Author: Ed

So SMART!

One of the biggest (and most favorite) perks of Ed’s job is his opportunity to bring home lots of different cars to test and drive. He has long anticipated the arrival of Smart cars in the U.S. and FINALLY – he got to bring one home yesterday to test! Carrie has always been terrified of the idea of him driving around in one – afterall, we live near Orange County, motherland to the SUV. It’s not too tough to imagine him being plowed by a giant Expedition on the road! Fortunately, we found it wasn’t quite as scary as she thought it to be, and we had a lot of fun driving it around.


It’s almost comical to see how short it is. You can fit two Smarts in one space!



Big bonus points for the groovy interior. (Ed’s fave color is orange, how much more perfect could it be?)



We each got a chance to drive it!



At home in it’s urban environment!

We got so much attention driving it – there were lots of stares and “What the …???” as we drove by folks on the road! It definitely seems as though it’s from another planet.

Overall, Ed’s review is that it’s definitely not a car for everyone – it’s a little too quirky to drive (tiny size, jerky transmission, really slow), and it just won’t do if you ever need to carry people or cargo. However, because of its very clever packaging and use of space, it feels very large inside – there is tons of headroom and legroom, and the seats are actually staggered to maximize shoulder room in this very narrow car. But as a fashion statement, the Smart can’t be beat!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yesterday we had a very special luncheon to celebrate Mom’s Birthday (which is on March 3rd). We wanted to make it as special as she is, so we went to a beautiful restaurant in Topanga Canyon called Inn of the Seventh Ray. The restaurant is gorgeous, all outside, next to a creek. It was the perfect place for her. Our pictures of the place couldn’t do it justice, so we grabbed a few from the web:



The food was delicious too – and afterwards, we had to celebrate with a little birthday cake. You’re never too old to blow out the candles and make a wish!

Our gift this year was to make a book for her. Our goal was to compile as many pictures of significant moments in her life as possible. We found quotes appropriate for each decade and wrote a forward to the book. It was a wonderful experience for us both going through the photos and learning so much about her life – and we were so happy that she loved the book too.


Overall, it was a wonderful day spent with our family! Happy, Happy Birthday to you, Mom!

The birthday keeps rollin’ on!

Now that we’re back from our Palm Springs weekend, we had one more round of birthday celebrations for Carrie to go. For the final bash, we had to get the parents involved, so we all met up at PF Chang’s for a massive and delish meal.

Before the meal came presents! From Carrie’s parents came this great card showing everything that had happened in 1976 and the most awesome polka dot purse.

Ed’s mom got Carrie this really cool Luvcat wallet:

Ed’s dad knows that a Target gift card is a surefire hit with Carrie!

Everyone had a great time and came away with really full stomachs, as you can see…


As they say in all of Asia during birthdays, long noodles for long life!

And how do you finish off a Palm Springs weekend?


At The Parker, of course! So this day was Carrie’s actual birthday, and we’d been wanting to visit for a long time. The Parker was once owned by Gene Autry, and was reopened a couple years back under the creative and stylistic guidance of Jonathan Adler, one of our favorite designers. It had been redone in a very groovy late sixties/early seventies style – not so much Modernist, but a bit of regency, and a huge helping of whimsical grooviness. It got some publicity as of late thanks to being the subject of the TV show Welcome to the Parker on Bravo.



We met up with Lewis and Mary, along with Mick and Andy and Mick’s parents for an amazing brunch. Alfresco dining with incredible (but down to earth) food, and the incredible surroundings that were both “shagadelic” and dreamy all at once.


Afterwards, we walked about the grounds, and came across Samir, the manager who is one of the stars of the TV show!! He was more than happy to indulge us with a photo. Samir’s the tall, imposing man in the back.

We can’t describe just how amazing the place looks. It reminded Ed of his childhood in many ways, with very familiar early 70s materials, furnishings, textures, and colors. We have to stay here soon! Here are some more pics:


The amazing fireplace lounge…


Some competitive Ed vs. Mary ping pong…


Colored vases…



Mister Parker’s, the onsite restaurant. It’s so swingin’ London.


How do you like that bar!



The happy couple!

Pics don’t do the place justice. It’s mindblowing and just plain fun all at once.

So that’s it – that was our Palm Springs weekend #3, and a fine way to celebrate Carrie’s birthday and Valentine’s Day! I’m pretty certain you’ll see another set of blogs about this time next year….if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll be staying at the Parker!

It just keeps getting better…and better…

So after a lovely afternoon of unwinding at the Viceroy, could the trip get any more fulfilling? Well…yes. Our friends Mary and Lewis happened to also be in Palm Springs that weekend, staying with their friends Mick and Andy. Anyways, we made plans to meet them for dinner and drinks that night, and instead found this at our doorstep:

Yep, Mick and Andy decided that they wanted to get a limo so that everyone could drink and travel in style. WOW. And before dinner, the limo whisked us off to two art openings, the second of which was particularly awesome. It was at M Modern Gallery, which we had been to previously for two different Shag openings. It was quite the scene there:

We ended up actually buying a piece of art that both Ed and Carrie (and especially Ed) was drooling over. We bought a print of Chris Reccardi’s Ops 2, seen here:

After that was an amazing dinner at Copley’s with the gang (which also included two more people we hadn’t previously met – the hilarious Tim and Kevin), where Ed had an amazing lobster pot pie and Carrie had a delectable salmon.

Afterwards, it was back to Mick and Andy’s house to chill around the backyard firepit to digest. What a night…