Woo-Ee-Oo, I Look Just Like Buddy Holly

Mr. Monkey got new glasses. I love them.

Obviously.

The Cat's Meow

The Monkeys had a fun dinner with Brother Monkey and Torry last night at The Hungry Cat.

We hadn't seen them for a long time because Torry has been on tour. Luckily we caught her before she heads out again!

Here we are, the old fogeys. My hair is so busted. Ugh.

The Hungry Cat has great drinks. I got the batida of the day, which came with fresh strawberries. It was a tad strong for me because I'm a wuss, but it tasted marvelous once I let the ice melt a little. I think my brother's Luke's Lemonade was tastier.

One wonderful thing about dining with family is that we can eat off each other's plates without shame. Even better, I take photos without shame, too. When a neighboring patron asked why I was taking pictures of everything, Torry and Mr. Monkey responded in near-stereo, "She has a blog!"

Moment of awesomeness.

We shared the kampachi tartare with pickled peppers, daikon, jalapeño, and apple. It was fresh and fabulous. Looks tiny in the picture, but was actually a fairly generous portion of fish. I really enjoyed this.

We also shared the market lettuces, egg, avocado, and pecorino. Drool! Over a salad! As Brother Monkey noted, the multiple fats made it delicious. And I don't usually like cold chopped egg!

I ordered pan-roasted monkfish with farro, kebocha squash, young artichokes, and romesco. Very good portion of very good food.

Torry had an early spring pasta with Maine lobster, morels, and asparagus. The pasta was homemade and perfectly al dente, and the lobster was ample and meaty.

The boys both chose the pug burger with bacon, avocado, and bleu cheese. Mr. Monkey opted for no egg. Brother Monkey got the egg.

So juicy. So rich. So decadent. The fries were to die for, too. Mmm.

And then there was dessert! Chocolate bread and butter pudding!

Going...

Going...

Gone!

But wait! There's more!

Yup. Second dessert. See Mr. Monkey salivating at the door?

Have fun in Utah, Torry! Can't wait for the Viper Room!

A Study of Gluttony

The Monkeys had dinner with Brother Monkey and Torry at The Hungry Cat tonight, but my goal these days is to try to go to bed by midnight on those nights before work.

It is now 12:19 a.m. ARGH.

I will blog tomorrow (I guess it's today now -- ARGH), but make sure to visit Winnie's blog for the infamous Study of Gluttony.

After 10Years saw it, she said, "I have a really hard time believing those are the only pics she has of you eating."

So embarrassed, yet so proud.

On Like Donkey Kong

After Glam's baby shower yesterday, Giggles kindly led me to the nearest thrift shop, The Salvation Army to be exact. Since Mr. Monkey wasn't keen on wearing his clothes backwards and realizing my Kris Kross dream, I went on the hunt for other stuff to wear to Jack Sprat's birthday party.

Let me rewind for a sec.

Jack Sprat turned 31 yesterday, but Diabolina flipped it to be 13. The theme of the party? The '90s! Included in the reminder about parking was this:

If you didn't catch the part about costumes, please note that everyone will be looking CRAZY in '90s gear...so don't try to look cute. We expect you to look retarded.

Oh, the pressure!

Well, truth be told, the Monkeys sort of wimped out and went grunge. I came home with a couple of flannel shirts from The Salvation Army. If you weren't aware, on Saturdays, everything is 50% off. My orange plaid J. Crew flannel was $2.00. It sort of skeeved me out to wear it.

When I showed the flannels to Mr. Monkey, he said, "I don't need that. I have my own." Really, Mr. Monkey? Really?! He paired his own flannel (Ralph Lauren, no less) with some hideous light jeans that he also owns.

Here he is, playing Donkey Kong at Jack Sprat and Diabolina's place. So 1994 in that get-up. Ugly fabu.

The birthday boy dressed up as Steve Sanders from Beverly Hills, 90210, specifically from the episode in which Steve gets the legacy key to all the test answers. See the key around his neck?

Diabolina was Brenda Walsh, specifically from the episode in which Brenda and Kelly wear the same dress to the Spring Dance, and Brenda becomes a woman that night with Dylan in Room 217. Yes, I recognized this outfit. Shut up.

Here's Jack Sprat when he was actually 13.

Diabolina in her faaaaaabulous closet!

Like any good party for a 13-year-old in the '90s, this party was catered by Shakey's. Pizza! Chicken! Mojo potatoes! This was followed by ice cream cake. Everybody went to town. I present to you the dregs.

Chow, Diabolina, chow!

The boys discuss a remote-controlled helicopter. Yes, Jack Sprat is wearing a jaunty little tiara. It was almost 3 a.m.

I know Diabolina will have far more pictures, which I hope to swipe after she posts. (I didn't feel comfortable taking pics of strangers!) Then you can marvel at my horrible plaid flannel shirt and appreciate the true dedication to '90s costumes by the other guests. There was everything from Donkey Kong himself to Scary Spice to Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction to a Members Only-clad guy in jean shorts.

That guy was my favorite, hands down. Commitment at its finest.

UPDATE: Diabolina has blogged! Go see the madness!

Happy birthday, Jack Sprat! We had so much fun!

Baby One More Time

I go to a lot of baby showers these days. I guess this is just what happens when you get to be my age. I will be 31 in 10 days. Whee and ugh.

I headed to lovely Pasadena yesterday to Glam's mama's house for a surprise baby shower for Glam. Kudos to Ninety-Ten for giving Glam's mama and the other organizers of the shower the names and info of us newbies!

Glam's mama's house is one of those old classic Pasadena homes, beautifully and sturdily constructed with an enormous backyard -- perfect for an outdoor afternoon shower.

The lemonade and white sangria were both yummilicious.

Glam seemed pretty surprised when she arrived, but she's quite the smart cookie, so I wonder if she was just a sweetheart and pretended to be surprised. Tee hee!

Glam's niece was excited to see Glam and was the little darling of the shower. And, yes, she is such the little diva that she even had a wardrobe change during the party.

Glam's five-year-old son was also rather adorable. He's a sweet old soul who adores his mama.

We played the Guess the Size of Mom Game -- the one in which you cut a piece of string and compare it to the size of a piece of string that's been wrapped around mom's belly.

Apparently, through my frequent baby shower participation, I have honed my string-measuring prowess. I was off by only a half centimeter and won this prize.

I didn't stand a chance in the Necklace Game. This sassy relative cleaned house.

The Clothespin Game involved grabbing as many clothespins as you could with one hand. I only got 11 because the two I dropped didn't count toward 13. Boo! The winner successfully removed over 20!

Glam's son chose the winner of the Draw a Baby in 30 Seconds Game. The winner showed us her masterpiece.

One of Glam's relatives made this cake, which was mmm mmm good.

Then it was time to open presents!

Glam's boy was her happy little helper.

Giggles and I gave Glam this card, which Glam's son proclaimed to be "very very cute." Now that was very very cute! Our BabyBjörn will arrive at Glam's house in a couple days.

And here we are: Giggles, me, Glam's little boy, Glam, and Bax (who usually has her eyes open).

Thank you so much to the organizers of the shower. I had a lovely time.