In my life...

My friend Lisa from Mount Vernon High School owns a restaurant in Manhattan Beach called Lido di Manhattan.  She bought the place when she was only 23.  On Thursday, she will be featured on Kitchen Nightmares (8:00pm on FOX).

It sounds like Chef Ramsey was tough on her but really helped out the restaurant.  I can’t wait to watch!

Here is the episode recap…

Chef Ramsay visits a Lido di Manhattan in Manhattan Beach, CA. Lisa Hemmat grew up in and around the food service industry and inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from her parents. Shortly after graduating with a business degree from USC Marshall School of Business she secured a loan (with her parents as co-signers) and purchased Lido di Manhattan in June of 2004, at the ripe old age of 23. Having been left with a strong staff, including a veteran cook in the kitchen, Lisa felt secure and confident in her decision to become the next great Los Angeles restaurateur. Five years later, Lisa is struggling to pay her bills and has come to the harsh realization that she is barely making ends meet. Chef Ramsay gives Lisa a lesson in restaurant business 101.

Best News Ever

I got the greatest call over the weekend.  Kris and Kevin are engaged!!!!!  Kevin proposed in a perfect way which included a romantic getaway, a private dockside table, a bottle of Cristal and www.kriskirn.com.  I could not be happier for these two and can’t wait to see what there wedding will look like.

I am also obsessed with this picture of the happy couple which also shows off Kris’s dazzling ring.  Congratulations Krevin! 

Vancouver Olympics 2010

I have been throwing around the phrase “once in a lifetime” lately with the whole Fashion Week experience.  This weekend, we decided to cross the border and be a part of the 2010 winter Olympics.  We tried to get tix through several lotteries to no avail so instead we hit as many Olympic venues that we could on one day.

We crossed the border in 15 minutes and stopped at the Surrey visitor center where we got a map and a listing of all the free venues.  We parked in Richmond for free and then jumped on the SkyBridge.

Our first stop was the Olympic cauldron and media center.  The crowds were crazy (of course we picked a Saturday with beautiful weather!) and it was an hour wait for a better view so this was the best we could do.

The next stop was the German Fan Fest.  This place is wild at night but it was the perfect stop for a bratwurst and a German beer.  We got in line early and only had to wait about 15 minutes.

Every place we went had live Olympics coverage with people cheering while enjoying a cold beer.  It was so fun to watch the big screen as if we were watching a football game and getting into the races.   Our third stop was LiveCity downtown.  We waited in line here for 30 minutes.  By this time, we realized there were lines everywhere so the best thing to do was jump in one.

This is the inside of LiveCity downtown.  Behind Jake is a huge outdoor bigscreen.  The people are in line to view Canada house.  It sounds like the main attraction here was the Stanley Cup.  On the other side was a bar/lounge with live Olmpics coverage.  Here, we watched some cross country skiing and enjoyed a Molson.

Next, we wandered to the Bell Lounge which is an techy, interactive place that hosts interviews with Olympic athletes each day at 3:00.  We say Maelle Ricker, Canadian gold medalist in Snowboarding.  People went nuts taking her picture and listening to her interview.  Canadian Olympic fever was running high!

They also had the Olympic torch here which was neat to see.

Our next destination was Yaletown which was somewhat of a hub for Olympic festivities.  The streets were lined with vendors, live music and crazy crowds all wearing red.

My goal was to fit in as much as possible in one day so we started walking toward the water to take the Aqua Bus to Granville Island.  Again we waited about 20 minutes but had a chance to take some really nice pictures.

Once on Granville, we found the French quarters called Pace de la Francophonie.  There were no lines here at all.  We got a table right away and ordered a fruit and cheese plate and Quebec fries with gravy and cheese curds. The best part (for me) was that the Olympics coverage was in French!  Of course, we couldn’t understand it but it felt like we were sitting down for a beer in a country far, far away from the US or Canada.

Feeling like we had conquered the Olympic experience, we jumped on the trolley, to the sky bridge, and into the River Rock Casino (which is connected to the station where we were parked).  I had never been in this casino before and it was fancy!  In Canada, there is no smoking in the casinos so it is ideal for gambling.  We sat down at the tables for a few games.  Kristin won big, I won small and Jake lost a bit.  Don’t feel too bad for him.  He was coming off a $310 win from the night before.

We had such a fun day and accomplished quite a bit without having to stay the night or invest in any event tickets.  I have to say that our Olympics 2010 visit was truly a “once in a lifetime” experience! 

…Although the summer games ARE in London.  I wouldn’t hate a corresponding Europe trip =)

30 Rockefeller Center

We really did no sight seeing until Monday…our last day in the city.  Feeling tired and cold, we only visited 5th avenue, the outside of Central Park and Rockefeller Center (for the 2nd or 3rd time) and snapped a couple pictures.  Because I love 30 Rock, this building is a fun one to visit.

I have yet to make it to 1 museum in NYC and vow that my next trip will include this, plus more time downtown during the day.

Grand Central Station

Our hotel was located a couple blocks from Grand Central Station.  We ended up walking through here at least once per day.   This place has been featured in a million tv shows and movies and just feels so New York.

After Fashion Week, we hit up GC Station for pizza by the slice and a drink at the swanky Campbell Apartment, which boasts cocktails from another era.  This is a bar that takes a reservation and serves $15 drinks.  The atmosphere was very Don Draper but sadly the drinks were disgusting. 

We snapped a couple pics and caught this fun candid which also shows both Jake and I’s head to toe for FW.

Jake - new Zara coat and vest, scarf and jeans from GAP, black button down bought somewhere in Barcelona

Sarah - Armani Exchange dress and necklace, target blazer and leggings, flat boots bought at a boutique in Bellingham, brand J shoes

Product placement

For Fashion Week, Alexis borrowed a fancy clutch from her friend.  Her friend paid only $250 but it retails for $500 (I still don’t even know the brand).  We liked to slip the clutch into multiple pictures for “product placement”, because it was clearly the nicest thing we had combined.  Here are a few examples:

One of my favorite quotes of the night was when we arrived at the Pour House to meet up with some of Alexis’ friends.  As soon as we got there, she said to the group…”Sorry we are a bit over dressed, we just came from Fashion Week.”  Throughout the night, we would “accidentally” drop our DVF tickets out of our purses. We thought we were so funny!

A bit more on Fashion Week

The view of the Herve Leger show, clean and simple.

The entrance to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

Another entrance to the tents that also shows the ridiculous weather.

Snapped this photo in line at the bathroom.  These people can’t be serious, can they?

Another ridiculous couple in what appeared to be homemade fashion. 

And a minor celeb sighting to round out the day.  I think she is from The Real Housewives of New York but I don’t have cable.

The final thing that happened after the shows is someone actually asked if they could take my picture. My answer: Yes, duh!   I have no idea who and it doesn’t matter but my confidence went through the roof. I just hope that I have the chance to attend NYFW again.  I have already entered the Maybelline sweepstakes for tix in September.  Hey, you never know!

Diane von Furstenberg (DVF)

Our second show was the super famous Diane von Furstenberg.  This show was held in the biggest venue which was at least 2 times the size of the Herve Leger test.  This show is very prestigious so I was very happy to get tix.  Jake switched places with Alexis who joined my for a little Fashion Week experience.

Below are a few of my favorite outfits.  DVF is known for wrap dresses and wearable clothing that is very popular in New York.   I loved, loved, loved the yellow sweater and gray skirt number and could picture wearing this entire outfit as is.

Here is a picture of our celebrity row.  These guys were on our side so the only thing we could see was a sea of camera flashes, although we walked right past them to get to our seats.

More notably in the audience was Vogue editor, Anna Wintour.  She was right across from us and I took a ton of pictures of her that unfortunately didn’t turn out.  She studied the models, in shades, of course, with a intensity and a trained eye.  I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off her.  Tim Gunn was in the audience too which I didn’t notice until he showed up in my video.

Throughout the show, I also kept staring at this lady with bright red hair and a witches hat.  She even jumped up and tried to cheers Diane with an empty plastic cup as she came down the runway.  I later found out that she is Pat Fields, famed Sex in the City stylist.  I guess we know that she is not afraid to make a statement!

Here is DVF herself, making the rounds with her hubby.  She is a classy lady.