I'm happy to say today on Mom It Forward you'll find the recipe for these decadent Earl Grey Chocolate Truffles. Go check it out now.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
So a while back I made these Chocolate Peanut Butter bars for a book swapping party here. Since then I've made them a few more times and am now getting to a place where I'm perfecting the recipe. Plus I had a good excuse this week as I was commissioned to create these for a photo style shoot my friend Deb was doing with VivaVantage paper towels.
Seriously Chocolate AND Peanut Butter, I think this probably goes down as my favorite flavor combo. It's like making sure you have two things that match, makes me think of this quote from the movie Friday when Chris Tucker is looking for something to eat, "No sugar? Y'all ain't never got two things that match. Either y'all got Kool-aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger." And now we can add "peanut butter no chocolate." Accept we have BOTH. Here's the recipe with a few of my notes on what I have found that works best and a note on what I 'll do the next time around. And don't be afraid that it's 3 layers, it's really not that hard to make.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients Bottom Layer
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (I use Valhrona)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup coarsely crush pretzels (I find the thinner salted versions work better than the thick ones - I only had the thick ones for the shoot above, but that's my lesson learned)
Directions
If you have a double boiler use that to melt the butter, sugar and cocoa. I use a metal bowl over a lightly simmering pot of water (water should not touch the bowl).
While bowl is still over the water, add the beaten egg a little at a time until the mixtures thickens.
Remove bowl from the heat and add the graham cracker crumbs and crushed pretzels. After they are well mixed press the crumbs into a flattened layer an 8x8 cake pan. I use square non-stick baking pan and line it with two pieces of parchment paper crisscross, this makes it easier to get the bars out of the pan for cutting the squares. Set this aside while you start the middle layer.
Middle Layer Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled.
2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifting this first is good to get any clumps out.
1 cup smooth, natural peanut butter (no salt added) I like Laura Scudder's.
1/2 tsp salt (only use if you bought unsalted PB, otherwise adjust to taste.
1 tsp vanilla
Directions
Add peanut butter and melted butter together in a small bowl, mix in sugar, salt and vanilla until it forms a thick paste. Now it's time to add the peanut butter over the bottom layer of chocolate pretzel goodness. I have thought about doubling the peanut butter layer as I'd like a bit more thickness, so I might try that next time. Now put all of this in the refrigerator while you make the final Top layer. This way the peanut butter has time to get a little stiff, otherwise it's hard to spread the final chocolate layer on top.
Top Layer Ingredients
5 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips (I love bittersweet or just straight dark chocolate bars for this layer, but use any fine chocolate you like)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Pink Himalayan salt (or any fine sea salt)
Directions
Again if you have a double boiler use that to melt the chocolate and butter. I use a metal bowl over a lightly simmering pot of water (water should not touch the bowl). Stir until smooth.
Now take the pan from the refrigerator and pour the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter layer and spread it evenly. Then return to the refrigerator about 10 minutes. (top should be a little soft still). Sprinkle light with the Himalayan salt and return the the fridge and let it completely cool until it becomes hard.
Take out the parchment papered bars and cut into squares or rectangles. I've done both and wrapped them in paper with twine for a special presentation, but it's faster to just cut in and eat it, sooooo good. I have a batch in my fridge now that I keep gnawing at, enjoy this perfect match of flavors.
Tuscan Vegetable Stew
So I'm giving props to SB, because he's a great cook and made this amazing Tuscan Vegetable Stew last week. He may one day make a written appearance on this here space, though I doubt he'll commit to a fully in-focus image of himself, but one can always hope. For now we'll show his cooking creations.
Last week, while we actually HAD weather, drizzling rain and colder Cali temperatures he decided to make a stew. This recipe was from a March 2013 issue of Bon Appetit it's called Italian Vegetable Stew. The only change we made is adding in Spicy Italian Chicken Sausages from Whole Foods (SB doesn't eat pork or beef, so this is a great alternative). We wanted a little more flavor and meat in our stew, however on it's own this stew would still be really flavorful. We removed the casing from the sausage, roughly chop them into bit size pieces, then brown them in the pot your using for the stew (one day that pot will be a Le Creuset or Staub, for now we use All-Clad). Remove the sausage and start in on the rest of veggies as specified in the recipe in the link above. Once all the ingredients are stewing we added the sausage back in and let them cook a little more and fully flavor the stew.
The Bon Appetit recipe is from Brandon Jew of Bar Agricole. Ironically I tried to go to Bar Agricole when I was last in San Francisco, but got there too early and it wasn't open. But if this recipe is any indication of his food there, I'm am going to make sure I stop in next time we visit San Francisco. Enjoy this stew on a cold afternoon.
Mindless Monday
Are you more productive when your busy? I am. On this Mindless Monday, I realized while my mom was visiting how busy I really am. She said to me "when I was younger I could do all the things you are doing." I was thinking am I young enough to be doing all the things I'm doing? Let's just say, I'm enjoying the chaos and loving the creativity. Above is a look back of my adventures via Instagram from January, I'm a bit late posting it, but like seeing each month what I've done, it makes me appreciate the 30 or so days that wiz by.
This month and next are really going to push me creatively Watch out for a contributing post to another site, maybe a story of making chocolate truffles for a photo shoot my friend is styling and a sponsored post or two by some brands I met up with last month. I'm excited about them all for different reasons. It's the next step in my blog journey and will help me maintain this little creative space I enjoy so much. Happy Monday my friends!
Photography Food Styling
Do you take notes? I do, just about every week. I find that my attention span is smaller and smaller, ant-like. My note books are a combination of images and text. I create word pictures from what I'm hearing and I draw the speaker, all this helps me concentrate on what is being said. I saw a woman do this next to me at Alt, so I know I'm not alone. Sometimes when it's a really good story, I'm fully engaged watching, listening, I want to take the journey with the speaker, and then I put pen to paper and start to draw the story. These days, with my camera in hand on my phone, I find taking pictures works the best. During our Food Styling photography class at Alt, it was all about the pictures.
What did we learn? We could have made this an all day class. But it was only a few hours at the most. Our two photographers, Joy Uyeno and Lindsey Johnson suggested only using things that make the food look good, but still edible (i.e. spritz of water on salads, no unnatural glazes.) We know we all want to eat this food after we shoot it.
Styling. Some great suggestions on props, antique stores are a good start or do you buy one napkin, one bowl, one fork at places like West Elm? I do. Texture matters, cloth napkins are best. How about showing the ingredients you used in the food. Make the picture live, like you just ate it, or are about to. Don't be afraid to take a bite and then take a picture, it can be a little messy, this makes it real.
Have you found that treasure trove of antique mismatched silverware, how about an old wood patina cutting board, these are great pieces to include. It takes a while and some room to build a collection of props. I once had a photography assignment that we had to use 3 objects, metal, paper, texture and fabric. I loved this project, because it made push my creativity and was a nice departure after the Fashion shoot we did. I still own those props from umpteen years ago.
Lighting. Natural all the way, I tend to take my pictures in the morning light and right before sunset, I do get some great light in my kitchen and living room at these times. My bedroom get's some great light mid-day, so once I get a few more surfaces (slate, more wood options) that I can move into there, that might be my mid-day spot. Great tip came from someone that suggested natural daylight bulbs, you can buy and replace in all your lamps. If you happen to only be able to shoot your food when the sun has set, or your space isn't well lit, this is the way to go. If you have the money and space a strobe flash would be great. You'll probably at the very least want to purchase black and white foam core as bounces for light and flash. They really do make a big difference.
Here's Joy getting this amazing Raspberry tart set up for a shot. Love how she should us a simple way to get the napkin in there. Grab it from the middle and just let it naturally fall and lay it down, no fancy folding. Seriously how easy is that, and looks great. Loved this class and all the fun little tidbits. Seriously this needs to be a whole day session, which would include eating everything too. I think this may be another investment that I make this year for myself. Taking another food photography class, investing in the right equipment and of course, all year long I'm on the look-out for props.
And lastly, above is my assignment shot from the 3 objects, paper, fabric, metal and texture. Not bad for my first time, I had to search through my archives to find this image. I think this is the image that made me want to do more of this type of photography. It's not a bad thing to look back at what we've done and critique ourselves. Maybe we realize that wasn't that bad, or maybe we see "man why would I have ever taken that image and posted it."I think I have more of the later these days. Learning a little patience when it comes to content creations is a good thing.
PieVenture
Are you ready for a PieVenture thru a few local L.A. spots? We've been dreaming about doing this for nearly 8 months. Finally while I was off during the winter break we made this little PieVenture happen.
First off, I am super excited to introduce Sara Darouian to my readers. She's the illustrator behind the beautiful map I commissioned for this post. She's a talented graphic designer, who just got what I was looking for after only a few email exchanges. Please contact her for any illustration needs. Here's her site and her contact info: me@saradarouian.com
So SB (Surfer Boy = Husband) and I went on this PieVenture. Let's just say I love the way he says Pie (P-eye). And he knows one of my favorite pie places to go to is Polly's Pie. They use to have one in Santa Monica, but it's gone and replaced by a Panera, so not the same. Twice a year we end up near a Polly's, so I indulge in my favorite burger, the Polly Burger and a piece of cherry pie. This place has special meaning. When I was a kid every Tuesday night my mom and a grandfatherly man named Frank Finnegan (Can you tell he was Irish), would go and eat pie. I loved those moments. He has since passed away and mom lives in New Mexico. So knowing how much I love Pie, SB and I saw the opportunity to go on a local L.A. PieVenture.
First stop was PieHole. I know you just LOVE that name. This place is located in the art district of downtown L.A. and with no traffic is really only 20 minutes away, with, give it an hour.
I asked a few people in line what there favorite pie was, I heard Mexican Chocolate and the Chocolate Crostata, because that one was just all pure chocolate. Second favorite was the Earl Grey Pie, I knew I probably wouldn't get this at the other two places so I choose that one. SB chose the Apple Pie. He said it was too thin of crust and he wasn't a fan of the sprinkles of sugar on top. I kind of liked it myself.
Close up of the flavorful Earl Grey Pie. This was perfect, I'm always worried that the Earl Grey tea leaves will take over the rest of the pie, like the Lavendar Panna cota I had once and tasted like soap. But this pie did not disappoint. And can you see the thin layer of chocolate at the bottom. Bonus! Can you just see the fluffiness in this pie.
Cool minimal decor and I loved their menu. Kraft paper rolled down on the wall. Easy to update and just simple. I would love this my kitchen for menu plans or shopping lists. Average price for piece of pie (PPP) = $6, heftiest of the three pie places we visit.
Next up was House of Pie. Not to far away from DTLA in the city of Los Feliz. This is the place that started the idea of the PieVenture, when we were on our way to Griffith Park here, we saw this and said, "we need to go there and have some P-eye!" This is the day that SB named it our "PieVenture" he owns the copyright to that term!
SB had the Bavarian Chocolate Pie. This was a big piece of pie, tall and lightly whipped with drizzles of chocolate. We about got into a PieFIght at this place. I wanted to take the picture of SB's fork going into the pie, but his hand kept getting in the way, so I had to art direct. He wanted to eat the pie, it was about to be a Pie Smack down. The waiter told me "let the man eat his Pie." I told him, hey this is part of the PieVenture, taking the pictures along the way. This got everyone talking about what we were calling this escapade, they all agree and PieVenture was the right call and wanted to know where we were going next. Can we say we might have to have PieVenture meet-up next?
You must know that Cherry Pie is my favorite pie EVER. My friend Carolyn makes a mean, [which = GOOD] Cherry Pie and Polly's Pie has a really good one. But this is now top of my list of REALLY good Cherry Pie. Do you see the sugar crystals on top of the basket weave crust, yum. They warmed this up without me even asking. I declined the a la mode part. And glad I did, it was a MOUNTAIN of ice cream that they were serving. So if you like your pie that way, which I don't, this is the place for a generous serving of a la mode! PPP = $4.50. Cheapest of the three.
Last stop for the day was Republic of Pie. This is in North Hollywood. This wasn't to far from House of Pie and a natural stop in our circular adventure, from the Westside. This place is really cute inside, and bigger than you think. There are about three sections to the area. This is also the only of the three that has live music and you can apply to play live on Music Mondays. Incidentally we ran into some friends who live in the area and love coming here for breakfast. Our trip was only a sweet pie adventure, no food or savory pies, which only means we'll need to go back to try those ones.
So Republic of Pie is known for their Chocolate Bread Banana Pie. But this pie was HUGE, and we were on our third stop, I could barely fathom it. So I decided to get the smaller Chocolate Cream Pie, this was a rich thick dark chocolate pie, very dense and very good. I could barely eat much, so I took this home and enjoyed it the next day while watching Downton Abbey.
SB chose the Peach Pie, although I tried to talk him out of it since January is hardly a time for in season peaches. However, he liked the glutinous texture, I didn't like this at all, but I'm a snob for making these type of pies when the fruit is in the peak of their season. Presentation was great for both these pies with twirls of caramel and chocolate. PPP = $5.25.
Piehole. 714 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013
House of Pie. 869 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Republic of Pie. 11118 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601
We ate a lot of pie, but I have my limits, so you see above the variety of to go boxes of pie. Next time your in L.A., or if you live here, why not go on a little PieVenture, take some friends, order some sweet and savory pies, enjoy the people watching and conversation, and be ready to take a few home while your at it. Enjoy!
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La Brea Bakery
You know when you stumble upon something great and you didn't even plan it. Well today was one of those days. I started off on the trek to Muji in Hollywood, which isn't really that far away, but in L.A. traffic it can be an eternity.
So on my way I saw that the La Brea Bakery was open. I had read that Nancy SIlverton was opening up this bakery 25 years after she started this business. She owns two other restaurants, Pizzaria Mozza and Osteria Mozza. Both on my list of favorite places to eat in Los Angeles. Not to mention all the awards she has one, just go look her up on Wikipedia, she's amazing. So I made a mental note to stop by on my way back. And glad I am.
Little did I know that today was the GRAND OPENING. Seriously my timing was perfect, well almost. I saw people coming out with bags of baguettes, jumping for joy and super full of from all the goodies they had partaken. Funny thing is I only really wanted a cup of coffee, that wasn't Starbucks, and a french baguette.
What I got was passed around delicious pastries and this was before I even ordered my coffee and was urged on by the staff to try all the other goodies. Can you just say SCORE!!! Only thing I missed out on was the free baguettes, they had all been given to the press before I got there, so close, yet so far. How can I get my a blogger press pass? Nancy, George anyone? Oh yeah George, met him, he has worked for Nancy for 20 years. They are very good friends. I love meeting people like this. He told me of the story when he first started working for her, it was a "bring your kids to work" day. So he put them on a stool and showed them how to work the cash register. Oh to be a kid in a bakery with a world class bread and pastry chef for a mother....what a dream.
What I got was the lead image above, a Chocolate Eclair, so amazing. I can't wait to go back. That was followed up by a Sunshine Twist (with light glaze and orange zest), a Fleur Macaroon, that was an unbelievable surprise of flavor, a Brownie that I think melted in my mouth, a Pine Nut Macaroon, and an Almost Oreo cookie.
Those were just the sweets. I did get my Cappuccino, and also sampled the apple fennel salad and red quinoa salad along with a slice of artisan pizza. I watched these guys above make pizza, they were so patient with the dough that just looked so soft and perfectly made. I got to talking to them and they are only 2 weeks into the job, making some amazing creations. Working with guys who have been making pizza's since they were 16. I can't wait to come back.
Here's the best part it was all free. Since it was the grand opening they were giving everyone free samples of there food. SCORE!!!
Nancy was there, but I just missed her, though I did take a picture of her fleeing the scene.
And one more bonus, just as I was driving away I caught the entire staff and owner cutting the ribbon. I laughed all the way home. If I had planned this out, it would have never happened so well. I told all my friends about it tonight, I've already got converts and an excursion planned to La Brea Bakery this weekend.
Tech Tuesday - Snapchat
What do you know about Snapchat? I've barely paid attention to this app, but have heard that loads of teenagers love it, so I've kind of steered clear. After having my share of selfies from ALT it's hardly something I see myself using. So what is this app? You take a picture, draw whatever you want on it, send it to a friend and voila, they have 10 seconds to view "before this picture will self destruct."
So why the appeal of Snapchat? I like the Fly or Die segment on Techcrunch about this app. As they said, teenagers are separating their Virtual and Real selves. These kids have grown up on Facebook, their Virtual self. Images here are permanent, so the pressure to look cool and really care about every image is high, same goes with liking things that you really don't necessarily like, but you do it to look cool. I know you have teenagers following you on Instagram and they will like ANYTHING you post.
As for Snapchat, this is the Real self. With the less pressure to create a lasting image, Snapchat images apparently disappear in 10 seconds. You can snap your everyday life, with seemingly no consequences. Call me a skeptic, but do we remember Monica Lewinsky and her emails, nothing really EVER disappears online. Plus with all the recent problems, even today with snapchat going down for 30 minutes, and images sent out, but never received by user, then WHERE ARE THEY GOING? Also mentioned over and over again is there truly concern that sexting will be an issue on Snapchat with this 10 second "destructable" image?
I think there is a caution for these kids on social media and their selfies especially when you start hash-tagging the death out of them with things like #amIsexy #doyouwanttodateme, etc. Look at the pool of images your putting yourself in, do you really want to be associated with those people, do you really want that attention? I think it's best to look at the root of the issue with these kids and for parents to be balanced about it. Give them freedom in small doses, slowing release the spring, but be informed and aware of the dangers of social media.
Now enough of that soapbox. What's the deal with the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler joke at the Golden Globes this month?
“A lot of nominated shows this year are actually on Netflix. House of Cards. Orange Is the New Black. Enjoy it while it lasts, Netflix. Because you’re not going to be feeling so smug in a couple of years when Snapchat is up here accepting Best Drama.”
Is it that Hollywood and Silicon Valley are converging? Is it that Netflix won it's first ever Golden Globe? For Netflix they started off delivering content already made, now their in the business of creating original content and getting awarded for it on the way. This is why Netflix will last as opposed to the bygone era of Blockbuster.
Will Snapchat start creating original Emmy/Oscar winning content? Will the movie only be 10 seconds long? Let's watch carefully and see how this convergence works itself out.
So are you Snapchatting, is that even the right word? Or maybe your kids are, what do you think? Would love to hear a dialog about this.
Mindless Monday - Selfies
Today I was motivated, worked thru my lunch, I think I just ate it at 7PM, emailed a few people I met at ALT Summit conference, booked our flights to Belize and pepped my mom up after her trying day as a care-taker. I know you saw Belize in there, more to come on that later as I reflect on that fact that we'll be going in less than 2 months.
People have started to post there reflections on ALT and I'm already loving them. My favorite so far is from This Heart of Mine. Amy was so honest and fully articulated the joy you get with being surround by other creative people, there is nothing like it. And everyone is SOOOO supportive. For this type of business, that is so crucial. We may take that for granted, but we get reminded when we attend this conference.
One of the big things about this conference is all the photo booths. Let's start with, I hardly ever take a selfie [image of myself, usually by myself, with my iPhone or camera]. Don't get me wrong I occasionally take them on purpose to check my hair or make-up, or maybe because I accidentally turned the camera myself, but I rarely post them. The photo booths at ALT make you get out of that self-conscious vibe real quick. If you want to participate in a brands giveaway or just document the fun your having with friends this is what you do.
For the most part it's a camera, you take 3 to 4 poses, it's best to coordinate with your friends on poses. But the one that seriously made Deborah and I laugh the hardest was the shark tank. First off we didn't realize it was a rapid fire of images, to make a video, so for our first intro it was hilarious, her being Tyra Banks "fierce" and me channeling my mother and being silly with the scuba goggles. The second time, I was a bit more obsessed with the wind machine and I have no idea what Deborah is doing with her arms. All I really know is I haven't laughed this hard in a while. Deborah and I were hilarious at 11PM in our hotel room watching these ridiculous videos, but at least we can make fun of ourselves. Maybe comedy is in our future if blogging doesn't work out. Here's to the selfies...ENJOY at our expense.
Creative Business Cards - ALT Summit SLC
This was my second year going to ALT Summit's flagship event in Salt Lake City. This time felt so much different. For one I had a bit more confidence and a better idea of what I wanted to accomplish. Connect with the brands that made sense for me and more importantly connect with the bloggers that I could collaborate with. Last time I made friends but made no connections with other bloggers to collaborate. That is of course besides my Local L.A. friends Deborah, Felicia and Brittany, who I have partnered up with this past year on a few projects and collaborations. This year I was able to join a few Facebook groups (I finally bit that FB bullet and joined, oy vey) with some talented ladies, plus we started an LA blogger group, so we can connect up with us locals. Overall it was a good experience.
Having designed my own business card with my logo [created by an incredible art director/director Jeff Compton] I was purposeful in who I gave them too. I printed less and gave out all that I took, which was about 50. Most cards I received from others it was because I had meaningful conversations with them. Of course there was the awesome idea from one of the mini-parties that had the Let's Shine Together board above where you could attach your cards on the board in the category that fits you plus take a few for yourself. I grabbed some from people I'd like to follow up with later, especially in the food category. Would love to see more food and travel at these events as opposed to the prevalence of DIY.
As usual there were a combination of handmade cards, with amazing paintings and splashes of colors. Then there were conceptual cards package in vellum, sealed with washi tape, filled with candy, printed with beautiful images or the lovely letter presses. One of them had the brilliant idea of a big ring with a mini hole punch to put all your cards on. I ran into Carly, who created this concept, on the day I was leaving to fly home, I practically hugged her, what an awesome idea to keep them all together. She goes to many more conferences than I do, so this is her amazing way of keeping them all straight.
I have to say meeting Garance Dore (below), was pretty up there on my list of cool things. I've followed this illustrator/fashion blogger for a while and loved hearing her talk. I may not be a fashion blogger, but I love fashion and illustration. I think my Style board on Pinterest has as many or more followers than my Tasty Goodies (food) board. Garance was so approachable and adorable to hear speak with her delightful French accent. I loved her simple illustrated presentation and her honesty about the negative comments and not letting them get to you, much easier said then done. She really is a pioneer in fashion blogging and so unaffected and super cool. Hugable even. Even her hair is cool, disregard my poof, it was early and I had no product to tame the shrew.
Salton Sea
This year I have a goal of doing one photo shoot each month. I prefer to be behind the camera, but we'll see if a reverse of that ever happens. Let's just say taking my About Me portraits nearly sent me over the edge. I do however, have lists of places that I'd like to explore, ideally we get in the car or plane and just make it happen. With my busy schedule this a good challenge, and hopefully doable. Also a good chance for SB and I to have mini-cheap little adventures. With all the construction going on in our city for the Expo line we desperately need to "Get out of Dodge." Hmm there's an idea, maybe a trip to Dodge City.
So January 1st, I talked him to driving me to the Salton Sea. This is a place I've REALLY REALLY, really wanted to go to. I few photographers I follow over the years have been taking some amazing images. So I asked where to go and when. Right now the temperatures are perfect for this part of the desert. It's near Coachella and I knew no one would be out there on New Years day.
If you want to read about this place, check it out here. It's a bizarre little area. I spent most of my day on the western shore at the Salton Sea Beach. This place was super cool, but admittedly after 2 hours you get kind of depressed with all the abandonment of a former sea resort.
Later in March I'll try to explore the Eastern part of the sea, I've heard there are a few abandoned pools, we'll see if can get SB to skate the bowl. Enjoy this first round of images. Yes I know it's image overload, but I had to share. I'll be loading the big lot of them to my flickr account here.
Alt Summit SLC
So I will be off and on this week as I'm attending the Alt Summit in Salt Lake City for a fantastic blogging conference. I hope this year not to be so much a deer in the headlights, but more of a participant.
After last years conference I was motivated, I got my site and branding together, created a beginners editorial calendar and tried to stick to a more regular schedule of posting. I saw what worked and what didn't. I attended a few follow-up classes with Alt that really helped. My fellow bloggers and myself were able to host a really fun event which was spurred on by a class with Natalie Bowman from Bing on "How to Work with Brands." She's repeating this class so if you haven't gone you should, so practical.
My biggest accomplishment was getting my site together, if it's not functional it drives me nutz. Above is what it looked like before, You can see how much cleaner it looks now. While I moonlight as a blogger I also work as a project manager for a tech company on marketing campaign sites, so I have a lot to say about functional nice design.
One thing for sure is my mom said it's easier for her to find things on my new site, and we all know we blog for our mothers, don't we. Even today I told her, "I have a recipe for you, go to my site you'll see the link."
I hope to share some nuggets with you after a week of filling my mind with creative ideas and meeting some amazing people and brands. Enjoy!
DTLA Street Art
Driving around DTLA in the Arts District the other day I had to stop and jump out of the car. I really love street art. I've painted before, but only on small size canvases. I think the idea of having a HUGE canvas and freedom to scrawl, create, imagine anything you want is pretty awesome. Here's one of the murals I saw and just loved.
Mindless Monday
So the other day I had a moment. I'll call it a flash of insanity, cause that's how I felt. I couldn't get centered, my mind and emotions were all over the place. When I get like that, I just need to get out of the house, do something anything, exercise, shop (SB would prefer I steer clear of this option), go to a museum, a cafe....anything.
Ironically, I also get super productive when I get these moments of insanity. This particular day, I got a package packed....thank you UPS lady for being so kind to me, seriously she made it all better. Got the package sent out, I restocked my stamps, and mailed a bunch of letters out. Made a stop at the homeopathic store for something to center me, had another great conversation with a super nice lady, just talking helped.
Then I made my way to Thyme Cafe. Love this place, it's about the only nice place on this particular street in Santa Monica. The baked goods here are just the best. I've tried a quite a few things. I really love the pecan, apricot, coconut scone. But the gruyere bacon croissant is so good. It sounds rich, but it's actually really light and very flavorful. A few days later I went back and ended up talking to the GM. She was fantastic, told me about all the great things they make in-house, which is 95% of all the baked goods. Only the breads are made outside, and that's only because they don't have the room for the equipment to make them in-house. She invited me and my friends to a wine tasting they are doing with one of the wine distributors. I so wish that I could make it, but I have two other events that day.
All this to say, sometimes it just takes people being kind and conversational. I will remember this and give back, even if I have not idea how it affects the person. I always say "just be nice."
Mindless Monday
Well its 2014 and already 6 days into January. Seriously can time slow down just a tad. We're at the top of the calendar and moving our way through some adventures.
First on my list is getting healthy...eating well. This is hard, because I really don't love veggies, I like them alright, but not love. However, I've learned if you mix some veggies in a smoothie with almond milk, peanut butter and some fruit, I'm all in. To all you Bloody Mary peeps, drinking your veggies with alcohol doesn't count. This shake recipe picture above is from Felicia at A Simply Raw Life. I guarantee you will like this, try it here. Plus Felicia is just adorable, a great mom, that makes some amazing raw, vegan treats, so that's another bonus to trying this smoothie.
Next up is a little story told to me last night while I patiently waited for Downton Abbey to come on. 9PM PST is too late to start this program on Sunday. I was all ready for bed, barely made it till 11PM. We'll have to dish about that later.
Here's the story, it relates, seriously to getting healthy. So last night my friend tells me her Lulu Lemon story. I know where this is going from the start. Yes she needs good workout pants, she goes to Nordstrom's, "cause if all else fails Nordstroms will have what you want" her motto.
She's contemplating an $80 purchase of workout pants when her 14 year old tells her, "if your going to spend that much on workout pants, then you should get Lulu Lemon's". My very fashionable friend has no idea what Lulu Lemon's are. Of course she doesn't, even though she was the first friend I had who owned a Louis Vuitton bag but didn't know that Marc Jacob's, whose purses she loved, was the designer of LV at the time.
Her daughter proceeds to tell her all about Lulu Lemon's pants. The ply, the stretch etc.. She's looking at her and wondering how in the world she knows this much about this brand. Hello to us 40, aaaahem, year olds that have teenagers, this is the Chemin de Fer, Dolphin shorts, Van's or OP brands of our generation (can you tell by the brands, the era and the geographic area of where I grew up - right on the edge of Dogtown).
Apparently Lulu Lemon's is what everyone wear's in school right now. So not only does she buy herself a pair of workout pants, but she convinces her daughter, who squirrels her well-earned money away, that she should use what she has left over for her first Lulu Lemon purchase. She does and proceeds to wear those yoga pants multiple times the next week. This moves her to ask for another pair. Well, she'll have to save for those.
What does she do, you ask? She's goes to the attic and pulls out all her American Doll stuff and decides to sell it. She calls her mom's friends for Ebay advice on how to auction these off. Another mom ends up buying the whole lot for her granddaughter and BAMMM, my girl has herself another pair of Lulu Lemon's.
I am laughing out loud at this story. But I'll tell you what, I am going to walk my pudgy self down a few blocks and seriously look at those Lulu Lemon pants to further motivate my road to better health. Enjoy!
2013 Retrospect
This year I feel like I've grown so much, I think the ALT Summit really kicked it off in January. What an inspiring 3 days with such supportive bloggers. I was inspired and it really pushed me this year. I'm excited to go back next month and see where it takes me in 2014. While I am certainly looking forward below are a few of my favorite projects this past year.
Meeting Kei & Molly. Their story and work was really inspiring to pursue what you love.
Hosting our Fall Tasting. This idea was spurred on by a class I took with Bing and AltSummit. It was an online class and well it gave me this idea, which Felicia and Deborah were on board with. I think we'll be doing this again soon.
Part of this was hosting a Coffee Tasting, this was super fun and great working with Stumptown Coffee, I can't wait till the next one.
I finally got to write about some of my Italian adventures from forever ago here.
I loved my weekly visits to the Santa Monica Farmers Market and was inspired to make new things just by what was in season.
Oh and this Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Cake....wow I love this cake.
I loved this trip this year to California Lake Country. I am so in for doing this again. Was a beautiful place to visit.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies got a lot of mileage on Pinterest this year.
I had a great time learning to make Candied Orange Peels, I can't wait to try this with a few other citrus fruits.
Seriously I am almost finished with the Cuba tale. This is one of my favorite posts, Cuba a Bittersweet Tale, on this trip, because it was all about my Dad. I still cry when I read it, so does he.
Those are a few of my favorite things from 2013. I'm looking forward to new adventures next year and hope to check off a few things from my goals list. Enjoy!
From Crickets to Goals
Chirp, chirp, chirp....where have I been, I know you've missed me. It's been crickets on this space. Sorry folks, life has been busy and I've been enjoying it. Recharging, brainstorming, trying to get my act together. Is that even possible?
I've been baking lots, walking a little and blogging none. I've been reading all your wonderful blogs and the special things you all have been doing all year long. So inspiring! I've been catching up on movies and books and visiting with friends. It's a good time of year to look back and determine what you want to do moving forward. Reanalyze your goals, make adjustments, set milestones, it's all about the baby steps you take to get you where you want to be.
Things I want to accomplish this next year, and not necessarily in this order.
- Lose the weight I've packed on....SB and I call this PUDGE....the pudge must leave.
- Finish sprucing up this blog space, new logo, new Image (well check that, it's on the About Me page) Pudgy me....redo will be when the Pudge has gone.
- Be completely Debt Free.....I see a moving sale, a gofundme.com a paypal fundraiser for your pal on the near horizon....well maybe not, but we will be debt free....SOON.
- Hire an illustrator for a few personal and business projects.
- Pitch one Big Idea to a publication...I'll go big and then pair down. All they can say is NO!
- Meet my yearly volunteer hourly commitment. I CAN DO IT!!!
- Travel more outside my city limits...oh the Wanderlust is deep within my soul. SB and I gotta get outta town more often.
- Live as simply as possible...no need for STUFF....seriously the STUFF is driving me crazy.
- Host another Tasting Event with my Pals @asimplyrawlife and @mylifeatplaytime. Last one was so fun.
- READ daily....seriously the Boob Tube, Devils Eyeball, whatever you want to call the TV could be OFF more.
Whatever your goals are, it's good to have them in front of you, it's a reminder to keep focused on the big picture and keep present.
Los Angeles Weather
Let me start off by saying I'm not complaining, I'm just saying the weather here is just weird. Last week it rained, then it got cold, like high 30's low 40's, that's cold for us. and then two days later it's 80 degrees. Now there is a storm coming where it's going back down to the 50's. Seriously how am I suppose to dress? I keep moving my summer clothes back to the front of my closet, it's either that or sweat to death in my sweaters.
So what do we do on these HOT days. We go to the beach, the sand ironically is cold, but the air is warm, water cold. So SB surfed, I watched, then we went back and did a walk/run to the Pier. Today I saw the sun rise and set at the beach. Not a bad way to spend the day, all the while putting a full day of work. Life can be enjoyable sometimes.
Shag Geometric Rug
So what's the deal with this rug? I am an avid pinner on Pinterest and follow quite a few design and lifestyle blogs and let's just say this rug has been showing up EVERYWHERE.
Here's a link to West Elms version of the Souk Wool Rug
Another one from Rugs USA that you can see looks beautiful in Bri Emery's living room from Design Love Fest. I admittedly LOVE this room and that tufted turquoise couch....oh I covet.
Here's another incarnation on the Bohemian Tree House blog.
Here it is again featured on a Design Sponge post about a one bedroom apartment and it's decor.
Here's another one from Lilly Bunn's blog
One last one from sf girl by bay's blog
Mind you it looks soft and cozy and brightens up a house with simple design. But its WHITE. I would just walk in the room and that rug would get dirty. For all the hipsters out there, who love to be original....we aren't anymore, I think we can come up with a few more rug choices. Oh did I just classify myself as hipster, I so am not. But I do openly love their design esthetic. Is this just good marketing or what's the deal? What do you think?
Santa Monica Farmers Market
Every Wednesday and Saturday, Santa Monica hosts a farmers market on Arizona Avenue. For the past two days I've been hold up inside, buried in my computer on a project for work. So today it was a MUST that I get out of the house. I got SB to go with me for a walk down to the market. I love doing this on a weekly basis, if I can make it happen. I use to work next door to this and went every Wednesday, sometimes for breakfast and dinner. It's a feast for the eyes, spurs on the creativity for what to make or photograph. Plus you get to sample all the produce.
Usually I walk down here myself and listen to a podcast, like KCRW Good Food, which always gives a break down of whats in season and a little extra from Jonathan Gold, LA Times food writer. Recipes are usually included. Here are a few gems from my iPhone on what we saw and bought today. Enjoy!