Bits of My Morning

I love my mornings. Whether its breakfasting, coffee-ing, hiking, blogging, etc., I love that that time is for me to center myself and get it together. The last two weeks, I have been slammed at work, so my mornings consisted of too much coffee at 5am and rushing to get everything done. But starting my day of like that sets me on edge, making me prone to over-caffeinated freakouts and naps. Now that those projects are somewhat under control, I can get back to my morning routine.

Today, I woke up at 6:15ish and then did some juicing. I had lovely tangelos from Lauren, so I mixed those with some fuji apples, ginger, and carrot. Then Sophie and I went on our intense hike in Griffith after I did a bit of editing. (The projects are under control, not done yet though :) ). Then I came home and made some breakfast: kale, egg white, red onion, peach salsa, avocado, pepper jack over a corn tortilla and a cup of tea.

Hopping in the shower, taking a green shot and getting to class soon, although I'm feeling far too relaxed to be bothered with trusts and wills.

A few bits from my morning today - (Warning: even though I'm a morning person, I'm still a bit groggy.)

Music, Mammoth and Mono Lake

Since I worked through the holidays, I really felt I didn't have a break at all. This weekend certainly made up for it.

Friday night, Evan and I checked out Atwater Village Tavern (great margaritas, okay food), then Michael and I caught up at El Prado before going the Echoplex and seeing the Superhumanoids. I hadn't seen them perform in a minute, so it was great to rediscover their sound.

Evan had decided we were going to wake up before dawn to leave for Mammoth. So I threw some things in my bag (all useless, thank god for target) and we picked up Christable and Veronica. None of us had gotten more than two hours of sleep, and let me tell you, we no longer have the stamina of college students.


But once we got to Mammoth, it was amazing. I had decided to cook the entire weekend.

On the Menu:
Saturday brunch: mimosas, bacon and a Spanish Frittata with new potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese, and red onion.
Saturday dinner: artisan pizza with pancetta, fried eggplant, pesto, pizza sauce, mozzarella, burrata, caramelized onions and heirloom tomatoes with a caesar salad with homemade croutons.
Sunday breakfast: orange-banana pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.
Sunday dinner: ground beef tacos with sauteed kale and onions, pepperjack cheese and peach salsa
Sunday late night snack: sweet potato, pesto on herbed flatbread.
Monday breakfast: omelet with peppers, kale, potatoes, parmesan and goat cheese.

I was happy with the results, although some of my recipes still need tweaking (of course). Also I want to bake more.

So while everyone was skiing, Veronica, Sophie and I hiked. We did the Snowcreek Trail (Sophie loves ice and snow balls.) We also went to Mono Lake, which is this amazing salt lake with tufa rock formations. Absolutely gorgeous.

We went up to the main lodge to see the half-pipe invitationals (i don't even know what those are.) There was hot-tubbing, music, beer tasting, fooseballing, napping and movie-watching. Such an epic time with hilarious and fun people, including Vinson (Evan's friend from home who drove down from San Jose) and Lincoln (Evan's and my coworker.)

Although I need a bit of recovery time from my weekend, I was so grateful and relaxed the entire time. <3 p="">

Weekend Rambling

I'm exhausted from a lovely hike to a waterfall at Eaton Park in Pasadena with Evan, Sergio and Audrey. Sophie was a regular mountain goat.

Yesterday was lovely. Ellie and I finally tried out Sqirl on Virgil. I wish they had more seating inside, but it was a glorious latte and buttered brioche with blackberry meyer lemon preserves. The rain had subsided and there was a peak of sunshine and it was a lovely spring morning.

I had a few errands and then made a mixed grain, avocado, kale, red onion salad for dinner. Jacy and I had a bit of wine and played some amazing music videos.



This morning, I woke up and made breakfast for Jacy, Jefferson, and Evan. Berry-banana-tangerine smoothies, scrambled eggs, thyme bacon, and banana and chocolate chip pancakes.

Evan and I went thrifting and then we met Sergio and Audrey for our hike before having a quick bite at Home. Planning on meeting Aline and Jacy for a drink at the Hermosillo. Tomorrow, Sophs and I have a quick trip to the vet, our daily hike, and then lunch at home. I have to finish a take home test and then Jacy, Ellie and I are heading to Sound for a party.

Time for some more work and perhaps a nap. xx.

Elysian Park Hiking

Uh, so I didn't realize that Elysian Park had such a lovely little trail. Jacy and I took our wolves, Tucker and Sophie, for a jaunt and ran into Sophie's love Freddy. We had them off leash for quite a bit of the trail, which and great views of Mt. Washington, different grove things, and downtown. It was just the type of afternoon I needed. xoxo.

Sophie and her Freddy

 Sophie with Uncle Tucker leading the way

Beautiful afternoon glow

Massive Weekend Post: The Black Keys, Florence, Hiking, and Red Velvet Pancakes

I had an epic and productive weekend. The major highlights were Tegan and Sara and the Black Keys at the Staples Center on Saturday and Florence and the Machine at the Hollywood Bowl last night.

Some breakdowns:

Friday:
I took the pups home so my mom could pamper them with organic chicken and fish stew. At least I got bacon for breakfast. Jenaba and I hit up Casa Bianca for some pizza and chianti. Very sweet and retro and just happens to be Obama's LA pizza place from his days at Occidental.

Then I met Aline at Verdugo for some girl talk. Great beer garden and good convo. Then I met Ellie and Ryan for a drink at Little Cave. Delicious Green Flash and laughs and I love the exposed brick.

Saturday:
Machiko and I did a massive Mt. Washington urban hike with the pups on Saturday morning and then met Veronica for brunch at Home in Silverlake. Super beautiful patio and dog friendly. We had the red velvet pancakes, the eggs benedict and the veggie burrito. Loved loved loved the pancakes - not too sweet.

 Then the Black Keys!!! So after a epic win with a parking enforcement man (I ran like a gazelle to save myself), V, Stef and I headed to the Farm and shared several plates of food. The Truffled mac and cheese - be still my beating heart and a couple bottles of wine and went to the show. My love for Tegan and Sara is near obsessive and they were great, although I wish the set was longer. Then the Black Keys just killed it. Phenom. They were absurdly good. Then V disappeared after introducing us to some new friends. We then hit up Tony's Saloon - yay photo booths and got late night Thai. I think I went to bed at 4:30.

Sunday:
Picked up my dad - I was in a rather rough state and went back to the OC where Sophie basked in grass and sunshine. Then went back to LA and Sophie hung out with my Dad, while Aline, Haley, Justin and I hit up Kitchen24 for massive burgers and (sweet) strawberry cocktails, then headed to the Hollywood Bowl. UM. FLORENCE IS A GODDESS. I WANT TO BE HER. SHE IS PERFECTION. Good drinks and company and just amazing.

Yeah, so my weekend was one of the best ever. I went to two new venues that blew my mind. Although they were big, the sound was good and the performances were crazy legit. And I just got to hang out with my best friends all weekend and cuddle with my family. Like too perfect.

Sandstone Peak Hike

Despite my high-maintenance tendencies, I love hiking. I know - shocker. Last Sunday, Priyah and I decided to forego the run-of-the-mill Griffith and Runyon for Malibu's Sandstone Peak. We ended up hiking the 6-mi loop in reverse, which meant incredible inclines, gorgeous views, and a great sense of accomplishment and exhaustion at the end. The trail is definitely a bit out of the way, about 25 mi north of Santa Monica, and it can be a full-day hike, but it's totally worth it.

Griffith Park Hike + {Music} Trent Dabbs & Patrick Watson

Soooooo after a chill morning, I met Evan in Echo Park to look at some apts. I looked at two house shares yesterday. One was a small Victorian owned by a self-professed "white bruhaha" (i.e. tarot card reader.) Among other things, there was no parking, laundry, and a tiny room. (Evan is an amazinggggg friend for helping me with apt search. Thank you!)

So after that little jaunt, we recovered with vegan smoothies at Silver Lake Juice. I got the honey almond cream, which was super light and perfect for a hot day. Then we went to Griffith, followed by some guac, chips, and Blue Frog Blonde at Good.

Then we went to Highland Park to look at another renovated Victorian - four bedroom, two bath, hardwood floors, crown molding, parking, laundry, etc. It was amazing. I'd never been to Highland Park; its about 7 mins from Echo Park in a mostly residential neighborhood. Both the NY Times/LA Weekly have decided its like the new Echo Park. It's def an interesting neighborhood, but a little more investigation and talks are in order, but it's a definite maybe, but keep your fingers crossed that I find something sooooon.

 

And music: