Time travel

Everything has life to it, even if it isn't living. In an effort to support my friend and expand my curiosity I went on a tour of Broadway st in Downtown Los Angeles. I've lived 30 minutes away from L.A. most of my life,been to different events hosted in the city, and overall I've neighbored this city for most of my life, been in and out of it's streets, and I have yet to understand the essence of the city. Behind the busy street flooded with jewelry stores, dress stores and various random commodities,are these silent but historic buildings. Inside the buildings are time machines, pockets of history that take you back in time and hold the memory of what the city once was. On the tour we visited around eight different historic theaters. Walking by and inside these very historic buildings I would think to myself how driving through these streets I may not have even glanced at these storybook structures that simultaneous hold the memory of what once was and gives birth to new life. Many of the theaters have been renovated to new business, apartments, and more. Some stand untouched waiting for their rebirth. My two favorite places were the Los Angeles theater and the Bradbury Building. In the Los Angeles Theater I was amazed at how much it was in it's original form. I imagined myself walking in as one of the theaters guest when it was up running. In today's day and age going to the movies is an ordinary weekend event. Years ago going to the movies was an extravagant event requiring the finest clothes, and often took up the entire night. The Bradbury building to me held so much beauty, walking into the natural light gleaming down from the skyline on to the elegantly carved wood that created the walls, staircase and general structure of the building. There is still life in things that stand still, that are old and fade into the background as eyes glaze over them not recognizing their beauty. These buildings hold life because they hold history, and remind us what the city once was and what it might be again. Take the time to find and appreciate the beauty that you may over look. Whether it is in the people or places around you. For more on L.A. tours check out And special thanks to Jeremy for a great tour.

Weekend in Review: Food

After a week of carefully counting calories I had a pretty guiltiness carb filled weekend. Hopefully it didn't completely cancel out my hard work during the week. My conscience might not have been happy but my taste buds sure were. My carb rebellion started Friday night. A friend and I went to LACMA for the live jazz. Unfortunately we missed the live jazz, so that review won't be until later. Fortunately in the pavilion they had this outdoor bar/ restaurant called Stark bar. I had already ate before I came so I was in the mood for a nice drink to wash everything down. My friend and I ended up having a little beer tasting. I started with a Hefe. A very light beer, which most Hefe's are. Easy to drink down but not full of flavor or body. I tried the Rasputin beer that my friend ordered and I immediately quenched my cheeks as soon as the beer hit my tongue. A dark beer with a very bitter taste, so if you are a fan of IPA's or Guinness you'll like Rasputin. Next I tried the Downtown Brown, which is an Ale, and had a slightly less bitter taste, and a little easier to drink. Saturday I committed double sins. I first attempted to eat at Simmzy's in Manhattan Beach. A very small, cozy and very popular place located right off the strand. So popular that we waited 45 minutes for two people to be seated. However, after the 45 minutes we decided to head elsewhere and came to and was sat very quickly at Brewco the Manhattan Beach Brewery. There I had a turkey burger and my ultimate guilty pleasure, french fries. My friend had a veggie burger which she devoured in an instant. I also had the Acai Berry beer. Not to sweet despite the berries mixed it. The nice little perk to it was that it is organic and locally brewed. For dinner I ended up at another highly populated place. This place actually had some media coverage in the L.A. Times but luckily I didn't have to wait no more then 10 minutes to order my food. Chego, is definitely the spot for foodies, or anyone that wants to try something they have never had before. I had the Sour Cream Hen House which included: marinated grilled chicken rice bowl w/ fried egg, Chinese broccoli, sour cream sambal, Thai basil, toasted sesame and red jalapeno. I opt out of the Jalapeno. It had a slightly spicy taste, but the basil definitely made the bowl sweeter. Sunday, while passing through one of my favorite cities, I had to stop by the Greenhouse Cafe in Long Beach for the Green House Panini which is packed with locally and organically grown ingredients. Needless to say, soups and salads for the rest of the week.