This month has flown by. Perhaps it’s because I’ve returned to work full-time now through May — my days are defined, there is a clear routine in place. I am enjoying the comfort that comes with structure: podcasts on my morning commute, coffee breaks to the farmer’s market, chatting with co-workers. It’s been great.

One perk of being in Los Angeles during awards season is attending the annual DGA symposium with this year’s five nominated feature film directors.

The panelists were Alejandro Iñárritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Clint Eastwood (American Sniper), and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game). Moderator Jeremy Kagan led the discussion for 3+ hours and it was fascinating to hear each filmmaker discuss specifics of their movie’s pre-production, casting, rehearsal, shooting, and post process.

The following weekend I went hiking with friends at Sturtevant Falls in Santa Anita Canyon — it’s a great trek in the LA area.

Small cabins dot the trail. There’s no way to get vehicles this deep into the woods so the building materials must’ve been hauled a fair distance. We can see power lines so I think there’s electricity, but numerous outhouses suggest no running water. However a stream runs through the whole area so there is a water source.

After maybe an hour we arrive at Sturtevant Falls. (Kudos to my buddy Mike for organizing this hike!)

We trek back along the main trail to a point where it splits off — hikers can either return the way they came, or climb upwards above the falls. We pick the upper route, which goes on for miles and miles, though we only walk a short stretch of it.

On Valentine’s Day I spend the morning at Romancing the Bean (a great coffee spot in Burbank) and then catch a performance of the musical I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (shout out to my friend Jen who was the music director).

The next day I dined at Masa of Echo Park, one of my favorite restaurants in LA that serves the BEST deep dish pizza. There’s always a long wait but it was made easier with friends like Allison, Ziggy, and Jenny. I ate two slices of pizza and was completely stuffed.

Speaking of pizza, I must mention this bacon and Brussels sprouts pie at Pitfire (North Hollywood location). YUM.

One more food photo — dinner at Lemonade (Toluca Lake location). Their salads and side dishes are delicious and healthy.

During a walk in Toluca Lake I passed a realtor’s listing for Bob Hope’s nearby estate. Anyone got 23 million lying around?

As we all know, the Oscars took place last Sunday night. Allison kindly hosted a viewing party and Jenny made her impressive Rice Krispie treat Oscar statue (check out last year’s work of art here). She also made healthy “nachos” out of apple slices drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.

Allison’s artful presentation of screeners and invitations from this past awards season:

As I mentioned at the top of this post, I’ve spent the past month working at my old place of employment The Young & the Restless. One highlight is lunchtime walks around the Grove, a large outdoor mall here in Los Angeles.

Giant cloud engulfing the sky over CBS the other day:

The spirit of travel and adventure graces my daily routine by way of public transit. I don’t have a car, so I use the Metro and buses and my own two feet to go everywhere — and you wouldn’t believe the kind of characters I see on a daily basis.

I took the photo below after a train was about to depart and then suddenly there was a bright flash, the lights went out, and we smelled smoke — luckily it was just an electrical issue and within 20 minutes they got a replacement train.

My commute takes me by the intersection of Hollywood & Highlight (the Times Square of Los Angeles) and there are often big movie premieres going on. I think this particular red carpet below was for Jupiter Ascending a few weeks ago. Three days ago it was the new Will Smith movie Focus.

And of course this whole street was blocked off all week leading up to the Oscars, which happen at the Dolby Theater right next to the Metro stop. Here’s a view of the most famous red carpet of the year, two days before the actual awards:

And here’s that same area about 12 hours after the Oscars ended:

But the giant Oscar statue was still up on my Monday morning commute so of course I grabbed a selfie with the guy. (I still prefer Jenny’s Rice Krispie treat version.)

And as I related yesterday, I attended the LA Travel & Adventure Show last weekend in Long Beach. Great event.

Just last night I met up with my uncle and friend Lisa at Ryan Gosling’s Moroccan restaurant Tagine in Beverly Hills. YUM! I’d been here once before a few years ago and remembered loving the intimate decor and tasty food. It did not disappoint this time around. But the best part was the company — can’t believe I forgot to take a photo of the three of us!

(Related: check out this post of my best meals in Morocco last summer… it ranks among my favorite international cuisine. Also related: that time Ryan Gosling’s doppelganger was my horseback riding guide in New Zealand.)

That wraps up February… a return to “normal” life, peppered with friends, coffee, food, hikes, and award shows.

(And the TV show Nashville. I just caught up on seasons 2 and 3, and I’m obsessed. Now with all the buzz surrounding Empire, that’s next on my list.)