Sunny Saturday

Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day here in Burbank. I spent several hours on the patio reading To the Tower Born by Robin Maxwell (review to be posted soon). A little after 1:00 PM my husband and I both had a craving for our favorite little bakery, Porto's. I thought I would document our visit since it seems to be the new 'staple' thing to do on sunny days. The photo's I took did not turn out very well, so I have found some courtesy of the Internet.

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p187959-Portos_Bakery_and_Cafe.jpg

We walked there via Magnolia Blvd. It's only a few blocks away which makes it dangerously convenient for us. There have only been a handful of times that we have gone there that the line wasn't 30 people deep. However, they have an amazing staff that quickly but attentively takes care of everyone...they have never gotten our order wrong.

http://laist.com/attachments/la_carrie/bakery-line.jpg

Porto's has an amazing selection of breads, pastry, danishes, anything and everything sweet, as well as a full menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and beverages. Carl usually gets Potato Balls or Meat Pies and has recently been finishing the meal with their individual sized Flan. I hate to admit it, but I always get the same thing, a Feta Sandwich. It's made with their fresh baguette bread, feta cheese, basil, red onions, tomato, and oil. I pick off the tomatoes. If you order a sandwich and eat it there it comes with plantain chips. YUM!

http://sfvguide.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/portos-bakery/

The place was packed that day and we sat outside in the shade to eat. I enjoy sitting outside and people watching when it is cool enough. I had on a tank top and shorts and I had to laugh when we saw people in jeans, long sleeve shirts, and even a girl in a sweat shirt! It was in the 90's! Maybe we are still "new" here and our blood hasn't thinned out yet, I just hope I don't think the 90's are "chilly" in a few years. I also can't imagine what summer heat feels like if this is just spring heat.

We walked home via Clark Ave just so we could have a change of scenery and there are more trees on that street to offer us some shade. Almost everyone who lives here seems to have a gardener or a green thumb...neither of which I have currently. I had to get the camera out and take a picture of this persons roses. They were huge and so beautiful.

After our little adventure down the block I curled back up on the patio with my book and Carl puttered around the house for a bit before settling down and watching a movie. It is Saturdays like this one that we love.

Perfect Motivation!

Big thank you to my aunt Roberta at http://con-tain-it.typepad.com/ for sharing this link. I am on board and I have the perfect summer space to create! Check out Karen Valentine at http://mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/  and grab the link to join the party. See you there!

My first book review

Lucky by Alice Sebold

Summary: Lucky is the autobiography of Alice Sebold author or Lovely Bones and Almost Moon. The story begins with a very detailed account of the brutal rape and beating Sebold survived during her freshman year in college. The book then chronicles the months and events that followed the attack, from Sebold returning home and feeling alone despite being constantly surrounded by family, her decision to return to the college campus, the day she saw her rapist on the street, and then the trial that ensued. It concludes with a very brief account of her life post trial including a tragedy that befalls her college roommate, her attempt and failure to complete graduate school, a drug addiction, and finally the beginning of her healing process years after her rape.

My Thoughts: First, just let me say that I loved Sebold's Lovely Bones but that I was disappointed in Almost Moon. My feelings on Lucky lay somewhere in between her other two books. It's hard to review this book since it is autobiographical and to say I didn't like it would be like saying I don't like Sebold's life. It was a truly powerful story and she does a good job of conveying her sense of isolation after her attack. I found it useful to read in the sense that I think I have a greater understanding of her other 2 books now and how she developed the characters for each one.


The greatest disappointment I found was in the brief account of her life post trial in which she admits falling into a "lite" drug and alcohol addiction. SPOILER ALERT!!! She was able to survive the rape and the trial that followed without turning to drugs. But when her roommate is raped during their senior year and their friendship dissolved she somehow "fell apart" in my opinion. I was just so disappointed that she had made it so far and then fell off the sober train. I guess I wanted her to make it all the way sober and prove that people can survive horrible events without turning to substance abuse.

Overall, I felt that the story was a little anti climatic and left me disappointed, but I can not pin point the exact cause of my disappointment. I am almost relieved that I have now read all of her books so that I do not have to contemplate taking a chance on reading another one of her novels...because I don't know if I would. If I had to rate the book I'd give it 2 out of 4 stars. It was well written and helped me understand her point of view and how she may have developed characters for her other books.

What's next on the reading list? To the Tower Born  by Robin Maxwell

Our First Visitors

May 14-17, 2010

After 5 months in California we got our first visitors from home. Carl's mum and her friend joined us for a long weekend at our home in Burbank. We were glad to see some familiar faces and we were happy to finally have an excuse to get out and explore.

Carl took them on a tour of Hollywood Boulevard while I was at work on Friday. They enjoyed walking around, seeing the "Stars" on the sidewalk, and all the sites that Hollywood has to offer. In June of 2004, Carl and I visited CA (my first time, his third) and we took a bus from the WB Studio to Hollywood Blvd. Carl got his 'Ghostbusters' tattoo that night and then we waited for hours for a bus to take us back to our hotel...unfortunately when the bus finally did come it's last stop was miles from where our hotel was. After being forced to walk several blocks at midnight our Night in Shinning Armor pulled up in the form of a yellow taxi and kindly (not cheaply) gave us a ride the rest of the way. I have not been back to Hollywood Blvd. since then.

On Saturday we decided to do a little sight seeing starting with the famous Mulholland Drive. It is a very long and windy road that snakes through part of the Hollywood Hills. Thankfully, there were many designated overlooks to stop at where we were able to get pictures of the Hollywood sign, downtown LA, Universal and WB Studio, and the beautiful mountains. Next, we headed down to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. We walked around and 'window shopped' at all the designer stores like Gucci and Channel. We took a break for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious! Then we finished our day with a drive down to the Santa Monica Pier. It was very windy and a little chilly down by the shore, but we walked to the end of the Pier and enjoyed watching all the vendors and performers that line boardwalk. Carl and I took a walk through the sand and put our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was very cold, but well worth it. We left the Santa Monica via the Pacific Coast Highway and then took the scenic mountain view roads back home.

Sunday was a day for relaxing and we didn't go far from home. Carl took his mum and Linda for the WB Studio tour on Monday while I returned to work. Carl and I took that tour when we visited in 2004 but this time he opted for the VIP tour which offered a smaller group size and some other perks that we didn't get before.


It was a wonderful visit and inspired Carl and I to look into doing more day trips to explore the area around us. We are hoping to have a few long weekends together so we can experience what California has to offer this summer, after all we are 'Living and Loving in California'!

Our First California Summer

This is the first summer since I was 14 years old that I wont be working. I always knew there were perks to being a teacher...I just had to work a long time before getting them! As a self declared work-a-holic, I was actually quite nervous about having that much time off. When Carl and I moved to California I was "unemployed" from December 18th through February 1st and by the time I started working again I had become bored out of my mind. Granted, we also had the stress of trying to find jobs and worrying if we would be able to survive on what little savings we had, so I didn't really get to enjoy the time off.

As the school year comes to a close I really have been able to move past the nerves of having that much time off and I am really looking forward to it. At first it was very hard to imagine what I could possibly do during the summer to keep myself occupied, especially since Carl will still be working. But, the more I think about it, the more excited I become about making plans. I am now hoping I have enough time off to do all the things I want to!

First and foremost on my list is to finish the "Thank You" notes that are long over due from my October wedding. I'm estimating that this will take a few days. Next, I plan to work on several scrapbook projects. I would like to work on 'journaling' for my wedding album before I forget too many of the details. About a year ago I found this giant 24" x 24" Martha Stewart Album on clearance for dirt cheap. I just bought it because it was so inexpensive but I didn't really have any ideas for how to use it. Then, while we were packing to move I re-discovered a storage bin filled with papers and mementos from my childhood. My goal now is to get rid of the storage bin by putting the contents into the giant album instead. I figure that way I'll save space and if I want to look at that memorabilia I can just go to the album instead digging through the bin. Last on the scrapbook agenda is to work on an album of pictures of my dad. A few years ago I 'confiscated' all of my dads old photos from his childhood with the intention of making him a scrapbook...but 5 years later all the photos are still sitting in the same box I took them in. I have a brand new 'craft desk' as Carl calls it and I'm ready to use it for all my craft and scrapbook needs.

In preparation for my summer break I took a trip to Barnes and Noble to find a good summer read...I found 3. First is a book by Philippa Gregory called The White Queen. I have read almost all of her other books related to King Henry VIII, but this one is focused on the War of the Roses. I have recently been drawn to books related to the War of the Roses since reading (and re-reading) A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith. My aunt, Bobbi, sent it to me as a birthday gift when I lived in PA and I couldn't put it down the first or second time I read it! It depicts a softer and gentler side of King Richard III who is often villianized in history and in literature. For this summers reading I also picked up To the Tower Born by Robin Maxwell. This book, which also involves King Richard III, focuses on 2 princes he is suspect for murdering. I have come to love historical fiction in the last few years...I would love to tour England (or Europe in general) and see the settings for these amazing tales. The third book I picked up is NOT historical fiction, it is titled Lucky and is written by Alice Seabold, author of Lovely Bones and Almost Moon. I loved Lovely Bones when I read it but was very disappointed in Almost Moon. Unlike her other books, Lucky is autobiographical. If I'm being honest, I started reading it last night and picked it back up this morning when I got out of bed. I don't think I'll be able to stop reading it now...so I may have to go back to Barnes and Noble to find another summer reading book since Lucky has now turned into my Memorial Day reading.

I hope to have a few long weekends with Carl over the summer if his schedule allows. We would like to visit San Fransisco and a few other California destinations. We did make it out to Santa Monica a few weeks ago when his mom and her friend visited. We stuck our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time and although it was cold it was wonderful to say that we did it.

I look forward to sharing more as we continue 'Living and Loving in California' for our first California summer!

My name is Cortney Lyon and I am an IKEA-holic. I am also a wife and a teacher...and some times a "wanna be" writer. So, as a first time blogger, I will start with something I know very well- myself. The following is a brief history of how "Living & Loving in California" came to be.

I grew up in Meredith, NH and at 16 I moved to Charlotte, NC with my mom. After high school I attended Central Piedmont Community College on a Business Scholarship, which I lost a year later when I failed Spanish 101. At 19, I was going to college and waitressing at a little Italian Restaurant called La Pizza Cafe (which was later re-named Pomodoro's). It was there that I met Carl, my husband. Carl wanted to be a Special FX Make-Up Artist and I had decided that I wanted to be a teacher...but at that time he was a dishwasher and painter and I was a college student and waitress. In December 2002, after only a few months of dating we found ourselves snuggled up on a futon mattress on the floor of his apartment, in the dark during an Ice Storm, talking for hours into the night...like young lovers do. It was then that Carl asked me, "If I had to move to California to work, would you come with me?". Of course I said, "yes!". Finally, on December 28, 2009- after years of hard work, planning, and dedication to our dreams, Carl and I packed the trunk of our car and headed West for California. We arrived on January 1, 2010 and we are now LIVING & LOVING IN CALIFORNIA!

Pictures: (R) Carl and I celebrating our 1 year anniversary (L) Carl and I on our wedding day and 7 year anniversary.