It was announced a few weeks ago that our friend, Kenneth Espaillat aka Kenny Palm Twiggs (I mean Trees), will be leaving his second home, Los Angeles, to move back to his roots/hometown, New York. Its been about 3 years since he joined our crew and we are glad he was a part of it (at least I was).  He brought joy, laughs, and excitement at work and off-work. Surely, he will be missed (and his "out-of-control" beard).
As a result of him moving back to New York, he invited everyone to his "Going Away BBQ" Sunday evening at his place and it was a blast. Almost everyone showed up and it was wonderful.
 All in all, we wish him the best of luck with everything.

St. Patrick's Day is a day where the Irish celebrate Christianity being brought to Ireland. It is also a day where people drink from 6 am until they pass out with friends while drinking green beer.
For this holiday, we gathered with friends and celebrated in DTF, Downtown Fullerton, in a bar called Heroes Bar & Grill  after going to California Pizza Kitchen in the afternoon at Cerritos.  I finally was able to meet John's best-friend and his girlfriend after many attempts (we were only cyber friends). I can also finally say that I did something for St. Paddy's Day after many years of working that particular day.  Yay! 

Part I.
John and I started out our St. Paddy's Day by having lunch at California Pizza Kitchen in Cerritos. I ordered a delicious Asparagus & Arugula Salad from their Small Cravings Menu (which btw, I highly recommend) and a personal Hawaiian BBQ Pizza. After leaving CPK, we noticed how beautiful the sun looked while it was setting and I quickly snapped a photo before it was gone. (I also included random observational photos.)

Part II.
The drinking began at a bar in Downtown Fullerton called Heroes Bar & Grill (btw, it's really a cool hang out spot). We managed to get in quickly with no wait because we were hanging out in the back (by the patio) and got swooped in. I've never seen a place filled with the color green ever in my life. It was amazing to see all these people participating in the holiday spirit.  
Aside from being amazed at the decor in the bar, I was also excited to have finally John's best-friend, Rudy Himself and his girl friend, Angela. We are cyber friends thanks to facebook, twitter, and via text messaging, but we've never really met officially. It was fun to spend time with those who are close to my boyfriend.  

Back to back. Silverlake is where it's at. The Remainers opened up for The Smiths Indeed (a Smiths tribute band) on Tuesday at The Satellite, formerly known as Spaceland. The set list was the same as the last show, nevertheless, it sounded better. The Satellite has a cool stage, dandy lighting and the set-up of the venue made the show very enjoyable that all of the band members' energy was wooing the crowd (a lot of them were head bobbing. Oh and they also have a photo booth, a pool table).
The Remainers also announced that proceeds from their album sales (of that night) will be donated to help Japan (so admirable).

The Remainers played at the Silverlake Lounge Thursday night following an all girl band from Minneapolis called  Is/Is. Both bands played well, however The Remainers really put on a great show. The energy from all the band members including Nate (vocalist), Frank (keyboards), Kaumyar (drums) and Jason (bassist) was stunning. The crowd was definitely enjoying good live music. They played all of their Formal Friday EP plus a few new songs. My favorite tracks are "When You Need Me" and "House."  
Some of Jason and my friends joined me as part of the crowd and supported the band. Next show is March 15th at The Satellite and we will be there.  

Although I have to wear a cast, I try to wear cute clothes. 

After shopping and dining in the city of Brea, John and I craved a sweet dessert. First thing that came to mind were crêpes. John then remembered about Crêpes de Paris in the downtown strip. It is located on Rue du Birch (Birch Street) in Downtown Brea (which by the way, is a nifty hip spot). 
Their menu consisted of many savory crêpes. I ordered the Royal Sweet Crêpe along with a Perrier and John ordered the Dulce de Leche Crêpe and l'eau (water). Although I am dieting, I couldn't help eating such a lovely treat. Eating in this cafe along with the Amelié Soundtrack playing and the nice French decor was a perfect way to end our night. 

In an effort to celebrate our 1st anniversary, John booked our trip to the city where it started it all: New York City. It was last year during  February where he booked our "spontaneous" trip to NYC, since I have never been, and was my own personal tour guide. Although there was a snow storm going on during that time, which by the way...we almost got delayed on our way back to LA, it didn't stop us from walking the Brooklyn Bridge and walking around the city.
This is our third time in the Big Apple and every time we go, we always see different things. During this trip, we went to the MoMa, St. James theater to see American Idiot, ate at the Spotted Pig and Ray's Pizza, and lastly we attempted to re-create the movie poster for Manhattan. 

During our first night in NYC, we walked throughout Chelsea and Greenwhich Village. John searched for restaurants to eat and came across a local place called "The Spotted Pig," which is a  gastro pub. The atmosphere was very hip, but the wait time was insane. 65 minute wait! On a Thursday night! The only entree in the menu that I found appealing was their Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestrings and their Bar Snacks. 

Our second day was spent going to the MoMA, which was free admission, made line to buy American Idiot tickets, and walked all around Times Square. While at the MoMA, we browsed through original artwork by Warhol, Picasso, Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Dali. I was amused to see all this art that is talked about in books and is referenced constantly. 
The American Idiot show in St. James Theater was AMAZING! Although it was my first show, I thought it was astonishing. The story behind the album, the singing, the performances, and most especially Billy Joe Armstrong being the guest. If I lived in New York, I would go to a show every last Friday of every month. I'd like watch Mary Poppins next time we go. 

Because we woke-up late, our last day was spent going to the Queensboro Bridge to re-ennact the movie poster for Manhattan. Turns out that we went to the wrong place (we were facing the wrong way), but i thought it still looked pretty good. We asked a gentleman to snap the pic because we didn't bring a tripod. Didn't turn out to be perfect, but it worked. 

"Mary Wilke: Isn't it beautiful out? 
Isaac Davis: Yeah, it's really so pretty when the light starts to come up. 
Mary Wilke: I know. I love it. 
Isaac Davis: Boy, this is really a great city. I don't care what anybody says. It's really a knockout, you know."

After a few attempts, we then decided it was time to leave =( .