Thursday, August 6, 2009

How I Roll: Oh Well We're Movin' On Up

The End of an Era
Sorry for the LONG delay between blog posts as I have been busy looking for a place to live. Well I found a place & just moved in on July 15th. It was CRAZY so much went wrong on my search but then I found a place & at the last minute my happy place became a lover lost. I found a GREAT roommate & a great place in the Fairfax district, I spoke about this place in an earlier blog. It was TOTALLY what I was looking for & the potential roommate Derek & I seemed like a perfect fit. Unfortunately after days I believed I was going to move in his Landlord pulled a fast one.

He denied me due to breed discrimination. Divi's a pitbull & although she is thee most loving thing I have EVER known this dude was NOT budging... I was devastated, discouraged & then frustrated. The search was on again & there was more sifting through garbage & driving around town. Some people should be ASHAMED of themselves trying to rent out these human toilets & calling them apartments!

After several agonizing days I found 2 spots to pick from, it literally became a tale of 2 stoves One place was in Beverly Hills with a classic PERFECT condition Merritt & O'Keefe stove. The girl was cool but there was no parking, we would have to share a bathroom, no AC & she kind of had the place set up to her own standards (which weren't pretty high, I'm going to go to hell for that). I didn't feel like there was any room for me. Even though I was looking for a beautiful vintage spot with French Windows, wood floors & tons of character & this place had all of that seeing that stove already had me planning a garage sale in my head & living in tacky Swedish do it yourself blondewood furniture from the 80's mixed with Out of the Closet (a thrift store here in LA, please... if it was a Gay man's furniture store the pieces would've been slam-MING!) & street finds. Screw it my ever expanding butt can afford to park a few blocks away from the house anyways

I NEVER even seen one with a perfect Grillerator

After a few days something was gnawing at me... something about the place didn't feel right even though I stared at the pictures of the oven on my iPhone everyday for hours on end. I also was getting REALLY discouraged at the other 40 places I looked at. It was hot & I was just sick of the driving & feeling like I had nowhere to go. I literally had 2 weeks to find a place because I was already 2 weeks into my 30 day notice. Frustrated I decided to look at places that were a bit above my budget & then I saw this stove.
I emailed the guy who put the ad up within minutes after he put it up. He checked out my blog, hell HE'S A MASSIVE FOODIE!!! He loved the blog & invited me over the next day.
Divi & I marched our butt's right over. I wasn't going to see it because I wanted to move in but I was more curious to see how the other half lives. It was blocks away from my house & on Runyon Canyon a very popular hiking spot in Hollywood. Now Mike told me the kitchen was very impressive before I went there so Div & I were stoked. It was $125 over my budget, when I set a price for something I HAVE to stick to it, rarely do I make exceptions, it really is a gift... ok fine I'm a cheap bastard & rather spend my money on shoes & French cast iron! *snort*


Guess who won?!?!?










Drum roll please...



















This is the very first thing I see EVERY morning I wake up... *swooooooooooooooon*


So now let me set you up with the rest of the stuff this PHAT, FAT crib I am blessed to live in:


Guest bath




WALK-IN PANTRY!!!

Before:
AFTER


Did I mention there is CENTRAL AC, my OWN bathroom & GUEST PARKING?!?!?! *swoon* oh & this!


I've been living in LA for 11 years WITHOUT a Washer & Dryer in the house. Whenever my mother visits she says "Yeuh-ECK... you wash your panties where strangers wash there socks & sneakers & pay quarters for it?!?!?" I LOVE my Mom

No walking blocks for parking when I can go 1 flight down & work it all out in here:

My MASSIVE room


YUP I ended up having a garage sale & what didn't sell I just left outside. It was like a field day for 2 days watching people like Mothers & Daughters going through & grabbing all the great stuff I left out there. It was so liberating to just not be attached to all that stuff, like I get this grand do-over


Winston aka "DA MONSTER" showing Divi around the place before we moved in, his face is so edible... we cruise all day, that's when I am not pulling random objects outside of his mouth, thank GOD he has small teeth & his jaw doesn't lock like Divi's I'd be assed OUT!

I get a new chance, Divi gets a new friend...and at the end so do I.

I love, love, LOVE living the Single life but being single does not define me. I live my life now in preparation for my future. I don't want when I am ready to settle down & to have my own family that I'm still trying to figure myself & life out. I want to be a complete person, well at least a more seasoned & understanding one. I've always wanted someone to be my exclamation point, not my period. Someone that makes me better. I don't want to figure out who I am while taking care of others, but I have to admit all this time I was prepping myself I forgot how great it is to have someone to come home to & vice versa. I was becoming... I don't want to say self-involved but just disconnected & a bit jaded about having to share my life & witnessing anothers.

My roommate is AH-MAY-ZING! His positivity is infectious, he's so respectful & super easy going. He's a REALLY hard worker but you can totally tell there is a method to his work madness, he fully appreciates the fruits of his labor & is comfortable in sharing it. I'm not used to seeing that it's really refreshing. I love to hear his girlfriend Mimi's laugh when she comes over. She too is a ridiculous foodie. They've been to some of thee best restaurants in the country, I saw with my own eyes, she has them all in her scrapbook... too cute & she's pretty gifted in the kitchen herself. I am totally inspired by their culinary prowess

I couldn't be happier with the direction my life is going & I am a convert in believing that the best possible outcome for your life is available to you, even when you don't get what you want. I feel so blessed to have my family back me up on EVERY level as I pursue my culinary dreams & the support & love from my friends, especially my new ones. I hope you all forgive me for taking so long. I just wanted to find my home, get settled & enjoy it for a while before I headed back to the blogosphere. I missed you all

Now get ready bitches...