Communicating with Ishka was easy. She always wrote back and we got to meet her right when we got there. It was a little hard to run into her again since she worked the night shift and we were usually early risers. We were able to walk to the liquor store once we arrived, and there was a place near by where we ordered huevos racheros the morning after our big New Years celebration in downtown LA at Grand Park. (where there was a lazer show on the old 1920's city hall building)
The neighborhood felt safe and very walkable. The space was exactly how it looked on the photos and it seemed as though the studio appartment had been updated and remodeled. We did love her dogs and they were fine meeting a stranger or two, though we only encountered them once in the yard when we left. Having the separate entrance makes it so you don't really need to interact with the host if you happen to be shy.