On the way to Pasadena for shopping, we stopped at
Pink's for fancy hot dogs. They have dozens of variations, and cheesy clip-art signs plastered up all over the place to entice you to try them. How can a place that's been around since 1939 be wrong?
Normally I'm not a hot dog fan, but I make an exception at Pink's and at baseball games. Plus, after having Thai food last night and Japanese planned for my birthday dinner, I figured it was only fair for Mom to get something she'd enjoy. The line was the longest I'd seen, and we waited about 30 minutes to get to the counter and order. Fortunately it went fast due to plenty of distractions. Hello, Google Street View car! How awesome would it be if we were pictured in line in front of Pink's on Google Maps?!
Then I turned around and got a big slap in the face... Jason DeRulo is going to be here January 1, and I am NOT. I decided what I want for my birthday: Jason DeRulo. Not the ticket. The guy. I wonder what Freud would say about me eating a hot dog and thinking about Jason DeRulo simultaneously? Forget I asked. It's not my fault he has the world's catchiest jingle. (My favorite example being from "In My Head.")
Ok, where was I? After enjoying a guacamole dog and a chili-cheese dog, we jumped back in the Mini and headed to Old Town Pasadena for some last-minute shopping.
Pasadena is a really lovely city with the picturesque bridge that connects it to Los Angeles, green spaces (their botanical garden is really top-notch), and a cute shopping area with upscale architecture and design. It was crowded but not crazy, and just being there felt like Christmas. We spent some time browsing in Barnes and Noble, then Crate and Barrel. Kelley and I both fell in love with the same linen design, a graphic, storybook-like pattern full of animals:
I kept thinking that it reminded me of the cover of Keane's "Under the Iron Sea" album, and when I grabbed the C&B catalog I discovered that I was right: this was designed by
Sanna Annukka for
Marimekko.
Her work is beautiful and distinctive. I've been a fan for a long time but hadn't looked her up in a while, so this was a welcome discovery. CandB also had giftwrap (lousy colors; I wish they offered black & white!):
After the unexpected and eye-popping art encounter, we headed back home to meet Eric and have dinner. The Rock-n-Roll sushi place Kelley wanted me to see was booked, so we went to
Teru Sushi instead. They bill themselves as LA's greatest sushi experience, and I have to say, I want to try ALL the others to make sure, but it really was excellent!
We shared a range of things: grilled shisito peppers with ponzu sauce, yellowtail roll, albacore and salmon sushi, spicy tuna on fresh rice cakes, and some fun rolls like the Dragon Ball Roll and the aptly named Yummy Roll. Totally delicious!
At the last minute we decided to forgo making a homemade double-chocolate cheesecake in favor of a 4-flavor Trader Joe's version, and I must say, I'm not sure we could have made a better cheesecake ourselves!
Belive me when I say, I know how to birthday.
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