Bocce Friday!

Bocce Ball, Souplantation, and Visiting...

My Black Friday was actually a Bocce Friday! Much better than waiting in line, getting pepper sprayed and fighting for stuff in the store. :)

My high school friend Sonny was in town with his son F from the east coast to visit his family. Yes, high school. We go way, way back. When we didn't have gray hairs. What?! How did we get so old?

We went to the beach with his family but it was totally foggy. I'm a native Southern California girl and complained about the fog and chill...and Sonny laughed at us poor fragile Angelenos. He then described icicles in his nostrils from the New England winter. Okay, he wins.

Sonny's niece A taught me how to play Bocce. Somehow, I've never played before. I got an excellent lesson, and it was a ton of fun. Sonny's family is serious about their Bocce Ball! Check out their form!

F's favorite restaurant is Souplanation (can't find it in New England) so we headed there for lunch. I know foodies may bag on Souplanation, but I have always loved the place. Fast, hella choices, and I love that chicken noodle soup!

Father and son. It's an awesome day after Thanksgiving! Hope you guys come back for a So Cal visit again soon!

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Friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving Feast

I saw the hashtag #friendsgiving on twitter and instagram and thought is was the perfect name for Dave and Phil's pre-Thanksgiving feast!

Dave made most of the deliciousness including turkey, beans with spicy sauce, salad with dates, fresh bread...and so much more. Everything was fantastic. Phil cuts then reassembles the turkey - a trick he learned from his father who does it with chicken. Looks awesome, right?

Catching up with Dave & Phil's neighbors, co-workers and friends made a great night. Love celebrating the life of Catherine who, literally, almost died last year due to complications from surgery, a few recent birthdays, new stamps in friend's passports, and a newly minted PhD nano-scientist heading off to an exciting post-doc in Switzerland! Thanks Dave & Phil for a great Friendsgiving. Food, friends, and no family drama. Sweet.

I brought a pumpkin pie and apple, persimmon, cranberry crisps. I'll post recipes soon!

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weSPARK 5K Run at Universal Studios Hollywood

weSPARK 5K Run at Universal Studios Hollywood

Woo hoo! I ran my second 5K of the year. I'm trying to get back into running by running a 5K at least every two months.

I've been wanting to do this run for a couple years and it finally fit my schedule. It was a blast! You should definitely try it if you in Los Angeles. You get to run the backlot of Universal Studios...like being on the tram, but on foot...your own feet! You pass the Psycho House, Jaws lake, Grinch's winter wonderland, War of the World plane crash, Desperate Housewive's Wisteria Lane among other sets. They had several characters along the way including Phantom of the Opera and Indiana Jones.

And, the race was started by Mark L. Walberg (no, not Marky Mark) - this is the nice guy from Antiques Roadshow and my favorite Schmidt of New Girl, Max Greenfield (love that show!)

The first two miles were pretty flat, but the last part was pretty hilly. My first two mile splits were pretty good for me, but the hills, as usual, slayed me. However, I was busy taking in all the sights too. Luckily, two friends took photos along with route and shared them with me. Thanks Khadijah and Dave (see Dave's post here)

Whew! My favorite view of the race! :) Put the weSPARK 5K and 10K on your calendar for next year!

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