coffee. wine. and yoga.

Moksha Yoga LA

2012-02-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've been practicing yoga for nearly 6 years.
I started out practicing at gyms (24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness) and while I enjoyed it, I knew I needed something a bit more in-depth than what the gyms were offering.

I tried Santa Monica Yoga (in Santa Monica) and U Studio Yoga (in Miracle Mile) and then I started practicing at YogaWorks regularly (at both the SouthBay studio and their Larchmont location). Heck, I even worked at YogaWorks for a year and am enrolled in their teacher training program that starts at the end of March of this year.

I really enjoyed my experiences at all of these studios; they were great and offered a wide-range of styles and instructors; but I was still looking for something MORE. I knew I loved yoga and I knew it was a big part of my life, but I had yet to find a studio that I LOVED.

And then Moksha Yoga LA opened up and I finally found my yoga home!
I went to my first class during their grand opening week and as soon as my first class was over I knew I was hooked.

The studio is clean, wonderfully located, and an all-around gem. I have truly fallen in love with the studio and Moksha yoga itself.

I love what Moksha Yoga stands for, I love their 7 pillars, and each and every person I have had the pleasure of meeting that is affiliated with Moskha Yoga is wonderful!

Not to mention the classes are AMAZING. They are a perfect blend of asana, spirituality, heat, sweat, focus, encouragement, mental clarity, and an all-around workout that really pull at your heart strings and makes you realize how important it is to take the 60, 75 or 90 minutes to really focus on YOU.

You cant go wrong with ANY class or ANY instructor at the studio.
Emily, Ezmy, Matt, Joe, Deena & all of the visiting instructors are truly incredible.

I'm so glad Moksha Yoga is in LA and that I have finally found my yoga "home".
This will be one of the few things I will truly miss when we move out of Los Angeles.

Seattle. our future home.

2012-02-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

this past weekend we made a trip to Seattle with our friends Jared and Melody.

Aaron and I are planning to relocate to Seattle in the fall (probably August) so this was a great opportunity for us to visit the city, be sort-of touristy, and to also spend a fun 4-day weekend with our friends.

Lucky for us, the Seattle area was having "Southern California-like" weather during our stay!

We arrived on Saturday around noon, took the Light Rail to downtown Seattle, and walked the 3 blocks towards our hotel, The Inn At The Market. Which, just as the name implies, is right AT Pike's Place Market.

This was taken from the entrance to our hotel as we arrived:

our hotel:

Once we checked in to our hotel we walked the 20-or-so minutes towards the Capitol Hill area for our Savor Seattle food tour. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and took us all around Capitol Hill. We were able to try some coffee, pizza, Chai tea, spam sandwiches (I had the tofu version), bagels, and frozen custard. It was a great way to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood, and also be able to sample various types of delicious food and drink.

After the tour was over we wandered around Capitol Hill on our own for a bit and then headed back towards our hotel. Along the way we were able to take in this beautiful sunset and view of the Seattle skyline:

We stopped in the REI flagship store, and then headed towards Fonte Cafe & Wine Bar for a glass of wine and a cheese plate. The cheese plate was well done and offered some delicious accoutrements. Their wine was tasty, and that's saying something since I'm so spoiled to California wine!

After that we went to Lecosho for another glass of wine and dinner.

Dinner was okay, but nothing to write home about. The gnocchi was tasty, but seemed to lack something. The brussel sprouts were shredded and had a unique flavor..... and it wasn't necessarily unique in a good way.
The dessert was good, but it was chocolate and I had already had two glasses of wine to drink; so at that point it could have been anything sweet and I would have enjoyed it.
Overall, I would say Lecosho is more of a drink and dessert place, not really great for a full meal.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel and we were able to see the Market at night:

The next morning I got up early and headed to the Original Starbucks for my morning latte. While drinking that I wandered around the market a bit while I was waiting for Aaron to wake up.

Once everyone was awake and ready for the day, we headed to Macrina (a bakery that came highly recommended by our friend Rich) for breakfast.

I'm not sure how everyone else felt about their breakfast, but I loved mine! The breakfast sandwich was made with muenster cheese, an egg, some spicy mustard and a spicy tomato sauce. It was challenging to eat as an actual sandwich, so I opted to eat mine with a fork and knife and enjoyed each and every bite. The 4 of us also shared the "pastry of the day" which was nutella and banana inside of puff pastry. It was good, but my breakfast sandwich was much better.

After breakfast we decided to walk up to the Queen Anne neighborhood and take in the view from Kerry Park. The hill was pretty steep getting to Kerry Park, but once there the view made the effort all worth it. It was such a beautifully clear day! Seattle has a great skyline and I loved seeing Mt Rainier off in the distance.

We stopped at a wine shop and a cute little grocery store on the way back our hotel to get snacks to enjoy on our rooftop. Between the Washington State red wine, the delicious cambozola & goat cheese, the fancy rosemary crackers, and the smoked sea salt & milk chocolate caramels... we were well on our way to having a great time while taking in the view of the Puget Sound as the sun set.

After our own little happy hour we went back out to explore the city. Aaron and Jared went to their new favorite dive bar, the Nite Lite, to watch the 2nd half of the SuperBowl while Melody and I went shopping at Anthropologie, the Nordstrom flagship store, and lululemon.

We met up with the guys (empty handed, I might add!) and we all went to dinner. We went to Serious Pie, a Tom Douglas restaurant.

The pizza's were amazing! Specifically the truffle/mushroom one. We also ordered the russet potato & rosemary pizza and something involving sausage that I [obviously] didn't try.

After dinner we set out to find Bathtub Gin & Co. Which is a old-school speakeasy that is located behind a wooden door that's hidden down a dark, sketchy alley.

It was easier to find that I thought it would be, and we settled in for a night cap before heading back to the hotel.

To Aaron and my surprise they had Pappy Van Winkle on their bourbon list! So Aaron ordered one of those so we could try it out. I ordered a Manhattan, Melody ordered something "girly & delicious" and Jared ordered something "girly & pretty".... which is exactly what he got.

[clockwise, starting from the top: Jared's "girly & pretty" drink,

Melody's "girly & delicious" drink,

my Manhattan with a twist, and Aaron's Pappy Van Winkle]

The next morning we headed back towards Capitol Hill.

On the way we stopped at Vivace (another one of Rich's suggestions, which was actually located right across the street from the REI flagship store) for a fantastic latte.

Then we continued our walk on to Capitol Hill for breakfast at Top Pot Doughnuts. The doughnuts were delicious..... not anything rare or unique, but very well done. and, doughnuts are a weakness of mine so I was in regular glazed, chocolate raised, and maple bar heaven!

We walked around a bit after breakfast and ended up capturing this view:

We walked a bit, but ended up taking a cab up to Freemont for lunch and a beer at Brouwer's Cafe (another one of Rich's suggestions). I was impressed by Brouwer's beer list, and even more impressed by their veggie seiten philly cheesesteak sandwich! It was amazingly delicious and I cant wait to go back and have another one.

We were able to wander around Freemont a bit and then hopped back on the bus and headed back towards our hotel. We all retreated to our rooms for a quick nap. Aaron and I headed up to the hotel's rooftop to enjoy a glass of wine and take in the view of the Sound at night.

We then all headed to dinner to try out yet another Tom Douglas restaurant: The Dahlia Lounge.
Dinner was fantastic. Aaron and I started out with 2 oysters on the half-shell, and my main course was Alaskan Cod with a potato-leek puree and buttered carrots. YUM!

At this point we were starting to become very big Tom Douglas fans.

For dessert we ordered the coconut cream pie (I don't even like coconut... and neither does Aaron, Melody or Jared! but this pie came so highly recommended that we ordered it so that we could all try a bite), the caramel creme, and the freshly made donuts. Apparently Melody had called ahead, because they surprised me with candles on the desserts for my birthday :)

After dinner we headed back to the dive bar that Aaron and Jared had fallen in love with, the Nite Lite. It wasnt long after that, that I headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

The next morning we got up, got ready, and headed to the South Lake Union neighborhood for breakfast. Along the way I was able to snap this picture:

[Look at that gorgeous blue sky!

And people say the weather in Seattle is dreary and rainy.....

We never saw so much as a drop of rain!]

Breakfast was at yet another Tom Douglas restaurant, Serious Biscuit. This location is Serious Biscuit by morning and Serious Pie (where we ate on Sunday night; but at a different location) by afternoon/night.

Breakfast was fantastic and I am already craving another Serious Biscuit sandwich.

[my Serious Biscuit with cheese, egg, fried green tomato]

We took the light rail back to downtown and then wandered down to Pioneer Square to grab a snack (for Aaron, Jared and Melody) from Salumi; which is Mario Batalli's dad's cured meat restaurant. We found it, waited in line, grabbed the snacks, and then headed back to our hotel to enjoy it on the rooftop before we all had to head to the airport.

it was yet another gorgeous day. So we were able to spend our last few minutes in Seattle overlooking the Puget Sound while basking in the warmth and sunshine while sipping on some coffee:

We got back to LA last night and already miss Seattle. We had such a great long weekend with Melody and Jared! They are so much fun to travel with and have similar views on how to spend a great vacation: which is with wine, beer, great food, and great company.

Thanks to Melody's planning and Yelp'ing, Rich's fantastic restaurant/coffee suggestions, the rare sunny & warm Seattle weather, and Aaron & Jared's hilarious obsession with the Nite Lite and their new friend John.... we had a fun filled weekend in what will soon be our new home!

**these photos are just from my iPhone, Ill post more when Aaron uploads them from his computer.

happy birthday!

2012-02-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

today is our dear Ziggy's 2nd birthday!
so far, he has celebrated by lounging around, taking several naps, playing with his toys, and chewing on his two new chewsticks.

which.... now that I think about it.... is basically how he spends most days.
the only difference is that today he is sporting an adorable new bandana!

recipe: meyer lemon bars

2012-02-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

we have been getting meyer lemons in our CSA drop off and I wasnt quite sure what to do with them. I first thought about making lemon curd.... but I wasnt quite sure if we would put it to use.

then I found this recipe on Kitchen Runway and decided that they would be a much better option. It turned out delicious! Its not too tart and not too sweet. Its the perfect balance of lemon to sugar and the crust is crumbly, buttery, and delicious.

if you find yourself with 4-6 meyer lemons I highly recommend trying out this yummy treat.

Meyer Lemon Bars
adapted Kitchen Runway who adapted their recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 C butter, at room temperature
½ c sugar
2 c flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp meyer lemon zest

Filling:
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 c sugar
2 Tbs grated meyer lemon zest (about 4 to 6 lemons)
1 c freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 4 to lemons)
1 c all-purpose flour
powder sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F.

Prepare the crust: Cream butter and sugar until light in color in a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the lemon zest and mix. Combine the flour and salt. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined, do not over mix. Pour mixture in buttered 9x13 pan. With floured hands, pack the dough to bottom of pan to form a crust. Chill the dough for about 15 to 20 mins.

Bake the crust for about 15 to 20 mins, until the crust is just slightly browned.
Cool on a wire rack.

Filling: Whisk eggs, sugar, Meyer lemon zest, Meyer lemon juice and flour until combined. Pour filling over crust and bake for about 30 to 35 mins, until the filling is set. Cool on wire rack. Dust with powder sugar and serve.

I made bread!

2012-02-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

I couldn't have done it without my wonderful and amazing friend Simone, but I actually baked my very own bread today! from scratch! no "kit". no bread maker. no cheating at all what-so-ever.
one-hundred percent homemade, made from scratch, yummy and delicious bread!

it all started with Simone's starter that she has been growing for over a year (15 months, to be exact):

and this book:

[Nancy Silverton's Breads]

and then I went to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to get a few necessary ingredients:

Day 1: (yesterday) Simone came over and we made the sponge for our Whole Wheat Sandwich bread.
We also spent some time prepping a few things for Day 2.

Day 2: (today) Simone came over around 9am and we began the bread-baking fun!

We actually made two different breads today, the Whole Wheat Sandwich bread (which we made the sponge for on Day 1) and a Rustic Ciabatta bread (which is only a 1 day bread, which means we were able to accomplish everything today).

We started with the Whole Wheat Sandwich bread. We got the sponge out of the fridge, let it warm up a bit, and then turned it into dough:

[mmm, look at all of those poppy seeds, wheat berries, and sunflower seeds!]

then, after the dough doubled in size we divided it into three loaves, manipulated them a bit (Simone taught me some fancy dough kneading & shaping techniques!) and then let them proof in the loaf pans:

then, after spending some time in the oven, the loaves came out looking wonderful and delicious:

after they cooled for a while, we finally cut one open; look how beautiful it is inside!

While the Whole Wheat Sandwich bread was rising, proofing, and baking we made the dough for the Rustic Ciabatta bread and then formed it into loaves.
They came out of the oven smelling so wonderfully yummy, its a wonder I didn't dive right into one:

it wasnt long before we were able to cut into one and try it.... and oh, my, goodness......

here is a picture of both the Whole Wheat Sandwich & Rustic Ciabatta bread made from scratch!

I wish I could express just how much FUN this was.

Yes, its time consuming. Yes, its messy. but it really is so much fun!

Not to mention our apartment smelled absolutely amazing for an entire day AND there was something warm & delicious to snack on once we were done AND I got to spend the whole day with my wonderful and amazing and talented friend Simone learning how to do this AND I will never have to purchase another loaf of bread at the store ever again!

I cant wait for Aaron to get home so that he can try it too.

Thank you Simone for taking 2 days out of your schedule to teach me how to bake my own bread!

productivity and bread making.

2012-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

I had a super productive day yesterday...
I knew it was going to be a busy week and that I couldn't start it off with a lazy/unproductive Monday.

So, I managed to get the following things accomplished yesterday:
- dust
- vacuum
- dust mop and wood polish the wood floors
- mop kitchen and bathroom
- clean bathroom
- clean kitchen
- make potato, cauliflower, leek and cabbage soup for dinner/leftovers
- wash sheets (our bed and guest bed) & towels
- wash clothes
- make our bed and guest bed with freshly clean sheets
- go to happy hour in Santa Monica at 6pm

which leaves this for me to do today/tomorrow:
~~- make meyer-lemon bars (we have about 6 meyer lemons from our CSA that need to be used)~~
~~- weight out and freeze the live yeast purchased for bread making.~~
~~- make out menu for the remainder of the week~~
~~- make out this week's grocery list~~
~~- go grocery shopping (Trader Joe's & Whole Foods)~~
~~- bread making with Simone~~
~~- go through PILE of paperwork/junk mail/etc on kitchen table~~
~~- email Melody back to confirm plans for our trip this weekend~~
~~- hang up clothes that were washed yesterday~~
- give Ziggy a bath

My friend Simone is coming over later this afternoon. We are going to the 4:30 Moksha class together and afterwards she is coming over to help me start the 2-day process of baking my own bread!

backstory:
Aaron and I wanted our new KitchenAid professional mixer (that we got for Christmas) for the purpose of making/baking more things ourselves instead of purchasing them in stores.
one thing in particular: bread

Simone is an awesome baker and has pastry experience... and she [very generously] offered to teach me how to bake bread!

She started growing the starter for me and she is bringing it over tonight!
The first bread we decided to bake is a Whole Wheat Sandwich bread that will yield 3 loaves (2 of which we will freeze until needed).
I cant tell you how excited I am about this.
Our goal is to not buy a single loaf of bread at the store for the remainder of the year.
Whatever we want.... a baguette, hamburger buns, ciabatta, or just a loaf of sandwich bread... from this point forward, I will make myself.

Tomorrow Simone will be coming back over to help me with day 2 of the bread making process.
Apparently there is lots of downtime between steps, so she will bring over some homework to work on during that time and I will use it to check things off of my to-do list and to pack for Seattle.

Then, my mom arrives Thursday morning.
We have several things lined up to do... mani/pedi's, brunch, a bit of shopping, etc.

We leave for Seattle on Saturday morning and my mom is [very generously] Ziggy-sitting while we are gone :)

Its going to be a busy rest of the week, but I am so excited about all of the things that we have going on!

my new favorite smoothie.

2012-01-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

my girlfriend Corrina came up with this smoothie recipe and I'm hooked.
I tweaked her original recipe a bit to accommodate some of the ingredients that we regularly have on hand, and instead of using milk as a liquid base (as she did) I use coconut water because neither Aaron or myself drink milk.... and I really like the added potassium, magnesium and natural electrolytes that coconut water provides.

Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of mixed berries (fresh or frozen depending on season)
- 1/2 cup of mango (fresh or frozen)
- fresh spinach (I just eyeball the amount, keep in mind when blended spinach practically disappears)
- fresh kale (any variety will work)
- 1-2 tablespoons of wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- about 8-9oz of pure, unflavored coconut water (such as Naked or Zico- my two favorite brands)

mix everything into your blender, and blend until smooth:

its not the most beautiful smoothie. Once blended together it ends up being a brownish/green color... but trust me, it tastes wonderful!

this recipe makes enough for 2 smoothies.
I typically make one for breakfast and use the 2nd one as a snack.
It has also been a great post yoga refuel-er!

enjoy.

something to think about.

2012-01-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

from here.

Cheesy Veggie & Bean Quinoa

2012-01-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

oh. my.
I made this last night and it is delicious.
Its adapted from a recipe I found on Pinterest, but I tweaked it a bit:

Cheesy Veggie & Bean Quinoa
Ingredients:
- half of a medium-large onion, chopped
- olive oil
- cumin
- 1-2 garlic gloves, minced
- fresh spinach (about 10 oz)
- fresh tomatoes, diced (2-3 medium heirloom)
- black beans (if canned, drained)
- 3/4 cup of quinoa
- 2 cups water
- sharp cheddar cheese

1. heat oil in medium-to-large saucepan over medium head. add onion and cook until soft. add cumin (approx 1 tablespoon) and garlic, saute for 1 minute. stir in spinach and diced tomatoes. cook about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
2. stir in black beans, quinoa, and water. cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. stir in cheese (half a cup or so). add salt and pepper to taste.

great as a side dish or main course.

*suggestion: hollow out yellow/orange/or red bell peppers, add quinoa mixture, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. remove foil, add a sprinkle of cheese to the top, and bake an additional 15 minutes. (its helpful to add about an inch of veggie broth to the bottom of the pan holding the peppers)

enjoy!

things to do in Los Angeles before we move:

2012-01-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

We have a tentative "move out of Los Angeles" date of August of this year.
So... since we know we have a short amount of time left in Southern California we have composed a list of things we would like to do/see before we move:

- take the Catalina Express to Catalina Island
- have dinner at Nobu's Matshuhisa
~~- enjoy cocktails at the Surly Goat in West Hollywood~~
- have brunch at The Ivy (just because I can't say I lived here for 6 years and NOT go)
- go back to Eagle Rock Brewery
- have dinner at Spago (reservations are made for my birthday dinner!)
- hike to the Griffith Observatory
- hike to the Hollywood Sign
- go to The Hollywood Bowl during the summer (with a bottle of wine in tow)
- ~~go to Stone Brewery~~
- ~~spend a day at Glenn Ivy Hot Springs day spa~~
- hike to Eagle Rock in Malibu for a 2nd time
- see a show at The Pantages theater with Aaron
- go to Malibu Wines on a weekend afternoon to listen to live music, drink endless amounts of wine, and have a picnic (to take in the environment of our wedding venue)
- have brunch at Shutters on the Beach
- enjoy cocktails at sunset at The Penthouse in the Huntley Hotel
- watch a movie at the Hollywood Forever cemetery during the summer
- have a private yoga session on the beach (maybe with Simone?)
- have dinner at Akasha
- drive Highway 1 from Los Angeles to Big Sur
- go to Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica for lunch
~~- have dinner at Osteria Mozza~~
- have dinner at Gjelina (with Simone & Ceci)
go to Ballast Point Brewery
- go to Green Flash Brewery
- eat at Pizza Port
- go to California Adventure
- go to the LA Opera
- see the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
- wander around and have lunch at St Vincent Court in downtown Los Angeles
- go to Olvera Street

I'm sure this list will be continuously updated over the coming months.
I cant wait to start checking some of these things off!

a bit of change.

2012-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

I feel that since the advent of Pinterest my blog "point of view" has changed.

Instead of posting about random things that I find cute, or decorating ideas that I hope to be able to achieve one day, or posting about a new pair of shoes or a new dress I purchased... my blog will now stay a bit more focused on the following things:

- food & nutrition
- health & leading a preventative lifestyle
- yoga & my experience during yoga teacher training
- recipes (for both meals and baking)
- thoughts and personal reviews about the beer & wine we drink
- my obsession with coffee.
- travel (something we hope to do a lot more of)
- being more "green" and environmentally friendly
- running & my efforts/struggles with half-marathon training
- documenting our last few months in Southern California & then documenting our adjustment as we settle into the Pacific Northwest

from this point forward, if you want to see my thoughts on fashion, style, house decorating ideas, party ideas, and some crafty/DIY projects... please follow this link to my Pinterest page...
an environment more suitable for those type of things :)

Frugally Sustainable.

2012-01-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite [new] blogs, Frugally Sustainable, has a great post on grocery shopping.
so, go on over there and check it out!

and, while you're there... check our their 23 day "Frugal Living Challenge"!

our Peruvian adventure.

2012-01-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 22nd-
Our awesome friend Simone picked us up around 4pm to take us to the airport.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:10pm so we wanted to arrive a bit early to ensure we got through security and to the gate without having to stress or worry. As it turns out, LAN airlines is hardly ever (okay, never) on-time... so we got to the airport around 5pm and our 8:10pm flight didnt actually leave until 11pm.
Not the greatest way to begin a 2 week vacation, but dont worry- we found the airport bar and were able to kill a few hours :)

Friday, December 23rd-
We arrived in Lima around 11am, missed a few connection flights due to our initial flight being so late, and finally made our way to Cusco around 1pm local time. Unfortunately our luggage was on the 2pm flight, so we had to wait around the Cusco airport for nearly 2 hours waiting for our bags to arrive. We made some friends on the flight who were also waiting for their luggage (and who were also from Los Angeles!) so we killed some time with them by getting some Peruvian currency (Nuevo Sols, which we would later find out is referred to as just "soles") and found a small airport cafe so that we could try out the infamous Coca tea (which is delicious, by the way.. and would rapidly become our morning "go-to" drink instead of coffee!).

Our bags finally arrived, and we cabbed it to our hotel: the Inkaterra La Casona in Cusco.

I was surprised at how well I was feeling, and was optimistic that I avoided altitude sickness! With the exception of shortness of breath, I was feeling relatively normal.

We checked into our hotel around 5pm and the staff had Coca tea waiting for us in our room.

We sipped on that, washed our faces, brushed our teeth, and then headed to the intimate dining room for our first Peruvian dinner. We had one of the best meals of our lives that night. Im sure it was partly because we were exhausted, jet lagged, very hungry, and very excited about the experiences awaiting us, but the food really was fantastic. I had creamed spinach soup, vegetable risotto, and cheesecake balls with fruit for dessert. We also shared a bottle of Chilean wine... which, in hindsight, was probably a terrible idea on our first night at 11,000ft above sea level, but it was delicious so we didnt care. They also gave us some bread and butter.... and the butter was divine! Literally the BEST butter Aaron or I had ever had. Something about the flavor and creaminess of it... apparently its a "fancy" butter that is quite expensive and is shipped in from Lima. It would turn out to be one of our favorite things (food wise) of the trip.

After dinner we decided to call it a night and head back to our luxurious and pristine room, have the fireplace lit (with eucalyptus wood!) and attempt to relax but in turn we crashed almost immediately.

Saturday, December 24th (Christmas Eve)-
I woke up around 2am with a splitting headache. I downed a bottle of water and tried to go back to sleep but ended up in a restless sleep until around 6am. My headache only got worse and was then accompanied with lack of appetite, nausea, and lethargy. Thanks to the free wifi of the hotel I was able to google the symptoms of altitude sickness, and voila! thats what it was.

Apparently it can take up to 10 hours for altitude sickness to kick in, so I was a little premature in thinking I had avoided it when we landed in Cusco the afternoon before. Lots of water, Coca tea, and complaining later... I finally started to feel better around 2pm or so. We wandered around the Christmas market that was set up in the Plaza de Armas near our hotel, saw a few ruins south of town, wandered around as much as we could, visited the Central Market (the one Anthony Bourdain goes to in the Peruvian episode of No Reservations), tried a variety of "tapas like" meals, and finally made our way to our "Pre Trek Briefing" at 7pm that night.

In all honesty, we were a bit worried about who would be accompanying us on our 7 day trek. We had NO idea what or who to expect, so you can imagine our delight when we met our group for the first time and everyone seemed to be friendly, outgoing, personable, and all-around great people! There was a family of 4 from Massachusetts, a couple from Nashville, a couple from Madison, WI, another newlywed couple (who were also on their honeymoon!) from Chicago, and us! a total of 12 people, our guide, the assistant guide, and a group of porters (to carry our large packs) and our chef.

After our briefing, we all stopped at the nearby "trekking" store to get a few last minute things (for us, it was 2 pack covers for our day-packs to protect them from the looming rain) and then we headed back to our respective hotels.

The newlywed couple from Chicago, John and Brigid, were also staying at the Inkaterra La Casona so we actually enjoyed dinner with them! It was Christmas Eve and we had a glass of champagne, another bottle of wine, and another great dinner. We crashed as soon as dinner was over because we were being picked up at 7am the next morning (Christmas!) for our trek.

Sunday, December 25th (Christmas Day)-
We were picked up at 7am, and we embarked on our journey.
Our caravan included: one vehicle with our guide (Pepe), a driver, the family from Massachusetts (Ken, Kate, Sam, and Lauren), the couple from Nashville (Mike and Pamela), the couple from Madison (Brad and Jeanne); and another vehicle with a driver, our assistant guide (Helen), John and Brigid, and Aaron and myself.

We drove for a little over an hour outside of Cusco to our first stop, the town of Limatambo, to see some of our first Inca ruins.

Then we drove up a VERY steep, and VERY narrow, and VERY bumpy "road" to the mountain village of Mollepata. Here we stopped, had some coffee and/or tea (Coca tea for me!) and snacks while visiting their Christmas day market. Then, we continued along the "road" for a while longer before being dropped off at a tiny structure where we enjoyed a quick boxed lunch, and then began our trek in the rain. We only hiked for a couple of hours, but it was a good introduction to high-altitude hiking. The road was slightly muddy, very rocky, was constantly uphill, and was an all-around wake up call that we were no longer at sea level! Its amazing how quickly one can get short of breath at 12,000 feet! We hiked up about 500 feet and finally arrived at our first lodge: The Salkantay Lodge which was located at 12,690ft above sea level.

We were greeted with warm washcloths to wash our hands and face, along with mugs of hot Coca tea!

We all showered, and hung out in the lodges' "living room" (talking, playing cards, reading; some even went to the lodges jacuzzi) until our briefing for the next day at 6:30pm, after our meeting we had dinner as a group, and soon after we all went to sleep.

Monday, December 26th-
We woke up, had breakfast, got our day-packs ready, and embarked on our first, real, day of trekking.

This day was designed to be an "acclimatizing" day. We were hiking up to Humantay Lake, which is a glacial lake located at an altitude 1,155 ft higher than our lodge. Again, it was a nice reminder that we were no longer at sea level! The hike was surprisingly hard, but not impossible. Just a bit challenging with less oxygen in the air.

We got to the lake, sat down to enjoy the view, and then were fortunate enough to be a part of a spiritual ceremony lead by our guide's friend, and local Quechua mountain chaman, to honor the Peruvian Mountain Gods ("apus") and Mother Earth.

After the ceremony we headed back to the lodge to enjoy another leisurely afternoon. We played more cards, talked and got to know each other more, and even had a private demonstration of how to make the infamous Peruvian drink: the pisco sour! (which, is basically the most amazing margarita you have ever had).
We had another meeting to brief us for the next day, had dinner, and then all headed to bed a bit nervous about the following day (we found out at our briefing that the next day would, in fact, be the most challenging).

Tuesday, December 27th- "the big day"-
We awoke early, had breakfast, packed up our large packs so that the porters & mules could take them on to our next lodge, packed our day packs, and embarked on what would be an exhausting, challenging, amazing, and fun day.

We hiked along the Rio Blanco river valley towards the Salkantay mountain pass....

and... after lots and lots of self-motiviation and many, many breaks to catch our breaths, we made it to the Salkantay pass summit at 15,253 feet!

It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, not really because of the physical demand of the trek, but due to the altitude! A strenuous hike, gaining 2,500 vertical feet at such high altitude already was way more challenging that I had expected.
We were all SO glad to take a group picture.

We didnt spend long at the summit because most of us were tired, short of breath, and ready to get to a lower altitude!

We started downhill on what would turn out to be an even more difficult, very steep, very rocky, downhill trail.

A few hours later we finally arrived at our next lodge, The Wayra Lodge (located at 12,812 feet above sea level) exhausted, hungry, cold, but in good spirits because we had made it through "the big day".

We were greeted, again, with hot Coca tea and warm cloths to wash our face and hands.
We took off our cold, wet hiking boots, left them by the heater, enjoyed a hot lunch together, and then all retreated to our rooms to shower and some of us (me included) even took a nap.

We had a leisurely evening, enjoyed a few beers in celebration of our accomplishment, and had a great dinner before all heading to bed.

Wednesday, December 28th-
We were able to sleep in a bit, then we had breakfast, packed our things, and set out again.
It was another downhill day full of lots of rain, LOTS of mud, rocky trails, all the while wandering through the Peruvian "cloud forest" towards our next lodge. The scenery was amazing as we saw lush rain forest, a variety of plants, waterfalls, and breathtaking mountain views.

We finally arrived at our next lodge, the Colpa Lodge located at 9,414 ft above sea level.

We were greeted with Chicha (a sweet, black corn drink) and some locals who were preparing a traditional Peruvian "barbeque" for us. They dug a hole in the ground, heated stones and rocks in it, and once we arrived they put duck, pork, guinea pig, and a few varieties of potatoes into the hole, covered it with the pre-heated stones and covered that with burlap. While our barbeque was cooking we each took showers.

Our lunch was quite a feast! and I was proud that most of the group (excluding me) actually tried the guinea pig!

In order to relax after lunch, several of us grabbed a beer and sat in the outside jacuzzi which was located in the front of the lodge with unbelievable views of the mountains around us. It was so beautiful to sit there, take in the scenery, and chat with new friends.

We had our meeting with our guide about the plan for the next day, and then sat down to enjoy yet another amazing meal with our group. Our guide surprised Aaron and I AND Brigid and John with 2 bottles of champagne to celebrate our honeymoons; which we shared with everyone in our group. It wasnt long before we all headed to bed.

Thursday, December 29th-
We got up, enjoyed breakfast, got our day packs ready, and then headed out towards our last lodge.

(that's the Colpa lodge nestled in the forest!)

It was an easy hike, but there was one section that required us to wear hard-hats due to the recent landslides in the area (thus making the terrain near us unstable)....

we walked a total of about 8 miles through banana and avocado orchards, and then we arrived at a vehicle that was waiting for us to take us to the entrance of the Llactapata Inca Trail (about 30 minutes away).

We were dropped off at the entrance of the Llactapata Inca Trail....

and walked uphill for half an hour through coffee plantations, and then arrived at our last lodge, the Lucma Lodge located at 7,003ft above sea level. This lodge was set in the middle of the beautiful rain forest and was right in the middle of a coffee plantation. It was truly beautiful.

It was raining when we showed up, but the rain quickly stopped and we were able to enjoy the warm sun for a bit.

Then we headed across the Inca Trail to a Lucabamba woman's cottage where we were able to see coffee being picked, shelled, roasted, and then brewed right in front of us! The coffee tasted amazing and we ended up purchasing 3 bags of coffee to bring home. The woman roasted the beans for us that night and dropped off the coffee at our lodge at 6am the next morning.

We came back to the lodge, enjoyed a wonderful dinner, and sat around drinking Peruvian beer and chatting until we were all tired and went to sleep.

These were the stars that night:

Friday, December 30th-
We did our usual routine: get up, get ready, have breakfast, pack up the day packs, and be on our way.

We knew it was going to be a long day, but I wasnt really expecting it to be "hard"... but boy was it! We were heading along the Inca Trail, uphill, for a couple of hours before reaching the summit of the Llactapata pass at 8,970 ft above sea level.

It wasnt a "hard" hike, but our bodies were so tired that the steady incline was starting to wear us out.

We took a short break at the pass, and then headed downhill for about half an hour before we were able to get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu!

!!!!

We were able to see it from the Southwest, which is a view that few people are able to see, and were also in the midst of the Llactapata ruins from the viewing area.

We had lunch in view of Machu Picchu and then headed back downhill along the trail for a few more hours. We crossed the Aobamba River on a rickety old bridge and wandered towards the train station that would take us to Aguas Calientes (the town of Machu Picchu).

We were a bit early for our train, so we stopped at our guide's (Pepe) friends establishment and shared a few beers with the group before the train departed.

The train ride itself was short, but beautiful. We arrived in Aguas Calientes, checked into our hotel (The Inkaterra Machu Picchu) showered, and then all met up at the hotel bar.

We were each given a free pisco sour, and then Pepe treated us to another round! At dinner I ordered a Peruvian beer and by the time dinner was over I was definitely feeling the effects of the pisco and beer.

Dinner was delicious as usual, and after dinner Pepe managed to talk me, Aaron, and the couple from Madison (Brad and Jeanne) into going "out" with him in Aguas Calientes. I really wasnt in the mood to "go out", I was tired, a bit tipsy from my few drinks, and was in yoga pants, a track jacket, and not wearing any make up... but I figured "what the hell, how often are you in Peru with a Peruvian native who wants to show you a good time?" so off we went to downtown Aguas Calientes for another drink.

Saturday, December 31st-
The alarm blared early. We had to be meet up at 6:30am in order to take the bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. I was sort of regretting going out the night before, but quickly forgot about my tiredness when I realized we would soon be roaming around the Machu Picchu ruins!

We arrived at Machu Picchu, were herded in like cattle (I'm not kidding) and had a quick, breathtaking first glimpse of the ruins.
The first view really does take your breath away. It was truly amazing and the sun was shining bright so it make for the perfect picture.

After a quick backstory, our Machu Picchu guide (not Pepe) gave us a 2 hour guided tour of the ruins. After the guided tour we roamed around a bit, took pictures, and met up with Brad and Jeanne who accompanied us as we walked around.

By this time, it felt like an amusement park. People were literally everywhere! Our group came to the conclusion that instead of offering busses to bring people to the top of the mountain, everyone should have to hike there. There were just TOO many people! It got a bit annoying because the people were your typical "tourists" who were oblivious to the history, sacredness, and respect of the ruins. They would ignore posted rules, cross into restricted areas, bump into you, walk into your photos, and be all-around frustrating.

So it wasnt long before we found a small, quiet place and sat and took in the views. Unfortunately our "quiet" space was quickly infiltrated, so we ended up making the decision to leave. It wasnt that we werent having fun, and we were able to enjoy the ruins earlier that morning before it got too busy, but it was getting pretty frustrating as the herds and buss loads of people kept showing up! We got our passports stamped (yay for a Machu Picchu stamp!) and headed back down to Aguas Calientes.

We, of course, ended up at the hotel bar again, and met up with the rest of the group for our last group lunch.
After lunch we walked the rest of the group to the train station, they were all headed back to Cusco.

Aaron and I had elected to stay in Aguas Calientes for 2 more nights, just the two of us. Once the rest of the group left we wandered around the market, and then ended up back at the hotel in the jacuzzi. It was New Years Eve and dinner was included with our room, so we showered and headed to the main dining room to enjoy our dinner and champagne while listening to a local Peruvian band play. It was a great dinner but neither of us had the energy to stay up until midnight.

We headed back to our room, read for a bit, and then both crashed early.

Sunday, January 1st-
Our alarm blared early again. We were headed back up to Machu Picchu and, from the previous day's experience, we wanted to get there early. We arrived and quickly headed over to the Huayna Picchu entrance so that we could begin our Huayna Picchu hike. It ended up taking about 4 hours for us to reach the top and then over to the Grand Caverns.

It was also raining pretty hard that day so our views of Machu Picchu were not nearly as good as the day before. We were both so exhausted from our whole trip, so it wasnt long after we completed the Huayna Picchu hike that we headed back down to Aguas Calientes.

We showered and then headed to downtown Aguas Calientes to have lunch at Indio Feliz. After lunch we came back to our hotel room, took a nap, and read for a few hours before heading back to downtown Aguas Calientes for dinner at Tree House.

Both meals were fantastic, but we were so tired from our trip that we couldnt wait to get back to the hotel room and sleep!

Monday, January 2nd-
We were able to sleep in a bit, then we went to breakfast, packed up our things and checked them with the front desk of the hotel. They were nice enough to offer to carry our bags to the train station for our 1:40pm train, so we had a few hours of free time before our train departed.

We went to the hot springs to check those out, then walked around the market again, wandered around the downtown area and took lots of pictures. We were able to sit and enjoy some Peruvian pizza with a view of the river and then we headed to the train station.

We took the train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, then took a car from Ollantaytambo to our hotel in Cusco.

We checked into our hotel to discover that Brigid and John had left a bottle of wine for us with the front desk! We got settled into our room and were each then treated to a half-hour massage, and then we headed over to Chi Cha, the restaurant of a renowned Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio, for dinner. It was a fantastic meal but again, we were so tired we were ready to get back to the hotel to sleep... and after being around 7,000ft in Aguas Calientes for a couple of days, the 11,000ft altitude of Cusco was starting to get to me again.

Tuesday, January 3rd-
Our alarm was set to go off around 5:45am, but I was up with an altitude sickness headache around 5am. I went ahead and got up, packed up my things, and then Aaron and I went to the dining room for a delicious breakfast before we headed to the airport.

We got to the airport around 7:45am to begin our 20 hour commute back home.
We went from Cusco to Lima, Lima to Miami, and then Miami to Los Angeles. We got back to our apartment around 1am completely exhausted!

It was a FANTASTIC, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, PERFECT honeymoon. I couldnt have asked for a better trip!
The destination was perfect, our fellow trekkers were such great people, our guide was amazing, our hotels and lodges were perfect, the food was wonderful, and weather (although mostly rainy) was great.

We seriously couldnt not have asked for a better honeymoon or experience and I cannot say enough great things about Mountain Lodges of Peru who really went out of their way to make the entire trip flawless.

Not only did we have an amazing honeymoon but we met some life-long friends and had an experience of a lifetime!

My 2011 in review:

2012-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

What things did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
got married!
left the country for the firs time!
own a paid-off vehicle!

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I honestly dont think I made any resolutions.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes, my good friend Melissa gave birth to our god-son Dexter on January 15th in Santa Monica, CA :)

Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness. I had enough death to deal with in 2009 and 2010.

What countries did you visit?
Peru!

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
2011 was a pretty fantastic year. So, I'd like more of the same.
But, the ONE thing I would like more of? more drive and determination for school. Im having a hard time being as focused as I should be and Spring 2012 is going to be a difficult semester so I need to tackle that head-on.

What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 8th- the day Aaron and I "eloped" to the LAX courthouse
October 1st- our wedding celebration/reception
December 22nd- the day we left on our EPIC and AMAZING and LIFE CHANGING honeymoon to Peru.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
getting decent grades, making some great new friends, staying healthy and active (leading a preventative lifestyle) thus improving my over-all health and well-being.

What was your biggest failure?
procrastinating. I never used to do this? what happened?

Did you suffer illness or injury?
not really. Just the typical cold or stomach bug, and occasional soreness from running or yoga.

What was your favorite purchase/gift of the year?
Hmm... my engagement ring? my Pink/Red Manolos? my black Louboutins? my fun "cocktail" wedding dress? my new Louis Vuitton Damier Canvas Neverfull? all of our camping/backpacking gear? our new Kitchen Aid mixer? my new golf clubs? our vacuum sealer? our Dyson? its hard to chose!
(yes, most of these were gifts)

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My parents- because they are awesome and 2011 would not have been NEARLY as amazing without them.
Aaron's parents- because they, too are awesome and did SO much for us in 2011.
My brother- between helping with Ziggy, checking our mail while we were out of town, and just being there for us, he's was a vital part of our 2011.

Our friends- we have some amazing friends and they have been there for us throughout the year and helped us more than they can even imagine (I would list everyone, but there is not enough time in the world to give all of them the proper credit)

Whose behavior appalled you?
people in general. when you live in one of the most populated cities in the country people can amaze you daily by their stupid, thoughtless, and ridiculous behavior.

Where did most of your money go?
rent. beer. wine. food. travel and Ziggy.... and we wouldnt have it any other way!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
our wedding celebration, our trip to Juneau in July, our trip to Chicago in July, and our honeymoon to Peru in December!

What song will always remind you of 2011?
anything that was played on the party bus :)

Compared to this time last year, are you:
- Happier or sadder?
happier

- Thinner or fatter?
thinner

- Richer or poorer?
richer

What do you wish you’d done more of?
hiked, camped, traveled. studied.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
worried or stressed.

How did you spend Christmas, and what did you get this year?
We spent Christmas day beginning our 7-day trek to Machu Picchu!

What was your favorite TV show?
I started watching LOST on Netflix instant view, but only got through Season 2.
I started Grey's Anatomy on Netflix instant view and am currently engrossed in that.
I also finished The Wire- the greatest TV show ever created.

What kept you sane?
yoga.

What vacations did you take?
We started the year in New Orleans, LA, then drove back to Mobile, AL.
We went to Fresno several times this year.
We went to Juneau, AK in July.
we also went to Chicago, IL in July.
and then, we went to Peru in December 2011/January 2012.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
no, hating people exhausts too much time and energy.

What was the best book you read in 2011?
Into Thin Air- great book.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Adele, Mumford & Sons (I think that was this year?)

What did you want and get?
everything. seriously. 2011 has been very generous to me!

What did you want and not get?
the only thing that I can think of is moving out of Los Angeles.... but it will happen in due time.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
went to a yoga class with Aaron, went to lunch at The Alcove, and then dinner at The Little Door. a perfect way to turn 27.

What three things would have made your year more satisfying?
hahaha. only 2 things:
more money and more time!

What political issue stirred you the most?
until it is completely legalized- the issue of equality and marriage for all will continue to stir me.
everyone deserves to marry the person that they love.

Who did you miss?
my parents.. they live too far away.
my grandparents... its weird existing in a world without them.
Chena... its hard losing one of your best friends, especially at such a young age.

What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011?
travel is more important to me than owning a house or buying material things.

What quote can be used to sum up your year?
"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
- La Rochefoucauld

a weekend of beer and gifts.

2011-12-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we picked my dad up from LAX at 10am.
We drove straight to The Village Idiot for an early lunch and shared a Pliny the Elder and I enjoyed a delicious jalapeno & avocado grilled cheese.

We came back to our apartment, grabbed Ziggy, and then headed to Orange County to my brothers place.
We had our own little beer tasting of a few of Dogfish Head's rare beers that we had been saving and then headed over to The Bruery for a beer tasting flight.
We had such a great time at The Bruery! and wow, do they have some amazing beers.

Sunday we woke up and took my dad..... and Ziggy.... to the airport.
It was so hard saying goodbye to Ziggy. It was even harder knowing I wouldnt get to see him until the 2nd week of January!
I miss that little guy so much. I got a little teary-eyed as we drove off :(

I came home, quickly changed, and decided a yoga class would be good for me.
When I got out of class I got a little sad because I knew Ziggy wouldnt be waiting at the door when I got home.
BUT...I smiled when I saw this picture on my phone after class:

apparently he was getting the royal treatment in 1st class :)
He was able to ride on my dads lap the entire flight!

I showered and we went to lunch with my brother at Stout in Hollywood. They have this homemade pretzel with 3 dipping sauces that is freaking fantastic... so I enjoyed that while sipping on Aaron's beer (they had Racer X on tap!)

We came home from lunch and had our own little Christmas celebration.
My brother got a tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat.
He gave us a Kitchen Aid professional series mixer! I am SO excited about it!

we also opened a few gifts from my parents. lululemon stuff for me!! and Aaron got a whiskey aging kit!
We also opened a few gifts from Aaron's parents. A vacuum sealer (yay!! so excited!) and a few items for our trip, including a LUG travel pillow and blanket set for the flight! I cant wait to put that to good use on our over-night flight to Lima.

All in all, it was a great weekend!
I cant believe we leave for our trip on TOMORROW!

bottling beer.

2011-12-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

Aaron wrapped early last night and was home by 5pm!

We were able to have an enjoyable evening and even got a lot accomplished. We had leftover Spinach enchiladas (that I made the night before) for dinner, had TWO fancy beers from our stash (a Ballast Point 'Victory at Sea Vanilla and Coffee Porter and a Saison Rue from The Bruery), wrapped the last few Christmas presents, packaged up some of our gifts that needed to me mailed, AND bottled Aaron's holiday home brew!

Ziggy was "helping" us prep and sanitize the bottles for the beer :)

beer tasting.

2011-12-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sunday we drove down to Orange County to spend the day with my brother.
We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on rare and limited release beer and had ourselves a little beer-tasting party.

Yup, that's $75 worth of beer right there... and SO worth it.

(from left to right)
1. Loakal Red from The Bruery
2. 4 Calling Birds from The Bruery; limited release for the holidays (and part of the 12 days of Christmas collection)
3. Dogfish Head, 120 Minute IPA; this wasnt released in CA... and I wont reveal how we ended up getting it :) that one is 18% ABV!
4. Faster, Bigger, Better, Bolder: The Bruery and Dogfish Head's collaboration beer. it was AMAZING! (that beer alone was $20)
5. Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewery, probably the most sought-after beer around. Extremely limited releases and extremely rare/hard to find. Started the whole IPA movement and is an all-around great IPA. I really enjoy it, but truth be told, in Aaron's opinion - and I agree- Green Flash, West Coast IPA *on tap* is better.
6. Saison de Lente from The Bruery; its a limited, seasonal release for the Spring (lenten season) and we plan on enjoying that one then.

I never said being a beer snob.. ahem, "connoisseur".... was a cheap hobby :)
but it IS satisfying and fun! and Aaron, my brother and I all really enjoy it.

the pacific northwest.

2011-11-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have made no secret of the fact I want to leave Los Angeles.
I am so tired of this town. Dont get me wrong, there are some amazing things that LA has to offer (restaurants, beer, wine, great weather, and some beautiful scenery) but the overall exhaustion of living here is starting to take a toll on both Aaron and myself.

I was already in the process of figuring out how to move back to Chicago when I met Aaron. So, I put my plans on hold and... well, you know the rest. We have been together for three years and I'm STILL living in Southern California.

Aaron has always made it seem that while he was open to the idea of moving somewhere else, LA is where his career is so until he figured out what to do instead of film/television we would reside in Los Angeles. I completely understood and was prepared to make the best of LA for the long-haul.

Well, he's finally had enough of this city too.
He's ready to start a new life somewhere else.

One day, over a beer (shocker), we discussed the qualities/characteristics that we would like in the place we would move to.

Here is the list that we came up with:
- outdoor friendly (hiking trails, near a lake, river, or ocean, camp sites, etc)
- dog friendly (dog friendly restaurants, stores, dog parks, etc) since we take our dear Ziggy with us as much as we can
- has ample fresh produce/access to farmers markets/a blossoming "slow" and "whole foods" movement
- has a good yoga scene
- has a good craft brew and home-brew beer scene (Aaron has recently taken up the hobby of brewing his own beer)
- is a "foodie" environment with lots of great restaurants and various ethnic foods available
- is affordable (being able to purchase a house for $350,000 or less)

after much deliberation we narrowed down our list of possible cities to:
- Seattle, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
- Denver, Colorado

of course, Im all for moving back to Chicago, hell- I'd even move to Canada... but these three cities satisfy our list of "requirements".

After looking at real estate online and interrogating our friends who either know the aforementioned cities OR have lived in them themselves, we narrowed the list down to two: Seattle and Portland.

No offense to Denver (I hear its lovely), but for the time being, it sounds like the Pacific Northwest is calling our name.

Now, here's the kicker: Ive never been to Portland OR Seattle!
Aaron has spent time in both (for work) and loves them. He thinks Seattle is more "us" but he wants me to see both of them before we make any "huge, life altering decisions".

So, we decided to go visit Seattle early next year.
We booked our flight and our hotel; so we will be in Seattle February 4th-7th to check things out.

We are planning on going to Portland sometime in March.
Although, I have to be honest, my gut tells me that I am going to fall in love with Seattle.

Funnily enough, I found a University (Bastyr University) several months ago that really caught my eye. Its a Naturopathic University that offers degrees in Naturopathic medicine, Midwifery, Chiropractic medicine, and Nutrition!
The school definitely peaked my interest. Not onlybecause of its programs, but the fact that the campus is "green" AND they have a yoga club!
and...get this....
its located in a Seattle suburb!

Aaron told me to apply for Fall 2012 "just to see what happens".

movie night.

2011-11-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

I took a break from studying on Tuesday night to watch the documentary:

The Business of Being Born

One of my friends from back home in Texas recently found out that she's pregnant and I had heard it was a "must watch" for expectant parents. I went ahead and ordered my friend a copy of the documentary (based on the rave reviews that I have heard about the film) but still had not watched it myself.
I decided it was "now or never" so I went ahead and watched it via Netflix instant view.

I was very impressed by the film!

Based on the [many] conversations I have had with friends/family and the [little] research I have done myself on the subject, I found myself nodding in agreement throughout the entire documentary.

I am clearly ALL for a birthing center/homebirth/midwife/doula situation should Aaron and I ever made the decision to have children (**which, we haven't, so don't take this post as a means of announcing anything).

I will spare you my soap-box lecture on all things Western medicine, but this film definitely hones in on my philosophy that we all have choices and the ability to dictate what happens to our bodies (whether its giving birth, or just going to your doctor to get a check-up).

Anyway, I suggest you watch it! Even if you arent planning on having kids.. its quite eye opening and empowering.

Be educated America. and know you are allowed to question what doctor's tell/recommend you to do!

The 4 part "sequel" MORE Business of Being Born came out this week!

a month of home-cooked meals.

2011-11-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we made some delicious soup for the week. In my opinion, soups and chilis are typically best the day after they are made. Something about the spices and seasonings "soaking in" better or something, so we figured we would go ahead and prep the soup on Sunday; and then heat it up for dinner Monday (and as long as it lasted after that).

We ended up merging two soup recipes, so I will give you both of them.
Just know that we took a little from one, a little from another and the final product included roasted tomato, pumpkin, and butternut squash :)

Instead of making grilled cheese croutons (as I had intended to make) I actually [attempted] to make a tomato and red-pepper souffle to go with the soup.... and it turned out to be a great success!

Ive had never made a souffle before; so while it was a lot of work (and many, many dishes to wash afterwards) the end product definitely made the efforts worth it.

Here are the recipes:

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup chopped onion 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 4 cups veggie broth 1/2 teaspoon thyme 1 cup whipping cream

Instructions: Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with Grilled-Cheese Croutons .
Makes about 10 cups.

Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere
Ingredients:

1 6–8 pound Cinderella, cheese, or Jarrahdale pumpkin
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, finely ground
2 large pinches kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) grated Gruyère
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from white bread
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
5–7 cups low-salt veggie stock
Flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cut out a wide circle around stem of pumpkin to make a lid. Lift lid; scrape off any seeds and set aside. Scoop out seeds and strings from inside pumpkin.

Place pumpkin in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Rub pumpkin flesh with butter. Sprinkle all over inside with ground fennel seeds and salt. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic, and bay leaves. Pour in stock to come within 3" of the pumpkin's rim. Cover with lid.

Roast pumpkin for 1 hour. Remove lid; put lid flesh side up on pan alongside pumpkin and return to oven. Continue to roast until pumpkin flesh is soft when pierced with a knife (take care not to puncture skin), 30-90 minutes more, depending on size of pumpkin.

Discard bay leaves. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, gently scoop a big spoonful of flesh from sides or bottom of pumpkin into each bowl and ladle stock over. Garnish with parsley.

Cheesy Tomato and Red Pepper Souffles
Prep Time 45 mins
Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients:
cooking spray
3 tbl flour
2 med tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
1 med red pepper
2 tsp chopped thyme
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups non fat milk
2 tbl butter
3 large egg yolks
2 ounces parmigiano cheese grated
2 ounces Pecroino Romano cheese
6 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 8 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray and flour and place on large baking sheet.

2. Cut a wide but shallow X into the bottom of each tomato, then drop tomatoes into boiling water. Remove with a spoon after 15 sec and let cool. Slip off skins and chop fresh.

3. In skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion, bell pepper, and thyme. Saute for 6 mins or until veggies are soft. Stir tomatoes and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 mins or until thick. Season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.

4. Heat milk until simmer. In med pan melt butter. Add flour and cook whisking often. Slowly add hot milk to flour mixture. Continue whisking until thick. Remove sauce from heat and whisk in egg yolks one at a time. Transfer to large bowl and stir in tomato mixture and both cheeses.

5. In large bowl, beat egg whites for 30 seconds until they foam. Add remaining salt and continue beating for about 1 to 2 mins.

6. User spatula stir 1.3 of the egg whites into tomato mixture. Gently fold in remaining whites until blended. Divide souffle mixture among prepared ramekins, filling almost to top. Bake souffles for 20 to 25 mins or until tops are puffy and golden.

my new favorite beer.

2011-11-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

My brother brought over some specialty beers last week and over a couple of days we managed to try all of them. They were all good; but this one struck me as awesome:

Dogfish Head Pangea

here is a description taken directly from the Dogfish website:

"Brewed with ingredients from each and every continent, this is slightly spicy ale, with a mouthful of rich flavors. Pangaea is a great food beer.
Our list of worldly ingredients includes:
Crystallized ginger from Australia
Water from Antarctica
Basmati rice from Asia
Muscavado sugar from Africa
South American quinoa
European yeast
and North American maize."

Beer Advocate only rates it a B/B+... but whatever, I think its awesome.

a month of home-cooked meals.

2011-11-04T10:58:00.001-07:00

this is what was on the menu last night:

Butternut Squash Enchiladas
(click for recipe)

Roasted Asparagus
this is something Ive been doing for years, we dont follow any type of recipe for it, we just do the following:

lay asparagus spears in baking dish (make sure none overlap)
drizzle with olive oil
add salt and pepper

roast in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes
the tips will be slightly crunchy and the stalks will be crisp with a slight chewiness.

Banana Bread
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed (I used 4)
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream (I actually used non-fat greek yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (I did not do this)
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche (or greek yogurt), and vanilla.
Fold in dry ingredients and nuts.

Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

a month of home-cooked meals.

2011-11-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I are trying to make some new recipes this month since we have found ourselves in a "dinner rut". So here's to November, a month of home-cooked meals!

Tuesday night we had....

Veggie Chili:
Simply Organic Veggie Chili spice packet
1 can organic kidney beans, drained
1 can organic pinto beans, drained
2 cans organic (low sodium) diced tomatoes
1 cup (or to taste) fresh corn (or even frozen, if thats all you have)

Add contents into large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 15 minutes (or until desired thickness is reached)

Add freshly grated cheddar cheese and freshly diced onions on top; serve.

Jalapeno Cornbread:
1 1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 cup fresh corn kernels
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup nonfat buttermilk (or sour milk= 1 cup milk + 1 Tbls vinegar)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
2 Tbls diced pickled jalapeno slices
1 1/2 Tbls melted butter
2 Tbls honey
1 Tbls vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375
Combine cornmeal, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine buttermilk (or sour milk), cheese, jalapenos, butter, honey, oil, and eggs in a small bowl; add to cornmeal mixture.

Stir just until combined. Spoon mixture into preheated glass 9x9 pan. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Yields: 12 pieces

photo sneak peek

2011-10-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

here is a sneak peek of our wedding reception photos.

There are over 600... and I love them all!

Donut Bread Pudding

2011-10-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

We chose to have donuts at our wedding reception instead of the traditional wedding cake. We purchased 9 dozen total (5 dozen regular glazed and 4 dozen chocolate glazed) and ended up with 1 dozen of each left over.
I wasnt sure what to do with so many, no longer fresh, donuts..... so I decided to [attempt] to make bread pudding with them.

The end result turned out amazing and delicious!
I made two batches, one with the chocolate and one with the regular glazed.
Aaron said that he liked the regular one better; but the chocolate was definitely my favorite.

The recipe is super easy and quick; I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself with several, day-old donuts.

Donut Bread Pudding:
glazed donuts, day old (enough to cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 glass baking dish)
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
21⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups whole milk

Cut donuts into bite-size pieces and arrange in a buttered 13 X 9 baking (glass) dish.
Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over donuts.
Cover and refrigerate for one hour. (I used a pyrex dish and its lid, worked wonderfully)
Uncover.
Place baking dish in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 70 minutes or until center springs back to touch.
Serve warm.

We kept the leftovers in the pyrex, in the refrigerator. Then reheated a small amount at a time in the oven (350 degrees for 10-12 minutes).

wedding reception.

2011-10-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

all of these pictures were taken by our friend Sarah before Aaron and I arrived to our wedding reception at Malibu Wines on Saturday, October 1st.
There are no pictures of us...
BUT there are lots of pictures of the Malibu Wines and the little details I worked so hard on and that our friend Ten set up so beautifully!

beers and a birthday.

2011-09-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

last Friday, after my Chemistry lab was over, I drove to LAX to pick up my dad. We came back to our apartment, grabbed Ziggy, and headed to The Counter for happy hour drinks and mini-veggie burgers. After that, with Ziggy in tow, we went on a walk to look at a house that was recently listed for sale a few streets down.

We came back to our apartment, relaxed a little, watched the Peru episode of Anthony Bourdain- No Reservations (makes me super excited for our trip in December, but also a bit concerned about the altitude in Cusco and along the trail of our trek). We both called it a night shortly after the episode. Dad had a long day of travel and I had a long day of homework and school. Unfortunately, Aaron didnt get home until after midnight, so he had the longest day of all.

Saturday morning we got up early and drove to Orange County to surprise Elliott for his birthday. My brother knew Aaron and I were coming to pick him up; but had no idea that my dad was with us. He jumped in the car, we yelled "surprise!" and all chuckled at the look on his face, and then went to Plum's Cafe in Costa Mesa for a delicious breakfast. We continued on to Escondido, CA and arrived at Stone Brewery right at 11am. We got our tickets for the 1:00pm brewery tour and headed to the bar to each grab a beer and walk the grounds for the next hour and a half.

The place is gorgeous. Imagine the most beautiful garden or winery that you have ever been to... that's what Stone Brewery looks like. We milked our beers and enjoyed the scenery until the tour started. The tour was fun, very informative, and ended with a flight of 4 Stone brews. We enjoyed those and then headed to their bistro for our lunch reservations. Lunch was amazing; so many vegetarian/pescatarian (and even vegan, actually!) food options. We all had an outstanding meal and our waiter surprised Elliott with a Birthday Stone Porter Float. I dont normally consume dairy other than cheese or greek yogurt... but I had to at least taste the float, and the verdict?
Stone Smoked Porter + Ice Cream= amazingly delicious!

We stopped by another, small, brewery on our way back to Irvine. We hung out at Elliotts place for a bit and then continued on back to LA.

Sunday morning we loaded up the car again and headed back to Irvine. We played tennis for a few hours, BBQ'd some pizzas on the grill, and just hung out around Elliott's ~~resort~~ apartment complex for the day. They went to the game room to play some shuffle board and pool while I hung out at Elliotts apartment and studied Chemistry with Ziggy.

Monday, Aaron and I both had to get up early. He had to be at work at 6:42am and I had to get to Santa Monica for my 8am Nutrition class. Class was over around 11 and then Elliott met up with my dad and I so that we could go to lunch at The Village Idiot which, had Pliny the Elder! After lunch we headed to The Beverly Center so that Elliott could pick out his birthday present at Louis Vuitton and so my dad could grab something he needed from the TUMI store. We came back to our place and watched the tennis finals until we were all hungry again. We then headed to our favorite little sushi place and had a great meal. Aaron got home reasonably early that night so he was able to have a beer with my dad and Elliott (before he drove back home). We watched another No Reservations episode, the US/Mexico border one... and all laughed because the show starts in Del Rio, Texas- which is where I was born.

Tuesday Aaron got up early and headed to work. I got up early and enjoyed coffee with my dad and then worked on some more Chemistry homework. Dad and I took Zig on a walk and went to breakfast. Then we came back to our place, dropped Ziggy off, grabbed my school things and dads luggage and were off to LAX. I dropped him off at the airport and then headed on to school for a Chemistry quiz and lecture.

Got home around 4pm and was exhausted. After such a great and busy weekend I was really looking forward to sitting, relaxing, and doing nothing.
I scoured Netflix for some-sort of distraction and decided on LOST...a show I had never seen a single episode of.
I was instantly hooked... and preceded to watch the entire first season this week. I finished the last episode last night.
I so badly want to start Season 2... but I know how irresponsible that is. I was so hooked on Season 1 that I neglected to study like I should have this week.... so, Im going to [attempt] to resist my urges to start the next season.

Perhaps Ill start it after my Chemistry test on Tuesday?

2011-08-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

you can now follow me on my newest addiction, Pinterest!

post Alaska/Chicago/Fresno fun:

2011-08-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

the Monday after we returned from Fresno, Aaron [unfortunately] had to go to work (sorry Aaron)........
but my parents and I went shopping!
We, of course, ended up on Rodeo Drive.... and, of course, the Louis Vuitton store.
Ziggy tried out the LV dog carrier, and he really seemed to enjoy it:

We did not end up getting the dog carrier, BUT I was lucky enough to get the Damier Neverfull bag!

I LOVE it! Thanks Mom and Dad! :)
After shopping we drove to Irvine to spend some time with my brother at his apartment and then, the next day, my parents headed back to their home in Alabama.

Not many days after returning from Fresno, this showed up at our door:

Its a VitaMix blender!!! I have been wanting one of these for soooo long.... and thanks to our AMAZING friends Jared and Melody, we have one of our very own! I have been blending up all sorts of smoothies and frozen coffee beverages since receiving our incredible gift! I cannot put into words how awesome this blender is.

Last Wednesday my dear friend Sarah and I attended the Kendra Scott grand opening party at the Andaz Hotel rooftop in West Hollywood. The evening was full of red-carpets, celebrities, gorgeous jewelry, breathtaking views of the Los Angeles skyline, fun people, glasses of wine, and catching up with a great friend.

on Friday... after what turned out to be a rough couple of weeks, my parents suggested that I go shopping and possibly utilize my $150 store credit that I had at the Christian Louboutin store in order to get a little shopping therapy....
You dont have to tell me twice!
After spending some much needed time with my favorite CL sales person, Jason, I no longer had a store credit; but instead, these N*Prive nude pumps!

I love, love, love them!

Saturday morning my friend Estela and I drove out to Corona, CA (which, Estela claims is the Alabama of California) so that we could spend a day at Glen Ivy hot-springs day spa.
I guess you could call it a "bachelorette weekend" although, that term implies that we went out and got a little too drunk (which we did NOT do)...
instead, we spent the day relaxing in plunge pools, mud baths, mineral baths, saline baths, and drinking sugary cocktails in the Southern CA sun.

Afterward we checked into the cute Ayres Hotel in Corona and watched Life As We Know It while sipping on Three Olives grape and 7up.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast and relaxed by the pool until it was time to checkout.

It was a perfect weekend!

So, that brings us to now.... a mere two weeks before Fall Semester starts; when my free-time becomes non-existent.

Here's to the last moments of summer!

post Alaska and Chicago relaxation:

2011-08-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

after returning from Alaska and Chicago, we needed a vacation FROM our vacation.
We landed at LAX around 6 something PM from Chicago, drove back to our house, grabbed a few things, and then immediately took off for Fresno.

We couldnt wait to get there, because Fresno meant two things:
#1: we could see Ziggy!
#2: we could finally RELAX.

our trips were loads of fun and we had amazing experiences in both places; but we were really looking forward to relaxing with very little to do. and snuggling Ziggy like crazy :)

[poolside at Aaron's parents house, with Ziggy, my new sunhat, and a beer!]

[we were so excited to find 21st Amendment beer at the Fresno Whole Foods!]

[Aaron, relaxing poolside]

[pedicures are always relaxing! especially when you have canned sparkling wine in hand!

and ps. that canned sparkling wine is actually quite delicious, so dont judge]

wedding thoughts.

2011-08-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

WARNING: wedding planning isn't all its cracked up to be.

It comes as no shocker that I am a very opinionated person.
I am completely aware of this personality trait of mine, and frankly, I'm damn proud of it.

I have always been blunt and vocal about what I want in life. I know what I want and I know what needs to happen in order to attain what I want. To me, its quite simple.

Up until a few months ago I never tried to sensor my opinions because I didn't see any need to shy away from what I really want out of life.

However, in an attempt to NOT be a "bridezilla" I opted to keep my thoughts/feelings/frustrations about mine and Aaron's "big day" (and all things related to it) to myself.
We opted to cater to other people's feelings and wishes in order for things to go smoothly.
For the first time in my life, I really tried to put my desires on the back-burner because I wanted our day to be fun for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, my plan backfired on me.
While attempting to cater to other people's wishes about OUR wedding day; the only two people who ended up unhappy and hurt were Aaron and myself.
Which is unfortunate; because... well.. it's OUR wedding day!

We should have been more adament about the things we DID NOT want (although, I thought we were pretty clear about that).
We should have voiced our requests more assertively (although, in my opinion, I feel like our requests would have still been disregarded).
We should have stuck to our original plan for our wedding instead of changing it because other people wanted us too.
Above all, we should have done what WE wanted from the start.

So, for all of you future brides out there: please don't make our mistakes.

If there are specific things that you WANT or do NOT WANT make sure you vocalize them... and make sure the people you vocalize them to respect your wishes.
Make sure your wedding day is a reflection of YOU and your soon-to-be spouse... NOT a reflection of what those around you want FOR you. Its NOT their wedding, its yours.

Its really unfortunate how quickly our wedding day plans spiraled out of control. Its even more unfortunate that now that we have changed some of our plans so that our wedding day is what WE WANT (and have wanted from the beginning!)... we are now the bad guys.

Remember: its YOUR wedding.
It is supposed to be the most special and important day of your and your soon-to-be-spouses life....
dont let it turn into the drama-filled, blown-out-of-proportion, stressful mess that ours has turned into.

I know brides who have loved planning their wedding, so-much-so that they want to help others plan theirs... and I envy that.

*for clarification sake: my parents have been nothing but amazing and supportive during the entire wedding planning process.

our food tour of Chicago:

2011-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go back in time a bit and recap our Food Tour of Chicago trip :)

we were home from Alaska for a mere 36 hours before heading back to the airport.
Although, this time, we had a baby with us! and the baby's parents too, of course.
We were asked to be godparents of the little guy, so we were off to Chicago for Dexter's blessing as well as a mini food tour of my all-time favorite city.

Friday, July 22nd:
the alarm blared at 6am. We threw the last few items into our carry-ons and Estela came to pick us up 7am.
We then went to Melissa and Casey's house to pick them (and Dexter) up. and off we went to the airport.

At 6months old, he did amazingly well on the plane; better than any of us thought he would do.

We arrived in Chicago around 3pm and immediately called in our order to Pequod's Pizza for delivery to our apartment (we were staying in the guest apartment of Melissa's brothers building; which just so happened to be very close to my old neighborhood).
We got to the apartment, checked in, and by the time we got upstairs the pizza arrived.

We sat around devouring our pizza attempting to compile a list for our Whole Foods shopping trip.
Melissa and Casey needed to get diapers, baby food, etc; Aaron and I had coconut water, bananas, fage yogurt, and beer on our list.
We went to the Whole Foods location that Melissa used to work at; at first I was a bit confused why we didnt just go to the one down the street from the apartment we were staying at? but I quickly found out why: The Lincoln Park Whole Foods is simply AMAZING.
The store is massive, and beautiful, and.... has a bar that allows you to order a beer and walk around the store with it!
and, this bar doesnt just carry any old beer, it carries craft brew beers, some of which are limited releases!
Aaron and I were in beer and shopping heaven.

[Whole Foods shopping beers!]

[shopping with my shopping beer]

We stocked up on all kinds of Whole Foods goodies, and made our way back to the apartment. The entire way back I was saying over and over: we are SO moving back to Chicago! and preferably, will live within a block or two of this store!

by the time we got back to the apartment it was late. and we were all exhausted.

Saturday, July 23rd:
wake up. have coffee. get ready.
head to The Galway Arms (quite possibly the greatest bar, ever) for brunch.
I was a little TOO excited to finally be able to quote Sweet Home Alabama by saying "you have a baby.... in a bar" since we had Dexter with us :)

[brunch at the Galway Arms; with a baby!]

Brunch was delicious, and afterwards we walked a few blocks down the street to Molly's Cupcakes.
I was a little too full from brunch, so I opted for an Intelligentsia Soy Latte instead. yum! I miss Intelligentsia coffee.

From there, we headed back to the apartment so that we could all start the "getting ready" process. Then we were off to the end of the Blue Line to Melissa's aunt and uncles house for Dexter's blessing party.

The party was small, informal, and perfect. We sat around on the patio and laughed and told stories. Some of us had worked together previously, and some of us didnt know each other at all. It was great meeting new friends and catching up with old ones.

Dexter was blessed, and then we all got back to eating and drinking beer!

We got back late. and, just as the previous night, we were all exhausted so we all went to bed.

Sunday, July 24th:
woke up. walked across the street to one of my favorite breakfast places in Chicago: Yolk!
had an amazing breakfast and much needed dose of caffeine.

[breakfast at Yolk!]

It started raining quite heavily while at breakfast, but we braved the rain and walked over to Fox&Obel market (one of the cutest markets Ive ever been too, and a market I used to frequent when I lived in Chicago). We didnt get any groceries, but Aaron did buy me a cute Fox&Obel Market tote bag :)

We got ready, and then headed to Wicker Park/Bucktown. We enjoyed lunch at Piece; which is a microbrewery and pizzaria with AMAZING beer and AMAZING pizza. We ate too much, but enjoyed every minute of it.

[Piece; the most amazing brewery and pizzeria, ever]

After lunch we wandered around the neighborhood for a couple of hours. We happened upon a Music Festival, went into various shops, and dreamed of owning a condo somewhere in that area. Before heading back to Melissa's aunt and uncles, we stopped at Hot Chocolate for an iced hot chocolate drink and some cookies to take to dinner.

We had another great evening with great friends (both new and old).
One of our [new] friends happens to be a home-brewer and brought a variety of beers for us to try. They. Were. Delicious. We had our own little beer tasting and we were able to try some rare beers that Peter happened to have along with his great home-brew, here is what we were able to enjoy:

[Filipino beer at a Filipino party!]

[Peter's home-brew!]

and then, yet again, we came back to the apartment and crashed.

Monday, July 25th:
get up. have coffee. and then get ready so we can start our journey over to Hot Doug's!
For all of your Food Network/Anthony Bourdain fans out there, this place is amazing!

[Hot Doug's... amazing]

we indulged in numerous hot dogs (Melissa and I, of course, had the veggie dogs), cheese fries (the duck-fat fries are only served on the weekends so Melissa and I were able to eat them!) and our own BYO beers. It was a great lunch and I am SO glad that we were able to make it out to Hot Doug's!

After lunch we took a cab back to Michigan Ave so that we could hit up the Vosges store before we had to go to the airport. We grabbed about $50 worth of chocolate and were then back to the apartment to pack up and head to the airport.

At the airport we had our last Chicago meal of Potbelly's and then we boarded the plane back to Los Angeles [unfortunately].

yes, I think it goes without saying: I really really really want to move back to Chicago. I miss that amazing city SO much.

more Alaska photos...

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

here are a few of the photos of our Alaska trip taken on Aaron's nifty Canon camera (rather than my iPhone!):

[taking in the view enroute to Mendenhall Glacier]

[Aaron and Dave made me drink Knob Creek during our hiking break]

[beautiful Mendenhall Glacier]

[filling up our Nalgene's with 250 year old glacier melt- it was delicious!]

[Aaron, myself, Ollie-the-dog, and Dave]

[our campfire at North Douglas Island- notice the cruise ship in the back?]

[enjoying my morning coffee at our North Douglas Island campsite]

[enjoying my morning coffee at our Eagle Beach campsite]

[bush-wacking our way to Herbert Glacier]

[myself and Aaron with Herbert Glacier behind us]

[can you see me? a tiny object on the rocks wearing purple? yes, the glacier is THAT big!]

[Virabhadrasana III in front of Herbert Glacier]

[Virabhadrasana II in front of Herbert Glacier]

[backpacking our way to Boy Scout Beach]

[Aaron setting up our fire at Boy Scout Beach]

[Boy Scout Beach campsite]

[enjoying my morning coffee at Boy Scout Beach]

[in front of an iceberg that fell off of the South Sawyer Glacier]

Alaska

2011-07-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 12th:
we woke up at 5am, stopped at Starbucks, and headed to the Amtrak station.
We took took the train from Fresno to northern San Francisco (Richmond stop) and then hopped on the BART (San Francisco's subway) to SFO airport.
After a layover in Seattle, we finally arrived in Juneau (a mere 16 hours after we were dropped off at the Amtrak station).

By the end of the day I was exhausted and very tired of stupid people/disrespectful travelers; but we were in Alaska so I quickly tried to get in a better mood.
We grabbed our backpacks and jumped on the shuttle to our ~~hotel~~ motel. Then we walked down the street to meet up with Aaron's friend Dave for late-night pizza and to discuss our "game plan" for the week.
I quickly zonked out as soon as we got back to the hotel (after a nice, hot shower to rinse the travel day off of me).

Wednesday, July 13th:
Woke up to sunshine, birds chirping, and the most beautiful Alaskan scenery you can imagine.
Luckily, the best breakfast place in town was in the parking lot of our ~~hotel~~ motel so we got ready and decided to check that out.
Great soy late! Great tofu scramble! and, strangely enough, great whole grain bread with all natural jam!
After breakfast Dave came to pick us up. We actually checked out of the hotel because we had no idea where we were sleeping for the next few nights. While enroute to Dave's grandparents house (who, were out of town for the week) to drop off our luggage, he decided that since it was such a beautiful day- we should go hike Mendenhall Glacier!
We grabbed a few items for lunch, threw them in our daypacks, and headed to the trail.
From the trailhead to about a mile in we were on actual "trail"; then we came upon a sign "maintained trail <-- ; unmaintained and dangerous trail -->"
we took the "unmaintained and dangerous" trail and were quickly scaling rocks and bush-wacking through Alder trees on our way to the glaciers face. It wasnt an "easy" trail in the sense that there was no trail at all; but the difficulty was slim. As long as a person is physically fit, not incredibly overweight, and has some endurance- they would be fine. We finally arrived at the face of the glacier and decided to sit in a small valley of silt (away from the freezing glacial wind) to eat our lunches. As we were sitting down we saw 3 kayakers in the water, right in front of the face of the glacier (a rather dangerous place to be considering the water is about 33 degrees and glaciers are unstable and can send large chunks of ice toward you at any point) we all joked about how stupid those kayakers were, but went about eating our lunches. About half-way through my veggie and blackbean burrito I decided I was done. Instead of throwing it in our "trash" bag; I kept it separate just in case I got hungry on our trek back. About 5 minutes after we had cleaned up/packed up our lunch stuff we saw some other hikers who were desperately trying to get our attention. "do you have a phone?? a guy overturned in his kayak and has been in the water for 5 minutes already!"
we had our phones, and Dave and Aaron each made separate calls to 911.
we scrambled down towards the waters edge to see if we could help. One of his fellow kayakers managed to get him on the front tip of his kayak, but the 3/4 of the guys body was still submerged in the frigid water. Finally, after waving our arms and yelling at them, the kayakers made it to the silty bank near us and Aaron and Dave we able to help pull him out of the water. He had been IN that icy water for 15-20 minutes. We all honestly feel that 10 more minutes and he would have been dead.
As soon as they helped get him up near me, I immediately told him that he needed to get those cold clothes off.
His response: "Im from here"
Me: "thats not what I asked; you have to get those cold clothes off now!"
Meanwhile, a few other hikers had noticed the commotion and made their way to where we were. Between all of us, we were able to get the guy completely undressed and in a new, warm pair of boxers, shorts, a tshirt, and a light jacket. It wasnt really enough clothes to warm him, but at least he wasnt cold and wet. Then he said he was hungry....
the burrito!! So I gave him the burrito and apologized for it having been already eaten off of.
After another 20 or so minutes in the cold, glacial wind, a fire rescue/paramedic team boat showed up and took him off to a nearby hospital.
We have no idea what came of his situation, all I know is that when we left us, he was a shade of blue I have never seen a human being and was shivering uncontrollably.
After his rescue boat was out of sight, we went about our hike.
We hiked on and around the glacier and then filled up our water bottles with some glacier melt... oh my GOD I have never tasted water so amazingly delicious as glacier melt water. And, after some careful calculations, we decided that due to where the melt was coming from the water was approximately 250 years old :)

It took us a couple of hours to hike/rock scale our way back to the car, and then we headed to Dave's friends house because he was having a BBQ. At the BBQ we met up with Dave's girlfriend, Jessica and had a good time eating (they had veggie burgers!) and meeting some of their Alaskan friends. Around 10pm (it was still daylight out, mind you) we decided to run by Dave and Jessica's house to get their stuff, stop by Dave's grandparents house to get our stuff and the proceed to North Douglas Island to camp for the night. By the time we got to North Douglas, hiked to our camping spot, set up the tents and started the fire it was well past midnight and the sun had just completely gone down. We sat by the fire drinking Alaskan beers and watching the cruise ships sail away; while I am not a fan of cruise ships, they are quite beautiful when completely lit up and are sailing away in the pitch black darkness of the ocean waters. (No, I am not a fan of cruise ships. I know many people that love them, but my dislike for them is slowly become more of a "loathe" of them.... I dont believe they allow a person to fully experience a city/town/place and the "tourist traps" near the cruise ship docks are about all of the place cruise shippers ever seen. Cruisers leave the ship, buy a tshirt or eat at a restaurant somewhere near the dock, and then get back on the ship thinking that have "experienced" said place. I do not agree. There is ONE cruise that I would like to do (the Mediterianian Cruise) but thats only because I actually want to see the waters and coast line of the area... and then go back and visit the ports on my own accord. But, I digress....)

It wasnt long after the final cruise ship left our sight that our fire died down. Then we all went to our tents and went to sleep.

Thursday, July 14th:
I woke up to Aaron saying that he saw a bear.
I didnt, obviously, because I was happily sleeping in the comfort of my down sleeping bag.
We got up, Aaron made coffee, and we sat watching the ocean as we sipped our coffee.
Dave and Jessica woke up and we decided to head back into town and eat at the Sandpiper cafe again.

After breakfast Jessica and Dave had to go to work, but they pulled some strings and got us on the Whales and Trails tour. It was a 5 hour tour that allowed us to see the glacier from the visitors center (which was about a mile away from the glacier face) and then we went out on the water and were fortunate enough to see bubble-net feeding!

Upon our return from the tour, we went to The Hangar for a fresh, grilled halibut sandwich and a [few] beers.

Dave, Jessica, and our Whales and Trails tour guide Stacy joined us, and then Dave drove us back to his grandparents house.
I was finally able to shower (note: I had not showed since Wednesday morning, before the glacier hike) and we ended up staying the night there.

About 20 minutes after my shower I was fast asleep. I was completely exhausted.

Friday, July 15th:
We woke up Friday, got ready, and jumped on the city bus towards downtown Juneau.
I tell ya, there is no better way to see a town than by riding their mass transit. You get to see the nice areas, the bad areas, and its great for people watching the locals!
We went to breakfast at Paradise Cafe and then wandered around the downtown area that was NOT the touristy places. We tried out the local coffee shop, Heritage Coffee, and looked for potential hotels for our next visit to Juneau.

We got back on the bus and headed north to the Alaskan Brewing Company.

We did some beer tasting and toured the brewery and while we were there Dave called us and suggested heading out camping for the night.
He came to pick us up, we stopped by grandparents house to grab our backpacks, then we went grocery shopping for food and beer for the next couple of days (at this point, we had no idea how many days/nights we were going to be out).

Within an hour we had driven [almost] to where "the road" in Juneau ended (its only 40 something miles long; have I mentioned that Juneau is landlocked? You cannot drive in or out of Juneau, the only way in is by boat or plane) and had hiked out to our camping spot on Eagle Beach. We sat by the fire and drank and ate and talked and laughed and listened to whales singing until the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday, July 16th:
we woke up, made our coffee, and slowly packed up our things.
we hiked back to the cars and drove the 5 miles or so to the trailhead of the Herbert Glacier.
we biked approx 4 miles to where the bike trail ends and the "hiking trail" began (I use that term loosely because there is no maintained trail, just as the Mendenhall Glacier, we bush-wacked and rock scaled our way to the glacier).
We ate lunch at the glacier and spent some time relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.
After a couple of hours we headed back to the bikes, and biked back to the cars.
Jessica had to head to work, so we said our goodbyes to her and then we grabbed our backpacks and biked the 4ish miles to Boy Scout Beach, our next camping location.

we actually saw bubble-net feeding from our campsite that night! Which was amazing. Words cannot describe how amazing it is to be able to listen to the whales sing, eagles gawk, and the ocean waves as you fall asleep.

Sunday, July 17th:
We got up, had a nice, enjoyable morning of coffee drinking, book reading, and ocean watching.
We slowly packed up our things and headed back to the bikes so that we could bike to the car.
Once in the car we decided to drive around and see some of the breathtaking scenery at the North end of The Road.

On our way back to town we stopped at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar that is famous for their fresh halibut fish and chips. They were delicious!

Then Dave dropped us off at his grandparents house. I finally showered (note- I hadnt showered since Friday morning), did some much needed laundry (all of our stuff smelled like campfire) and then fell fast asleep just as the thunderstorms.

Monday, July 18th:
we woke up, finished laundry, and packed up our things.
Dave and Jessica came to pick us up (we were going to take the bus downtown, but it was raining quite heavily).
We said goodbye to the grandparents house because that was the last we would be seeing of it on this trip.
We ate, yet again, at the Sandpiper Cafe, and then checked our luggage with the ~~hotel~~ motel front desk as it was too early to check in.
Dave and Jessica went off to work and Aaron and I wandered around Juneau. We ate, we went beer hopping, we shopped, etc etc etc.
It was a lovely, rainy, day.
We went to dinner at The Pasta Shop (the Sandpiper Cafe's sister restaurant) and had a lovely dinner.
Then it was time to shop for some sustenance for the next day (we were going on a 9 hour boat tour and would need food and beers!)
We came back home, and fell asleep rather quickly.

Tuesday, July 19th:
the alarm blared at 5:45am.
We each got up, got ready, and made sure our ice chest was packed with goodies for the day.
We boarded our tour boat at 7:30am and embarked on the 9 hour (total) boat tour to see the North and South Sawyer glaciers which are so far from any type of civilization they are only accessible by boat.

we came back, had a drink and fresh halibut fish and chips one last time, and then called it a night.

Wednesday, July 20th:
our alarm blared early again, and we got ready, grabbed our things, and jumped on the shuttle to the airport.

our Alaska trip was officially over, thus commencing the "adventure" portion of our 3 week vacation.
we have HUNDREDS if not thousands of pictures that have yet to be uploaded... once we do, we will post them on Picasa and Ill post the link for your viewing pleasure.

up next, Chicago!
the "gluttonous, food tour" portion of our 3 week vacation! :)

The beginning of our "vacation extravaganza"!

2011-07-18T07:19:00.001-07:00

We left Los Angeles on Saturday (July 8th) for a little rest and relaxation before our 3-week long vacation started. What better place to enjoy some R&R than in Fresno?? With Aaron's parents, great food, and a nice pool it was everything we wanted to enjoy before heading off to Alaska.

Ziggy started his relaxation during the car ride.

Then he moved his relaxation to the pool (with a life jacket on, of course).

Then I joined him.

We were able to enjoy one of my favorite (and hard to find) beers poolside! Thank you Whole Foods for carrying 21st Amendment's Watermelon Wheat!

We also spent some time out on Pine Flat lake! It was Ziggy's first time on a boat, and he did quite well!!

As usual, there was plenty of delicious food involved.

And, as usual, Ziggy was really tired from all of the excitement.

Aaron and I got up at 5am Tuesday (the 12th) morning to take the Amtrak train to Northern San Francisco. We then hopped on the BART and headed to SFO. After a layover in Seattle, we finally made it to Juneau, Alaska!

I will update more of our "vacation extravaganza" as Internet and time permits!

for a hot, summer afternoon

2011-07-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

... this is a perfect, crisp, refreshing rose!

[Domaine Begude Pinot Rose, 2010]

But be warned: Its not easy to get ahold of.
In fact, last year (their 2009 vintage) we enjoyed 3 bottles and were then told that it was no longer available! So this year we got on a waiting list at K&L Wine Merchants for it and ended up purchasing a case! I am not normally a white wine or rose person (and trust me, we purchased several bottles of rose's last year after we were informed that this one was no longer available; and NOT ONE of them lived up to our new rose standards) but this is just so perfect for summer.

If you happen to see one, pick it up! You wont be disappointed!

4th of July

2011-07-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

I can see no better way to celebrate our country's independence that by trying the world's strongest beer, right?

For Aaron's birthday my brother gave him Sink The Bismarck, the strongest beer ever made (41% alcohol!). Aaron has been saving it for a special occasion. He wanted to make sure that
#1 no one involved in drinking it would be driving to get home.
#2 there were several people around so that many could taste it; but no one felt the need to drink too much

well, our 4th of July BBQ turned out to be the perfect place!
and let me tell you, that thing does NOT taste good. Its not horrible, but its not good.
but, we all kind of figured that it wasnt going to be the best beer we had ever had; it was more so for the experience. and a great experience it was!

how many people can actually say they have had the strongest beer in the world?
I guess I should add that (and scratch that off) of my life-to-do-list!

[Sink the Bismarck!]

backpacking!

2011-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

we are leaving Sunday night to drive to Fresno, Monday we plan to relax and rest (if possible), and then Tuesday we train to San Francisco to catch our flight to Juneau, Alaska.

Our 8 day trip will be broken up into two categories, #1: backpacking, #2: not backpacking.

I have never been backpacking before, and neither has Aaron.
I have never been to Alaska before.
I have NO idea what to expect.... but more so than that, I have NO clue how to pack for such a trip.

After scouring the internet for lists of "what to bring" and watching about 5 YouTube videos on "how to pack a backpack" Aaron and I managed to at least get all of our items into the packs.

Here is what it looked like before; our living room looks like REI threw up all over it:

and this is what our packs look like now:

this should be interesting! Here's hoping we have everything we need.

summer smoothie and a few meal photos

2011-07-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

its definitely summer in Los Angeles.
Aaron and I dont have air conditioning... which isnt a problem for about 350 days a year... but those 15 or so days are brutal.
Today is one of those days. Its not unbearably hot, but its hot enough that we dont want to DO much. Poor Ziggy is sleeping on the bathroom floor because its the coolest spot in the house.

I wanted a snack and I was hot so I went into the kitchen to figure something out.
I didnt want to actually COOK anything because heating up the oven on a day like today would practically be a death sentence. I decided to throw a few fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, one banana, and a few chunks of frozen mango into the blender with half of a tetra pack of Zico (my favorite brand, the only brand in my opinion) coconut water.

I really enjoyed it, and even Aaron like it (it made enough for both of us) and he is not normally a huge smoothie fan.
I highly recommend it if you are in the need of something refreshing AND filling on a hot day.

but, now lets talk real food.
I figured a good follow-up to my last post would be examples of some of our "typical" meals:

Taco Salad:
organic mixed greens
Smart Grounds (soy "ground beef") seasoned with cumin and chili powder
avacado
sliced tomatoes
sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar
dressed with a squeeze of lemon

Veggies and Lentils:
Roasted Asparagus seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil
sliced tomato
lentils with onions, celery and some spices
dollop of goat cheese

Veggies and Potatoes:
cheesey tomatoes (sliced tomato with lemon juice, salt, pepper and cheese; broiled until the cheese bubbles)
roasted red potatos (with olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper)
roasted mushrooms (with balsamic, salt, pepper)
sauteed mustard greens (with garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil)

Grilled Pizza:
homemade whole grain pizza dough
grilled tomato "smeared" over the dough as the "sauce"
freshly picked basil from our basil plant
fresh, buffalo mozzarella
grilled asparagus (there was alot more, but I ate them prior to the photo!)

BBQ Tempeh and Brown Rice:
organic short grain, brown rice
roasted brussel sprouts (with olive oil, salt, pepper)
roasted asparagus (with olive oil, salt, pepper)
BBQ'd tempeh (tempeh steaks smothered in BBQ sauce)

Our 4th of July breakfast:
sliced, organic tomato
over-medium egg (pan fried with olive oil)
sprinkle of cheddar cheese
0% greek yogurt
fresh, organic blueberries

We made this yesterday as a side for the 4th of July BBQ that we attended at our friends house (they provided the delicious veggie kabobs!) and we also made a fresh caprese salad). It was delicious! We did not add carrot and we added a bit more lemon juice (because we love lemon juice!) so we used approximately 3 large lemons. Otherwise= great recipe!

this are all very common meals for us. We make most of these each week.
But, a lot of our meal planning depends on what produce is in season and what we can get that is local from Whole Foods or the Farmers Market.

Ill try and post more photos as I take them :)

on food, diets, healthy eating and such...

2011-07-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I are fairly health-conscious eaters.

We dont eat fried foods, I dont drink sodas, we dont consume dairy (except for cheese and 0% fat greek yogurt), we dont eat at ANY fast food restaurants, we purchase our produce (and Aaron purchases his meat products) from farmers markets (to support local farmers) or at Whole Foods, we do not consume anything that lists: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, monosodiumglutamate (MSG), hydrogenated oils (trans fat) or shortening (also trans fat) in the ingredients list, we do not purchase any bread product that is not Whole Wheat or even better, Whole Grain (NO refined flours in our house!), and we do not consume frozen meals of any kind. We only purchase FRESH produce (no frozen, with the exception of frozen berries from Whole Foods/Trader Joe's for my smoothies; because I cant bring myself to blend delicious fresh blueberries or strawberries when they could be eaten alone) and try to avoid canned beans/legumes due to the higher sodium content.

about 7 years ago (actually, it may be more like 9 or 10 years ago) I made the decision to stop drinking sodas. why? because they were not good for me and I knew it. I switched to water and teas and before I knew it.... they were out of my life for good. Its amazing how much better your body feels/acts when you arent contaminating it with sugary, high calorie, drinks. my current day (beverage wise) is as follows:
- glass of water when I wake up
- 2-3 cups of black coffee OR coffee with a small amount of Soy Creamer
- water, water, water throughout the day (I have a SIGG reusable bottle and go through about 4 or 5 of those a day; and thats NOT including the water I drink at home)
- in the after noon I may "spice it up" and drink a small glass of Kombucha or coconut water.
- in the evening (but not daily) I may have a beer or glass of wine with Aaron.

about 6 years ago I made the decision to go "pescaterian". technically I'm a "lacto-ovo-pescatarian" because I still consume some dairy (in the form of cheese and greek yogurt), I consume eggs, and I consume fish. I still use the term "vegetarian" because its more widely used and understood. going vegetarian wasnt that hard for me, because I had already eliminated pork from my diet (when I was 18 or so) and the only beef I consumed was in the form of burgers, so it was actually a very easy transition for me since I only had to cut out chicken and the occasional turkey. the only challenge was ensuring that I was eating enough protein, B12, and iron (and since Im from Texas, I had to gain the knowledge of how to eat properrly as a vegetarian because growing up in Texas, we never focused on the "other" ways to eat). once I became educated on how to be a "healthy" vegetarian (because, trust me, there are many mal-nourished, un-healthy vegetarians out there because they dont know how to eat properly and they end up deficient in some of their essential vitamins and minerals) I have been MORE than happy with my decision to "go veggie".

I am a firm believer that no matter what your eating habits are (and how strict they are) you should still "splurge" and enjoy yourself from time to time (read: time to time= once a week or even once a month). I also believe that you shouldnt tell yourself that you are on a "diet" because, in today's society the term "diet" implies that its only temporary and that one day, you will go back to eating "normal" again. I think those of us who are monitoring our food intake and are being more conscious eaters should tell themselves that they are making a "lifestyle change".
Because honestly, isnt that exactly what it is?

but, even with all of that. Aaron and I still have our flaws.
So, we decided to revamp our eating habits yet again.
Its easy to fall into the habit of eating breads with breakfast, lunch and dinner (toast, sandwiches, bread with dinner, etc) and thats just the routine I have fallen into.... I want to incorporate even more veggies and legumes into my diet, and also substitute any type of bread/toast with brown rice or quinoa only. I started calculating my food intake and I am unhappy with the amount of bread I am eating (in various forms, sliced bread, tortillas, english muffins, etc). So, while I will not be eliminating them (because, carbs are actually good for you and your body needs them for energy) I want to reduce my intake as much as possible. I just feel that breads such as the ones I listed above have the tendency to slow you down or make you feel "heavier" and I want to avoid that.

I also want to limit my sugar intake, because sugar/desserts are my WEAKNESS.
So, my "dessert" will be in the form of fresh fruit, or a homemade popsicle. Aaron and I plan on purchasing this; which is actually something that we bought for our friend's child for their birthday last year, but its perfect for adults too! You can purchase fresh juices at Whole Foods or Trader Joes (note: not juice "drinks" like the Naked juices but rather fresh 100% no-sugar-added fruit juices like watermelon juice, orange juice, apple juice etc) or juice your own fruit AND you can add a few pieces of fresh fruit to the popsicle! what a great, guilt free dessert!

I also think its time to give up my weekly food truck "indulgence". Im not saying that I will give up food truck eating entirely, but my food truck "splurges" with be kept to a minimum (but, you have to "live a little" every once in a while, right?)

Im a foodie. Plain and simple.
I love food, I love great food, I love trying new foods, I think eating is one of the best ways to learn about a new culture or country.
I find cooking to be an art. same as baking. Aaron and I share a love for food and cooking which is one of the many reasons we get along so well.

But, you have to know what youre eating and what youre doing to your body. It kills me seeing where our country is headed due to the foods we (as a people) are consuming in extremely high quantities. Our country is obese, ridden with disease and cancer, we have more cases of Type 2 diabetes (formerlly known as "adult onset" but they have had to change the name because so many CHILDREN are being diagnosed with it) it just kills me.

While I wish that my love and passion for food could be shared with all of those around the world (because there is so many great foods out there to experience!) I also wish my passion for being HEALTHY, and KNOWLEDGEABLE of the foods we eat was also shared with the population.

I guess its pretty obvious why I am back in school pursuing a degree in Nutritional Science, huh? haha.

here is one of our new, "revamped" meals:

[asparagus, lentils (with onion, celery, spices) with fresh tomato slices and a dollop of goat cheese]

its official: our wedding invitations have been sent out!

2011-06-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

thank goodness too, because our dining room table looked like this for the past few weeks:

we cant wait to start getting RSVP's!

Joe and Buzz

2011-06-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

okay everyone, you have to check out Joe and Buzz; a weekly web-series starring one of Aaron and my great friends (and the officiant of our wedding)!

day-cation to Irvine.

2011-06-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

my brother recently moved from Fresno CA to Irvine CA. I have never really spent much time in Irvine, in fact, all that I have done there is stop and get dinner at Veggie Grill on the way back home from seeing Chena in San Diego.

To my surprise, my brother moved directly across from the Spectrum Center which is where the Veggie Grill is located that we randomly visited.

Last Thursday Ziggy and I took a day-trip to Irvine to check out Elliott's new apartment and neighborhood; and wow! What a great day it was!

Once Ziggy and I got there we took a quick tour of Elliott's apartment but then walked over to the Spectrum Center for lunch at Veggie Grill! A quick FYI: the "buffalo wings" (no meat of course) are amazing! After lunch we walked around a bit to see what other stores the Spectrum Center had and then decided to walk back to the ~~apartment complex~~ resort.

We decided to sit outsite and get some Vitamin D and relax. The property is beautiful and we found a nice, cozy set of table and chairs near a fountain to sit at. This was our view:

Ziggy enjoyed himself too.

We stayed here for an hour or so and then decided to go back inside to refill our water bottles. While in there Elliott remembered that Whole Foods was scheduled to received a shipment of Pliney the Elder so he called the store to see if they had any left. They did (although, it was limit one per customer) so we piled into his car and drove the 10 minute drive to get some. Elliott went in first to get his beer while I stayed outside with Ziggy; then he watched Ziggy while I went in to grab one for myself (well, actually for Aaron- Saturday was his birthday and I was glad that I could surprise his with his favorite [and hard to come-by] beer).

We put the beers in the car and then decided to walk down to Pinkberry so that we could both try their new flavor: salted caramel. OH MY! it was delicious! and I'm not even a Pinkberry fan (Yogurtland is WAY better in my opinion) but this new flavor was amazing:

We drove back to Elliott's place and hung out inside for awhile. Ziggy was a bit tired (considering his missed all of his morning naps due to our day-of-fun) so we let him rest on Elliott's bed for a bit:

We were all getting a bit hungry, so I suggested ordering a pizza to have delivered before Ziggy and I made the drive back to LA (it was around 4:45pm and I wasnt about to embark on the drive north yet; traffic would have been horrendous). I started scouring Yelp and Google Maps for good, healthy pizza options nearby while Elliott went to check his mail... when he came back he said "you know, if you want pizza, the market here at the complex makes great pizza".
See, I told you it was a resort-type apartment community! So we walked over to the Village Market and each ordered an "individual" pizza.

The pizza turned out to be delicious and it was very peaceful to sit outside and people-watch while we ate. The Veggie pizza was great and I will definitely order that again if we are ever back at the Village Market for dinner. Ziggy also enjoyed the Village Market because he was able to meet lots of puppy friends who were out on their evening walk!

Ziggy and I headed back to LA after dinner; we were both exhausted!
This is what Ziggy looked like after the hour-and-a-half drive home:

What a fabulous day-cation it was! and since Elliott is only about an hour away; it will be the perfect place to "get away" from Los Angeles anytime we need a day away.

missing a great friend.

2011-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

[Ashey, myself, and Chena having cocktails at the W; September 2007]

Today marks one year since I lost my dear and wonderful friend Chena.
I think about her daily and find myself wishing that she was here to help me with wedding planning.
She loved weddings.
I would have asked her to be one of my bridesmaids and she would have undoubtedly worn a shiny new pair of Louboutins; because she was fabulous like that :)

our new dining room...

2011-06-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

with our new, awesome wine fridge that Aaron's parents gave to us!

Food Trucks: The Greasy Wiener

2011-05-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Every Friday (for the past 2 months or so) my good friend Melissa and her adorable 4 month old son, Dexter meet up near the La Brea Tar Pits/LACMA to enjoy what we now refer to as "Food Truck Friday".

Each day from 11:30am-2:30pm gourmet food trucks line up along Wilshire Blvd to catch the lunch rush. Im not going to lie, Ive definitely headed over to Wilshire for lunch on a day other than Friday.... but Friday tends to be the best day to go since it has the best food truck options. That, and it has become Melissa and my weekly tradition.

FTF started out because we had a craving for the Phamish Truck's amazing lemongrass tofu bahn mi.... and while we still love Phamish and enjoy their food, there is a new reason for our FTF dedication:

The Greasy Wiener Truck!

They have two DELICIOUS menu items that I crave.
#1: The Buffalo Bleus.... which are curly fries, tossed in a buffalo sauce, topped with blue cheese. I mean seriously, doesnt that sound amazing?! They are truly delicious and its a craving that only The Greasy Wiener can satisfy!

#2: The Greasy Hippie... which is a vegetarian hot dog with mustard, topped with onions and a pickle, and I order mine with cheese. SO GOOD!

(The Greasy Wiener -non-veggie- on top, and the The Greasy Hippie is on bottom)

Melissa and I will be forever be loyal Greasy Wiener fans.

So please, do yourself a favor and check out The Greasy Wiener! Adam is wonderful, so be sure to chat with him while you wait for your order! Follow them on twitter, "like" them on Facebook and be sure to follow their whereabouts so that you can go enjoy their awesome food :)

we're engaged!

2011-05-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

it was a big weekend....
Aaron proposed during our hike through Topanga Canyon State Park :)

I, of course, said yes!

fine dining.

2011-05-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I recently went to Osteria Mozza with my dear friend Flo who was in town from Nigeria.
We have frequented Pizzaria Mozza, but have never had the chance to try out their fine dining restaurant next door (due to extensive reservations; you have to book well in advance).

Flo was able to get us reservations on Easter evening (thank goodness for American Express privileges) and we set off to enjoy a lovely evening. Honestly, I didnt have many expectations for the restaurant only because I dont know many people who have been there. I knew their Pizzaria never disappointed in the food department, and since Mario Batalli is behind both of them I figured it would be good, but I still didnt have any specific expectations.

We arrived a bit early and decided to enjoy a drink at the bar. The wine was great, even though we got lucky ordering since neither of us are big connoisseurs of Italian wine (we are California wine drinkers, through and through; thank you to the waitress to steered us in the appropriate direction). About half-way through our drinks the rest of our party arrived and we were seated. And little did we know we were about to enjoy one of the best meals in our life (which, ironically, has happened a lot in the past year or so).

Between the various mozzarella appetizers, the first courses of pasta, the main courses of everything from short-ribs to Mahi Mahi, the two [delightful] bottles of Italian wine, and some amazing dessert our table was more than impressed and satisfied.

I dont have any photos of the food or establishment from that night, because - lets be honest- a fine dining restaurant isnt the best place to whip out your phone and start taking pictures for blogging purposes (although, Im sure they wouldnt have minded; everyone working there was friendly, helpful, and had smiles on their faces). BUT take my word for the fact that the entire evening was flawless. From customer service, to the food's presentation and quality, to the deliciousness of each item ordered. 5 stars, hands down.

If you are looking for a great night out, and dont mind dropping around $150 a person- I highly suggest making a reservation at Osteria Mozza!
You wont be disappointed; Aaron and I are already planning on going back.

I can definitely say its on my "top 10" list for best restaurants Ive gone too/meals I've had... hell, maybe even in the top 5.

a weekend away.

2011-05-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I ventured North to Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo, California this weekend.

We stayed at the Pismo Lighthouse Suites, a hotel I highly recommend!
The rooms were large, comfortable, and clean with remarkable views of the Pacific Ocean.

[view from or hotel room]

after we checked in, we walked down the street to Ventana Grill with Aaron, his parents, and his brother.
Normally, I dont have very high expectations for restaurants ON the beach because they seem to rely on their ocean view to bring in customers, not the quality of their food.
However, Ventana Grill really surprised me!
Their menu had several delicious sounding, vegetarian lunch options which made for deciding on what to order difficult. I ended up getting the Mahi Mahi sandwich and it was great! For dessert we ordered their Tiramisu (now, I am a Tiramisu snob, the best Tiramisu that I have ever had was at a small, family owned restaurant in Kingman, AZ) and I am shocked to report that Ventana Grill's was wonderful! I think their secret is that they soak their ladyfingers in the new Patron XO Cafe (which Aaron and I tried for the first time in Mobile, AL this past December with my parents).
I would drive the almost 3 hours to Pismo Beach just for that dessert.

After lunch we walked back to the hotel to get ready for Aaron's cousins wedding.
It was beautiful and we all had a great time.

The next morning Aaron and I got up early so that we could walk to downtown Pismo and grab a soy latte and a pastry. Then we spend the next couple of hours walking along the beach taking in the beautiful scenery:

[Aaron found a cave]

[sitting on a rock, enjoying my latte]

[view from the hotel's viewing area]

[Aaron playing chess on the life-size chess board at the hotel]

after walking around we came back to the hotel to get ready for Brunch at Lido Restaurant which is part of the Dolphin Inn Resort. Brunch was spectacular and the view was breathtaking. I could have sat on that patio drinking mimosas forever.

[taking in the view after brunch]

I highly recommend taking a trip to Pismo Beach. Its beautiful and peaceful... and I didnt want to come back to LA.

a vegan Saturday night.

2011-04-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we (myself, Aaron, my mom, my brother, and our friend Robert) had the opportunity to attend a "beer and vegan cupcakes" event coordinated by the one and only: quarrygirl along with the MeetUP.com group "Los Angeles Vegan Drinks".

Quarrygirl is a Los Angeles based vegan blogger that I adore.
I absolutely love her blog. I respect and admire her food suggestions and reviews on local restaurants... she also blogs about vegan friendly restaurants all over the world so you dont have to be a Southern California resident to fully benefit from her blog. Her love, passion, and dedication towards veganism is astounding.. so please, do yourself a favor and start following her blog.

Anyway, back to the event: it was held at The Surly Goat, which, if you remember, was on Aaron and my "Los Angeles to-do list". He has been wanting to go check out their beer selection for ages and we were finally able to go! In addition to wonderful beer (they had Pliny The Elder.. enough said) C'est La V bakeshop was there too serving up some amazing vegan cupcakes (the same flavors that she used when she was a contestant on Cupcake Wars).

I took a couple of pictures, but forgive me for the quality.
The bar was dark and I was ready to dive into the yumminess:

[above cupcakes: Midnight Chocolate Peanut Butter cup

and Jelly Donut & Coffee]

[above cupcakes: Grasshopper and Jelly Donut & Coffee that we got "to-go" for my friend Melissa]

The event was great. Wonderfully organized with a great turnout. even the non-vegan (and even the non-vegetarians) in our group enjoyed the fun!

awesome friends and yogurtland.

2011-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

I was having a more-than-stressful week last week (due to homework, studying for midterms, and loads of teacher training homework) and was unable to attend the frequent-and-almost-weekly Yogurland trip with our friends Melissa and Casey...

well, being the awesome friends that they are; they showed up at my door with a to-go bowl full of my favorite flavors (devil's food cupcake batter, strawberry, and vanilla)!

Yogurtland makes studying Anatomy much more fun :)

*and I dont care what anyone says: Yogurtland is MUCH better than PinkBerry or YogoTango... MUCH better. Trust me on this.

thought for the week:

2011-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

if I had two more lives to live:

I'd be a real estate agent in one.

and a pastry chef in the other.

I just wanted to throw that out there.

anyway, moving on.....

[Aaron and I, taken a couple of weeks ago]

dinner and a movie.

2011-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

I had a crazy week last week with homework, tests, studying, etc.
and, I have yet another crazy week ahead of me with even MORE tests, homework, studying, etc.

but, luckily, after Teacher Training last night, I was able to take a break from it all and go see Lincoln Lawyer with Aaron. I really enjoyed it!
if you happen to see it (and I think you should) be sure to wait and see Aaron's name in the credits at the end!

how to make oatmeal.. wrong.

2011-03-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

I posted this article on facebook a few weeks ago... its no secret that I cant stand the McDonald's corporation. I DO NOT support them or anything that they do. But, lucky you, I will spare you my soap-box lecture about their evil ways (for now).

I will, however, share the article with you. It was written by Mark Bittman who is the author of How To Cook Everything, and How To Cook Everything Vegetarian (two heavily used books in our household). The article is from the The Opinion section of the New York Times (I found it via NPR)

warning: this article is extremely frustrating, so brace yourself. But, it will give a little insight to one of the many reasons I am going back to school for Nutrition and Exercise Science. This country needs some better guidance on nutrition and eating healthily... and I assure you McDonald's is not the place for that information.
happy reading.

February 22, 2011, 8:30 pm

How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong

By MARK BITTMAN

There’s a feeling of inevitability in writing about McDonald’s latest offering, their “bowl full of wholesome” — also known as oatmeal. The leading fast-food multinational, with sales over $16.5 billion a year (just under the G.D.P. of Afghanistan), represents a great deal of what is wrong with American food today. From a marketing perspective, they can do almost nothing wrong; from a nutritional perspective, they can do almost nothing right, as the oatmeal fiasco demonstrates.
One “positive” often raised about McDonald’s is that it sells calories cheap. But since many of these calories are in forms detrimental rather than beneficial to our health and to the environment, they’re actually quite expensive — the costs aren’t seen at the cash register but in the form of high health care bills and environmental degradation.
Oatmeal is on the other end of the food spectrum. Real oatmeal contains no ingredients; rather, it is an ingredient. As such, it’s a promising lifesaver: oats are easy to grow in almost any non-extreme climate and, minimally processed, they’re profoundly nourishing, inexpensive and ridiculously easy to cook. They can even be eaten raw, but more on that in a moment.
Like so many other venerable foods, oatmeal has been roundly abused by food marketers for more than 40 years. Take, for example, Quaker Strawberries and Cream Instant Oatmeal, which contains no strawberries, no cream, 12 times the sugars of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and only half of the fiber. At least it’s inexpensive, less than 50 cents a packet on average. (A serving of cooked rolled oats will set you back half that at most, plus the cost of condiments; of course, it’ll be much better in every respect.)

The oatmeal and McDonald’s story broke late last year, when Mickey D’s, in its ongoing effort to tell us that it’s offering “a selection of balanced choices” (and to keep in step with arch-rival Starbucks) began to sell the cereal. Yet in typical McDonald’s fashion, the company is doing everything it can to turn oatmeal into yet another bad choice. (Not only that, they’ve made it more expensive than a double-cheeseburger: $2.38 per serving in New York.) “Cream” (which contains seven ingredients, two of them actual dairy) is automatically added; brown sugar is ostensibly optional, but it’s also added routinely unless a customer specifically requests otherwise. There are also diced apples, dried cranberries and raisins, the least processed of the ingredients (even the oatmeal contains seven ingredients, including “natural flavor”).
A more accurate description than “100 percent natural whole-grain oats,” “plump raisins,” “sweet cranberries” and “crisp fresh apples” would be “oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen.”
Since we know there are barely any rules governing promotion of foods, one might wonder how this compares to real oatmeal, besides being 10 times as expensive. Some will say that it tastes better, but that’s because they’re addicted to sickly sweet foods, which is what this bowlful of wholesome is.
Others will argue that the McDonald’s version is more “convenient.” This is nonsense; in the time it takes to go into a McDonald’s, stand in line, order, wait, pay and leave, you could make oatmeal for four while taking your vitamins, brushing your teeth and half-unloading the dishwasher. (If you’re too busy to eat it before you leave the house, you could throw it in a container and microwave it at work. If you prefer so-called instant, flavored oatmeal, see this link, which will describe how to make your own).
If you don’t want to bother with the stove at all, you could put some rolled oats (instant not necessary) in a glass or bowl, along with a teeny pinch of salt, sugar or maple syrup or honey, maybe some dried fruit. Add milk and let stand for a minute (or 10). Eat. Eat while you’re walking around getting dressed. And then talk to me about convenience.
The aspect one cannot argue is nutrition: Incredibly, the McDonald’s product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. (Even without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.)
The bottom-line question is, “Why?” Why would McDonald’s, which appears every now and then to try to persuade us that it is adding “healthier” foods to its menu, take a venerable ingredient like oatmeal and turn it into expensive junk food? Why create a hideous concoction of 21 ingredients, many of them chemical and/or unnecessary? Why not try, for once, to keep it honest?
I asked them this, via e-mail: “Why could you not make oatmeal with nothing more than real oats and plain water, and offer customers a sweetener or two (honey, the only food on earth that doesn’t spoil, would seem a natural fit for this purpose), a packet of mixed dried fruit, and half-and-half or — even better — skim milk?”
Their answer, via e-mail and through a spokesperson (FMO is “fruit and maple oatmeal”): “Customers can order FMO with or without the light cream, brown sugar and the fruit. Our menu is entirely customizable by request with our ‘Made for You’ platform that has been in place since the late 90s.”
Oh, please. Here’s the thing: McDonald’s wants to get people in the store. Once a day, once a week, once a month, the more the better, of course, but routinely. And if you buy oatmeal, they’re O.K. with that. But they know that, once inside, you’ll probably opt for a sausage biscuit anyway.
And you won’t be much worse off.

here is the link to the original article

for a short bio of Mark Bittman, and some of his other articles, go here

brown bag lunch.

2011-03-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

but, a little more "green".
In an effort to be more green AND to save our household some money: I take my lunch with me to yoga instructor training, school, and I used to take it with me when I worked part-time at the yoga studio.

for breakfast, I use this Starbucks Oatmeal travel bowl and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love it.

I enjoy the "instant" oats and flax oatmeal from Trader Joe's. So, on the mornings I go to school I will put a packet (or two, depending on how hungry I am) into the container along with some piping hot water. I put the lid on (which houses a cute and super convenient fold-out spoon) and off I go. Im telling you, the oatmeal stays hot for hours... so it really is a glorious thing for the mornings I head to school extra early to get some studying in. When I used to open the yoga studio and would have to be there SUPER early in the morning, instead of adding the boiling water, I would just add the oatmeal sans water. Once I was at work and ready for breakfast, I would add hot water from the water filter there. Pair this with a banana and your off to a good day.
(I was having a hard time finding this contraption at the local Starbuck's because they were always sold out, so a special thanks to my MOM AND DAD for locating one and getting it for me!)

Once lunch rolls around I whip out my Laptop Lunch box.

This bento box is a life saver for lunch time. Not only does it have a insulated sleeve to put it in so that cold items can remain cold, but the multiple compartments and forced-portion-control are lovely. The sky is the limit with what you can put in here... and if you need help with ideas check out the VeganLunchBox blog for loads of animal-free lunch ideas specifically designed for the Laptop Lunch box. I also have the thermos which is awesome for cold days when you just want a bowl of soup. I heat the soup up in the morning and it remains hot for several hours until I am ready to eat it.

Add a re-usable cloth napkin (available at reuseit.com) and a Sigg re-usable water bottle and youre well on your way to being green, more financially responsible (restaurant lunches can really add up!), and healthy.

happy lunch-taking!

St Patty's Day

2011-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not Irish (that I know of) but I'm all for a day that is dedicated to drinking and eating fun stuff.
Plus, I think I gained a large appreciation for St Patrick's Day while living in Chicago... no city (at least in the States) goes "all out" for March 17th like Chicago does. I assure you.

This year, I decided to celebrate by baking a batch of Guinness cupcakes.
Now, I attempted this a couple of years ago (and it was actually one of my first posts as a blogger) but they did not turn out all that well. In fact, they were a baking disaster.
They were too dry, somewhat chewy, and the Bailey's Irish Cream frosting was not good. None of which are characteristics of a good cupcake recipe.

Last night I scoured the internet looking for a recipe that appealed to me. Some of the ones that I found called for whiskey in addition to Guinness (and I wasnt in the mood to risk the overall success of the cupcake endeavor by adding additional booze)... some only called for 1 cup of Guinness (and, I dont know about you, but that doesnt seem like enough).... then, I finally came across a recipe (at bunkycooks.com) that I was interested in trying; and it turned out wonderfuly! They were fun (and easy) to make. The end product was fluffy, moist, and light, and tasted delicious! It was an all-around baking success.

I'm sure I owe it all to Melissa and baby Dexter for keeping me company while I was baking. Good company makes everything better. Especially when the company is a good friend and her adorable son.

So, without further ado, here is the delicious recipe; I strongly encourage you to try it out:

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch fine salt
1 bottle stout beer (recommended: Guinness)
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 12 to 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.

To make the icing:
In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. On low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Icing can be made several hours ahead and kept covered and chilled.

smoothie 101

2011-03-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

I "stumbled" upon an article about smoothies on LiveWithNature.com....
I definitely want to try a few of these!

Smoothies are a great way to boost your fruits and veggies daily intake. It makes a delicious quick breakfast, a nice refreshing snack, a wonderful healthy dessert or a super post-training drink. Not only the flavor combinations are infinite, you can prepare different recipes to benefit from specific health components from its ingredients. One other great thing about smoothies is that to the opposite of simple juices, it keeps all the natural fiber, which help cleansing the digestive tract. The powerful detox foods that go into it help your liver to detox naturally, and they can help you stay healthy and look great.

Flat Tummy

Rich in digestion supporting ingredients, this smoothie will help prevent bloating and digestive stress that can sabotage your tummy flattening efforts.

3/4 c. papaya
3/4c. sliced peaches
1/2 pear, sliced
1 tsp fresh ginger
2 mint leaves
Water to thin

Skin Saver

Antioxidants in berries are known to help to fight wrinkles and other skin ageing signs. Berries are also a great way to control blood sugar that can sabotage your complexion. This smoothie also contains Omega 3, to fight inflammation, as well as vitamins E and C, both renown to help the skin.

3/4 c blueberries
3/4 c pitted cherries
5 strawberries
1/4 avocado, peeled and pitted
2 tsp wheat germ (optional)
2 tsp ground flax seed
Water, to thin

Peanut Butter Energy Booster

This protein-rich and minerals-filled smoothie will give you long-lasting energy. Cinnamon will help to control your blood sugar so your energy level won’t crash too quickly.

1 big banana
1 scoop of natural hemp protein powder
2 tsp of natural peanut butter
1 handful of fresh baby spinach
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
Water, to thin

Bone Lover

This vitamin-rich green smoothie contains calcium, magnesium and other bone building minerals to keep your bone strong and healthy.

2 bananas
1 handful of chard leaves
1 handful of kale leaves
1 tsp of green matcha powder
1/2 cup of homemade almond milk

Immune System Booster

Rich in vitamin A, C and zinc, this smoothie can increase the production of white blood cells and antibodies to get your body ready to resist this season’s infections.

1/2 c. mango cubes
1/2 c. cantaloupe cubes
1/2 c. fresh pineapple cubes
1/4 c. chopped pumpkin seeds
Water, to thin

Natural Skin Tanner

Studies have proven that a beta-carotene rich diet can make your complexion glow, and that particular skin tone is usually considered healthier than a regular skin tan. This smoothie can help you get that healthy glow without risking your skin lying under the sun.

1/2 cup of cantaloupe cubes
1/2 cup of papaya
Juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup of carrot juice (or water)
1 small knob of fresh ginger

Antioxidant Power

Feel the power of this detox foods-rich smoothie. Very rich in antioxidants, this smoothie will help to support your liver to detox naturally and help your body stay healthy and young longer.

1/3 cup of blueberries
1/3 cup of raspberries
1/3 cup of pomegranate kernels
1/4 cup of beet juice (optional)
1 banana
Water to thin

my top 3 favorite coffee beans:

2011-03-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Its pretty obvious that I love coffee... hell, part of my blog name is even dedicated to the stuff. My first thought in the morning is "I cant wait to enjoy my hot cup of coffee while I read my favorite blogs".

Ive tried many different types of coffee beans in my day and over the years Ive managed to narrow down my favorites to the following 3:

Now, I cant really rank these in order from #1 to #3 since they are all pretty equal in their deliciousness, so I will list them in no particular order...

Blue Bottle Coffee, San Francisco California

[photo from This Yuppie Life]

[photo from Blue Bottle Coffee]

Carpe Diem Coffee, from Spring Hill Coffee Roasters, Mobile Alabama

Urth Cafe Coffee, Los Angeles California

mmm, coffee. I cant wait to enjoy some tomorrow morning.

** please note, this is based on whole bean, brewed at home in my espresso maker coffee... this does not reflect my favorite lattes purchased on location. Tune in later for that entry.

its official...

2011-03-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'm on twitter now.
I dont exactly know that that means... and I have yet to "tweet" anything, but I am following several people!

So, if youre on there too... follow me!

things to do in Los Angeles:

2011-03-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

my all-time favorite: dining on a beautiful, sunny, dog friendly patio.

Last Friday Aaron and I decided to use one [of the many] groupons that we purchased and go try out the Larchmont Bungalow for a late lunch. It was a beautiful day, so we called ahead to ensure their patio was dog friendly; and it was! So, with Ziggy in tow, we headed over to Larchmont Village.

First and foremost, Larchmont Village is a quaint and adorable little neighborhood. Add a dog friendly patio and good restaurant to the mix and it makes it even better.

The food was delicious, the coffee was great, and they have an over-flowing dessert bar.
We cant wait to go back and try out their breakfast menu (which, by the way, is served all day).

[chocolate chip cookie and iced soy late- yum!]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is Aaron's last week-day off until the end of June, so, we decided to enjoy the gorgeous day and go to another dog friendly patio on Melrose Ave at Melgard Public House.

Aaron and I tend to be drawn to "European-esque" places and Melgard is just that. Its a pub house in every sense of the word: delicious fish & chips, a lengthy European beer list, etc. The patio is great with large, spaced out tables, a view of Melrose Ave (and all the pedestrian entertainment that comes with it) and ample sunshine. The servers at Melgard are really nice too, which is always an added bonus in Los Angeles.

[beer, sunshine, and Melrose]

[Ziggy found a dog bone that was hidden behind a potted plant, he was very excited!]

[Ziggy and I]

We have had some beautiful days here in Los Angeles the past week or so, hopefully the weather keeps this trend going and Ill be able to share many more pictures from our favorite LA restaurant patios!

another successful Artwalk

2011-03-10T23:18:00.001-08:00

..... but I'm not going to lie- we didn't see one art gallery...
our focus was, of course, the food trucks:

[Food trucks!]

[the truck that started it all: Kogi! The tofu taco and

calamari tacos were delicious! I am definitely a fan]

[this place, Feast, had a yummy kimchi quesadilla...

although, I probably wouldn't get it again]

[Aaron tried a pork taco and Ashley tried a duck taco-

which were apparently delicious; but I'll just take their word for it]

[AMAZING egg custard tarts!

This truck is a must-try if you see it]

I was slightly disappointed that we wernt able to find the truck with Buffalo Tater Tots or the Border Grill truck (for the poblano quesadillas)... but, there's always next month!

Spicy

2011-03-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

Do you like spicy food? According to Shape magazine (March 2011): spicy food can help boost your metabolism...

My Dad has joked that jalapenos aided in his weight loss when he was on the Weight Watchers diet because they were a "point free" flavor addition to his meals.

Well, it turns out the "jalapeño diet" is true!

a Yoga must.

2011-03-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

So, I'm about a month in to YogaWorks teacher training; and if there is one thing I know for certain, is that the lululemon Wunder Under crops and pants are a must for teacher trainees.

We were asked to wear clothing that "shows the contours of our body and muscles" but that is also comfortable. Well, I can assure you that the Wunder Under's are just that.

Even if you aren't a teacher-in-training... I highly recommend them for your general yoga practice. They are #1- comfortable and #2- they allow you to really SEE yourself, so when you're asked to "rotate you inner thighs back, your kneecaps up, and your ankles down" you can actually SEE if you are accomplishing this or not.

They may be pricey, but they are well worth the investment. because they are just that. an investment.

Food Trucks!

2011-03-02T23:20:00.001-08:00

One of the [many] great things about our neighborhood (Miracle Mile) is the plethora of food trucks that show up on Wilshire around lunch time. We live less than 2 blocks away from LACMA, the La Brea tarpits, and many, many television industry related office buildings (E!, SAG, etc). This is a prime location for the food truck craze to meet a heavy lunch rush.

Aaron and I walked over to Wilshire today to enjoy some food truck deliciousness.

We settled on Phamish, a Vietnamese truck that has some AMAZING sandwiches.

Their Veggie Lemongrass Tofu Baguette was insanely delicious! Aaron claims their pork version was quite good too, but I'll just have to take his word for it.

I am looking forward to walking over to Wilshire and enjoying lunch from Phamish again soon.

Keep an eye out for their truck driving around Los Angeles!

little Ziggy.

2011-03-02T09:51:00.001-08:00

I love my little guy. I never knew how much love and joy a tiny, 5 pound (fully grown) puppy would bring.... He is just so cute I can barely stand it.

I know I've posted pictures of him in the past, but I feel the need to shower the internet with loads of cuteness, so brace yourself:

Crafty Christmas

2011-03-01T20:06:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, it's well beyond Christmas-time....
but I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures from my "Crafty Christmas". I was determined to make gifts for our friends/family in an effort to convince myself that I am, in fact, a crafty person. I wasnt able to make everyone a Christmas gift this year, but I did make it a point to make as many as I could.

#1: Personalized Canvas Totes
I got the idea from Design*Sponge, who got the idea from the blog Ashley Ann Photography.
Click on Ashley's link to see her "finished product" as well as step-by-step instructions.

Here are my finished totes: I made one for my mom, one for Aaron's mom, and one for my girlfriends Estela and Melissa. They make for great gift ideas because you can use the bag as a form of gift wrap and fill it up with lots of goodies!

#2: Rag Quilts
Last year for Christmas my mom gave us (Aaron, myself, and my brother) "personalized" rag quilts. She had a family friend make them for us and I was quite impressed. Mom told me the [very simple] steps to make the blankets so I went on a hunt for "personalized" fabric for Aaron's mom and grandmother.

Here is a blog post that has [similar] steps/instruction: Sew 4 Home

For Aaron's grandmother I chose 3 different fabrics. 1 light purple, 1 dark purple, and 1 printed fabric with berries (strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc). Her favorite color is purple and she makes homemade jam throughout the year, so the choices seemed fitting

For Aaron's mom I also chose 3 different fabrics. Hers were all printed fabrics, 1 with peaches, 1 with green grapes on a vine, and 1 with wine bottles on it. She enjoys wine (white wine specifically) and peaches are grown in the Central Valley (where she grew up), so the fabric choices for her seemed fitting too.

I ended up using the same color green (which was a heavier twill) fabric for the backing of both blankets. The green really brought out the color of the berry stems in Aaron's grandmothers and the green matched the peach stems and green grapes on Aaron's moms. I was REALLY happy with the way each blanket turned out.

Here are a few photos from the whole blanket-making process:

[cutting the fabric into squares]

[attaching the printed fabric to the solid green backing by sewing x's into each square]

[sewing the squares together to form rows, then sewing each row together to form a blanket]

[once the blanket is completely constructed use a pair of fabric scissors to snip the seam allowance (Aaron actually did the majority of this because I was on to constructing the next blanket), then throw it in the washer/dryer- the result is a "fringing" effect]

#3: Homemade Spice Rack

Ever since we moved into our new apartment we have had an issue finding a home for all of our spices. We cook, a lot. So, not only do we have a large collection of spices; but we also need easy-access to them. At first they were stored in a drawer in our butcher-block, roll-around, all-purpose, canister and espresso machine holder, Ikea table thing (that's the official name of it, by the way). But it drove me crazy because it was so disorganized and it drove Aaron crazy because it was a pain to find the specific spice in need.

So, thanks to my blog-reading and "stumbling" I discovered these articles from The Kitchn:

How to Make a Wall-Mounted Spice Rack

Small Space Storage- Build a Spice Rack with a Ruler!

After careful consideration, I ended up merging both of the ideas to fit both our spice-rack needs, and our available apartment space. The end product was a huge hit! Aaron really loved (and still loves) the Christmas gift!

[I ended up using the vendors that the first The Kitchn article mentioned, I ordered 4oz canning jars, solid- black lids (since canning lids would not work for this project), and powerful little neodymium magnets (which I attached using Gorilla Epoxy)]

[we chose to display our spice rack with the use of metal rulers mounted under our cabinets, as was suggested in the second The Kitchn article. You can see the spice "rack" in this picture of Aaron cooking... he's making bacon (eww) which is why Ziggy seems so interested]

** I apologize for the poor picture quality. I need to stop using my iPhone camera and start using our Canon Rebel T1i more.

Los Angeles/Southern California "to do" list:

2011-02-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

its no secret that Aaron and I want to move out of Los Angeles.
We dont have a specific "move out" date... but its safe to assume that in 3 years or less we will be living somewhere else.

On that note- Aaron and I are making a [running and ever-changing] Los Angeles/Southern California "to do" list of things that we would like to do/see/accomplish before we leave.

So, in no particular order:
- take the Catalina Express to Catalina Island (hopefully with my parents)
~~- enjoy cocktails at the Surly Goat in West Hollywood~~
- have brunch at The Ivy (also on my "life to do list")
- go back to Eagle Rock Brewery (hopefully with the Troyer's)
- have dinner at Spago
- hike to the Griffith Observatory
- go to The Hollywood Bowl during the summer (with a bottle of wine in tow)
- ~~go to Stone Brewery (tour and beer tasting; hopefully with the Troyer's and/or my parents)~~
- ~~spend a day at Glenn Ivy Hot Springs day spa~~
- hike to Eagle Rock in Malibu, again
- see a show at The Pantages theater with Aaron
- go to Malibu Wines on a weekend afternoon to listen to live music, drink endless amounts of wine, and have a picnic
- have brunch at Shutters on the Beach
- enjoy cocktails at The Penthouse in the Huntley Hotel
- watch a movie at the Hollywood Forever cemetery during the summer

so very, very true.

2011-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Aaron sent this to me earlier (I'm sure he found it on Reddit) and I felt the need to share it with you.
I definitely laughed hysterically after reading a few of them, and after most I exclaimed "that is so true!"

happy reading:

[found here]

beautiful!

2011-02-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

It was a BEAUTIFUL day in our neighborhood today!

It's days like this that remind me why I live in Southern California.... And it [almost] makes the horrid traffic and over-priced real estate worth it:

Just a typical Tuesday in February :)

a weekend in Fresno...

2011-02-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

We went to Fresno this weekend to spend some time with Aaron's family and to celebrate Christmas with them since we were in Alabama for [actual] Christmas.

While we were there, Aaron's awesome parents gave me my birthday present! New golf clubs!

[photo from shopzeus.com]

[photo from Sunnyside Country Club]

The next morning we went to the country club (that Aaron's parents are members of) so that I could try them out. Much to my surprise, I actually played pretty well! We started out at the driving range and then ended up playing the front 9. I had forgotten how much I enjoy playing golf (I hadn't swung a golf club in nearly a year and a half)... but now that I have a new set of clubs Aaron and I will be able to play more often!

I love Yogi Tea...

2011-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

not only because they have delicious tea, but also because I really enjoy the little "mantras" that accompany each tea bag.

[photo from flickr]

here are some of my most recent favorites:

"to be healthy: eat right, walk right, and talk to yourself right"

"one of the best actions we can take, with courage, is to relax"

"you can run after satisfaction, but satisfaction must come from within"

"if you don't love where you come from, you can't love where you are going"

i really want to do this to my desk:

2011-02-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

[photo from From Portland to Peonies]

I love the inspiration board. Although, I dont necessarily need an inspiration board.. but I do tear out pages from magazines that I like and have always wanted a place to keep and view them.
I think a cork board would be a fabulous place for that. It could even double as art!

I also think the small stack of books adds a nice something to this desk too.

After the bedroom is completed, my guest room/office shall get some much needed attention.

love this art piece.

2011-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

[photo from funguerilla via stumble!]

I originally found this via stumble, but because I loved it so much, I did some research:

The artist is: Leonid Afremov
and the name of this piece is: Rain Princess

and you can see more of his work here.

I also really love this one, titled: Couple Under Rain

[photo from fineartamerica.com]

new blog obsession:

2011-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

I honestly cant remember how I came across From Portland to Peonies.... stumble? another blog? I really cant remember.
but, do yourself a favor and go over there right now and get to reading.

Liz has the most adorable blog. ever. and she has a great point of view of Portland that makes it seem like such a magical place.

Plus, if you paruse her posts, you will see that she has a great sense of style and humor as well :)

get to reading!

Valentine's Day..

2011-02-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

as I mentioned last year, Aaron and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day.
It's just not a day that we feel deserves any special attention or restaurant reservations.

So.. instead of buying cheesy chocolate, flowers that will die, or going out to dinner with the rest of the couples in Los Angeles... we shall be "celebrating" by doing this:

YogaWorks Teacher Training: Week 2; Day 1

2011-02-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Day 1 of the 2nd weekend of my 200hr YogaWorks teacher training.

Its funny, earlier today I was having conflicting thoughts on why I decided to do teacher training.
Why now?

When I started working for YogaWorks in May of 2010 my personal yoga practice suffered. I was at a YogaWorks, and I was surrounded by their wonderful instructors.... but somehow my time inside the asana room seemed to fall short.
After having a rough November and December with school, work, and life.... my practice became close to non-existent.

January was supposed to be my month to catch up. I was planning on increasing my practice to nearly everyday and I had a goal of reading all of my teacher training textbooks before February 4th: the first day of my training. I ended up catching some-sort of cold/flu that lasted nearly 3 weeks. I also had another week of various obsticles that managed to get in the way. I never made it to a yoga class in January. I never read those books.

Actually, the ONLY class I took before teacher training started was the mandatory class I had to attend in order to be evaluated (and thus fully accepted) into the program. That class was the Thursday before teacher training started.

The first weekend was brutal.
I was weak (and, more than likely the one of the weakest students in my training).
I was sore (from the class I had taken a couple of days prior).
and I was intimidated (for no real reason, whatsoever).

I survived the weekend, but barely.
I felt great after each yoga session and lecture... but I knew I had struggled.

I have always been one to complete my assignments quickly, so that I no longer have to worry about them. I had all week to read, work on homework, and study. Yet, I procrastinated until Thursday morning and Friday. (To be honest, as I type this-- I am still not 100% done with the homework that is due on Sunday.) Granted, I was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday was my birthday... but still, procrastinating is very out of character for me.

So today.. as I regretted waiting so long to dive into the mountain of reading and deciphering Sanskrit... I began questioning the training all together:
Why did I chose to do the training now?
Why did I chose this training?
What business did I have going through the program if I wasnt going to take it seriously?

I drove to the lecture tonight trying to get a better attitude. I love yoga, remember? It makes me happy. I look forward to it. and I actually want to learn more about it.

I had a great conversation with one of my fellow students before the lecture started and it gave me a sense of accomplishment. I had actually started the process of making great (life-long) friends.

Then, once we entered the asana room and began getting settled for the lecture to begin- I realized that we had a guest teacher, Jenny Aurthur, in from New York!
I sat down beside her, we introduced ourselves, and chatted a bit while everyone else was getting seated. She was warm. and friendly. and funny. and very, very easy to talk to.

I left tonight's lecture feeling completely confident about my choice to take this teacher training.
All of my doubt and reluctant thoughts were gone.

I have a new appreciation of this program and what I will gain from it. I will no longer take this opportunity for granted or procrastinate on studying and my homework. I will take this seriously.

Thank you mom and dad for giving me the opportunity to take the YogaWorks teacher training program!

Downtown LA ArtWalk (and food)

2011-02-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Ten and Steve, invited us to the Downtown LA ArtWalk last night.
Aaron and I attend the Brewery ArtWalk (at the old PBR Brewery) twice a year, but we had yet to make it to the one held Downtown LA each month.

So, we put on some comfy walking shoes, layered up with long sleeves and hoodies, and ventured to the Wilshire/Western intersection in Korea Town to jump on the Purple line to subway-it Downtown.
As much as I love living in Miracle Mile- I miss living near the Hollywood/Highland Redline stop in Hollywood. In order to take the subway from our current neighborhood it involves a [very] long walk, or more practically- a quick car ride.
I love utilizing public transportation when I can. I also love going Downtown when I can. Although, it makes me miss Chicago even more than I already do. It also makes me regret [a tiny bit] not purchasing that amazing loft in The Rowan building last year.

Moving on:

We arrived Downtown, met up with our friends, and enjoyed wandering around the Art Walk.
Now, I love Art... in all forms really. I love that our city embraces art and encourages the celebration and enjoyment of it....
but, there is something I love much more than art.. and that is FOOD (which, now that I think about it, is a form of art) In LA food trucks are the new craze. There are food trucks with every kind of food genre you can imagine... and a large amount of the food trucks congregate downtown for the ArtWalk.

I tried Ten's buffalo tater tots= and those were AMAZING.
Aaron and I shared the poblano quesadilla and cumin fries from the Border Grill truck= and both of those were fantastic.
I tried a tofu taco from a korean bbq truck (not Kogi) and it was a disaster :( SEASON OR MARINATE YOUR TOFU PEOPLE!
after that, I was reluctant to try something else.. but decided to try the falafel pita wrap from a turkish truck= and it turned out to be great!

I was always leery of the food truck idea- just because I was afraid of cross-contaminaton of the food (being that Im a vegetarian and all) but I managed to leave the ArtWalk (and food truck alley) with a satisfied and happy tummy! Most of the trucks had at least one veggie option! Success!

I leave you with a couple of photos of beautiful Downtown Los Angeles:

I am looking forward to attending next month's Downtown ArtWalk.
Thanks Ten and Steve for inviting us!

happy birthday to ME!

2011-02-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, the 9th, was my.... wait for it.... 27th Birthday!

Seeing as though I have the best friends and family a [now] 27 year old could ask for, my day was filled with lots of excitement and pretty things.

The night before, my dear friend Estela brought me these, delicious, Crumbs cupcakes:

then, the morning of my birthday, I woke up to this hilarious sign (from Urban Outfitters):
-- also from Estela.

my birthday breakfast consisted of peanut butter wheat toast, a banana... and 1/4 of the peanut butter and chocolate Crumbs cupcake, birthday breakfast of champions, right?

Later in the morning Aaron and I went to a yoga class....TOGETHER! I am so glad that he came to a yoga class with me!

For lunch we went to The Alcove, my favorite lunch spot in Los Angeles. I, as always, indulged in my FAVORITE. SANDWICH. EVER. the Brie and Apple Panini with a side of yummy fries.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing. Then, Aaron and I went to dinner at my FAVORITE restaurant in Los Angeles. The Little Door!

We split a bottle of wine, and one of the best cheese plates I have ever had. Aaron ordered the Duck Confit (a meal he rates as one of the best, ever) and I ordered the Monkfish with Chanterelle Risotto. For dessert with had the strawberry/ rhubard tart AND the chocolate pot de creme.

What a great birthday!

Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-01-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

My cousin-in-law, Rebekah, has this amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Now, I'm a big baker... I love to bake, I find it therapeutic...

Unfortunately, in my many years of baking: I have yet to discover a truly great chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have tried various ones found in magazines, cook books, cooking blogs... I have even tried the Neiman Marcus recipe (that has a funny [although not true] story behind it). None of which lived up to my cookie standards.

Enter Rebekah's recipe. It is, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe out there. Which is why I have named it "Rebekah's famous chocolate chip cookie" recipe.

I made half of a batch last Sunday for a football party we attended.
I made another half of a batch last night.
and Im making 2 FULL batches today: one for my dear friend Melissa who just had a baby, and one for me to take to my last day of work tomorrow.

If you are ever in the need of a homemade chocolate chip cookie, I strongly suggest you try this recipe:

Rebekah's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 sticks REAL butter, melted (do not use margarine, margarine contains trans fat)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
beat these ingredients together until blended

add
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 3/4 cups of flour (I use organic, whole wheat flour)
1 bag (or to taste) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for around 8-10 minutes or when top is slightly brown
Yields: a LOT of cookies!

* Half-ing and even quarter-ing this recipe works just fine.
Also, it's fine to freeze the extra dough and then just bake it in smaller batches.

enjoy!

coffee FYI:

2011-01-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

have you ever stared at the Starbucks menu wondering what the heck some of the drinks actually are? what is the ratio of foam? no foam? water? how much water? and, most importantly, how much caffeine is in there?

here's a little image to help decode the [sometimes confusing] coffee lingo:

Malo in Silverlake...

2011-01-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

is probably the BEST place in Los Angeles to go for a great margarita, amazing guacamole, and some of the best chips and salsa around.

but, Im going to be honest here: their entrees are nothing to write home about.
This place truly is best for a couple of drinks and some appetizers.
Either use it as a great starting point for a fun night out, or order double the guacamole and salsa and enjoy that as your meal.

They have a great patio.. so do yourself a favor and sit out there (the inside seating is a bit cramped and loud for my taste).

*Important* do NOT leave Malo without ordering the habanero salsa.
It. Is. Mind Blowing.
and, lucky for you: Malo offers a "flight" of their salsas.. that way you can try all of them... but trust me when I say that the habanero one will be your favorite.

Malo Silverlake

4326 W Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles Ca 90029

**and a new location will be opening

downtown soon!

Best Burger Place EVER

2011-01-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

The Counter.
and, to think that not only do they have an awesome beef burger (at least, thats what the carnivores tell me) but I would rank their veggie burger as one of the best around.

I suggest the veggie burger, on a whole wheat bun, with dill pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, Gruyere cheese, and mayonnaise. and, do yourself a favor and order a side of fries with BBQ sauce. the BBQ sauce is almost reason enough to go to The Counter.

their food is unbelievably delicious.

coffee. wine. and yoga.

Moksha Yoga LA

Seattle. our future home.

happy birthday!

recipe: meyer lemon bars

I made bread!

productivity and bread making.

my new favorite smoothie.

something to think about.

Cheesy Veggie & Bean Quinoa

things to do in Los Angeles before we move:

a bit of change.

Frugally Sustainable.

our Peruvian adventure.

My 2011 in review:

a weekend of beer and gifts.

bottling beer.

beer tasting.

the pacific northwest.

movie night.

a month of home-cooked meals.

Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere Ingredients:

my new favorite beer.

a month of home-cooked meals.

a month of home-cooked meals.

photo sneak peek

Donut Bread Pudding

wedding reception.

beers and a birthday.

pinterest

post Alaska/Chicago/Fresno fun:

post Alaska and Chicago relaxation:

wedding thoughts.

our food tour of Chicago:

more Alaska photos...

Alaska

The beginning of our "vacation extravaganza"!

for a hot, summer afternoon

4th of July

backpacking!

summer smoothie and a few meal photos

on food, diets, healthy eating and such...

its official: our wedding invitations have been sent out!

Joe and Buzz

day-cation to Irvine.

missing a great friend.

our new dining room...

Food Trucks: The Greasy Wiener

we're engaged!

fine dining.

a weekend away.

a vegan Saturday night.

awesome friends and yogurtland.

thought for the week:

dinner and a movie.

how to make oatmeal.. wrong.

How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong

brown bag lunch.

St Patty's Day

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Directions:

smoothie 101

Flat Tummy

Skin Saver

Peanut Butter Energy Booster

Bone Lover

Immune System Booster

Natural Skin Tanner

Antioxidant Power

my top 3 favorite coffee beans:

its official...

things to do in Los Angeles:

another successful Artwalk

Spicy

a Yoga must.

Food Trucks!

little Ziggy.

Crafty Christmas

Los Angeles/Southern California "to do" list:

Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere
Ingredients: