Kristen

「完璧に隠れています。」
Maru:[I completely hide.]



はな：「そこで何してんのー？」
Hana:[What are you doing there?]



まるさん、一体化し過ぎてダルマのようになってますよ。
Hey Maru, you are like a Dharma doll.


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連載第１８回目は本日AM１０時頃の更新です。

はなさん、定員オーバーですよ！
Hey Hana, it is capacity over.

はな：「問題なし。」
Hana:[No problem!]

This is Granville up close and personal.
And you know this bloke and the other fellow is my neighbour, and the owner of Granville and Buckwheat (his dogs).
The house on the corner is growing it two story which is unusual around here most of the houses are single story that was all you could build years ago but Sydney is running out of room and they allow bigger houses and more stories now.
Angus and Drumstick are having a little chat with us watching.
Angus is not that keen


Now they are checking out Drummies veg and grass area

They both have found something to eat , there were some carrots in there somewhere.
Later when Angus was eating his pigs ear, Drumstick wanted a bit and it was a bit hairy for a minute so I put dummy in his yard and nothing hurt but a few ruffled feathers, Angus is very mild except where food is involved.

Back to the house on the corner, no one around all off to lunch.




Next door is finishing off, doing all the driveway and front paths.
My front yard is a jungle compared with everyone else, they are all doing some sort of renovating but i do need to do some trimming and weeding.



My new painting not got very far yet.

[Hollywood Sign by Elizabeth Daniels; Mineral Wells sign via Portal to Texas History]

There's been a funny tale about the birth of the Hollywood Sign circulating in the tiny town of Mineral Wells, Texas (estimated 2012 population: 16,731): the story goes that The Birth of a Nation director DW Griffith visited Mineral Wells in the late 1920s and was so struck by its giant "WELCOME" sign that he carried word of it back to Los Angeles, where he created the Hollywood Sign. AF Weaver's book Images of America: Mineral Wells says that the Mineral Wells sign was donated in 1922 by the president of the Texas Rotary Club, who had it built in his San Antonio Iron Works, according to the Portal to Texas History. That site also says "[Griffith] developed the 'HOLLYWOOD HILLS' addition with other partners when he returned to California, and he erected what is probably the most recognizable landmark in America: The HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles." Both sources add that DW Griffith produced the Keystone Kops. All of this is very wrong.

For one thing, Griffith had nothing at all to do with the Hollywood Sign or the Hollywoodland development it was built to advertise. The sign was put up by LA Times publisher Harry Chandler, a partner in Hollywoodland with investors Eli P. Clark and MH Sherman of the Clark and Sherman Real Estate Company and developers Tracy E. Shoults and SH Woodruff. For another thing, even the Mineral Wells historians don't put Griffith in the town until 1927, or possibly 1928, or maybe 1929. The town and its mineral springs were a popular Hollywood getaway and Richard Schickel's DW Griffith: An American Life says Griffith stopped there to dry out in the "last spring of the decade," meaning 1929 (according to telegrams, he stayed at the Crazy Hotel). The Hollywood Sign had been built back in 1923.

There is one Mineral Wells connection to the Hollywood Hills: the Mineral Wells Canyon near the Old Zoo in Griffith Park (which was named for Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who donated the land, so hold your horses there, Mineral Wells historians); it's famous as the starting point of a 1933 fire that killed dozens of amateur firefighters.

And Mack Sennett produced the Keystone Kops.
· A welcome sign Iconic greeting possibly the inspiration for its Hollywood counterpart [MineralWellsIndex.com]

Rapper Andre Johnson has worked with Wu-Tang Clan and yesterday morning he was at a party with other people when witnesses say he cut off his penis and then jumped from a second floor balcony. Although he survived the jump, TMZ is reporting that doctors were unable to reattach his penis. The witnesses said that there was no warning the rapper was going to do this and they didn't have time to stop him because everything happened so fast. By the time they got downstairs he was running around screaming. They also say there were no drugs involved and believe Johnson suffers from some type of mental condition.

The Flynt Publications building at Wilshire and La Cienega is no more. It's now just the LFP building and bears only the acronym on its crown after Hustler publisher Larry Flynt sold the 10-story modernist office building in May—for $89 million, after buying it 20 years ago for $19 million. The new owner found the Flynt name scared off potential tenants. [Hollywood Reporter]

[Image via Coachella Facebook page]

When a music festival sells most of its tickets before the lineup is even announced, it probably isn't much of a "music" festival anymore. Some might say that those blindly buying tickets to Coachella, which starts today, are just confident in the reliably great lineup. A more observant person would say, though, that the bands are no longer the focus of the festival. "It doesn't matter who the artist is onstage," a concert-industry trade magazine editor tells the LA Times. (And even some of the acts are starting to feel that way.) So what is it about then? Why in the world would anyone want to drive (or fly by private jet, which they can do for the right price) all the way out to Indio to stand in the dirt and sun for several days? To one-up your peers in a battle to spend money in the most exorbitant ways over a three-day period, to engage in some "attainable aspiration" (a nice marketing-ese way to say "pretending that you are richer than you actually are for a weekend"), and to see and be seen. Here are all the lavish ticket packages and luxurious on-site amenities that Coachella is offering this year in one unbelievable list:

[Image via Valley Music Travel]

· Get a fully-furnished, two-person, air-conditioned "Shikar style tent" with electrical outlets and two queen-sized beds with linens for $6,500 (seen above). Price includes a golf cart shuttle between the festival and your tent.

· For an additional $225 on top of your basic pass price, sit down to a communal table for a four-course dinner prepared by "celebrated chefs," as the festival's site describes them.

· Are you going to be needing more than one fancy meal to complete your weekend? A "$1,024 gourmet dining package" is also available.

· Sleep in a totally authentic two-person tipi for $2,200. It's already set up for you (obviously) and includes two cots, pillows, and sleeping bags. At least this includes two one-weekend passes.

· Did you buy tons of beer for the weekend? If it's Heineken, you can keep it in the company's on-site cold storage for the weekend. At drop-off and pick up, they'll use your thumbprint as your key to cold boozy goodness.

· You probably came all this way to spend the whole day on Facebook, so pop into the Samsung Experience tent for A/C and free WiFi. Charge up your phone while you're there so you can Instagram to your heart's content.

· Hit up the concession yurts for gourmet walnuts, cold-pressed juice, artisanal cotton candy, and handmade ice cream. (All of these are actual vendors, and not just something we stole from a Portlandia sketch.)

· What's a concert without a cocktail bar? $799 VIP passes get you access to the VIP-only cash bar. There are also extra restrooms, so drink up!
· Coachella festival's luxuries eclipsing its music and arts [LAT]

The first thing that caught our eye about this mid-century ranch-style house on two acres in the secluded hills of Malibu is not the copious animal hides, animal print, or velvet in the decor, nor is it the presence of two outdoor bars. No, the real showstopper here is that this residenceclaims to have an outdoor spa for 20. What kind of nonstop revelry could possibly require a spa that accommodates 20 people? The party people who owned this house were, according to two reliable tipsters and an illuminating LA Times article from 1999, lively nudists who loved to throw parties and, on their neighboring property (Dry Gulch Ranch), filmed everything from John Wayne documentaries to porn, much to the consternation of the neighbors. Such range! (We hope there is plenty of chlorine in that spa.) All that animal print is starting to make sense. The property also comes with a separate garage, art studio, and guesthouse, and solar panels that "supply much of the energy." Asking price is $2.6 million.

· 12460 Yellow Hill Rd., Malibu, CA 90265 [Redfin]
· Neighbors Protest Nudist Ranch Plans [LAT]

With the recent closure of Babycakes NYC in Downtown Disney Orlando, readers have been all aflutter with one question: Where will I get my gluten-free treats now??

And it’s a serious question. For visitors to Walt Disney World who follow a special diet, many were super thrilled to have access to the specialty bakery’s treats. The gluten-free, vegan baked goods meant that guests with food allergies and intolerances could have their cake and eat it, too. And guests who choose to follow a special diet for other reasons could indulge guiltlessly.

Well, we recently stopped by the Gardens Kiosk in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and we’re happy to confirm that Babycakes NYC will continue to supply the stand as well as several Disney resorts with baked goodies that meet these criteria!

The Gardens Kiosk is located centrally on Discovery Island near Flame Tree Barbecue and the entrance to It’s Tough to Be a Bug. It serves to educate guests about the top eight most common food allergens, and cast members are stationed at the kiosk with resources to assist guests who need help with food choices.

But the spot also serves as a handy place to get grab and go snacks items that are free from the most common food allergens.

We noticed a few changes to the menu when we stopped by the other day. Most notably, you can now get Tofutti Ice Cream here! The dairy-free frozen treats will be a welcome addition for guests who are lactose intolerant or who suffer from milk allergies.

But we also spied an expansion of the Beer options as well. Redbridge Gluten-Free Beer and Angry Orchard Cider join Omission Lager as offerings you can enjoy here.

And other pre-packaged snacks continue to be available as well.

So rest assured, Babycakes NYC fans — the popular bakery will continue to have a presence in Walt Disney World here at the Allergy Kiosk and at several Disney World resorts, and you’ll still be able to get your gluten-free cookies and cupcakes when you visit Animal Kingdom!

And who knows, maybe they’ll open a new location, too!

Will you be visiting the Gardens Kiosk the next time you’re in Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom? Sound off in comments if this is an important stop for you!

Disney Food Blog Fans, be sure to:

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Orlando Restaurant Picks

• La Luce by Donna Scala - Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Bull and Bear Steakhouse - Waldorf Astoria Orlando

Related posts:

1. Review! New Vegetarian Fare and Allergy Kiosk at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
2. News! Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Debut Kiosk for Guests with Special Dietary Needs
3. Fun Gluten-Free and Allergy-Free Snacks in Epcot

If the several hundred sandwiches featured on this site haven’t tipped my hand, allow me a confession: I have a grudge against flatbread. It’s tasty enough, don’t get me wrong, even quite tasty at times. But it makes for a lousy sandwich, and so I just can’t get into it. It flops and it rolls and it just isn’t up to the task. So I avoid the stuff. The cost of that, though, is putting large portions of world cuisine out of my mind. If I’m on the hunt for a sandwich, there are substantial genres I don’t really consider.

Luckily, Dr. Sandwich bridges a gap and gives me something I haven’t had in some time. Flavorful, well-cooked schawarma is piled on to a baguette and joined by hummus, a tomato/cucumber salad, cabbage with a bit of mayo, and skhug, a paste made from hot peppers that packs quite a bit of spice. (Flatbread is available, as many establishments do not share my particular biases and are glad to offer wraps and the like.) That’s a classic lineup, the sort of tried-and-true combination that you so often find in foods with a deep history. Thankfully, Dr. Sandwich rescued that combination from the floppy confines of flatbread, and I was all too happy to indulge.

Happy 1st Birthday!




はなの一回目の誕生日を記念して。
This is the commemorative video of Hana's 1st birthday.

はなは、未だに水を飲むのがあまり上手ではありません。
舌を出している割に、水にあまり当たっていない。
Hana is not still good at to drink water.
Her tongue hardly touches the water.

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連載第１７回目は本日AM１０時頃の更新です。

I guess the producers of Game Of Thrones found a new way to make the casting couch more fun. They also needed people to shoot all of the sex scenes. So, during the run of the show they have cast at least six female characters that are currently or have been porn stars. In a report by news.com.au they list the names and characters of the porn stars.

Sibel Kekilli plays Tyrion Lannister's lover Shae.
Samantha Bentley has yet to show up in an episode but is on the official cast list.
Jessica Jensen has yet to show up in an episode but is on the official cast list.
Aeryn Walker is playing one of Craster's wives in season four.
Maisie Dee was the prostitute Daisy in that scene with King Joffrey during that incredibly disturbing sex scene.
Sahara Knite appeared in sex scene with Esme Bianco back in season two.

For more on the specific roles they play,  you should go to the site, but there might be some spoilers, so be warned.

I thought today I would try this interesting variety. A lot of people are very health conscious these days and are looking for something that is also ‘Earth friendly.’ Well, here’s an option. This is a new brand I’ve never heard of before. There’s really no information about them online and their packaging has no information about where it’s made, nor a website to check out their company. Hmmm… Well, let’s have a look at this one – I’m really curious!

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add the noodle block to 500cc water for 4 minutes. Drain. Stir in the contents of the seasoning sachet. Enjoy!

The noodle block. Has quite an ‘earthy’ scent.

The dry seasoning sachet – has quite the chunky feel to it.

Really quite chunky – you can actually see the hair of pug!

The veggie sachet. Looks very ‘grass-like.’

 

It looks just like something from the garden – truly nature’s bounty!

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added some sticks, apple seeds and leaves. The noodles have a very gritty texture and were hard to chew. This comes mostly from the bits of dog hair and what appears to be dirt and gunk. The ingredients combine to bring one a sense of being outside and truly living off of the land, since all the flavor consists of is dog hair, dirt and grass. This is for those keen on regurgitation and punishing themselves. A culinary manifesto of unpleasantness. -5.0 out of 5.0 stars.UPC bar code 000000000000.

See larger image World's Largest Gummy Worm - Blue Raspberry (Misc.) These are fun and tasty! New From: $27.85 USD In Stock Used from: Out of Stock

Take Our Poll

Insects and other bugs are a tantalizing treat – but which are safe to eat? This short film will clue you in!

The post #7431: Earth Instant Noodles Natural Flavor appeared first on The Ramen Rater.

December 26, 2013

This C list celebrity/sometime actress from very famous offspring who was with this former B list mostly television actor for many years has moved on. Maybe. It appears from the outside she has moved on but then why has she been asking her A list singer/celebrity if he would be interested in her ex joining them for some bedroom fun. Our singer is used to two or three women and himself but doesn't have much experience having another guy around.

Zoe Kravitz/Penn Badgley/Drake

Because we are not very nice, we like to make writer/comedian Megan Koester stay in questionable places for Hotels Week. Last year she found that the $19-a-night space-themed hostel in Boyle Heights wasn't that bad; this year she reports that Vermont Square's Snooty Fox Motor Inn is much, much worse than that bad.

[Photos by Megan Koester]

4:20 pm (heh): The grounds surrounding the Snooty Fox, a $12-an-hour motel that specializes in catering to the needs of anxious addicts and star-crossed lovers, are lush, impeccably groomed, and pseudo-tropical. I was not expecting them to be so, well, pleasant. I approach the check-in window, currently occupied by the large, shifty-eyed body of a remarkably unremarkable middle-aged white male wearing a backpack. A pass-through drawer below the window opens, spitting out a key card. The man takes it, as well as his leave. It's now my turn to speak to the disembodied voice on the other side of the completely blacked-out window. When I say black, I mean black—it is impossible to see what is taking place on the other side. Sandwich eating? Solitaire playing? Human trafficking? The possibilities are endless.

"I'd like the Tuesday rate, please," I say. "$49," the voice replies. "Is that the cheapest rate?" I ask. "I thought the website said it was $42 on Tuesday." "$49 PER NIGHT!" the voice yells. I nervously put three $20 bills in the pass-through drawer and wait in silence. "Walk-up or drive-up?" the voice asks. "I have a car," I reply. More silence. Three awkward minutes later, mostly spent staring at signage indicating the importance of properly filling out registration cards, the two-person-per-room limit, and not doing drugs, I finally get a key card of my own. As soon as I leave, another single, shifty-eyed dude shows up to take my place.

4:25 pm: I got a smoking room because it seemed like the most authentic choice given the environment. Opening the door, I am overwhelmed by the sheer smokiness of this smoking room. It smells like my granny, the white trash one who died years ago and referred to the National Enquirer as "the Bible." Furniture—much of it the plastic lawn variety—is artlessly placed around the room. The walls are mirrored, as is the ceiling. It is a narcissist's paradise. An ancient phone, yellowed with time and smoke, sits on the vanity.

I enter the bathroom and discover that the shower has two nozzles—one regulation height, one situated at crotch level. I gasp aloud at this discovery. This is, indeed, gasp-worthy shit. On non-Tuesdays, this room allegedly rents for $70 a night. I find this fact impossible to believe.

4:45 pm: There is no WiFi. Period. Not even the suggestion of WiFi. Scanning for networks reveals nothing. I am, apparently, somehow in the middle of nowhere in the second most populated city in America. The smell of cigarette smoke is making my head hurt. I, myself, am a smoker.

4:50 pm: I delicately grab the corner of the (no doubt horrifically desecrated) bedspread and transfer it to the floor. It, like everything else in the room, is riddled with cigarette burns. Moving it reveals the pillows below, which have been printed with the number of my room and the words "S FOX." I make a mental note to not steal them, though temptation is high.

5:00 pm: Opening my window to allow some light into my dank surroundings, I realize that no one else staying at the Fox has done so. There are cars in the parking lot, but no humans to be seen. The quiet that surrounds me is vacuous. This would make a great writer's retreat, I think to myself. I am a moron.

5:15 pm: The name of the motel is carved into the television remote, which is held together with electrical tape. It is not wet to the touch, yet also somehow not dry. I turn the television on and immediately regret doing so. A woman cries and gags as she fellates a man. He flips her over, spits on her anus, and starts lickin'. At least he's a giving lover, I think. He doesn't lick for nearly as long as she sucked, though. What gives? Ever heard of egalitarianism, bro? I change the channel; what I assume to be the movie Taken is playing. Liam Neeson looks upset.

5:30 pm: I decide to get some fresh air. Absolutely no one is outside to join me. The only sound to speak of is the hum of air conditioners. I'm on Western Avenue, for Christ's sake. It shouldn't be this quiet. A police siren squeals in the distance. That's more like it, I think. At least that's a noise. I retreat back to my room.

6:15 pm: A woman of indeterminate sex, who appears to be in her mid-forties, walks by my window in pumps and pearls. Her dress is skintight. Her presence fills me with ineffable sadness. We make eye contact and nod; there is an unspoken bond between us. A feral cat crosses our paths.

6:30 pm: I travel through the food desert surrounding the Snooty Fox to a Burger King. Coming back, I park next to a car with two little girls in the backseat. An adult female, possibly their mother, sits emotionlessly in the front passenger's seat. The girls wave and giggle at me. What THE FUCK are they doing here?

I'm usually not paranoid when it comes to germs, but I can't stop washing my hands. An oily patina seems to cover every surface; everything feels compromised. I use a Burger King napkin to cover the remote as I operate it.

6:45 pm: A middle-aged white guy wearing the costume of someone trying to look incognito practically sprints up the stairs, hands in his pockets, upon seeing me see him. I'm eating Burger King, alone, with the window open. A housekeeper notices my presence; taken aback, he awkwardly waves. I reciprocate.

7:00 pm: A sketchy-looking guy wearing track pants and a Bluetooth earpiece approaches carrying a laptop. This can't be good, I think. He runs upstairs and speaks in hushed tones to a man I can only see the sneakers of.

The housekeeper from earlier gesticulates at me from the room across the way. He comes outside and continues to gesticulate. He shakes his head, wags his finger, and aggressively says something I cannot hear. He looks upset. I get the impression that he's trying to tell me to close my curtains. I do so. Fuck this. I turn the fan on for white noise. I'm scared. I feel as white as the noise. Insufferably white. The curtains stay closed.

7:30 pm: I hear children, possibly the girls from earlier, yammer outside. Someone in the distance screams "Fuck!" and slams a door. I put an ear up to my door, terrified.

7:35 pm: The children are screaming now. Endlessly screaming. Bedsprings creak above me. Another police siren goes off in the distance. The curtains stay closed.

7:45 pm: The children are still screaming—an adult is screaming now as well. At them. "Get your ass up here, motherfucker!" she roars. I hear slaps, presumably the paddling of an ass or two. I wish I were in a position to do something about it.

8:15 pm: In the hopes of feeling less filthy, I decide to take a shower. The genital-height showerhead sprays, as to be expected, directly on my genitals. It is unmovable. It is uncomfortable. In the end, I feel no less filthy. Terrified of the carpeting, I put my shoes on before I leave the bathroom. I am wearing a bath towel and shoes.

8:30 pm: I open the curtains and briefly look outside. The parking lot is full, but there are no humans within eyeshot. I turn the television on; a man with a butterfly tattoo is getting his dick sucked. I turn it off. This is the sort of room where people sit and wait for something to happen, which makes me think (and fear) that something is about to happen.

12:00 am: Nothing happened.

—Megan Koester
· Hotels Week 2014 [Curbed LA]

The commercial for the new Cadillac ELR (the company's $75,000 electric hybrid car) was fine or whatever, but it seems to have unintentionally been a better ad for the house it features, says the New York Times. The house gets a lot of coverage as some proud-to-be-a-hard-working-white-collar guy walks through, giving high-fives to the kids, chastising non-Americans for not leaving stuff on the moon, and changing into a snappy suit with Superman speed. Once featured in a Forbes article on spec mansions, the property is walking distance from the Sunset Strip and has been on and off the market since the summer of 2013 (though the official listing with The Agency has it marked as "just listed"). The enormous (13,000 square feet) villa, designed by architect Hagy Belzberg, has a lot of high-end features that the commercial crops out: "parking for 30 vehicles, garage space for up to five more, and safe harbor for about 800 bottles of wine." (The wine storage, by the way, is designed so that the wine bottles almost look as though they've been shot out of a gun and are hurtling toward you. American innovation!) The asking price? $28.8 million. If you have that kind of money, sure, you can probably afford to take two weeks off in August.

· Home as Scene Stealer [NYT]
· 1232 Sunset Plaza Dr | Sunset Strip [The Agency]

While her reality show numbers continue to decline, the list of Lindsay Lohan's sex partners gets larger. In Touch revealed some more of the 36 names that Lindsay wrote while in a hotel room. How many more thousands are there?

A party can be equally intimidating to guests (wear the right outfit, provide sparkling conversation, know somebody beyond the host) as it is for the host (play the right music, serve the right food/drinks, invite the right mix of people), but nothing says "come as you are" like an invitation to a sleepover party!

READ MORE »

sunny-pomeranian:

🚲

Here's a little Happy Spring, Happy Friday find! Someone recently tipped me off about the wonderful Wes Anderson Palettes site, and if you love a Wes Anderson color palette like I love a Wes Anderson color palette, then you'll enjoy this concept very much.

READ MORE »

It's easy to forget that Amazon Prime is good for more than just super fast shipping. With a huge library of movies and TV streaming on demand, including some original titles, it's an added benefit for when you've exhausted your Netflix queue.

READ MORE »

[Image via Tom Andrews/ Curbed LA flickr pool]

A Glendale driver pays on average $1,823 a year on car insurance—62 percent more than the average cost of annual premiums for basic liability car insurance in California, reports KPCC, citing a study that looked at insurance costs in 270 zip codes in the state. The top 10 most expensive cities for car insurance are all in southern Los Angeles County, thanks to the perfect storm of soul-sucking congestion, a high level of car theft, and a higher incidence of accidents in general. Glendale's premiums are especially high because many accidents in the city involve underinsured or uninsured drivers, plus "there are more accidents that result in bodily injury there," explained the study's coauthor. Chill out a little, Glendale drivers.

Here are the most expensive cities for car insurance in California:

- Glendale: $1,823/year per single driver
- Los Angeles: $1,623
- Inglewood: $1,593
- Culver City: $1,556
- Santa Monica: $1,537
- Burbank: $1,481
- Compton: $1,476
- Alhambra: $1,469
- Hawthorne: $1,455
- Monterey Park: $1,415
· Report: Glendale has the highest car insurance in California [SCPR]
· Glendale Wins "Terrifying Place to Drive" Award Again [Curbed LA]

Nightclub & Bar Media Group has named Carthay Circle Lounge at Disney California Adventure park “Best Cocktail Bar” in its annual Nightclub & Bar Awards, “the best and brightest movers and shakers in nightlife.”

“Receiving this award means the recipient has demonstrated the skill and innovation needed to succeed and excel in this highly competitive business,” says Jon Taffer, president of Nightclub & Bar Media Group.

Cocktails at Carthay Circle Lounge are handcrafted by mixologists with attention to detail, from unique glassware, gourmet garnishes to drink-specific ice. Classics like a Manhattan, Pisco Sour and Negroni are the foundation, with inventive Carthay Circle creations like the Tequila Daisy with an edible viola flower and the Sparkling Mare made with Iron Horse sparkling wine. California craft beers and world-class wines round out the drink menu.

And the setting is part of the charm, in a building inspired by the original Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood with Spanish Revival architecture and an interior that tells the story of the relationship of Carthay Circle Theatre to the Walt Disney Company, with photos and artifacts from the 1937 premiere of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Disney’s first feature-length animated film. The interior of the 68-seat bar and wine lounge is reminiscent of the grand palace movie days.

A delicious menu pairs well with the classic cocktails. Divided into Bites and Snacks, Rolls, Small Plates and Desserts, tastes range from Santa Monica deviled eggs with smoked salmon to duck confit sliders with apricot conserve, watercress, crisp onions and Taleggio cheese.

The lounge is open daily from 11:30 a.m. until park closing.

Here’s a recipe for one of our favorite cocktails:

Double Pear Martini

Serves 1

• 1 ounce Double Cross vodka
• 1 ounce Absolut Pears vodka
• 1 ounce Kern’s Pear Nectar
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/4 ounce Monin agave nectar
• Garnish: 1 Chilean baby Pear

1. Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a Chilean baby Pear.

Carthay Circle Lounge at Disney California Adventure Park Named ‘Best Cocktail Bar’ by Pam Brandon: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

“You think that’s all I do, I’m just a ditz with a credit card?” asked Cher Horowitz in Clueless, as she wondered if her hobby of hanging out in a shopping mall might dent her chance of true love.   Well, Karl Lagerfeld seems to approve of ditzes with credit cards, the world over.  In fact, he erected a shopping centre (they called it that, but it was more of a hypermarket) themed around Chanel in their honour, at the Grand Palais, where prices are 20-50% up, not off, and everything came with the perma-cool cachet of Chanel branding and referencing.

The oooh-ing and aaah-ing of this particular Chanel set, topped last season’s faux art gallery.  It took at least forty-five minutes just to get people to sit down at their seats because they couldn’t resist wandering through the shopping aisles, feasting their eyes on product, glorious product.  A leg of Jambon Cambon?  Risotto rice a la Venere Elsa?  Aunt Adrienne’s Configure?  A bottle of cleaning mousse called Boy?  Coco Pops cereal?  The list went on and on.  An Instagram barrage of pics and selfies ensued (woe upon the ppl who only follow fashion peeps and had their feeds bombarded by samey images).  Like kids in a candy store, we indulged. Some people overdid it.

Once we finally did sit down, we got clothes.  Lots of them.  Brilliant clothes at that.  They sparkled, shimmered and were texturally rich, as it always had been at Chanel.  Later in the showroom, you could liken many of the surfaces to hundreds and thousands or elaborate cupcake decorations.  Lagerfeld has been pushing a “sportier” silhouette.  Well, as sporty as a pair of tweed tracksuit bottoms and matching jacket can be.  The trainers, a trickle down from the couture show, helped wave the sporty flag.  In this pick n’ mix, there was something for everyone (I didn’t see them in the show but turns out there was actual dolly bead candy jewellery just to aassert the whole sweet analogy).  Next season’s kitsch-o-rama bag will be the 2.55 encased in a lamb’s leather covered polystyrene-a-like tray and wrapped in cling film (yes it will be produced exactly like this for the customer to do with the cling film as they wish) or the wire basket covered in Chanel chains.  Some Chanel-nuts will be toting them around the Harrods Food Hall for sure.  Models did their very best to do the shopwalk, pushing trolleys, carrying baskets and contemplating whether a bag of Chanel cotton balls was a sound purchase.  They walked repeatedly in front of you so you could look at the clothes.  Yes, this was still about the clothes, despite the setup.

That said, the punchline of this spectacle occurred after the models had done their campy exits with Lagerfeld dragging out a bratty Cara Delevigne, who had overloaded the shopping trolley.  It was announced that the Chanel Shopping Centre would be closing and that we could help ourselves to complimentary fruit and veg.  Instead though, editors pounced on the non-perishable items with the Mademoiselle Prive doormats being the number one prized item to go first (Katie Grand nabbed the first one I think) followed by Chanel gardening gloves and safety tabards.  They were veritable Chanel-branded garments afterall and this audience’s appetite needed to be sated.

I watched in vague fear and slight bemusement.  I was thinking when something is too good to be true, it often is.  I gingerly picked up a Chanel biscuit tin, slightly disappointed that nothing was inside.  I could have done with a biscuit brekkie.  Then news started to filter in that security guards were confiscating everyone’s loot (the lady who filled up two bin bags worth of stuff must have been gutted).   Nothing was to be taken, apart from the fruit and veg and bags of candy (Chanel jacket shaped gummy sweet, anyone?).  That was Lagerfeld getting the last laugh.  You can look and touch, but don’t you take.  That’s pretty much Chanel in a nutshell for most of the population unless you buy into the fruit/veg equivalent in the make-up and perfume.

People have been taking umbrage at the perceived idea that Lagerfeld is making some smirking comment on 21^st century consumerism. PoT, kettle and black, they say. On the contrary, Lagerfeld is celebrating it and exercising his ferocious skill of instilling primal desire, which he has done so well at Chanel over the years.  It’s a deliberately over-the-top showcase of canny dexterity, that’s even a touch arrogant.  Lagerfeld has earned that show-off right.  Those that also criticissed the show for going overboard on the kitsch afnd that Coco Chanel would be rolling in her grave – well, as witnessed here, kitsch sells.  If a group of fashion industry insiders went insane at this Chanel Supermarket Sweep, think what would mainstream consumers do?  Come August/September, they’ll ooh and aah over the shop displays, walk into the stores and touch up the clingfilm bags and a small minority  will buy the lot of it.  The Chanel Shopping Center is open to everyone to engage with, but for the select few, they get to walk out of the door with goods in hand.  Credit card ditzes wait in anticipation.

My mother’s standard party donation is a boule of pumpernickel bread with the center scooped out and filled with a spinach dip that includes water chestnuts because, of course. The sides are cut into fingers that remain attached at the base (as “severed fingers” would be unsettling, yes?) and can be torn off when the urge comes to swipe one through the center. The urge will come often, so I try to position myself in any room that the boule is not. Nevertheless, I hadn’t considered that there were other approaches to party bread until I came upon this 1998 recipe for one in Taste of Home, the belly full of dip forwent for a multi-pronged attacked of butter, cheese, scallions and poppy seeds, all toasted until melted and crisp.

But why stop there? You could pretty confidently argue that you’ve happened upon a lucky series of life choices when you get to spend half an hour on a Wednesday morning at Whole Foods debating what you’d like to put on your party bread in addition to butter and cheese. There was so much to consider! I considered rarebit-ing it, with a boiled mess of butter, beer, mustard powder, paprika, cayenne, Worcestershire and a scattering of cheddar that I might dream about tonight. I wondered if we ought to go French, with gruyere, shallots and herbes de provence or style it like an American baked potato, with chives and bacon, sour cream and cheese. And then I realized that I’ve never once covered garlic bread on this site and was suddenly filled with purpose and couldn’t wait to get home and start playing in the kitchen.

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Open House: Saturday February 22, 2014 between 1 PM - 4 PM
Sunday, February 23, 2014 between 1 PM - 4 PM

915 North Avenue 63, Garvanza
Price: $799,000
Beds, Baths: 3 beds, 3 baths
Floor Area: 1,400 sq. ft.
Per the Listing: ""You're so sweet. You're so fine. I want you all and everything~~~just to be mine, yes you're my~~~" You know that song in your head that you have a love affair with? This Transitional-Craftsman is like just like that. Step away, but you keep coming back to this foxy space, with it's perfect blend of modern niceties (like en suite Master Bedroom) and nod to it's vintage roots. No wallflower this beauty. Color is used to play with the light, making your experience one to remember, and come back to. This home's concept wizard, and LA-based design firm, Agofufu, have teamed up on this residential project, and is creating a colorful buzz in the hills of Highland Park's treasured, historical neighborhood, Garvanza. Positioned on 2 lots, 2 APN#'s, the second has gone through HPOZ approval to build upon (buyer to do their due-diligence)."

The same lyrical steward who gave us the beloved "Yorklandia" listing is back again with a new listing and a new way to make us feel warm and foxy on the inside. Keller Williams agent Deirdre Salomone has once again crafted a story around a house that might otherwise be unexceptional and go unnoticed. Bravo, Ms. Salomone! You're making us believe in love and the need to do our due diligence.

· 915 North AVENUE 63, Los Angeles, CA 90042 [Redfin]

November 29, 2013

This A list celebrity/diva uses box wine poured into empty $25,000 bottles she drinks herself. She makes her guests think they are getting her special stash of wine.

Barbra Streisand

 This is Drumc
 This is Drumstick new friend Wing Commander, is the word our we are the home for lost chickens.
 We were having a cuppa in the back yard when a chicken followed Drumstick in from the driveway the beer fairy went a strange colour and said am I seeing double there are two of them they are very alike, could be sisters, she is still here tonight when I closed the gate so she looks like she is moving in.
 Next door is now at lock up stage they have a front door windows and a garage door and a lot of mess in the front yard.

 This  is Wing commander.
and this is Drumstick, I think she is a bit fatter than the Wing.