Arlington West, Santa Monica Beach

Great Vegan/Veggie Dining in Los Angeles – at a DINER!

Those following this blog for some time know that my husband and I try to follow a predominantly animal-free diet. We do this for health reasons. We occasionally and selectively enjoy cheese, ice cream, and very occasionally some seafood, poultry or meat. But our preference is for fruit, veggies, legumes and grains.

Our college-student son, however, is pretty firmly ensconced in the “I’ll have a milkshake and a burger” camp. And since he only spends a few months out of the year with us, we try to find eateries that will let all of us dine according to our preference. That’s not always easy. But today we found a great option that’s been under our noses all along: Swingers.

Sure, it has all the diner ‘tude and all the diner staples: shakes, fries, BLTs, pancakes, chilis. But it also has a multitude of tasty vegan and veggie options, including wraps, salads, even vegan pancakes. You can check out their menu online if you’re interested.

Swingers has two locations: one in Santa Monica (Lincoln & Broadway) and  another on Beverly about midway between the Beverly Center and The Grove. We’ll be back!

Luggage Lifesaver

I snapped up this Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale before heading back East to bring my son home from college for summer break. Since bags over 50 pounds can incur hefty ($50 and up) surcharges, I wanted to make sure our luggage stayed within the weight limits. The $20 I spent on it more than paid itself back. It’s accurate; we filled a few of the bags to 49 pounds, and sure enough, that’s exactly how they tipped the scale at the airport check-in counter. Zero overweight baggage surcharge = one happy camper.

It would also come in handy on international flights when carry-on cabin baggage can be subject to weight limits.

This particular model displays either pounds or kilograms, and uses a strap as opposed to a hook to attach the bag for weighing. That makes it somewhat easier to secure the bag, although it can still be a strain on your back and leg muscles when you’re using it to hoist a 49-pound bag off the floor (trust me on that one) to get a reading.

My Top 10 iPhone Wants

I unapologetically love my iPhone. Having said that, it’s not perfect. Here’s what would make it better for me. (I believe a number of these fixes may be on the way in the next OS/hardware update… but that won’t help me as I’ve got a 3G and don’t expect to upgrade it for another year or so.)

1. Calendar: Clickable addresses. What’s the point of having locations in a calendar entry if you can’t click through to a map/directions?
2. Email: A “select all” option for deleting/moving email.
3. Email: The ability to move an email from a POP3 inbox to a different folder (e.g. “save for later”). Currently you either have to keep it in the inbox, or delete it.
4. App Store: A “bookmark” or “save for later” option when checking out Apps in the App Store. Sometimes, when I’m interested in an App, I’d like to check it out further before making a decision The only thing you can do now is buy it or email it to yourself.
5. Contacts: Ability to access ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact details if one chooses (as I do) to keep your phone locked. I’ve done a workaround by putting my emergency contact details on my wallpaper, but it doesn’t seem right that you have to choose between one and the other.
6. Printing: Wireless printing (without having to use an add-on App).
7. Photos: An easier way to get photos off the phone and onto your computer. Come on, already.
8. Camera: A front camera for video chat.
9. Storage: An SD slot (although someone’s coming out with an SD reader for iPhone this spring, supposedly).
10. Battery: A removable/replaceable battery. We all know how much power 3G, Bluetooth, etc. drain. Why not give us the option to pop a new battery in, especially when (on planes, at events, or in long meetings) a charger might not be readily available?

I try to stay pretty current on this stuff, but it’s possible that some of my wants already exist for the 3G, and I don’t know it. If so, please enlighten me in the comments!

9 months on

For those following along at home: this morning was my 9-month post-surgery checkup with Dr. Friedman, my amazing oncologist. He pronounced that things are coming along “perfectly” and sent me away until my one-year checkup in August. I’ll drink to that.

Close to the Chest

Women possessing anything north of the most modest bosom know well the discomfort that any high-impact exercise can cause. Not only is the bouncing uncomfortable (and, some would argue, unsightly), but it can be damaging to breast tissue. The protective stance one assumes in trying to mitigate the bouncing can result in less-than-optimal posture for the given exercise, leading to back pain, muscle strain, etc.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone made a sports bra for well-endowed women that would restrict vertical movement to almost nothing?

Someone did, and her name is Renelle Braaten. Her company makes an amazing bra that makes sure the girls stay, as the title of this post declares, close to the chest. It’s called the Enell Sports Bra.

As you can see by the photo at right, this isn’t lacy lingerie we’re talking about. No cleavage will be on display. It requires patience and some practice getting into it: There are seemingly a zillion hooks-and-eyes to secure, and there’s a technique to making sure one hook doesn’t maddeningly pop open as you close the next. It’s not cheap (they run about $60 each).

But if you want to comfortably jog, or play volleyball, or engage in any other high-impact activity, the Enell sports bra is sweet relief.

Note: I have no interest in or relationship with this company. I’m just a happy customer spreading the word about a truly useful product. If you (or anyone you know) could use something like this, I hope you’ll do the same.

Vintage Hollywood 2010

I’m a founding board member of a non-profit called Vintage Hollywood Foundation, which raises money for charitable organizations that work to improve the health and well-being of Southern California’s diverse community.

Our flagship annual event, Vintage Hollywood, will be held on Saturday, June 12 (just 6 weeks away!) from 6:30-9:00pm. It features two dozen prestigious wine producers, each represented by its winemaker and/or proprietor; a dozen of L.A.’s top restaurants and purveyors including Artisan Cheese Gallery, The Foundry, Jar, Joe’s, and Tavern; and live and silent auctions. Our celebrity auctioneer this year is the brilliant Kevin Pollak; our emcee for the evening will be KNX Newsradio afternoon host Jim Thornton.

Vintage Hollywood is a relatively intimate event – we admit a maximum of 350 guests – held outdoors, this year at the home of Mr. Ray Leonard and Mrs. Bernadette Leonard (boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard) in Pacific Palisades.

Our primary beneficiary for 2010 is JDRF / Los Angeles Chapter. JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDRF is also committed to developing new and better treatments to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes in the near term, and keep them healthy while they advance toward a cure.

Tickets for Vintage Hollywood are $200 apiece, and can be purchased at the Vintage Hollywood website. Sponsorship opportunities, including a private June 11 “dinner with the winemakers,” are also available; for more information, contact Annie Aft at (310) 559-6325 or email VH2010 (at) vintagehollywood (dot) org.

From the Home Office

My friend Alex almost always signs off Twitter of an evening with a goodnight message. They tickle me, these tweets, because in them she regularly invents new words to refer to her collective followers. No pedestrian “tweeps” for Alex.

Among my favorites:

Goodnight, Tweepsicle

…Tweetson (sometimes Tweeterson).

… Twitches

… Tweepsies

… Tweetiepop

… Tweetifer (sometimes Tweetipher)

… Tweetypie

… Tweetbitches

… Tweetsicle

She’s also the only one who’s ever gotten away with calling me “Arleney,” but somehow it makes sense when she says it.

What are your favorite terms for people on Twitter?

Dinner, April 25

Thanks to the marvelous Miss Whistle, I read the Guardian’s article previewing 15 recipies from Ottolenghi’s upcoming cookbook. Tonight I made his “Chickpea, tomato and bread soup,” which is quite similar to a Tuscan ribollita.

Let me just say that even though there are just two of us, there were no leftovers.

Photo Blog: Upper Ojai Valley, Springtime

Ever few months we’re lucky to spend a weekend at Lavender Hill Farm, the home of our friends Sims and Steve in the picturesque Upper Ojai Valley. Here are some pictures we took on April 16 and 17.

We picked vegetables from Steve’s extensive gardens and prepared them for lunch and dinner. Artichokes are in high season and we had them three different ways: with fava beans as an accompaniment to pork chops for dinner; with onions, lardons and egg as a pasta sauce for one lunch; and with tuna and cracked pepper on toast for another lunch. We also had the fava beans, straight from the pods, with cheese and bites of salami as an appetizer before dinner one evening.

The Valley was resplendent with springtime color and fragrance. My iPhone got the color fairly well; the scent you’ll have to imagine as you peruse the photos. Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of any of them, and click again for a yet larger version.