Cathee invades Cali

September 24-28, 2009

Cathee with our niece Brooklyn

My sister Cathee came to town to visit for a few days. She normally visits with my incredibly awesome nephews, Franky and Ethan.

Unfortunately, she opted not to bring them with her this time. {Insert sad face here} This was a probably be a good thing because Cathee and I did A LOT of running around town.

Thursday

When Cathee arrived, she was starving. We headed to Hodori for some Korean BBQ. Pamela joined us.

Galbi - Short Ribs

After Korean BBQ, the three of us headed to El Cholo for some margaritas.

Two margaritas into our gabfest and Cathee was ready for bed. We headed back to my place. Cathee got ready for bed. Dottie and I left for a short walk around the Rose Bowl. As Dottie and I were returning home, we returned to a scene similar to this.

photos from Apartment Therapy L.A.

I was horrified. My sister who lives in the suburbs was passed out at home alone in the middle of a police fugitive search. Oh.my.God! We weren't permitted to go down the street. There was a police cruiser parked in the driveway of our place and officers in our yard. I called Cathee and thankfully she was safe with our neighbor. I was relieved. The fugitive was apprehended on another street and we were allowed to go home. The funniest part of this story? Cathee was sleeping through ALL of it. Police helicopter overhead. Officers in the yard. She had no idea. The only thing that woke her was our neighbor who banging on the door with a police officer to check on our safety. Needless to say, I need a stiff drink to calm my nerves after that. Cathee promptly went back to sleep.

Friday

Map of Friday's stops.

Thank goodness for a good night's sleep. Friday was jam-packed. We started with a hearty breakfast at La Llamarada in Lincoln Heights.

Chile Rellenos

After breakfast, we headed to the Fashion District. To make up for the previous night's drama, we stumbled upon Sample Sales at the California Market building.

We spent HOURS at the sales. Cathee made out like a bandit and bought tons of stuff. She got cocktail dresses, costume jewelry and other miscellanea. I was good (read:broke) and bought only a few small things.

Cathee takes a break

After the Fashion District, we stopped off in Chinatown to buy a few things for the boys.

All the shopping made us thirsty. Next stop: Galco's Soda Pop Stop. It's a neighborhood gem.

Of course, a visit with me is not complete without cupcakes. We dropped by Auntie Em's Kitchen, another neighborhood gem, for mini cupcakes.

We went home to catch up with Rob and rest for a bit {read: sat for 1 hour}. We then headed to Long Beach to meet up with our cousins at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.

Saturday

Cathee is a shopping marathoner. She opted to do some "light shopping" before we headed to Orange County to hang out with our cousins. "Light Shopping" = Nordstrom Rack, Ross and Michael's for two hours. She is the shopping champ.

I dropped her off with my cousins and headed home to work a photo gig.

Sunday

Rob and I met up with my cousins and Cathee in Long Beach to pick her up. We headed to the Santa Monica pier for another sightseeing stop. We took some fun photos, but those photos are on Cathee's camera (read: they'll never be downloaded from her camera)

It goes without saying that I needed a vacation after Cathee's vacation. I've never done so much shopping in such a short period of time. I'm not even sure how she got it all home.