LeAnne-uary continues! As I have mentioned before I don’t think birthday celebrations should be limited to just one day. I celebrate the entire month of January and then celebrate Febu-Laurie and Lillian-uary in February. John has embraced this idea and organized a getaway weekend in LA for me, and it was super special.

One of the things we try really hard to do is shop, eat and stay local whenever we can and John has made it a personal mission to try and find indie hotels and cool Mom & Pop boutique hotels whenever possible. He found amazing places in New Orleans and Palm Springs in the past, but this time he out did himself. The Charlie used to be owned by Charlie Chaplin and the owner has restored the space and tried to keep as much of the original architecture and appointments as possible, while updating the property to make it contemporary. No easy feat, but well done here. There is a cobbled parking area with designated spaces for each of the 14 apartment style units, mullioned leaded windows and lovely gardens. The staff was very helpful and our stay was ultra-relaxing. It’s situated between Melrose and Santa Monica in West Hollywood and was walking distance to almost everything we wanted to do. Perfect! A word of caution – this place is expensive ($500-$750/night) so look for it on Groupon or Living Social for a steal of a deal. For the record, we stayed in the “Ruth” suite complete with a photo of Ruth Gordon getting her Oscar for Rosemary’s Baby.

The door to our “room/suite”.

The gorgeous gardens.

The Master Suite

Accommodations acquired, we set out to walk about the area, take a tour of Paramount Studios with Dave & Gil (thank you again!), and take a Disco Nap* before dinner with Dena & Drew. And what a dinner it was! I have never really been a fan of molecular gastronomy, maybe because I never had it done RIGHT! Jose Andreas completely changed my mind on this and Bazaar in the SLS Hotel is the perfect place to cut your teeth on this type of meal. Everything from the “Liquid Olives” to the “Philly Cheesesteak” to the deconstructed (sort of) Hendrick’s and Tonic was the stuff of dreams for someone who embraces new experiences. Thank you again Drew & Dena – this was a spectacular continuance of LeAnne-uary!

Enjoy these lovely photos and be prepared for part 2 of my LA weekend next week. Some places, like Seattle and LA clearly need more than one week.

That amazing Gin & Tonic, and yes, I ate the nasturtium

Liquid Olives

Left to Right, Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico, Acorn fed Jamon Iberico -SUBLIME!!! Charcuterie Whore HEAVEN!

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

Stuffed ‘Shrooms – which were better at room temp than they were hot.

Paper thin jicama purses filled with guacamole

The legendary Philly Cheesesteaks – the little baguettes were filled with melted cheese and topped with capaccio…yes, really!

Food Memories this past week include a lunch with Erica T at Nosh & Swig, LA bites and food and drinks with friends old and new. Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

*Disco Nap – for those of you not old enough to remember…it’s a late afternoon nap that allows you to keep looking and feeling great until the wee hours of the morning.