los angeles, day 3

day three.

the big highlight was a visit to akbar cuisine of india in pasadena.

my camera did not cooperate so the photos were quite dark and i had to lighten them in photo shop.

here's my beautiful sister.

did i mention she is fabulous?

the food was amazing. the spices - cardamom, mace, ginger, mint, curry, tamarind - blew us all away.

a culinary feast not to be forgotten.

we ordered a variety of dishes and shared.

here are the balchoa scallops. delish.

here's the chicken kati roll.

and the samosas - stuffed with spicy curry potatoes and peas. my fave.

i didn't get pictures, but our entrees (along with a delicious chunky raita and garlic naan) included chicken tikka, coco lamb and vegetarian akbari with paneer (this was for me since i don't eat meat).

heaven!

afterward, we went across the street to pop, an ulta exclusive champagne and dessert bar.

my twinnie knows the owners, so we got amazing service.

this may look like a lot of champagne, but actually we just sipped and sampled. lushes we are not.

that's me on the far left, in case you can't tell me from my twinnie.

the real highlight was the peanut butter chocolate creme brulee. yeah, you heard that right.

it was ridiculous.

we all laughed a lot, and enjoyed just being together.

sisters!

don't forget to read about day one and day two.

bits of my weekend vol. 21, aka, los angeles trip wrap-up (day 2)

i've been delinquent on my blogging.

but that's not because i didn't want to blog. i just was too busy having fun.

i do love you, i promise.

i posted day one already.

so here is day two of my fabulous sisters weekend in LA.

one of my most favorite haunts is le pain quotidien in claremont. it's a belgian/french eatery that is fantastic. even if it technically is a chain.

oh how i dream about his chocolate croissant.

you really should go there sometime.

and the coffee is divine.

for lunch we hit pho ha in pomona for vietnamese cuisine.

the spring rolls were fantastic.

and the pho. and the fried rice with tofu.

i highly recommend.

we made a stop at the indian store for spices and things. i got some bangles to wear to next month's diwali celebration.

then it was off to see my two adorable nephews play soccer.

here's super-dad rupert with jackson.

and here's isaiah.

cutest ever.

my twinnie is no ordinary soccer mom.

and then it was sushi time. we took the train to downtown la., kids in tow.

we went to komasa in little tokyo and it was an amazing adventure, even if the server kept telling us to quiet down.

silly, silly man.

it's just not physically possible when you have us girls together in one room.

here's big sis chardy and her friend john.

the hilarity level reached a fever pitch when our college friend paul showed up.

oh the stories we told.

you will never hear them.

i'll post day three soon, my lovelies.

L.A. day one was grand.

day one began with style. i slept in til 11 (jet lag!)and then went for a delicious lunch at nordstrom cafe.

salmon on cappelini with asparagus. mmmmm ....

then we browsed nordstrom. so fabulous. can't wait until nashville finally gets ours.
twinnie, obviously, is super fabulous.

here's isaiah, age 4, with his mama.

be still my heart.

his artwork is quite good.

here's jackson, age 6, almost 7, at his school. he's into "doing titanic research" right now.

he also spends a goodly amount of time at the dojo.

here's the proud mama.

and the big kick!

here's twinnie at her office.

and yes, she made me take off my glasses and go around and talk to her coworkers, pretending to be her.

that hasn't been cute since, like, the fourth grade.

but i do what i'm told. she is, afterall, the older twin.

wow. i had no idea it was "all about jean" day. i feel underdressed.

here's some decor in her office. look at the monkeys!

i repeat, look at the monkeys.

here's her plant.

i wonder if this plant knows how lucky it is to be with my twinnie every single day.

i wish i could be that plant.

stupid plant.

dinner was fantastic. hummus tacos with creamed potato soup with fennel.

food is always amazing here. always.

[yawn] i'm off to bed. tommorow big sis joins us. huzzah!

besos,

joan

Hello from rainy la.

hello my lovelies. just had a fab lunch with twinnie at nordstrom cafe. worst weather in months. just my luck! please hang tight - full update on all the fun to come later tonight when I have access to a computer. wish you were here!

soon i will be here.

can't wait to see my sisters.

i will keep you fully informed, but for now, much to do before my flight!

time for me to fly.

tomorrow i'm heading to los angeles to see my sisters!

expect many fabulous posts to come!

sorry my luggage is so lame. i really should do something about that.

i'll have to stop by the louis vuitton outlet* while i'm in l.a.

*ha ha. there is no lv outlet. but a girl can dream.