An early morning walk through Green Park in Mayfair.

At Buckingham Palace. Too early for the tourists. A picture perfect day.

#9 Up and Running. We cashed our first check on the manufacturing side. Hopefully it’s just the beginning.

Had lunch with my Dad today at Tom Colicchio’s, Craft in Century City. After a few Kusshi oysters, I tried the Quail with wild blueberries.  Not a huge meal, but perfect for a guy trying to balance a love affair with food and clothes that fit.  Very good meal.

#7 Done.  

Part of Sonia’s Mother’s Day Breakfast. Egg and Bacon stuffed peppers.

BBQ

Netflixed… Enjoyed.

Making a run for the playoffs.

Happy Mexican St. Patrick’s Day.

April Recap

Time flies when you’re having fun.  Turned another year older last month, but other than a bad back I don’t feel any older.  Brittany on the other hand… Anyway, we finally managed to knock a handful of goals off the list.

What’s done…

#2 – It only took two months to try twelve new restaurants. Surprised? Neither are we.

#9 – Started a manufacturing company.  It was the logical next step. No buying agency can touch us now.  Hurricanes, flooding and oil spills remind us that we can never stop diversifying. 

#34 – Bought a DLSR camera.  More fun than my iPad.  Hopefully I can make this blog a little more visually interesting. 

#38 – Saw the Eagles play the Hollywood Bowl. Awesome.

#58 – Summerized the back yard with some lounge chairs and flowers.  Lounge chair + iPad + Cocktail + BBQ = Alright, alright.

#68 – Compiled the soundtrack to my life. Turns out not even I would buy the album.

#69. Learned how to make one of my favorite cocktails.  It’s a six course meal in a glass.

What’s In Progress…

#1 – First and Foremost we became a corporation.  Unfortunately we became a California corporation.  Sadly, there is no incentive to become a California corporation.  You just have to bend over and let the Governator have his way with you.  And when he’s done he tells you he’ll be back.

#10 – Saw just one movie at the theatre.  Hot Tub Time Machine.  It gets worse and worse as time goes on.

#20 Enjoyed my first poolside weekend in Palm Springs.  

#36 – Named my future line, Kenwood Arthur.

 #67 – No Stranger Danger.

On to May.

#2 is complete.  Took two months to complete what I thought would have taken at least six.  Here is the list.

1. Bouchon
2. The Edison
3. Delphine
4. Thompson Hotel
5. Downtown Taco Truck
6. The Lazy Ox Canteen
7. The Boxwood
8. The Library Bar
9. Lucques
10. Bastide
11. The W
12. Church & State

Not only will this oil spill likely kill the profits of some of our largest clients, it will probably devastate the oyster industry.  Son of a…

#58 Done. The backyard is ready for a few BBQs and a nap or two.

Braces.

First official pic with the new camera.

#34 done. Went with the Canon Rebel T2i.  Can’t wait to learn how to actually use it.

A perfect Farmer’s Market morning.

#2 in progress. Tucked away in an old biscuit factory in the industrial part of downtown is the little French bistro, Church & State. Best French Onion Soup ever. Very good food. Maybe great.

Got the new iPad….iLove.

It’s like Christmas Eve.

Marquette area bar, Hegarty’s Pub, poured its last stout last night making it the final bar of my youth to be shot in the back of the head by the Man at Marquette.  #75 will now consist of me touring a local Dairy Queen where I will try to picture the spot where Matt passed out while standing up and managed to stay upright for thirty minutes before waking up.  

#2 in progress. We had a great dinner at Bastide in Beverly Hills last night.  Bastide is one of a handful of five star restaurants in L.A and it didn’t disappoint.  The ambiance was top notch and the food was very good. But compared to the other five star restaurant we tried (lucques) it didn’t hold up.  

#37 in progress. The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2010 were announced today. Denmark’s Noma was ranked number #1.  I’ll have the following eight U.S. restaurants to choose from. Alinea in Chicago, Illinois; Daniel, Per Se, Le Bernardin, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, wd~50 and Eleven Madison Park in New York; and The French Laundry in Yountville, California.

#36 in progress. My men’s line will be named after my namesake.

#9 Complete. We have officially expanded into the world of manufacturing.

Netflixed An Education. Love movies that inspire me to write. 

Netflixed Where the Wild Things Are. A decent movie, but it couldn’t touch the book.

Making Brit and her friend eat oysters. They like.

#20 in progress. Sun. Lounge chair. Kindle. Pina Colada. Pool. No Complaints.

Found some warm weather.

Looks like a nice day to watch a softball game, but it’s damn cold. We’re going to chase the Sun soon.

#67 in progress. Sonia and I watched the Laker game at Rocco’s last night and struck up a conversation with a man from Nashville.  Turns out he was a songwriter and owned a successful music studio.  He even worked with Ann Marie Boskovich, so small world.  He offered to give Devin an internship and invited us to the lake when we make it out to Nashville to visit one of our clients.  This is what #67 is all about.

Brit’s team won their quarter-final game and made it to the final four of State Cup where they lost to a gold team 3-1.  

Nothing like a good nap after a day at the ballpark.

Dad treated Sonia, Brit, and me to the Dodgers-Giants game.  The best pitcher in baseball blanked the Dodgers and all is good in the world. 

Brit’s team reached another goal and advanced to the quarter finals of State Cup with a 3-2 win.  

Dining clients is the best excuse to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants in town.  Once again, Mastros in Beverly Hills exceeded expectations.

Congrats to my sister for an amazing fight.  CT scan showed no sign of cancer.

Netflixed Defiance.  Meh. 

#1 and #9 in progress.  L.A. Fashion Insider is now incorporated.

Spent the weekend days in Lancaster to watch Brit compete in State Cup. Her team finished first in their bracket with a 2-0-1 record. That means I’ll be missing the Dodgers/Giants game next Saturday to watch her in round two.

#2 in progress.  Enjoyed a fantastic birthday dinner at Lucques on Melrose with my dad, Georgeanne and Sonia.  Ranked the #1 restaurant in L.A. by Los Angeles Magazine, Lucques managed to live up to the hype.  The roasted chicken with chickpea puree and slow cooked egg was one of the best meals I’ve had. 

My birthday present from Sonia. The Mac Daddy of carry on luggage.