Perfection in our new neighborhood

I have found the world's most perfect chocolate chip cookie.

And it exists...in Los Angeles. (I'm not the only one who is cookie obsessed- just check out the most emailed article on the NY Times today.)

Last weekend, Paul and I were in LA looking for apts. We saw 11 apts between Friday and Saturday morning, having to go back each night because we had plans in San Diego in the evenings. This was a pretty tiring two days, but we had a system pat down...I would drive the northbound trip while Paul used his laptop to continue looking up listings through the magic universal internet service they installed on his computer (can't remember what that's called) and made phone calls to set up appointments. Once we got there, I would navigate us with the GPS on my Blackberry from appointment to appointment, and Paul would drive since he's better at parallel parking than I am. :)

Well, on Friday around noon, we were in between appointments and decided to stop for a very quick lunch. We debated driving to the Valley for dim sum, but decided there was not enough time if we wanted to get a couple more appointments in. So I said, "Let's just go to the nearest coffee shop and get a sandwich or something."

Enter Lamill.

We drove from our last appointment about a quarter mile up Silver Lake Blvd., and spot a coffee shop on the right. It looks crowded inside, so we figure it's gotta be decent. Everybody inside is beautiful. Some are in groups looking Hollywood trendy, some are reading books by themselves, one older man sits outside with a notepad scribbling a thought every now and then. We had Aiko with us so we opted for an outdoor table on the sidewalk patio where she proceeds to bark at the giant golden labrador on our left (she hates blondes).

A lady comes out and greets us and asks if we've been here. No, we say, our little silver table cluttered with crumpled up craigslist postings and Paul's laptop. We're sweaty and thirsty from being in the hot car and all the driving. The server proceeds to hand us menus and says, "Our menu was designed by Michelin starred restaurant owner/chef Michael Cimarusi."

I look up from my menu. What? Someone with a Michelin star restaurant designed the sandwiches on the menu at this coffee shop? I just wanted a quick bite. Turkey and provolone would have been fine. I wasn't ready for this. But- okay.

So, we order. I get The Farcell, a hand-crafted panini with coffee-washed Spanish cow's milk cheese, chorizo, and piquillo peppers. It is fantastic. Oozing with flavor with every bite, perfectly pressed, the spice of the chorizo and peppers adding an extra kick. Paul gets the Jambon au Buerre on a French baguette, the best bread I've tasted west of the Mississippi. Each of our sandwiches comes with hand cut Yukon gold potato chips, a little tray of Kalamata and green olives, and some preserved cippolinis (small, sweet perfect little onions).

The flavors all blend together magnificently and we down a couple iced teas and coffees with our meals.

We forgo the dessert menu on an attempt to save a little money, and I opt to go to the counter to get a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. Perfectly crisp on the outside with a little bit of crunch, giving way to the chewy center oozing with Valrhona chocolate. I like my cookies a little bit salty, and this one is perfectly seasoned, bringing out the decadence of the chocolate even more. With the chocolate melting under the hot LA sun, I manage to speak only a few words before getting my fingers and my purse covered with a little bit of the chocolatey goodness. My purse is white canvas and now has a small stain on the back, but I don't care. A small sacrifice to pay for bliss. I manage to mutter something like, "THIS...IS...AMA-ZING!"

We love this neighborhood already. The past few days have been a waiting game on the apartment front...waiting for a landlord to get back to us about an apt that we put an application down on, waiting for a prospective renter to get back to us about whether they would take over our current lease. We waited and prayed. And God answered. We didn't get the unit we put down an application for- they wanted to rent it out to a single person instead. But we were apparently at the top of their list (we can't believe this- our credit is not really that amazing) and they just got word that a bigger 1 BR will be available two units down that comes with a parking spot and about 250 more square feet. The original unit we applied for was small (about 550-600 square feet) and had no parking, but we figured it was worth it since it was a great location, newly renovated inside, and was priced super low. But this one is an even better fit for us! The landlord called today and said he'd like to rent it to us. And the renter called last night and said they would take our apartment in SD over! On both sides we still need to do the paperwork- but I am pretty hopeful and excited that everything is going to work out. According to Google maps, the apt is 11 minutes (without traffic) to USC's campus and 11 minutes to the train station where Paul will need to go twice a week. 11.11. Hmm, I've seen those numbers before. How auspicious.

Finally the stars (and cookies) are aligning. Relocation is stressful. But not when you have a God that answers prayer and always knows what you need.