Not even close to acoustic

Sunday evening, we trekked across town to Universal City and the Gibson Amphitheater for KROQ's annual Almost Acoustic Christmas Concert.  First things first, this was not even close to acoustic.  The two bands that actually brought out acoustic guitars still played them alongside electric guitars, basses, and keyboards.  Let's just get that straight right off the bat.

Second, it was cold.  Really cold.  Preparing for an evening like this requires good, hearty food and drink.  Nachos, buffalo wings, and beer:

But Chris, you say, this is LA.  It couldn't be that cold, right?  Wrong!  Look at the snowman!  He's smoking a cigar to keep warm.

Once we got inside, it was a little warmer, which is good because this was a six-hour concert.  We got there while Snow Patrol was playing.  They were followed by Franz Ferdinand, who rocked the place.  Next was Scott Weiland doing a solo, drunken looking stagger around the stage, warbling incoherently in a Panama hat.  We stepped outside for a bit at this point.

Next came Death Cab for Cutie, followed by Paramore.  Oh, and somewhere in there was the super secret surprise guest.  Let's see...what rhymes with guest?  Best?  Rest?  Oh yeah.  Kanye motherf@#$#ing West!

Then came the real show.  Michelle's favorite band followed by one of my favorites.  First, The Killers:

And last up, starting around 11:30pm on a work night, The Cure:

I will note that The Cure was the only band that stuck to their favorite guitars through their entire set.  Other bands kept swapping out guitars with roadies between songs.  It was nice to finally hear a band re-tuning occasionally, as they had to do back when they were playing small clubs.

All in all, it was a good, long, long night.  Michelle's voice was gone the next day from singing along.  My 32-year-old body is still recovering and should be back in form by this weekend.

An intimate evening with Ashton Kutcher

I had another celebrity sighting last night. This makes what, two since I've been in LA? I went to a digital media mixer headlined by Ashton Kutcher and Arianna Huffington:

Ashton is pretty articulate on his views about digital media. Some people might be surprised, but when a person plays such completely moronic characters in TV and film, I usually assume he's probably much smarter in real life.

Anyway, it was a pretty dry, long event. The food was awful, and the drinks were not free (so I had none). The room was shoulder-to-shoulder, and I left early to get home to my pooches, who are way cuter than Ashton anyway.

Details about the event...

Sunday is Veterinamarian Day

Little Charlie's week got off to a big start with a trip to the vet. Annie came along for the walk, because, well let's be honest, Annie could use the walk. But today was Charlie's day; Annual Checkup Day.

And the verdict is...


Ideal poochie! Ideal weight, beautiful coat, very very handsome. But you probably already knew that.

Liam

Today we went to watch the UCLA Bruins take on the USC Trojans. It was quite one sided, but the real show was our new friend, Liam. Oh, and we hung out with our friends Tony and Dena too.

Dinner and a movie, what a cliche...

After a looong week, we decided to head to Culver City for dinner and a movie. Chris's old music teacher, Jim Garvey had given us a gift certificate to a restaurant called Fraiche. We used it months ago, but Fraiche is our one of our favorite restaurants. We started with a dozen Kumamoto oysters....yum!
After dinner we strolled over to the Pacific Theatres. I really wanted to see Four Christmases, but the idea of seeing that almost made Chris puke up all the wonderful oysters we had just eaten. I didn't want a big regurgetated mess on my hands, so we saw Role Models instead. The movie was hilarious. 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Thursday night at Staples

So, I know Staples is a nationwide office supply chain, so most of you, even in places like Knoxville, TN, have been to or at least seen one. It's a pretty cool store. Lots of labels, chairs, pens, and such, but not the kind of place you'd usually go for a wild night out. Well, things are different in LA. You see, downtown we have a really big Staples that's not like any other I've ever seen. It's something like 10 stories! Parking is ridiculous, but look at this:


It's HUGE!!!

Another thing they probably don't have at your local Staples is music. I mean, not just canned music piped in to make you want more office supplies, but Ryan Adams and Oasis. Live! Seriously! Is this town cool, or what? I don't know how Office Depot even gets out of bed in the morning.

Ryan Adams plays a really big guitar:


We didn't even have time to look at the newest laserjet return address labels I wanted to check out, because we got there at 7:30, and it was after 11 when the concert ended, and I guess they close the sales floor by then, because I didn't see an entrance to it anywhere.

Oasis (I think they're from Een-gu-land):


Michelle says, "I can't believe Avery makes this many labels!"

Post Thanksgiving Fun

Not much has happened since the Louie clan descended on Santa Clarita for Thanksgiving. I would have posted pictures, but our camera died. All you need to know is that Tiana was very happy...that's all that really matters.

This week has been tough. Who knew that four days off would not be enough? I've been fighting a cold, which I think is the result of eating bad food for almost a week straight without exercise. My body is angry with me, and it punishes me with a head cold. I am finally starting to feel better. I like to believe it's because I have been to Whole Foods two times in as many days. There's something about buying over priced produce that makes you feel better.

Tonight we are going to see Ryan Adams and Oasis at the Staples Center. Hopefully Liam and Noel will get into a fight on stage. That would be the best show ever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a week it has been! First of all, let me start by saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday.

I know I have not been updating this blog in a timely manner, so we will rewind a bit.

Tuesday, Nov. 18 - I have been having issues with my jaw. I went to the dentist and he told me that it was not dental related, but possibly a gland problem. It turns out that I have a swollen parotid gland, that's a salivary gland to the rest of you. My friendly doctor prescribed a heft dose of Amoxicillan for the next ten days. No biggie. I happily took my pills and was on my way.

Saturday, Nov. 22 - I don't know what has gotten into our sweet, but not so innocent Annie Bear, but we learned the hard way that she can unclip and unzip bags. We came home to find that she had eaten some FIM documents as well as a Butterfinger at the bottom of Chris's bag. Why does Chris have a Butterfinger at the bottom of his bag? That is for you to ask. We didn't witness Charlie partaking in any of these questionable activities, and he claims to be innocent, but we are sure that he provoked most of this.

Tuesday, Nov. 25 - Finding things out the hard way seems to be the lesson this week. It turns out that I am very allergic to Amoxicillan. After dinner at a crappy Latin fusion restaurant in Culver City, I developed a nasty rash as well as an itchy tongue and eyes. I am either allergic to Cuban sandwiches, plantain chips, or Amoxicillan. The doctors are pretty sure it's the Amoxicillan. Chris rushed me to the ER, and the doctors were nice enough to stick an IV in my arm and stab me in the stomach with some Epinephrene. That was fun.

Wednesday, Nov. 26 - My young niece, Tiana is highly allergic to eggs, dairy, and soy. I know what you're thinking...this allergy thing must run in the Louie family. I ordered some yummy chocolate cupcakes from the Sensitive Baker in Culver City as a surprise for the little one. This was a special order made especially for Tiana (soy, dairy, and egg free). Unfortunately, they messed up the order and gave my cupcakes to someone else. I was pretty upset, but they were nice enough to comp the other items I had ordered. The poor thing will not be able to have her very own chocolate cupcakes this holiday, but I hope to surprise her with them later on.

Thursday, Nov. 27 - Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It has been a nice, quiet morning so far. The dogs have had a bath and are ready to take on their cousin Bessie this afternoon.

My birthday dinner

On my actually birthday we decided to try someplace new. My original thought was to drive around to the various taqueria joints in the area and have one taco at each. That seemed a little too daunting of task and since I had officially hit the 30 mark, maybe I should do something a little more sophisticated. So, I thought we'd try Il Moro in West LA. It's located in an office building less than a block from my office, and if you blink, you might miss it.

We thought we would share a few dishes so we could try as much as possible. We always go down this route thinking we're eating less, but it never works. Here's a walkthrough of our awesome dinner:

Salad:
Garga del Moro - Tender watercress leaves, hearts of palm, diced tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and avocado with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Dressed with a zesty lemon balsamic dressing. This was so good. Nice, light, and subtle. My personal bonus: after I had finished most of the salad, there was a huge piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on my plate. Yum!


Appetizer:
Carpaccio di Storione con Insalatina Fragole e Acetosa - Fresh wild sturgeon marinated with lemon and white wine served carpaccio style with Italian pancetta, chives, sorrel leafs, capers, organic fresh strawberry and an Italian extra virgin olive oil dressing. Fish and strawberries you say? Not the most likely combination, but this was heavenly. We could have stopped the meal right here and I would have been satisfied. But we had three more courses to go. Such gluttony!

Pasta:
Tortelloni d’Aragosta in Colata di Zafferano - Tortelloni filled with lobster and shrimps, bathed in a creamy saffron sauce. I'm a total sucker for saffron. I think it's the allure of such an expensive seasoning. This was incredible. The pasta is homemade and practically melts in your mouth...

Cheese Plate:
Cigarini Reggiano Vacche Rosse Parmiggiano / Cow
Brinata / Sheep
Bitto/ Cow,Goat
Cacio Di Fossa Di Sogliano/ Sheep
with acacia tree Honey, Italian quince, and balsamic vinegar jam, multi seed walnut raisin bread.

Dessert:
Apple Tarte - Cornmeal - Crusted, Balsamic Caramel. Most Europeans eat the cheese plate as the dessert course, and we normally would have. But our server's eagle eye noticed that some of our prior dishes were part of the prix fixe menu, which meant dessert was included.

Welcome to Idyllwild

For my birthday weekend, the whole family went to Idyllwild for a nice, relaxing vacation.

We did a lot of lounging around while catching up on movies and fire coverage. I saw "Singing in the Rain" for the first time and have a new appreciation for dancing and choreography. The only dancing I know much about is courtesy of Usher, and Gene Kelly puts him to shame.

Annie and Charlie really enjoyed chasing large squirrels, and we wondered just exactly what they would do if they caught one.

For our last night in Idyllwild we grilled some lamb, assembled a cheese plate, and enjoyed a nice bottle of Sea Smoke Pinot Noir.

Happy Birthday to me!

Bleh...I'm officially 30.

More to come on the birthday weekend in Idyllwild....

Waiting for cable

Well, it turns out that once you no longer get it for free, Time Warner Cable is more expensive than the competition. Who knew? So I am at home this morning waiting for the DirecTV guy to show up and switch us over. My window is 8 to noon, and it's now about 8:45. I hate this part. I know the installer won't arrive until around 12:30. I know it. But if I go across the street for two minutes to get an iced tea, he'll change his route and show up as soon as I'm out the door. So, here I sit.

We'll keep you updated as this story develops. . .

[UPDATE 9:36] Still waiting. Still thirsty...

[SECOND UPDATE 10:23] News at last! The technician has finished a job and ours is next. But he has to pick up a receiver first. And then he'll be taking his sweet time. Should be here between 11:30 and 12:30. They guess closer to 11:30. I guess closer to 12:30.

[FINAL UPDATE 11:34] Total fail! The DirecTV guy came and was very friendly, nice, and knowledgeable, but it turns out our apartment building won't allow us to have satellite service. You see, if you have a patio that faces south, you can install a dish and the management can't stop you, because it is your living space. If you are unfortunate enough to face north (as we do), the dish has to be put on the roof, which the management can prevent. The apartment managers claim it's something to do with fixtures vs. real property or something, but I have a feeling they get a fee from Time Warner Cable to exclude DirecTV. Our previous apartment owner received just such a kickback from DirecTV for excluding Time Warner.

Well, my morning is a bust, and now I'm off to work. Boo.

It really ties the room together

Well, I know you, dear readers (do we have any readers), have been wondering what's the deal with our floor? Why is it the same color as our walls and ceiling? Why is it slightly different shades in different places? How can we live like this? Well, the truth is, we can't. But rather than do anything about it, we're going into cover-up mode.

Allow me to introduce you to the newest addition to the Humphreys household--Area Rug:

She (he? she?) comes to us from the Target at Jefferson and Sepulveda, where she was rolled, wrapped, and left for dead. They say a pure-bred Persian is likely a better behaved rug, but I really think generations of inbreeding have pretty much dispelled that notion nowadays. Give me a rescue rug any day.

Mild Hot?

My impulse buying got the best of me tonight. After wandering around the local Pavillions grocery store, I decided that I wanted something sweet. Candy is forbidden, so I stopped by the dried fruit section. Dried fruit is pretty pricey, and I'm pretty cheap. The dried papaya, pineapple, and mango were all $5.99, and I thought six bucks was a little too much to pay.

I spotted the Chili Mango for a mere $3.99. My good buddy Jose from Time Warner used to bring in spiced mango all the time to work, and we would indulge in some mango with pico de gallo (Mexican pico de gallo that is, not the tomato/onion/cilantro you're thinking of). Perfect.

I couldn't wait until I got home, so we opened the package on the walk back. I don't know what they consider "mild hot" in Mexico, but these suckers were hot, and this was not the spiced mango we used to eat back in the office. My nose was running, my eyes were watery, and my tongue was on fire. We both couldn't believe how hot these things were.

Chris plans on taking them to work tomorrow to share with some unknowing victims (coworkers).

I've died and gone to dumpling heaven.

Today Chris and I went to Noodle House in Monterey Park. I had read great things about this place from a blogger on chowhound and had very high expectations. I could only hope that the 35 minute drive would be worth it. Let me tell you...it was.

The place is best known for making your baozi or jiaozi to order. The women in the open kitchen work frantically to steam your buns (don't go for the easy joke) as quickly as possible. We were not disappointed. We scarfed down 10 beef and onion jiaozi without speaking a word to each other.


When we finally came up for air, we tackled the beef wrapped in green onion pancake. The green onions were pretty raw, so the dish had a little bit of bite to it. But still very, very good.



Our final dish of pork and leek baozi came to our table. Eight beautiful little clouds of perfection arrived. They were amazing. Not tough. Not chewy. Not rubbery. Just light and fluffy.

Dog Beans

Ain't no party like an Oakwood party...

This is how they do birthdays at my place of employment. Keep in mind that when I took this picture they were only 25% done with the decorations.

The cake weighed in at close to 5 lbs, courtesy of Junior's. It was quite possibly the tastiest cake I've ever eaten.

Annie, you don't know where that nose has been!

My cell phone is smarter than me.

After much deliberation, I finally bought the new G1 from T-Mobile. Now, when I'm driving I'll be able to drink coffee, eat an english muffin, read the paper, AND surf the web. If you see my car swerving down the highway, just know that I'm trying to use my new phone.

Chris also got a super cute new Nokia phone when we switched from Sprint to T-Mobile. His phone will play music, take pictures, organize his life, and make calls. It's so small I could almost eat it.

We are currently taking applications for people who want to be in our Fave Fives.