Author Archives: Katherine Swanson

Driving Lesson 3…

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On driving lesson 3 I drove on the 10 to the 405! My instructor said that I am ready to take my driving test! Watch out LA.

I have plenty of updates ready to roll however, they might not be posted until the end of the weekend. I have my final 1L memo due Tuesday (and its graded) and I have a cite checking assignments due soon as well. However, today I managed to do a lot of walking. I treated myself to eggs with asparagus and avocado.  It was really good! I walked a total of two hours today and was feeling pretty good! This afternoon wasn’t as good. I felt really really down and then went to a BBQ with some friends. It was nice to get out of the house when I was feeling down but I ate so much! I had two cupcakes, brie, white bread, and two smores. Not my best moment. Oh well, taking the advice of Tina at CarrotsnCake, I’m going to try not to be too down about it. I will pick myself up tomorrow and go on a run. After all, tomorrow is another day…

Jody Maroni's

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While strolling the Venice boardwalk on Sunday my Dad and I decided to stop for a hot dog at Jody Maroni’s.

Being Chicagoians, we take our hot dogs seriously and high discerning standards. Dad got one but in true Chicago fashion only got mustard and onion.

I was a little less by the book. I had the works: onions, relish, ketchup, and mustard. It was such a good hot dog! Totally grilled to perfection with a great combo of ingredients.

The fries were also so amazing. They were fried to perfection and also salted within an inch of their life.

mmmm. topped the whole thing off with a diet coke.

Nothing like strolling along on a lazy Sunday with a nice diet coke!

Also, an exciting announcement. Yesterday was the busiest day on left coast contessa with the largest number of hits coming on my health post. So glad ya’ll liked my before pic so much. I should post bloated before shots of me more often 🙂

Jody Maroni’s

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While strolling the Venice boardwalk on Sunday my Dad and I decided to stop for a hot dog at Jody Maroni’s.

Being Chicagoians, we take our hot dogs seriously and high discerning standards. Dad got one but in true Chicago fashion only got mustard and onion.

I was a little less by the book. I had the works: onions, relish, ketchup, and mustard. It was such a good hot dog! Totally grilled to perfection with a great combo of ingredients.

The fries were also so amazing. They were fried to perfection and also salted within an inch of their life.

mmmm. topped the whole thing off with a diet coke.

Nothing like strolling along on a lazy Sunday with a nice diet coke!

Also, an exciting announcement. Yesterday was the busiest day on left coast contessa with the largest number of hits coming on my health post. So glad ya’ll liked my before pic so much. I should post bloated before shots of me more often 🙂

Outrageous Brownies

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There are some foods that are just too good. Barefoot Contessa’s outrageous brownies are one of those food items. I am not surprised that she sent these to her husband Jeffrey when he was in college and he ended up marrying her. That’s the kind of power these brownies have. Also, this is Ina’s recipe but my mother is famous for making these brownies. I hope I can follow in her foot steps… and here is why everyone loves these brownies…

Two sticks of butter, one bag of good chocolate chips and three cubes of baking chocolate! Melt them together, take off the heat and let them cool down.

While the chocolate is melting combine egg, sugar, vanilla, and instant coffee grinds. Set aside until the chocolate has melted and cooled down.

Go ahead and combine the egg mix before setting aside until the butter/chocolate mix melts and cools down.

Also while the butter and chocolate mix is melting combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside for later.

After a while the butter has melted, cooled, and looks so delicious! Nothing is more yummy than butter and melted chocolate!

Then you combine the cooled chocolate mixture with the egg and sugar combination and combine well. Let cool after combined. Otherwise the egg might do some funky stuff…

Then slowly fold in the flour in three parts…

Once the flour has been completely well combined you can add another handful or so of chocolate chips and walnuts (although you can leave out of your allergic).

Take the mixture and put it into a pan and cook at 350 degrees for 15 mins. Rap the side of the pan to release the air from the brownies and cook for another 20 mins. When the brownies are done baking take them out and let them cool completely. Then refrigerate them overnight (make sure to cover in press and seal!)

Like always, so delicious. I truly believe that these brownies have insane power over people. I blame the coffee!

So good! Make them for yourself: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/outrageous-brownies-recipe3/index.html

Note that I made a half portion because the full is too big to 1) fit in my fridge and 2) can feed a small army.

Oatmeal!

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The best way to power up for a long day at the law school grind? Oatmeal!

Oatmeal with a little bit of brown sugar, my beloved Saigon cinnamon, and orange flavored cranberries. Some random man in Trader Joe’s told me about the orange cranberries and they are so delicious. I can always go for more orange flavored anything.

Plus an Ice Tea (made with Tazo Awake) makes the perfect breakfast!

Dad in LA

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My dad was here this weekend, which means there are many restaurant reviews to come on Left Coast Contessa. It also means tourist shots of LA.

Hiking in Griffith Park:

The Canals in Venice:

And of course, the beach!

anddddd sSan Vicente for almost no reason…

Posted in LA

Oscar Picks!

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Here is what my Oscar Ballot looks like this year (my picks in red):

Nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards

Actor in a Leading Role

  • Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” But I really want Colin Firth to win!
  • George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
  • Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
  • Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
  • Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actor in a Supporting Role

  • Matt Damon in “Invictus”
  • Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
  • Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
  • Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
  • Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

  • Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
  • Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
  • Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
  • Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
  • Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
  • Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
  • Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
  • Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

  • “Coraline” Henry Selick
  • “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
  • “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
  • “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
  • “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

  • “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
  • “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
  • “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
  • “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
  • “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

  • “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
  • “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
  • “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
  • “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design

  • “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
  • “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
  • “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
  • “Nine” Colleen Atwood
  • “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing

  • “Avatar” James Cameron
  • “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
  • “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
  • “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)

  • “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
  • “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
  • “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
  • “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
  • “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

  • “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
  • “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
  • “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
  • “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
  • “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing

  • “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
  • “District 9” Julian Clarke
  • “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
  • “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

  • “Ajami” Israel
  • “The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
  • “A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
  • “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
  • “The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany

Makeup

  • “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
  • “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
  • “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)

  • “Avatar” James Horner
  • “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
  • “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
  • “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
  • “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

  • “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
  • “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
  • “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
  • “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
  • “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture

  • “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
  • “The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
  • “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
  • “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
  • “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
  • “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
  • “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
  • “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
  • “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

  • “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
  • “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
  • “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
  • “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
  • “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

  • “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
  • “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
  • “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
  • “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
  • “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

  • “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
  • “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
  • “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
  • “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

  • “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
  • “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
  • “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
  • “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

  • “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
  • “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
  • “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
  • “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
  • “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
  • “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
  • “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – Easily my fav film of the year

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
  • “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
  • “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
  • “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
  • “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Victorrrrrrrryyyy!

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Ok, so potato pancakes are not part of my commitment to health. However, last night I got a job offer from a well respected public interest organization in Los Angeles. I figured a celebration was in order. My friends and I went to Jerry’s Deli in Westwood Village.

I had already had pound cake with lemon curd so instead of a milk shake, I got potato pancakes. It actually worked out because I had only had a small serving of soup before my driving lesson and a small portion of soup can hardly be described as dinner. Not that fried potatoes are packed with nutrients… In any case, the potato pancakes was good (my total guilty pleasure) and I am so relieved that I have something for this summer!

Driving Lesson 2

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Hello world!

So tonight is driving lesson #2. This is a good thing. However, this also means that I will lose at least 2 hours of my precious work time this evening. That fact means that my already busy day is becoming busier. I’m a big fan of taking mini breaks during my day but that was just not really happening today. I had class, worked on my forthcoming graded memo, attended a volunteer meeting for the UCLA Public Interest Auction, and sat at a table for an hour selling tickets. In typical Katherine fashion I just signed up for a tabling slot without consulting my class schedule so my hour of tabling interfered with Civil Procedure. I ended up listening to the class on tape recorder and getting notes instead of going late. Oddly it feels less stressful for me to know that I can make the class up rather than going in late, getting stared at by my classmates and seeming like I have been blowing the class off.

So in any case, I ended up with a found hour in my day. As you all know the life of a law student can be pretty stressful (the never ending wait to hear back from places I’ve interviewed with, the emails packed with innuendos that they’ll hire me, the uncertainty of it all) so I decided that I should get out of the law building and take a walk. I was also craving something sweet. My feet led me to a nice sunny area with tables and chairs… AND FOOD TRUCKS!

Our good friends at the GastroBus were there today with a perfect dessert to cure a sweet craving, pound cake with lemon curd.

It hit the spot! The cake was light, but not too light, and delicious. The lemon and raspberry curd gave a subtle sweetness to the cake without being overwhelming. I also got to sit in the sun and get some reading done while enjoying my cake. With all the craziness going on (ramping up for the end of the semester, the summer job search, and for me, the wait to hear from places I’ve interviewed with) it was nice to just sit in the sun with a little pound cake and lemon curd.

My stress subsided slightly and now I have to trot off to Lawyering Skills and then to my driving lesson. Wish me luck!