Finally Made It To Villains Tavern

The Belladonna-bourbon, mint, citrus, and berry. I loved it. I can't wait to go back to try one of their hot ciders from the new Fall menu. 

View from the second floor, which is good for groups or people looking to chat while performances are going on outside on the patio. 

These Buffalo Balls by the Great Balls on Tires food truck were frickin' yummy. 


The photos say it all-this is a dark, fun spot perfect for an easygoing evening of tasty libations and beautiful people in a setting as attractive.

Toppers That Take the Cake

Since Mark's older brother has recently gotten engaged (squeeee!), I've had weddings on the mind a lot lately. Sure, two other lovely people getting hitched has nothing to do with me getting hitched, but at some point, even those like me who never grew up expecting to find someone to marry start pre-planning out the details; erm, or maybe just women do that. I suppose given my recent penchant for buying baby booties, it's not much of a surprise that my inner clock is tick-tocking mighty loud these days. My Etsy favorites and Pinterest pages are already filled with various head pieces, dresses, and DIY decor ideas that I pretend apply to any party but really only apply to the Mr. and Mrs. kind. And while I may love thinking about the details, there are some things that I will just never be willing to spend the money on, like a cake. Who even ends up eating it, anyway? But the cake topper-that is a totally different story. I ran across Jennifer Murphy's little wonders a few years ago and they immediately made me think about the bride and groom bears that my parents had when they got married. I used to sneak into the bottom drawer of my mom's dresser and peruse the little treasures she had kept; I love the idea of having things for my future munchkins to discover and which convey our personality in no uncertain terms. These toppers are totally perfect for the perma-child I am and Mark is (if he's lucky enough to share a topper with me one day, wink wink).

All images from Jennifer Murphy's website and Etsyhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/jennifermurphy page

Kitty Wrestling

 To the left side of the ring we have challenger Chloe, who stares down her opponent, heavyweight champ Finn the Fiesty. 

 Finn circles his opponent while Chloe aims and readies a jab. 

The fight is on with a body slam from the fearless lightweight Chloe. 


Take heart: this battle was just a friendly bout and ended in a draw (which basically means that Chloe annoyed Finn with her boundless energy and he just walked away at some point).

Mid-Walk Eye Candy

Quite possibly my favorite house in LA, Frank Lloyd Wright Jr.'s Sowden house on Franklin Ave. is sick-the house was built around a pool, looks like a hidden little Mayan temple in a jungle, and generally is just gorgeously unique. Still can't believe one season of those dumbasses on America's Next Top Model got to live in this dreamy space when you know they had no idea who Wright even was.

Bat skeleton stencil means Halloween spirit will last as long as he does.

Jack-o-lantern got in on the action too.