Category Archives: Food

Highlights: The Weekend

Posted in Film, Food, Treats by

It was a pretty relaxing, non-eventful weekend on my end. I’m usually running about town, obsessing about what to blog about for the upcoming week. Two days of lying low, listening to the rain, renting embarrassingly cheesy (and sometimes just plain bad) movies that I never get the chance to watch alone, and sipping my first wine cooler (yes, wine cooler…don’t judge) in years was simply fun. Since it’ll be a short writing week because of the Holiday, I thought I’d share some highlights from my weekend because I’ve really come to enjoy writing these posts…

My first cup of coffee for the weekend. This isn’t super extraordinary for me on a Saturday morning; but what makes this cup of coffee a special one, was that this was the first time I used this cup and saucer. Awhile back, a former colleague of mine was headed to France for a few weeks on vacation, and sweetly asked if he could bring anything back for me. Since I’ve always had this fantasy of sitting in a french cafe sipping espresso, I told him I wanted a cup set from France so that I could channel it from the States. I packed it away a few years ago and after moving, came across it and thought it’s time to channel that French experience. I can’t wait to have the real version someday.

 I spent a lot of time on the couch right next to my remote control and hit Redbox more times than I care to admit (okay, three times this weekend and 6 movies later…).

I re-discovered my love of cheese and crackers! Specifically, my new obsession with Gouda cheese of all things. Add some multi-grain crackers from Trader Joe’s and a few red grapes and I had my go-to snack for the weekend.

Ah, flowers! Something I love to have around me when I know I’ll actually be home to enjoy them.

How I Custom Designed My Own Pizza

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

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 :)}

Highlights: The Beginning Toward The End

Posted in Accessories, Fashion, Fun, Treats by

I love this time of year. It flies by in a flash because we’re in the midst of a season that’s unlike any other, celebrating all the way. After Halloween comes a birthday for a special person in my life, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and then my anniversary with said special person. As we enter the beginning toward the end of the year, I can say with confidence that it will be a memorable holiday season because I intend for it to be. Bring. It. On! Here are a few things that made me smile this week in the meantime:

{Scarf weather is now in full effect in the City of Angels and I’ve rocked them almost every day this week. This makes me happy!}

{After trying to enjoy loose leaf tea using strainers because I thought they were cool, I gave up and went with the more tried and true “T-Sacs” to keep those annoying leaves that still seemed to fall through the strainer out. I got these awesome filters during my recent visit to Bird Pick. The point? There will be lots of tea consumption this season. :)}

{I fell in LOVE with this limited edition Christmas ornament during a recent visit to Starbucks to grab a latte. It’s a ceramic shaped coffee cup encrusted with swarovski elements. It’s so me, a coffee cup that “glitters.” The hefty price tag made me put it down, but I had to get a picture!}

{My new “Fancy Peach” earrings purchased at Scarlet Mare Studio on Etsy arrived mere days ago. My first ever Etsy purchase, but definitely not my last. Check out their site if you like one-of-a-kind, eclectic jewelry.}

Okay, time to stop reading (though I appreciate it!) and head to the grocery store to stock up for all the Thanksgiving festivities coming next week. Have an amazing weekend! 🙂

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Posted in Explore, Food, Fun by

Location: 26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano

Hands down, one of my favorite days from this year will be Sunday, November 11th, 2012. For my boyfriend’s birthday, we enjoyed a sunny 60 mile drive to The O.C. to spend the day in the remarkable city of San Juan Capistrano to visit the 7th Spanish Mission established in California in 1776. Words cannot express the spirituality, the history, the enduring exquisiteness, and breathtaking grounds surrounding us that day.

Thankfully, we walked the property taking the time to listen to the audio tour (click here to listen online), which not only educated us about what we were looking at, but why the earth that we were standing on was significant. It brought the experience to life. From learning that the California wine industry originated at the mission while looking into the large vat used to stomp grapes; to sitting in The Serra Chapel, that’s still used to this day for worshiping; to walking through the cemetery’s resting place for 2,000 souls; and then standing among the ruins of the Great Stone Church after the December 1812 earthquake, was an overwhelmingly special opportunity.

After spending a few hours at the mission, we walked the town of San Juan Capistrano, perusing gift shops and an awesome antique mall before heading to an early dinner at El Adobe restaurant.

I scored an antique vanity tray for my bathroom from the antiques mall, had a wonderful dinner, a new education about Mission San Juan Capistrano, and an unforgettable day with my boyfriend. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and I took 131 of them! It was difficult to narrow them down for this post, but I hope that they capture why this was such a special day. Make it a point to see the mission if you’re ever in the area. Until then…Enjoy!

The Mission

{Exterior.}

{Statue just outside The Great Stone Church ruins.}

{The Great Stone Church Ruins.}

{Corridor.}

{Heading to the Central Courtyard.}

{The Central Courtyard.}

{How the California Wine Industry was born.}

{Archway near the wine vat in the industrial center, perhaps for grapes?}

{Industrial center blacksmith tools.}

{Staircase.}

{The Central Courtyard.}

{Corridor toward The Serra Chapel.}

{The Serra Chapel.}

{The Serra Chapel Altar.}

{The Serra Chapel Altar.}

{The cemetery and Father St. John O’Sullivan’s resting place.}

The Town

{Strolling the San Juan Capistrano city streets.}

{Stopping into the Antiques Mall.}

{Interior, Antiques Mall.}

The Restaurant

{El Adobe Restaurant.}

{My dinner: Southwest Cabo Salad.}

{His: Nachos.}

Cupcakes Couture

Posted in Explore, Food, Fun, Treats by

{Old store front and new.}

New Location: 1120 Manhattan Avenue, Manhattan Beach

When heading over to my favorite cup-cakery to grab treats for an upcoming birthday a few days ago; I was excited, then bummed, then excited again, then nostalgic. Explanation?

Excitement: sneaking to Manhattan Beach to grab surprise gluten-free birthday treats for my boyfriend. Bummed: a “we’ve moved” sign greets me. Excitement: reading the rest of the sign, “…down the street.” Nostalgia: missing the charm of the old shop I’ve come to love.

Cupcakes Couture, the bake shop that I rave about to all of you, has moved. Luckily, it’s only down the street and into the Manhattan Beach Creamery. I’m sure such a move will be great for business because it’s in a prime location to attract tourists strolling the beautiful sidewalks of Manhattan Beach Boulevard.

{Cupcakes Couture’s gorgeous new view from the store front.}

{Likes: these super cool chairs and this eclectic chandelier.}

For an old fan like me, there was something so charming about that little shop that I’ll miss. As you would enter the store, directly to your right was a large glass window, where you could see the pastry chefs working magically to create the most gorgeous cakes. To your left, a large glass display filled with a variety of the best dressed cupcakes in town would welcome you. There was such a fun, flirty design to the store that made it a great place to visit.

I can certainly understand why the owner, who recently blogged about her change of venue, was excited about the upgrade in light of her growing family (and let’s be honest, a scoop of ice cream while enjoying a cupcake is never a bad idea), but moving into The Creamery lost a touch of that charm I loved about the original location.

I later learned that the move was on November 1st. Perhaps since I visited the new set-up only 9 days later attributes to some of my unhappiness with the new location. The counter didn’t feel put together, boxes were strangely arranged in random places, the sign hadn’t even been put up over the booth, and the decor felt cluttered. I’m sure once the team settles in, that fun and flirty nature will return to Cupcakes Couture’s new spot in The Creamery. Hopefully, this was just a visual glitch. Otherwise, the rest of The Creamery, housing a gourmet ice cream station, specialty desserts section, and candy racks everywhere has a unique vibe that works – those awesome chairs and that chandelier were my favorites.

{Cupcakes Couture’s new station.}

{The Creamery store view.}

The most important fact of all, and what will keep me coming back for more, are that the cupcakes are still some of the best I’ve ever had; great tasting, moist, with a flair in design. The executive pastry chef duo that creates and bakes is the same, so what is ultimately special about the best cupcakes in Los Angeles remains untouched. This makes me happy.

{The best dressed cupcakes in L.A.}

I’ll keep you posted on how things finally turn out once we give Cupcakes Couture some time to settle into The Creamery. I know I’d be disappointed if someone reviewed my apartment after just moving in! Stay tuned…

{Sunday Mimosa cupcake.}

Highlights: Last Week

Posted in DIY, Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

What a crazy week as I look back on it.The weather was indeed fickle last week: warm one day, then foggy and rainy the next, then cold and sunny. In the midst of the strange weather patterns, the election, the AFI film festival, and prepping for my boyfriend’s birthday, I always took a moment to enjoy the small things. Here are highlights from last week:

{A very unusual looking L.A. skyline for us. With the weather came my first few cups of earl grey tea.}

{As I mentioned: rainy one day, sunny the next. A beautiful view of Manhattan Beach while out on a surprise birthday errand for my boyfriend.}

{Wrapping presents!}

{Opening one of the presents early to enjoy a chocolate fudge cupcake from Cupcakes Couture. 🙂 }

{The final remnant of my “I Voted” sticker before tossing it. What a great voting and election experience it was for me personally.}

Sweet!

Posted in Explore, Food, Fun, Treats by

Location: 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 201, Hollywood

Talk about competition. There’s a new sugar shop in town that gives Dylan’s Candy Bar a run for their money. Move over, Hollywood has the new candy shop hot spot!

Enter Sweet.

I can’t think of a better name for the latest addition to Hollywood and Highland. The store is massive. The decor unbelievable: colorful, inviting, well designed, themed by station, and decked out to make it the complete interactive and overtly visual experience.

Visit “Lollywood” the section of the store containing lollipops in every shape, flavor and size. Make your way to the “Chocolate Lab” and custom design your own candy bar. Stop over to “Sticky” and get a glimpse at how the most sugar-infused candies are made. Head to “Yucky” and indulge your nasty, yet delicious side. Don’t miss Willy Wonka’s section and have your fill of fine chocolates and meet him yourself.

Bulk options galore. Sugar everywhere. Who knew that there was so much candy in the world? You don’t need to be a kid to feel right at home.

In this case, a picture really is a thousand words and it’s pretty “Sweet!”

LOLLYWOOD

CHOCOLATE LAB

YUCKY!

STICKY

BULK CANDY

WILLY WONKA

STORE RANDOMS

Highlights: As November Begins…

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

Happy Turkey Month! I’m pleased to report October went out with a bang! A huge goal of mine was accomplished and these recent highlights were the icing on the cake:

I love a good joke. Anything pertaining to humor, poking fun at someone or a situation, especially when the humor is completely true, is always welcome in my world. I saw a red “No Parking” zone spray painted with these delicious words and couldn’t help but stop and laugh (and take a picture!).

Our recent apple picking adventure left lots of apples to get through. An afternoon in the kitchen took our apples from whole fruit to an apple crisp that was fun to make and even more fun to eat.

The American Film Institute Film Festival started November 1st. A visit to the box office to pick-up the tickets was pretty funny when I pulled them all out and lined them up. I’m going to be spending A LOT of time at the movies as you can see.

Enjoy this first November weekend!

Farmers For A Day

Posted in DIY, Explore, Fashion, Food, Fun, Shoes, Treats by

Location: 9611 Oak Glen Road, Glen Oak, CA

What I’ve come to love most about the blogosphere is how information moves around so freely. Places you’ve never heard of and ideas that wouldn’t have even been on your radar come your way and your world is changed because of it. This was the case when I learned of Los Rios Rancho in Glen Oak, CA – an apple farm in San Bernadino county. I thought it would be a great mini road trip to spend the day learning about apples, picking them, exploring the property and area; and when I heard they had a pumpkin patch, my boyfriend suggested we grab ours from here this year.

A 2-hour car ride on a Saturday fall morning (unbelievably it was 90 degrees!) was a great way to kick off a memorable day. Random fact about me: I like zoning out and staring out the car window on long trips – it gives you time to think and take in the world from a different perspective. I decided to dress the part and have fun with playing the role of a “semi-farmer” from the city, by breaking out my plaid button down shirt and brown riding boots for effect.

{Dressing the part.}

We arrived around 12 noon and the farm was already busting with activity. We had a quick sample of the day’s available apples in the orchard: rome beauties, double red delicious, and red rome, with a few golden delicious remaining; and after learning how things work (with signs posted everywhere to remind you!), we bought a 5-7 pound peck bag and headed out to the fields. First up, finding the best looking apples we could.

{The rules.}

{Straight from the tree.}

{U-pick and I did!}

After our bag was stuffed with apples, we made our way to the pumpkin patch. It was pretty obvious that we were late in the season, being the weekend before Halloween, so the selection was sparse but we found winners! I got a large one and my guy got a small one (we like to break convention like that!) for our carving session the next day. To see how things turned out, click here.

{The rules.}

{The leftovers.}

From the farm, we went into town for a bit. Oak Tree Village is a small, charming community of quaint shops, places to eat, and activities for the kids. A stroll through the grounds landed me the best glazed almonds and cashews ever, and a taste of Andy’s Mini Donuts that made my tongue dance and my stomach tell me – “stop eating!” Good thing I had all those apples to look forward to, I was going to need lots of fruit in my diet in the near future.

When we made it home late that evening, we took stock of the days’ labor in the fields. 16 apples and 2 great looking pumpkins!

Halloween

Posted in DIY, Film, Food, Fun, Treats, Uncategorized by

Happy Halloween my pretties! Halloween has finally arrived. While I didn’t get to everything on my project list exactly, I got plenty accomplished that put me in the right spirit for the festivities!

1. Bake a gluten-free pumpkin pie. – DONE!
Interestingly, this was one of the first things to be crossed off. A simple pre-made gluten-free crust from Whole Foods and Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix was all it took. I added a dash more nutmeg and cinnamon to ensure true sweetness to the mix though it doesn’t call for it. Add a little Cool Whip and you’re ready to pumpkin pie it out!

2. Carve a pumpkin. – DONE!
This year we headed out to Los Rios Rancho in Glen Oak, CA to pick our pumpkins (and some apples). Blog post to come on what turned out to be a very memorable day trip, but here’s a quick collage to capture our pumpkin carving adventure:


3. Decorate my apartment. – DONE!
I decked out my place with simple pumpkin lights I got a few years ago at Target, so admittedly, it wasn’t anything too drastic. They offered the perfect ambiance while watching scary movies all month long, and using my orange pumpkin scented candle created a great final touch and smell for the Halloween season.

4. A scary night out with the girls. – SEMI-FAIL!
The girls and I had a change of plans, while we thought about a night out at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, this never seemed to come together (timing was a huge culprit). We did get together last night for an awesome scary movie girl’s night in complete with pizza, treats, and lots of laughs.

5. Scary movie night at least once a week with a big bowl of popcorn and all the lights turned out. – DONE!
This was the one goal that went without a hitch (though popcorn was only present during one flick, there was ALWAYS a sweet treat nearby). I managed to see a lot of scary/suspense films throughout the month. My top 3 likes and 2 hates to not even waste your time on:
Likes:
1) When a Stranger Calls (1979)
2) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
3) Sinister (2012)
Hates:
1) The Hunger (1983)
2) The Last House on the Left (1972)

6. Read Midnight, by Dean Koontz. – FAIL!
Didn’t finish. I’ve been picking this book up and putting it down all month. Unfortunately, I never found the time to get into it before I moved on when my book club announced the November selection; which has been pretty creepy ironically so I been delving into “Room”, by Emma Donoghue.