IT STOPPED RAINING. OHHHH  LORD we are so excited!  Get ready for some run-on sentences- Cause when I get excited... the fingers start a flyin!! Honestly, I was begining to feel like I was back in London- and unless you prefer me disguised as a slightly puffy, pasty-white, clammy, city-dweller- It AINT GOOD!
So on Sunday, two thrilled girls with the "strange glowing orb" in the bright blue sky, skipped/jumped down AK Blvd =  R.A. (Research Assistant) Eva & I went to  3 Square Cafe and sat in the barely 60 degree sunshine to drink Prosecco  & Elderflower and eat solid German food. DELICIOUS. Not entirely cheap... but hell- we hadn't been out for like a week- so we saved up- RIGHT? Done with that, we crossed the street and "Oh what do ya know? It's El Vino!" WINE TASTING!  The most beautiful girl who couldn't have embodied the colour  palatte of a Rose more perfectly,  poured us 3 delightful Slovenian wines from Ivan and Miha Batič of Batič Winery.
Yes. Yum. More please- didn't quite get that raspberry licorice note...hmmmm...swirl swish gulp...
And again, as I always do love about Wine Tastings... she made us feel smart and educated as we enjoyed some thoroughly abused grapes. Deliriously Happy. Someone bottle Sunshine!- we will buy a lifetime supply.

 Okay so what do we like only second to cheap drinks? FREE FOOD! A great little website called BlackboardEats has rendezvous'd with the new La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica ( almost Venice) to offer you FREE UNLIMITED BAR PLATES with the purchase of every drink. REALLY? Really! It's like being rewarded for drinking! I love these people.
 But there's a catch ( and you know, there is always a catch) Sign up by Friday ( tomorrow!) at 10 AM to get their regular newsletter and you will get the magic code for this outragous deal- which you must use by Feb 20th. Totally managable. So  GO, CLICK , EAT!
 This message will self destruct in 22 hours and 10 minutes.

(I would like to thank my Silverlake-based research assistant Nicole for this tasty  tidbit, and welcome her back to the bar from her 9 month hiatus Woohoo!!)

I've been known (more than once) to waltz out of a bar with my drink snugged in my pocket...thus contributing to the mismatched barwear in my house! ...But that's not what this is about. Today's Thrillist alerted me to a new wine website where you can get the "lowest prices on the web" on great bottles of wine shipped directly to your door. Which we love, cause during a freakin' monsoon like this ( Hello? HAIL!?!?) one must batten down the hatches or whatever and not leave the house.  I would explain further- but to be honest, the overly hip writing on Thrillist spun my head- so I recommend you go straight CellarThief.com to find out about their Midnight Specials/24 hours steals. Basically, get  it cheap, get it good and get in now.

This entry is dedicated to all my Venice- ajacent friends in Culver, Marina, and Mar Vista!!!
I have got to hand it to the guy behind Hamakaze Sushi- he's been stalking my Facebook page with Sake tasting sessions, and then today one of my research assistants gave me a nudge so... okay ! okay!  The urban mermaid will cross Lincoln!
Although not quite in biking distance, a short roll up Washington will lead you to a killer Happy Hour menu staring hot & cold sake and some surprisingly cheap treats including... AND I QUOTE, "kick ass Japanese fries"! Ha! How do you like that?
Makes me want to do my best Miss Piggy impression while I eat $6 tri-colored tempura shrimp and sip on infused sake for $4 a pop! HHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAH!

I hope the New Year is suiting all of you Alcoholics Unanimous members well, and that you have been safe and steadfast as you cocktail your way into 2010. I've been to Vegas and back, where, as I am sure you all well know- there are cheap people and expensive drinks, pretty much the polar opposite of what we seek! No new adventures to report at the moment, but the week is young- so please stand by. In the meantime... you can navigate your way though Happy Hours to your heart's content above,  and remember...Monday is 1/2 price wine night at James Beach!

The dogs at Thrillist came up with a pretty good bone this morning... a service akin to the aformentioned YDriveLA.com, called Booze Croozer Limousine Service. Evidentally, in case you are afraid you haven't had enough to drink at the bar and need a night cap on the way home, this rolling bar is the perfect LAST CALL to make. You have to check out the photos on the Thrillist newletter, featuring 4 erie shots of the limo in random places in LA, with the door neglectfully left open. What's happening here? Did someone have to go barf in the bushes? Are the having a sneaky road-side piss behind the car? Were they left in the middle of nowhere when they ran out of cash? WEIRD!

Anyway- if you want to relive prom night this Friday night, Booze Croozer to the rescue!

Okay- so it's true... I've been hiding from the blog since New Years, as I've felt a little bit, well, ashamed(...).
We didn't go out. It's true. I can't lie.
We. Didn't. Go. Out. 
There, I said it!
New Years Eve around 12 noon, my little phone started ring, by 7PM, 10 + fun-loving friends and a last minute run to TJ's resulted in an impromptu  party in my leopard-carpeted casa. We ate and drank new years for $60 TOTAL ( throw in the odd bottle of wine, 6 pack of Blue Moon, and a party tray of N'ice Cream champagne sorbet and maybe we can get the total to $100)  That's $10 a head- SO I have to say, we were really owning that whole CHEAP DRINKS FOR CHEAP PEOPLE thing.
We were all set to hop on bikes and hit all the spots in Venice, to hang with the locals ...but really- we were having so much fun, WE COULDN'T LEAVE  THE HOUSE! So there ya go... VHH is unpredicatable as usual. (Would love to hear about your New Years if you want to share, so pop me an email or leave a comment.)
BUT! We did do one thing as promised, there was a marathon eating and drinking session at Bondi BBQ, and we all slept very very well Friday night.

MOST importantly, I hope you all have a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR= 2010 feels epic already- I think there is lots of GOOD STUFF in store for us all! ( Maybe Gjelina will do a happy hour! A girl can hope!)