Cafe Santorini - Old Town Pasadena

For my birthday last year Jason organized a fantastic dinner party here and I remember telling him drunkely, "we have to come back for the food again, because I think its good, but I can't really taste anything!" Haha, silly me. So this past weekend we went to celebrate a special day and I must say - my intoxicated tastebuds did not do me wrong, it WAS good! I ordered the seafood cioppino and it was the best I've ever had! Succulent seafood, tasty sauce, perfectly cooked linguine. Yummm.

Chick-fil-A

I love exploring out of LA, especially on the weekends cause, let's face it, anytime I can get away from a million cars on a 3 lane freeway with construction, I'm a happy girl.

We ventured out to the IE - inland empire about 30 miles east, and settled in at a fun mall named Victoria Gardens. Did some amazing shopping there, and how could u not? Urban Outfitters, Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Apple store, American Apparel and Jasons fave MAN store - BASS Pro Shop which literally takes up an entire city block.

But the more important story is - what's for dinner? PF Changs, Yardhouse, Cheesecake Factory, yep they have all that, but didn't I see a Chick-Fil-A on the way here??? Chicken sandwich + waffle fry heaven?! I love you! We don't really have many Chick-fil-A's in LA, actually I've never actually seen one. I've had it once on the drive to Arizona and have very fond memories of dipping those nuggets into their rainbow of sauces. Mmm, moral of the story: see chick-fil-a, stop and eat.
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Boeuf Bourguignon by Julia Child

Scrumptious, belly warming, mouth watering .. how else can you describe this magnificent dish? After watching Julie & Julia, I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to make this, meaning i'd have to own a Le Creuset first. Everytime i walk into Sur La Table i stare at all the colors and sizes and just dream of a colorful kitchen filled of Le Creusets.  Last weekend i finally broke down and got one. my first choice would have been yellow (as are most things) but they didnt have it in the size i wanted .. Orange it is!

it would be unjust for me to somehow tutorial this recipe in any way, just because i believe you have to get the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  It presents its recipes in such a unique way, i feel if you are going to prepare this dish, you have to do it her way, by her words.

yay! so i did it. and let me tell you, it was easy, but it really wasnt that easy.  i followed her recipe to the T, but i couldnt find bacon with the rind. and the whole foods guy said he wouldn't know where to get it either, so he suggested i just stick with their regular bacon. and not that i know what bacon rind looks/tastes like, everything turned out fine to me.

Also, there are recipes within the recipe like brown braising the pearl onions and sauteing the mushrooms (like i said, get her book) so there were many steps, but it was totally worth it and i would definitely make it again!!

March Madness Update

Sooo .. its been about 23 days into this action and im sorry to reveal that i only lasted 14 days. saadddd. BUT guess what? i lost 7 pounds. and for those 14 days, i did it well. i literally didnt have a drop of sugar, a grain of rice or a piece of bread. and i had SO much energy i was bouncing off the walls. then life kinda happened (parties, birthdays) and not that i fell into the old bad habits or anything but i did allow my self to eat things that i would normally eat, just in very small portions.

3 weeks into March and im very happy! i'll probably do another 2 week run in April, but until then im still eating very very healthy! (except for that Sonic meal over the weekend .. ever had that strawberry limeade drink? a little slice of heaven ...)

SUPER KAWAII!!!!!!!

haha! i love my entry title. im ALL about the japanese culture. I've been to Tokyo and man oh man, it is one of the most amazing cities in the world. the food, the people, the trinkets, the Harajukus and of course, my Hello Kitty. I came across these cute bento boxes and i just had to share!!

Uh-May-Zing!

Breakfast 1, week 2

Yay! I love milk in my hello kitty cup :) scrambled eggs, turkey bacon .

Nummy.

Day 6

Its day 6 already and honestly I'm loving it! I'm def a carb girl so I miss my fries, rice and potatoes but my energy levels have been through the roof so I'm very happy.

The homies and I are gonna watch Alice and wonderland tonight and this is what I'm smuggling in as snacks: sugar plam tomatoes, edamame and celery with all natural peanut butter :)

I'm a changed woman.