Leading Ladies

I have two new feminine favorites. Girlie girls with spunk, pizzazz, and a general knack for sass.

1. Veronica Mars: she's perfectly mismatched and totally able to pull off striped knee-highs with a plaid jacket. She's super funny and always well-equipped to impress, stall, break-and-enter, and solve any and all crimes that come her way. I'm totally hooked, and we haven't even made it through the season one DVDs.

2. Penelope from "Criminal Minds": addictively fast on a computer, always scribbling with a pink, sparkling pen and an obvious key player in every psychopath's capture.

I'm considering purchasing a fancy secret-eye surveillance camera just to show my support.

The Power Of

"The City of Angels" reminds me of the "Time Traveler's Wife." Unusually poignant love stories. True. Real. Based on something so incredible -- which most likely is what makes it so believable.

Sort of like encountering solid earnestness and remembering that, most of the time, what you see is what you get.

Which is exactly the point.

Eyesight, and the miracle of seeing, is completely within our subjective control.

So. Believe. It's just much more magical.

Le Free Ride: C'est Fini

Twelve years is a long time.

But at this point, not sure Goran Persson thinks so.

Mr. P was officially given the boot by 80% of the Swedish voting population. Well, he actually leaves his fancy-pants seat in March, but still, not sure he'll be able to rest on his laurels any longer.

Good-bye life-long unemployment. Hello, hopefully, some form of social responsibility. Adios leaving things be. Hola, embracing -- or perhaps just slowly acknowledging -- change.

Hejda Social Democrats. Hejsan Moderates.

Not sure I ever would have thought I would lean slightly more right than left. Keep in mind this is Sweden: the most non-stance-ical place on earth after Switzerland. This kind of "upheaval" can only be good.

Especially if it means the middle shrinks, if even by a smidgeon.

Bake It

We finally decided on veggie soup. Simple, delicious, and ideal for a chilly, 45-degree-evening. A few minced garlic cloves later, we realized the inevitable: no bread. Love bread. Adore bread. But honestly, the store-bought version -- while usually fresh -- is clearly not the same as a loaf pulled straight from the Viking oven.

A quick inspirational call to my sis, a few notes jotted on a sticky -- and the venerable Kitchen Aid had everything it needed to spin, knead and mold to its heart's content.

Here's how:

Mix the following: 1/2 teaspoon yeast, 1 cup flour, 1 cup luke-warm water. Leave alone for 15-30 minutes.

Next, add: 1 teaspoon yeast, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 to 4 cups flour. Knead.

Cover with kitchen towl & allow to rise for 2-3 hours.

Divide dough into three equal parts. Form into baguette shapes. Place on cookie sheet. Use serrated knife to score. Cover with same towel for an additional 30 minutes, or so, depending how hungry you are. Dab loaves with water, place in 500-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve -- with plenty of butter, obviously.

Breaking News

"Fast-food eaters underestimate calories," reports CNN.

"....over-weight people ... tended to buy larger meals," continues this fascinatingly 80-s-eque reminder of how *clueless* people are when it comes to food, fats and the fabulousness of friendly greens.

You can read the rest here.

Instead of waxing and waning on the benefits of cooking at home, shunning the unappealing burritos and "100% beef" patties purported to be "burgers" along highways across this *huge* land, I'll let you leap to your own conclusions.

But honestly, is it all our fault?

My brand spankin' new night-armour Nissan Xterra comes with super-size cupholders. Luckily, I'm Swedish. So instead of feeling forced down to Circle-K for a mega-slurpie, I'll use it to stash my spare clogs.

Kidding. Kinda.

Salmon-ize

It's going to sound decidedly obnoxious. Unappealing. But definitely not un-appetizing: I'm a culinary rockstar. No, really. Clearly inherited from my Cordon-Bleu-trained Mamma and fine-tuned, refined and unceremoniously polished by cooking dinners. Nightly.

If you're remotely connected to the addictive world of eats, you might remember that girl Julia from NY. She spent one year cooking everything from one of Julia Child's tomes. And while the latter J was certainly a whisk-bearing figure to be reckoned with, I was never that impressed with the former's resolve to cook recipes that were already developed. Imitate, if you will.

Instead, I'm a devout follower of the opposite. Read recipes for inspiration. But add your own whimsical pinches and dollops and at-will drizzles. It's definitely more fun. And delicious.

Need a starting point? Grab a salmon fillet. Marinate it. Garlic, ginger, OJ -- all good fish-flavor enhancers. Perhaps a dousing of balsamic. Spicy herbs. Sea salt. Pan-sear. Ideally in a grill-pan. Serve with blue-cheese-speckled risotto and steamed broccoli.

Tasty?

Santa Monica: Preparing for the Worst

Life will most likely never be the same.

This morning's Grape-Nuts-and-coffee ritual came to a stand-still as I sat, riveted, trying to digest the already-smudged newsprint:

"Residents in the 310 zone will soon have to dial four extra digits."

Add to this the evident trauma of Crack-Berry-Heads having to reprogram cellphones all over the Westside, and you soon realize that this will clearly result in all kinds of psychoses, disorders and phobias among the shrink-happy beach clan.

"I just never really thought of how much of an inconvenience this is going to be," said one unhappy resident.

"It's a nightmare," echoed another.

Luckily, the Redondo Beach Chamber of commerce is prepared. Their president pretty much sums it up:

"We're telling people, 'It's coming, it's coming. Are you ready?'"

It's obvious, people -- we're mere moments away from a complete melt-down. Quick! Grab your bottled Evian, Louis-Vuitton doggie carriers and run for the hills in your patent Manolos!

Find It

Six years of journalism-themed week-days have clearly paid off. If only Dr. McCorkle could see me now -- employing the five w's and one h without referencing anything but memory-based file cabinets.

WHO: Us & the Otters.
WHAT: Residing in proverbial paradise.
WHEN: 20-something commuter days from now -- but who's counting?
WHERE: 10 minutes from the cleanest, clearest, pristine-est lake.
WHY: Because we can.
HOW: Dreaming. Believing. Doing.

So ... what's your master plan? But more importantly, what are you waiting for?

June Must-Haves

1. Lewelling cabernet.
2. Beaded flip-flops.
3. TJ's peach juice.
4. Snap peas.
5. Smoked almonds.
6. Casa Bianca pizza.
7. Floral-print skirts.
8. Open-window-mornings.
9. Breakfast outdoors.
10. Luxuriously knowing that your dreams are always within reach.

Poop Watch 2006

Admittedly, it's not quite stock-ticker-worthy, but almost.

Puppy poop. For the last month, its quanity, quality and over-all appearance has completely usurped our lives.

We discuss frequency. Consistency. We coax and encourage. Chastise and reward. I've even tried engaging the little guy in "strenuous" activity -- including chasing the rubber tire, running after the orange, fuzzy worm and doing laps around the back-yard quadrant -- to see if it would lead to ... something.

Sometimes we spot pieces of bathroom drywall. Mostly it's just salmon-and-rice flavored dry food -- but the other day I realized he's not that good at digesting sliced carrots. Or slippery mushrooms.

Stay tuned. Giraldo is next.

Daly Beer

He's politically incorrect, prefers tank-tops to collars and most likely would rank brewskies and smokes on his top-10-list of must-haves.

He's decidedly un-fit. Wouldn't dream of bending for a crunch, much less a squat, jump or stretch.

He's massively present. Speaks his mind. And is -- unarguably -- one of the PGA's most talented golfers. Unless he's tossing his 7-iron, bogey-ing the 18th or choking in a play-off.

John Daly is to golf what flip-flops are to me. Necessary. No-frills. Not always appropriate. And available no matter what the mood.

Sure. He's battled Jack Daniel's and our dear friend Nic O. Tine. But he lives, and plays, and laughs. And no matter what -- he'll give it his all. Flavored with a touch of sass, a shake of contempt and a healthy dose of "love me or leave me."

In a world of corporate same-ness, he's a breath of smoke-filled air.

I Heart HD

• new front door
• new back door
• hinges
• locks
• mushroom-shaped knobs for bathroom cabinets
• bathroom faucet

That was the initial list. Sixty-five minutes -- and many aisle perusals later -- we self-scanned our items. And realized. We lost the card. The no-interest-for-six-months Home Depot bit of orange-colored plastic.

Enter Jackie.

Tiny in a rotund, spunky kind of way. Pleasantly chatty, with a glimmer of brilliance. "Credit Captain," her crayola-ified apron proclaimed. Little did we know that included magical powers and other-wordly customer service.

After mere moments of phone calls and smartly-punched keyboard shortcuts, we had a new card, a $25 discount and a shot at the freebie table. Really. Laden with goodies galore, Jackie insisted we choose something. Anything. A gift, if you will, for losing our card.

And voila: removing the backyard deck now sounds dreamsical.

Mini-Naps: We Adore You

You arrived home smelling like Pantene Pro-V mixed with Moose-the-puppy and water-bowl drool. Tumbling across too-shiny hardwoods, we carried you to the backyard and your first sniffing session with Oskar.

You cried a bit. Then realized that your new big brother was just a gentle giant, super-excited to have an itsy-bitsy-but-soon-to-be-ginormous playpal.

You eat. And poop. And snooze -- but only in passionate fits. You disliked your crate, until we figured out you just wanted a perview of the bed. And ocassional reassurance throughout the night.

You're so-so about eating. Honestly, not sure we blame you. Watered-down puppy kibble can only be that appealing.

You love to chew. Luckily, you're a huge fan of focused energy: seemingly fine with chewtoys, UGG boots or flip-flops -- allowing us a few super-quick switch-er-oos.

Above all, you're insanely cute. Even Oskar admits that. Except when you're dragging Scooby across the floor. And peeing on his bed. Or biting his tail.

Fatty and Tubby

Our lives are about to change, completely. Tomorrow, at 2pm PST, at the end of a windy, dirt-covered, AWD-road, we pick up Otto. Or Tubby. Soon-to-be-brother of Oskar. Or Fatty.

Thinking ahead, we contacted the breeder for directions. Quite possibly, in the world of right-hand-turns and stop lights, this one takes the glittery cake:

"....please dont go by the google ones as you will end up about 50 miles off. same with mapquest... it really is easy from the ___ north to san luis obispo, take the highway ___ north to ___ exit. go through the town of ___, aprox 12 miles from san luis , before you come to ___ there will be a stop light on the freeway called ___ road/ it only turns right head west ___ miles up a hill there will be a lake on the left, then down the hill you will come to a right turn, ___ rd turns only to the right it is a very windy, narrow diert road, go 3 miles to a fork in the road stay left on ___ the other way is a dead end. one mile you will pass a white barn with a green roof and 3 horses in the field right past this are 7 mailboxes. this is our driveway, it only goes to the left, over the creek and straight up,, you will see avocados on the left keep going and stay t! o the right at another fork our home is at the very top... it is a 4 wheel drive only in the rain so let me know if the weather is bad and ill meet you at the mailboxes and drive you up.. dogs are out so drive slow... please.. katrina the adress is ___ rd.. cell phones do not work once you leave highway ___ at the stop light"

I'm predicting many future posts a la chocolate-lab-newfoundland escapades. Assuming, of course, that we don't miss the avocado trees.

Yearning for Punctuation

Dear [last name] [first name] [middle initial]

My experience in selling expired listings ,has shown me that 99.99% of all real estate agents out there market their listings passively. Do you know the difference between passive marketing and active marketing. If you still want to sell and you haven't relisted yet, I appreciate the opportunity to explain my plan.

Sincerely yours

[first name, uppercase] [last name, lowercase]
Realtor

Dear Malin:

I noticed your home came up on on the computer as an expired listing! Naturally, this time you will hire a powerful agent like myself to use a different approach to sell your home for the most money possible, right?

I would like to apply for the job of selling your home. All you need to do now is simply call me immediately to set an appointment so I can show you the techniques I used to sell many homes.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely yours,
[first name] [last name] [period]

Sometimes You're the Windshield ...

and sometimes you're the bug, and other observations from driving to South Lake Tahoe -- and back.

• Ninety-five percent of drivers would most likely benefit from a re-edification around basic rules of the road.
• Cows out to pasture appear to have a care-free existance, albeit short-lived.
• I'm in favor of a national policy mandating cleanliness in public restrooms -- or at least the option of functional soap dispensers.
• Highway 16, Nashville and X Country are the most compelling satellite radio options.
• If the car ahead of you is speeding, it's OK for you to do the same.
• Mud slides are unpredictable.
• However, the DOT frequently over-estimates road-clearing-times.
• Which is good news.
• Snow-capped mountains and year-round Christmas trees are addictively appealing.
• RV drivers are pretty gutsy.
• Eddie Rabbit rules.
• Relaxing weekend road trip essentials: glasses, cork screw, luxurious wine, iPod.
• Relaxing weekend road trip non-essential: 118 steps to the front door.
• Silver lining: super-quiet snooze time & breath-taking mornings.

Perk-Ville

Turns out that LA's City Council is considering incenting a few lucky peeps to live in the city. As many with little kids and kaboodles are opting for greener pastures -- and more reasonable debts -- those running the official show are evidently concerned that our badge-carrying friends might get stuck in traffc during an emergency.

I'm cool with that.

But can those of the non-gun-toting sort apply, too?

I promise to:

1. Spend less time in the car
2. Reduce my Element's pollution contribution
3. Make fancier meals -- possibly even a souffle or two

A compeltely viable proposal, if you ask me.

Hot Off The Press(es)

People are amazingly fascinating.

Additionally, everyone -- no matter how foreign or funky -- appears to have quirky je-ne-sais-quois that are especially elevated at garage sales.

Recent learnings:

1. Irons are in hot demand. So much so, that you might consider a black market resale business.
2. Pink-seam Seven jeans are worth about a buck.
3. Cedar-lined dog houses are lucrative for ChiHuaHuas.
4. Spoons are more popular than knives or forks.
5. Not everyone has read "The DaVinci Code."
6. "Seabiscuit" is too advanced for Elementary School book enthusiasts.
7. Garlic presses deserve intense scrutiny -- even when priced at 50 cents.
8. Marketing. It's all about marketing.
9. Candle holders aren't all they're stacked up to be.
10. When in doubt throw in a freebie or two.

Coffee, Tea or Avian Flu?

Life's little spurts of progressive luxuries certainly add sunlight -- and ease -- to the everyday.

Things like perfectly ground coffee beans, toasted rye and rice cookers. TJ's 21 seasoning salute, red pepper flakes and delectable saffron. Creamy cambozolas, gruyere-topped-gratins and the always-available gourmet olive bars in most markets.

Culinary creations have jumped amazing hurdles -- long before Emeril convinced middle America to drive by McDonald's and opt for healthier fats.

Which is why I'm continuously perplexed -- whether seated in 36B or 12A -- by this simple, yet unappealing question: "Chicken or beef?"

If the rest of the globe has caught on to the magic of simple-yet-delicious foods, why does American Airlines insist on residing in the 1970s?

ps. for obvious reasons, I'm a fakey vegetarian within the realm of the friendly skies. At least until they begin catering Wolfgang Puck.

If You're ___

... hungry: there's mushroom-and-pepper pizza in the freezer. It's right next to the frozen chili and the left-over barbecued ribs.

... thirsty: we may still have some secret Pacificos stashed behind the plastic bowl in the cabinet below the fancy toaster.

... antsy: Oskar's your buddy. If you time it just so you won't even need to bring a plastic bag -- just coax him right by the dumpster next to the barber shop.

... sleepy: try my pillow. It's tried-and-true and completely conducive to magical rest.

Back in a flash. Just in time for a deliciously lazy Sunday afternoon.