Los Angeles, CA

Insatiable shoeaholics who desire to be as happy as a kid in a candy store will find FOOTCANDY offers high heel nirvana.

Located at 11934 San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, true expressions of your obsession await your feet, from coveted shoe designers including Manolo, Christian Louboutin, and Casadei, all wrapped in a Parisian chocolaterie ambience. Arm candy connoisseurs will be equally pleased, with handbags from Jimmy Choo and more.

Xiomara Zelaya and Robyne Wilson are the co-owners of the Brentwood salon, which is the first Southern California franchise location for founders Perry and Carolyn Butler of Napa Valley. Proving to be more than just a shoe salon, what sets FOOTCANDY apart is the art gallery presence of shoe displays, attention to detail, and -most importantly- customer service.

And if that’s not enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, indulge in one of their treats, which involve in-store private shopping and goodie bags…

YUM!!!

If you want to want to learn more about adopting a pet or have a pet service to promote, pick up a copy of The Pet Press. This local publication has been around since 1999. It features articles on pet care tips, runs local pet service ads and lists all major pet adoption agencies and events around Los Angeles. It was in the pages of The Pet Press that I found out about the Boxer Rescue where I adopted Emmy. Needless to say I’ve been a big fan of the publication ever since.

That’s it for pet week. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Em and I visit Tailwashers about once a month for all her grooming needs.

For less than 30 dollars you get your own wash station to wash and dry, shampoos, conditioners, towels…they even give you an apron.  For an extra fee, dogs can also get their toenails clipped.

If you don’t have time to DIY, Tailwashers offers full grooming services.

Tailwashers

1929 N. Bronson Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90068

A wonderful lady named Yvette Millman is Emmy’s day buddy Monday through Friday. She comes by for 15 minutes in the middle of the day for walks and loving attention.

Emmy adores her and frankly so do I for her competitive rates ($13 for 15 minutes) and ease of service. I don’t have to keep a credit card on file or deal with customer reps on the phone. She leaves a bill at the end of the week, I leave her a check on my coffee table Monday morning. That’s it.

If you live in or around Los Feliz, I highly recommend Yvette for all your pet sitting needs.

Roll Over Rover Pet Services

(323)660-8584

This is my beloved boxer, Emmy. I adopted her from the The Boxer Rescue L.A. in 2001. She’s the light of my life. Having her playful exuberance around me everyday has helped me to stay sane through all the craziness of L.A. life.

Emmy’s stats:

Favorite foods: tuna, peanut butter….okay, basically everything.

Favorite toys: A beaten up Santa Claus plush toy that I got her one year for Christmas.

Favorite people: everyone

Favorite pastimes: cuddling on the couch, getting in trouble, napping, rolling down grassy hills, licking

Emmy has followed me as I’ve moved all over Los Angeles for the past 7 years and as a result has been through several vets during this time. The most amazing of them all was Dr. Palmquist at Centinela Animal Hospital in Inglewood. In 2004, Emmy came down with Lymphoma. She received chemotherapy from the Veterinary Cancer Group, another amazing vet clinic that specializes in caring for dogs and cats with all types of cancer. With the chemo and Dr. Palmquist’s care philosophy that incorporated holistic solutions with modern day vet medicine, Emmy has been in remission for the last 3 years. I’m truly lucky that my little Em’s been healthy for so long and I owe much of it to Dr. Palmquist.

Centinela Animal Hospital

721 Centinela Ave.

Inglewood, CA 90302

(310)673-1910

Veterinary Cancer Group

1044 S. Robertson Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90035

(310)278-8274

If you think Destiny’s Child was the ultimate diva group, then you don’t know jack. And obviously have never heard En Vogue a cappella. And if you have to ask what OPP means, you can’t afford to miss Nike’s 5-mile race called, Nike Run Hit Remix: The PowerSong Edition, Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 9AM at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The registration fee is $31 through August 28th, and rises to $39 thereafter.

Dawn Robinson (former lead singer of En Vogue), Naughty by Nature, Sir Mix A Lot, and The SugarHill Gang will serve as musical cheerleaders along the course. But hang onto your Nike headband; MC Hammer will be at the finish line to celebrate with a concert, showcasing his authentic dance moves.

In the meantime, Niketown is getting you acclimated with a FREE six week program, being held at various locations through September 13th.

If you need to send a gift, Larchmont Village is a great place to do your gift shopping.  A few years ago I sent my mother some fine Belgium chocolates and flowers arranged in a beautiful antique, pitcher-shaped vase from Leonidas (201 N. Larchmont Blvd.) for Mother’s Day.  She loved it and to this day uses the vase as a pitcher to water all her flowers.   Leonidas is great because they have a wonderful selection of confections and special gift packages on holidays, and also for a reasonable fee will gift wrap and ship your gifts for you. 

Another place on Larchmont that’s great for gift shopping is Chevalier Bookstore (126 N. Larchmont).   This morning I shopped for my three-year-old nephew’s birthday gift in Chevalier’s children’s annex.  The wonderful lady who works there was full of excellent suggestions.  With her assistance I settled on an anthology of classic children’s stories.   At the check out desk I had the book gift wrapped in charming children’s themed wrapping paper and shipped for an extra fee of $9.00. 

 Now I can sit back and not worry about when I’m going to go to the post office during my busy week, and feel satisfied that I picked out a really great gift for my little loved on. 

The web designer at my office is obsessed with Big Jo’s.  It’s basically a large, converted garage at Broadway Ave. and 20th in Santa Monica, a hop and skip from business row on Colorado.  I was curious what the hooplah was about so I went with him and ordered exactly what he ordered (except I got the diet version of his Pepsi).  It was the best chili cheese burger and fries I have ever had. 

The thick, wavy cut fries come in their own bag so you can take the special Big Jo’s seasoning salt and shake it up with the fries.  It was so delicious it instantly transported me to the days at Wild Waves Water Park in Federal Way, Washington where my grandmother would take me during the summers.   Between water slides and the wave pool I’d nosh on seasoned fries and caramel apples and listen to the weird sounds my jaw would make when I’d chew with my ears clogged with water.

The chili cheese burgers at Big Jo’s were exactly what I imagine a chili cheese burger should be: big flavor and a whole lot of mess!  I had basically wolfed down the last bite before I even realized I was done, but not before I had gone through about six napkins from the chili getting all over my hands and face.  

After lunch I stumbled back to the office in a chili cheesy food daze.  It’ll be hard to spend my lunch hour at Quiznos now that I’ve discovered Big Jo’s.   

My favorite place to get brownies:

Corner of Vermont Ave. and Franklin, Los Feliz. 

My life is forever changed by the on-the-fly hilarity brought to the world by Guys With Feelings (PG-14ish). Best friends, Jason Nash and Jeff Bumgarner podcast from ‘Stairmaster Studios’ (Jason’s basement??), sharing their innermost thoughts and rants about L.A. life, the biz, and what it’s like to be young male creative types with little babies and wives…and feelings…a plethora of raw, male feelings with no hint of shame or downplay. It’s genius. I love it.

Guys do have feelings. And it’s definitely a laughing matter.

The best theatre to go to on an opening night of a really fun movie is The Vista (4473 Sunset Dr
Los Angeles, CA). I’ve been there for the opening of Snakes On a Plane, Pirates of the Caribbean II, and 300 and all three times it was just the movie-going experience that I was hoping for: a fun, enthusiastic crowd minus the obnoxiousness that you can expect from say, Mann Chinese 6.

An added bonus: tickets are $8 bucks for an evening showing and the front door usher is usually in costume in the spirit of the opening flick.

Back in the summer of ‘05 I was exhibiting symptoms of what people might call, ‘a problem.’ I never went a day without an alcoholic beverage, I had a permanent dry spot under my nose because I was never properly hydrated, I chalked it up to a ‘wow, oopsy’ when my friend got arrested for an ‘almost DUI’* on our way to Jumbo’s Clown Room after an evening of boozing. The worst offense was probably when I was driving on the 5-freeway to rehearsal when my back tire blew and I prayed that a cop wouldn’t come to assist me and discover that my plastic Coffee Bean cup was full of PBR.

Now, here is where I say thank goodness for several things:

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