California Dreaming

There's a familiar serenity that comes with traveling back to LA for me.  Maybe it's the history of flying back "home" when I used to travel a lot for work, maybe it's the warm weather, the green trees (even during Fall) or the rim of smog as we slowly descend that feels so right... or maybe it's just my over dramatic depiction of going home.  Whatever it is, it feels just as much home despite it no longer being my home for two years now.  I'm lucky for the work sponsored quarterly opportunity to go back to the motherland and now that I have live farther from my parents and have a busy life with a family of my own, I'm even more aware of how special it is to go back and take a quick departure from my normal routine.

Since Bubba isn't taking the bottle, I took him with me for my Q3 meeting.  Jordan stayed with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law during the day and had a grand ol' time with Daddy at night.  It was quite special to have that time alone with Bubba especially since not long ago, these trips to LA from Spokane were just Jordan and me.

This was Bubba's second time flying, and he was an absolute angel.  No blowouts on the plane, ate and then slept through the entire thing.

In all my years traveling, I never noticed the redundancy of Los Angeles Los Angeles Los Angeles and it cracked me up so much I had to take a photo.  HAHAHA.  

Apparently, I brought the Utah weather with me because upon arriving.. it rained for a few hours during lunch.  I can't figure out if my taste has evolved with both romantic movies and hoity toity dining... but I haven't appreciated any "chick flicks" as of late and I didn't enjoy Urth Cafe in Pasadena as much as I used to enjoy the other ones on the Westside.  The carrot cake hadn't changed though (besides becoming a lot larger than before!) and it still tasted scrumptious.

$5 for parking?  Good thing my brother and I were with my mom.  Ridiculous. 

This is a traditional Chinese dish - eggs with tomatoes.  We all laughed when we saw it.  HAHAHA.  

Probably the best plate - mine!  Veggie panini.  Yum. 

Omelette of sorts.  With some very well seasoned sausage that my mom said was gross but my brother liked, I didn't try it.  

Got to hang with my cousin who's preggers!  So exciting!!!  We talked baby stuff and I gave her a breastfeeding book that my brother accidentally flipped through and almost lost his appetite.  Almost.  

The super thick three layer carrot cake that made the trip semi-worthwhile.  I think I'll stick to my normal places (Sinbala, Ding Tai Fong, Golden Deli) in the future.  I was trying to branch out and I was also so excited that there was an Urth Cafe so close! 

On our way home, we made a quick trip to BevMo to load up on drinks for my work party the next day (as an operations/finance person, this was part of my job).  We had a good time and left with a case of wine, some six packs of IPAs, a fabulous assortment of cool cane sugar sodas (including sweet corn and key lime!), and some prosciutto and smoked gouda for ourselves.  It was a fun trip to BevMo with my mom and brother and especially fun for my mom who had never been.    

In the afternoon, my dad hung out with Bubba and I took hold of the opportunity and went to get a much needed facial.

I go to a place in Temple City called Babyface, the girl Tiffany is wonderful! 

And that was day one of my three day trip home.  We had dinner without my brother that night because he had plans to dine at a fancy restaurant in LA with his girlfriend.  So I got my Sinbala fix with my parents that night.  

Then... without a house to clean, dishes to do, or kids to put asleep (Bubba goes down pretty much after eating, no stories yet or rebellion like Jordan), I talked to Andy and Jordan and then was in bed by 10 PM.  That's unheard of.  It's not that I need the sleep, but normally.. I can't fall asleep because my mind is racing about things to do and so I get up and do it.  Or watch some On Demand television - but I didn't know how to work my parents TV and I didn't feel like it.  So instead I got a great night of sleep!