Prepping for Thanksgiving Day (redux)

After recovering all day Thanksgiving, I felt pretty good the next day. Dinner was rescheduled to the following day so I began the prep. The only dish I could really make wholly ahead of time was the stuffing. I mostly just cleaned and brined the bird and did an ingredient check to make sure I was ready to rock Saturday. Check out my striped socks in the left photo! :)

That morning, we did participate in the mass hysteria of consumerism that is called Black Friday. This is a phenomenon unique to the U.S. I think. Or I hope. A single day out of 365 is slated to "give thanks" for what we have and then, before the gratitude soddens our hearts too deeply, we rush out the next morning to shop for "stuff."

I was still sick so Sergio was going to let me off the hook about it. I DID NOT want to go. I didn't want to buy anything that badly and quite frankly, crowds are unnerving. But I woke up at 4AM and couldn't get back to sleep. It was misery trying to stay in bed and fall asleep. And I knew how much Sergio wanted to go to Best Buy...so, I conceded. I was awake anyway. I made sure to grumble sufficiently though.

Turns out, it really wasn't the mass hysteria I had feared. There were a couple of news crews. Everyone was well behaved inside (mostly) and it really wasn't that crowded! Odd. The line for the register was long, but not awful. Once awake, I'm awake. So, I suggested we go to IKEA. I know, sounds like suicide for a crowd averse human like myself. But again, no crowds! Loads of shopping carts...and their meatball plate was $1! Probably the best score of the day.

We purchased a bench for the entryway. It's not really our style and not used/vintage/recycled...but only $49.99 and it's made our entryway neat and tidy! It was part of their one day sale and looked like a good shoe storage solution. We are a no-shoes household so it can get messy out in the entryway. I hated tripping over shoes every time I walked in the door. Here, Sergio builds it. Micio insisted on overseeing the build. Not sure if she helped at all.


I plan to paint it gray and get a larger rug. The current little rug doubles as the cat scratcher. I kind of loathe the thing because it sheds everywhere and pils terribly. But I'm loathe to rid it because the cats prefer it to the furniture.

What I did instead of Thanksgiving

I snapped photos of kitty noses. Adorableness.


I also ate lunch.

Sergio ran out to pick up yummy pho noodle soup for me, the sicky. Exactly what I wanted and needed. Added a few squirts of Sirarcha to clear the sinuses. He had bun (pronounced: boon).



I'm feeling so much better today. Sergio's turn, unfortunately. :( But, he must be stronger than I because it's not hitting him as hard. Thank goodness.

Following is a quick lesson in....

Mia Stalking!

1) You must catch her whilst she naps out in the open. Vulnerable, comfy and cute.







2) It is only in this befuddled half-sleep stage that you can get up close.


3) If you are not stealthy enough, she will wake.


4) She will not be amused.

Thanksgiving, wait.

I had grand plans to make the stuffing tonight. And brine the turkey. And bake the purple chips. Set the table. Grand plans I tell you.

I suppose a suitable alternative is what I'm actually doing right now. I am parked on the couch, under a blanket, half watching one of the matrix movies on AMC. You see, I'm sick. Yep. Happened today, started this morning with a little twinge in my body as I walked into the office. Now, a plastic bag to catch used tissues sits next to me. (was that TMI?) I've just boiled water for tea. I've postponed Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully I'll perk up by Saturday!

'Til then...Have a wonderful holiday! Eat well and be very, very merry. Take your vitamins and please, please, get enough sleep!!

-e

P.S. I'm trying to NOT buy this pillow. (Heart Pillow by Alexander Girard.) Really, I'm not. I saw it on someone else's blog and instantly wanted it. (What IS it with me and hearts these days?) I'm facing hours of listless wading through the interwebs so I don't know if I'll win. But really, I'd win either way. It's so lovely.

Everyone says GOOD GOOD EAT!

Look at how cute that pouty Asian girl is! Well, I'm assuming she's Asian. I suppose it's the power of suggestion from the Chinese characters hovering above her head. She could be English. Anyway, how could I resist her?

It's basically mini ramen noodle cakes. Salty. Crunchy. It was...meh. Not awful, not wonderful. It's a Taiwanese snack. We found it at Famima!! Kind of like a Japanese 7-11. This one featured an especially impressive beverage selection. Backlit rows and rows of colorful bottles in all styles, shapes and sizes. I think we spent 10 mins in front of that refrigerator saying, "Look at this one!" "That one is so cool!" "Ooo, check this one out!" I really dig Japanese packaging design -- innovative, striking, fanciful, bold, funny and even non-sensical at times.

Tangerine Cookware

I rarely go into Marshall's anymore. My penchant for shopping gets me into trouble there. The one I (used to) frequent usually has an especially enticing selection of designer labels strategically placed near the entry. And they've got an expanded shoe section. Sigh. I really do love shoe shopping. Anyway, I went in there a few weeks ago to pick up a bathmat. I found it and also two new non-stick pans, in orange! I had been searching for non-Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) version. The word "green" in giant friendly font with a heart sprawled across the label did catch my eye. Actually, looking at it now, I see there are two hearts! Who doesn't like hearts? I am a sucker for good packaging. And, the pans are made in Italy. And you all know I have soft spot for Italians. :)



I made spicy grilled eggplant on it. Tasty. It accompanied sweet peas & cilantro dumpling soup and baked purple potato chips. Finished with a bloody red pomegranate. yum.



P.S. Today is November 23 -- 3 days before Thanksgiving. Today's weather in L.A. was insanely gorgeous. It was 78 degrees F. Of course, it drops down to the 40s at night these days. Chilly for SoCal natives like myself. But the daytime weather...can't be beat. I sat out in the sun during lunch, in shortsleeves and sunglasses. I think Betsy got a little sunburnt.

Super Avocado

What's Micio scurrying away from there on the left? Why, it's the Attack of the GIANT Avocado!

No, not really. But the fruit was indeed enormous. I wish I had measured it. It was huge. More like the size of a...I don't know...one of those toy footballs. It overflowed two hands cupped.

The avocado flavor was there but subtle -- other than texture and looks, the fruit really isn't what you would expect from an avocado. It was sweet and refreshing even. Very surprising. I thought for sure it would be too big to be good tasty. Like a giant watered down version of its more normal sized brethren. I was wrong. It's more like a distant cousin with merits all its own. I got it at Seafood City Supermarket which caters to the large local Philippine community. I think they called it a Vietnamese Avocado. A little research tells me that Avocado Shakes are a common Vietnamese treat! Hmm...this would definitely be a yummy shake!

Private Concert at the Hummingbird

Last weekend was another NELA artwalk night. It's becoming a monthly activity for us. B&J joined us and as always, we had a great time with them. We all strolled down to the blvd. from our house. Our hands down favorite was MorYork Gallery. The permanent installation of found art is incredible. Giant, undulating sculptures constructed from soda can tabs suspended from the wooden beams, 4 foot tall urn/vases made of bottle tops, benches made entirely of stacked yardsticks...amazing. I didn't take any pics. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. During the artwalk, we saw a horde of bicyclists milling around, some lit-up (double-meaning intended), some in costume. We also spied the Dosa Truck and the Nom Nom Truck! We bypassed them to appreciate the art displayed at Cafe de Leche and Kristi Engle Gallery. After getting eyefuls of art, we headed into the York for mouthfuls of drinky-drinks.

We scored a nice booth by the DJ and enjoyed a couple glasses of wine. One was from the Chasing Lions vineyard in Napa -- delicious enough for me to crave it now, almost a full week later. On the way home, we stopped in at The Hummingbird Collective. It's a collection of atists -- filmmakers, musicians, painters, etc, in a rambling building with many rooms and a long hallway. There, we met JJ and Delilah. JJ let us go up to the roof patio and then he gave us a private concert. The song he wrote for Delilah was especially sweet. They invited us back for a bigger party on 11/28th. JJ's band goes on at 11. We are sooo there! Join us!

Ciao Cousin. Come back soon.

Before Mike left for his visit to San Francisco, we stopped and picked up cupcakes at Auntie Em's for personal delivery to his friends. And then we visited the Oinkster where we ordered the amazing Ube Shake and met a new buggy friend who we found making its way up the restaurant window. This was yet another place featured on the Food Network--Guy Fieri left his spraypaint face on the wall from when he shot an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Below, Mike hammed it up with a sad face over it being his last meal in L.A.



It was so fun to host my cousin for a few days. So much time has passed since we've last spent some quality time together. So much time and so much life. I mentioned in an earlier post how fun it was to listen to him reminisce. Having him here definitely stirred up some warm and fuzzy memories. It also made us a little sad to see how much has changed and far we've come from those long, hot, carefree summer days.

Robins Egg Blue Chair

Before he left, Mike helped us pick up a new chair, which I love! Spied it on Craigslist via Apartment Therapy. We contacted the seller and she was in the nabe so we HAD to see it, right? love it! Check out the new window coverings we have in the sunroom! They still need to be hemmed but we really think the gray works.

Rollin' like VIPs on the lot

My friend Julius arranged for us to go on the CBS Radford lot. He's cool like that. He even took time out of his busy schedule to give us a private tour! Here we are on "New York Street" in one of the porches used for Seinfeld exterior shots. We drove past the "Soup Nazi" storefront.

Before our tour, we got to see a rehearsal of Gary Unmarried. Gabrielle Reece and Lair Hamilton guest starred so we got to see them too! I suppose we should have stuck around to get autographs. I regretted not doing that for my cousin's sake. He got to keep a copy of the script though. It was fun watching all the cameras rolling around, grips up top operating lights, etc. It was such a relaxed fun atmosphere. The kid actor knew more of his lines than any of the adults.

We grabbed lunch at the commissary and then got to zip around on one of those electric golf carts for the tour. I really like those. And they're eco-friendly! Way better than the smelly, diesel trams at Universal Studios. I can see why some of the super rich use them to navigate their obscenely large estates. We couldn't find the horn though to honk. I can't remember who we were trying to honk.



As you can see, the weather was perfection. We saw a setup outside on one of their suburb streets. Most of the houses double for actual production offices. I guess they shoot interior scenes on a stage but grab exteriors on faux streets like this. Julius parked the cart to let us take a peek inside the CSI New York set soundstage. Check out the gurney in the autopsy room!



Julius knew so much lot history, he was the perfect tour guide! He pointed out where the Gilligan's Island set once was. Tucked down in a little tree edged glen, we could imagine the once idyllic set. Now the area is dotted with production office bungalows and asphalt parking spots. The big green lagoon has been reduced to a tiny pond with a demure little spray fountain --covered by a ridiculously useless miniature bridge. Seriously, the nearly puddle was maybe three feet across. We zoomed past the old Malcolm in the Middle House, the old Will & Grace stage, the old 70's show stage, the current Big Brother stage where they put in the entire house after lifting it off its foundation elsewhere. All the old stages are now used for newer shows but I didn't recognize a lot of them. The lot is not as flashy as many of the other lots in the city -- Julius referred to it as a boutique lot. Regardless, we had an amazing time.

Thanks so much Julius! I owe you a Grey Goose Martini with three olives. Name the time and place!

Wouldn't you know it, Mike requested Souplantation for his final L.A. dinner. No joke. He was so happy afterward.

Respect for Grandma

We took Mike up to Rose Hills to pay respects to Grandma. It was simple. No roast pig, rice, fruit, brandy, burning of notes. Just flowers cut from my dad's garden and several sticks of sandlewood incense. It was a lovely day.




It was fun to listen to Mike as he was flooded with memories. He, his brother, his mom and dad all invaded our house every summer for years. We even picked up some cool drinks at the drive-thru of the McDonald's! We used to stop there after each and every visit to Rose Hills. In those days, we'd go up the hill several times over the summer. For hours the adults whiled away the time, sipping cups of coffee in the cool of the air conditioning while us kids ran amuck at the Miniature Golf and Arcade place next door. We spent hours there. Hours.

Sergio and Mike then spent the afternoon strumming the guitar. Sergio was teaching Mike how to play a few notes. Mike was a quick study! We both hope Mike stays true to his word and continues to practice when he can. He was having so much fun!

P.S. Did you know, Rose Hills is the largest cemetery in the United States?