"A Dog Day Afternoon"; Doggie Wash, 08.28.11

Breads, breads and more breads!

Freshly-made caprese - I miss our basil and cherry tomato plants...

Today, Sunday have gone to the dogs.  B and I have been working on sealing up some parts of the house all morning, while Tico is calling out for attention.  So around lunch time, we all stopped by Guillano's for some salami and mac salad, and a footlong Gaetano sandwich to split.  There's a couple benches to the side of Redondo Beach Dog Park, but they were both taken because it's someone's dog's 1st birthday, and they were having a birthday get-together in his honor.  So instead, we found a hilly spot about 10 yards from the benches, and albeit picnic blanket-less, we enjoyed a nice spread while enjoying the Redondo Beach breeze coming from a mile away.

 

5+ huskies  all in one spot!

Afterwards, we got inside the park, and it was a good day of seeing about a half dozen huskies all in one spot, a Jack Russell and another dog his size sharing a ball made of foam, and when I say sharing, I mean - - they were walking/running around the park with both their teeths sunk on either side of the ball, and neither one wanted to let go.  They were like that for at least 5 minutes, so I managed to take some photos, but the picture quality was not all that great.

It's a 1st doggie bday celebration!

A tree shade and a little hill to enjoy our meal!

Ah, the weekends in Redondo Beach Dog Park, when you get there around mid-day. you will see the regulars, a large group of middle-aged men sitting around the first bench, talking about other dogs and their owners, and in the meantime, their dogs run amuck and poops all over.  They of course don't pick it up because they don't pay attention to their dogs. 

If this lets on, off to the Boneyard in Culver City we will go.  We love Redondo Beach Dog Park, since it's closer and it's a nice drive towards the cool, breezy area of LA.  I avoided the Boneyard too because of its all hard dirt space, but Redondo has hardly any grass patch anymore, and it's gotten dirty because of the unattentive regulars.  Culver City on the other hand, is clean.

Whew.  Well, that's enough venting for me for the day.  Anyhoo, we veered north to El Segundo to pick up some stuff from PetSmart for Tico.  Today was dog adoption day.  It's mostly the small-size dogs, and I loved the interaction that I saw between this pittie called Sugarlump, and this man.  The man is toed-up in-love.  And the feeling was mutual, apparently, since Sugarlump won't stop licking his face.

The man's two kids, both in their tweens, came up to me because they used to have a white-haired GSD.  The mom corrected all three of us, when we referred to their dog as Albino, because she said that even though a GSD has an all-white fur, does not mean they are albino.  And she explained why, and it made some sense to me, I guess.  I learned something new!

Then off we went to Pussy 'n Pooch in Downtown LA on 6th and Spring, to give Tico his due bath.  Each time he goes to the park, he would head towards the water fountain, and lie in there to cool off and rest.  Which means dirt clumps.  And since we all share our couches, it's a no-no.  My long hair will go crazy over those clay dirt full of saliva, poop, pee, grass, and whatever else that gathers around the park.  

The doggie wash place also let a lady put up an adoption stand for her kitty's litter.  She had about half a dozen of those kittens under a net.  I don't even look down because the Tico's household is a dog-friendly household only.  Cats not welcome.

This was the third adoption place we ran into today.  There was also a dog adoption stand at a local dealership off the PCH north of Manhattan Beach Blvd. that we spotted.  

It's a dog day afternoon.

     

Give me some sugar!

Potential adopters!

Ay caramba!  For favor - adopt a Chihuahua!

The doggie wash is NICE, clean, and just pretty.  We can't afford most of the things on here, but their self-service wash is only $20 for Tico.  They start from $12 and up, depending on the size.  It's so worth it.  And they don't want nor expect tips, so it pretty much a better deal because we can use whatever shampoo we wanted on here.  Although they only have two tubs, and it's street parking only.  And depending on the day, it can be hard to find one, unless you use one of those pre-pay lots for about $5 on average. 

Afterwards, we stopped by Home Depot in Koreatown to pick up more home repairs stuff. 

The rest of the weekend was spent at the Staples Center downtown on Friday to see the Los Angeles Sparks, LA's WNBA team.  The game was so close - to the last second.  The team lost to 75-77 to the Tulsa Shock.  B's friend Leo scored 4 tickets from the office last minute, so we met up with him at Rock N Fish in LA Live, and got to the game at half-time.  Rock N Fish actually has outdoor seating, and I've been to the one in Long Beach.  I'd definitely check this out with the boys next time.  Their Seafood Jambalaya deserved a second visit.  The other highlight of the game was watching the Ole Skool Crew perform.  I saw them at an episode of the Kardashian reality show, and I thought they were adorable.  It's a bunch of middle-aged ladies who are the dance team for the Sparks.  My favorite was this cute as a button Marilyn with the biggest smile, shaking it up to MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This!"

Saturday, we hung out at D's house, since Mike is having a fantasy league draft get-together.  D decided to make a party of it.  The spread included a hearty antipasto from their local Guillano's, a cheesecake with strawberries, and sliders with salami, ham, roast beef and turkey.  Suffice to say the girls and I got full and sleepy, so we walked a mile down to the beach to get some fresh air and work off all that carbs and sweets. 

By the time B and I got home, Natalee's 8th birthday next door is in full force, and we got freshened up, and enjoyed some nachos, hot dogs, burgers and cakes.  I also got in the jumper with the little ones because I've always wanted to.  After one minute or so of that, my old butt got tired and sweaty, so I cooled off with some sweet syrupy juice in a plastic container in the shape of a cola that you twist off its plastic 'cap' to open. It was fun acting like a fool for a few hours.  It did not help that the whole pinata thing took over a half hour, so the suspense of waiting for the treats was too much for my glutton 39 year-old self.  If only I could take a turn with the stick/bat.  But if the teenagers were not allowed, I think they will raise an eyebrow if I get in there.    

Once in a while, it's good to forget the rules.  Be a kid for a day.  Enjoy a picnic on a grass with no blanket.  Forego housework - -

The housework\errands thing may not go well with B, for as much as I am a lazy butt on the weekends, he keeps me productive.  Besides, I really am glad we got to take Tico to the doggie wash.  That was the main thing that I wanted to do this weekend.  And he's due to take his heartworm prevention medicine, so we had to make sure that was done. 

So it was a dog day afternoon.

It was a Tico day afternoon.

With a little bit of me and B time around it.

A-May-Za-Zing! Manhattan Beach; 08.21.11

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B wanted to go out for dinner Friday, since we missed going out the night before to see a free outdoor local Piano performance.  So for tonight, I pulled one of my Restaurant.com gift certificates for Rosalind's Ethiopean Restaurant on Fairfax, and got their Combination III dinner with a side of Sambosa and Plantains, a couple of beers and soda for me.  We walked out of there with a tab of $17 before tip.

Afterwards, we drove 5+ blocks to Wilshire Boulevard to LA County Museum of Art, or LACMA; we just missed their free Friday Night Jazz which is from 6-8pm.   We should have gone inside the museum, since it's open until 9pm, and and it's free after 5pm on some nights to LA residents.  I've never been here since they had the Urban Lights installed, so we hung out and took some pictures.   It was really nice, and they did a lot of renovating around the area too.  It's been a while (2006) that I don't even remember how the outdoor looked like before.  Now, they have a nice park, and there's sculptures of fabled animals, and there's a cool bar and restaurant, etc.

   

In retrospect, there's nothing really amazing about the lights.  It's basically 200+ restored lights found around LA, and painted white, and placed in neat rows in front of the museum.  But, as B said; people, like moths, are drawn by the lights.  They were mesmerizing, and romantic.  On a Friday night, with free jazz music, a free entrance to the museum, and a cool lights installation, it's a great place to take a date to.      

We did some housework around the house this weekend - installed the new window hardware from Anna's Linens, mowed the lawnette, rearranged the TV across the couch, and moved the computer/entertainment center to the side of the couch, and we like how the living room looks now.  It's amazing how a little re-organizing does to our house.

Saturday late afternoon, the boys and I hung out at Manhattan Beach, dined at the Pasta Pomodoro where there is an outdoor patio.  It's located on 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd.  To get there, you take the Rosecrans exit, and make a right on Rosecrans, left on Sepulveda, and right on Manhattan Beach Blvd.  We then walked around the Strand.  There is a new bar called The Strand House, where the bar Beaches used to be.  They have happy hour, so we may go there sans dog one of these days. 

B relaxing after a hard week's work

Tico loves the pretty ladies!

Manhattan Beach creamery has a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that is sooo delish.  Tonight, I grabbed B's favorite to share instead; the mint chocolate chip.  

Sunday, we drove to Riverside to B's sister's house for a birthday bbq.  It has been crazy hot in LA, and it's usually a lot hotter in Riverside since it's over an hour inland, so we were surprised to hang out in Michelle's house' patio and feel cool breeze.  With some hotdogs and hamburgers, spinach dips and watermelon, etc.  It was a great way to spend the day.    

A-May-Za-Zing is a funny word from the movie "Benchwarmers" with David Spade.  I've never seen this movie, but the word is one of B and I's favorite expressions lately.  It's witty, sarcastic, and funny.  It's a great retort from David Spade's underdog character.

I've been reading a lot of home design and home renovation blogs, and it's inspiring to see how people's visions come to life.  Albeit limited funds, B and I managed to make a nice living space out of our paltry 1300+ house.  It's simple, minimal, and dog-friendly.  A new couch, a larger dining set, a new fridge and better curtains would make this space perfect for us, but it will come eventually.  Right now, the focus is to get the fence started this year.   Because the fence = me hanging out in the patio area with Tico enjoying our own cool breeze.

Then it will be a-may-za-zing for the entire Tico household.

"A three-hour tour!"; Newport Beach, 08.13.11

B had to work OT this Sunday morning, so I took Tico to the Redondo Beach Dog Park today for some quick run around the park.  We never had any bad experience with this park.  I usually pick up a ball that's laying around, bounce it off the ground, and Tico catches it mid-air.  I'm not good at throwing it far, so the bounce game works.  He usually cooperates with me during the first 10 minutes; I'll bounce the ball, he catches it, I find another one, act like I'm going to bounce it, so then he releases the one that he has on his mouth, then I throw the second ball, and the cycle continues.

But later on, he will hoard the balls, until he's got about two to three on his mouth.  Then he gets tired, drinks some water, and sit his butt down under a tree shade somewhere.  I'd give him a few minutes, and the cycle continues.  Dogs would usually come up to try to join in the fun, but Tico is too focused to be bothered by other dogs.  There was a young 1-year old GSD that kept barking around him, to the point that some of the dog owners thought Tico was being bullied.  I'm like: it doesn't faze Tico, and the young GSD just wants to show off his new mean bark voice.

 My undergrad alumni invited us to a yacht networking party in Newport Beach.  The owners of the boat are philantrophists who own a large industrial and machinery supply company California.  This is their second time offering their boat for the alumni to use for networking.  The yacht is huge, with staterooms that sleep about 12, and can probably sleep another dozen in the main 'living room' upstairs.  The woodwork on the boat is amazing, and Bill, the husband, told me that they had to maintain the wood every three months.  Sue, the wife, pointed out all of the famous homes in the harbor; there's the guy who owns a shutters company, and Barbara Streisand's house, etc.  B and I had a great time networking, and met up with cool people like the lawyer and producer partner in Del Mar, a dentist from Carlsbad, a developer from Cardiff, a storyteller from Palms, etc. 

I really thought that my business program contacted me because I used to donate, but it wasn't.  I was surprised that they never mentioned anything, and provided everything for free: free food, drinks, dessert, and giveaways.  I'm very impressed.  And B had a ball giving out his business cards for his Herbalife business. 

Bill has taken their boats all over, including the Panama, Maui, and locally.  But they really liked the Mexican coasts among all of them.  They live an hour away inland, but they spend a fair amount in their Newport Beach home as well.  What a lifestyle.  What nice people.  What great boat. 

Ahoy, matie!

Skipper!

Stand-up paddler

Bea and I went to see the Duncan Miller gallery's free "I Love LA" photography showing in Wilshire Grand Hotel downtown on Thursday night.  It was nice to see amateurs and professionals alike showing off their photography skills, as well as showcasing some Los Angeles icons, such as the Getty, the skid row, the surfers, downtown LA and the skyline, and the Griffith Observatory, etc.  Tonight was special, because for $35, you can buy the book, and have the artists sign for them.  You can purchase their artwork which is around $00 and up, ask them on their style, their camera equipment, etc.  I don't know much art-speak, but Bea really makes it sound interesting, when she asks fellow photographers those questions.  More on their Facebook profile. 

The exhibit will be in Duncan Miller Gallery from August 13 through September 17, 2011.  They are located in 10959 Venice Blvd., in Mar Vista\West LA.     



Here are some of the artwork that I really enjoyed:

The skyline on this Griffith Observatory photo was really cool

This is Zuma beach' iconic food shack

A man sitting in front of the beach; behind him is the plant

The LA freeway at night

A plane and the LA skyline

Last weekend B and I went camping, and then Monday; we had to do some errands near my work; so we just had dinner in the area.  Tuesday, we went for a walk with D from her house in Redondo Beach to Hermosa Beach Pier, and we grabbed a 2-for-1 burger deal at Hennesy's Tavern.  Wednesday, I had a dentist appointment after work.  Thursday was the art show with Bea, and Friday was a relaxing dinner with B in his favorite Italian restaurant, C & O Cucina. 

I love summer especially because the days are longer.  We can do these things during the day after work, and there's still daylight.  So after 5pm, we get about 3-4 more hours to be able to enjoy the rest of the day.  It gets hard during the fall and winter, so I'm not looking forward to that next month.  And extra three or so hours to enjoy the day, is a great alternate to working 9 to 5 on a weekday, and only enjoying family and friends on weekends.  But these weeknight activities can add up, which is why we take advantage of free things around LA, which happens mostly on summertime. 

Three extra hours to enjoy our weekday-lights is pretty hard to beat.