It's a good coffee day

It's a fabulous Monday morning for me here in LA. My sweet boyfriend, CE, was on the east coast for business on Saturday and brought me home 2 pounds of my favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee plus a DD commuter mug! It was too late for me to brew a pot after our swing dancing adventure last night but I flew out of bed at 6:15 this morning for this yummy coffee. I wonder if NY'ers realize how lucky they are to have DD? I never (well hardly ever) eat donuts at home but in NY I make Dunkin Donuts my first stop in the morning. My last two trips I've been on the west side - no DD's near me there but a 'Bread Factory' with fabulous chocolate croissants - so sometimes I'll walk over to the upper east side to go to a favorite DD. There is an old cat that sleeps in the window of a laundry place around the corner from this DD and I swear it remembers me each time.

Dancing at the Derby

Last night CE and I went to the Derby in Hollywood for their Sunday night lesson/dance party! We've got a wedding coming up in a couple of weeks and then the cruise at the end of May so I thought we should brush up on our dancing - and what a great time we had! We had considered taking lessons at a regular 'Arthur Murray' type place but I'm so glad that we tried the Derby first. We learned so much in 2 hours! They teach East Coast Swing but on the last Sunday of the month you spend the first hour learning something else; last night was Latin! I feel so much more confident now and we're going to try to make it back there a time or two before our trip. The $10 cover charge is a great deal. There is a safe parking lot behind the club which only charges $5 for parking. I always think about the parking situation before venturing out to Hollywood at night. The other dancers were friendly and helpful and there were singles as well as couples. I would feel completely comfortable going there alone; there were no 'creepy singles bar' types at all. What a fun night.

Today I wish I were....

Some mornings I wake up thinking about how I would spend my day if I were in another city. Not too knock LA but a piece of my heart will always be in San Francisco. My beloved Auntie Ethel passed away a few years ago at the age of 96 after living at 150 Haight Street for most of her, and all of my, life. When she became unable to live alone we moved her to a nursing home outside of the city but we couldn't tell her that she wasn't in 'her' city. She loved that city and her life there. I'm not sure that LA is a city that you can LOVE. I having loving feelings toward NYC but haven't lived there so I'm undecided on that one. I would like to find out, though. East Coast winters may be a bit tough on this California native. But for today I am wishing I were in my city by the bay enjoying an irish coffee at The Buena Vista.

Off to Arizona!

This weekend will find me in Arizona for some family time. My father lives in a tiny western town that has one stoplight and two police cars. There is a tiny theater which shows one movie for 2 weeks at a time. I think the ticket price is $4 and a large popcorn (with a refill) is $1.50. Visiting there is like stepping back in time. We love it for a day or two and then can't wait to get back home! I have been a little bit of a recluse this week, just staying in and spring cleaning and fretting over my hair and what to wear on the cruise next month. Did you hear about the cruise ship that hit the rocks in Greece? Well, it's not the same cruise line as the one I'll be on but that IS one of our stops. Speaking of recluses - I'm going to see 'The Hoax' tonight. Has anyone seen it yet? I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend! Please continue to write in and share your own bon vivant tales with me.

Oh My Hair

I am having a hair crisis and need some input from my readers. I went to see Lynette 2 weeks ago for a trim. I love Lynette and have followed her to 3 different salons and now she opened her own small salon in Studio City so I was especially excited to see her new place and try a new style. Remember, I have had the same long, straight hair with bangs for so many years and then last November Lynette gave me an angled chin-length bob and I loved it and felt so grown-up and sexy and vixenish (word?). I got so many compliments on the new 'do. OK, so 2 weeks ago I went to Lynette's new place and told her I wanted it a little shorter and 'choppy' all around the ends - softer, not so a-line-ish. Well, I don't like it now. It looked good the first two days and I'm not sure whether to go back and have it fixed or just wait until the first week of May and just get a new cut then. I need it to look FABULOUS for this wedding on May 12Th and decent again for the cruise at the end of May. I am trying very hard to be clear with myself on what I don't like about it. That's the hard part. I saw a woman last Tuesday night at a discussion group and she had the hair cut I want. Just like mine in the front but short, short, short in the back and it was adorable. So, am I dissatisfied because I want her hair now or am I truly unhappy with my cut? I think I look like my hair needs a trim now. I guess it's that choppy thing that makes it look that way. Not one person has complimented me on this cut. Last time I got 'Oh, I love your hair' now I have heard from several neighbors and friends the exact same thing 'Oh, you cut your hair again'. So, here is my dilemma: Do I go back and ask her to re-cut it to look like that woman from last week or do I let it go another 4 weeks? Advice, please! I will look for pictures of how mine looks and how I think I want it to look and post them here as soon as possible...