Category Archives: Food

Breakfast in Bed

Posted in Breakfast, Brunch, Food, Fun, Lunch by

What makes me feel like I’ve finally arrived into adulthood? It’s not the college degree that I’ll be paying for until I die. It’s not even the fact that I get up every morning, get dressed (in something fabulous!) and drive to work. It’s those times when you realize you can do those odd-ball things you like to do simply because you want to and you can. You don’t have to run it by anyone, ask your mom, or justify yourself. The situation is completely within your power. In essence, it’s the liberation from that power.

Recently, I was home one afternoon craving breakfast and some R&R after having spent the morning running errands around town in 100 degree weather. I sat, looked at the clock, thought about making something more appropriately lunch-like, and thought to myself, “why not?”

I promptly got up and made myself some bacon, eggs and french toast. Okay, I just reheated the french toast you buy from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s (these are delish by the way and it does still count as cooking!). I poured myself a glass of orange juice, pulled out my breakfast tray and set it up in bed. I turned on a DVD and for the next two full hours played the adult card, savoring every minute of it. It was a small pleasure but the older I get, the more I really appreciate these moments. Since everyday cannot be about big events and large-scale happenings, it’s these moments that add up to bring more smiles, happiness, and glitter to my life.

Highlights

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun by

This week the days of summer hit hard on the weather front, but that’s the price you pay living in Los Angeles. It was a bit unbearable at times, but it put a smile on my face to grab a dress, some sandals and head out into the sunshine!

A few other things that brought a smile to my face and some sparkle to my week:

{FILM}.

I went to a screening of Hope Springs, a film I highly recommend for anyone in a relationship, married or not. Meryl Streep (this lady can do no wrong) and Tommy Lee Jones completely go there in this intimate portrait and character study of a 30 year marriage, 30 years later. Director David Frankel manages to maintain a steady sense of humor around a very serious subject: how to rebuild and preserve the chemistry in a long-term relationship. I admit some scenes can be pretty uncomfortable to watch as the couple, along with their well-acted counselor in Steve Carell, share how the deterioration and re-connection between two people can be the most difficult and rewarding aspects to life. I walked away from this film feeling like I actually learned something about physical and emotional intimacy. In a nutshell: you both have to want it and you both have to be willing to work at it. This will be DVD purchase to add to my collection in the fall.

{FOOD}.

I stopped to sit outside and enjoy the simplicity of a Rice Krispies Treat. I’d forgotten how much I loved these things and what a small pleasure it was to snack and gaze out at the LA skyline (the moment captured in the photo above).

{FUN}.
I’m getting such lovely feedback from you all about my new passion project, my blog, All That Glitters. Thank you for the comments, the likes, and taking the time to read it. I passed the 100 views mark this week!

 

 

Pita Pizza

Posted in Dinner, DIY, Food, Treats by

Summer nights. Summer cooking. I’ve been afraid to turn on the oven over the last few nights because my apartment has been so H.O.T. You can only use the “let’s eat out because I don’t want to turn on the oven” excuse maybe once a week (and I used mine already). When the hummus I bought at the farmer’s market expired and I still had an entire pack of pita bread left over, I threw it in the freezer until I could figure out what to do with all the leftovers. So I took advantage of a little treat that my boyfriend will sometimes make while we’re hanging out on the weekends, tailored it to my taste buds, and turned it into a quick dinner item. The best news? The oven only needs to be on 20 minutes max.

You’ll need pita bread and toppings of your choice. I went with pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, monterey jack cheese, black olives, tomatoes, pineapple and olive oil.

Spread olive oil over pita bread and assemble toppings to your liking.

Place directly on the oven rack at 425º. I like to line the bottom of my stove with foil to catch any toppings that fall off during baking (and it always happens).

In 10-15 minutes you’ll have:

Grab yourself a glass of ice tea and some parmesan cheese and you’re good to go! YUM!

Weekend Cocktails

Posted in DIY, Food, Treats by

While I like cocktails as much as the next girl, it turns out I’m not a big drinker on the day-to-day. Sure, I’ll have a glass of wine with dinner every once and awhile, sip a midori sour during girls night out, or grab a margarita over Mexican food; but ice tea is my liquid of choice (passion-fruit iced tea if I’m feeling especially feisty).

Fun fact: this past weekend is the first weekend I can recall in quite some time having a cocktail on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.  What a lush I’m turning into! Perhaps it’s the vibe of the season and cradling a sweet drink in your hand makes the days of summer all the more sweeter.

It all started at happy hour with the gang from work on Friday evening. Followed by two super delicious and well-presented homemade concoctions that I can’t take credit for (thanks Ryan!) other than the bellini peach-raspberry syrup that I buy by the bottle every time I hit the Olive Garden to add to my iced tea because I’m obsessed with it. Don’t laugh,  I admit I have a very strong affinity for the Olive Garden.

If you’re looking for a good summer cocktail,  I just had to share the deliciousness I experienced every single day of the weekend with you. Try it at home yourself! While you do, I’ll be seriously rethinking the frequency of my cocktail intake!

Friday Night 
White Tea Cooler

Ingredients: wild tea vodka, st. germain, mint, fresh lime juice, luxardo maraschino cherries, soda water.

Saturday Evening

Homemade Concoction #1

Ingredients: Olive Garden’s bellini peach-raspberry syrup, vodka, club soda

Sunday Afternoon
Homemade Concoction #2

Ingredients: Olive Garden’s bellini peach-raspberry syrup, vodka, 7-UP, sugar-coated rimmed glass

Cupcakes (no Cashmere)

Posted in Food, Treats by

In celebration of tiny cakes everywhere and one of my favorite blogs, after having spent lots of time researching my passion for carbs topped with icing and taste testing my behind off; here are my thoughts based on my quest to uncover some of LA’s best cupcakes. Clearly, I haven’t tried every single cupcake in this great land, so I’m basing this list off of the places I’ve personally frequented.

Cupcakes Couture
Location: 916 Manhattan Avenue, Manhattan Beach
BY FAR the most delicious and best dressed cupcakes in LA!  I stumbled into
this oasis of sweetness when hanging out on the Manhattan Beach Strand one Saturday afternoon nearly a year ago. It’s a trek to get down to the South bay for me, but MY GOODNESS, it’s worth every traffic light and hassle to get there. The shop is well designed, the girls that work the counter are sweet, and the concoctions are the best. Nearly every cupcake has a sweet filling in the center, always tastes fresh, and NEVER disappoints. This place also has THE BEST gluten-free selection (which makes my boyfriend very happy) that I’ve come across if you struggle with an intolerance to wheat. My favorites are the Cupcake Wars reality TV show winning Lemon Blueberry, Strawberry Cheesecake, and the Sunday Mimosa (only served on Sundays, get it!?!) 
Sprinkles
Location: 9635 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills

THE place that started it all, well, at least in my opinion. This is what I think of as the originator of the cupcake craze in Los Angeles – like how Pinkberry spawned the frozen yogurt movement. I can’t recall how I first heard of this place, but it remains an oldie but a goodie in my book. Sprinkles’ forte has always been location, location, location; oh and the cupcakes are moist and delicious! They have one the largest selections of flavors but rotate them out depending on the day, as seems to be the case with all places. Beware the place is small and the line LONG. Their best invention yet? The cupcake ATM if you want to grab a cupcake at 2:00am. Great ones to try: Lemon Coconut, Red Velvet, Strawberry, and Pumpkin.

Frosted Cupcakery
Location: 1200 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood

If I can’t make the trip to Manhattan Beach or Beverly Hills, Frosted comes in a close third. The cupcakes more than cover it in a pinch, but I so desperately wish that Frosted would catch up on the flavor selections! They stick with pretty safe choices. Their shop seems to run of cupcakes quicker in my experience than with other places, and the treats themselves are very good, but I find they don’t have quite the same punch. The best thing about this place? The price! These guys run under $3.00 each, which is a steal! What scores additional brownie points? Their awesome ice cream cupcakes. I’m a huge fan of their red velvet and cream cheese cupcake filled with vanilla bean ice cream!

Vanilla Bake Shop
Location: 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Century City

My latest taste test on the cupcake front comes from Vanilla Bake Shop. I’ve noticed the shop for a while now when checking out a movie or shopping at the Westfield center; and have been in before a few times to check out the place, but had never purchased anything (which is so unlike me.) I have to say this place is aptly named, it was a very “vanilla” experience. I hate to call this out, but the person working the counter was pretty dismissive (coloring in fact) when I walked-in recently. Further to that, they only have 6 flavors to choose from on any given day. I went with a safe Vanilla Bean and did enjoy the cupcake. It satisfied my sweet tooth but they lose points for not much variety on any given day and poor service. Perhaps it was an off day. I was also told that a gluten-free selection was in the works and would debut in May of this year, but nothing yet.

Crumbs
Location: 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

Love the name, pretty blah when it comes to the cupcakes. I do like how decorative these guys are, but for some reason, I get a “straight out of a box” taste from them. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you just want sugar, and you don’t really care how or in what format, so these will more than handle your needs, but the fresh taste wasn’t quite there for me. Dare I say they were a bit too sweet as well?  I love that they have multiple locations around the city. I count 6! Then again, because they have so many locations, maybe this alludes to why quality lacks in their cupcakes. It seems they’re more into design, which is super important, but I’m also about my tongue doing the happy dance on contact.

With that, I’m now seriously craving a cupcake and I don’t care which location it comes from! If you have a hidden treasure on the tiny cake front that is missing from my list, please do let me know! I’m always looking to gain 5 pounds (said no one ever!)

Urth Caffé on a Saturday

Posted in Brunch, Food by

Location: 8565 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood

I’m one of those people who doesn’t mind being alone. Don’t get me wrong, I can be quite the social butterfly when I want to be, but I do like my own company where I can just be. I frequent movies by myself, love to window shop solo so that I can go at my own pace without feeling like I’m dragging anyone around, and sometimes I’ll even take a book and sit at a restaurant.

Over the weekend, I took advantage of a little stag time and headed over to Urth Caffé in West Hollywood. I grabbed (or rather fought) for a seat outside to enjoy the gorgeous day and ordered myself a delicious and well-presented Spinach & Mushroom Quiche (proof below).

Major Pro: You pay before your meal is served. No fighting/terse conversations over who spent more or threw $15 on the table when they clearly don’t understand the concept of tax and tip in addition to the cost of the meal when the check comes. (Ugh. These people are so annoying by the way). Also, they serve their own organic coffee for all you pesticide conscious nuts out there!

Major Con: This place can get crowded and beware that the venue isn’t very large so the tables are pretty close together. I can almost tell you the entire conversation of two aspiring actresses sitting next to me, and trust me it was as cliché as it can get. So keep this in mind if you’re into a more private dining experience and don’t want to whisper over your lunch. As such, I’d strongly advise against meeting an ex here to have that deep closure conversation to your relationship.

Overall, definitely a great place to come solo to grab lunch or a latte; or to meet up with a friend in a casual, yet trendy atmosphere. The Hollyood Tour bus even drives by with tourists snapping pictures of you while you’re mid-chew, making all who sit there a bit more confident in their choice of eatery.

Graffiti Coffee Bar

Posted in Explore, Food, Fun, Treats by

Location: 180 S La Brea Avenue, Mid-City

Welcome the City of Angels! The place where even making a quick stop to grab an iced latte on a warm Sunday afternoon between errands necessitates valet parking. The first 20 minutes free, of course.

Anytime I see the word coffee, cafe, latte, or any iteration of the espresso bean posted around town, it makes my heart flutter with pure joy. I picked up my now ever-present coffee addiction (or daily treat as I like to say) when I first started working in “the industry” and was charged with the glamorous task of taking everyone’s Starbucks order. Outside of that cliché fact, you can’t help but notice when a brand new, blinding, stark white building pops up while driving down the in-progress revamping that has become La Brea Avenue. A street that while trendy in its own right, sticks to a more common opaque color scheme.

Enter Graffiti Coffee Bar. Strangely named given that there isn’t much chromatism to the two-story black and white interior space. You feel like you’re about to walk into a Hollywood nightclub with the door entry selectively located on the side of the building, only to feel like you are actually in a nightclub with the thumping music and fireplace greeting you as you walk in. The Intelligentsia brewed coffee is delish (I smiled with every sip) but given that I spent $6 on an iced vanilla latte, it’ll be more of an indulgence than a regular neighborhood coffee spot.

Beware, they’re cash only (unbelievable and quite unacceptable in this day and age) and only serve whole or soy milk options, but were super friendly. I don’t see myself stopping in to sit and blog with my laptop anytime soon, I like a more quaint atmosphere where you can sit in your sweats and zone out for a couple of hours with your typical soft guitar music lacing the background; but I would make the trek here to meet a friend to catch up over coffee or if I’m feeling exceptionally rich and want to splurge on my caffeine fix.

All in all, a bit of a dramatic experience just to grab a latte, but it gave some spunk to an otherwise lazy Sunday last weekend. Then again, would it be Los Angeles if there weren’t some form of drama attached to it?