Author Archives: Katherine Swanson

Happy Day

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Over here at Left Coast Contessa I rarely update on the political. Those that know me know that I’m not shy about my liberal leanings (hello, “Left Coast”!) But as a law student and Californian I wanted to just take a moment and talk about the striking down of prop 8.

I was very happy to see that Prop 8 was declared unconstitutional. Granted, there will still be a long fight in the courts and there is much disagreement over which approach is the right one (ie: Supreme Court vs. ballot props).

However, I will say that I was proud of the message that was sent today from the court: Proposition 8 “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.” 

I also was a HUGE fan of the court talking about applying strict scrutiny to  equal protection claims based on sexual orientation. The court essentially said that there is no reason to classify people based on sexual orientation.

So, while there is still a long battle ahead, lets enjoy the moment and celebrate!

The opinion can be read here

Piece of Cake

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One year in California? I think that means I should have a treat.

There was only one place to go…

I celebrated last night because I have dinner out planned for tonight. On the way home from yoga I stopped at Susie Cakes and got a slice of cake which I enjoyed with an adult beverage.

I love prosecco.

And then, there was cake.

Susie Cakes’ marble cake was everything that I wanted it to be and more. Moist cake, perfect frosting. I do have to admit that it took me about an hour to eat. I am not sure if it is a reflection on the cake or the reduced size of my stomach. And yes, of course I licked the plate. It was just that good! One year in LA never tasted so sweet.

My One Year California-versry!

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One year ago today I drugged up Izzy Cat, packed up several suitcases, enjoyed a final luxe breakfast at the Eliot Hotel Boston and moved to Los Angeles! I cannot believe that it has been a year since I moved to LA. Time has flown by and I have done some much in the past year including…

Sometimes I still cannot believe that this is my life! Going to UCLA has been like a fairy tale for me and I feel so lucky that I have had the opportunity to go on this insane journey. Here are some pictures for the past year…

my going away dinner (aka, weight loss before)

new apartment

Hey Section 3/4!

It’s been an awesome year! Here’s to the next one!

Fish Tacos: the remix

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I was able to come home for lunch because its the last week of work and I have very little to do. I have a lot of errands to run in advance of school starting in about 2 weeks that I want to check off my to do list. Can you believe school starts so soon? Time is flying by!

For lunch I took leftover taco ingredients and made a salad:

In the mix: lettuce, yellow pepper, red onion, cucumber, goat cheese, peach salsa, pita chips, and tilapia.

I cannot lie. I have a love for peach salsa with goat cheese. Best combo ever! Off to run more errands and hit a yoga class per my plan!

Fish Tacos

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Today I was craving guac and fish so I decided to make fish tacos for dinner. I started with the guac which is very simple.

I used avocado

I also added S&P, garlic powder, tomato,  onion, and lime

and then you mix!


Yum! I love fresh and chunky guac. This was perfectly salty because of the sea salt that I added. I enjoyed it with a guiltless pita chip.

Then I got around to the fish. I used about 3/4 lbs of tilapia (3 servings), dried it and cut it into pieces

S&P and broil for about 7 mins, flipping half way through

While the fish was cooking I heated up the corn tortillas

And prepped my toppings which included peach salsa, the guac, and goat cheese

Prepped tacos:

Finally the fish was finished cooking.

Final product:

Yum! I hate to toot my own horn, but this was DELICIOUS! I love fish tacos as demonstrated here, and this was good. I actually liked broiled as opposed to fried. Its just fresher. The guac was the perfect mix of salt and lime. The peach salsa added a sweetness to the mix and the goat cheese cooled it off. When have I ever not loved goat cheese?

Yummy, quick and simple! I cannot wait for the leftovers!

6 Mile Sunday

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Happy end of the weekend! Per my plan I woke up this am and ran 6 miles. It actually ended up being about 6.2 per mapmyrun.com.

Before going out I fueled with coffee, water, and a larabar:

I love larabar’s because the ingredient list is short!

Can’t argue with that!

My run was good. I love looking at houses when I run and today my route took me through a neighborhood with some good ones like…

The Playboy Mansion. Source.

The Spelling Home. Source.

Not a bad neighborhood, right? I love running by ritzy homes!

After I got back I immediately stretched and ate.

I also had hummus bread. It was good to eat right after running! Happy Sunday!

Don Julio

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Last night Catie and I had an impromptu meet up at The Griffin.

The conversation went like this:

“Let’s do a shot”

“Ok, but I don’t like vodka”

“I don’t either… humm… no one really does gin shots. What else can we do?”

“Tequila!”

And that is how we end up with this:

Better picture:

Happy weekend! Hit the FM this AM, cleaned the kitchen, and now headed out for a fun day of pool hanging. Love summertime!

Allston Yacht Club

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Tonight I had happy hour at the Allston Yacht Club. Bostonian’s might find this amusing because 1) Allston is student central 2) the idea of a yacht club in Allston is a little ironic. Angelino’s will be amused because the idea of a yacht club in Echo Park is verrrry ironic.

I have to say that the food and cocktails were really good and CHEAP! All food is $5 during happy hour and the cocktails are around $9. I don’t mind the cocktail prices because the cocktails are great and normally high quality cocktails in LA are > $10.

I ordered a “Blue Moon of Kentucky” which had bourbon, and blueberry mint lemonade.

So fruity and clean. I hate cocktails with sour mix and I love when I get a fresh, delicious and minty cocktail like this one.

And then, there were plates….

We started with cucumber carppacio (very light and kinda garlicey)

Then we had roasted Brussels sprouts. Frequent readers know how I feel about roasted Brussels sprouts

Broiled shrimp and feta gratin

Calamari with citrus, soy fish sauce and sweet chili

and eggplant parmagiano – because I love eggplant!

Then the waitress said something magical to us, “Do you want to hear about the happy hour desert menu?”

Umm, yes, we would!

Whoever decided to have happy hour dessert, I love you.

One bite and we were BOTH hooked. The seasoning! The whip cream! Le sign. Go to the Allston Yacht Club. It is deeeelish and they have fantastic drinks and great food deals at happy hour. AND happy hour dessert. Who doesn’t want dessert happy hour?

Taylor’s

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Tonight I met up with my Uncle for dinner at an old school steak house near my work, Taylor’s. Taylor’s is a great place to go if you want to go to an old school steak house. There are no windows so the restaurant is super dark. The booths are red and they made a decent martini:

Yes please! There is no pairing better than a steak and a martini!

For an appetizer we had bacon wrapped scallops and a cream of mushroom soup which was pretty good. Have I ever not appreciated something wrapped in bacon? Forgot to take a picture of the bacon wrapped scallops but they were good. The scallops were cooked to perfection. I never liked scallops until I moved to Boston and they always remind me of my “other” city.

For an entree obviously I had the “Taylor Special” which was a filet with onions:

I chose mashed potatoes on the side, always a good choice. It also came with a side of spinach which was good. I only managed to have three bites. I would totally live off of red meat and potatoes if I could. You just can’t go wrong. The steak was perfectly cooked exactly to the level of rare that I like it.

Unfortch I did not save room for dessert. I couldn’t even finish the steak and potatoes before I was stuffed! That’s what I get for scaling back portions for the past 7 months. I just can’t thrown down like I used to.

Overall I really liked the vibe of Taylor’s. I can always go for a martini and red meat. The atmosphere is very old school and more “Old LA” than most of the places that I frequent. The change of pace was delightful and I always love having dinner with Joe.

In other news: Tomorrow I am going to happy hour at a bar that has a bacon and egg martini. Yep, bacon infused vodka with a quail egg. Should I be adventurous?