The American Psycho at Tavern

I just moved into my new apartment in Brentwood on Sunday. So far, I love it here. It feels like the perfect transition to go from Santa Barbara to Brentwood; They have a similar vibe (glamorous, small town-feel, proximity to the ocean), the only difference is the constant buzz of traffic from the 405, but I'm sure that will become white noise soon enough.

When I was at work yesterday, my colleague came running in and said, "Batman just walked past me!" So of course, I ran out to see the American Psycho and followed him into Tavern, the restaurant/bakery/bar on our street corner. He was a lot shorter than I had imagined, but maybe even more handsome! I felt the celebrity buzz power through me like a drug. What a rush! EeeeEeeEee Christian Bale EEeeeEeeee!

Initially I wanted to write this post to tell you about Tavern, so let me do that. It is such a great place. Very Anthropologie meets Oxford University in a submarine, if you know what I mean.

Last night I met my friends Brie, Meg and Lo for drinks and some bar bites. We sat at the corner of the bar and gave each other updates on the goings on in our lives--starting grad school, selling art, the trials and tribulations of communal living. Lo and I ordered 24th Street Pale Ales, which I highly recommend, and Lo and Meg shared turkey burgers and fries, while Brie and I shared lamb meatballs with feta, pine nuts, and currant (OMG) plus a side of rosemary corn--holy moly.

The atmosphere is just perfect at Tavern. It's warm, dimly lit, spacious, and the food is fantastic. I hope that I can take you there when you come visit me :)

Metrospectives

To begin our adventure on this blog, we thought you might like to see what we see.

Diana: I just moved to LA a few weeks ago. Coming from Santa Barbara, I knew it was going to be really hard for me to adjust to the metropolitan lifestyle--traffic, scary nighttime walks, and a constant feeling of being rushed. I knew I had to find places where I would feel a sense of calm. Somewhere I could remember nature--or at least find perspective. My good friend, Alysia, took me up to her roof on the top of the Gothic loft apartment complex she lives in, in Downtown LA. We relaxed with snap cups of chardonnay and spicy pepper jack cheese. We talked and talked for hours about moving, life, friends, roommates, house hunting, and it felt good. I felt peaceful, and if I squinted my eyes, the blue sky could have been the ocean...if I didn't look too hard.

Sofia: I've lived in the bay area my whole life, except for those four fabulous years in Santa Barbara, and the city has always been a wonderfully inspiring and magical setting. This photo was taken last December when Diana was visiting. We ventured to the top of the deYoung Museum, where I was interning at the time, and absorbed the beautiful scenery: the rooftop gardens across the way at the California Academy of Sciences, the fog rolling over the bay, and the colorful Victorian houses sprinkled about the Sunset neighborhood. My internship ended at the museum a few months ago and oh how do I miss it! Not only did I love being surrounded by the wonderful art and working with my fellow art-lovers, but I also miss spending so much time in golden gate park--the foggy and freezing setting is comforting and cozy. I'm crossing my fingers that I may get hired on full-time someday :)

If you are ever in the city and looking for something culturally fulfilling to do on a Friday night, check out the museum's "Friday Nights at the deYoung" programming, I used to help every Friday and it was a blast. The museum offers drinks, art, live music, interactive art projects, performance art and so much more--and the best part is, it's free!