Ok, so I’ve blogged about fish tacos before, and before but I made this epic grilled fish taco the other day and I felt like it deserved its own post.

It’s also quite timely because my brother is visiting and we took surf lessons today! David is a natural surfer. He got up easily on several waves. I hung in there and did ok. I managed to get up a few times and wiped out dramatically several times. I also ingested several gallons of Santa Monica ocean water. I feel like a fish. We even saw a dolphin pretty close to shore!

Clearly that means it’s time to eat fish. Don’t question my logic. I’m 2/3 a lawyer.

I simply took tacos from Trader Joe’s and heated them up in a skillet. I also roasted some sweet corn. I blanched the corn. Attention! It is very important to buy unshucked corn. This is how it is done in the Midwest.

While the corn is roasting, chop the other ingredients. I used onion, cilantro, tomato, and when the corn is done I added that too.

Next, prep the fish. I used Traders Joe’s frozen tilapia. I sliced it thinly and seasoned it with lime and cayenne.

I grilled the fish up on my wonderful grill pan. Check out those grill markes!!

After the fish was done grilling I assembled my tacos. Fish on the bottom followed by toppings and I topped it off with avocado.

All together now…

Times 2:

These were delicious and very simple. Why add more to such delicious summer ingredients. I do advocate for roasting the corn. It enhanced the sweetness of the corn and made good corn even better! This will be made again soon in my kitchen! By the way, do you like the photo quality in my new kitchen? It’s love.

Have you ever tried surfing? It was great cross training. My arms are already sore.

Holy crap it’s week 7 of marathon training. Where is the time going? I’ll get right into it because I have some announcements at the end of this post…

Monday: 4 miles

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: 4 miles

Thursday: rest

Friday: 3 miles + 4 games of beach volleyball

Saturday: 14 miles in 2:16 (Personal Distance Record, at a faster pace than my first 1/2 marathon!)

Sunday: Yoga (14 miles + intense yoga class = I cannot feel my thighs right now)

Total: 25 miles

Reflections

Setting a PDR:

I cannot lie, I was a little freaked on Sat with the knowledge that I would be running further than I ever had before. I decided to adopt run/walk method, which you can read about below, and mapped out a path. I love running by the ocean. The scenery made the miles fly by. I mapped the run on “map my run” beforehand so I would have an idea of just how much ground I was covering. The path I traveled was winding as opposed to straight like I mapped it so I actually probably covered MORE than 14 miles. The run went really well, thank in large part I think to run/walk method. By the time I was about a mile from my house it hit me that I was setting a Personal Distance Record. My last mile was the fastest of all the miles I ran yesterday. Overall I felt better after than I had after all my other long training runs. I took an ice bath and beasted Jenna’s BBQ Chickpea pizza and face planted into bed. I was totally ravenous when I woke up and ate a bagel at 7:15 but my eating habits have been pretty normal which is good. I need to recoop my calories but I don’t want to binge eat. Overall, I felt great about this run!

Walk/Run Method:

I was kind of intimidated by my 14 mile run this weekend and after a lot of thought I decided to adopt run/walk method for my run. For my first run doing the method I decided on 10 mins run : 2 mins walk. I took 4 min walk breaks when I took in Gu and stopped my watch at stop lights. This method was a lifesaver. I used to think that there was no way that I could take walk breaks but honestly, they are saving my body. I finished last night and I had NO PAIN anywhere (ok my body was a little tight and I had blisters all over my feet) but no knee irritation or foot irritation. In addition, run/walk method helped break a really long run down into manageable portions. Running 14 miles seems like a lot but it seemed like less when broken down in 10 min increments. I used to worry about walk breaks but my motto for this marathon is “Billy Don’t be a Hero”. Doing a 26.2 race is HUGE. I don’t need to run every step of all 26.2 miles. In fact, I don’t want to run all 26.2 after the run/walk combo I did yesterday and as I proved in my last half, I don’t have to run the whole thing to set a 9 min PR. I know I will feel more confident going into Chicago with this plan in place.

Anddddd I signed up for another 1/2 marathon:

Whoops I did it again.

Source

This half is one of the few I could find reasonably near where I live in the end of August. I’ll be about 2/3 through my marathon training and so this will hopefully feel like a down week. Plus the race was super inexpensive and is a flat course on the ocean which means it will be cool. I really want to run sub 2 hrs. After yesterdays training run I feel like I have it in me but obviously a million things outside of my control can happen on race day so we’ll see.

Overall it was a great week of training. Next week the mid week runs get longer and my brother is visiting so I have to make sure I stick to my training plan. My brother wants to try yoga for the first time so at least I know I’ll get that in!

My former coworker Michelle (writing “former coworker” kinda hurt) just moved to the Westside of LA from Downtown. She asked for my favorite places on the Westside and I figured, why not share with everyone on the blog? So here we are, the best of the west, in my opinion.

Restaurants, fancy

Tavern, the restaurant – The dining room at Tavern is my happiest place on earth. The food is beautiful and the atmosphere is light and beautiful. Things are just better in the Tavern dining room. That being said, its pretty pricy so it’s a special occasion kind of place.

Fraiche – I’ve never blogged about Fraiche but the food is delicious and the happy hour is supposed to be pretty good too. There are locations in Culver City and Santa Monica.

Pecorino – The best Italian food in Brentwood in my opinion. Delicious, fresh food and the portions are not too large. Fava bean pasta is my favorite! Last time I was here I saw Bruce Willis.

Restaurants, everyday

Tavern, the larder – The larder is more affordable than the dining room. The Larder is best for lunch, breakfast, and treats especially the macaroons.

Clementine – Clementine has delicious local and seasonal food and is especially amazing during April, which is Grilled Cheese Month.

Pitfire Pizza – A city wide chain, but there are locations in Venice and Westwood. Pitfire is great because you can place your order ahead of time and jump the line. I suggest the Burrata Pie and the Layer Cake wine.

Bay Cities – The Godmother. Enough said.

Real Food Daily – The best vegan food on earth. Hands down. It’s also located near my favorite study spot so I make it to RFD frequently during finals. The fake bacon is one of my favorite bacons ever.

Father’s Office – In my opinion, the best burger in LA. Plus, FO has a great beer list and sweet potato fries.

Lemonade – Another city wide chain but with locations in Venice and Brentwood, it’s worth giving Lemonade a Westside shout out. I love the watermelon rosemary lemonade.

Primitivo – Sangria Sunday’s at Primitivo in Venice is one of my favorite Sunday activities. The bacon wrapped dates are very tasty and the shrimp, while not on special during happy hour, is still worth ordering.

Places to Study

Santa Monica Library, Main Branch – Big windows, free wifi, an outdoor patio and a café, this is my go to study spot during exams.

Panera Bread – Because you can sit for hours, the parking is free, and generally it’s pretty easy to grab a table with an outlet in the mornings.

Coral Tree Café – Again plenty of outlets, plenty of seating, lots of food options and stays open late. Coral tree is a good place to park it and study.

Places to Shop

AdDress – Hot Pink Tory Burch Shorts for $30. Enough said.

Haute Seconds – Younger, more wallet friendly consignment

Great Labels – see description for Haute Seconds, again, young more wallet friendly consignment. I once picked up a never been worn BCBG trench for under $100.

UCLA Thrift Store – more thrifty but this is a great place for furniture and little house nick nacks.

Santa Monica Place – Best Mall due to being outside, the dining deck and the Nike Store.

Abbott Kinney – Cute little shops, most of which I cannot afford to buy anything in. Grab a coffee at Intelligencia and stroll around window shopping. Maybe stop at Jin (see below) for a pastry.

Brentwood Country Mart – A great place to spot celebs. I mostly window shop here (and eat Sweet Rose, see below) but I often pop into Diesel to buy books.

Places to Run

The Beach Bike Path, San Vicente, Palisades Park, or all three if your marathon training!

Best Treats

Ice cream from Sweet Rose Creamery– the best ice cream on the west side

Cupcakes, Cake, and Sugar Cookies from Susie Cakes– the best cake on the west side

Huckleberry – Huckleberry also has actual food beyond treats but the treats are by far my favorite part of Huckleberry. I highly suggest the salted caramel.

Jin – On Abbott Kinney, there is a beautiful, enclosed patio and delicious cake slices.

What are your favorite Westside places?

Can I put it out there that this has been one of the best, fastest summers ever? Maybe because it’s my last real summer (studying 24/7 for the bar next summer doesn’t count) or maybe it’s because I had a great internship with some of the most awesome people ever (it should be noted that they are probably reading this right now). Either way, I can’t believe my last day at my internship is tomorrow. Major sad faces. To counteract the sad faces my coworkers and I spent a lot of time together this week.

During lunch on Tuesday we explored a bakery in Korea Town called Paris Bakery.

Paris is right around the corner from work. It’s a good thing I found it Tuesday because otherwise I would have been there every day.

Wouldn’t you?

I loved all the strawberries! I think 75% of the desserts incorporated strawberries. They were also super inexpensive! I paid $1 and got this treat…

The cream was very light (similar to whipped cream but not as sweet) and the pastry was a bit sweet but not too sweet. Very refreshing! If I had found this place earlier in the summer I would have been in big trouble.

And the coworker bonding didn’t end there! Tuesday night my coworkers and I went to The Counter for dinner.

I’ve wanted to try The Counter for a while. The Counter is a burger chain in LA and also in other parts of the country too! Chicago people, pay attention! This is one you can go to too because they have a location in Lincoln Park. Of course, there won’t be a palm tree in front of your restaurant. I’m. So. Never. Leaving.

Obviously we were there for happy hour because I aim to live every hour like its happy hour.

I really liked the layout of The Counter; it was very open and spacious with a bar.

The Counter is known from their burgers that you get to build from the bottom up. I heard good buzz about the beef, turkey and veggies. There were SO many options!

It was hard to narrow down what I wanted from the list but I managed to make some good decisions. As you can see, I had a hard time determining which meat I wanted.

Another good decision? Le Freak beer.

It was hoppy with orange notes. Hops are growing on me and they make me hoppy. Ha.

I also taste tested my coworker Jo Ann’s “adult milkshake”.

The milkshake was thick and minty. Very tasty.

The fries arrived quickly and my coworkers got to experience the joy of dining with a food blogger. Any by joy I mean eating with someone who says “wait! Don’t eat! I need to take a picture!” They were good sports.

We ordered sweet potato fries with a chipotle aioli and parmesan fries.

My (first) portion.

The sweet potato fries were very tasty. They were salty, not sweet just the way I liked it. However the parm fries stole my heart, probably because they were smothered in cheese. I could eat these forever!

Then my burger arrived.

My beef burger came on a multi grain bun with mixed greens, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and a wasabi aioli! I was very, very excited about the wasabi aioli and yes, I planned my entire burger around it. If you dine with me you know I frequently will plan my entire meal around a side dish. When wasabi aioli is in play can you really blame me? I love the spiciness it added to the burger. The bun was perfect because it wasn’t too much bread and the burger was meaty.

I only wish that there was white cheddar as an option. Clearly that isn’t a real complaint. While I don’t think this is the best burger in LA (Father’s Office still has that title in my book) it was damn good. At least on the same level as Umami. I really need to create some kind of burger ranking. I need to update my “to do” list.

And for the protein lovers, you can order your Counter burger in a bowl like my coworker Andrea did:

Overall it was a fantastic final group happy hour with my fellow interns! I find it rather upsetting that I don’t get to hang out with my awesome group of coworker’s everyday all year. I’m going to miss my ‘not rough around the edges summer 2011 crew and there better be a fantastic reunion at some point. The sooner the better.

It’s been real summer 2011 and thanks to my fellow interns for making this a summer to remember!

Two years ago I packed my bags, boxed my belongings, drugged and shoved Izzy into a box and moved from this place…

To this place…

I moved to LA two years ago Wednesday August 3rd. My move to LA was a bit spur of the moment. Around the time of college graduation I made my final decision that I wanted to move to LA. Don’t get me wrong, I love Boston. I used to have to pinch myself that I actually got to LIVE there however at that time I really needed a change. My final year in Boston was very stressful for me and I manifested the unhappiness through weight gain. I remember looking at the pictures from my last weekend in Boston and being able to tell that I wasn’t happy. In fact, I cringe when I see those pictures. You can read about it on my weight loss page.

My first year in LA was all about adjusting to law school, starting my blog and learning about LA. You can read my first year recap for yourself. It wasn’t the easiest year but I managed to get through it.

My second year in LA was all about wellness and thriving!

I ran my first half marathon.

I ran my second half marathon and signed up for my first full marathon.

I rediscovered yoga and started going twice a week!

I spent the entire year eating whole foods, and even lost 2 dress sizes.

I made new friends through my blog! I never thought in a million years I would make friends through my blog but I’ve met a wonderful community of great people.

This past year has been a great one for me. I tell people all the time that LA is my happy place. I can drive around and just smile because of where I am. Living here has improved my mental wellness, physical wellness and spurred me to do thing I never thought I’d do. People ask me all the time if I want to stay in LA because graduation is coming up in less than one year and I honestly can’t imagine leaving.

The past 6 months have been the absolute happiest of my life, and a lot of that has to do with the positive changes I’ve made since I moved to LA. I plan to celebrate my California-versry by going on a training run and indulging in some Susie Cakes. It’s tradition after all!

My first two years in LA have been fantastic and I can’t wait to see what my next year will bring!