Gjelina

I have a final tomorrow, so clearly I'm blogging. #duh.

Last week, I traipsed over to Venice to say goodbye to some of the attorneys I worked for over the summer. But turned out they were in trial and I missed them, so I met up with Christina at Gjelina for lunch.

I've heard rave reviews about this place, but hadn't had a chance to check it out because dinner reservations are a pain to get with my schedule and during lunch I was always working. So this was the perfect day.

We ordered cappuccinos to start, then spent time parsing through the delicious menu. We settled on the king mushrooms (delicious and smoky and weirdly meaty), the smoked trout salad with avo and grapefruit (reminded me of something I'd get in the UK), the pear burrata (literally killed me it was so amazing), and the gruyere and caramelized onion flatbread.

It was sort of a "ladies who brunch" kind of thing, which was a nice break from eating a salad at my desk while drafting motions in limine. It sort of makes me want to be a yoga instructor/blogger who spends most of the day at the beach, only retreating indoors for a cucumber-mint virgin cocktail.

Then this weekend, I finally hung out with Lauren and Becky and Freddy (who has now entered the fold of the girls' club - welcome my friend.) We met up for beers and pool and I have to say I have improved tremendously. This isn't saying much because there was a time I couldn't move a ball on a pool table. But we had such a good time, although I have to say I am not quite as tolerant of IPAs as I used to be.

Between seeing my bffls and cuddling with my mom and various pups, it was a lovely weekend to start the holiday season off.

xx

Updates + Primitivo Wine Bar

 Dins with Priyah in Venice

  

So this week has been crayyyyyyyy. I started work on Tuesday at the LA City Attorney in the family violence unit, which covers child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, etc., both misdemeanor and felony cases. I've been working a ton, i.e. motions, order, briefs, manuals, points and authorities, and I got to go to court on Thursday and it's just plain amazing. The office is dynamic and high pressure and there are about 15 attorneys, I get to work with every day. Currently, I'm working on a points and authorities on when and how to serve minor witnesses when their parent/guardian is the defendant in a child abuse case. It may sound a little grim, but as an avid follower of Law and Order: SVU, this is dream come true.

This week, I also got to have lunch with my favorite journalist, Anthony, at the LA Farmer's Market - yummy BBQ chicken and I've fallen in love with the iced americanos at Groundwork. One day, I worked 11.5 hours with a 30 minute break for coffee, so those are going to be my saving grace.

Other fun things this week:

- The Gold Room with Evan and company for PBRs. So hipster-y and dive-y. Love it.
- Brunch at 26 Beach with Veronica last Saturday - S'more French toast with Nutella. I had two bites - it was so sweet, but soooooo good. And seeing V always puts me in a good mood. Plus she is moving to DTLA, so hopefully I'll get to see her more often!
- Yoga with Steph at Lululemon, lattes at Caffe Luxxe, and a beach day with Katie - it was far too wonderful of day; those girls spoil me with their amazingness.

- Memorial Day BBQ with Steph at Venice Beach - we had these phenomenal cookies and waded in the water

- Smoothies at Silver Lake Juice and Tea. I got the Hurricane Chuck with espresso, cacao nibs, almond milk, and a whole bunch of yummy vegan things.
- Apt hunting. I'm looking for a room or studio in Silver Lake or Echo Park. I saw three places this week - a house of artists by the reservoir (walking distance to La Mill); an apartment in Echo Park with two boys, walking distance to Thirsty Crow, but a little, um, decrepit; then a house a block from Stories, butttt too many people I think. All the places were super cute, but there isn't any rush. I want to find somewhere that I can see myself living for at least the next year with legit people, so wish me luck!

SOOOO, last night Priyah, Evan, and I hit up the Abbot Kinney First Friday. It was jam-packed but so fun. We ended up taking a break from humanity and having wine and tapas at Primitive Wine Bistro, which I had seen on Thrillist. We tried a South African syrah (Porcupine), which was spicy and fruity. And we also shared a hummus plate and cured meat platter. It was so relaxing and fun. The wine selection was phenomenal and the food was carefully chosen and prepared. The service was ridiculously good. And Priyah and Evan are two of my favorite people so it was a wonderful way to end my hectic week. I think I could get used to this whole working thing :-)

Jam in the Van: #savethevan

Last night, Priyah invited me to a backyard music fundraiser in Venice for Jam in the Van.

From Jam in the Van's website: 

"In short, Jam in the Van was created by a group of friends, each from a different walk of life and background, each with one common bond, the love of music. We built a Jam Van by turning an old Winnebago into a professional sound studio.  We invite musicians inside of the van to record intimate HD sessions to showcase the artists' live performances. "

Jam in the Van has had performers as Meiko, The Peach Kings, Vanaprasta, and Honey Island Swamp Band (which are coincidentally, some of my faves.)

Jam in the Van recently went to SXSW and the van went through a lot so they were raising money to make a new van, hence the #savethevan event last night. So for $10 each, we got to hear amazing music from The Dustbowl Revival (my folk love at its best) and got to meet the members as well as meet the bassist from John Wayne Bro (a little Black Keys-ish) and tons of other local musicians. (And there was beer.) 

This is a pretty amazing thing and I think everyone should donate to/follow Jam in the Van 

:-)

Overall, after a day of studying, it was an amazing end to the week - Thank you, Priyah for the invite!

Some music from last night: