2012: How Pinterest Made Me Cooler

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Dinner, DIY, Fashion, Food, Fun, Handbags, Inspiration, Treats by C.

March 5, 2012. The day I joined Pinterest, the latest social media craze that spawned yet another online addiction that I probably didn’t really need, but am more than happy with having. Once I figured out what the heck it was (and how to pronounce it), 2012 was never the same.

Pinterest appeals to my deeply visual side, my organizational side; and that side of me that loves to learn something new, how to do it better, or when I just need a little inspiration to change things up.

Pinterest has made me cooler. How, you ask? Let’s just say that thanks to the ideas curated onto my pretty awesome profile (if I do say so myself :)), I cook better, dress better, and my apartment has benefited from a few ideas sparked from a simple photo.

As of writing this post, I’ve pinned 643 images. Of those 643 images, I’ve managed to put a handful into action. In the spirit of looking back over the year, I thought it would be fun to share the recipes, tips, and products that I now treasure. Here’s how Pinterest made me cooler this year:

HOW I COOKED BETTER: Easy Garlic Chicken

{Photo source}

Without a doubt this very popular brown sugar and garlic chicken recipe pin turned me into a mini-rock star in the kitchen and was my first ever Pinterest experiment. It’s super easy to make, and only takes a few ingredients: chicken breast, garlic, olive oil, and brown sugar. I like to add a bit more garlic to the mixture to give it a little more punch against the brown sugar and top it off with a few dashes of salt and pepper for more flavor.

HOW I ACCESSORIZED BETTER: Kaela Designs Cheryl Katch Hobo Bag

I stumbled across this unique and trendy bag on Pinterest from Kaela Designs earlier this summer. Aside from the shape and pattern of the handbag, I fell in love with the ring style handles. It really makes it stand out. To read about this addition to my collection from earlier this year, please see my blog post.

HOW I HOME DECORATED BETTER: Flower Arrangements 101

I love flowers. I them so much I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to them! Awhile back, I found Lauren Conrad’s “how-to” for flower arrangements via a pin. Above were my results! They added such a great touch of brightness and liveliness to my home for a week straight. I wrote a blog about making this simple and affordable flower arrangement courtesy of L.C. here.

HOW I BECAME CRAFTIER: D.I.Y. MAKEUP BRUSH HOLDER

{Photo source}

The first image above was a pin I came across that made me want to combine my love of candles (but not the left over jars), organization, and presentation into one. This photo led me to try re-purposing an old candle jar that turned into the photo below complete with an organized make-up brush holder on my new antique vanity tray. I’ll eventually upgrade to a nicer candle jar, but liked how it turned out! To see how I did mine, please visit my post.

These are just a few ideas learned from my online passion, pinning images! I look forward to 2013 where I’m sure a new resolve to make it the best year yet, with Pinterest’s help, will spark new ideas and motivation from a simple image and I’ll be cooler than ever! Happy Pinning!

30Nov2012

Highlights: End of November

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Film, Food, Fun by C.

Things have been going so well lately, that I don’t want to jinx it by even talking about it! November was an exciting month: the election, our visit to San Juan Capistrano, and Thanksgiving were huge successes. Here are a few recent small pleasures and sightings that added huge smiles to end a happy month:

A stop at The Counter for a custom-made burger and yummy fries last week before catching a flick over in Century City, had me try something different this time between the bun: cranberries! Let’s just say, it works. Yum!

While I don’t personally have formal Christmas dinners, I would totally use these cute flatware stockings that I saw while perusing Crate and Barrel on my Holiday table. They’re so festive!

These adorable snowman cookies I saw while in line for a latte at Starbucks. The best part: the scarf!

Christmas music has officially entered my life once again. My favorites: Josh Groban’s Noel, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, and Pandora’s Christmas Station.

I hope November treated you just as kindly. Have a great weekend! 🙂

26Nov2012

Highlights: Thanksgiving Day

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by C.

Wow, where does the time go? All the build-up and the planning, coordinating; then eating, sleeping, eating, watching a movie, and more eating until it’s all over. Thanksgiving was a complete success on my end. In large part because I had the best company, and we ordered the most delish ham from The Honey Baked Ham Store, with a slew of sides from Bristol Farms. Let’s just say we had Thanksgiving dinner two nights in a row, ham and eggs for breakfast twice over the long holiday weekend, and at some point this week a ham sandwich will be in my immediate future.

As I look back on an amazing, relaxing, and food-filled Thanksgiving Thursday these are the parts that made me smile and what I’ll always want to remember:

I stopped on Wednesday afternoon (in the actual chaos of last-minute grocery shoppers…I did it for the drama!) and got a fresh bouquet of flowers to give my place a bit more of that festive Thanksgiving vibe! They were perfect!

How the food arrived. 🙂

Thanksgiving entertainment. We tried to find movies that were themed for the holiday (and I just thought E.T. would be awesome to re-watch). We eventually got through everything during those 4 days, but Planes, Trains and Automobiles was the perfect flick to kick-off a movie-filled weekend.

Thanksgiving dinner: honey baked ham, glazed baby carrots, green beans almondine, mashed potatoes, and candied yams. That’s a little sparkling apple cider in the wine glass. Words cannot describe how happy I was at this moment – yum! 🙂

Dessert: Pumpkin pie, naturally!

The BEST surprise and my personal favorite, this Esque candle that my boyfriend gave me as a little Thanksgiving day present. Aww! I was totally shocked because I was admiring it a few months back at Z-Gallerie, but didn’t get it. It’s so pretty I don’t even want to burn it!

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday this year. There was much more for myself on the horizon as the long weekend got started (posts to come) but it truly was a day to be remembered. Thank you to my awesome guy for making it such a special day!

On to Christmas….yikes!

19Nov2012

How I Custom Designed My Own Pizza

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Lunch by C.

Location: 12103 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City

So I know that turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce are all that’s on the brain this week, but I just had to share the great news with you! I cannot at all take the credit for this awesome find, my boyfriend told me about it, but the moment we stepped inside I knew pizza would never be the same. It was described to me as the “Chipotle for pizza!”

Pizza Rev sits not too far from the corner of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. Its motto: craft your own pizza. My motto: I’ll take everything on mine!

{Making the dough.}

{Over 30 toppings to choose from.}

Interestingly, the decor reminds me a lot of Chipotle, down to the buffet style ordering set-up as you move along in line to build your own pizza, starting with their homemade dough. Next, choose your cheese, choose your sauce, and then choose your toppings. The thrilling thing about this place is that for $7.95 you can put ANYTHING you want on your personal sized pie. The sky’s the limit. Naturally, I went overboard as one does with a buffet of toppings to choose from.

{Building mine!}

For our gluten-free friends, Pizza Rev has you covered. While a small $2.00 increase comes with ordering their wheat free crust, unlimited toppings more than make up for it. If you’re too tired to create your own (and who in the world would these people be?) you can also order from their “Our Way” menu and stick with the basics.

{In the oven.}

A short wait while your custom designed pizza cooks in their open deck oven and you’re out the door. I crafted a regular dough pizza with olive oil, mozzarella, feta cheese, ricotta, all beef pepperoni, ham, spinach, tomato, mushroom, pineapple, and black olives! Told you, I went overboard, but O.M.G. was it delish!!

{My finished custom designed pizza :)}

22Oct2012

Sfixio, Beverly Hills

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun by C.

Location: 9737 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills

A night out with the girls for dinner. A new dress. An Italian restaurant. Beverly Hills. Free Parking. All the makings for a perfect Saturday night.

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, 9 of us met up at Sfixio located on little Santa Monica Boulevard just past Wilshire. I was elated that parking turned out to be a breeze. After 6:00pm the parking structure no longer uses the meters. Score!

Alternating neon lights over the outside restaurant signage draw you in as you walk into a 2 story dining room dressed completely in white. The ambiance: sexy low lighting, candles on the table, and music at an appropriate level (meaning I didn’t have to yell at my friends over dinner and end up sounding chain-smoking-hoarse the next day).

I went with the Salmone ai 3 pepi con Patate in Crosta. Translation: Grilled salmon topped with a mini potato hash brown looking thing, with a side of asparagus and spinach. Things always sound better in Italian.

While it took forever to get appetizers and then the main course, it allowed us gals plenty to time to catch up. I was slightly disappointed with the speed of service, but learned from my more well-traveled friends that this is likely intentional, attributed to a more European way of dining where it’s supposed to be more of a lengthy experience. I can appreciate that, but it seems to be pushing it to take almost an hour for 3 salads and a serving of calamari to come out – but you live and learn. I did think it was pretty cool that they make all of their pasta in-house from scratch.

You know me, I always L.O.V.E. checking out a new place so I’m glad we got to spend a night in “The Hills” supporting a small privately-owned restaurant run by a husband and wife duo. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be someplace I would likely ever go again. Since there are too many restaurants in the City of Angels to explore and a new one popping up every 5 minutes, I can’t say it left an impression on me in any special way. The positive experience came more from being with my girlfriends than in the dining itself. The food was delicious, but servings were small (not surprising); and the service (because we’re in L.A., not Italy) could be picked up some. Us L.A. gals have places to go, people to see, and things to do!

{Salmone ai 3 pepi con Patate in Crosta.}

19Oct2012

Highlights: Mid-October

Posted in Beauty, Books, Dinner, DIY, Food, Fun, Lunch by C.

Half-way through October. Someone seems to be hitting the time accelerate button yet again. It’s been a bit stressful this week, but here are some highlights that managed to brighten it:

{The appreciation of a good solid meal. Much pleasure came from some penne pasta with mushrooms lightly sprinkled with parmesan cheese; and the simplicity of steamed broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower on the side.}

{The Halloween project is underway, Midnight by Dean Koontz is in hand.}

{Not to brag, but I have been having the best hair week EVER! There’s nothing you can’t handle when your tresses are acting right. I don’t typically use hairspray, but because of the humidity in the air and some major frizzing, I’ve been looking for a solution. Enter L’Oréal Elnett StrongHold Hairspray (unscented). Worth every dime.}

{A very thoughtful surprise from my boyfriend. This beautiful orchid.}

18Oct2012

Food To Die For: El Coyote Mexican Cafe

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun by C.

Location: 7312 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, Mid-City

Hands down my favorite Mexican restaurant sits on Beverly Boulevard, down the street from The Grove, 4 blocks before La Brea Avenue. Name: El Coyote. Mission: food to die for.

I first learned about this place years ago while watching all important, heavy-hitting television at the time, The Hills (don’t judge!). Heidi and Spencer’s psycho relationship and MTV’s penchant for filming all over town were good for something!

Fast forward a few years later and it’s my favorite place to indulge occasionally in greasy, highly caloric, but worth every fat cell I get Mexican food! I stick with the tried and true Guacamole Dinner. For $13.50, I have at least four different plates in front of me – a cheese enchilada, a beef taco, refried beans, Mexican style rice, a small bowl of guacamole, and the garden salad (because it’s the only healthy thing in the meal and makes me feel less guilty for downing my stomach in cheese, I had to end on the salad).

{Guacamole Dinner.}

Nothing but the best of things to say about this place. I’ve always had great experiences with the food, the wait staff are super friendly, and the over the top decor of the restaurant is the perfect touch. The point? Get in your car and don’t stop until you’re in front of El Coyote. If you hit La Brea – you clearly didn’t read my post and need to turn around! 🙂

{Interior of the restaurant – a salute to Halloween.}

Don’t, I repeat, DO NOT even waste your time dragging you and your bestie here if you’re on a diet – you gain weight just watching the large amounts of food walk past you. Oh! And expect to be in a total “mexi-coma” after you eat here. Don’t make any other plans, other than to head straight home and veg on your couch or sprawl in bed. It’ll take a full night to recover, but I promise you, your tongue with have enjoyed the experience even if your stomach is a wee bit upset with you.

Hope to see you there!

14Sep2012

Highlights

Posted in Books, Dinner, Film, Food, Fun by C.

Can you believe that we’re halfway through September already? I could have sworn I just paid rent! My goodness, how time flies. Thankfully, there were a few moments from this week that made an ordinary day, pretty extraordinary:

{FOOD.}

Is it me or does pasta taste better on the second or even third day? Monday night’s dinner was a huge highlight and success, in part because I dined on leftovers from my recent visit to Osteria Coppola. I warmed up the chicken lasagna in the oven, as opposed to throwing it in the microwave, to let it cook slowly and develop a bit of a crunch to the top layer. Things always taste better from the oven. I must remember this mantra when I don’t have the patience to wait. A quick homemade side salad and a glass of ice tea and I swear I was in Italy in my own house.

{FILM.}

By far, one of the greatest experiences this week was seeing Celeste and Jesse Forever. It’s an awesome off-beat dramedy, with a nice salute to Los Angeles. Rashida Jones (could she be anymore gorgeous?) and Andy Samberg do a superb job bringing the highs and lows of a complicated and deteriorating relationship, but an everlasting friendship to the screen. I LOL’d, felt my eyes water, and had a smile on my face the whole time. I also fell in LOVE with the music in this film and was on Amazon.com within an hour of getting home looking to purchase the soundtrack. Unfortunately, no soundtrack exists, but thanks to another fellow blogger I was directed to a playlist created on Spotify with all the film’s songs. “Drifting In and Out” by Porcelain Raft is my new chill out song. This will be added to my collection later this year when it’s released on DVD for sure!

{FUN.}

I’ve been doing a lot of reading this week, which is a nerdy love of mine. I’m currently reading The Cider House Rules by John Irving. I still have quite a way to go before my next book club meeting. I’m very much enjoying it, but it’s 561 densely packed pages!

Have a great weekend!

11Sep2012

Deep Fried Everything: The LA County Fair

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Lunch, Treats by C.

Location: 1101 West McKinley Avenue, Pomona

A great way to appreciate the last few weeks as the summer season winds down (at least according to the calendar, but not the weather gods and/or global warming) is a day among animals, carnival rides, shopping booths, cotton candy, BBQ pits, and deep fried everything. This past Saturday, we made our way out to the Pomona Fairplex and braved 93 degrees of sunshine to enjoy the LA County Fair.

{Thanks to Groupon we got a buy one, get one free deal. FYI – tickets are $17 each. Not sure why they said $5.95.}

Since I knew that we were going out to dinner later that night, I did my best to indulge lightly. A few spoonfuls of my boyfriend’s vanilla bean ice cream, a sip of his lemonade, followed by the heart attack waiting to happen from the best chili cheese fries ever! In retrospect, I wish I had at least tried the deep fried Oreos, but felt that I did well under the given circumstances.

{The fist station I saw when I entered the grounds.}

Luckily, before all the eating began (though not much later) we started the day with a trip through the farm to meet and greet the animals. What a sight to see a pig feeding their young! Who knew they just climbed and fought all over each other, looking for the prized milk source, and go to town as poor mom just lay there? So anxious were those little guys!

{Animals, animals, animals.}

From there, the day became a special mixture of walking around the grounds, people watching, trying to decide what to eat because the options were endless, looking for shade when we needed a break, walking through special exhibitions; and browsing around the shopping buildings filled with booths from hundreds of vendors, ranging from the cheapest looking of jewelry to purchasing a new hot tub. (Apparently, people actually go the fair to remodel their homes?)

{Food, food, food.}

{Rides, rides, rides.}

5 hours later, I was LA County Fair’d out (in a good way)! As the day went on, it got more crowded and warmer; and while I loved being there, I wanted nothing more than a chair, a solid healthy meal, consistent air-conditioning, and a shower!

We finished the night at Osteria Coppola a small Italian restaurant in Sherman Oaks, and was I ever excited to see their insalata mista (aka salad) and a fresh-baked chicken lasagna sitting in front of me. It was the first time I had a vegetable all day. It was the perfect way to top-off a perfect LA day!

{Insalata Mista.}

{Chicken Lasagna.}

4Sep2012

Girl Night In

Posted in Beauty, Books, Dinner, DIY, Fashion, Film, Food, Fun by C.

The long holiday weekend started off on the right note (if I do say so myself). I spent my Thursday night celebrating with a girl night in. Girl night in? Yes, a girl night in. A night to be home alone and do those things that are completely girly, yet make you feel like a million bucks because you took some time to focus on you. I wanted a night to decompress and prep for the next 4 busy, but fun-filled, days off to come. This included an evening dedicated to a little self-pampering, some relaxation, good food, a glass (or two) of wine, the ultimate “girl night in” flick; followed by some reading while the iPod did its thing filling my humble abode with just the right music. By the time I made it to bed, I had completely reset from the work week and was ready for a very special weekend. Posts to come on all the labor day weekend festivities! Here are some of my tricks to the ultimate girl night in:

{DIY hydrating facial using some of my favorite Dermalogica products.}