getting our money's worth

after we parted ways with the girl scouts at LACMA, we decided to hit up the grove since it was right up the street from us.  the bean had come prepared with one of her american girl dolls who was in dire need of some hairstyling.  although the store was predictably crowded, she managed to score a spot at the salon with no wait.

browsing around the store always presents us with fun photo ops.

after we'd had our fill of pricey dolls and accessories, we headed over to dylan's candy bar across the street.  i always love looking at what fun stuff they have in stock, and right inside the entrance i found this:

i love "mean girls" so much.  look at all this silly stuff!

when i saw this, i had to have it.

and then later for dinner, MIL and i decided to treat the bean to something she's always asking for.  this place does an all-you-can-eat, and the bean was extra hungry.

we decided to sit at the sushi bar, which she loves because she can watch the action, and found out that the kids' price for AYCE is a mere $13.99.  oh, boy, were they in for it with this kid:

that's a total of 9 orders of salmon sushi.  a little math will tell you that yes, she indeed scarfed down 18 pieces of fish and rice.  and quite happily too, as you can see.  she's set a new record.  and the sushi chef alternated between amused and curious, as he peeked over the counter to see for himself that she was doing the eating and not sharing with anyone else.

at the end of our meal, she wanted to tip him for keeping up the steady stream of salmon going.  she drew him a little picture and a quick note, wrapped a few dollars in it and dropped it in the jar.

i hope he appreciated her efforts as much as she did his.

a day of yay!/boo.

so i managed to totally horn in on a lunch outing with my friends lilcee and tater by replying to one of their conversations on twitter.  it really wasn't my intention to finagle an invitation to join them, but it was a total win for me and the bean.  heh.

tuesdays are the one day of the week that we have nothing going on, and lately we've been heading out to disneyland to ride some rides and get a little exercise in (like you didn't already know).  but it was nice to have something else to do for a change, and after i got my dose of the 30 day shred done, i got us both ready and out the door.

as soon as we got on the freeway, i noticed that i'd forgotten my wedding ring.  crap.  my hand feels so naked without it, and my thumb kept rubbing the empty spot where it usually is.  then a guy totally merged in front of me without bothering to see if it was clear.   and an old lady did the same thing as she lumbered over four lanes to get into the carpool lane.  then the car ahead of us damn near slammed to a complete stop.  on the freeway.  oh, and that first asshole who cut me off did it again as i was transitioning onto the next freeway. 

i was so frazzled and irritated, i was thisclose to just turning my apparently invisible ass around and going home to curl up into a ball and suck my thumb.  but i wasn't gonna let those jerks foil my plans and ruin my day, dammit.  i couldn't let them win.  so i soldiered on, chatting with the bean and explaining to her that i'd laid on my horn for a full minute because the people on the road are morons weren't paying attention and needed a heads-up. 

by the time we pulled up at the farmers market, i'd calmed down and was ready to have some fun.  i lucked out and found a sweet parking spot, and we rolled into pottery barn kids at the grove for storytime.  but it seemed that the crappy attitude on the freeway spilled over into the moods of the folks who'd brought kids for a story.  all of the little chairs set up were occupied by parents and nannies, leaving almost no room for other kids who were arriving.  and as lilcee and i found a spot to squeeze our kids into, more people arrived and either demanded for us to move or squeezed through us rudely without so much as an "excuse me" or a "sorry."  i swear, manners are completely non-existent in this society nowadays, and when the parents are assholes, that obviously means they're not teaching their kids how to be polite.  ugh.

we were happy to get outta there when it was over, and with about 15 minutes before tater was due to arrive, we decided to take the girls to see santa.  i know, i know, it's not even december 1st yet, but he was there, we were there, and there was only one other kid in line in front of us.  sue me.

the girls were excited, although you can't tell from the look on mini cee's face and the fake, joker-like smile on the bean's.

we weren't really allowed to take pictures inside - obviously, because santa and his elves need to make a profit - but tater (who found us inside santa's workshop) managed to get a couple of the girls anyway.

there was a video camera rolling during each kid's encounter with santa, but with a $30 price tag for a DVD, we skipped it (despite the utter cuteness of watching them walk hand-in-hand to see the man in red).  i opted instead to buy the photos on a flash drive (so high-tech and fancy!) instead of prints, and these are my favorites:

we headed back over to the farmers market to grab lunch, and for me and the bean that almost always means magee's for corned beef.  the others followed suit, and we sat and chatted and watched the girls devour their macaroni & cheese along with slices of meat.  before we were done, both kids needed to hit the potty, and when we got back we found our table cleared of all dishes.  this would normally be totally cool, except that we hadn't exactly finished our meal.  poor tater, she tried so hard to tell the woman that we weren't done, but she either ignored her or didn't understand what she was trying to say.  funny, i thought "no" was pretty universal, but maybe not.  in any case, i'm about to draft a strongly worded e-mail to the folks at the farmers market to unleash the wrath of a woman whose delicious lunch was cleared away way before i was ready to say goodbye.  hmph.

the girls were easily pleased, though - a little ice cream goes a long way.  watching them reminded me of earlier this year, when we met up with nanette and em for lunch at this very same spot.

for the bean, it's not a visit to the grove without a stop at the american girl place.  she let out the most awesome maniacal laugh as we walked in, and had a blast running around with mini cee and showing her all the fun stuff.

i swear, she isn't choking her friend in this shot.  they really love each other.

our last stop was at the coffee bean, where everyone got something to whet their whistle.  the bean lasted for about five minutes in the back seat before she passed out cold.  too bad it didn't last, though - we got home in 40 minutes and the moment i put her down in the house and covered her with a blanket, she woke up and refused to go back to sleep.  drat.

oh!  and only in l.a.:

i'm not gonna lie, i would totally take the teen and rock-ell on this tour.  i bet it's super fun.

keeping my girls happy

so a couple of days ago, the teen was lamenting the fact that her various cosmetic items were rattling around, loose, in her big tote. "i really need a little makeup bag to hold this stuff, do you have one i can use, mom?" she said.

well, now, i didn't. but you know what i did have? a brand-sparkling new sewing machine that i was slowly getting quite comfy with, nice chunks of leftover gray corduroy and floral lining that i'd just used for her new tote, a rotary cutter and mat i'd just bought on sale that i was dying to test out, and a big ass bag of zippers in random colors and sizes i scooped up for $5 at michael levine. not to mention, my friend google can always be relied upon to find fun stuff, like free patterns for all sorts of projects.

sure enough, when i turned to google, it led me to a page full of freebie crafty ideas. after i clicked on a few of them, i found it: a super easy-looking blog post with step-by-step instructions and pictures to make a little boxy pouch, perfect for stuffing with cosmetics and tossing in a tote.

the only thing missing was a lining, and i really wanted to mimic the tote and be all matchy-matchy. because i'm a dork. and you know it. so i decided that the best way to accomplish such a task was to cut out rectangles from both materials and use a bit of this stuff to stick 'em together.

i cut pieces to fit around the edges of the corduroy, topped it with a piece of the lining, and hit it with my iron to seal them together. i was totally proud of my macgyver-like skills.

out of that giant bag of zippers, i found only two that were the right length. luckily they were both white, which wasn't ideal, but would work. there were other fun colors that would've been better (and would probably have blended in nicely), but i found that most of them were either only a few inches long or super duper long, like 25". i see many coin purses in my future.

and, i think the zipper i did end up using was actually meant to be an invisible zipper, which was something i hadn't yet tried. during my sewing lesson, i'd only learned how to sew in a regular zipper. but i was determined to finish the bag before i had to pick up the teen from school, so i pressed on. i'm fairly certain i didn't do it quite right, but i just followed the steps i'd learned and it turned out just fine.

the tutorial for this little bag was super easy to follow. almost a little too easy - because in the span of about 15 minutes, i was done. i snipped off the corners of fabric, flipped it inside out, and this is what i ended up with:

now, obviously, it's not perfect. maybe my cutouts were too small, or my seam allowances were a little too big. but it worked! and it was actually super cute. look at how the cheerful lining peeks out from inside the bag:

i showed it to the teen excitedly as soon as she got in the car, and she was stoked. "thanks, mom, i really like it!" she said, and she threw her makeup inside and zipped it up right then and there.

you can imagine how i was totally beaming with pride.

and since it's been a little while since i showed off the bean, here's a couple of fun, random pics:

after a recent trip to the grove, where we walked around the entire american girl store, her grandpa presented her with a giant bag that contained her first american girl doll, complete with matching outfits. actually, what attracted him to it was the little potty chair set that was an extra accessory available for the baby doll. he thought that maybe it would inspire the bean to use her own chair more often if she had a potty buddy. haha! and this isn't the greatest picture, but look at how cute she is with her little mini-me:

the teen was inspired to bust out her own american girl dolls so she and the bean could play together, but sadly, they're boxed up in - you guessed it - storage. boo.

but can you imagine how much fun i'm going to have making matching outfits for these girls and their dolls? OMG, i'm cracking up at the visuals i'm getting.

j-a-n-k-y!

there was an apartment in nyc

and janky was its name-o
j-a-n-k-y!
j-a-n-k-y!
j-a-n-k-y!
and janky was its name-o!

okay, so i'd talked to the vacation rental lady the day before, to get the exact address of the apartment we were staying at, and to make arrangements to pay and pick up keys. she was a total bitch, and with the mixup about the availability after we'd already booked and paypal'd a $300 deposit, i was already really skeptical of this whole thing. we were required to pay the balance in cash, plus a $100 security deposit - to the cleaning lady.

yup.

and then i had to go back and forth with her on the deposit - i told her i wanted it back as soon as we checked out and she said that no one was checking in that day, so no one would be going to the apartment till the next day. make sense? yeah, i didn't think so either. she said "just leave the keys on the table and i'll paypal you the deposit the next day." okay, whatever.

and she was weirdly insistent that we arrive on time to check in. she said "please be on time" probably about a dozen times throughout the conversation. i was really regretting the whole thing already.

so on monday, we got up nice and early to grab some breakfast and do some sightseeing before getting to the apartment at 12:30. after stopping at starbucks, we decided to walk over there first to be sure we knew where it was. luckily, it was really easy to find, tucked away on 47th next to a deli and behind the theater where "legally blonde" was playing.

we decided to walk over to rockefeller center to see if we could catch a glimpse of the "today show" - but we were too late. ha!


rockefeller center is ginormous. sheesh. and we watched the zamboni on the skating rink for a while. there were lots of skaters posed and ready to pounce on that lovely ice, and the kid and i told the hub that we wanted to go skating at some point. i'm no ice skater, but i couldn't resist the opportunity!



we walked through the nbc store and took note of the studio tour information, for when MIL arrived. she has endless patience and i figured she might get a kick out of going on it with me and the kid.

the kid saw a sign for the american girl store as we walked along (man, i love when she just goes back to being a kid), but it was almost time to head back to check in, so we headed back towards times square. and of course, we'd walked a little too fast, so we killed some time at the m&m store:

i also took a picture of the giant hershey's store across the street, but resisted the urge to go in:

ha! the restraint i displayed is remarkable, i tell you.

and then it was time to meet the cleaning lady and view our accommodations for the next three nights. after the lovely (albeit tiny) hotel we'd been calling home for two nights, i was a little sad, but also a little excited knowing that the apartment would be a lot roomier. not to mention, MIL was flying in that evening and there was no way we'd be able to squeeze into that room with the two twin beds - it was tiny enough as it was.

that excitement disappeared as soon as we walked in. these pictures don't do the jankiness of the joint justice, but it's all i've got. it was just so...bleh.


the hub and the kid's faces were comical. the kid whispered "mom, this place is yucky!" and the hub just gave me that special "are you kidding me with this shit?" look. i knew i was going to get quite an earful when we left.

and as we walked back up 49th to the american girl store, they didn't disappoint.

"can't we just stay at the hotel we're already at?"
"i don't want to stay there, it's so gross and depressing!"
"it might have been a bargain, but we sure got what we paid for."

and on and on and on, until i wanted to duck into the nearest duane reade's and find some fucking earplugs. finally we got to the store and it stopped as the kid wandered through the store and the hub and the bean found a comfy spot to relax.


i totally cracked up at the doll salon, and the thought of american girl personal shoppers.
as we wandered around, we found other american girl-related things, like the doll hospital, the american girl theatre, a photo studio, and a cafe. we glanced at the menu before going back downstairs to join the bean and the hub.

and we were quite surprised when he suggested that we have lunch there. i giggled incessantly in my head at the thought of him sitting up there amongst all those females and flowers and pink, and was pleased to hear that they could accommodate us. normally, the place is packed and reservations are a must, but i guess a monday at lunchtime isn't too hectic.

as we sat down, the hostess said to the kid "do you have your doll with you?" and then she looked at her a bit more closely and said "i'm guessing...no. but we have loaners! would you like one?"

they had LOANER DOLLS. comedy. but the kid perked up, gave me a big ass cheesy grin, and followed the hostess to the rack of dolls, sitting in little black and white striped chairs. she came back with one that looked similar to hers at home, and beamed as the hostess clipped the little doll chair next to her.

the cafe was adorable - all black and white and hot pink, with polka dots and flowers everywhere. each table had a white tablecloth and napkins, and the napkin rings were little hair elastics with hot pink flowers attached to them. plus, there was a little box in the middle that contained slips of paper that conversation-starting questions on them, like "do you think that girls get treated differently than boys?" haha! as i giggled at the questions, the kid grabbed two "napkin rings" and disappeared into the restroom, and came back looking like this:


our server dropped off a plate of warm cinnamon buns and took our drink orders - pink lemonade for me and the kid, of course. and the bean decided to check out the menu.


when our drinks came, so did this:

yum! cheese, veggies, pretzel bread, and little chicken salad "boats."

funny, all three of us were in the mood for a french dip sandwich - which arrived with some salad and sweet potato fries. i learned that i only like my fries made from regular old potatoes - no gourmet sweet potatoes for me.

the hub shared the lemon from his iced tea with the bean. i guess it's a little bit evil that we give her little tastes of this kind of shit, but man oh man, the faces she makes are just so. damn. funny.


we each got a cute little dessert tray, with a frosted flower sugar cookie, a heart-shaped slice of angel food cake, and a flowerpot of chocolate mousse. as you can see, i'm the only mousse-eater in our family.

on our way out, i took a picture of the rack of loaner dolls, and the hub decided to play "where's waldo?" with the bean.


we decided to head over to 5th avenue and do some window shopping. the kid walked through the giant abercrombie store, and i eyed the storefronts of tiffany and saks. i also snickered at trump tower (that man just LOVES to see his name on all sorts of shit), and at a road sign that i always assumed was just one of those jokes you find in gift shops.

we just kept on walking until we found ourselves at the plaza. the kid wanted to see inside, so we trooped up the stairs and found ourselves under some of the most gorgeous chandeliers ever.



and then we saw all of the horse-drawn carriages lined up in front of central park. the hub stayed behind with the stroller while the kid, the bean and i clambered up into one, sat back, and covered our legs with the blanket.

the hub had decided to walk up to the AOL/time warner building during our 20-minute carriage ride, so when we got back we walked up to columbus circle to meet him. the kid was so grossed out at this statue with the golden wiener that i HAD to take a picture of it, if for no other reason than to hear her go "ewwwwwwwwww, mom!"

so while all this was going on, i was hoping that the two of them would've forgotten all about the apartment and how icky it was. but no - apparently, the hub took advantage of our absence and pulled up hotels.com on his PDA to see what else was available. now, mind you, we'd already paid for the vacation rental in full. we were stuck, or so i thought.

nope.

we swung into the nearest internet cafe and checked out our options - and it turned out that we had quite a few. what killed me was that the hub had given me a budget to stick to for this trip (for hotel and airfare, anyway) and i had made it a point to stick to it, dammit! hell, if i'd have known he was going to blow it off, we could've booked into one hotel for the entire duration of our stay. i should've known better. he always pulls this shit.

we ended up booking a room with two double beds at the empire hotel - which was conveniently a block away from where we were. but we still needed to go back to times square to get our luggage. a quick glance at the clock told us that MIL was going to be there pretty soon, so we headed over to the new hotel to check in.

and a lovely hotel it was! the kid loved all the animal prints everywhere.

the room itself was still very tiny - in fact, i'm pretty sure it was even smaller than the millennium broadway - but it was really cool, with the plush bedding, tiger-striped chair, plasma tv, and very cool shower.

and because i'd forgotten to post pictures of the first hotel:


we were just laying around relaxing when the hub and MIL arrived. as always, she was in a cheerful mood and was looking forward to having some fun in the big city. she hadn't been to new york since she was younger than the kid, so she was excited to see how things had changed. and, of course, by this time, we were all hungry, so we headed out to grab dinner at stage deli, which the hub and i had discovered during our first trip to NYC back in '03.



as we walked along 7th in search of dinner, we passed carnegie deli, which is supposed to be as good/better than stage deli.


the sandwiches at stage deli are crazy-ginormous, so we decided to order two and split them amongst the four of us. the first one was a lovely combo of corned beef and pastrami, piled high between three slices of bread, plus some swiss cheese. i can't remember the name of it, but the other one we ordered was the dolly parton - "twin rolls of corned beef and pastrami." ha!

i ordered a chocolate egg cream. the hub and the kid were grossed out by it, but it was yummy. i couldn't get them to understand that it didn't actually HAVE any eggs in it. whatever - more for me!

and then we decided to, um, share the pickle with the bean. again, we're so mean - we cackled and giggled at the faces she made as folks at neighboring tables all breathed "awwwww...."

and as you can see, she ended up liking it! she kept coming back for more and eventually just grabbed it and munched as we ate and chatted.

by the time we walked back to the hotel, we were exhausted. and the bed was oh, so comfy. i'm getting sleepy again just thinking about it.