The Women of LA

Hi everyone,

'Tis I, the former writer for Running Into Screen Doors. First, please know this is merely a creative hiatus I have taken... Between trying to make a dolla, dolla bill y'all, and raising the cutest baby on the planet, my brain's a little fried and I have been having a difficult time coming up with anything worth reading that doesn't sound preachy or boring as hell.

Having said that, I hope you'll enjoy a YouTube video I just stumbled upon... As you know, I lived in LA for three years, and while I wasn't trying to pick up chicks or "hit that ass," I LOVED this video and all its accurate stereotyping. Also, I don't think you can go wrong with a video that features Pauly Shore, Urkel and Mr. Belding...

Hope you are doing well... hugs and kisses from me to you!

At the Red House

My mom's internet recommendations are usually hit or miss.

Thank you, Mom, for this GLORIOUS recommendation.

If You've Ever Loved a Pet and Had to Say Goodbye

I'm not gonna lie... the below video is not necessarily one I would call happy. But in its own way, it is all about happiness and our pets and the unconditional love they provide us.

A friend from college posted this earlier today and I am almost certain I have never cried so hard at a video or film or movie as I did watching this six minute short. For me, it encapsulates all that it is to be a pet owner: the indescribable joy they bring you, the support they provide when you feel like not a single human in the world understands you, the fear and sadness of recognizing the inevitable fact that they will likely die before you no matter how much you wish and hope to the contrary.


Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

Of course, I say all this knowing that Moe will live forever no matter what. He just has to.

Instrumental Motivation for Friday

My husband is the kind of person who can work with music blasting in the background. Honestly, I think it helps him and does not distract in the slightest. I, on the other hand, cannot. For me the issue is lyrics; if the words of the song are audible, I focus on them instead of the those that should be flying from my fingers for work or personal writing.

It's my cross to bear, what can I say.

However, there is an exception to this rule which is probably obvious: music that has no words. Ahhh! I'm talking classical music, instrumentals, string quartets... the list goes on.

This morning, to kick off my favorite day of the week, my best friend Britt sent me this accordion quintet's rousing rendition of one of my favorite 80's hits... A-Ha's Take On Me!



Tell me you weren't bouncing in your seat while listening to that... if you deny it, I won't believe you!

Speaking of not believing, or trying to keep yourself believing, it inspired me to share a few of my favorite instrumental covers by various groups, one of which is the song I walked down the aisle to when Kyle and I got married: Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.



Just in case you're planning on getting married in northern California and would like the information for the string quartet who played at our wedding, you can check them out here.

Another favorite cover is Fix You by Coldplay. I blast this in the car when I'm driving alongside the ocean on PCH and I can't tell you how happy it makes me.



And finally, for any Smashing Pumpkins fans, check out this cover of Today... it is seriously awesome.



If this sort of thing floats your boat, I recommend downloading Low Strung's or Vitamin String Quartet's albums, both available on iTunes. They are fantastic.

What a week, what a week! Happy Friday, everyone.

Sh*t People Say In LA and A Little Article about Schools and Religion (You Know, Kids' Stuff!)

It's one of those "all over the place" kinda days.

I was going to post about this article today, but I hesitate to start throwing around my opinions about religion and bullying and the Constitution. It's a little heavy for a Tuesday, c'est vrai?

So, here's my take in three sentences: I have friends and family (all of whom I love) who are religious, atheists or agnostics. I believe everyone should have the right to practice their religion freely, without persecution, in their own time, but also believe in the separation of church and state; the First Amendment is solid for a reason, people. I am appalled that the young girl (Jessica Ahlquist) in this article would be outrageously bullied for having her own beliefs (because, don't forget, being an atheist IS a belief), but forcing her school to uphold the constitution. Oh, and one more thing: shame on you, Peter G. Palumbo (Rhode Island State Representative), for not upholding the Constitution you swore an oath to support AND for having the audacity to call this girl 'evil.'

I guess that was four sentences.

Phew! How about some fluff, now, hmmm?

Yes, I realize how overdone the Sh*t People Say videos are, and while most of them are crap, I think it actually only matters how relevant they are to your life (I still love the original and this one for its crazy, though accurate, bride impersonations).

People, having lived in Los Angeles for three years, I have to say this is pretty spot on. While watching it, I cringed at the number of things I've said in the past (and if we're being honest) in my every day life, although I will say I've never had Intelligentsia coffee or snorted blow with Skeet Ulrich (or anyone for that matter; no cokeheads up in here!!).



Do you have any favorites Sh*t People Say videos you're crazy about? Better question: do you think the things you say in real life could make for a good two minute short film?

Either way, I'm hoping the people who said the shit they did to Jessica Ahlquist will realize how ludicrously wrong it is to attack someone (let alone a teenage girl) simply because their beliefs do not match with their own.

Namaste (please note I am saying this ironically and as an homage to Angelenos).

Book Club Thursday!

Hi everyone. I'm hosting Book Club at my house tonight (not to mention it's just a crazy day in general), so there's not much time to write. However, I found a video that simultaneously gives a nod to old literature while maintaining my love of whimsy and ridiculousness.

Ladies and Gentlemen (via a status update from an old classmate of mine), I present The Hobbit starring CATS.



I think their use of "hairless cat" for Gollum is genius. I appreciated the strange rainbow anime cats flying across the sky as well.

Hope you're up to some whimsical stuff this Thursday, everyone!

Sh*t Girls Say

Have you seen this making its way around the Internet today? Hysterical is really the only way to put it.





I can't resist anything Juliette Lewis because of The Other Sister and this lovely performance in college.

Thursday's Technical Melancholy

The outpour of grief and sorrow over the death of Steve Jobs has been kind of awesome to watch, hasn't it? It sounds kind of morbid to put it that way, but I feel one of the reasons humans scare death so much is because of the unspoken fear of being forgotten.

I am in awe of people who can evoke this emotion throughout the world, and Jobs definitely earned the respect, gratitude and honor. Even if you don't own an Apple product (which is a feat nowadays, so congratulations if you managed to not), the technology you use, the movies you see, the music you listen to were all touched in some way by his innovation and collaboration with others.

In watching the flood of sadness across all media outlets, social networks and blogs, I wanted to share a couple things that touched me most.

My favorite quotes (all which happen to be from the commencement speech he gave at a graduation ceremony at Standford in 2005):

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever...because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path and that will make all the difference."

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I have ever encountered that has helped me make the big choices in life. Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

And finally: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish."



Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Rainy Day Funk

Usually rainy days offer serious bursts of happiness for me. I'm currently typing this in a huge, bulky gray sweater, sipping tea and working on a few different projects, and while this should just add to the joy level of the blustery bad weather, here I am in somewhat of a total funk.

Does this ever happen to you? I like to think I'm a pretty upbeat person most of the time, but I've just been down since yesterday afternoon. No worries, I plan on getting out of it soon, but since I don't allow myself to wallow in self pity all that often, I'm declaring this a day for Elizabeth to be sad.

I'll go ahead and blame part of it on this cleanse. Day Two of no caffeine and only fruit and vegetables has made me lethargic and irritable. I don't think I was cut out for this way of eating; I need some grains and cheese and stat!

So, whilst working away, I've been listening to The Wombats. Have you ever heard of them? They're one of my favorite bands and, having seen them in concert, I can tell you they put on a massively good show.

I just can't resist a musician with a British accent (or three for that matter). All of their music videos are a bit out there, so I'm going with the song that seems to encompass my gloomy mood. However, if I can also suggest this, this and this song, you won't be let down, promise!



Everyone needs a rainy day bum sesh once in a while, oui?

Renegade Kitchen and The Next Food Network Star

Hola my little taquitos! Forgive me if I'm in the Spanish speaking mood, but my mom and sister return from Mexico today and it just hit me how much I completely miss them. Hurry home, ladies!

I was going to post about my future home office decor today and then decided against it (I have a feeling most of you are letting out a large sigh of relief at this point). You see, friends, I need to introduce you to someone who is pretty, well, fantastic.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Dan Kohler of Renegade Kitchen.

What is Renegade Kitchen, you ask? If we're playing the Obvious Game, it's a place of "serious food for the allergy bound." If we're not, it's a platform that Dan created after being diagnosed with his own food allergies. Aside from loving to cook and feed his nearest and dearest, he wanted to give people in similar situations something that wasn't "crunchy-hippie-rainbow-birdseed cookies," but rather delicious and downright indulgent food that feeds your soul.

The site is equal parts cooking show meets food blog meets sass. In heels.

How do I know Dan? He was Fantastic J's Man of Honor when she got married last year; thus, we spent a good week reveling with our wedding cohorts before the big event.

Things I feel you should know about him:

(1) He's an actor... in New York City!

(2) He was once a Blue Man. Yes, as in the Blue Man Group (not to be confused with the Blue Man Group Tobias Funke accidentally attended all those years ago on Arrested Development).

(3) He has blonde curly hair.

(4) Bitch gets serious when he starts cooking. I tried whipping out my skills at last year's wedding jamboree and when it came to caramelizing some onions, he was not pleased with my jokey joke attitude. I appreciate a person who's serious about his art.

(5) When he's not being Serious Kitchen Bitch Dan, he's hysterical theatrical make-you-piss-your-pants Dan. He's sharp as a tack, that one.

HOWEVER, as much as I love the guy and his site, the real reason I'm posting about him today is so that all of you can send him good vibes because... he's trying out for The Next Food Network Star! And based on this post on his own website, it looks like he's almost made it on (enjoy the inner dialogue he let's everyone be privy to... I sure did).

Here's a peek at his audition video:


FNS 8 Prime from Renegade Kitchen on Vimeo.

Charismatic, n'est pas? The part where he compares eggplant to "the creepy uncle in the corner?" Genius. Things like this fly out of his mouth on a minute to minute basis, and I for one, think the Food Network needs a personality that isn't a winking, cute, chubby girl or a self-absorbed asshole.

Finally, let me attest to his cooking right here, folks: the man is good. He whipped up Fantastic J's bridal brunch the morning of her wedding, swirling about the kitchen like a tall, lanky food dragon, and it was phenomenal.

So send out some positive vibes to Brooklyn... and hand me a piece of Afternoon Cake, please!

I might...

... just make this a video week. I have to say, researching videos on YouTube might be my new favorite hobby.

Here are some that I love for various reasons! You may or may not have already seen them, but I hope they evoke some sort of HAPPY feeling within you:


Skittles Touch: Cat video


Friggin' creepy and hilarious. I think my dad should have done a double mustache before he shaved his off!

Dear Sophie


I have watched this (quite possibly) twenty times in the last couple months and I have yet to not tear up when I view it. It is so incredibly touching and REAL. I had a friend in high school whose mom died, and after her funeral, she discovered notebooks her mom had written to her and her brothers filled with anecdotes, thoughts, but always love. I hope I can do this for my future kids someday.


Alabama Leprechaun


And finally, an oldie but a goodie.

"Who all seen the leprechaun, say yeah?!"

YEAH!