the Jane Austen Book Club Premiere

Yesterday Ian and I partook in a Hollywood tradition- we went to our first semi-big-deal premiere for the movie that the company Ian works for, Sony Pictures Classics, is releasing this weekend. We didn't know exactly what to expect. We showed up on time, which meant we had to wait for about 45min. before they started the movie, and we weren't sure if we were going to be overdressed. Not that we were wearing anything special- I was wearing a dress and Ian had on some slacks and a button-up. Turned out to be just right, although some people were there with jeans. The cast showed up decked to the nines for the most part. It was really fun to get an introduction to the movie from the director herself I guess it's the first movie she's directed although she's been adapting novels for the screen for years (Little Women, Memoirs of a Geisha). After the movie it was kind of weird to see all the cast members milling around. I don't know if I liked it so much because everybody that made it was there or because it's really good. I think it's really good, Ian said every time he looked over at me I had a huge smile on my face: 'extended glee' he called it.
yeay.

Adventures in Eating

Let's just say that I'm really glad we have a washer and dryer at our place- the laundry we've got nowadays- oy.

Squirrel!

We had a visitor yesterday morning on our patio a deck- a squirrel! I was so excited to see it I called to the boys to come over and take a peek. The squirrel seemed to be pretty friendly and he came up closer to the glass and we got a good look at him. I noticed the boys seemed to be a bit nervous and then I took a closer look at the squirrel- he had gone up on his hindlegs and I was amazed at how huge he was when he did this. He started walking towards the glass door (it looked really creepy when he was on his hind legs actually) and came so close it seriously looked like he was trying to get in!! He seemed to be looking all over the door for a way in. Then I noticed that his left paw looked as if it had been chewed right off of his arm. Suddenly, he didn't look so friendly anymore. I tried to scare him off- (actually, I was pretty nervous now too and glanced over the door to make sure he actually COUldn't get in) but he was practically touching the glass... smiling maliciously. Luckily he got bored and took off after that. Boys watched him leave to the last second.

!!

where daddy works

Boys visited daddy where he works on the Sony lot. It was really fun to walk around all the old movie sets!

Pride and Prejudice rules

Alright, I know that I am terribly behind in my exposure to films. This movie came out when we were right in the midst of our IVF cycles so I missed it. I've just recently gotten caught up on currents and am cycling back to see what I missed in the last... oh, two years. You'd think I just got back from a mission. ANYWAYS, I rarely, rarely see a movie more than once, and especially in the same year (unless I'm working on it). I've watched this movie five times in the past three weeks. I bought the soundtrack and even- I know, very ambitious- the piano music. I just can't get enough of these characters, the story, the way Darcy detested Elizabeth's weaknesses like her crazy family, and then did all that he could to help them out when they were stuck in a pickle. I loved this movie rendition- of course it cuts out a lot of story as all movies must in order to fit their 2 hr. time frame- but in some ways that really worked because the themes and the plot stuck out a lot more and I saw the story in a different way. Timeless, classic, to die for. I think I'm going to go watch it again.

aah... summer. I can't believe we're already nearing the end of August- where has it gone? Luckily, we live in a place where it's somewhat of an endless summer. However, I will lament traditional summer when it leaves. We took the boys to Morris' pool today and had a blast while the boys splashed around.

I heart LA

Something has shifted over the past few weeks, or was it the past year? maybe it was when we discovered 'dainties' the fantastic cupcake bakery two blocks from our house, inconspicuously wedged behind Winchell's and Chicken Zankou. Maybe it's that the weather is amazing- 70 degrees most days of the year- crowned with a sky perfected by ocean breezes and unblemished by drizzle. Maybe it's that we started going to the beach more often and Ian's tried his hand (er... legs) at surfing. Or that we live just down the street from the temple, or that I love the jackarannas that burst out in spring on the avenues, like Anne of Green Gable's white way of delight only gorgeous purple. Or maybe it's the sweeet park just a brisk jaunt from our front door with the lovely cool creek perfect for bare little tootsies, or the new H&M that opened last year at the Beverly Center. It's got to be one of those things, because Los Angeles feels like home the way no place has in a very long time.
i know LA's got a bit of a shady past- the city is watered by subterfuge, General Motor's robbed us of a good public transportation system, and housing prices skyrocketed since we got here. Yes, it's not perfect- Los Angeles has too many broke waiter-actors, too many insecure old dudes who feel the need to buy Hummers. People complain LA's got no culture, no architecture, no... soul. But if you should find yourself here, somewhere in the Los Angeles sprawl- somewhere not too far from the gorgeous Union Station, the hallowed old MGM studio lot where Ian works (now Sony Studios), or yummy Pinkberry's on a little leaguers night, let's just say that there is no doubt about this: there are far worse places to wind up.