The Hotel D&G

I begin this blog with Greg relaxing in his mint julep mask... oh wait... where is the mask? The title is not what you might be thinking. We did not stay a few nights at a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills that only caters to people who wear overpriced Italian shoes, tight pants, and gallons of cologne. I am talking about how my apartment became the hustling and bustling "Hotel Dan & Greg" of lovely Mar Vista (it sure beats the Jolly Roger Motel down the street). In case you are wondering our past guests included:
Monday - David arrives
Tuesday - Chris arrives
Wednesday - Chris departs, Adam arrives
Thursday - at 4am, David departs; Adam departs
...next Wednesday - parents arrive

All of this comes with a free shuttle service to wherever you please. Trips to downtown are frequent and depart daily. May include side tour of skid-row and tent city* and wrong turns down dark streets/alleys. *Not responsible for any loss of personal belongings.

Okay, for real. I had a great time showing off my lovely city. It was 80 on Monday and I took David to the beach.

On Monday night, we hosted the fabulous "second bi-annual make-your-own-pizza" party.

This picture to the left shows our first guest to arrive: Fran(k). He made a delicious summer squash pizza. In addition to this precious chef, we had a lot of friends here including Ryan and Nate, Chris, Kent, Jeanette and Joel, Tyler, Kaila, Tim, Melissa, Ryan A., and Brian. Greg beat everyone at Mario Kart on Nintendo:
This is an example of one of the pizzas (they did not last long!)... look at these hungry bitches.

Giving thanks 2005

So I leave this post "untitled" to make an artistic statement. Mostly this has to do with photos I have uploaded. I would hate for words to take away from the art or to place in your mind an idea about what is to come. Anyway, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of my new friends here in Smogville. This holiday is by far my favorite and this year did not change that one bit. Greg and I went to a little get-together over by USC and then drove to Sam and Pete's apartment to have Thanksgiving dinner. Sam and Pete were wonderful hosts, lighting candles, putting on holiday music, and having the table set just right. Oh, and the meal was delicious. It felt like I was having dinner with a close family. The above photo shows how we used Ian and Rachel's apartment to make the rolls and the creamed corn. We left dirty notes on their to-do list in the kitchen. Sam had banned me from his kitchen because I asked too many questions. It was quieter at Ian and Rachel's anyway.

I passed on the flesh but Pete cooked a 20 pound bird for everyone. "Only a half pound per person" says Pete "Martha Stewart" Brophy. That thing looked perfect (see left). Pete will now work at the Butterball hotline. Too bad the job only lasts one day.

We ate....

...and we drank...

...and played Dance, Dance Revolution... Some people were better than others...but I do not judge.

...and we all harmonized to Greg's snoring (someone had a little "too many" martinis). Yeah, it's cliche but I will say it anyway: I am pretty thankful for all of the wonderful people that have come into my life recently and I would not have it any other way.