Winter Activities

I have never lived anywhere that was so unabashedly noisy as this apartment. It is never quiet here and while I am getting used to some of the sounds, they are, for the most part, driving me completely insane. I hate noise. I hate people who are rude and foist themselves, uninvited and very unwanted, into my ears. I don’t want to know anything about the lives of my neighbors. These are people I’ve never even met, but I know when they are fighting, washing dishes, using the bathroom, watching TV, listening to music or any combination thereof. Don’t even get me started on vacuuming.

For example, I know that the man who lives above me has delusions of musicality. Every evening he plays either a piano or electric guitar and it is so loud he might as well be in my living room. If he was playing music I enjoyed this could be partially forgiven. What he plays, however, sounds like a series of basic scales permanently stuck on repeat. One evening I was so close to suicide, Matt went upstairs to ask if he could keep it down and was told that, no, he could not because he is a professional musician and has to practice with the sound turned up. Really? I find that incredibly hard to believe as what I hear very clearly through my roof is total crap. I could take a stranger off the street and tell them to play the notes up and down the keyboard in order and that would sound exactly the same. The only upside of this noise is that it usually stops around 9pm. 

What has no time frame at all is the crying baby from two apartments down. I do “get it”. Babies cry. But as it is not my baby, a related baby, or even the baby of a friend, I kind of wish it would leave off until I move out in 10 months. If I was interested in dealing with wailing at random moments of the day and night I would nanny, or give birth.

Then there is the gem of a woman with whom I share the kitchen wall. I think she was taught how to walk by a herd of elephants. I imagine that she stomps down so hard she literally has to grunt with every step. When she is at home and moving around she shakes the whole house. Of course she is the type to wear shoes in the home, so one is treated to the pleasure of a succession of wall rattling bangs accompanied by the sweet sound of heels tap tapping back and forth. I blame her mother for this. If I had walked like such a cow mine would have had such a fit I would have tip toed for eternity. She also listens to terrible top 40s pop music which comes through particularly nicely when I’m anywhere near my bathroom. I can’t say I’m surprised, but, Justin Bieber? Seriously?

On the opposite side I share a wall with a woman who is blessedly rarely home. When she is here, she is almost constantly on Skype so I can hear entire conversations while I lay in bed. To hear strangers chatting through the wall is annoying enough, but when one of the parties is talking through the computer it is even worse. Their half comes out very mechanical, as if she’s on intimate terms with Steven Hawking.

Added to these adjacent neighbors is the echoing courtyard. It amplifies every footstep, every door that opens or closes, every knock or doorbell. Plus there are those damn nincompoops who just like to talk outside so everyone has no choice but to hear. I feel as if I am never alone to think in peace.

And because I feel the need to get it all out I’m now going to rant about the construction. Since Matt and I moved in there has been work done on the building constantly. Months of construction. Whole days (6 so far) with the water turned off for the plumbing to be fixed. Being woken up repeatedly at 8:30am by painters on ladders scrapping the frame of our bedroom window. Drills and saws and hammering as 3 apartments are renovated, one with new floors being laid down and then sanded. I have never wanted to move so badly in my life. 

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In other and more happy news, Matt and I have been busy.

We had a really nice Valentines Day. He had to work in the evening because it is such a busy day in the restaurant industry so we planned a fun morning together. When I woke up he had this waiting for me:

What a swell guy I’ve got. I gave him a book on wine and some new jeans. Not the most romantic but I think he liked it.

Then we had breakfast at the Huntley Hotel’s Penthouse restaurant. It has the best view in Santa Monica and is only 3 blocks from our house.

Last thing before he had to go, we drove down the PCH towards Malibu for a little walk on the beach.

The next day while he was again slaving away at work I figured I would try my hand at another recipe from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. This time I was attempting her version of gnocchi. Now, I’ve never made this before and I haven’t had it that often either so I wasn’t sure what I was doing. I followed her recipe but when it was time to knead the dough together it felt all wrong. I googled gnocchi and found a recipe online from the food network with different proportions so I sort went in the middle. I added a little more flour and one more egg and then tried to mix it all again. This time it felt much nicer, but what did I know?

It made so much that I lined a few of our trays with parchment paper and froze it so we’d have something quick and easy for the future. When it came time to cook and eat some I’ll be honest; it is not the best gnocchi, but it is still good. Something is off with the consistency but as this is my first time I couldn’t tell you what I actually did wrong. It was missing that al dente bite that I love in pasta. It did have a nice airy potato quality though. Would I make it again? Probably not. I’d rather do flat linguini or stuffed pasta like ravioli. 

Last weekend Matt and I went on a field trip. My favorite charity is Farm Sanctuary and one of their 3 farms is located about 45 minutes outside of LA. I’d been dying to go but Matt usually works on Sundays which is when they give their tours, however, he randomly had it off. Yippee!

We drove North and then a little East and arrived at Farm Sanctuary’s Animal Acres. It was so much fun. We got to visit with and pet all sorts of cute animals. The people watching was rather hilarious, too. There was this woman who just couldn’t help herself from hugging EVERY creature there and smushing her face up against theirs while demanding her husband took photo after photo. Every time our group was introduced to another animal and told it’s story, she would rush up to be the first to pet it, even dodging in front of children to get there. Did I mention she was about 50? And that she was wearing a white button down and sandals to a farm? 

Matt’s favorite of the whole day was this cutie named Paolo.

We met such a bunch of sweet and affectionate honeys - it made my day and I really want to go again.

There was even a duck!! Matt went over to chat, but I don’t think he wanted to make friends - haha.

Where we live we aren’t far from the ocean but there are bluffs which are very tall so you can’t just walk down them to get to the beach. Instead you have to go down a few blocks to stairs that are cut into the rocks. The other evening we decided to go see the sunset. It was a little chilly, but so beautiful.

I took this quick 360 video. You can see the Santa Monica pier, then the ocean followed by Malibu. Next a shot of the bluffs behind us. This is the best part of living here.

If anyone comes to visit and is in the mood for some totally tacky goodness then we will take you to the Saddle Ranch. We went there the other night for a kick and it was fun. They have a menu full of fried everything, and the drinks and beers are over priced but here is the piece de resistance:

That’s right. A mechanical bull. No we didn’t ride it, but it was great watching other people hop on up and hold on for dear life. 

Also, very exciting:

Matt just got home today from his trip to New York. He was there on a whirlwind trip to join the staff of Persimmon in cooking a dinner at the James Beard Foundation. This is a very big deal. Persimmon is a semifinalist in their 2013 JBF awards and is a nominee in two categories (winners to be announced on March 18th) and they were invited to cook there as well. Champe Speidel, the chef/owner asked Matt if he would be interested in going to cook with them and of course he was. We both loved working at Persimmon - just a great restaurant and a wonderful group of people who we both miss. 

So he flew in on Monday, got to visit with his mother a little in NYC which I know he was very happy about, then got to the James Beard house on Tuesday morning. They all prepped, then plated and served a 5 course meal, with canapes and wine pairings. Luckily for me (and you) he actually took some photos :)

After that, Matt flew back here very early today, Wednesday, and is now off to work at Providence. What a busy boy. I think he is going to sleep well tonight.

Matt says the dinner went off beautifully. He loved seeing everybody and working together again. I hope we can visit Rhode Island soon so we can eat at Persimmon and I can see everyone, too. Anyway, I’m proud of him, as always, and I have my fingers crossed that Persimmon wins both awards. They are up for both Best Chef: Northeast and Outstanding Service.

So that is what we’ve been up to. 

Ciao!