Category Archives: LA

Buffalo Mozzarella

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I am having a love affair with Buffalo Mozzarella. Who says a 22 year old grad student can’t indulge? I picked some up at the Cheese Store of Silverlake on Sunday.

mmmm. Buffalo Mozzarella is made from water buffalo milk and is generally creamier tasting then regular mozzarella. I got a small ball because I have to consume it before I travel to Boston on Wednesday.

I used it Sunday to make tomato basil pasta with basil. This is a recipe I made a lot last summer because its easy and also basil, mozzarella and tomatoes are so flavorful and summery together.

So I roasted cherry tomatoes, cut up some basil and mozzarella. I cooked brown pasta and then combined all the ingredients with a little EVO.

mmmm always gooooood.

This was a perfect dinner to cap off a day of site seeing with Joe and David. We had brunch at Local in Silverlake and then saw the Hollywood sign:

And then we got SUPER touristy and went to the Madame Tussauds to look at the celebs:

Shenanigans.

Abbott’s Habit

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Today while David and I were kicking around Venice we stopped to have lunch at Abbott’s Habit, a cafe on Abbott Kinney. Whenever I walk by Abbott’s Habit there are always throngs of people outside so I was excited to try it. To drink I had a Moroccan Mint Tea (and clearly I had Pirates Booty as a side dish).

For the main course David and I both got 1/2 sandwich because we wanted to be hungry for snacks later. I tried the Bobo Chicken Sandwich which consisted of Chicken, melted cheese, pesto mayo, roasted red peppers, spinach, tomato, and red onion on a french roll. It was too good, and the portion was HUGE despite being a half:

It was gooooood. Then we hung out at the boardwalk, the canals and then Santa Monica:

And look what we saw:

A sea lion!!! Tomorrow we head to the east side for brunch with our cousin. Can’t wait!

Abbott's Habit

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Today while David and I were kicking around Venice we stopped to have lunch at Abbott’s Habit, a cafe on Abbott Kinney. Whenever I walk by Abbott’s Habit there are always throngs of people outside so I was excited to try it. To drink I had a Moroccan Mint Tea (and clearly I had Pirates Booty as a side dish).

For the main course David and I both got 1/2 sandwich because we wanted to be hungry for snacks later. I tried the Bobo Chicken Sandwich which consisted of Chicken, melted cheese, pesto mayo, roasted red peppers, spinach, tomato, and red onion on a french roll. It was too good, and the portion was HUGE despite being a half:

It was gooooood. Then we hung out at the boardwalk, the canals and then Santa Monica:

And look what we saw:

A sea lion!!! Tomorrow we head to the east side for brunch with our cousin. Can’t wait!

Out and About

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Whew. What a busy day. David is here and I spent the day showing him the city.  First we hit up Coffee Bean and I introduced David to Stan’s Doughnuts.

I had chocolate covered orange crisp and David had the Simpson’s doughnut:

Then I showed off UCLA campus and then we hit up Urth Cafe for brunch. I had a farmer’s salad which was truly delish…

After that we went to the Grove and the Arclight Hollywood where we saw “Exit Through the Gift Shop” which was very excellent. I was excited for the movie but it was way better than I anticipated and I would recommend this movie to everyone. Banksy is pretty funny. Then we went home and played with Izzy…

Before dinner at Angelino’s. So yummy! Of course I had gnocchi in pink sauce. After David wanted a doppio espresso, he is a coffee lover!

Tomorrow we will hit up Santa Monica and Venice! Can’t wait!

David Days

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Tonight my younger bro is arriving in LA. I am very excited. Today has mostly consisted of cleaning the house, baking brownies, and going to yoga. For breakfast I went old school with some Greek Yogurt but I was out of my Spice House Saigon Cinnamon! Good thing I stocked up at the Spice Station in Silverlake…

In my yogurt I had honey, Saigon Cinnamon, and orange flavored dried cranberries.

Then I went to yoga and after yoga I ran off to a hair cut, and this was the result (please forgive the emo style myspace picture)

I really like the cut! Micheal at Capelli Lounge in Westwood always does SUCH a great job! This cut is very similar to my past cuts from him but there are less layers on the bottom of the hair and my bangs are longer than usual. I got my brows done yesterday and I am feeling very pretty! (also, kind of dying over how thin my face looks 🙂 ).

The Santa Monica Day

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Vacation, sweet vacation. I love it! Today I took advantage of my car and drove to the Santa Monica library to open an account and get some books.

This library is ah-mah-zing! First of all, its super modern and clean looking. There is a little courtyard with a coffee shop and a beautiful water feature and gorgeous desert plants. It’s a total oasis. On the inside the library looks like a bookstore. There is so much light and the books are laid out so nicely. I have love in my heart for the Boston Public Library, but this is a pretty damn good replacement. This time I got several “light and fun” books. I love non fiction but I just can’t read them right now. My brain needs to detox from law school for a while. So I grabbed my books and hit the cafe:

It was so relaxing. Then I went to the Third St. Promenade and took a yoga class at Yoga Co.  I was a bit early so I took some pictures along Ocean Ave. More reasons I love California:

Now, that is a beach!!! After kicking around taking pictures I headed over to Yoga Co.

I loved my experience at Yoga Co! The last time I did yoga was 9 months ago and it was Bikram. I like Bikram but its really intense and expensive and isn’t that relaxing. I look a vinyasa flow class which was awesome. I really needed to stretch out after all the running I’ve been doing and this did the trick. Nice, slow, long poses. My hip seriously cracked 20 times.

Overall, the studio is amazing. The classes in two of the rooms are by donation, so I wasn’t sure how nice the studio would be but it was clean and well decorated. The studio themselves are some of the nicest I’ve ever practiced it. My teacher, Joey Soto, was so nice and so is the rest of the staff. I was in the earth room today and my class only had 5 students which was great. I love a small class because the teachers give more attention to the students and the postures. At the end we got to do a 20 min meditation which was relaxing. I haven’t done a full meditation in a long time and it was nice to take stock of my body and my breathing and just let go of any tension and worries. When I left I was so serene.

Even though I haven’t done yoga in a long time I fell right back into it. My teacher said that I have a good practice. I think it because Bikram is very focused on the postures and perfecting them which I was able to translate into my yoga practice. Plus, it totally strengthened my muscles. I can’t wait to do back to Yoga Co!

New Car!

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Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday, but I was busy getting this…

Yay! Proud owners of a 2006 Toyota Corolla! Yes, its used, but it’s in great condition and runs well. I went to carmax and it was super easy to get my car. Literally, test drove it and decided I liked it and drove it off the lot. I also went to Target and got a beach chair and stocked up on cat food. Bonus of having a car is that I can buy 24 cans of food at one time. The I drove home on the 101 to the 405 (I went 70, I felt like a 16 year old). I got off the freeway and drove directly to Susie Cakes.

Yum! I went on a run (which was something I hadn’t done for several days between finals and being hung over from celebrating finals). Then I enjoyed my cupcake. I got Mocha this time and it was really good. Super moist, but not as moist as the pineapple upside down cupcake.

Today I have a busy day planned: reading the New York Times, going to the library and donation yoga. I cannot wait to drive all over the city! This means great things for Left Coast Contessa!

#101 Finish 1L

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I cannot believe this year is over! This has been a challenging year for me and I feel so accomplished now that its over. Nothing matches the feeling of taking on a challenge, working hard, and finishing the task. Of course, yesterday was a gorgeous LA day:

Seriously, I’m never leaving. I love that its almost always going to be a perfect day is LA.

We had our final from 1:15 til 4:45, then we were shuffled from the testing room directly to the courtyard for this…

and this…

I knew when I got the email that there would be cake after the final that I picked the right law school. I love UCLA because literally all I wanted after the final was cake and champagne. And of course there were picture.

And there were drinks…   Car bomb and margaritas and champagne oh my.

I have to admit that I’m a little sluggish this AM but that’s OK because I have NOTHING to do today. Well, actually not nothing. I have a pool party in the Valley to attend. But nothing that requires brain power. I have to get going but, UCLA LAW class of 2012, we did it!!

In Control

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“There are two ways to live life. One is stressed-out, the other isn’t. One hurts, one doesn’t. Look, if you’re having a nightmare, don’t you want to wake up?” -Eckart Tolle

Um, yes I would like to pick the second one please! Since yesterday was essentially a family/social/small amount of work day, today became the first “real” day of reading period. Reading period in law school lasts for two + weeks. This is wonderful, since my entire grade is dependent on one exam which is curved against a bunch of truly brilliant people. Obviously this is also a recipe for stress. The theme of the entire last semester was “clinging on for dear life”. This semester the theme is “I have the power to make choices”. We are all in control. I can choose to go on my run, eat well, set a realistic study schedule, and manage my stress. I am in control. That is what I intend to do this semester.

Along the lines of eating well…Last night for dinner I had a multi grain rice pilaf with roasted Brussels sprouts! I never liked/tried Brussels sprouts before but I figured that there was no way I wouldn’t like them roasted. Everything is better when slathered with EVO, salt and pepper, right? Naturally. Plus, its probably the healthiest thing I’d had in a while (because we have to balance out all my treats). And now for another gratuitous shot of my dinner.

After dinner a (very) small group of section 3 people went to the Gaslite, in Santa Monica. They are known for having karaoke every night. Of course there was an eclectic group of regulars hanging out and rocking out. Hardcore. I also observed some new dance moves for the next time I dance with a mic stand.

The only down fall was that there was no tonic at the bar. What is a g&t loving preppy to do?

There was a girl in a North Face, pearls + she had a martini. I felt like I was back in the North Shore, but I opted away from the martini. I love me a martini but I had a review session today and it is finals. Time to show restraint! I was really glad I went out last night. It mellowed me out and reminded me that fun and finals CAN coexist, despite all other indications. Lets hope I can keep this mellow zen up until May 6th around 5 pm. Whose with me?