Saturday at Olvera

It was my first time doing it properly. The snowcone was a win. xoox

A Day in the Life of Lennie

Introducing Lennie - our fifth housemate! Lennie was rescued by my roommate Jenaba last year and he is the sweetest thing around. Part Chihuahua, cocker spaniel and a few other things, he enjoys long walks, table scraps, and jumping around.

This weekend, we took him to the Renegade Craft Fair (more on that later). We smuggled him onto the train in a tote bag and covered him with a scarf. So cute. After traipsing around the fair grounds, digging a few holes, rolling obsessively in the cold grass, and prancing through Olvera St., he was one tired pup. Adorbs.

Banoffee Pancakes

After an 11-hour workday yesterday, I was in need of some relaxation. I hightailed it home to make dinner with Jenaba and Anthony joined us. I made a herbed cream sauced pasta and Jenaba made a salad with blueberries, nuts and poppyseed dressing. Anthony treated us to a Bogle Pinot Noir, which was a lovely pairing, although it went down far too smoothly. Then we headed to Footsies for some hipsters on patio time and ended the night at two different taco stands. YUM.

This morning, Katie came over and I made banana toffee pancakes with honeydew. It was so good to see her and talk about work and life and goals and plans and people and things and puppies and coffee and everything else :-) Plus, her Lululemon shirt was adorbz. Must buy.

Headed to a craft fair - pics to come soon. And then seeing my fam-bam later :-)

Is this a great weekend or what?
xoxoxo

The Hermosillo on York

The Hermosillo, 5125 York Blvd., Highland Park.  

c/o LA Times

My jetsetter amigo, Greg, just returned from a Europe/NYC trip (super-jeal), so V, Evan and I met him at The Hermosillo on York Blvd. in Highland Park. I tried the Firestone DBA - that stuff is strong and has an unique and extremely alcoholic taste. It's not my faves Firestone but as Evan says, it gets the job done. Then I had the Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, which I had had before but couldn't quite remember. But this second time, I loved it. On the shortlist for the rest of the summer.

The Hermosillo has a Cuban-y, 40s feel. The bartenders are cute, the craft beers well selected, and a cozy feel. I love the lay-out - easy flow, spacious. And it was a wonderful place to catch up with Greg and also to meet the owner's (housemate's) dog - a beautiful choco lab named Frank. He was the highlight of my evening :-)

In other news, I made the most horrendous vegan carrot muffins. They are like carrot-y sponges with an odd, stretchy casing. However, nutella makes everything better.


Off to brief writing. Muchos besos.

The High(Land) Life

There were a few things on my list that I still needed to check out in Highland Park.
- The Second Saturday (which I missed this month - darn)
- Hermosillo (a bar that recently underwent some changes and was featured in Thrillist)
- Highland Park Kitchen
- Ba Restaurant
- Cafe De Leche (esp. the horchata latte)
- Antigua Coffee
- The York trivia night
- The Farmer's Market
- Fashion 21 (the original Forever 21 first opened in Highland Park)
- La Cuevita (another bar - lol)
... and countless other things.

But on Tuesday, Jenaba, Lennie, and I had an epic evening. First, we hit up the farmer's market, one of the oldest in LA, and bought corn, green beans, peaches, cherries, sweet potatoes, beets, nectarines, strawberries and carrots. So far, I've tasted a gorgeous nectarine and roasted some beets for a beet salad (my fave). Absolutely gorgeous organic produce for just a couple of bucks.

I had no idea that Highland Park has its own food truck central on Tuesday. I started with samosa chaat from India Jones. That's like Indian potato dumplings, with yogurt cucumber sauce, tamarind chutney, garbanzos, and mint. Yum. Then for dessert, we had CoolHaus ice cream. I indulged in a chocolate chip cookie, red velvet ice cream sandwich. I died. Even Lennie loved his sample of vanilla ice cream.

Then to finish off the night, we stopped by Figueroa Produce, which is an organic, healthy, amazing grocer with natural products. Definitely going again. They have great vegan cheeses and condiments, as well as my favorite natural soaps. And it's only a short drive from my house. WIN.

Then we watched Jeopardy with Jefferson and cleaned the house. (I think that helped work off a chocolate chip or two :-) )

Not So Lazy Sunday

Before dropping Jas off at home, we hit up The Last Bookstore in DTLA. Multiple people have been telling me to check it out but I hadn't gotten around to it. But bookstores are Jas' lifeblood so he was adamant that we spend a couple of hours there. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. It's a gigantic, two story, bookshop with architectural details of sofas propped up by GMAT books, paperback sculptures, and cashier's booths made of old classics. I think we could have spent the whole day there.  But then I got hungry so we devoured pizza from Two Boots - I loved the night tripper with sun-dried tomatos and jalapeño pesto. I need to go back to replenish my waning bookshelves and also to check out their coffee. 

Alene's Birthday

On Saturday, I reunited with mah gurls in Westwood to celebrate Alene's birthday. Although I didn't go to the club with them (I had an unfortunately early Sunday morning), I had an epic-ly hilarious time kicking it with them at Alene's apt, complete raucous laughter, dress-stitching, face-timing Mandz, lost keys, spilled drinks and a missing cab. Meanwhile at home, my brother was reading Fanon and Eggers, while cuddling with Lennie.

Happy Birthday Alene! Love you!

Evan's Birthday

Last Thursday, we celebrated Evan's birthday at Mas Malo, then the Association, and Varnish.
Evan. V. Rob. Bobes. Me.
A wonderful night celebrating a wonderful person in my life. :-)

Tonight, the housemates and I hit up the York for trivia. It was so fun, minus our minor mistake regarding the great Shakespearean comedy, the Bernie Mac show. Goals for this week: gym, clean the bathroom, and get my future in order. Also, I got three major assignments for work this week, so working on those :-)

I need to work out soon; my body is craving it.

xooxo

Best Day Ever

1. Coffee Bar + Mac and Cheese at the Nickle Diner w/ V, Rob, and Jas.
2. The Getty plus the new Klimt exhibit (also seeing Rory from Gilmore Girls)
3. Beer Garden in Venice + Aasim
4. Footsies - amazing bar in Highland Park with the housemates and the Cruz crew
= Recovery day with episodes of House.

Random Night Out: Gold Room and Short Stop

After a rather interesting early evening, I recovered with Evan and Veronica at the Gold Room and then Short Stop with some new friends. I love being so close now and going out last night was a great way to start the week. I've been in trial on a domestic violence case and I'm getting even more responsibility at work, which is crazy but amazing. More on that later. If I think about it too much now, my brain may explode.

Anywho, Rob is coming tomorrow! Which means Jas is going to come up and party with us, and it means great coffee and food and people. Plus, I have three birthdays and two housewarmings this weekend(!!!). Also, my housemate and I are hitting up the animal shelter tomorrow (shhhhhh!) and then  gardening this weekend. I am one productive and happy camper. Now if only I can squeeze in the gym.

xoxo

Eat.Drink.Americano & Katy Perry

Last night was uh-mazing. V and I hit up Eat.Drink.Americano, which is on 3rd near Wurstkuche and shared the arugula and mango chutney flatbread and oxtail sliders and some pinot noir. It seemed straight out of Portland - local, fresh, urban, hipster. And the wine was great.

Then V and I headed to the Arclight. We saw the Katy Perry movie in 3D. Don't judge. I cried. Several times. BUT the best part of the night happened before the movie when we stood behind Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendez in line. A) Ryan Gosling is not super attractive in real life, but oozes sex. B) I've never been a huge fan of Eva, but she has this inner light of beauty. Like breathtakingly gorgeous. It's kind of ridiculous. Then we were accosted by a 95-yr-old Hollywood residence with an obsession with Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford who went through all of his sexual exploits. He really likes football players.

The movie was fun, but had no depth. I did sing the entire time though, so win-win.

Who wants to see the Step Up: Revolution with me in 3D? Takers?

Summatime

So I moved out one week ago. My mom was dancing on the doorstep. Despite the fact we are best friends, familiarity can breed contempt, especially when I have law school and a long commute to rile me up. But by Friday, both my mom and I missed each other. I'm sure she'll deny that point, but I promise she said it. So after traffic died down on Friday, I hightailed it to the OC to spend the weekend with the fam. On Friday, we ordered thai and watched a movie, which I promptly fell asleep 15 mins in, to my brother's chagrin.

However, Saturday, I was raring to go. First stop - Sweet-Os donuts, where my brother and I splurged on apple fritters. Then my mom and I got pedicures. This wasn't even a luxury - wearing heels everyday has made this a necessity. Afterward, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory, met up with my dad, and toured the exhibits and sat through the planetarium thing-y. It was our family's first time at the planetarium. Super-cute, but like once is enough fo sho.

Following that, we were in desperate need of some refreshments, so Mom, Tray, Jas and I went to Wurstkuche in DTLA, which is one of my favorite spots and I've been meaning to take the fam there. We got crocodile dogs as well as a more traditional kielbasa, tons of fries, and German beer. Thank god my family is as obsessed with food as I am.

Then we picked up a couple pie slices at Pie Hole, incl. blackberry pie, blueberry and peach galette, and the Mexican Hot Chocolate, which we saved for tea at home. My fave was the galette, although I was bummed they didn't have my favorite pie in the world, their chocolate crostada with caramel and sea salt.

It was a wonderful day and I slept well, being well-fed and exhausted.

Today, I had a catch-up session with my dear friend Cailin at Kimmie's Coffee Cup in Orange and now I'm organizing my life. Ready for a fun night tonight with Veronica, but that'll be another post. xoxoox