, and Tabasco sauce. I highly recommend trying this place, if you're in the area.

After lunch, we headed to Rodeo Drive because I wanted to check out Lanvin, Tom Ford, and Dolce and Gabbana, all of which aren't at South Coast Plaza. Unfortunately, Lanvin and Tom Ford were closed for Labor Day. I looked like an idiot, trying to force the doors open by pulling and pushing with all my strength. Dior had this cute store front to apologize for their reconstruction. They made their outside look like their signature Lady Dior purse!

Dolce and Gabbana's Fall/Winter 2012 show was definitely my favorite. Everything was so perfect, especially the shoes. Everything Dolce and Gabbana does is so detailed and beautiful. Practically everything in the store makes my wish list and I'm dying to have one of the darkly romantic lace dresses and one of their corsets. Even though their store front didn't showcase my favorite looks, I still loved everything in the window.

The inside of the store was equally gorgeous with the over the top chandeliers plus the glossy black walls juxtaposed against sleek mirror panes. The upper level housed all the jewelry and some of the more interesting pieces of clothing from past collections and the current one. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the shoes from the collection there. I also liked how they had these velvet couches to relax on, while you watch the runway show on the wall.

One of my favorite things about Rodeo Drive is how conducive it is to walking around. They carved out a certain block to make it look like a small European street, which felt very cozy. The Versace building was very fitting for the ostentatious brand, considering the building was very over the top with the contrast between the black and white and the tall columns. Inside, it's even more impressive. It feels like a grand ballroom with stair cases curving down from both sides. While I was looking at shoes at Barney's New York, I met Anne Hathaway. She wasn't terribly friendly in real life and it was pretty disappointing. There was one couple there, who wanted a photo like me, so I asked her if I could quickly grab one and her response was, "Do you mind? This is my day off." I was surprised by her response, so I didn't know what to say and ended up just telling her it was alright or something like that. Then, she told me something along the lines of maybe next time, which I'm positive there won't be.

Have you ever met a celebrity?

PS Almost three years ago, I came here after performing for History Day to kill some time and a photo shoot for America's Next Top Model was going on. I saw a girl being photographed there, but I didn't see Jay Manuel there, so I didn't know it was for ANTM until I saw it on TV. Overall, Rodeo Drive is an amazing place to go. There's always something amazing going on there and it's a great place to hunt down celebrities.

Last Day in Spain

Playing: Ready to Go-Panic! at the Disco(Love the costumes in this video! Super pretty and fun to watch!)
Reading: Hollister Models Post Racist Photos from South Korea Store Opening, Get Fired by Valerie Isakova

For breakfast on our last day in Spain, my family and I faced another day of not really caring about where we ate, since we were pretty tired of everything by then. We ended up at a cheap chain called Radilla, where I ordered the Aguja de Ternera. According to my brother's pretty basic Spanish, it's filled with veal and I tasted some red bell peppers. It was only ok, but I was pleasantly surprised by how flaky and buttery the crust was. Radilla served tons of sketchy looking sandwiches, filled with creamy fillings, but everyone there seemed to be enjoying them and my family said they were good.

We spent most of our morning walking around the Almudena Cathedral, which was interesting because it's one of the few cathedrals I've visited that was made fairly recently. Its hallways were filled with artifacts and different religious relics, but the actual church part was the nicest. It wasn't anything special or so outrageous that you just had to visit it. Truthfully, my family and I were running out of places to visit, so we ended up just going to sites that weren't highly recommended by tour books just to fill up our time.

Across from the Reina Sofia, there weren't many places to eat at, so we stopped by a convenience store, bought a few drinks, and asked the guy where we should eat. He was from China, so of course he recommended a Chinese place to us. Restaurant Chino was surprisingly good, considering most of my meals in Spain were pretty mediocre. We ordered Dumplings, Beef with Onions, Singapore Fried Noodles with Curry, Eggplant Stuffed Meat, and Chicken with Black Mushrooms and Bamboo, which were all pretty good. The service was friendly and they spoke alright English, alright Spanish, and fluent Chinese.

After lunch, we went to the Reina Sofia and got in for free because it was Saturday. Out of the three art museums that Madrid is famous for, I thought this one was the weakest. It might've been because it really was the weakest or that I was just tired of visiting so many art museums. I did however like the building. I loved the bold color, sleek lines, and use of glass to break up the redness of it all. It was fascinating to look at from all angles and side.

For dinner, we ate at Restaurante Asador, which is on a street right off Plaza Mayor. I had the Centra de Solomillo de cebon con Foie, which basically means steak with foie gras, I think. The food here was rather good, but overpriced, and the service was friendly too. When you're in Spain, I recommend skipping main dishes and just ordering a bunch of appetizers. The appetizers we got there were the best part, even though they accidentally gave us another guest's food and we dug into it, not knowing it wasn't ours. They served us this really beautiful, glass water bottle and I thought they were going to toss it like we do in the USA, so I stole it. The waiter came after me to explain that they actually have to return the water bottle and I couldn't take it. How terribly awkward...I don't steal things; I promise. I just thought they were going to toss it and I saw so much artistic potential in it.

We ended up at Puerta de Sol, which is supposed to be the center of Spain and the place where all roads start. We pretty much ended up here every single night because the night life was interesting and for me, there were cute boys to stare at. I'm not a creeper nor am I desperate. I just like pretending I'm a model scout. "Oh, he has a nice face, but he's too short." "He would be perfect, if his eyes were brown." Yes, I'm very critical, when it comes to my model scouting. Overall, Spain was nice, but it wasn't the most amazing trip I've had. It's more of a trendy spot aimed at college students for partying and drinking. Even though Madrid is supposed to be more historical, I found Barcelona to be more enjoyable. Would I rank this as a must see place? Probably not, but that's not to say I didn't like Spain. I did like Spain, just not as much as some other places I've been to.

PS My favorite band, Jack's Mannequin, is splitting up and I absolutely need to get tickets for their last concert. However, I don't want to give $400 to scalpers because I want the money I spend on the tickets to go to the Dear Jack Foundation, not some scumbag. 

"Cannery Row...is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream."

Playing: Love Will Tear Us Apart-Joy Division
Reading:"La Dernière Classe" by Alphonse Daudet

One of my favorite books is John Steinbeck's Cannery Row because it chronicles the lives of this eclectic community and shows how everyone is intertwined. Even though everyone in the book has their flaw, they're deep down good people and that's what makes everyone so lovable. After hearing about Sophie going there, I asked my parents if we could go on one of our days up in Berkeley and they agreed. First of all, the drive down is gorgeous beyond belief and I wish I had time to stop off and hike everywhere. Second of all, I will save that for a day when I am older and have adventurous friends. Anyways, we got to Cannery Row around 11:00AM and it was really foggy outside, but nice to look at. A lot of the old fish canneries were still there too.

The whole area is cute to walk around, but it's super touristy with tacky restaurants everywhere, trying to lure you in. If I had more time that day, I would've loved to have gone kayaking amongst the sea otters. See the little dots in the photo? Those are sea otters! Not only am I really good at kayaking, but I heard the otters were very friendly and would paw at your kayak. I'll definitely have to try that one day.

If you read Cannery Row, you'll probably like the rest of the photos. Here is Pacific Biological Laboratories, which is the basis for Doc's Western Biological in the book. Doc was actually based off of one of Steinbeck's good friends, Edward F. Ricketts. Ricketts owned Pacific Biological Laboratories and was a biologist that wrote on everything from Buddhism to Bach.

Wing Chong's was the inspiration for Lee Chong's in the book, which is kind of obvious due to the fact that the names are so similar. Wing Chong's was a real store, even though it went out of business awhile ago, but it's still there and other shops have filled it. I can't remember which stores, but I think mostly touristy shops with t-shirts and such.

Although it's no longer a whorehouse, since Cannery Row is a family friendly area, the Bear Flag Restaurant is still there. In the book, Bear Flag Restaurant is owned by a lady named Dora, but in real life, it's owned by a woman named Flora. See? Not much of a name change here either. Personally, after visiting, I think Cannery Row is a dedication to the people of Cannery Row, even the bums, because Steinbeck loved them all so much. That's why all the characters are good people because Steinbeck saw them that way and he didn't see all the bad parts. At least, that's what I think.

Have you read Cannery Row?

"We're Going Up-Up-Up"

Playing: Good Old Days-Matt Maltese (Have had this on repeat for days!)
Reading: Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear: Alexander Wang by Nicole Phelps
I started the new school year and my General Physics class is a complete joke so far. I wish there was another science class I could switch into. The AP science courses are too difficult, but the college prep classes are way too easy and what I really need is an Honors Physics class right now. The discrepancy between the two levels is too large and there's nothing for people like me, who are in between. Plus, science is my worst subject. End rant. Enjoy the photos.

Before I had to go back to school, my family and I had to drop my brother off at college, which involved our annual six to eight hour (depending on traffic) drive up to Berkeley. Although the scenery is pretty to look at, it stays constant throughout most of the ride, so eventually you start to get this feeling that you've seen this all before. On the bright side, it gave me six to eight hours to listen to my new Killers CDs and some other CDs I had in the car.

We finally got to our hotel, the Claremont Resort and Spa, some time in the afternoon, where we unloaded all our stuff. The Claremont Resort and Spa is a pretty hotel and very nice, but I find the service to be either great or really awful depending on who I ask for help. This time there weren't any problems with the service, but the last two times, I had to deal with sassy workers and not sassy in a fun way.

While walking around Berkeley, there was this cool apartment complex that had all these plants dripping down like a waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous and was a interesting contrast to the clean lines of the building. Also, imagine hanging out with friends on the patio up above.

For dinner, my brother suggested Noodle Theory, which always has a long line. We waited for thirty-five minutes in the cold outside just to get a table. The things my family will do for food. It was completely worth it though because I thought this was one of the best places we ate at. The Mr. Q Cumber Cucumber Soda was refreshing and a nice way to cool off your mouth after all the spicy foods. For our appetizer, we ordered the Chinese Five Spice Sweet Potato Fries with a Thai Green Curry Aioli. The aioli didn't really taste like curry to me, more like a cinnamon dip, but nonetheless, it was very tasty and the sweet potato fries were crispy and hot.

The Grilled Niman Ranch Beef with Udon in a Coconut Lime Curry Broth was so amazing. The broth was flavorful and the beef was tender, while the udon did soak up some of the flavor. Out of all the dishes my family ordered, I thought this one was the best, even though everything else was super delicious too. Despite the long wait, I highly recommend eating here at least once. I will be uploading more photos from my trip soon, so please look forward for those. 

Post Title from Loreen's "Euphoria"