Notes From: A Birthday

The photos from Sunday's dinner speak for themselves: it was just as warm, full of light, good food and good company. . . a birthday I and the Mr. will remember. So simple, but spectacularly lovely, you know?

Notes From: Apple Country

And so indeed the weekend did take us to an orchard and through the rolling roads of Oak Glen looking for apples. What did we find? Apple butter, apple donuts, apple pie, apple cider. . . oh, and a raccoon named Claire. Sure, we rolled back down the hill, but as far as autumnal adventures go, it was pretty unbeatable. Evidence of the fun also here.

Notes From: Malibu

Sometimes you need to just get in the car and see where the road takes you. This road led to cups of clam chowder at a picnic table overlooking Point Mugu. Next Sunday it may lead to apple cider and a good walk through an orchard. Who knows?

Notes From: Out and About

I have to be honest: I simply couldn't keep up with the sun going down so I only caught one photo from the weekend. Nonetheless, it was a splendid evening at Barbrix with Ms. Comingore for her birthday with glorious weather and small plates to share. These other snaps are leftovers from past food adventures—one from a place that will soon have a sweet deal you surely won't want to miss. How was your weekend friends? 

Notes From: Eveleigh

Should you ever have an I-don't-know-about-you-Los-Angeles moment, may I make a suggestion? Pick a clear evening, cart yourself to Eveleigh, find a table in the open air of the back patio, order a fresh-from-the-farmers-market cocktail and the crushed peas with burrata. With a sip and a mouthful, you'll soon remember why you live here. Though, in truth, perhaps I'm not one to give advice. Save for Madrid, I don't know that I'd give up this busy city for any other metropolis.

Notes From: Broome Street General Store

After considering hiding in the cool air with a good read, I decided to venture out for iced mint tea and blueberry vanilla handpies at Broome Street General Store and a bit of perusing the shops in Silverlake. Needless to say, this lasted a short while. What a blistering end of August this is!

Notes From: Wedding No. 1

And what a wedding it was! These two love birds are the kindest and most humble couple you'll meet, completely unaware of the amount of talent they both possess. A Jack House wedding fit for a photo shoot, it was homespun and refined, a 1920's picnic-meets-modern fete with details like a croquet set, handmade flags, handpainted tapestries and a hand-built wooden pallet bar holding tart margaritas and jars of sweet tea. Congrats to the now proper Vita Navarro-Boyes (pictured with her dad) on the nuptials of her parents!

Notes From: San Francisco

If San Francisco always had glorious weather like it did this weekend, I might have to scratch the Los Angeles out and call this Monkey in San Francisco. With the sun shining, we explored SOMA, jumped like kids at the House of Air (and fell a bit, too) and tasted every macaron Chantal Guillon had to offer. I recommend the Apricot Marzipan with a Cafe au Lait from La Boulange. Also enjoying the weather? Plenty of adorable and dapper pups like Finley. Have you ever seen eyes so blue?

Notes From: The Gentle Barn

Come Monday, I look forward to sharing all of my eatventures from the weekend, but I simply had to tell you about Sunday. We got a chance to visit The Gentle Barn, a rescue farm for abused, neglected and almost-slaughtered creatures, where we'll be volunteering once a month. While Ian followed King the llama around (they must be Peruvian soulmates) and petted Jewel the peacock, I made friends with Duchess (another llama) and Mario, a dapper and friendly silky chicken. Then we visited the sleepy pigs, walked with Yoda the emu and sat with Tinkerbelle and the other goats as the powwowed in the dirt. Inevitably, it made me rethink eating animals. Who wouldn't after meeting Buttercup the cow and Marcia (a turkey) who both just want to be hugged? 

Notes From: Ace Hotel Palm Springs

What's not to love about the Ace in Palm Springs? With the Summer School weekend getaway (art + music + more art) in full force, plenty of pool fun, and delicious libations (those slushies are dangerous), we found ourselves forgetting the cares of our real lives. Wouldn't it be nice to spend every weekend like this? (Note: While there were plenty of dogs present, most stayed in the cool air indoors so I didn't catch them on camera. Next time.)

Notes From: LACMA

Well! That was uneventful, no? No earth-shattering traffic jam. No angry mobs. Just a pleasant and slow weekend with blue skies and simple living. While we kept the main meals at home, we did manage to jaunt over to LACMA to go through the Broad Contemporary, meet Oliver as he enjoyed the weather, and stop at the Stark Bar for a Ray's Swizzle and a few too many bowls of their house potato chips. I hope your weekend was just as lovely.

Notes From: Mignon

I'm happy to report that Mignon, the darling wine and cheese bar next to Babycakes NYC, turned one this weekend and what a festive occasion it was! In truth, perhaps too much of a good time. For $20 they gave you all the wine, cheese and cornichons you could possibly hope for—yikes. But I do recommend going on a weekday evening, when the sun has gone down and you're looking to cozy up next to someone over a croque monsieur, a bottle of French wine and honey mascarpone with berries and creme. (I woke up Sunday to Midge, my eldest dogger (dog + daughter), staring at me as if to say, "You had your fun. . .now feed me.")

Notes From: Paella Party

Nothing says summer like a patio hangout with compatriots over a refreshing sangria and a seafood paella. Houdini agrees. How was your weekend?

Notes From: Malibu Wines

Riding down the PCH this weekend with the azure pacific ocean peppered with surfers to our left and the hills to our right, I couldn't think of one reason why I'd ever leave this sunny place. Cut to an afternoon sipping Arnold Palmers at the Malibu Country Mart and an evening with cheese (what would life be without it?) and Semler Rose at Malibu Wines, and I didn't feel it fair that I still had Sunday left to explore the Huntington Botanical Gardens. Summer in Southern California is pretty unbeatable, don't you think? (Lucy thinks so, too). 

Notes From: Bar Pintxo

If this weather isn't made for staying in surrounded by books, coffee and movies, then I just am not certain I get the point of June Gloom. And so that is how we spent a Saturday (and no I didn't even put on shoes the entire day). Come Sunday, it was out to watch the sailboats in Santa Monica, stop in for a delicious lunch at my favorite little spot in all of L.A.—Bar Pintxo—and back downtown to share our neighborhood with friends. If you haven't yet been to Urbano Pizza Bar, stop in, won't you? The Wood Roasted Artichoke is perfection, the Funghi and Quattro Formaggi worth ordering for yourself and the interior welcoming. I've been twice already. The count could easily get to five by Friday. See you there.(And that's Rocky patiently waiting to continue his walk down the Promenade).

Notes From: Bottega Louie

Good company and good food these past days! Another one for the books and a few tips learned. One, go to Bottega Louie early in the day as the light streams beautifully through the windows and your ears can rest. (Mr. Louie and I aren't OK for dinner as he happens to be quite loud after the sun goes down. We may be neighbors, but no). Also, after spending time at Malibu Wines again, I can't say how much I suggest you pack your picnic, roll your windows down and drive down Highway 1 to visit! Lastly, always keep open to the chance to meet fantastic people in this fine city, for they are out there. We ended Sunday in the company of SF-expats Junia Isabel and her other half Andres. Welcome to Los Angeles, new friends. (Oh, and that's our rescue pup Colette being as cute as ever. What a long way she's come).
 

Notes From: The Hollywood Farmer's Market

The sky may be gloomy (it never fails in June, does it?), but the Hollywood Farmer's Market was nothing less than vibrantly fresh with a side of cute named Bella. What a doll! And no, I have never met a dog I didn't like. While I checked out the carrots, Adam from Viva LA Foodies scanned the fruit and filled his bag for our mad scientist weekend. It was a true farm-to-table excursion. OK, let's be honest—more like a farm-to-mouth-and-some-to-table excursion. In short, it was a delicious Sunday, indeed.

Notes From: Home

And good last day of May to you! (That's our dear neighbor Ginny giving a big yawn after our sunny hang out on the grass.) While we had some delicious bites and sips this weekend—a pint of Sea Dog Blueberry Ale (perhaps the only brew I truly enjoy besides Hitachino Nest White Ale), Salted Caramel Ice Cream from LA Creamery and plates of dim sum from Empress Pavilion—the best eats came straight from our own kitchen. In good company, we feasted atop our roof and topped the evening with homemade watermelon lime and coconut granitas. I suggest you forget the ice cream maker and concoct your own icy version—this is the best and easiest thing that happened to summer.

Notes From: Gjelina

Oh, and what a weekend it was! From watching ice cream carts and wooden barrels fly down the hill at the Soap Box Race to taking a lazy 37-mile bike ride from Downtown to Venice and back, it was two days of fodder and libations, good company and good sights. In my new NOTES FROM, I'll share my snaps of these (epicurean) adventures. Here are a few from our feast at Gjelina—mushroom and truffle oil pizza, a strawberry rhubarb tart and a tall lemonade—and of two canine buddies behind the wheel of an old Ford for a day out and about on Abbot Kinney. Don't worry, I'll still dish out an earful if I find pups in a car, but in this case, it was a cool 60° out and their people friends were nearby. 




*Photos property of Eva Goicochea