SIX THINGS THAT HAPPENED LATELY

1. He was born. Oh yes. Mr. McLean Patrick is here in the world with the most adoring fan base already. But I can’t share this story until his Mama Bunnie does, but that was the best thing that has happened in a long time.

2. I have been sleeping. This might not seem like a big phenomenon to anyone, especially since I just wrote of a newborn and his mama, but trust me when I tell you, it’s a miracle upon miracles when I am not just taking naps, but I am going to sleep, staying asleep and even sleeping in!

3. We went to the most fabulous dinner this past Saturday at a French restaurant called, Brandywine. This was just NOT your typical restaurant: it was old school, small and quaint and could have been romantic had the other patrons been a little quieter, but in my wildest, decadent dreams, I could never have fantasized a more delicious dinner, with better company, with the most utterly fabulous staff. The waiters, maître d' and everyone else on staff were in very dapper suits and said things to one another like, “Sir, Table 6 seems to need another napkin. Would you be so kind to get them one?” “Oh yes, sir. I will get Table 6 that napkin. It would be a pleasurrre to help.” Um, yes. For real. But they were never snobby and in fact so friendly that you felt homey and comforted. The scallops I ordered were perfectly done in a perfect sauce with spinach and mushrooms. And I ate the mushrooms which I would avoid at ALL costs NO MATTER WHAT but there was something a little special about them so I went for it. Worth eating fungus for this five star dinner.

Brandywine
22757 Ventura Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91364-1334
Phone: (818) 225-9114

4. My darling father was in New York again this past weekend. He just impresses me with his ease when it comes to “going with the flow.” You can take the man out of the city, buy you can’t take the city out of the man. Seriously – for someone who’s been suburbia-bound for 35+ years, his “city-ness” turns on and he becomes “one of them.” I love hearing his excitement at the people, the stories of the folks he’s spoken to on the busses and trains and his all around take on “the” city in our country. I wish he could be in that environment all of the time. It’s SO him and in our blood. My sister took a bunch of pictures of him at the hot dog stands as this seemed to be the place to be. Lots of talk of sports and politics, two subjects my dad loves to talk about.

5. I heard gunshots in the wee hours of the morning the other night. Seriously – and then heard police / squad cars followed by ghetto birds. It was about 3 am and I thought I might be going crazy. Not so. The following morning we got a call asking if we knew why the freeway closest to us was closed down and / or why the SWAT team was out. Turns out some dude got mad at his girlfriend and starting shooting at her. Nice. And it turns out it was much further away than expected so either it is SO quiet that I heard it or SO loud where it happened that I heard it. Either way, they finally caught the perp the next day but the whole thing is just freakish.

6, My new Sigg water bottle. Okay, I need a moment to explain and geek out. I hate drinking out of plastic and obviously, walking around with glass containers is out of the question. Sigg water bottles make my dreams come true. They are SOOO cute to look at (and come in 144 varieties, though they were on Oprah and are getting scarce) and can be found at your local Whole Foods (though again, it took three different WF to find them and the variety was down to 4). But they are good for the environment, have a really cool screw top and keep your water cool, not cold (good for someone like me who only likes water room temperature). They are also mostly break resistant, easy to clean and the taste is SO much better than anything else on the market. Some people might find $22 a lot for a water bottle, but I find it worth every penny. You can read about them here: http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp