long week+end

bullet point style. still long. i am forever wordy. totally living for the weekends at this point.

friday

• wrote a few work-related complaint letters to vendors. damn it feels good to be paid to be coolly, calmly snarky in writing.
• dropped by the in-laws' to pick up my new snowboard boots we had shipped to their place. picked up some lemons that look like oranges and limes that look like lemons MIL had gathered from her trees.
• crashed at my mom's since it's a lot closer to our early-morning, saturday destination.
  
• but first, another dine LA restaurant week reservation at michael's on naples. when making the reservation, they assured me the special menu would be offered. upon our arrival, we were informed they weren't doing it on friday nights. however, since they had assured me on the phone, they honored it and gave us the restaurant week menu. yay for them!
  
• elegant, contemporary interior of deep browns, creams, whites, strategic uplighting, a slab-tastic bar made of emperador dark marble slabs, some of my favorite artemide fixtures.
  
• carefully appointed china, flatware, and wine glasses - all of which were contemporary, elegant, understated, and of obvious good quality.
• lots of cougars, even more older men in jeans + sportcoats, too much "mature hipness" going on. we were by far the youngest and had the, um, darkest hair and eye color in the place. well, we were on naples, after all.
  
• really fresh, high-quality food.
• course #1: melt-in-your mouth, fresh, unadulterated beef carpaccio garnished simply with parmigiano reggiano and gremolata for me. a hearty, earthy melanzane of eggplant, zucchini, cheese, and tomato sauce served in a cute stone dish for the bear.
• course #2: osso bucco on mashed potatoes for the bear. a solid osso bucco, but perhaps not worth its normal menu price. the most amazing skin-on mediterranean sea bass for me, plated beautifully on a rectangle to emphasize how the whole length of fish was on there, then garnished with a bell pepper/caper/amazing olive accompaniment. the fish was cooked perfectly.
• course #3: really good, not-too-sweet, not-too-heavy tiramisu cleanly layered in a straight-sided coffee cup for the bear. a most-delicate chocolate flan for me accompanied by a heavenly vanilla bean sauce.
  
• nightcap of mighty leaf tea for me in the heaviest and coolest teapot ever. square and all - i love me some clean, utilitarian lines. the espresso machine at the bar was tempting, but caffeine at that hour for me is no good.
• a rather nervous manager who was a bit too nervous and too obviously keeping an overzealous eagle-eye on everything. hey dude, even i can see that everyone is enjoying their evenings and the food! don't worry, be happy. have a quartino of wine from your excellent list (my pinot and the bear's chianti were both yummy), perhaps.
  
• a rotund, nice older man (michael or the owner, perhaps?) checked on us rather warmly at the end of the night.
• great, not-too-stuffy service from youngish waitstaff clad in khaki button-downs, black slacks, and long, chocolate brown aprons. it sounds funny but it worked with the whole restaurant - casually, modernly elegant.
  
• at the end of dinner, i realized i already broke my lent fast. without even realizing it until well after all had been consumed. crap. to my credit, i wanted to try the sweet polenta dessert with berries, but they were out that night so i had to opt for the other, non-tiramisu dessert option.

saturday
[cue de la soul's a a roller skating jam named 'saturdays' - "five days you work, one whole day to play. . ."]

• bear carefully navigated icy patches on windy, mountain roads. yikes.
  
• snowboarding at snow summit with the bear and e11even!
  
• good snow. sun. beating the crowds.
  
• dudes and dudettes, i can finally make it down a run while only falling 1-2 times. i almost have the carving thing down! the technique is there, and the execution almost!
• OMG. good, comfy, well-fitted, boa-laced boots make a world of difference. i can actually walk normally in these.
  
• good times had by all.
• bear and i didn't fight once all morning. thank goodness for e11even's presence and handy snowbunny pointers.
• left before 1 PM and claimed our $15 vouchers for our next trip. whee!
• took a 3-hour nap to make up for our 4-5 hours of sleep the night before.
• longest. dinner. ever. listening hard and biting my tongue for a good 3-4 hours. thank goodness the bear was there with me.
• really good sushi at wan's favorite place in the 909, but i didn't get to fully enjoy and experience it thanks to the heavy listening i had to do.
• papaya smells like ass and doesn't taste good unless really fresh and ripe.

sunday

• slept in. oops. desperately needed it, though, as everything lately, both good and bad, has been exhausting me.
• the bear and me, moted at sears while trying to make an exchange.
  
• wandering up and down garden grove blvd. looking for lunch. finally ate at the food court at arirang market.
• nap (yes, i still need more sleep) while the bear watched his sports on the teevee.
• prepping for tomorrow. sigh.