Travel: Where I stayed in LA, CA

I'm sad to see friends move out of New York, but after staying at Marisa's newly renovated and impeccably designed home next door to Griffith Park in LA, I could see why she never came back.

Marisa's home is literally outside of the park. You can go hiking, running, see the view from the Observatory, eat at the Trails Cafe all within a few steps. The surrounding neighborhoods are Los Feliz/ Silverlake which is comprable to Carroll Gardens, Forte Greene, and bits of Williamsburg.  It's exactly the type of weekend retreat I needed before power shopping with my Buyers for the next 3 days straight.

She's renting her place out, if you're ever in town: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/401663


How time flies: (left) May 2012 LA, CA (right) December 2002 Brooklyn, NY.

Places to visit in Los Feliz/Silver Lake area: whiskey bar, Thirsty Crow ---brunch spot Mohawk Bend---- shopping along Hillhurst Avenue: lingerie Panty Raid, vintage clothing Meowdy, shoes Vamp.

World's Largest Rainbow Parade!

( above photo from: http://goldmark.tumblr.com)
I love spring and I love color.  So what could be better than combining them both into the World's Largest Rainbow Parade???   Jessi Arrington, of Workshop, who dresses even more flashier than I do (total girl crushing), enthusiastically set the world's record this weekend by parading 179 participants dressed from one color head to toe over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.  Our rainbow of colors felt like a miniature version of Holi welcoming in Spring. Go #RainbowParade! Go #WorldRecordDay!

Holi from Variable on Vimeo.

Enterprise Over the Hudson River

This morning we witnessed the last flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise on its' way to JFK. It blew my mind how something so ginormous could piggy back onto another ginormous plane and fly so fast! I felt like a little kid in amazement like, 'Whoah...How do airplanes fly? How do boats float? How does the internet work?" And then I saw this link and my mind went bonkers. Thank goodness it's Friday. The Scale of The Universe

Will Bike for Food: Rajbhog Sweets

It's spring time! That means more biking. The weather on April Fools was a bit temperamental, but we managed to ride out from Brooklyn to Jackson Heights with no rain.

Getting into Queens has gotten simpler now that we're on our third run. You should skip the Pulaski Bridge since its further west and just follow Greenpoint Avenue, which leads into Roosevelt Avenue. You ride straight on Roosevelt Avenue until you hit 73rd Street, make a left-- and you're at Rajbhog Sweets! Just like that. No getting lost this time, about a 10 mile ride one way. But remember: no bike lanes.

Rajbhog Sweets sells sweets, but also a steam table of an assortment of vegetarian South Indian food.  They had the familiar: saag (spinach), tadka dal (chickpeas), gobi (cauliflower). But there were some dishes that I've never seen before and the guys at the counter were nice enough to give us free samples before ordering. My favorite were the black lentils, dal makhani-- it was unexpected a) having black lentils for the first time b) enjoyed the spices. Being introduced to new food and experiences is all part of the adventure. :) Also the masal chai is amazing here.

For the price of everything, I have no complaints. $6 for two bowls + rice.
P.S. They microwave your food in styrofoam in case that bothers you...my mom is always lecturing me about that.

7227 37th Ave
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Neighborhood: Jackson Heights

Wine Classes: Brooklyn Wine Exchange

I've decided that I wanted to learn a little more about wine. Alas, no more judging bottles by their pretty labels...... what?... I'm a designer and therefore very visual.....

So in an effort to learn, I took a $30 intro class at Skillshare but was disappointed to come out of the class not much more knowledgable than before. I still wasn't able to descriptively tell you "why" I liked what I tasted, only that I did.

In comes Brooklyn Wine Exchange in Boerum Hill (same owners of Stinky Brooklyn and Smith & Vine) who holds free, yes free, wine classes throughout the week. This month focused on reds and each class was narrowed down by varietal grapes.

I've attended the Pinot Noir and Merlot classes so far and was able to describe more in depth the appearance, nose and palate of each wine. It seems that I like stronger, bolder flavors that are oakey, velvety and spicy. This kind of makes sense as I am big on old fashioneds and mezcal. From my Pinot Noir class, I ended up buying a bottle of Roots "Klee" and purchasing another bottle I saw on display called OPP (okay, yes, I bought it because of the label and name, BUT with more knowledge that I like wines from Oregon, earthiness and Pinot Noirs, so there!). From my Merlot class, well, most of the one's we tasted were too briny and acidic for me.  The only one that I would recommend would be the Crosby Merlot only because it was the sweetest of the 5 samples.

Anyways, you can learn more at Brooklyn Wine Exchange. There's a catch with the free class, which is, if you are not a member ($60 gets you discount and first dibs on classes) you can't make advanced reservations. Call beforehand to make sure there are seats left: 718-855-9463.