adventures in west hollywood (adjacent)

i spent the last week in los angeles visiting our friends sarah and orion. the six days flew by and i had a great time enjoying their company, some sights and the warm california sunshine.

on thursday night, we went to see brick at the arclight theatre and as we were leaving sarah leaned in and whispered, "do you think that's cameron diaz behind you?" i turned around (trying to be casual) to look then turned back and said, "she looks more like charlize theron," and sarah said, "that's who i meant!" and we both realized that it was, indeed, charlize in a little "newsies"-type cap to disguise herself. but we outsmarted her! with an a-list celebrity sighting under our belts, we went to mashti malone's for ice cream. maybe it's half indian, half irish? the legend of mashti malone is on the wall in the photo below, but it doesn't really clarify that issue. anyway, they have very interesting flavors made with ingredients like rosewater and lavender and saffron. i had mango and it was delicious.


we spent an afternoon at the beach in santa monica. it was a little overcast, but it was great to be oceanside. as always, the people-watching was fun, especially the woman who was having her own private all-out dance party with her walkman (or maybe just the music in her head). some dolphins even decided to frolic in plain view.


in keeping with the forever summer theme (see previous post), i made a few dinners from the cookbook, including the slow-roasted garlic and lemon chicken. it's super easy to put together--just chicken, garlic, lemon, thyme, olive oil, white wine and black pepper. it does take nearly 3 hours in the oven, but it's 3 labor-free, waiting hours, so not bad at all if you can get an early start. the chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and roasted garlic is always delicious. we also had yummy quinoa and artichokes on the side. note the purple orchids on the table. sarah and i got them on mother's day at hamburger hamlet when we didn't convince our waitress that we aren't moms. pretty flowers seemed worth a little truth-withholding.

for all of you "america's next top model" fans, we had a j. alexander sighting at doughboys bakery on tuesday morning right before i left! i've been treated to some good L.A. breakfast spots, and doughboys was truly excellent. we later found out that their red velvet cake made gayle king's list of best cakes in the country on oprah.

it was a great trip. i'm already missing those crazy kids and i'm looking forward to our next visit, whether it's in iowa or california (aka pulmonary thromboendarterectomy central--sarah, how about a link? pretty please?).