Sunday to Sunday in the LBC

This past week was Stroll and Savor and as promised I got some pictures so you could all see what I get to experience. If only you could taste what I get to taste.

First you have to buy the tickets.

Then you get to eat the food. This is a delicious Indian restaurant. AH-mazing! If the line wasn't so long I would go back for seconds. They make everything fresh and keep it coming out hot!

This is the plate that you get at George's Greek. It's the best deal and really makes my mouth water. Greek salad, gyro, pita bread, spanakopita, hummus, and tzantziki.

This is the line of people waiting to eat at George's. I told you this was the best deal!

People get pretty creative when they need to eat. There are high top tables placed around the sidewalks, but when those run out, people get creative. This group is eating on a newspaper dispenser.

Thai Gourmet is a fairly new Thai restaurant on the block. This is the second time they've participated in Stroll and Savor. This is was the first time people realized just how delicious their food is! The line was pretty long and they kept having to bring out more food.

Who could forget dessert! Frosted Cupcakery is amazing! They make great flavors and their frosting is to die for. When they do Stroll and Savor they make these little hi-tops which are two small cupcake tops sandwiching frosting in the middle. The flavors you see here are red velvet and vanilla with sea salt caramel frosting. Oh man! I could eat a ton of these.

I hope you enjoyed Strolling and Savoring with me!

A Little Off

Today on the train...a large smelly homeless woman smooshed all along my side. I went straight into OCD mode. Mind you, I don't even have OCD, but I couldn't stop the feeling of being contaminated. Let's just say it wasn't the best way to start my day. I shower daily and really enjoy smelling fresh and clean. 


The situation made me consider if I would stop taking the train if I did contract some type of parasite, like lice or scabies. I'll just cross that bridge if I ever reach it.


On a better note, I found out that during the Summer time there are several spots along the beach that show movies on one of those inflatable screens. What a great idea. You can get a little picnic and some friends together and enjoy a free movie in the warm Summer air. Love it! 


This week is also Stroll & Savor! I can't wait to eat some delicious food and stroll along 2nd street. I will try to take some pictures this time so all of you that don't live nearby can see what it's like. 


I don't know if you could tell, but the Sunday to Sunday in the LBC series have been pretty hard for me to keep up with. I don't know whether it is just hard for me to write at the end of the weekend, or whether I'm just not feeling the topic. If you have really enjoyed it, please let me know. Or if you have some thoughts about another weekend series you'd like to see, please leave a comment. 


I aim to please!

Alphabet Walk

The alphabet walk brings you the letter "O"

I am participating in the blog alphabet walk inspired Piper over at One Sydney Road. I'm a little late, but better than never, right?

O is for Ocean

This is where I truly wanted to be today! As I walked over, there were families that were leaving after a day of beach fun. There were kids covered in sand and girls with sea salt hair. Why did I have to be at the office on such a great beach day!? Oh yea, it's that thing called a paycheck. I suppose that is important too. 


Well I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of the letter O. Piper has a great series called "Shake It Up". All of you bloggers should head over to her site and get inspired!


Have a great weekend everyone!

Lost and Hopefully Found

Today on the train...a woman started crying. Some people that were sitting near her asked what was wrong. Apparently, she didn't know where she was or how to get back to where she lived. Sounds like she had a long night, if you know what I mean.


The people asked where she lived and if she lived there with anyone. I think they could tell that she wasn't all there and hoped that someone was responsible for her that could help. They told her what train to get on next and what station to get off at, but from there she was on her own.


Ignoring how she ended up in this situation, I can't imagine the feeling of being completely lost with little way to be found. Of course she has her options of making a collect call to someone she knows, or going to the police to explain her situation, but still, that's a scary feeling.


I am an avid watcher of the A&E show Intervention that focuses on an addicts life and then the intervention that their friends and family put together, hoping that the addict will choose to get sober. This situation totally reminded me of a recent episode. The addict was a PCP user for 25 years! She had been kicked out of her friend's house for smoking it and soon realized that she was 28 miles away from the place she was staying and had no way to get there. She started propositioning strangers for rides as she walked down the street. Obviously, not the best idea.


Well, I sure hope the woman from the train was able to get home. I'm really glad there were some nice people there to help her get one step closer. 

Ask and It Shall Be Given

Today on the train...there was more than average niceness going on. A panhandler came on the train and politely asked if anyone had any change so that he could get some breakfast. He walked down the aisle with no donations. But I saw a teenage boy pull out his money and start folding up a dollar bill. He watched the beggar for a few stops and then as the beggar got off the train, the boy threw the dollar bill out the door. It landed right at the panhandler's feet, as if it had come from heaven. He looked around, picked it up and walked on down the platform. 


I thought it was really interesting how the boy didn't want to give the man the money directly. But he cared enough to watch the beggar the entire ride and strategically throw the dollar at just the right time. I hope the panhandlers enjoyed his breakfast.

The same time the boy was planning his giving, a woman was commenting to her friend about how she was smelling fresh bread and it was making her really want some. She kept saying this for most of the ride when she started to look around and saw a woman sitting with a pastry bag on her lap. 


"It must be your bread! It smells delicious."

The bread lady replied that she had one to spare if the woman and her friend wanted to share. It made me smile that someone would give a stranger food from their own bag so willingly. The woman took the fresh baked bread graciously and commented on how good it was.


The way she talked about it made me want some!


*I realize that the pictures that I added have absolutely no connection to the story. I apologize, but these were the last photos I had from my train adventure. Note to self, take more pictures.

Crack on the Train

Today on the train...I finally had to ask an expert what crack smoke smells like. Recently, I was chatting with the boyfriend about the different smells that I experience on the train, and I mentioned that there is a smoky smell that isn't cigarettes and it isn't weed that I really can't stand. I myself have never knowingly smelled any other drugs.

Well today, two men got on the train and brought a cloud of that smell with them. It hit me in a way that made it so I couldn't even take a good breath. I had to know what this smell was! So, I texted a friend that has a "troubled" past and asked what crack smoke smells like. 

He said that it smells sweet, which described this smell to a T! My hypothesis is that one of the guys had a crack pipe in his pocket and he and his friend had just used it, thus created the huge heavy crack smoke cloud that followed them. Oh, the perils of addiction.


So, since I was breathing in crack smoke, does that make me a crack head?

Sunday to Sunday in the LBC

I can't believe I didn't mention this last Sunday, but June's Stroll and Savor was last Wednesday and Thursday! It was amazing as always. I was really excited because a restaurant called Thai Gourmet started to participate. I am addicted to Thai iced tea even though I'm sure it's terrible for you, and of course they had it out. 

I really do love my neighborhood. I love that all these people come out. I know some people would be put off by the crowds and the lines, but that's one of the reasons why I like it. I can't wait for next month's Stroll and Savor. I'll try to be better and let you guys know about it the week before, in case any of you are close enough to come out for a bite to eat.

I spent another weekend mostly out of Long Beach yet again. I went to the Dwell convention, which was really neat. It made me want a home to decorate and make energy efficient, but honestly I can't even imagine having the money to buy a house, let along decorate it. One day...

I met my coworker/friend and her husband at the convention and then they took me on a quick tour of downtown Los Angeles on the way to their new house. Yes, I know I work there, but I barely ever get beyond a 1 block radius of my building and the train station. 

We walked through the Watercourt where Grand Performances puts on Summer concerts. They were getting ready for one that night that looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. Then we took Angel's Flight down Bunkerhill.

Image originally uploaded by Wehardy

Image originally uploaded by Waltarrrrr

Then we walked through Grand Central Market which took me to another world. I will definitely have to go back there to actually eat sometime. My sister said that there is a papusaria that supposed to be really good there.

Image originally uploaded by Mort Guffman

On our way to their house we stop in the Bradbury building, which was amazing! I've seen it in several movies, but it is even more dramatic in person.

Image originally uploaded by Kansas Sebastian

Honestly, it was amazing to see so many Los Angeles landmarks in such a short amount of time. I've lived here the majority of my life and had never been to any of these places. Next time I head out on an adventure like this, I'll be sure to bring my own camera too!

Back home in Long Beach, I completely missed an arts and crafts fair that looked right up my alley. I love things that are handmade with care and passion. There is just something about items that are unique and made by someone who really cared about the quality of the item. I'll have to keep an eye on this organization so that I can make it to the next event. Don't worry, I'll let you guys know too.