Dining in L.A. - Day 4

Last day in L.A. and so much I hadn't eaten yet. :)

Little did I know, I would get my celeb sighting that day!

Our destination for the day was Malibu. And I don't know about Shae, but I was hungry. We requested a patio seat at Tony's (Taverna Tony), and as we were being seated, I saw her . . Selma Hayek was only two tables away. In fact, we were the only three people on the patio. From my casual observation, I can say that she looked fab in her oversized shades, made smoking look incredibly classy, and her accent is so lovely. I did not snap a picture, because it would've been more than obvious and pretty rude.



I did, however, snap a picture of my Greek food. I savored every bite of pastichio (which is Greek-style lasagna with macaroni, ground beef, tomatoes, Bechamel sauce, and cheese), green beans (marinated in something delicious), and Greek-style roasted potatoes.



Mouth-watering, isn't it?

While shopping around the Civic Center, we popped into the Chocolatebox Cafe for a teeny child-size treat. I had a mini scoop of berry yogurt with pistachio swirl and another mini scoop of apple sorbet.





But I didn't stop there with the treats. I purposefully ordered the kiddie size so I could also grab a cupcake at Crumbs.



I'd never seen such creative and over-the-top cupcakes! Two different frostings and three different toppings? Wow. Still full from lunch, I asked that the Half Baked cupcake be packaged to-go, and I enjoyed it the next morning for breakfast. I needed some sugar to get me going!



As you can see, it was made up of marble cake, buttercream filling, half cream cheese frosting/half chocolate frosting, and brownie bits and chocolate chip cookie chunks on top! Probably a good 10,000 calories, I'm sure!



But as I said, I saved it for breakfast. I suspected (correctly) that I might be having dessert that night for dinner anyway.

My last meal of the trip was in the South Bay, the adorable Manhattan Beach.



When Shae first mentioned burgers and sandwiches, I thought the place might be unoriginal. But I'm always up for a good burger!

However, Simmzy's wasn't your typical burger joint at all. We split the grilled ahi salad (yum!) and an ahi tuna sandwich, too.



How does this sound?: olive oil poached ahi, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, house tartar, and grilled buckwheat bread. It really hit the spot!



And the S'mores Pudding? That was perfect, too.



Toasted marshmallows on top and graham cracker crumbs.

Thanks for the good eats, L.A.!

Dining in L.A. - Day 3

Brunch is one of my favorite things, so I was thrilled that we fit one into our weekend. And at a spot I'd heard was worth a visit.



It was plain to see that Toast was popular as soon as we pulled up. But we didn't mind waiting outside and people-watching for awhile. I was taking fashion notes, for sure.

We asked to be seated outdoors, despite the somewhat chilly temps. Outdoors is so much better than in.

The peanut butter banana smoothie jumped off the menu immediately. It was all I hoped it would be. You know my love for bananas? I feel the same way about peanut butter. And probably a few other things, but I digress.



Although it was very tempting to order the stuffed french toast (with banana pudding, caramelized bananas and walnut), I thought too much sweet would give me a stomach ache. Instead, I ordered an open-face croissant with smoked salmon, scallions, scrambled eggs, and hollandaise sauce. And a side of fruit, how healthy of me.



After brunch, we headed to Sunset Plaza for some shopping and popped into Buttercream Bakery for some agua and a cupcake treat.



Oh geez, picking one cupcake is always so hard!



I chose the chocolate chip cheesecake. I highly recommended it!



Later that afternoon, while shopping on Robertson, we stopped for a snack, something to tide us over until dinner. And I hate to be all typical tourist, but we got that snack at The Ivy. But you better believe I was not scoping the patio for any stars, because that's just not cool. Well, maybe I took a casual glance, but honestly, being nonchalant about such things is not easy. There very well may have been someone famous at the restaurant, but I was too busy enjoying my guac and tortillas, as well as some crab cakes and chipotle aioli.





Nothing extraordinary, but it was a cute setting. Certainly nowhere you'd expect to see a star, although I know it's a spot they frequent.

The sun set, and the quiet atmosphere felt even cozier. Maybe I can understand why celebs love it.



Rather than dine at a restaurant, we spent our Saturday night at Bodega Wine Bar in Santa Monica. (And here's a little US mag tidbit: apparently Kristin Cavallari had a date here on The Hills. How did I miss that episode?)



We wanted to share a bottle, but guess who only drinks white? This girl. I've tried a few reds that I like, though, so I was willing to give the Syrah a chance. I'm so glad I did!



We paired our wine with a couple of small plates that I've seriously been craving ever since. When I say grilled challah with brie and turkey and sliced apples, it sounds so much less amazing than it actually was. And the same goes for the hummus with pita bread. I downed both (with Shae's help) in a heartbeat. And you know I topped it off with the warm brownie and vanilla bean ice cream. Of course I did.



Amidst all this wine drinking and eating, we chatted with an aspiring actor (aren't they all?!) from Kentucky who has since become my Facebook friend (ha!). It was such a fun evening!

Dining in L.A. - Day 2

On Day 2, post-mani/pedis on Montana, we drove up to Brentwood to meet Shae's mama for lunch. Having flown down from NorCal for the day, she treated us to B.J.'s before heading back to the airport. Have I ever mentioned that I love Chicago-style pizza. Mmm, thick crust, deep dish pizza - the deeper, the chewier, the cheesier - I love.

I picked a half salad and individual Buffalo chicken pizza. As usual, B.J.'s did not disappoint. I only wish I had saved room for the pizookie (a deep dish cookie).



Is your mouth watering yet? Are you already starting to see how I've gained 6 pounds this month? I think 1 pound came from this pizza alone.

Therefore, we decided to go healthy for dinner. Sort of.

A nice boy on the plane gave me one recommendation. Katsuya in Brentwood for sushi.

I was happy we'd come immediately upon walking through the door. The restaurant was designed by Philippe Starck!



I loved the ambience! The waiter informed us that there were four bars: a drink bar, a hot bar, a grill bar, and . . a sushi bar? I can't remember, but a cool concept.

I made one of my common mistakes by placing a daring drink order. The Burning Mandarin. I am quite particular when it comes to alcoholic beverages, so why a drink with crushed Serrano chili seemed like a good idea is beyond me. Especially when I could take or leave alcohol any day of the week (pretty much). The mandarin vodka, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices, and a splash of cranberry couldn't mask the "burn". I only drank half, $7 worth - yikes! But we put a big dent in that plate of edamame.



Appetizer? Of course. The crab and mozzarella cheese tempura were amazing dipped in soy sauce.



And I opted for the crispy rice with spicy tuna for my main dish. I can see why it's so popular. I want some right now! Sushi really is best in the West!



{Kinda cool that my first sushi experience was with Shae back in Nebraska. I've slowly come around since then, and now I love it . . whereas she won't eat it raw anymore.}

"Sure, let's see your dessert menu. Ok, yes, I'll have that."



I'm such a sucker for banana and chocolate combinations. This crepe was filled with banana ice cream and topped with chocolate syrup and caramelized bananas. And two cute raspberries. Raspberries are my fruit of the year. I'm so sad they're out of season right now and tasted like dirt the last time I bought some.

All that to say, I went home with a very happy tummy on Friday night. This meal now qualifies for Top 5 Most Expensive Meals I've Ever Spent My Own Money On. Worth it.

Dining in L.A. - Day 1

My recent trip to L.A. involved primarily two things: shopping and eating. And lots of both. LOTS.

It was another food weekend I'll not soon forget, and of course I took pictures of it all. If you don't enjoy food, you probably won't enjoy this post.

I have to say, my friend Shae is quite the trooper. I know she could care less about new food experiences, but with our combined restaurant ideas, we hit some amazing places, and if she didn't enjoy it, she did a good job pretending.

The night I arrived, she took me to drop my bags at the sweet apartment she shares with two roommates . .





. . and then straight to fill my tummy with Mexican food at El Cholo Cafe in Santa Monica.



First things first, "I'll have a strawberry margarita, please".



And after much deliberating, I settled on the blue corn enchiladas. After all, they were the founder's favorite, and the restaurant has been around since 1923!

Marinated Chicken wrapped with Blue Corn Tortillas, Tomatillo Sauce, Sour Cream, and Avocado Garnish. Served with Black Beans and Rice. Si, lo quiero! {There is probably something very romantic about that statement when translated, but I do feel very passionately about food.}



And there were most definitely chips and salsa present.



Great welcome to L.A., no?

V-Day

I got a rose for Valentine's Day!

My roommate and I had a yummy dinner at a newly discovered Greek restaurant (I will be back!) and the Greek waiter was handing out roses to all the ladies.

We also saw "Valentine's Day", which was a cute, entertaining flick, although I don't care to see it again. I recommend "Dear John" over this one, especially if you're in the mood to shed a few tears.

Today was probably the wrong day to start my diet, but seriously, I've got pounds to drop. I made a down payment for the Outer Banks trip this May, and after stepping on the scale at the gym this morning and wiggling into my skinny jeans, I realized there is much work to be done!

I hope you all had a wonderful Day of Love today! (And I hope you have President's Day off tomorrow just like me. Woohoo!)

Another Snowstorm Video

When I logged in to Vimeo this morning, I immediately spotted a fantastic video of our snowstorm. Also set to music by Vampire Weekend, just like my amateur video.

Enjoy!

Washington, DC Snow Storm from Es Video! on Vimeo.

Many More Snow Days

Upon my return to D.C., I was greeted with a massive amount of snow . .



And more snow soon followed . .





We had a full house of friends with air mattresses everywhere and plenty of delicious meals.

My roommate even grilled out as the second blizzard began . .



And I guess not everyone slept inside the house. Katie's boyfriend spent hours on an igloo and yes, he slept all night in it.



It's been over a week now since I've been to work, and I can't believe tomorrow is Friday! I'm glad the snow came on a weekday this time. Sledding is much more fun than working.

Sledding Fun from LP on Vimeo.

L.A.

It stopped raining in L.A.! {It rained from Friday morning to Saturday morning.} I didn't exactly hate the rain, but it's much more fun to play in the sun!

I've eaten . . so much. I had to unbutton the top button of my skinnies. Ugh.

I've also shopped . . too much. Yet not enough, I don't think. Might need to do some more of that tomorrow. :)

Tonight will involve a bottle of wine and hopefully a delicious dessert.

The gym will be hit HARD when I return to D.C. {but I'm secretly wishing the snow would be so bad there that I won't make it out on Monday}.

Ugh, Packing!

I am not a packer. My suitcase now sits empty with various outfits laid out on my bed, as I attempt to determine what I will feel like wearing in the next few days. Who am I to predict the future? I need to be prepared for various scenarios, activities, and temperatures. I'm working with a range of 45-65 degrees, so I need to layer. And I'm going to L.A., so I should look effortlessly chic, right? Well, this certainly doesn't feel effortless. I'm going to begin tossing things in soon, and if I don't have the right outfit once I arrive, I suppose I'll just have to go shopping. ;)

Are you like me? Do you throw random things on while packing? To make sure they fit? Because you haven't worn them in awhile? Just for fun?

This is a typical packing outfit for me . . sweats, sports bra, a favorite scarf, and a top that I'm not exactly sure how to wear. Maybe I should just go in this.

It's getting late, and I need to wrap it up. I've hit a wall, and soon I'll fall asleep sitting here.

Do You Believe in Fate?

I'm flying to L.A. tomorrow, and what did I happen to stumble upon today?



Perfect timing! It must be fate. I was meant to shop this sale.

;)

2009 Movie

One month into 2010, and boy am I easily distracted! It’s true, I didn’t make resolutions this year, but I have wanted to get a move-on toward a few personal goals and on one of them – well, I've gotten a bit sidetracked. So I’m just going to pretend February is the start of the New Year and press on.

I had wanted to do a little recap of my 2009, so I ended up playing with iMovie for the first time in many years . . and voila:

2009 from LP on Vimeo.

2009 was quite the eventful year. Job-wise it was fantastic in some ways and mind-numbingly boring in others. Friend-wise, it was rich. Travel-wise, it was pretty jam-packed.

As you can see in my “movie”, I traveled to many places in a short twelve months:

JANUARY: Portland, Seattle, Colorado Springs/Keystone, Scottsdale/Sedona/Phoenix

FEBRUARY: Portland, Seattle

APRIL: Nashville

MAY: New York City, Outer Banks

JULY: Nebraska

AUGUST: Virginia Beach

SEPTEMBER: Atlanta, Charleston, Blacksburg

OCTOBER: Indiana, Nebraska {And I drove through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa, too!}

NOVEMBER: Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Williamsburg

DECEMBER Chapel Hill, Detroit, Nebraska

I hope you enjoy the video and "meeting" some of my wonderful friends. It was fun to make, although it was so difficult to pick pictures and when I watch it now, I keep thinking of photos I should've included. But I think 8 minutes is long enough!

(I just have to give a shout-out to K, because she was a wonderful host in Seattle last January and once I published my video, that was the first thing I noticed!-no pictures of us together. I also left out so many great cruise pictures. With thousands of pictures, I guess I was bound to have trouble selecting just a couple hundred.)

My Week

I think I haven’t been posting because I figure you’d only want pictures. I admit that I prefer pictures to plain old writing on blogs. :)

But I don’t have any pictures for you today. I’m actually posting from work (gasp). If I could post from work (and not feel guilty about it) on a regular basis, I would definitely attend to the blog more.

Despite a lack of pictures, I want to write about my week – just to say things like . .

I’m so happy Skype has come into my life, because seeing my niece and nephew, not just hearing them on the phone, was a highlight of my week. My nephew even practiced his reading for me! The word “tax” never sounded so good.

Last night, Grandma watched a bit of the State speech with me over Skype, and it was good to hear her commentary. She lets you know what’s on her mind! I was able to show her my new duvet and lay out my vision for the rest of my room. She offered to use her interior designer skills to help this sham-less girl save money. Why do the shams cost nearly as much as the duvet? – each? I don’t know, but hopefully Grandma can find a great fabric and have some made. I know it won’t cost me as much.

Although I did spend some time at the gym this week, I also made up for it by gorging myself with $2 happy hour greasiness, and subsequently heading home to bake cinnamon-sugar pecan crescent rolls. And I didn’t eat just one. . or two. . or three. Blame it on high-stress levels during the speech, I guess. Just kidding. :)

One week from today, I’ll be on a plane to Los Angeles, managing to break somewhat of a New Year’s resolution within the first month of 2010! I’m trying not to travel as much, but instead stay home and enjoy all the things I can do in this city, while saving some money in the process. My L.A. list is too lengthy for a 3-day trip, but at least I know Shae and I won’t run out of things to do!

Around Here

Lately, I've been . .

Celebrating birthdays

Learning how to make coconut shrimp


And my roomie pairs it with an amazing lime chipotle dip. I couldn't stop eating them!


Hitting balls at the driving range, thanks to their heated stalls.


Watching football and eating Bugsy's yummy deep-dish pizza (oh why didn't I take a pic? You would've drooled.)


Driving through adorable Old Town Alexandria


And enjoying my lovely new duvet and rug (although the rug will be going into temporary storage, as I didn't intend it for this room).


I love green, and couldn't pass up the sale on this casual rug.


I think I'll be back very soon!

MIA

Where have I been?

Here. Just doing life.

Celebrating friends' birthdays. {Four celebrations in the past week!}

Feeling sad about the situation in Haiti.

Thinking about next steps.

Not taking as many pictures.

Baking a few things. I did snap a picture of the peanut butter cupcakes I made. They were topped with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. Yes, only for true peanut butter lovers like myself. {It's one of my food groups, seriously.}



Trying to lose a few pounds I gained over Christmas. Yikes! I guess the cupcakes don't help with that.

I've been doing lots of things that feel more important than blogging right now. I do miss it, and I'm sure I'll be back very soon. I just want to focus on prioritizing this month.

Thrilled About Curtain Rods

Hello there!

There is so much I'd like to share and yet there are so many other things taking priority right now. With fresh excitement for reading God's Word, a resume in need of some serious tweaking, a few hundred calories that need to burned and more, I will have to put off a 2009 recap for a few more days.

But there is one thing I have to share now, because I'm sure you all love a good sale as much as I do.

My bedroom is getting closer to being decorated {in my head, at least}, and tonight I just purchased a fabulous set of rods, finials, and brackets for whatever tunneled curtains I end up purchasing.

I saved over $450 at Williams-Sonoma Home. One might immediately think that in order to save that much, you have to spend a lot, but that is why I'm so excited. It's a MAJOR sale.

So if you're in the market for curtain rods {very exciting, I know}, hurry up and buy some for these amazing prices.

If this doesn't motivate me to finally choose some curtains, nothing will.

Hello There

I am alive.

I am back in Virginia, as of yesterday - after another delay, a missed connection, and a sleepover in Atlanta {in an amazingly comfortable hotel bed, I might add}.

And I am so glad it's already Thursday, because I'm wiped! Hence the short post and lack of pictures.

Please forgive me. I'll be back soon!

My Saturday

I'm still in Nebraska, and I've extended my stay until Monday.

Thank you Delta for doing that for free.

I am beginning to miss Virginia now, especially since the temps here have not risen above 10 degrees this past week.

I just ate the last chocolate scotcheroo, and the family has been playing games all day.

I'm also still in my pajamas, and it's after 4pm.