—

For our one year anniversary Scott and I took a trip to Griffith Park since neither of us had ever been. We had to park a bit far down the windy road, but it made for a nice hike with some awesome views of the city and plenty of fun photo material. Once inside, we marveled at the Tesla coil and watched the planetarium show. I may just be behind the times, but when did planetarium shows get so awesome??? The last time I went they consisted of some little lights on a black ceiling and a dude with a laser pointer. But now they’re like full-out movies with scenes that change from the daytime sky to the night sky, to Galileo walking around his workspace, to close-ups of planets and  moving tours through galaxies, all with exciting music and sound effects and a man who walks around narrating with a headset mic and holding a glowing globe (no seriously). I was so amazed. Given, the last time I went to a planetarium show I was probably like, 8, and playing Oregon Trail on a computer with a black screen and green graphics. Boy was that game awesome.

After Griffith Park we headed to The Kitchen for dinner, but on the night of our actual anniversary we decided to stay in and cook. Because what could be classier than bacon-wrapped hot dogs?

*Most of the above pics were taken with my snazzy new f/1.4 50mm lens, courtesy of Scott. I love it!!*

That would be Sawtelle Kitchen. I had often passed by the tiny cottage-like restaurant while walking (or driving, often at the same speed as walking, thanks to rush hour LA traffic) down Sawtelle. I was always a little scared to eat there should I burst the perfect bubble image I painted in my head of the ever-so-cute-from-the-outside restaurant. But yesterday I finally faced my fears (with some encouragement from Scott) and stepped inside.

I waited for it to be too drafty or have boring decor – it was hip yet warm and cozy. The staff came up to greet us and I waited for them to be rude biznatches – they were uber-nice and attentive. I waited for the table to be all awkward and anti-feng shui-ish – it was against the wall but was nicely intimate and not too cramped. Was the food going to be bland? The portions too teeny? No – the wasabi sauce on Scott’s salmon was amazing and my shrimp & mushroom gratin was ginormous – quite the mother of all gratins. Would the meal cost me my first born child? No, $30ish for 2 people including salads and dessert! Perfection.

I left not being this excited about a place since Sloopy’s. The only thing that could ruin my trip would be if I got food poisoning, but until then A++ for Sawtelle Kitchen!!

P.S. I made the unforgivable mistake of not bringing my camera so please make do with this one I borrowed from Yelp.

In my last post I totally forgot to include the group pic from the end of the day! Here we are all tired and happy:


From left: Doug, Kevin, Greg, Julie, Lawrence, Lachlan, yours truly, and Patric

P.S. Isn’t the green wall awesome??