Tea Rooms: My Rapidly Growing Obsession

My idea of a perfect afternoon is a day spent at a swap meet. Since the really good ones only happen on specific days of the month - all of which I always happen to miss, my consolation prize always comes in the form of having tea, but not just the kind where you drop a sad, withered tea bag that has the remnants of what used to be called ‘tea,’ just like the crud you get when you poor the last of your cereal in a bowl, into your mug - the kind that comes with beautifully crafted China, high quality flavorful tea, melt-in-your-mouth tiny pastries and an aura of peace, calm and quiet.

I’d rather let the photos do the talking for themselves, but these were taken by me at “The T Room,” one of the most charming places I’ve ever been in Montrose. The occasion? Two cunning locas by the names of Alina and Nathalie kidnapped me for a birthday surprise last month. I could have spent forever there.

Looking Towards London

In three weeks I’ll be heading to London, a city I adore as much as Los Angeles. The cobblestone roads and old buildings along with the hustle and bustle of the tube among other things appeal to me in ways that I can’t accurately describe in words. The grey skies are beautiful, the people are polite and contrary to popular belief, British cuisine is not only diverse, but delicious. My love of London travels beyond the architecture and food however because my boyfriend happens to live there.

To cut a long story short, you have stumbled upon the blog of someone who is in a long distance relationship. If you have about six hours to devote to a conversation over a cup of tea ( and finger sandwiches of course) I can explain the mechanics to you, but for now I’d rather not go off on a tangent more than I have to.

Though we’ve traveled to other locales for some time to ourselves, London feels to me what I hope Los Angeles somewhat feels like for him: home.

Some of my fondest memories of us - eating a refreshing breakfast as cars whiz by at Le Pain Quotidien, discovering the amazing treasures that encompass Portobello Market and even watching some of my favorite British shows - “Come Dine with Me” and Heston Blumenthal’s fascinating gastronomical creations - have happened in the midst of this quaint, yet bustling city with a steady and soulful pulse.

In an effort to get myself in the habit of writing here more frequently and openly, I’m hoping to be taking a lot of photos, perhaps even some video and sending “Postcards from London” if you will. I haven’t really given too much thought about what I want to do and see, although there might be a trip to Dublin wedged in there somewhere which I’m very excited about.

I saved a fun “places to visit” video of London quite a while ago, so perhaps I might visit some of sites mentioned here:

Here’s to you, 2009

The old saying goes that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I like to say that when life throws pomegranates at you, you make sure you know how to cut, peel, seed and eat that blood red fruit, because life isn’t as simple as lemonade. Life throws you heavy pomegranates more than it does puny lemons any day and 2009 was definitely a year of hard hitting fruit.

After a year of dilly dallying with the idea of finally launching myself as a bona fide journalist, I decided in the wee hours of 2009 that I was going to make it happen this year. Writing was my drug and I felt soulless and empty, not to mention deathly afraid that the journalism infused dreams I carried with me so long were going to wither away and disappear. I made up my mind - the economy wasn’t going to stop me, the tanking journalism industry wasn’t going to stop me and neither was a full-time job. After sitting through almost four hours of traffic before and after an eight hour day of editing, I would come home, research, pitch and email into the dead of the night. Something else took over me. I didn’t know what being tired was anymore because I had surpassed it. You know when you start to feel sleepy at 11 p.m. and if you somehow fight it and get to 12 a.m., you suddenly recharge and you feel like you have the entire world in your hands? That’s how I got through it.

The long hours paid off and I soon found myself writing and fact-checking for Edible Los Angeles, contributing frequent feature stories and reviews to the Glendale News Press and Burbank Leader, as well as having my pitches accepted by two publications that I love and adore oh so much - Bitch and Paste. I finally felt worthy of the “journalist” title. I finally felt like my soul was slowly creeping back into my body. And then, in the midst of it all, I got this crazy idea to start an online magazine that has been my pride and joy for more than half of the year. It has allowed me to explore my past, write about what I love and participate in the type of journalism I believe in, the type that I felt was stolen away from me when too many people made bad choices that ultimately ended up collapsing the entire industry, the type that moved people and made a difference .

A strange kind of happiness glazed over me and boy it was wonderful.

When I wasn’t enthralled in my writing, I got a chance to spend some time in London, take a trip to San Francisco and exploring Los Angeles more thoroughly than ever before.

I survived the Station Fire that engulfed Los Angeles earlier this year, watched as the country my parents and I were born in erupted in protests and bloodshed and made so many new friends on Twitter.

Of course, the year had to go out with a bang - earlier this month I got into my first accident which has still left me car-less - not something I particularly mind but this is L.A. after all and not having a car is the equivalent of saying you don’t have any oxygen.

I’m looking forward to 2010, my theme for the new year is “change.” This year was one of transition for me, one of getting my feet wet and finally having the courage to take a few steps in the direction that I wanted my professional and personal life to go in. For the next 365 days however, the plan is to double or even triple the rate that I was going at. This means more writing, more pitching, more creativity, more devotion and confidence and strength and guts, more love, respect, trust and peace. Watch out world, I’m coming for you.