Only in Manhattan can you be running late for dinner with your girls and then run into Richard Simmons while hailing a cab. As I hurriedly exited my hotel and hung off the sidewalk to signal a cab, a black car pulled up and out walked Richard Simmons. Being the quick trigger that I am, I hastily snapped the following photo with my cell phone in one hand and opening the door to my taxi with the other. He was of course in a pair of his signature little shorts.


He must stay at the hotel often because he excitedly greeted the doorman and other staff members. His energy was palpable and in just the few seconds that I saw him he was all fluttery movements and enthusiastic words. His face looked older, but his afro like hair and well toned legs looked the same as it did in the 80s when he was first Sweatin' to the Oldies. Hmm the disco edition looks interesting...

Like everyone else I used to make fun of him while watching Hollywood Squares, but then I saw a TV special years and years ago and saw all the good he's done. I remember seeing him at a hospital crying sympathetically with a mother of an obese son who was in critical danger and I of course started crying and also admiring the crazy Richard Simmons for his work too.

Tags: None Categories: Humor & Satire

Despite all the years I that lived in the City, tonight was the first time I dined at the famous Lombardi's Pizzeria, the world's first pizza place! Being a pizza snob, having grown up in my dad's pizza shop (that story is here), I actually hardly eat pizza since its not often that a slice can compare to his, especially none outside of New York. However, I must admit this comes very close and was really great, thus my eating four slices and our group ordering four pizzas (spinach and ricotta; sausage and mushroom; pepperoni and olives; and meatball). Their crust is a bit on the thin side though, but the sauce was delicious as was the fresh mozzarella and basil on top. It's not too surprising that I liked their pizza though since the recipe is Napoletan and my dad is also from Naples, so that's the kind of Italian food that I typically prefer. Also, Caffe Napoli in Little Italy is amazing too, went there just yesterday evening.
Staying in a hotel and visiting the tourist spots like Lombardi's, I feel like a visitor in my own city. I feel like it's no longer my time, but instead it's now someone else's adventure that I'm just guest starring in. Hell, it was a good run while it lasted. The city's subway gave me my future husband after all and a lot of great memories. Plus, I'll always have New York even if it now belongs to someone else. (Too sentimental? Well, the city does that to me, so please forgive me).

Tags: None Categories: Humor & Satire

NY pulls me back in. Within a week of returning to L.A., I'm once again back in the Big Apple (I.E. home) for work.

The bad thing about traveling within a week on the same air carrier is that you have to sleep through the same movies and TV shows. On a positive note, I never really adjusted to the time change so I can just keep on keeping on.

I paid the extra airfare changing fee and arrived a day earlier so I could suprise my mother for mother's day. Her birthday was the day before, so it was perfect timing all around. It also gave us the chance for her to model the dress she'll be wearing at my wedding and we went looking for some white wedding shoes for me. My dress fitting is next month and I have to come with the shoes I'll be wearing so the hem can be measured properly, etc. I thought finding my wedding gown would be the hard part, yet I ended up buying the first dress that I tried on, the shoes however...

Tags: None Categories: Humor & Satire

For this weekend's LA Cupcakes MeetUp the gang and I went back up to Studio City, well North Hollywood according to their website for some Famous Cupcakes, literally that's their name.

Made with organic and all natural ingredients their cupcakes are $3.25 each and come in eight different flavors. Their Hot Chocolate Cupcake (chocolate bottom, vanilla icing) was quite moist and my favorite pick for this shop with their gooey Red Velvet in a close second, the other girls also liked their Peanut Butter Chip and Cookies N Cream cupcakes. Their Va-Va-Va-Nilla though wasn't sweet enough for me, maybe because it's organic and not full of the bad but yummy stuff I guess; it also had a hint of cinnamon and was more like a muffin than a cupcake.

The store was very minimalist with funky Pinkberry-like lights. The highlight for this shop though is that they make adorable but expensive famous cupcake bouquets that mix in decorations and flowers along with arranged cupcakes. They deliver to all 50 states and you can also order online. Since Famous Cupcakes is a franchise, you'll probably start seeing them pop up all over, they are currently in OC, Chicago and San Diego and coming soon to Houston.
---
Before having cupcakes this little piggy had a lovely brunch at Cravings in West Hollywood with celeb bloggers PopBytes, CandyKirby and NinjaDude.

Tags: None Categories: Humor & Satire

My blog is very important to me, I've had it for over three and a half years afterall, it's chornicled my life during grad school and dating in New York City to being engaged in Los Angeles. Blogging is a source of refuge for me. So, I guess in that way it is self-serving.

Also, it keeps me creative and up on the whole Web 2.o buzzword and that's advantageous for my job in public relations and my past career in journailsm.

Plus, I earn a few extra bucks from it via the ads on the left of the page. Ephasis though on the few--I'm not quitting my job anytime soon, it just supports my eBay habit really.

So yes, it hurt when a friend told me she thought my blog was very self-promoting. Well, I don't mean it to be. I just try to share my adventures. My family and some of my friends especially like my blog because they can keep tabs on me and see what I'm up to. For others I think they like getting ideas for places to go and things to see, some free giveaways and a quick distraction.

In the past I've recieved emails from strangers who said they like what I have to say or how I say it at least. I get a good amount of visitors and a few flattering email stalkers. So, in that regards my blog isn't completely self-serving, right? Hell, there have been plenty of times when I've wanted to just let it die away, but after this many years of documenting everything, I'm just too used to looking at things in two ways, stuff I can blog about and stuff I can't. As a result, my camera phone is never too far from reach, ready to capture just the right photo to go with the moment and to help illustrate my post so it's not just words like this one is. The fact that I'm blogging about a stupid comment that was made to hurt me, shows how addicted I am. I can't stop...don't want to. Thanks for reading.

Tags: None Categories: Humor & Satire