Tag Archives: LA

Vay-cay!

Posted on by

8

Fact: everything is better when you’re on vacation.

After having two majorly lazy days (and when I say lazy I mean literally not leaving the couch until 1 pm) I woke up today ready for action. I decided to indulge in some of my favorite things: the farmers market, running, coffee, and the Sunday paper.

In my opinion, there is only one paper on Sundays:

Cover to cover, this is my favorite thing ever. I have a method: I always start with the Style section, move to the front page, and then read Week in Review before reading anything that is especially interesting. Then I wrap up with everything else. And I when I say I read everything, I mean everything. I might not closely read the whole thing but I make sure the scan every page. You never know what you’re going to find.

Today this was interesting and in a section of the paper I generally barely touch:

An article about food products claiming health benefits and, legally, what they can claim or not claim. It bothers me when products claim to be very healthy when really it’s just more processed crap. Unprocessed food all the way! It made me think I should take food law.

In that spirit I hit the farmers market. I didn’t go last week and in the week since I last went it seems like the market has totally blossomed!

Beans and peas are in season.

Beets are still around, at a great price.

Here is something new: Apriums! That would be an apricot and a plum hybrid. I hadn’t had them before so the stand owner gave me one for free. The one I got was a bit too ripe (if that is possible). I loved the flavor but the consistency wasn’t my thing. If you live in So Cal snap these up fast, they’re only going to be in season for a few weeks.

The strawberries were amazing today! I didn’t buy any but I indulged in a liberal number of samples. Cherries are also in season finally and I did end up buying some. I even broke my own rule and bought something because the sheer size was impressive. Let’s just say I’ll be putting fresh dill into everything I make this week. I had a long list because I have a ton of awesome meals planned for this week. I cleaned out my fridge yesterday and went on an epic shopping trip to Whole Foods. Vacation means that I’m going to get back into blogging with a vengeance. Let’s just say the Flour Cookbook is going to be making repeat appearances this week! Chocolate Chip macaroons: it’s happening.

Now that I’m getting back into my blogging groove are there any special requests for what you’d like to see on the blog? I’m open to suggestions for restaurants, recipes etc. You name it, I’ll try it!

The Griddle

Posted on by

7

Here is the thing about law school finals: they last for over 2 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I need all that time to study but after a week of working in near isolation I needed a breakfast/vent session with a good friend. Danielle and I decided to hit The Griddle in West Hollywood for giant pancakes and a catch up sesh (which included statements such as “that was HARDLY discussed in the class so why did he test us on it?!”, “8:15 AM for a 4.5 hour final?! That is a violation of my Civil Rights!”).

I’ve been to The Griddle once before, pre-blog when I had only been in LA for about two weeks, and I’ve wanted to go back ever since so I was excited when Danielle suggested it.

Thing that is awesome about The Griddle?

You get your own personal French press!

The Griddle is known for their HUGE and super sweet pancakes. I’m sure there is other stuff on the menu besides pancakes but seriously, why bother? The fact that the pancakes are so large and sweet informed my choices. I only ordered one pancake and I chose one of the “less sweet” types.

Danielle went for the Nutella French Toast:

See what I mean about large and sweet? I didn’t save room for a bite of her French toast but she said it was delicious.

I opted for the Honey, Cinnamon and Rolled Oats pancake.

In the words of Danielle, “even when we go to The Griddle you order something healthy”. HA! Only healthy because of the rolled oats and I love rolled oats. I only ate about half of this pancake. Can you blame me? The pancake is literally bigger than the plate! The oats cut the sweetness a little bit and the honey was just the right amount of sweetness. Oh, and obviously we added maple syrup.

We also ordered bacon, you know, to chase the sweet pancakes with.

It was so good that Danielle couldn’t wait until after I took a picture to dig in.

Overall, I still love The Griddle. Perhaps because I went for the first time a week or so after arriving in LA it feels like quintessential LA to me. I need to go more frequently and remember that it’s a great place to bring out of town visitors. The lines on Saturday and Sunday are insane but we didn’t have to wait early on a Thursday so check it out on a weekend if you can because otherwise you might have to wait for an hour for service.

What is your favorite breakfast dish? I don’t really like eggs all that much, so for me breakfast is all about pancakes and bacon!

Coffee recap

Posted on by

0

April 27th – III (3)



April 28 – IIIII (5)






April 29 – III (3)




April 30 (II) 2


Can of Diet Coke while taking an exam.

May 1 II (2)



May 2 (IIII) 4





May 3 (IIIII) 5






May 4 (IIII) 4





May 5 (IIII) 4


French Press (3 cups)


May 6 (II) 2

+ 1 Latte during my exam

May 7 (IIIII) 5






May 8 (III) 3

Medium Latte, Coffee in the library (illegal, don’t tell anyone), Large latte

May 9 (II) 2

Ice Tea +


May 10 (II) 2



May 11 (II) 2

Medium Latte, diet coke all consumed during exam

May 12 (II) 2

Large latte, cup of coffee all consumed during exam

GRAND TOTAL: 50!

Congrats to Whitney! Email me at leftcoastcontessa@gmail.com to collect your prize!

Finals ended yesterday with a 4.5 hour exam that started at 8:15. So evil to have an exam that long start that early. Yesterday was a pretty epic day. There was Arrogant Bastard day drinking, Ethiopian food for dinner with friends, and dancing at the end of the semester party.
It was an awesome celebration of the fact that we only have one year left! This summer hold some fun adventures including plenty of event with blogger friends, a half marathon in San Diego, a trip to Boston, moving to a new apartment (hopefully), one of my best friends weddings, countless happy hours, epic meals and fun times ahead. I want to get back to blogging recipes and regular blogging (sorry for the random hiatus, finals owned my life last week).

She Runs LA: The After Party

Posted on by

6

Last Thursday after completing my 10k I took a quick shower and headed downtown to the Nokia Theater for the After Party!

I was excited to attend this event for a number of reasons. I loved the idea of an all woman race and Nike is a great company. But the best part of the event? I got to attend as media, complete with a media pass. Seriously, I felt so VIP.

I quickly found Amanda, her sister Sarah, Lea, and Kaitlin! Events are always better with friends.

Amanda and I also mugged with our media passes.

On our way into the party we were able to take pictures on the pink carpet. They were so profesh!

Inside the event there were sections set up by sponsors including Bliss Spa, Pop Chips, Paul Mitchell (I use his product on my hair, in case you were wondering -> I know that was keeping you up at night), Zico, Coke, and Luna.

The party was really crowded!

I have an, umm talent, for pushing through crowds. That’s what 4 years in Boston will do to a girl. I was able to get to the front of the Bliss stand and get a perfume sample and a body butter sample but it was so crowded we didn’t really get to try any of the other stands. I understand that there was some hair styling over at the Paul Mitchell station and there were dancing games on another level.

I wanted a zico so badly after my hot run but I wasn’t able to get one because it was too crowded and they ran out. I grabbed a coke instead.

Add it to the tally 😉

We also found Kelley and proceeded to look at Nike products like shoes…

WANT.

And running watches…

I am currently a zen runner, meaning I don’t run with a watch. I feel like it would lead to obsession over times etc and running is really my mellow time to unwind. But with the marathon coming up I feel like there would probably be a benefit in running with a watch. It’s cool to know that there are options outside of a Garmin and Nike Plus (Nike Plus isn’t compatible with my ipod).

After staring lustfully at the products we made our way into the theater. The show was We Are Heroes, the all women dance team from America’s Best Dance Crew and Mike Posner.

I still love the graphic.

Sadly, we realized after getting into the theater that there was still over an hour before the show even started. We were really tired and hungry because there was no food at the event so we made an executive decision to leave early.

We took more photos on the way out… but this time with Kelley!

And one more!

We love the Pink Carpet!

The group headed over the Yard House for dinner and some drinks. The drink choice was easy, there was a Red Rocket similar to one Amanda and Kaitlin loved at the CoLAboration beer garden.

I trust these girls with the beer recs. They know what they’re talking about. It tasted so good and was so refreshing. Just what I needed!

For dinner I ordered two “snack” size items (a size smaller than appetizer). My choice as to what to order was easy.

Ahi Tuna with avocado. I love me some ahi tuna!

The dip had bacon in it. Can you blame me? Literally I opened the menu and I immediately locked eyes on the sweet potato fries. Amanda actually said, “Oh, did you see the sweet potato fries?” Um yes. Duh.

Overall, it was great to hang out with some awesome people and I enjoyed the event. I wish it was easier to get to the vendors. We also got to take home goody bags. The bags had Luna Bars, and Pop Chips! I love pop chips and they were consumed the next day, obviously. I also loved the goody bag! It was super colorful reusable grocery bag. I actually got compliments on it at Trader Joes this weekend. A great time was had by all!

Epic Saturday II

Posted on by

2

Immediately after leaving ColLAboration the fun continued with a trip to Henry’s, an awesome grocery store near Kaitlin’s house. Obvi the Two Boo’s join too!

We were in need of provisions, like cheese, crackers, and salami.

So inappropriate Andy.

We got back to Kaitlin’s chilled with Mark and ate cheese so quickly that I didn’t get a picture of it. What can I say? I love cheese and crackers so much.

After stuffing our faces with cheese we made our way to Umami in Studio City.

I’ve only ever been to Umami in Santa Monica, so I was excited to try a new Umami. The menus at the various locations are different and I had my fingers crossed for cheesy tots. This location was hopping when we arrived and we had a 45 min wait for a table. But that was OK because we know how to have fun while waiting for a table.

Photos + Shopping

FACT: Amanda looks good in children’s hats.

After a wait we finally got a table. Only problem? 6 of us were stuffed into two two-tops. We got awkward and we got cozy.

Still cracking up over the look on Andy’s face!

While the service left a little bit to be desired, I have to say that the décor was awesome. I loved the wall paper and the chandelier.

Because of all the service issues our server brought over complimentary truffle cheese fries. This improved everyone’s mood!

Then we dug into the menu. I’ve been to Umami several times before and I knew exactly what I wanted for dinner:

Manly burger, here I come. I mean, smoked salt onions, beer cheddar cheese and bacon? Sign. Me. Up.

What can I say about this that I haven’t said before? Juicy burger, beer cheese (tons of it, dripping), onions, and a soft bun. I am not a big burger eater but I will love this one forever. I know I should venture out of the menu but this is pretty damn perfect.

Sadly, there were no cheesy tots to be had at Studio City Umami, but they did have tempura onion rings!

While I had my heart set on cheesy tots, these rings were delicious! Super salty and the tempura was way crispier than traditional onion rings. These are probably in the top 5 of the best onion rings I’ve ever had. Yes, I rank onion rings. Is that weird? I didn’t think so.

After a very filling and very tasty meal I made sure that I saved room for cake! Kaitlin made a Snicker doodle cake for Mark’s birthday.

Happy birthday Mark! Make a wish!

Can I just brag about Kaitlin’s baking skills for a second? This cake was yummy and the flavor was off the chain. You know when you get a flavored cup cake or cake slice and you can barely taste the flavor? Isn’t that annoying? That was NOT a problem here. The cake literally tasted exactly like a snicker doodle! I only had a small slice because I was so full from three beers, cheese, crackers, burgers, and two rounds of fried goodies.

Overall, I love the food at Umami but the service we received left a lot to be desired. Kaitlin put a lot of effort into trying to make the night special for Mark and the service kinda put a damper on the evening. I don’t want to get into the details, but I received much better service at Umami Santa Monica.

What do you do when you have crappy service? Amanda and Kaitlin took the reins dealing with the questionable service (specifically, charging for things we weren’t supposed to be charged for, rudeness) and I was glad because normally I’m too intimidated to complain.

Cookie Overdose

Posted on by

7

Yesterday was such a treat! I got to take a nice, much needed study break to socialize with other blogger at a cookie exchange. I definitely ODed but it was totally worth it!

Why, yes. There were 6 people but we managed to produce 9 types of cookies. It’s how blogger roll. Also notice the lone cheese plate and veggie plate. You need something to chase the cookies with, right? I already know Kaitlin and Andy & Amanda. I also met Kaitlin’s roommate Mark and Melissa from Trying to Heal.

And the cookies? Amazing!

My peanut butter cookies from the Flour Cookbook

From left to right: Dough balls by Kaitlin, orange chocolate cookies by Mark, smore cookies by Kaitlin, behind that you can see brie (!), and in the corner the cutest mini chocolate chip oatmeal cookies ever by Amanda & Andy.

There was also peppermint bark by Melissa! All the cookies were amazing this might have been my favorite of the afternoon.

The last batch!

Lemon and strawberry wippersnappers by Melissa, and finally almond Cinnamon cookies by Kaitlin. Whew.

We ate cookies and chatted for three hours! Time flies when you’re having fun. It was great chatting with some awesome blogger (I guess now we’re friends) and eating!

Group pic! Thanks to Kaitlin for hosting and for letting me steal this photo!

Kaitlin’s house is totally decked out for the holidays and she has a real tree, named Douglass because he is a Douglass Fir obvi. This inspired me to get my tree out tonight! I had a 6 hour long final and after I was exhausted but I managed to find the energy to decorate.

I told Izzy that if she wore the Santa hat she could have a treat but she wasn’t interested so just stuck to setting up the tree.

Why yes, my tree is silver and mini and fake. It doesn’t have a name yet but I am open to suggestions!

My favorite part of the tree are the ornaments. Every year growing up my Mom would give my brother and I an ornament as a gift that reflected what happened in our lives that year. Last year was my first year in my own apartment and my Mom sent me some. Last year I got surfing Santa.

So cute! My other favs are my Frango Mint ornament (you understand that if you’re from Chicago), Raggedy Ann ornament, Starbucks cup ornament, martini glass ornament, Clara from the Nutcracker, skating ornament, and my ornament with my Senior quote from high school on it. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”, in case you were curious.

I also hung a wreath and Christmasfied my dining table:

Don’t you just love the holidays?

And now an announcement!

As readers know, I recently ran the Malibu Half Marathon and loved it! Running is definitely a long term hobby for me and I have been thinking about what race I want to run next. Well, I am ready to announce, my next race will be the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Diego! The race is in early June and several other bloggers are planning on running. It should be a pretty fun time. Since Malibu I have averaged between 10 and 17 miles a week. I am very glad I don’t have training pressure during finals but I am excited to run in another race! After the holidays I will post a training plan. Since this will be my second half I will probably complete more long runs. I am very excited, and I hope you are too!

Finals Day 6

Cookies consumed: Countless (+1)

Bagels consumed: 3

YouTube videos watched: 7

Finals taken: 1 (but it was the longest one! Wahoo!)

The Godmother

Posted on by

12

Today and Yesterday have been busy days.

Yesterday I tried to go to yoga. Twice. It just wasn’t my day.

The first time I tried to go to yoga I drove around a parking lot that insisted it had 15 available spots. Yeah. It didn’t. So I went to Panera and studied until the next class.

I got to the second class but the teacher didn’t. At that point I surrendered and went home.

Today was much better though! Not only did I feel good about the studying I had a good day.

I meet up with Kelly for a study break lunch at Bay Cities in Santa Monica. Bay Cities has 1300 reviews on Yelp and 4.5 stars, does it get any more stellar?

Bay Cities is an Italian deli and shop. They have great sandwiches, bread, pastas, cheese, and olive oil selection. You place your order at the deli counter and then eat outside on the patio.

Check out the garlic in the bottom right corner! We wandered the aisles.. there were so many truffle oils, I will need to go back. The cheese selection was good (holy giant mozzarella) and not too pricey. Next time I need specialty items I know where I’m headed!

We both ordered the signature sandwich, the Godmother, with the works. I mean, the name of the sandwich is etched in the window of the store (see below). How could I not order it?

The counter was pretty busy but we got through pretty fast. We picked out sodas (diet A&W!) and headed outside to enjoy.

I’m not sure what all was on “the works” version of the Godmother, but I can tell you that the bread is freshly baked. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. There are tons of meats in this sandwich and provolone cheese.

Yep, it really was “the works”. I only ate half the sandwich for lunch and I ate the other half for dinner tonight. This was a good sandwich. I think it was the bread that really made it special. Also the meat to cheese to topping ratio was perfect. Sometimes you get a sandwich and there is too much meat but this was just right!

After dropping Kelly off I found a metered parking spot with 40 mins left two blocks from Huckleberry. It would be wrong not to drop in! Right? Right? I grabbed a lemon bar which I ate after dinner.

I love lemon bars and this one did not let me down. It was a little tart but more sweet. There was lemon zest in the bar which was actually pretty good.

The lemon part was light and sugary. So delicious. Huckleberry is always a win.

After lunch I studied more and got my hair cut! I really, really needed it. I am totally that girl who walks into the salon and says “do whatever you want”. I’ve had super long hair, to a pixie cut and tons of styles in between. However, I made an executive decision: time to grow out my bangs.  I have had bangs in one iteration or another since 2007. It was time for a change.

If kinda reminded me of someone I idolize hair…

Source

Yep, I’m a Jackie, not a Marilyn. Its true.

Day 3 of Finals

Cookies consumed: 1

YouTube Video’s watched: 5 (here, here, here, here)

Bagels consumed: 2

Finals taken: 0

Huckleberry

Posted on by

8

After picking up my packet and race info on Friday in Malibu my Mom and I made our way to Santa Monica for treats and shopping on Wilshire. There are several consignment stores very close to Huckleberry an awesome bakery and restaurant. The last time we tried to go to Huckleberry it was super busy and we only got out with a cookie, a very very good cookie. Obviously we went back for more.

Luckily it wasn’t as crowded at 3 on Friday. There were tons of open seats (a good study spot? I think so!) I was hard to pick out our treats because there were so many delectable options. We settled on salted caramel and a pear tart.

Salted caramel was really good. The caramel was cold and placed on a little pie crust. The salt flavor was good, not overwhelming. It really brought out the flavor in the caramel.

Next we tried the pear tart. What can I say, I have a pear dessert obsession.

Really good. This was served room temp but the puff pastry was crispy and played well off of the soft, slightly sugary pear. Excellent selections!

Overall, I loved what I had at Huckleberry. Their menu is chop full of farm fresh breakfast and lunch items so there will be a return trip. Shopping went well too! I got a new trench coat, ruffle top, eyelet dress and a Nanette Lapore silk top in a size 2. I know. I couldn’t believe it either. I blame it on the half marathon training.

Ok! Time to get ice cream and curl up on the couch for Modern Family. Hope you had a happy hump day!

Couscous Stuffed Pepper

Posted on by

4

Good evening blog world! How’s it going? Who has work or school off tomorrow? This girl does! I spent the afternoon chilling and cleaning. I did some serious cleaning! I’m not that messy but I did a deep clean including but not limited to dusting, moping, vacuuming, scrubbing, and organizing. I’m still not done but am excited about the results. I need to pass my Mom’s “white glove test”.

For dinner I was super healthy because, lets face it, I’m working HARD on that pint of pumpkin ice cream obviously served with mix ins. I had a couscous stuffed pepper with roasted veg. I made the quickie version.

The pepper at the farmers market for the last few weeks have been glorious. When I saw it I knew I needed to make something wonderful with it. I cored this puppy and roasted it (standing up) with other veggies on the same tray because this is the quick version. Normally I would sautee the veggies and then bake in the pepper. Tonight I roasted (at 400 degrees for 30 mins with EVO&S&P) bok choy, eggplant, squash (summer), and broccoli. While everything was roasting I prepared the couscous.

If there is a difference between regular couscous and whole wheat couscous I can’t taste it.

Then I took out the veggies. I was hoping the bok choy would turn out like kale chips…

Um, kinda? The white part was still moist but it was pretty tasty none the less! I actually liked these better than kale chips.

I combined all the veggies with the couscous and then stuffed the pepper…

Pretty good. For being a quick version it tastes a lot like the long version. The pepper was soft and flavorful. Farmers market for the win! This will be happening again soon. I liked the roasted veggies, especially the bok choy. I don’t cook with it often but I should cook with it more. This was a delish dinner.

Tomorrow is the kick off to a great weekend. There is talk of Clementine and dinner in Pasadena! Wahoo!

Blogger Love!

Posted on by

8

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a blogger meet up with some LA area Healthy Living Bloggers. We met at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica, which I have been dying to try for months.

Real Food Daily features vegan and organic food. I have heard high praise from my friend Molly who claims it has the best fake bacon of all time. I tried it and it was pretty freaking good.

I was so excited a few weeks ago when Monica contacted me and asked it I wanted to attend a meet up. Of course I said yes.

Attendees included: Ameena @ Fancy That…Fancy This, Andy & Amanda @ Two Boos Who Eat, Brittany @ Pretty Fit, Pretty Healthy, Pretty Happy, Deb @ Smoothie Girl Eats Too, Erika @ Health and Happiness in LA, Jenn @ Girl Heroes, Kaitlin @ Kaitlin With Honey, Katie @ A Joy In Class. Everyone was super nice and you should check out their blogs! Add to your google reader!

It was so refreshing to be in a room with a group of people that are all bloggers! Everyone talked about food, photography, running, the blog community at large, and the Foodbuzz Fest (I wish I was going so bad!). The healthy living community is so supportive. I’m glad I get to be apart of it.
For lunch I made sure I got something with fake bacon. I settled on the club sandwich:
This sandwich was bar none the best vegan food I have ever had. All the ingredients were very fresh and Molly was right, amazing fake bacon. This sandwich didn’t stand a chance.
After lunch we headed outside for more photos.
Benefit of hanging out with bloggers? I’m not the only one taking a copious number of pictures.
This is Amanda, Kaitlin and I. We are talking about running a half marathon together. I hope it works out because they are both awesome! It was a total trip to meet both of them because I love their blogs and communicate with them all the time over Twitter.
Overall, the blogger meet up was a huge success! Thanks again to Monica for organizing it. We should do it again soon!
**Special thanks to Amanda and Andy for letting me use some of your pics**