Ok, so normally I would think this is totally lame and you all know I hardly do this… but how cute is my cat?

If she hadn’t woken up and pounced on my feet with her claws out ten seconds later she would be more adorable. At least she has a killer instinct. She also allows be to illustrate a point: I finished Game Change a while ago and moved on to Tales of the City.

Overall, I found Game Change to be very readable, especially for political junkie like me. It was fun to revisit the election a year after its completion. I thought the part of the book about the democratic primary was a bit long and dragged in the middle. I suppose it illustrated how the election felt to those paying close attention to it? Maybe. I found it to be a fairly detached rendition of what happened. The authors could have really ripped into, say Sarah Palin for example. They only do so by comparing her run as to Bidens. This is especially visible when debate prep is talked about. Also, John Edwards, WHAT A SCUM BAG! Holy moly! And so delusional. On the whole, I would recommend Game Change to anyone interested in politics, race and politics, gender and politics etc. Now, moving on to what were reading now:

What is Tales of the City? Well, per my mother and wikipedia, Tales of the City is a series of columns by Armistad Maupin first published in the San Francisco Chronicle in the mid 1970’s. They are based around a women who moves to San Francisco from Ohio and moves into a building with an eccentric land lady, Mrs. Madrigal. The book has short “chapters” and is focused around the truly colorful characters who reside at 28 Barbury Lane. I started Tales over spring break and really like it. The short chapters make it easy to read before bed in small snippets. I also like the “Midwest girl moves to California” plot and the characters are very colorful! Plus, San Francisco in the 1970’s is eminently readable. I look forward to reading all the Tales of the City books.

-Left Coast

92 hits in one day when all I posted was a health update! Guys, I’m totally blushing over here. This wasn’t my busiest day on left coast contessa but it was the busiest day where I only posted one update. Last month my health post was the busiest day on the blog with over 120 hits. Either you love dieting, or you like to see pictures of my pre weight loss body. Either way, I’ll take it! Maybe I should post about health and dieting more.   What do you think?

Tonight I am making a Barefoot recipe: Nick and Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola. The sauce cooks for 90 mins in the oven so I have a while before I can dig in… maybe I will finally file those Easter updates… humm. Food for thought.

-Left Coast

Check out this post about my body perceptions, adventuring into fitting rooms, losing inches, running and more before and after pics (because apparently, based on the number of hits, people love my before pictures!)

-Left Coast

It’s official: I have the musical taste of a 70 year old man. I like jazz standards and Mo town. My favorite cassette growing up was Bing Crosby. I listened to “Christmas in Killarney” year round. When my Mom and I were in Palm Desert we passed a restaurant named Bing Crosby’s. We decided it would be the perfect place to stop in for a night cap on our last evening together.

I have to say that Mom and I were slightly let down. The vibe was awesome, but not as awesome as we hoped. They have big leather booths, like something out of the 40’s. There were also black and white photos lining the walls. There was a piano and a man who claimed to be the “Marlborough Man” singing standards. It was also a major senior pick up spot and man do the oldies love to dance. Some were tearing up the floor, at least as much as an 80 year old man and his face lifted but also likely 80 year old wife can. I ordered my old standard: Dirty Bombay Martini

Mom ordered a Grand Marnier, how classy! Barefoot would be proud…

Overall, while it did not exceed our wildest expectations it was still a pretty good place for a night cap. I was the youngest person there by about 30 years and the men sitting next to us seriously didn’t believe that I was old enough to be in a bar but I got to hear the old music I like and it was a good way to end the week.

It’s official: I have the musical taste of a 70 year old man. I like jazz standards and Mo town. My favorite cassette growing up was Bing Crosby. I listened to “Christmas in Killarney” year round. When my Mom and I were in Palm Desert we passed a restaurant named Bing Crosby’s. We decided it would be the perfect place to stop in for a night cap on our last evening together.

I have to say that Mom and I were slightly let down. The vibe was awesome, but not as awesome as we hoped. They have big leather booths, like something out of the 40’s. There were also black and white photos lining the walls. There was a piano and a man who claimed to be the “Marlborough Man” singing standards. It was also a major senior pick up spot and man do the oldies love to dance. Some were tearing up the floor, at least as much as an 80 year old man and his face lifted but also likely 80 year old wife can. I ordered my old standard: Dirty Bombay Martini

Mom ordered a Grand Marnier, how classy! Barefoot would be proud…

Overall, while it did not exceed our wildest expectations it was still a pretty good place for a night cap. I was the youngest person there by about 30 years and the men sitting next to us seriously didn’t believe that I was old enough to be in a bar but I got to hear the old music I like and it was a good way to end the week.

Hey Bloggies,

Major milestone to announce! This morning I ran the 4.1 mile loop around campus. This is the longest run that I have attempted since I started back and I have to say I felt great afterward! I feel like my body is changing and accomplishing my fitness and health goals is really empowering.

After running I treated myself to Chipotle. I actually wasn’t really hungry until about 2:00. I actually have some tips on how to do Chipotle on a diet. First of all, I use the Chipotle calculator to determine what I’m eating. I also always order a veggie burrito because they give you Guac for free (and honestly, isn’t that the best part of a burrito?) Then I only eat half. This burrito had tomatoes, lettuce, guac, cheese, fajita veggies, and rice.

Nom! So good! I ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner. This was in between all my cooking!

Easter is tomorrow. I love Easter and all the Easter fanfare so I am cooking Easter dinner for my friends. I did most of the prep today as I am going to church at the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow (!). If that’s not Easter fanfare, I don’t know what is. Anyways, were having almost the traditional Rassenfoss/Swanson Easter dinner: roasted asparagus, funeral potatoes (and I promise they won’t be served on spinach), jello salad (as if there is any other kind), dinner rolls, dessert, and Swedish meatballs.

Traditionally in my family we eat ham on Easter, mostly, I think, because it pairs well with Riesling, but tomorrow I am making Swedish meatballs in homage to my Grandpa who died two years ago on April 5th. I did this last year and it seems like an apt way to memorialize him. Its weird to think that its been two years. So much has changed since then but thinking about that time brings be instantly back to where I was, what I was going through, and my life at that time. Certain things just have the power to transport you back, ya know? Anyway, I’m glad I decided to break with tradition and make them. Its a great way to remember a great man.

So, what does this mean? More blog posts of course! I still have some Spring break posts to put up and Easter will be up in no time. I hope everyone has a great holiday no matter what you celebrate and to those of you that do celebrate Easter, its a bit early but… Alleluia!

When my Mom and I were in Palm Desert it happened to be Fashion Week at El Paseo. On Friday we headed over to The Garden for a pet fashion show with appies and vino! First the food, then the frocks!

Red Vine? Check!

Goat Cheese and cracker? Check!

Chicken Salad? Check!

And now for the styles…

VIA Animal Planet... Worlds ugliest dog

All the dogs were so cute (even the ugly ones!). Totally made me want a Standard Poodle! They seem so smart and human like, which is more than I can say for IZ.

Not as good as Mega Desk, but damn close.

In the mix we have: Arugula, smokey goat cheese, carrots, edamame, avocado, red pepper, pepper, and roasted egg plant. With Balsamic vinegar. Both fulling and flavorful!