Cornucopia - Fall Weekend 1

walking the "green carpet" at the EMAs

Abundant is really the right word for the last few days. And perhaps the next few weeks. Aside from work and yoga and cuddling Sophie, I have a networking event on Wed., Jacy is coming to town, flight to Portland on Friday, then SF (for El Vy!), Art Garfunkel, Ellie(!) comes to town, a Gloria Steinam talk and then the UCLA football game, plus Interview with a Bruin and Thanksgiving. Geez. Imma have to up my B12 and Maca doses.

front row glam

This past week was amazing, partly bc I put some of my wandering thoughts to rest. I'm just chillin right now and feeling great about it.

I'm way too excited about chicken

Last Thursday, I made a dinner menu straight from Saveur. Now I don't usually do this, because why would I ever need to follow a recipe? But I've been a bit bored of food lately (and lost the weight to prove it, with the exception of triple cream brie). So I made a sage roasted chicken, roasted radishes with thyme, roasted garlic cheddar mashed potatoes, and an autumnal butternut squash, arugula salad. Michael, Evan, Jamie and Jeff came over and gave it pretty good reviews. It was a lovely, light fall meal. But a bit boring. I'm still on the hunt for another crown jewel meal to add to my repertoire (banh mi tacos, sweet potato gnocchi, dutch oven ribs, white wine poached salmon).

The Gorgeous Rahia

Friday, I had an awful conference at LAX, only made worth it for an impromptu happy hour with my beautiful friend Rahia. We had so much to catch up on, it was rapid-fire question and answer sesh. We met in Manhattan Beach at the Rockefeller, which is a few blocks from the beach and has a pretty decent wine selection.

Cotton Jones at the Satellite

Later, G$ (Grant) headed up for a backyard happy hour with me before we headed to the Satellite for the Cotton Jones show. My other Michael had told me years ago to see them live, and quite randomly I realized they were playing in LA and coerced Grant into coming with me. They did not disappoint - genuine, earnest and traditional folk. I was alllll about it. Then of course we finished the night off by taking an Uber to Taco Zone for mulitas de suaderos. Lake walk and Blue Bottle in the AM was the best way to start the weekend. [And also, just a note, I am soooooo lucky to have Mr. Hartwell in my life. He always cheers me up, grounds me and inspires me. Love that dude].

grant waiting for mulitas

I had the conference again Saturday morning. Which wiped me out. But my old friend Kelsey hit me up randomly to go to the Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards and Gala. Totally amazing red carpet event, which honored, among others, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristin Davis, and Don Henley (of the Eagles) for their work. Very rarely do I have a chance to glam out AND also talk to influential people about my work in social justice, but this was the event to do so. I had such an amazing time and hope that I get to do more things like that in the future.

Sunday I was meant to go to Joshua Tree with Jamie and Jeff. But we had a bit of a late start, so I ran a few errands, met Aline for a quick breakfast and hung out with an old friend for the afternoon. Later, Jamie and Jeff prepared an authentic, light and heartfelt tapas meal and I fell into bed satiated and exhausted.

THE MULITA 

FOUR 30 Minute Meals and Some Pro-Tips

If my lack of posting on the blog is any indication, my life has changed dramatically since starting work at the firm. Machiko and I wake up around 5:30/6, go on a walk/hike with Sophie, make tea, smoothies and breakfasts, and I'm out the door at 7:10 to make it court. On non-court days, I get to take a longer hike with them and maybe catch a couple of minutes of my podcasts, before heading out. I work, come home, walk Sophie for another 45 minutes and start prepping dinner.

(Writing that, I've suddenly become acutely aware of how boring my life is.) The system Machiko and Evan and I have worked out is pretty great. Essentially, we split grocery shopping with Machiko picking up produce (potatoes - sweet and yukon, kale, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and anything on sale lol) and interesting protein options (i.e. beef bones, pork belly) and Evan getting the trader joes staples (cheeses, wines, sweets and dough) and me picking up the specialty items day-of when I figure out what I'm going to make us. We try to eat only organic and lean toward lighter meals, although the recipes below feature lots of protein :)

So I come home, make dinner and Machiko and Evan do the cleanup. Boom. This is all memorialized in my Instagram posts. Since we started this, quite a few people have asked how I come home and manage to cook dinner for the three of us, especially considering the time it takes to prep, cook and execute a meal. 

In reality, it takes about 20-30 mins to complete the following meals (not including cooking time). Part of this is that I've planned the menu ahead of time, my kitchen is clean and organized, I know how to slice and dice quickly, and I almost never follow recipes (they take too much time.) I have to thank my mom for the fooducation. We never ate processed foods growing up and rarely got take out, so cooking is just obvious to me. Like brushing my teeth or making coffee. 

You just learn along the way what flavors go together, how long to cook certain types of food, etc. Of course, one always has failures. For instance, last night I tried to make a guava serrano chile sauce for my tilapia. It was AWFUL. Like disgusting. Like Evan had to immediately throw away the barf-inducing contents. I'd never prepared guavas like that (softened with onion and garlic) and apparently, you cannot do that. But the rest of the meal consisted of easy staples - quinoa (cooked in organic chicken broth) and roasted sweet potatoes, Bar Ama style alongside the coconut crusted tilapia.

Although I usually post recipes separately, I thought I'd do a roundup of the best meals we've had in the last couple of weeks where there was a special something elevating the meal from basic to luxurious. 

MEAL 1: Coconut Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Seasoned Quinoa.

Coconut Crusted Tilapia:

- Get fresh deboned tilapia fillets (We like the fish at Gelsons)

- Rinse and pat dry

- Prepare three flat plates with a lip.

- In the first, put in a 1/3 cup all purpose flour with a heavy dose of pepper and paprika

- In the second, whisk up two eggs

- In the last, mix 1/3 cup flour with a 1/3 unsweetened coconut flakes.

- Take a fillet, coat in flour, then dip in the egg, and then coat in the coconut mixture

- PRO-TIP: use tongs, bc it gets gummy; also just flip the fillets in the mixtures rather than spooning the mix on top.

- Do for all the fillets

- Heat up your choice of oil in a pan on medium (preferably one with a higher smoking point.)

- Once oil is hot, meaning you should hear a strong sizzle when you place the fillet in, place fillet in middle of the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until each side is golden brown. 

- Fish should be flaky and butter

- Serve with a sprinkle of salt and cilantro and a wedge of lime.

MEAL 2:  Cast Iron Skillet Burrata Pizza with Balsamic Onion Jam, Fresh Basil, and Roma Tomatoes on a Garlic Herb Crust

Balsamic Onion Jam:
* I get tired of tomato sauce on my pizza, so I whipped up some really quick onion jam to use at the base sauce.
- Take one big white onion and thinly slice
- Sautee onion in olive oil on medium until wilted and translucent - around 5-7 minutes
- Pour in a couple of tablespoons of balsamic (we used one flavored with elderberry)
- Cover, lower heat, and let cook down for 20 minutes
- You may have uncover and let the liquid cook off so its more jammy and easy to spread on the crust
- Use this as a spread over the unbaked pizza crust and cover with toppings

Meal 3: Ribeye Steak with a Green Salad, Parmesean Mashed Potatoes and a Veggie mix of Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Garlic and Onions

 Parmesan Mashed Potatoes:
*To be honest, I'm not a meat and potatoes girl, but I was craving comfort food and so I whipped this up.
- Take four big potatoes, peel and quarter
- Boil until you can poke them with a fork
- Drain and mash
- Add 1/2 cup grated parm, 1/4 cup heavy cream and olive oil and mix up. You can add more oil or cream to get the consistency you like
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Chop up some italian parsley and mix in before serving.

MEAL 4: Honey Whisky Pork Ribs Served with an Avocado Green Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette and Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes 

Honey Whiskey Pork Ribs:
* This was a bit of a cheat. Generally I cook ribs for 3-4 hours in a dutch oven until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. But I'm in a time crunch in the evenings, so I stole my mom's Nuwave and whipped these up in less than 40 minutes (INCLUDING COOK TIME).
- Rinse and pat dry pork ribs (always do this with protein to freshen the taste).
- Rub in salt and pepper and family spice blend (cumin, cayenne, garlic, ginger, etc).
- Douse with your BBQ sauce (I used a generic honey whisky base sauce, then added soy sauce, (more) honey, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper since we had those things on hand and not much else).
- Place in NuWave, drop on a bit more sauce over top.
- On high heat, roast for 12 minutes
- Turn over and roast for another 12 minutes
- Serve with BBQ sauce
- PRO TIP: If you do have a NuWave, put chopped peeled beets and sweet potatoes in the drip pan so that the pork juices and sauce flavor the veg - two dishes in one!

Echo Park - Dinette

Despite my conflicted feelings about gentrification, I meandered down to Dinette in Echo Park for breakfast. My flexible schedule means I get to take advantage of food offerings and morning jaunts that I normally would not have.


Sophs and I picked up a latte and an amazing croque monsieur. MIND BLOWN.

Let's go over the reasons why I love this place:

1. The Croque Monsieur was comparable to the ones I'd get in Paris, perfectly toasted, great use of herbs, nicely done béchamel, and quality ingredients, and was served piping hot with a side salad. I impressed with the execution and the portion. Win. A must-try. Delicious.

2. The ambiance. Even the slightly irritated, tatted up, apron wearing barista was a good fit for the chipper industrial chic window cafe. The shiny, crisp display with an abundance of freshly made pastries was perfection.

3. The heating lamps. It actually fell below 65 today and walking down with Sophie, I had my doubts about how comfortable the outdoor seating situation would be. (They only have outdoor seating btw.) They have heating lamps. Stop. I can't even. I enjoyed my breakfast without frostbite.

They offer a range of hot breakfast items, sandwiches for lunch, and delicious looking pastries. I definitely recommend it for a quick bite to eat.

Afterwards, Sophs and I stopped at her favorite dog treat store, Blue Collar, to pick up a jerky treat, which she demolished before I even paid. They had been closed on our way down and she was quite disgruntled. Then we did a quick Elysian Park hike and here I am, doing some work/playing with the new instagram filters.

Gone Fishin' (Plus Beer-Poached Salmon)

I need the next few days to recenter, so I'll keep this brief. Yesterday, I made dinner for Jacy: beer-poached salmon with a cream sauce and lemon garlic aioli and a sweet potato-feta-chickpea salad with a honey mustard dressing. (Recipe below.)

Then Jacy, Ellie and I checked out Chinatown After Dark, which are the Third Thursday of every month during the summer. Jacy and I bought some stellar rings and then we hit up Harvard and Stone for a quick drink before calling it a night.


This morning, Evan, Jacy and I went hiking at Elysian, grabbed some coffee at the Square One Boathouse. I am just about to hop in the shower and then off to meet Larissa and her new baby, Penelope! More fun things to follow, but I wanted to check in with a recipe. I have never poached salmon before and definitely not in beer. Generally, I just bake it, but it always ends up a bit dry. The poaching kept the lovely tenderness of the salmon and I was happy with this spring time meal, although it definitely needs a bit of green. But one makes do with what they have, amiright?













Beer-Poached Salmon:

• Fill a pot (with a lid) with a can/bottle of a beer (I used a lager, but a hef would work too). Throw in some olive oil (2-3 tbsp), a spoonful of capers, a sliced lemon a couple of crushed garlic cloves plus salt and pepper.
• Bring to a simmer. 
• Throw in two defrosted salmon fillets that have a bit of mustard, skin down, in the pot. 
• Cover and cook for 15 mins.

I then removed the salmon and made a roux to thicken the beer sauce and served with my lemon garlic aioli.

Sweet Potato-Chickpea Salad with Feta:

• Two roast sweet potatoes, chopped
• One can rinsed garbanzo beans
• 4 ox of crumbled feta
• salt, pepper 
• honey mustard dressing (homemade with dijon and clover honey)
• Combine
• Inhale

Salad Nicoise and My Life in General

So I've been incredibly successful with this taking time for myself business.

Friday:
Met Ellie, Travis, Ivana and Arianna at the Satellite for The Peach Kings plus Two Boots after.

Saturday:
Hike at Griffith plus brunch at Home for a feast with Evan and Sophie
Music and Beach with Grant, Evan and Sophie



Sunday:
Hike with Jacy
Brunch (brioche with raspberry lavender brioche toast with almond butter at Sqirl) and thrifting with Ellie in Echo Park
Dinner with V, Grant and Matt and my mommy and aunt :)





Monday:

Matt and I did some stuff around the house. I went to Superking for the first time I ca't even deal, such amazing produce. So then I juiced and made an Amber version of a salad nicoise for Ellie, Evan, Matt and Patrick. Of course, we all had sweet teeth, so we got five slices of pie from House of Pies:

1. Peanut Butter Pie: great texture, but need at least a chocolate drizzle
2. Lemon Meringue: I'm never a huge fan of this business bc the curd is never real enough for me. Although this was one of their most popular pies, I didn't love it... or even like it that much.
3. Raspberry Marble Cheesecake: UM WINE. A perfect goddamn cheesecake
4. Dutch Apple: traditional pie with a crumble topping. Pretty good.
5. Chocolate Banana Cream Pie: My second favorite next to the cheesecake. Real chunks of fresh banana with the right ratio to the chocolate cream. Yum.


We were meant to go to the Echo to see two of our favorite bands, Kera and the Lesbians and Andrew Sheppard. But the food coma kicked in and we were half human, so we called it a night.

And then, finally, Ivana and Brooke came home from gallivanting about Big Sur at 3am. So happy to have my housemate home :) and we're cooking kale tofu ramen tonight and drinking organic beer.

Oh and I got my taxes done. Let's make it rain, mofos.





Recipe for Amber's Salad Nicoise (aka totally made up and not traditional):



Salad:
2/3 Package of quality small heirloom tomatoes (washed)
4 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
a couple of handfuls of sauteed green beans
six small new potatoes, parboiled whole in salted water, then quartered.
A head of butter lettuce, chopped.
- Assemble prettily on a plate

Salad dressing: 
one clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
tbsp dijon
pepper
salt
some minced dill, basil, thyme (may a 1/2 tsp chopped each - like whatever)
two chopped up anchovies
a few capers
- mix up in a mason jar (duh) and then drizzle over salad.

Salmon
- two filets -> marinate in this for a hour:
1/2 can beer (light beer - i.e. heineken)
the juice of lemons
the same herbs as above
pepper
salt
some dijon
- pan fry salmon, so skin is crispy

Cream sauce:
Also take leftover marinade, place in sauce pan, through in a tbsp of flour, let thicken, add some half and half so its creamy (duh).

Place salmon on top of dress salad and put a dollop of the cream sauce and enjoy!

xx

Life Lately

I meant to update my blog over the weekend and then I got food poisoning from chile relleno from Don Antonios in Santa Monica. Literally died.

But Veronica brought over my red gatorade and my favorite sour candy and after about 30 hours, I was back to normal. The weekend was amazing though.

Alene and I checked out Allumette for Dine LA on Thursday. I have to write a full review. It was really amazing. The dishes I was a bit wary of ended up being my favorite, i.e. fish over tapioca pudding. Then I met my old roomies and Evan at the Hermosillo for a catch up session and chocolate mousse.

Friday, Christable and I hit up Gillian's birthday at King Eddy's in DTLA - great hipster (cheap) bar and great to see G :) Then we went to the Satellite to see Vim Dicta and Hindu Pirates and meet up with Ellie and Travis. We played pool and drank tequila and ended up gorging on bourbon pecan pie at Brite Spot at 3am. And then as Christable described, Evan landed like an eagle and picked us up.


On Saturday morning, I made banana pancakes for a mimosa brunch for Cassi, Evan, Matt, Patrick, Ivana and Brooke. Lots of mimosas. Then Don Antonios happened (I'm still queasy thinking about it.) I still thought I could get it together, so Cassi, Christable and I checked out Hotel Cafe for Okapi Sun's set and then hit up Bootie LA. Bad idea. Hot sweaty bodies writhing around you and the smell of cheap alcohol will really catalyze your projectile vomiting due to food poisoning. 

I spent the entirety of Sunday in bed watching Netflix until Veronica saved me with my favorite sick food. Since then, I've been taking it easy and catching up on work, namely that UN petition, a motion, an opposition, proposition research, a scholarship app, law review stuff, etc.

And of course, I also did a girls date dinner with V at our fave place, Edendale. - oxtail au jus. I can't even. So good.

I picked up some stuff at the Americana last night and checked out Din Tai Fung with Aline  - phenomenal. Review coming later.

Add in a few hikes, including the two hour one with Tawsh and Matt this morning, ginger shots, and catching up on Oscar movies, I'm feeling pretty good about this week.


AND MANDZ IS COMING TO TOWN THIS WEEKEND. Plus dinner with my mom and some gardening, I am a happy camper.

The only thing I need now is some yoga to stretch out those post-sickness muscles.

Thanksgiving + Friendsgiving + Sleep/Food/Coffee

Places Featured:

Dirty Laundry - 725 N. Hudson, Los Angeles
Green Bliss - 305 N. Harbor, Fullerton
Donut Friend - 5107 York Blvd., Los Angeles
Purple Yoga - 120 W. Wilshire, Fullerton
Echo Park Lake

This year, Thanksgiving was phenomenal. My mom roasted duck with an orange sauce (our family is against turkey), sage stuffing, fried Brussels (my contribution), stuffed mushrooms, and roasted butternut squash. Then Jason made chocolate lava cakes with custard for dessert. I'm still recovering. It was just my mom, aunt, bro, Sophie and I. Usually, we have a lot of people in and out, but it was nice just to kick it with my bro (with limited squabbling over GMOs) and curl up on the couch and watch movies together. In between naps, I made it to yoga with Greg at Purple Yoga - I'm still sore. I also got to do the trails with Nathalie and Green Bliss on a rainy morning with Kels. I was so happy to have catch up time with my friends, especially before my neurotic finals self kicks in.

Every year in Santa Cruz, my friends and brother would have a "Friendsgiving" or "Fakesgiving" before they all headed home for the holiday. I never was able to make it, but this year on Saturday, our friend Molly hosted a SoCal version at her place in Westwood where we feasted on fresh baked breads, exotic salads, and more traditional meals, but an amazing dessert table. What made it even more special for me was getting to spend time with my brother and his friends, who I don't see frequently enough.



[UM ALSO WE WERE AT DINNER WHEN UCLA BEAT U$C!!!! GO BRUINSSSSS!!!!!!!! - BEST NEWS EVER]

After dinner, Paige and I headed to Dirty Laundry in Hollywood for our friend Karly's birthday. (Note: I always have the best time with Paige - I love her). This venue just opened up a few weeks ago and is hella legit. When you pull up, the building is just a random apartment building, neutral and quiet. Then there's the bouncer. You walk down and are totally transported to this brick basement, complete with flickering lights and hot bartenders in suspenders. Suspenders = hawt. Karly looked gorgeous and we had such a good time taking in the scene. If you are going, be sure to reserve a table, especially Friday and Saturday nights.

So Jas and I woke up early on Saturday and took Soph to Donut Friend - well, she waited impatiently in the car for her apple fritter. I got the Smores 34 - a chocolate cake donut with toasted marshmallows, chocolate glaze and graham crumbs. Bobes went all out with a chocolate cake donut, maple glaze, pastry cream, raspberry jam, mint and chocolate curls. Delicious, but Jesus. Then I drove him up to Ventura to meet his friend for his ride up to Santa Cruz. I miss him already but I'll see him in a couple of weeks.

Afterwards, I was feeling a bit meh. So Evan, Jacy and I took the dogs (Sherwyn, Tucker, and Soph) to Elysian and then to Echo Park Lake for an impromptu picnic (80 degrees in December - we have to take advantage).  Then I headed back to the Fig House and pumped out some work before heading to TJ's to pick up groceries for the week. I know - so exciting I had to blog about it.

Overall, I had such a relaxing weekend. I'd like to think that I am grateful and show that gratitude everyday. But sometimes I get a little lazy and forget how lucky I am. But I am. :)

Love love love

Confusion.

Last week was a bit stressful for me. Not in a stressful deadline-y kind of way, but in "a lots of stuff going on and full social life, not enough sleep, one beer too many, and no exercise" kind of way. Champagne problems I know. That and the massive amount of work I managed to eek out from my fried brain and aching fingertips was rather impressive... until Friday hit. I was told about a new case at work that hopefully I will be working on. However, the details and evidence that I went through on Friday was particularly brutal and horrifying. To the point that I cancelled all plans and hid out at Jacy's, enjoying Lagunitas, Dominos (with In n Out spread???), and bridal TV shows. Mind you, I've been limiting my dairy, gluten and alcohol intake to one day a week, so my body almost revolted in displeasure. A great night though.

Saturday was similar. After a walk with Soph and coffee with Annie, I drove down to the OC to hole up on my mom's couch and watch reruns of television. I didn't want to think, read, think, etc. I just lazed about like a slug and appreciated the privileged life I live. Which meant by Sunday, I needed action. I drove back to the Fig House - started laundry, cleaned my room, went on a hike with Jenaba, and then volunteered with my friend Kelsey at Artisanal LA.

Kelsey is working for a television network that just launched by Participant Media (i.e. Food Inc), called Pivot. It features edgy material aimed at millennials and is available through most cable providers. Super cool stuff.

Anyway, Artisanal LA was amazing. We only had time to peruse one of the floors, which had everything from coffee (i.e. Handsome and Coava) to coconut bacon to vegan chocolates to Japanese beef demonstrations and hemp tshirts. I loved it and would have spent far too much money if I hadn't been volunteering.


Kelsey and I then caught up at Mohawk Bend. Whenever I see her, I am just so in awe of how vibrant and ambitious she is. Such an inspiration.


Afterward, I finished those pesky weekend chores and snuggled Sophie till she bit me. (She had a spa day at Soak with Lennie and Jenaba and came back quite perturbed with how wonderful she smelled and the shortness of her paw-nails.)

I also watched AHS: Coven. Loved some of the historical throwbacks, the New Orleans/voodoo stuff and of course, the Salem folklore. But as a history buff, especially on the Salem trials, I'm a little nervous about their rendering. Also, Emma Roberts kind of annoys me. Kathy Bates though is superb (duh) and I can't wait to see what she does with the show.

So now to the confusion bit. I think my body is confused with what its doing. I've been feeling fatigued in the mornings, which is generally NOT me. I bounce out of bed like a groundhog. (Someone once described me like that.) This is despite limiting my coffee intake to one drink a day and also staying away from gluten and dairy and heavy meals after 6pm. The one thing could be my sleeping pattern was terrible last week and I wasn't exercising as much I generally do. Plus, the Dominos could still be in my system (damn you cheesy breadsticks!).

Thus, this week I am focusing on regular sleeping hours and exercising.. Despite seeing Gravity tonight, maybe the Peach Kings tomorrow. And I'm working on sticking to the gluten-free vegan stuff this week.


Today, I had vanilla quinoa porridge (not a looker, but great taste) and then a vegan chicken wrap. Go me. I'm perfecting my quinoa recipe, but I'll post it once I like it ;)


Okay, back to work.

Ciao.

LA Catchup

Things have been madness since I returned last Friday.  I'm so grateful for my family and friends and how fun this week has been and all the wonderful things that will happen. A brief synopsis:

Saturday:

• Law Review Orientation
• Late lunch with Annie (new housemate - she's amazing, fyi), Veronica, Grant, Aline, Max and Lauren (our fave subletter ever) at Square One at Echo Park Lake. I got the Squash Blossom Burrito - delish. (Grant - we need to do our vegan dinner soon; Max - you need to get on board with face touching; Veronica - can we just get married already?)
• FYF - I love you Devendra Banhart (and Jacy, Aline and Evan - I've missed you more than you can imagine).

Sunday:

• Jeff - thank you for always putting up with my craziness - I love you, almost as much as I love coffee and Banh Mi.
• Brunch wtih Christina at Red Hill - get the mimosa with the homemade sorbet and the kale salad. Also despite the crazy people around us, Christina was the funniest and most amazing. I love her so much and can't wait to go out with her again).
• FYF - Beach House and Washed Out for the win. And reuniting with Molly was the icing on the cake.

Monday - Thursday:

• Classes - wow. I forgot how to read. 
• Hermosillo welcome back - I love my friends almost as much as I love deep fried brussel sprouts (special thank you to Anthony and Jackie for traveling to me - I felt so loved!)
• Walks around Silverlake Res, hikes at Elysian, nachos with Cassi at El Chavo, fun work meetings (more on that later), and general merriness.

Friday:

• Edendale dinner (Omg the Eden Dip) with Veronica, hightailing it around the Eastside, including Bar Stella, 4100 (oh the views) and Footsies. 

Saturday:

• Coffee at Square One with the pups and Jacy (becoming my favorite dog walk, especially with Sophie trying to chase the heron pictured below).

• Catching up on Orange in the New Black (so amazing, I want the new season - did she or didn't she?)
• Scoops ice cream with Annie and Ariana - yay for roommate bonding and salty oreo.
• Reuniting with Lennie and Jenaba - I've missed them.
• Eat.See.Hear with Sam, Jacy and Christable - Pulp Fiction, hot dogs with avocado, arugula, and basil aioli and hot chocolate from Brasil Kiss. Yum. Sam - thank you so much for introducing me to such a legit event and thank you to Christable and Jacy for putting up with my craziness and listening to my stories and for being so great in general).

• Brew Co/Daily Bruin reunion with my faves, including Alene, Anthony, Jess, Machiko and Matt Stevens. 

Sunday:

• Relaxed with brunch with my mom, Labor Day Sale shopping with my aunt, and yummy Indian before cleaning my room and getting my life together.

Monday:

• work work work in the morning.
• Lunch with Priyah and Whitney at Wurstkuche - You can't go wrong with the Austin Blues. Also I've missed Priyah tremendously since she moved and so happy I got to spend a couple of hours with her.

• Massage with Aline
• BBQ with Paige and Aline - adobo steak, corn on the cob, fresh green salad and dessert: bananas with melted truffles, marshmallows and vanilla ice cream.

The next week is crazy - I have a report due for my consultant position with LAFLA due tomorrow. I start back at Hadsell tomorrow and Hoffman on Wednesday. I need to sift through some law review articles and do my reading for class. Thursday - HH with Lorna and Haley and dinner with the girls (Aline, Alene and Seda) on Thursday.

Also starting my new workout plan - Beachfit and YogaHop on Wednesday and applying for some fellowships. Shit is about to get real, but I'm hoping to keep up the updates on this blog as we go along.

xx

Updates + Primitivo Wine Bar

 Dins with Priyah in Venice

  

So this week has been crayyyyyyyy. I started work on Tuesday at the LA City Attorney in the family violence unit, which covers child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, etc., both misdemeanor and felony cases. I've been working a ton, i.e. motions, order, briefs, manuals, points and authorities, and I got to go to court on Thursday and it's just plain amazing. The office is dynamic and high pressure and there are about 15 attorneys, I get to work with every day. Currently, I'm working on a points and authorities on when and how to serve minor witnesses when their parent/guardian is the defendant in a child abuse case. It may sound a little grim, but as an avid follower of Law and Order: SVU, this is dream come true.

This week, I also got to have lunch with my favorite journalist, Anthony, at the LA Farmer's Market - yummy BBQ chicken and I've fallen in love with the iced americanos at Groundwork. One day, I worked 11.5 hours with a 30 minute break for coffee, so those are going to be my saving grace.

Other fun things this week:

- The Gold Room with Evan and company for PBRs. So hipster-y and dive-y. Love it.
- Brunch at 26 Beach with Veronica last Saturday - S'more French toast with Nutella. I had two bites - it was so sweet, but soooooo good. And seeing V always puts me in a good mood. Plus she is moving to DTLA, so hopefully I'll get to see her more often!
- Yoga with Steph at Lululemon, lattes at Caffe Luxxe, and a beach day with Katie - it was far too wonderful of day; those girls spoil me with their amazingness.

- Memorial Day BBQ with Steph at Venice Beach - we had these phenomenal cookies and waded in the water

- Smoothies at Silver Lake Juice and Tea. I got the Hurricane Chuck with espresso, cacao nibs, almond milk, and a whole bunch of yummy vegan things.
- Apt hunting. I'm looking for a room or studio in Silver Lake or Echo Park. I saw three places this week - a house of artists by the reservoir (walking distance to La Mill); an apartment in Echo Park with two boys, walking distance to Thirsty Crow, but a little, um, decrepit; then a house a block from Stories, butttt too many people I think. All the places were super cute, but there isn't any rush. I want to find somewhere that I can see myself living for at least the next year with legit people, so wish me luck!

SOOOO, last night Priyah, Evan, and I hit up the Abbot Kinney First Friday. It was jam-packed but so fun. We ended up taking a break from humanity and having wine and tapas at Primitive Wine Bistro, which I had seen on Thrillist. We tried a South African syrah (Porcupine), which was spicy and fruity. And we also shared a hummus plate and cured meat platter. It was so relaxing and fun. The wine selection was phenomenal and the food was carefully chosen and prepared. The service was ridiculously good. And Priyah and Evan are two of my favorite people so it was a wonderful way to end my hectic week. I think I could get used to this whole working thing :-)