Bye Bye September!

Bye Bye September from Heather Toner on Vimeo.

Playclothes Vintage Shop!

I don't mind too much when vintage stores are just big warehouses packed to the brim with racks of clothes.  I mean, it makes for more of a challenge and the overall shopping experience is perhaps not quite as enjoyable...But I'll still shop in those kind of stores.  

Having said that, I much more prefer to shop in stores like the incredible Playclothes Vintage!  This delightful shop is full with amazing finds from all decades, clothes, decor, chatskies, you name it-- Play Clothes has it all.  But it is also so beautifully laid out, so cleverly decorated, one can't help but feel they walked into a vintage dream closet.  

The boy and I visited this Burbank gem a few Saturdays ago and I have since learned that it's a regular hot spot for costume stylists on Mad Men and other period piece designers looking for costumes to grace both the big and small screens.  Does it get any better than that?  Oh yeah, it does...

The prices on all the clothes were incredible fair.  Even though I was being good and didn't purchase anything, there was plenty there that caught my eye as being both unique and lovely, and marked at the right price.  All in all, it's work the trek into Burbank and then some! 

Burger Quest: IRV's Burgers (by The Boy)

It's easy to feel a degree of trepidation about stepping into an independent burger shack. You never know what kind of slop they're going to stuff into your fist once you've handed over your bills. You never know what kind of service you're going to get. We're so numbed by the standard, stock Starbucks customer treatment, that we fear the old fashioned gamble of entering a random dive.

Or at least I do.

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However, Irv's Burgers is not only a great little burger shack, but it's one of the best customer service experiences I have ever customer experienced. I walked away from the joint smiling broadly, not remotely caring about how the burger I had in the little paper bag in my hand was going to taste.

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Here's the deal: you walk up to shack on the corner of Santa Monica and Sweetzer and Sue pokes her head out from under the little order window and acts like you're Jesus come to pick up your burger on which you'll judge the living and the dead and your kingdom will have no end. She takes your order nicely and you sit waiting for the thing in a little courtyard - the joint has no roof - and instead of writing your name on the cup like at Starbucks, Sue draws a picture of either you or the clothes you're wearing.

The burger itself happens to be awesome - a nice but not overbearing slab of meat, decent bun, stayed together nicely, ketchup, mustard and a little mayo, all nicely balanced with the salad.

The Score:

meatiness: 3
succulentiousness: 4
bun: 3
flavor: 4
stay-togetherness: 4
joint: 5

*A Note from Heather:  I am so jealous that I missed this burger exploit with the boy, but we will definitely go back.  Also, the boy didn't take pictures so all above were found online.  Click the links to view the sources. 

Buchon Bistro

Recently the boy and I ate at the Bouchon Bistro...A place we've been wanting to go to for years now.  It didn't disappoint. 

We ate in the cafe, taking in all the Beverly Hills passers-by and munching on Olive Tapenade and something else I can't remember.  The boy had a Bay Scallop Hash and I had a lovely Turkey Sandwich on a french roll.  We sipped Cremant d'Alsace and finished the meal with the best peach cobbler I have ever tasted.  It was a meal to be remembered. But it was remarkably casual - like dining out on a patio in Milan or Nice (I imagine.)  I felt connected to the world, blanched by the sun, slowly marinated by the sparkling wine, entertained by the surrounding weiner dogs - I felt joie de vivre!

We will definitely go back. If we were rich enough - we'd make it our local.

Airplane: Best one Liners...

I'm pretty afraid of flying, but when I'm up in the air, cruising at 30 thousand feet, I try to think about these lines from the screwball comedy "Airplane," and I always feel better.

"I am serious...And don't call me Shirley."

"Excuse me Stewardess, I speak jive."

"That's when I developed my drinking problem."

"Guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue."

If you haven't ever see "Airplane" it's streaming on Netflix now.  Watch it, laugh and enjoy the brilliant silliness.

quick update!

For the past 10 days, the boy and I have had a couple British house guests staying with us.  We had the best time hanging out with them and taking them to all our favorite places in Los Angeles.   They in turn were fabulous house guests, providing us with tickets to Disneyland AND a Dodger game (they both work for ESPN.) 

We had several fun adventures with them and I'm eager to share them with you, but first I just have to let you know that my typing isn't quite up to speed because of this...

I dropped a glass in the sink and cut my hand.  5 stitches later and my left hand is kinda out of commission, at least for the next 8 days.  So I may have to stick to more visual posts for the next week....I'll keep you posted!

Stealing Small Screen Style: Pan/Am

I must admit, that I'm excited for the launch of ABC's new series Pan Am... not only does it star Christina Ricci (one of my favorite actresses since we both were like 10 and the coolest hipster girl long before we even knew there was a Zooey Deschunel) but it also is going to no doubt feature an awesome 1960's wardrobe.  I know the show doesn't begin till Sunday, but after seeing posters and billboards up all around town, I decided to garner my own Pan Am inspired look...

I wasn't actually having the best hair day and kinda wish I had gone with a more polished up-do...Maybe next time.

Skirt: Vintage (looks like it may have been an actual flight attendant skirt)
Shirt: Express
Shoes & Earrings: Target

Here's the trailer for the new show.  I can't wait for it to begin...All these new shows make me wish we actually had cable!

Burger Quest: Jack in the Box

Yes, Jack in the Box was a necessary stop in the Burger Quest and yes, it didn't hold up very well next to the prior burgers.  But at merely $1.59 it's a pretty decent deal.  The burger is nothing special, but it's certainly editable.

I don't really know what else to say about it as it didn't leave me feeling like writing a burger-sonnet.  But it was a perfectly fine fast food burger.  I have always ordered the chicken strips from Jack in the Box on the rare occasions that I eat there, and I think, after this burger experience, I will continue to order the chicken!

Here's the score breakdown...

meatiness: 2
succulentiousness: 1
bun: 2
flavor: 2
stay-together-ness: 5
joint: 1

Photoshop Lesson 2: Gradient Fading

This is one of those skills that, I think, can take an image from boring to sophisticated in a quick minute.  I was so excited to finally learn how to make a gradient image fade...Here's the tutorial I used.  


Cheers!

Bigfoot Lodge

 I have been wanting to go to the Bigfoot Lodge in Glendale for the longest time.  Right on Los Feliz Blvd, a hop skip and a jump from Griffith Park, this dark bar is made to look like a mountain hunting lodge, complete with Smokey the Bear and an animatronic mini-forest.

We stopped in for a drink and the joint did not disappoint!  Good atmosphere, great music, and a nice selection of drinks.  I had one of the house specialties, The Girl Scout Cookie.  It was very sweet and very strong...Tasted like a Thin Mint dipped in vodka!  I honestly could barely finish it, as I am not really used to such rich and sweet drinks but I appreciate the dedication to the forest-y theme! 

Overall, I'd like to go back and I also kind of want to decorate our apartment in a similar woodsy way...

Oh to Live in a Victorian Doll House!

There is a section of Angelino Heights, near Echo Park that hosts some of the oldest, most adorable Victorian Houses in Los Angeles. 

We tend to get a lot of really ugly architechture out here in LA, and too often, interesting, older buildings are knocked down without a second thought.  But high above downtown, a few of Los Angeles' oldest homes have been preserved. 

I love Victorian homes.  I adore all the details, the quaint pointed roofs and the bright color combinations.  Walking down this Angelino Heights road, all I could think was, "I want my future home to look like this!"  Maybe someday...

This last house was definitely my favorite!  There were dogs sleeping on the porch and it looked like they were setting up for a dinner party on the porch, so cute!

Playing Dress Up: Vintage Dress Outfit Post

Ok, not to get all Freudian on you, but I've been thinking a lot lately on my tendency to want to play dress up...Even though I'm 28.  And I think it goes back to the fact that I never really played "dress up" as a child.  For some reason, it didn't seem like an option.  Maybe it was the fact that I had brothers who would have made fun of me if they caught me prancing about in a frilly outfit, or maybe it was just a lack of clothes, but whatever the reason, I remember never really playing dress-up outside of Halloween and dance recitals. And that was just fine with me. 

But if there was ever a dress to play dress up in, this is it!   I know I've posted about it before, but this is one dress that deserves revisiting!

  This was a fabulous find at a Portland shop called Vintage Pink, courtesy of my Aunt Jeanette.  It's a gorgeous print with unusual sequined detail all over.  I had to do some clever seamstress-ing in order to take the bust in, but all in all, I think it's the prettiest dress in my closet! 

And this wasn't just me dressing up, I wore this baby to an actual tea party the other week.  So it's dress up with a purpose!  ;)

twitter tea party

I'm going to totally rock this twitter tea party and I hope you'll join me.  There'll be a very special giveaway from Red Ribbon Fox you just may enjoy.  Hope to see you there!

Burger Quest: Umami Burger

This was a damn good burger.  I think we set the bar really really high by making Umami Burger our second stop on the Burger Quest 2011.  The joint, of which there are several in LA,  is nice, though not that special in any way.  We went to the location at Space 15 Twenty  on Cahuenga Blvd.  But what the joint lacks in personality the menu makes up for in originality and overall deliciousness.  If ever there was a distinct burger joint, this is it!

The burgers are indeed gourmet, but I don't think that makes them pretentiousness at all.  In fact, the Umami Burger was perfect with a cold glass of Corona and despite the shitake mushrooms, it was one of the most scrumptious blends of meat, sauce and garnishes I've ever experienced.  It was definitely a fancier burger than I'm used to, but it was simultaneously classically simple.  If you can get yourself to an Umami Burger I highly recommend you do so, quick snap!  This is the burger for the ages! 

The Score:

Meatiness:   5
Succulentiousness:   4

Bun:   4

Flavor:    4

Stay Together-ness:   3

Joint :   3