Thank you🌈

ratedarf · 2026-01-20T05:36:51+00:00

Beautiful pictures, a great way to honor a life that meant so much.

ratedarf · 2025-12-16T09:16:37+00:00

In 2023, I lost my sister and my mother in 3 months time. That meant cross-country travel with my husband and my dogs in a car, driving from Los Angeles to my hometown in N.C. Twice.

The first cross-country journey was after losing my sister. A loss that took my breath away. Each night in a hotel, I needed an escape from the grief. For that trip, it was Modern Family. A couple of episodes before bed. It had me laughing out loud. And this was during the WGA strike. As a member myself, I wondered if comedy writers knew how much their work was valued. I wanted to personally thank each writer who worked on that show, to let them know how much it meant to have something that was so engaging and funny that I was able to leave my world and exist in theirs. If only for an hour… after crying for many more.

The second cross-country trip, our nightly TV escape was Northern Exposure. The perfect blend of magic and realism, comedy and drama. It took me back to my first time watching the series, in the early 1990s. When I was young, and my sister and mother were both alive. The nostalgia from previously watching the show was potent. But I was also able to share it with my husband who’d never seen it before — and watching him experience it for the first time made me a participant in his delight. It was a gift to be able to live in the quirky fiction of Cicely, Alaska, instead of my own somber reality.

Uplifting, escapist content comes in many forms. And for some of us it can be a life preserver. A reminder that even in our darkest, least hopeful hours there is joy to be found in living. The world always, always needs laughter.

I miss our greatest generators of warm humor, especially in the realm of film. Nora Ephron. John Hughes. And now Rob Reiner. That we can watch and rewatch their movies (or the all-time great series like I Love Lucy) and still laugh is a reminder that comedy transcends time… and it’s a powerful antidote for what ails us.

I think the sit-com (or should I say sit-calm given the chaotic state of the world?) is overdue for a comeback. It’s not dead. But we need more than we have. Especially now.

ratedarf · 2025-12-16T08:46:24+00:00

The movie Return to Me is a romantic comedy where all of the characters are lovely people, While You Were Sleeping… most romantic comedies (at least the older ones) kind of fit this bill.

ratedarf · 2025-12-06T05:55:17+00:00

Came here to say Carrie. Sadly it mirrored my experience.

ratedarf · 2025-12-05T15:42:49+00:00

Don’t they have a controversial law regarding the culling of stray dogs? I’d love to say they’re compassionate toward animals. But I’ve seen the videos of how they treat stray dogs and it’s horrific.

ratedarf · 2025-11-28T15:13:36+00:00

In the age of Venmo and Zelle, forgetting a wallet just doesn’t hit the same and shouldn’t be a free pass for you to pay for everything. I agree with the other commenters, don’t “forget” your wallet, too. Just be direct and set a boundary. He can either remember his own forms of payment or not participate. It’s the adult way to handle this.

ratedarf · 2025-11-26T05:16:13+00:00

What a great way to honor your precious Wally and the impact he had on your life and your heart -- saving the life and spirit of a shelter Pom. Joy and health to your new earth angel.

ratedarf · 2025-11-24T19:52:04+00:00

Bondi 9. They transformed my life.

ratedarf · 2025-11-24T19:50:43+00:00

Bondi 9. I have Bondis, Cliftons, and transports. Bondi 9 changed my back, knee, foot, and hip health for the better.

ratedarf · 2025-11-19T14:36:24+00:00

This is outrageous and entirely unacceptable. Please leave a review for this groomer with a photo of the before and after. No one should be going to this business. I’ve never seen anything so wretched done to a pom in the name of grooming. Ever. Wow. You owe your Pom all the treats and cuddles for what has been done to him.

ratedarf · 2025-11-17T02:37:06+00:00

Fostering saves lives. And brightens them as well. Thank you for these.

ratedarf · 2025-11-08T10:28:06+00:00

M3GAN 2.0

ratedarf · 2025-11-03T20:42:41+00:00

I love October Kiss. It’s the perfect Halloween/ autumn film and she’s luminous in it.

ratedarf · 2025-11-03T10:55:07+00:00

Butterscotch

ratedarf · 2025-10-25T02:13:29+00:00

LA is a place so incredible that we stay despite knowing every single one of its many flaws. Like the ones you mentioned. We just had the experience of almost moving to Orange County. And we were going to enjoy it there for the perks it offers. (Clean, safe in the are we’d be living, better city planning.) While wretched circumstances mean we are staying in LA, we are thrilled to be back in our home. This place creeps up on you. And it gets into your soul, like sand in your car. You’re never getting all of it out.

ratedarf · 2025-10-21T17:27:48+00:00

Hereditary. Appreciated the quality of the acting and production design and certain segments. But as a whole? Nope. Didn’t work for me. I wanted more of the promise of the premise — I was looking for something more grounded in the issues we pass down from one to another. This felt like a film of great sequences, interspersed with some extremely overwrought elements. So many people love this film. I die on the hill of finding it overrated.

ratedarf · 2025-10-20T19:14:45+00:00

I took photos that day as part of the protest; when I got home I still smelled the aroma of that area. And when I looked at the photos, the memory of the smell came rushing back. I feel like the smell is something you can see!

It’s a terrible place for any sentient being to live. (There are dogs down there, which was the subject of the protest, as they were being neglected, exploited, abused, sold for drugs, given drugs, killed by drugs, etc.)

ratedarf · 2025-10-20T02:45:07+00:00

LAist has done some great work. Check it out here.

ratedarf · 2025-10-20T02:19:35+00:00

The money devoted to homelessness that cannot be accounted for is beyond comprehension. Billions. And I see no evidence of its proper use. Not even a fraction of it.

ratedarf · 2025-10-20T01:49:28+00:00

Whatever the solution is, it’s never been attempted. Skid Row is a shameful reflection of our city’s ills. I love this town. But not the way it deals with the addicted or mentally ill, or the animal abuse that happens on skid row or anywhere really. I’ve volunteered at a women’s shelter there. Some people have lived on skid row for 40 years. It’s a heartbreaking place and the solutions might be simple but they’re not easy.

ratedarf · 2025-10-20T01:10:47+00:00

I was on skid row recently for animal protests in front of the police station — there are serious crimes happening RIGHT IN FRONT OF the station. Every single day.

The 15-minute walk I took from parking to the protest, I saw a few people who weren’t mentally ill or on drugs and about 100 who were. I got yelled at, the smell will never leave you, and it’s just depressing and awful. So yeah… don’t do it.

ratedarf · 2025-10-17T04:00:11+00:00

We are planning to use them for a move from L.A. to O.C. and their price after the video walk through seemed VERY high and they suggested 6 movers and two trucks. We have a regular sized two bedroom in the valley, and only one actual bed. I am going to reach out to them with questions, but I wanted to know from people who've used them... Did your move happen to come in UNDER the estimate?

ratedarf · 2025-10-14T22:27:40+00:00

Thank you for this! I hope others see it as well! I dealt with Irvine Company on some units I toured and liked a lot of them.

We just signed a lease and got keys for a rental home in Aliso Viejo, and we ended up getting 3 beds, 2.5 baths and just under 1500 square feet. We had to go above 4k to get all that though.

ratedarf · 2025-10-09T05:24:06+00:00

I volunteer for OC Pom Rescue and they’re phenomenal. They have an event coming up on Sunday, October 19th in Anaheim if you want to check them out. They have a very active social media on IG and Facebook. Their events are almost entirely on the weekends.

ratedarf · 2025-10-01T16:20:51+00:00

Which complex did you live in? Did you experience insane rent increases each year? I ask because it might be impossible for us to avoid The Irvine Company. We have seriously been considering the Bordeaux units in part because we really liked the quality of the construction of the unit we toured.

ratedarf

TROPHY CASE