Ashley's Going Away Party :(

Ashley and I met almost nine years ago on Roommates.com when I was looking for a roommate since I knew I was moving to Los Angeles in the Fall of 2005.  She had this fun and flirty picture, looked like a really nice girl, said she was originally from Hawaii, and seemed normal enough to cross my fingers and hope she wasn't going to kill me in my sleep after I had moved to LA.  The first thing I remember about Ashley when I met her was how tall and tan she was ;)

Buddy Bing & Buddy Gellar

In less than two weeks Ashley's moving back to Hawaii.  She's been here for 11 years and comparing LA to Hawaii seems like a horrible idea, and I've never been to Hawaii but I can only imagine how beautiful it is, and how nice it'll be to be back around family and good friends again!  So last Sunday she had her Going Away Party at Freddy Smalls complete with snacks, pizza, and lots of candy!  Her friends from The Counter, where she's worked since she's been in LA, that I've gotten to know too, were at the party, some of her family that is out here, old bosses, and friends, and more were all in attendance.  As she's been doing for weeks, it's really hard to pack up 11 years of your life to take back to Hawaii!  Saying goodbye is even worse.

Of course, no Going Away Party for Ash would be complete without a dance party, some 'Baby Got Back,' shots, and tears.  Jeff was our resident DJ for the night and had everybody up and dancing (even on the bar at one point), and there was no shortness of alcohol either!  The party was so much fun and it was great to see everybody again for what might be the last time for a long time, but as we discussed, now I have a fabulous reason to get to Hawaii for a little vacation!

Once Carolyn arrived, it was nearly time to shut down Freddy's and move over to the San Francisco Saloon.  I got all of us one final shot of Fireball and put these two girls over their edge.  We couldn't celebrate properly without all of us taking a shot together.  Not only did we get 20 pictures in a row of us smiling, laughing, and crying, but an epic end to the night.  I got to meet Ashley's rats for the first time, Ben snuggled Ash as soon as she laid down, and I got to spend some quality time with Carolyn.

I LOVE these Ladies!

It was a late night but I wouldn't have had it any other way.  I love these girls so much, and as sad as I am that one of my best friends, and first LA friend, is moving back home, I'm so proud of her, and know she'll be happy.  And that's all that matters <3

Mom's May Visit to LA! Part 1.

My Mom came to visit me almost two weeks ago and stayed with me for a week.  Our time together went too fast as it always does and we were busy nearly every day with something to do.  Lucky for us, that was making dinner together, laying by the pool, having a four-course dinner in Hollywood, and taking walks around the neighborhood!

Mom got in on Wednesday morning so we decided on En Sushi for Happy Hour since Mom and I haven't had Sushi together in a long time.  I had picked out two different kinds of sashimi, two rolls, spicy tuna on crispy rice, and edamame.  We also had a couple of drinks and En Sushi is one of my favorite Sushi Happy Hours to go to because it's such a good price for so much food.  I always leave full!  I was happy to hear Mom say that everything was really delicious and she'd like to do this again sometime!  That night I hosted Karaoke at Gabe's with Mom's help and we had a fun night there with friends and Gummi Bear Shots :)

While Mom was visiting it was in the high 80's and low 90's so we were able to get in pool time on Thursday morning before I had to work at Irish Times that afternoon.  Mom always likes to help me get the bar set-up and I repay her with a little beer tasting of new beers since her last visit.  She came back later so we could have dinner at the bar together too; we had the Guinness Shrimp and Bangers & Mash and also got to try the French Onion Soup, Fried Ravioli, and Grilled Cheese with caramelized onions and bacon.  We've changed our menu at Irish Times and updated it with some new items and elevated some of the older ones and everything I've tried has been really great!  We also stopped at Freddy Smalls to have dessert since they had a Yogurt Panna Cotta with Pinot Noir soaked blueberries and my favorite, Rocky Road dessert that's meringue, a pudding/mousse, with almond cookies, and sea salt.  I wouldn't normally go for Panna Cotta but this is by the best one I've ever had and the Rocky Road always delivers!

Took Mom to Dinner at Amalfi in Hollywood to celebrate Mother's Day early!

On Friday it was another day by the pool after a long walk around the neighborhood and I made my famous Bloody Mary's to sip on during the 90 degree day.  We did a little shopping that afternoon before we went to Dinner at Amalfi in Hollywood.  We had our four-course meal that started with Jumbo Shrimp in a White Wine Sauce (that was awesome) and then Mom chose the Brussel Sprouts Salad which was really good and a nice portion.  Potato Leek Soup is usually my favorite but I wasn't a huge fan of theirs; Irish Times is still number one on their version.  Mom and I planned on splitting our entrees so I chose the Filet with Gratin Potatoes in a Mushroom Demi-Sauce and Mom got the Lobster Ravioli with Shrimp and Asparagus in a Saffron Cream Sauce.  My steak was cooked perfectly and the potatoes were really yummy.  The Ravioli surprised me because I really enjoyed the lobster in it and cream sauce.  For Dessert, we decided on Tiramisu, and it wasn't the best I've ever had but we were both so full it took all I had to finish it!

Sunday Dinner for Mom!

Mom had helped me run lines for the play on Saturday morning since this was her first time being able to see Wizard Of Oz since we had opened three weeks prior.  I felt like it was my best show and performance as I almost lost my voice and was emotionally exhausted from performing that day, my muscles were actually sore.  A bunch of friends came to see the show on Saturday and on Sunday, Mom came to see me play a Munchkin and Citizen of Oz.  Mom even commented that she had no idea I was going to change my voice for the Wicked Witch role since when we had practiced, I did it in my normal voice.  Of course, I couldn't give my great idea away when I wanted to surprise her with it during the show!  That night I made a Quinoa salad, and Salmon Dinner with rice, lemon asparagus, a cheese plate and we had a mini-wine tasting too.

That was just the first few days...we had a trip to Solvang that started on Monday, but I saved that for Part 2 of Mom's week-long visit to LA :)

To see pictures from Dinner at Amalfi or any other photo's from Mom's trip and Wizard of Oz check out my Instagram at: http://instagram.com/lyndseywegner#