Another *sunny* weekend...

Phew! It was hot this weekend! Everyone in my building had their A/C on full-blast... I should know since I my unit sits right above the A/C system and it's super loud. :(

So anyways, this week has been hectic! Long story short, my landlord has failed to deliver on any promise she has made since August of 2006 and has raised the rent on me, in retaliation to my formal complaint about her and the building. So... guess it's time to move?

Steve and I spent the whole weekend looking at places -- we're considering everything. After seeing about 38 open houses, we've settled on two choices: live a plush life in the ghetto or make a few sacrifices and live somewhere desirable. That is, find a new, luxury apartment in Palms or find a cute, "charming" place in Brentwood.

PALMS:

I've lived in Palms 3 times before... and I wouldn't recommend it. I think Marcela got her car broken into a couple of times and when you live in Palms, well, you basically stay inside your unit. That said, there are a lot of really nice new buildings in Palms and $2,000 can buy you a lot. In particular, it would have given us a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a brand new kitchen, stainless steel appliances with two gated parking spots in a secure, newly built building. There is a cute little balcony that we could dress up with plants and a patch of grass for Tofu to pee on during the day. Downside: the living room would not fit all of our stuff and the 2nd bedroom would most likely be converted into an office/guest room since we'll need a place for all of our computers (we have 4 total) and books. Which means we'd be bearing the entire rent by our lonesomes.

BRENTWOOD:

With Brentwood, you pretty much sacrifice the "new building" since anything built after 1990 will run you at least $2,500 for a 2 bedroom. We found a cute 1-bedroom unit that was recently renovated in a secured building (not secured parking). It has hardwood floors, a large living room and bedroom, plenty of closet space and a renovated kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Downside: We'd only get one parking spot (covered carport, not gated underground) and Brentwood is known for its impossible street parking. Also, we'd have to buy our own fridge. Also there is no central air. But the upside... we are within walking distance of the dog park! Also, of a bunch of restaurants and grocery stores. We have been talking about getting bicycles for a long time and this would be our chance to finally be able to *use* them. (Can't really bike anywhere in Palms and the streets are waaaay too busy in BH) This apartment is significantly cheaper than the one in Palms, but is that enough to sacrifice central air and a permanent 2nd parking spot?

Decisions, decisions.

Phantom of the Opera

We saw Phantom of the Opera last Sunday, and I have to say I was very impressed! It has always been on my list of musicals I was dying to watch, so when it came to OCPAC we jumped at the chance to get tickets. I've only ever seen the movie (with Emmy Rossum) and I loved everything about it.

Anyways, the stage production was stunning. The costumes were elaborate, and the set was amazing, as picturesque as even the movie was. They were just so detailed it was amazing how they transitioned from scene to scene.



One of the opening scenes, the cast at the Paris Opera House rehearsing their production.



It was kind of cool how they portrayed Christine's dressing room as kind of a loft off to the side of the rehearsal area. The Raoul for our showing was less charming than the one in the movie, but Christine was great.



A masquerade ball, with elaborate costumes and a large staircase. Some of the dancing scenes (especially the ballet) made me miss dancing again.



An intense moment between Christine and the Phantom, that manipulative b@stard! As a character I have to say I'm a bit annoyed at his childish immaturity. :)


But I have to say, his voice was amazing. There was one note that he hits when he was singing "Music of the Night" that was just so pure.

... and that's how we do breakfast.

Banana pancakes with fresh bananas, 2 eggs (over-medium), bacon and whole wheat toast.

Crumbs

Last Saturday, I was craving cupcakes so we went to Sprinkles (Banana day!). The line was so long that we gave up and decided to try Crumbs down the street instead. The line was considerably shorter (only two parties in front of us) and within 5 minutes I was ready to pick through a delightful selection of new cupcake flavors I've never seen.

Of course, I'm not great with on-the-fly decisions so I decided to try an assortment of the bite-sized cupcakes instead.



They are: (From left to right, top to bottom)
Oreo, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Snickers, Red Velvet
Caramel Apple, Twinkie, Mocha, Reese's
Mystery, Hostess, M&M, Banana

I'd have to say the frosting is just as dry and crusty as Sprinkles' which is a good thing, but all of the Crumbs cupcakes tasted the same: they were all overwhelmingly sugary. Okay, I didn't try ALL of them, that would have been a very heavy dessert. My favorite was probably the Oreo. The cake was very dry though, and some had fillings. (Yuck!)

Okay now I'm craving Sprinkles. Let's see if Lulu and Tofu are up for a drive.

Sweeney Todd

On April 1st, to celebrate our Anniversary, Steve took me to see the John Doyle production of Sweeney Todd at the Ahmanson theater. This revival debuted on Broadway in 2005 and was such an amazing production! It featured a stripped-down cast of 10 actors -- double-dutying it as the orchestra! All play at least one instrument including cellos, violins, flutes and even the tuba. So when they're not singing or doing a scene (and sometimes even when they are), they are playing their instruments (in character!) and never leave the stage. This is particularly amazing because the Sondheim score is so intricate yet the 10-person cast/orchestra always seems to deliver a full, lush sound.

Now on to the show itself. I've never seen any version of Sweeney Todd, in fact the Johnny Depp movie was the first I'd even heard of this musical. I only knew that he was the demon barber of Fleet Street... so the show was a nice surprise. It had such a detailed storyline and a complex plot... beyond just rage and revenge there were so many underlying themes. The music was well-executed and the cast was amazing. I especially liked Tobias, when he was both singing and playing the violin. I think he also played the clarinet and piano at times. I can't believe how much effort the cast puts in -- they never leave the stage and each have lines and lyrics to memorize, a character to play as their main role and also while playing their instrument, and they also play supporting instruments in the background.



The only questionable performance of the night was that of the spitter, I mean the sailor. Our seats were in the second row, and without an orchestra that means we were right at the stage's edge. Anthony the sailor gave a great theatrical performance, but was awfully spitty. I'm talking huge gobs of spit that was probably detectable from all the way in the back of the theater. And worse yet, it catapulted at least 6-7 feet in front of him. You could actually see the front row flinch whenever one came at them. It was pretty distracting. :)

Nonetheless it was a great show and very different from any other musical I've seen. A little morbid for a 1st year anniversary date, but charming. :)

Almost that time of year!

I'm planning Lulu's birthday Soiree... this year it will be at the doggie beach! :) Hopefully it's a beautiful day and it's not too crowded. I'm going to have to remember to bring extra towels. I have a feeling Lulu will stay away from the water but crazy bird Tofu over there will probably do a complete dunk.

I'll definitely take lots of pictures for those of you in Indiana, thousands of miles away from a beach! :)