California Donut Tour 2015

Our stay in Venice Beach was as always fun..with never a dull moment.  From a semi-shooting and capture of a criminal right beside the cafe we were eating at to a boat that decided to come to shore right at the best beach spot to a hotel room with bad tv placement we loved every minute of it.



Some people may find bits of the neighborhood unsavory and maybe part of it is, but I used to live in Manhattan so I don't get fazed by much. The boardwalk is still a place tourists must see on a trip to LA and the beaches are great.

The Santa Monica Pier is such a festive place.  Not so big that you are overwhelmed but has plenty to do and see. Gotta love those delightfully tacky souvenir shops and the musical performances are truly great.

We found the best spot to check out the Hollywood sign.  Drove right up to a small road that took you right up close. There was even an Ice Cream Truck there so it was well worth the effort to find it.

Didn't make it for drinks at the Chateau this time around but definitely next time around!

Took a brief overnight trip down to San Diego and enjoyed some of the sights..and ate the best seafood pasta! The GasLamp Section of down is a must..next time Balboa Park.

Waiting in line for the Late Late Show with James Corden.  If you can get tickets I highly recommend this.  He is well worth the 5.00 Diet Coke I bought on the CBSlot.  But the ticket was free so why not splurge.

And now time for the good stuff.  I do love donuts and apparently so does Southern California so put on your fat pants and start munching! 

                                                                     

                 Randy's Donuts! Cheap...incredibly tasty...and don't tell Iron Man, I was enjoying the donuts so much that I probably wouldn't have noticed if he even happened to be there and that says something!

Bob's Donuts at the LA Farmers Market.  How cute is that..I had two!

San Diego had Nomad Donuts!! Cutest little place and exceptional donuts!

California Donuts In LA...all I can say is incredible!!!

But on our way to the airport we had to put on even larger fat pants because you can't leave without a trip to In and Out Burger!

Farwell California! After I lose about 20 pounds I'll be back!

Never long enough

Late last night we arrived back from our week in Southern California....need I say that I am a little grumpy this morning and it is not because I only got a couple of hours sleep before work! Cali was as fabulous as ever and there is never enough time to do everything. But with each visit I get to see a little bit more and I always make sure to have a list of things I would like to do the next time..because there will always be a next time!

The Box had an okay trip! Really starting to show his age but nothing a few staples won't fix! I hope to have some photos up soon, gotta keep up with the travel album! 

Tricks or Treats!

I am hoping that my treats don't fall under the trick category! I love Halloween and all things creepy and ghouly. My bestie and I try to go to haunted houses every year and the one we may make it to this year seems to good to be true.  I love it when the word "waiver" is mentioned on the website! Waiver means shrieking and squealing fun. 

Baking for the dogs that want to join in on the holiday festivities is also fun. It keeps me from eating all of the snacks around the house.  I mean I do eat my treats at times but let's face it...a cookie needs some good old sugar and butter to pass the people test!

I have shown a photo of our Pudgie Bats and here is a photo of Blanche being asked to help out around the kitchen! 

I think she prefers to just watch!

Best Girl

Yesterday was National Black Dog Day.  A day that needs to be celebrated by all.  I guess about 23 or so years ago I found this tiny little puppy outside of my friend's house in an actual dried up mud puddle. He had this Mama Dog in his neighborhood that was constantly having puppies.  Nobody could get close enough to her to take her to be spayed so puppies abounded.


I was told that some more puppies were around and I did the thing you are not supposed to do.......pick one up and give it a hug!!!!!! Don't do it!!!! Save yourself!!!! Because if you do your life will surely change.  Some will actually say it changes for the worse.  Maybe worse for your wallet but not your heart.  I took the little black runt home.  I honestly didn't think she would live very long.  I just wanted to make her comfortable.  Well......for 16 years I devoted my life to making Myrtle comfortable! The first couple of years were kinda rough.  We pumped her stomach (sudafed), replaced baseboards in our rental apartment and threw out 2 sofas that she literally ate.  She took her time with the peeing outside concept. Oh  she knew better and as all dog owners know..she just didn't seem to care!

Then one day it all stopped.  I noticed that she always went outside, she never tried a drug overdose again and all of our furniture remained intact.  Wow! By that time we had our little Basset Hound Mabel so Myrtle had become the big sister and was showing Mabel the ropes.

As time moved on a couple of more family members joined our pack and she managed to keep all of them in line.  When Oscar came along she was getting on up there in age but he kept the old girl young.  They wrestled constantly and she always won. I honestly think Oscar was a little afraid not to let her win!

When the inevitable time came to say goodbye it was as horrible as expected but I have found that most times like that always are.  All pet owners compare the pets that they have.  Usually there is one pet that all pets that come after are compared to. Myrtle is my pet. I of course love all of my little demons unconditionally but I can honestly say that I always do a quick comparison in my mind to Myrtle.  So far none have quite reached her level.....and I am quite sure none ever will.


Love you Moo!

FALL 2015

Yesterday was the first official day of Fall.  Hmmm...I like Fall okay. I of course prefer the heat but my flowers don't..my dogs don't and my husband absolutely does not!  I still wear short sleeves and shorts so I will be okay for awhile.

But!  Fall for me means a trip.  Our annual birthday/anniversary trip! Back to LA! On to San Diego! A glorious time in the rental car, word is it's a Dodge or comparable. Wonder if a mini cooper falls into that category. No real plans. That's the way we like to roll in cases like this.  Gotta hit a couple of pet stores of course but that is easy enough.

 So I am looking back through some old photos of the last trip along the PCH and getting excited.  And of course the Box will be joining.  Box hit a little snag on the last trip to NM and we thought that might be the last trip for it but after a spa moment I think we are back in business!  Here's hoping anyway!!!

Beach Days 2015!!!

It's a good day when this is the view of my backyard..even if it only for a week.  Spent some time at the beach near St. Augustine FLA last week and loved every minute of it!

Love those dark clouds!

Incredible sunset!

We wanted to fill jugs with this stuff!

Nobody is forgotten on a hot day!

The I can't believe I got up early enough to take this photo.

The real reason I got up early...watching over sea turtles waiting for them to hatch!!

See ya St. Augustine!!! Can't wait till next time!

Still love the Boy!

I spent the summer of 1987 living and working in London. I cleaned hotel rooms but I didn't care...I was in London. Since I obviously wasn't making buckets of cash I entertained myself by walking through all of the wonderful neighborhoods of the great city and by stalking people of interest.

One of my people just happened to be Boy George himself. I found out where he lived and would go and hang out front of his house with the other wanna-be groupies.  I met some pretty cool people.  Luckily George had the sense not to use the front door and save himself the grief of having to say hello to his little group of fans.

Fast forward to 2015 and the band is back together and playing in Atlanta GA so I hopped in my car and went to see them.  Since it was a last minute decision I went alone but met some great people to sing and dance with. 

Concert accomplished!!!