Temperature update

I had to add this to my post today. The Subaru doesn't lie....107 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I'm melting!!!!! (imagine wicked witch voice)

Rodeo Drive

Thats right, I went shopping on Rodeo Drive today!!!! I braved the L.A. freeways (it took three to get there) and drove to the most famous high end shopping on the west coast. I had three goals: 1. find it! 2. have coffee in a cute little cafe and 3. look at really nice expensive stores.



Sorry this picture has glare, I took it through my windshield with my cannon point and shoot. This is looking down Rodeo Dr.


Here is the Subaru on Rodeo, I was really suprised to find street parking. Interesting note: We have the only Subaru in CA, or at least L.A.. Jason and I have only seen one other Subaru since we have been here. Back home in Seattle, we have mistaken other Subaru's to be our own, they are so common. My friend who lives down here was teasing us asking what this strange car was we were driving?


First Sean and I found a neat little French cafe.


Sean really loved the salt and pepper shakers. Whatever makes you quiet...I mean happy.


This is what $8 oatmeal looks like.

When I was looking at the menu I noticed all the coffee drinks were served as single shots. Hmm I thought, I usually get a double shot, but since this is a French cafe I thought it would be wise to stick to the single. Wow, I am so glad I did, it was super strong! Their single tasted like a quad shot, but oh, it was gooood.

Pictures from Rodeo








The front of the Harry Winston store looks like it's melting. It was 100 degrees today, maybe it is!


This was a beautiful dress in the Dior window.





Most of the stores did not have price tags on the merchandise. You know the old saying, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it", well that is true here!


This is the Versace store. I walked through this store and all the sales people were standing like mannequins around the store.


Here we are outside Versace. We are sporting the spring line from Old Navy.


All the sales people were dressed in very nice suites in all the stores, perfectly pressed and looking flawless.


I just happen to catch a nice car in this picture, but really, there were so many nice cars here I could have taken the picture at any moment and captured some kind of nice vehicle.





This Ralph Lauren store is amazing.


The entry is an atrium, there is a fountain down at the end of all the plants.


I finally got up the nerve to snap a picture inside one of the stores. This is in Ralph Lauren.
A cashmere sleveless sweater caught my eye here, it was $600.


I saved the Coach picture for last. We were parked right outside of this store and went in to look just before we headed home. I was admiring a gorgeous purse and a sales associate came up and asked how I was doing. "Oh fine, just looking" I said, he looked down at my purse and said, "so were are you from?" LOL... my purse/diaper bag/hiking bag gave me away!!!




Here is my purse, it is actually a hiking bag from REI. Now why would he think that I was from somewhere else!!!!


"I'm from Seattle" I said, "Oh", he said with a smile and head nod. It was a very funny moment, he looked at me as if to say, yea, I can tell! I had a good laugh when I got back to the car.

I called Jason and the conversation went something like this..... (Sarah) "Hey honey, guess what! I'm shopping on Rodeo Drive!!!!! " (Jason) "What!...why are you there?....don't buy anything!!!" (Sarah) "Oh honey, I didn't. Hey, can I buy a $300 Coach purse?" (Jason) "NO" click!



Oh well, I'll go back and try again another day:)

Poor Me

Some of you know my good friend Cindy, she is quite an amazing woman. She is not only a friend, she is a role model and mentor. Cindy is all these things, and she has a really good sense of humor, I received this picture from her in an e-mail last night, titled "To the Laundry Princess".....





Cindy always has a way of putting me in my place and giving me perspective. Whenever I find myself with my hand across my forehead, lamenting my horrid situation, she does something like this!
Ok, ok, my situation is not soooo bad (I guess). Next time I see a (gasp) hair in the laundry room I will have this picture in my head, thanks Cindy!!!!!
I can just see Cindy sitting in her living room, folding laundry from the 6 kids, and 3 adults that live in her home, reading my blog, and rolling her eyes.




Ok, back to my pity party ;). It was 103 degrees here yesterday!!! Look, the Subaru doesn't lie!

My shoes were melting to the sidewalk, metal was dripping from the light posts, my........ I better stop before Cindy sends me another e-mail with the death toll statistics from the heat-wave in the mid-west.


Even the L.A.ites were miserable yesterday, we were put on a level one electricity warning. Let me tell you something friends, if we have blackouts down here in 100 degree heat, I'm gone! Apparently the rest of the week and weekend are going to be like this so we are supposed to conserve power and water. It's true, I am still using my laptop, and of course the AC, but I didn't use my hair dryer or curling iron this morning. Hey, just doing my part.



The day did end with a really great sunset. This is the first time there have been clouds around for a sunset. Clouds really make the color bounce around.


I had to take most of these from inside, it was still blasted crazy hot out.


When I was outside, my little sunset watching buddy was right there with me.


If you look really close you can see his halo.





I actually heard the Halleluiah chorus at this point.


Earlier in the day, when it was only 90, Sean and I were at the pool. This squirt bottle is the best toy we have ever owned. Just look at the many play options, squirting, dumping, squirting....ok, I guess that's all, but he really loves it.


We met a sweet little girl named Clare. Clare and her family are here from Virginia, her dad works for Disney. After noticing that Sean doesn't move from the top step, Clare and her mom were very nice and decided to share a floatation device with Sean.


You can tell he really likes the hot pink!
I only got a few shots of them before I had to break up a nasty pool fight over the squirt bottle. I'm telling you, it is a really great toy!


This picture needs very little narration, what can I say. I just want to let you know that if you want to come down and attend the "Healing Waters Institute" and hydro clean your colon, you are welcome to stay with us.


Sarah

I Love Laundry

I really do, I'm not kidding...stop laughing...stop now...I mean it. It is a chore that doesn't bother me. I love clean, warm piles of folded clothes. I find it rewarding, not like dishes, you finish them, turn around and ten more have appeared...had babies and reproduced again. Sean has added some fun to the mix with various creative stains and bodily fluids (sorry, just reporting the facts) but even with those new challenges, I still love laundry.

Apparently in L.A. it is hard to find an apartment with laundry machines or hook ups in the unit. I told Jason this was of absolute importance when apartment hunting, but to my disappointment there is no private laundry machine for the Brouwers. So today I will take you on my laundry adventure.

First gather your laundry, detergent, apartment key, toddler, and don't forget the backhoe, dump truck and race car.


For those of you with toddlers, you know that toddler speed is much different than regular adult speed. "Please Sean, lets go, come please, follow mom. Stop knocking on doors, no, no, don't sit down, please, lets go!!!" Did I mention in is 90 degrees (yes even in the halls, only the units are air conditioned).



Please don't forget the dump truck, backhoe and race car, they are so important to the task at hand. Also, don't forget to drop them three times, and complain until mom helps you gather them all up again. Very important!
"Ok, I will give you three gummy bears, and some chips if you follow me just a little faster!"


We are on the third floor (hence the sunset pictures) however, our building's elevator doesn't work. Back down the hall and on to the stairs.


"Ok, listen. I will give you five gummy bears, some chips, and some ice cream, stand up lets go!!!!"


Past the garbage cans, I did mention it was 90 degrees, didn't I. Dry heave....dry heave!


Ahh, finally the dungenous basement laundry room.


These machines run with pre paid cards, not coins. To get these cards you need to go to the Clubhouse and put $$ on the card. Remember the post where my son announced to the greater Los Angeles area that his mom had to go potty, that was when we put money on our card.

It is $1.75 to wash, and $1.50 to dry. Every time I use this card I think fondly of my washer and dryer back home, and how I can use them whenever I want, for as long as I want, and they are paid for. Nobody else is using them, and you don't open them and find other people's personals hanging out. I know I am sounding like a pansy princess right now, but I am truly grossed out by sharing laundry machines with strangers.


You know he is wondering if a backhoe will fit through those grates.


Ok, back up the stairs to the air conditioned apartment we go. "Listen, I will give you five gummy bears, some chips, ice cream, and a trip to Lowes, please move faster!!"


I forgot to add that our building doesn't have a laundry room, so we must travel to the building next door. This building does have a working elevator so we are able to go up a few flights then take an elevator to the walkway over to our building.


Sean loves pushing elevator buttons, but it is hard with a backhoe, dump truck and race car in hand to do so. "Here mom, hold this race car."


His pants are falling down again, any advice on where to get toddler pants with adjustable waists?


"Ok, I will give you a real dump truck if you would please just move in a forward direction!!!!!"



The wash cycle takes 31 min. By the time Sean, the dump truck, race car and backhoe made it back to the apartment we had about five minutes before we needed to head back down to transfer the load to the dryer.



There is also the wash-in-the-sink and hang-on-the-porch option. It is so hot that it only takes about an hour to dry stuff. Jason's bike made a great clothes hanger when it was on the porch, there were lots of places to hang things on it.


Well I am happy to report that I have found a much faster route to the laundry room in the building up from us, so I have been using thier machines. Also, I leave my little truck-totting toddler at home with daddy to avoid the frustration and sweat of bringing him along.

Ok if you don't want to hear a gross story stop reading now....

So far the machines have not been too bad, I have dismounted my princess horse and embraced the laundry situation. However, last night I went down to do a load of laundry and I could not find a machine that didn't have hair on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, hairs!!!!!! Other peoples hair!!!!! Strangers I don't know hairs!!!!!! curly and straight!!!!! Aghhhh I was so grossed out that I went back to the apartment and announced to Jason that I was packing and going home, never to return!!

What was I to do? I had toddler pee on shorts that needed to be washed. If I run a bleach load first it will cost me $3.25, what I really want to do is light the machine on fire and roll it off a cliff....ok now I'm just being dramatic.

I had to go back, sanitize the surface of the machine and use it. I do not usually consider myself a germaphobe, but after a few courses in Microbiology in college I did pick up a few germaphobe tendencys. You can wash the top of the machine, but you can't clean the inner drum. Do you know what nastiness can grow in dark damp places?!?! Agh I am just sick over this, and now I've made you sick too.

Go now, run... and hug your laundry machines!!

Thanks for reading!



Sarah