90210 fan 4 lyfe

by now, if you were a 90210 fan, you'll probably have watched the first episode of the not-a-reboot BH90210.  i actually watched it on the very night it aired, which is a rare thing for me, but that's how much i wanted to see it.  i think because i knew they were doing a weird twist on their real lives rather than returning to their fictional characters, i was able to enjoy it and be entertained by the whole thing.

a couple of weeks ago, the show posted that they were doing a temporary pop-up of the peach pit in hollywood.  and they weren't kidding when they said "temporary," because it only lasted for three days.  you had to be lucky enough to snag a reservation on the website they posted to get in, and they were doing lunch and an "after dark" cocktail hour - for free.  i came across it 57 minutes after they posted it and it was completely sold out...bummer.  i did manage to book a spot for the "after dark" portion, but later realized that those reservations were just for the person booking it and didn't include a plus-one.  add to that the fact that the spot i got was for a thursday at 7:00 way out in west hollywood, and that pretty much meant a no-go for me.  i ended up cancelling the reservation and knew i was going to be feeling some serious FOMO about it.  oh well.

i kept an eye on their instagram posts though, and when they said that they were also going to accept walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis i decided to see if i could talk the old lady and her special friend into going with me.  not surprisingly, he opted out but she didn't, and so we headed out to the west side on saturday morning.  the hours were 11-4, and i figured we'd have a better shot at getting in if we arrived early.

when we got off the freeway, waze took us past this upcoming pop-up that looks scary as hell.  this is definitely not something we'll be returning for.

the old lady was driving, and so when we rolled up to the peach pit and saw that there was already quite a long line of folks hoping to get in, i hopped out while she went off in search of a parking spot.  i forgot to take a picture of the line when i first got into it, but this was after about an hour of waiting:

we'd arrived around 10:30, and with the west hollywood parking situation offering just two hours of street parking the old lady headed back to the car to move it when it got to be about 12:15.  better safe than sorry, and she managed to find a spot just two spaces ahead of where she'd parked it the first time.  and by the time she got back to the line, we were just one party away from crossing the street and joining the queue for entrance to the restaurant.

it was right around the 2-hour mark when we finally got to this point:

i was super excited, and the cafe looked really cute.  not exactly like the peach pit as depicted on the show, but close enough.  i hadn't realized that a big chunk of it was outdoors - and it was a pretty hot, sunny socal summer day.  yikes.

the staffers were friendly and enthusiastic, and when it was our turn to be seated i was really excited to find that we were being escorted inside - where the a/c was cranking.  yay!

our server came over to take our order, and i figured i'd earned one of the mini chocolate milkshakes.

the walls behind us were covered in framed photos from the show.

these stickers adorned the door behind us.

and of course, a promo for the upcoming not-a-reboot.

we were super amused when our "megaburgers" were served.  we weren't really sure of what to expect - especially for free - so the tiny (but very tasty) slider-sized burger and fries was a fun surprise.

it didn't take us too long to eat our food, and after tipping our server we hopped off of those barstools and went through the doorway behind us to check out the photo ops.

there were lots of those framed photos on the walls.

and i didn't need to use the restroom, but i went in anyway to see if there was anything in there. 

outside, i found this:

and the booths outside were decorated as well.  one of them had a little tribute to our beloved luke perry.

the old lady declined this photo op, but was happy to snap one for me.

and then as we headed back to the car, we found ourselves driving past it one more time.  not to worry, i was indeed driving but the old lady took this for me.

i saw yesterday that the pop-up was so successful and still in high demand since the show aired, so they teamed up with the folks who put together the saved by the max pop-up to extend it.  so it'll reopen sometime next week, i think, and this time the tickets are for sale starting at 10am today.  i'm wondering if they'll charge the same price they did at the SBTB one, because if that's the case they're definitely going to need to expand the menu.

i...kinda wanna go again.  i may or may not have a friend who's going to try and snag tickets.  after all, the extension goes through our birthday month.  i guess we'll just have to see what happens!

not quite the peach pit

so, you're familiar with my love for 90210 - the OG version - yes?  i mean, i tried to get into the new one that's since been cancelled, but i just couldn't.  90210 is nothing without brandon, brenda, dylan, kelly, donna, and david.  NOTHING!  and since soapnet got shut down last year, i've had zero opportunities to reminisce with old episodes of my favorite 90s show.  so sad.

instead, it seems i've made it my mission to meet the actors from the original cast.  i mean, we all remember this:

 and then there was this:

and then a couple of weeks ago, lilcee tweeted me this:

vroman's is one of the few indie bookstores left 'round these parts.  they have two locations, both in pasadena, and the last time i'd been there was also for a book signing...several years ago.  anyway, it's easy to get to and not far from home.  so with the teen home with her sister, i hopped in the car and headed out to meet up with lilcee here:

she was already upstairs saving us seats, so i headed up to will call to pick up my copy of his book.  i totally giggled to myself as i passed this:

and as i stood at the counter waiting to be helped, i heard it:  the unmistakable voice of brandon walsh himself.  i glanced to my left and just inside an employees-only doorway, i saw him.  he was standing just a few feet away from me, accepting an offer for something to drink, and i fumbled like mad to open the camera app on my phone.  alas, my frenzied fingers were too clumsy to get to it in time, and he disappeared down the hall.  damn.  i was so bummed.

book signings are serious business here, yo.

i found lilcee sitting in the third row, right in the middle with a pretty good view of the podium.  we giggled like schoolgirls as we perused the photo sections of the book.  

there weren't too many people there yet, and she'd already warned me that those who were there were...um...not youngsters.  i cracked up as i saw this dude snapping pictures with his FLIP PHONE.

right next to lilcee was a couple who was watching an episode of 90210 on their iPad.  research?  looking for talking points?  either way...awesome.

because vroman's is an organized sort of place, they handed out numbered tickets to everyone who wanted their books signed.  i love it when staff has their shit together, especially since the place was filling up at a rapid pace.

after a quick introduction by a member of vroman's staff, there he was.  be still my heart.

lilcee and i were pretty surprised to find that he wasn't actually doing a reading or discussion of the book.  he said a few words and then just basically invited everyone up to meet him and get their books and memorabilia signed.  i mean, you don't have to ask me twice.

ahead of us was this fan, who greeted him very enthusiastically.  jason was really nice to him, even recording a quick clip on the guy's phone for him to use as his outgoing voice mail message.  it was sweet.

although i loved brandon, i didn't have the insane heart pounding, i'm-gonna-pass-out feeling that i had when i met luke perry.  i don't know why.  i was just as excited, but maybe old age has mellowed me out.  who knows.  he greeted me with a smile and shook my hand as he signed my book, and i managed to make non-idiotic conversation with him that i don't actually remember as i swooned and silently giggled to myself.

money shot, folks.  here it is.  i kind of wish i hadn't chosen a top that makes me look like i weigh a thousand pounds, but whatever.  i was comfy and not sweaty - bonus.

because lilcee had chosen not to buy a copy of the book to be signed, i wasn't at all sure that the staff would let her take a picture with him.  so i pulled her in for a group shot, just to be safe.  i totally look like such a creep here, but i don't care.

i should've known lilcee better than that, though.  she handed a staff member her phone and managed to get her own solo shot with him.  she's good.  he thanked us for coming and told us it was nice to meet us - well, of course it was.  heh.

after we flagged down another employee to make sure we weren't going to miss anything if we left - because hey, he could've done a reading or discussion or something after the signing - we headed outta there in search of some dinner.  we decided to join the hipsters and went here:

lilcee's green tea was pretty.

my ice-blended spanish latte granita was delicious.  it's a good thing this place isn't too close to home, because it could be very addicting.

we decided to order two sandwiches and share them.  here's my panini prosciutto de parma - so good.

we had a great time together - it'd been forever since we'd been out without the kids, and it was nice to have a little grown-up time.  and then i headed home with my precious cargo (which, of course, was endlessly mocked by the hub and the teen):

do you see that?  BRANDON WALSH LOVES ME.  my life is complete.