DAY TRIP: ANGELES CREST HWY & LAKE ARROWHEAD

June 6, 2013

Filed Under : TRAVEL

Southern California, you really know how to make a girl swoon! Over Memorial Day weekend, we took an impromptu day trip to Lake Arrowhead and said OH WHAT THE HECK and drove the long way. Up in the mountains and through the canyons, to be exact, along Angeles Crest Highway. No shortcuts over here, my friends. It took us double the amount of time it normally takes to drive to Arrowhead but worth every extra minute. Sure, I thought I might pass out from the curving roads and scary cliffs, the lack of cell service and the motorcycles flying past us, the rolling fog and the deep valleys, but we made it. Who needs wide freeways and shorter routes anyway??

^^^That’s my explorer stance. I’ve been REALLY trying to perfect it. How am I doing?

After the long and scenic drive, we spent a couple hours at Lake Arrowhead with a waterfront picnic for two. A few tacos were eaten, a caramel apple was shared, and a VERY friendly squirrel tried to join in on the fun. The town felt a little like Disneyland, with lots of tourists and kitschy stores, but I kind of like Disneyland so it suited me just fine. Plus, the water is the bluest of blues. So blue that it’s kind of green. That’s pretty dang blue, in case you’re wondering.

Overall, the day was extra lovely and full of adventure. 10 points for the first weekend of summer! (I know the summer doesn’t offish start for another few weeks but let’s not talk about it)

^^^Thanks for turning the sky a bright shade of purple, iPhone! Does your iPhone do that?

DAY TRIP STATS
Location: Lake Arrowhead, CA
Miles from Los Angeles: 94
Route taken: Angeles Crest Highway (136 miles if you go this way)
Hours spent at destination: 4
Photos taken: 73
Number of squirrels that took a bite out of my caramel apple and probably gave us rabies: 1

Facebook

COMMENT (2)

THESE DAYS

June 3, 2013

Filed Under : MY LIFE

Ooooh, you know, it’s JUNE ALREADY. As crazy as that sounds, I’m so looking forward to summer. In fact, it already feels like summer, what with the extreme heat and all. But, bring it on. I’m ready, I’m sunscreened, and I just bought a new beach blanket. Things are looking up. As for what I’ve been up to lately, well, I’m glad you asked! Here are just a few things keeping me busy:

^^^I’m certainly not the only one who took advantage of Trader Joe’s’ 2-week peony inventory, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t the best 2 weeks of my life.

^^^Ok, green juice, you got me! You’re kind of delicious. That right there is a combo of kale, apple, cucumber, lemon, and ginger (with a side of almond butter toast)

^^^One of my goals for 2013 is to turn my house into a jungle. Not pictured: the package of bandaids that the nursery owner gave me as a gift for buying so many plants there. Errr, thank you?

^^^I’ve been rotating solely (pun intended) between chucks and madewell boots lately. Take THAT, summertime, because who needs sandals anyway? Speaking of sandals, I need a new pair for the summer. Suggestions welcome.

^^^I’m sorry, what is ice cream? What is frozen yogurt? Because I ONLY EAT SNOW CREAM NOW. There’s this new place called Blockheads Shavery Co in LA that serves shaved ice cream and we’re addicted big time. Pictured is black sesame snow cream with strawberries, mangos, rice cake balls, and strawberry puree on top.

^^^Putting together a little “Welcome to LA” gift for one of my BFF’s who’s moving here!

^^^Stumbled upon (literally because I tripped over a stack of rugs) the most amazing hole-in-the-wall rug joint I’ve ever seen in all my days on earth. So long overpriced Rose Bowl flea! I don’t need your rugs! So long sketchy international eBay transactions! So long money because we spent all of it at this rug place.

^^^Pasadena, if you’re not the most adorable little town, then I don’t know what is. Also, you’re the hottest. 90 degrees? Really? But like I said, bring it on!

Facebook

COMMENT (26)

AVOCADO TOAST

May 28, 2013

Filed Under : EAT - RECIPES

Avocados make the world a better place and if I may say so, I do believe they’ve revolutionized the toast game. Toast will never be the same. Buttery avocados mashed onto bread? Nothing beats it. Also, you can’t really mess it up. Top literally ANY ingredient on avo toast and it will taste better than anything you’ve had all day (slight exaggeration but you get the point). And I know we all have our iterations of this infamous toast, whether it be avocado-only or heavily-topped with secret ingredients, but my favorite is Cafe Gitane’s in NYC. They’ve created the perfect balance of avocado to bread to yummy toppings. Although I’ve tried recreating it’s goodness, my replica is certainly not up to par with theirs. BUT it’s pretty dang good so I thought I’d share!

Here is my step-by-step guide to avocado toast:

While your bread is toasting, grab these ingredients:
avocado
extra-virgin olive oil
lemon
sea salt (or any other coarse salt)
chili flakes

With a fork, mash half of a ripe avocado on a piece of toast. YEAH, go crazy, use a WHOLE HALF.

Drizzle a spoonful of good olive oil over the mashed avocado.

Squeeze lemon juice liberally over it as well.

Sprinkle coarse salt over it. Go ahead, one more dash of salt.

And finally, the real kicker. A few pinches of chili flakes. Now my chili flakes are pretty tame so I need quite a bit to get some heat. If your chili flakes are hotter, use less.

And voila! Buttery avocado, tart lemon juice, and that heat from the chili flakes – ahh perfection in a bite. Repeat all steps again for toast #2. (everyone needs toast #2).

Facebook

COMMENT (3)

FRIDAY LOVE LIST

May 24, 2013

Filed Under : FRIDAY LOVE LIST

YOWZA. Ok so that was probably a few too many travel posts and I’m just glad to be blabbering about absolutely nothing once again. Also I’d like to point out that my butt is not shaped like that. I swear the wind’s blowing straight through that cotton and expanding that jumpsuit in the oddest of ways! Oh but that view. NOT MY BUM VIEW, I’m talking about the scenic view.

That’s the kind of view where you can’t help but pull over to the side of the road and admire just how beautiful this dang place is. And that’s exactly what we did. We were driving through the canyons between Malibu and the Valley (this is my favorite part of the LA area, mind you), windows down, dirty and dusty from the Topanga Folk Festival (more on that next week), our car winding and curving along the street, when this jaw-dropping vista pops up to the left of us. We pulled over right then and there, got out, and let the wind creep in our cotton jumpsuits and make our bums look all big and outta sorts. You get the picture. Aside from this glorious day, here are a few other things I’m loving:

+ The 7-minute workout. You guys, this just MIGHT be the thing that changes my mind about working out! How fantastic does it sound? Ok no, I haven’t tried it yet but by golly, I’m starting it up on Monday…or maybe the following Monday.

+ 20% off everything at ASOS until Monday with the code TAKE20. You better believe I’m taking advantage of that, maybe in the form of this perfect cami, this colorful swing dress, and this adorable overall thing that I likely also wore in the 2nd grade.

+ I mean WHO ISN’T making tacos this weekend? I think I’d like mine with a side of these taco pickles, please.

+ Peony season at Trader Joe’s! The most glorious 2 weeks of the year. Run to your nearest TJ’s and pick some up, I swear your life will instantly feel better. I’m loading up until those things are out of stock.

I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day weekend (and hopefully it’s a 3-day weekend?). Same time, same place next week. xo

Facebook

COMMENT

MONTREAL: WHERE WE ATE/SHOPPED

May 23, 2013

Filed Under : EAT - TRAVEL

Ok now on to the good stuff. We were pretty clueless about where to eat and shop in Montreal and relied purely on recommendations from internet friends, Foursquare lists, and one episode of Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover. What we discovered? Montreal has really good food. I mean REALLY good. Although we ate and shopped a TON, I’ve narrowed down our favorite spots below. The photo quality is reminiscent of blogs circa 2008 so bear with me. I only used my iPhone and at the time, I wasn’t thinking about taking high-quality pics because I was stuffing my face and slipping in and out of food comas. #blogfail. Anyway, the favorites –>

Olive et Gourmando
This was BY FAR our favorite place. And by “favorite,” I mean we had lunch here 3 times and I’m not kidding. It’s an adorable cafe with a daily-changing menu of sandwiches/salads/soups and a case full of delicious pastries. I can’t decide what I liked more: the cajun chicken, guacamole, and mango sandwich OR the quinoa salad with chickpeas, haricot verts, snap peas, and tiny peppers. I tried something different each time and couldn’t resist something sweet from the pastry counter after each meal.

Marche 27
This restaurant calls itself a “tartare bar” so we knew we had to check it out, being that we love tartare and all. It was lively, hip, and we ate some of the best tuna tartare I’ve ever had. My favorite was the tuna with sesame vinaigrette because it reminded me of poke bowls. We also ordered the mac & cheese poutine and easily gained 5 pounds each. Two thumbs up.

Joe Beef
I was legitimately scared to go to Joe Beef and I can honestly say it was the craziest of our experiences. It was also beyond amazing. Let me explain. This restaurant specializes in MEAT. Lots of it. If you’re wondering why 2 semi-vegetarians (we don’t eat red meat or pork) went here, I have no answer. The menu, which changes daily, is written on a chalkboard wall…in French. Yes, I took French in high school but I can’t read “horse heart” and “sea urchin fried in cornflakes.” We had the waitress read us the entire menu and ended up finding quite a few things we’d enjoy. We ordered burrata with green beans, an egg gelee, lobster spaghetti, and halibut with mussels. Oh and a few glasses of sparkling wine and a bloody mary or two (the bloody mary comes with an oyster and a crab leg, NBD). Everything was beyond delicious. I still have dreams about that lobster spaghetti and I don’t think I’ll have better lobster ever again. Sigh.

Aux Vivres
This little vegan cafe is perfect for lunch and we both loved it. I had a tempeh bowl with brown rice, veggies, and a thai peanut sauce that really hit the spot. They also had a full menu of teas which made my heart happy.

Taverne Gaspar
On our last night in Montreal, we dined at our hotel’s restaurant and I’m so glad we did. There was a band playing, soccer games on tv, and the food was simple and delicious. We ordered fish & chips, a nicoise salad, and a half dozen oysters. It was a perfect meal to end our trip. Plus, they served the best beer of our lives: Kronenberg 1664 blanc.

Juliette et Chocolat
We went to this chocolate-only dessert bar one night and split a crepe with nutella and strawberries. Ok why aren’t there dessert bars in Los Angeles? This would totally be my jam on a Saturday night if there were.

Rooney
Kyle’s a longtime lover of Rooney’s online shop so this was a must-stop for us. It’s a well-curated men’s & women’s store with brands like Gitman Vintage, Saturdays NYC, and they even had some sweet New Balances. I wanted that Apolis market bag SO BADLY, but my mom calls me “bag lady,” meaning I probably don’t need another bag in my life.

Les Etoffes
This was another great store we visited with a line-up of really unique designers, like Dana Lee and Apiece Apart. I haven’t seen a store so well-curated in a long time. Plus, I wanted their plant stands soooo badly (not for sale, of course).

Alright and because I loved the place so much, two more photos from Olive et Gourmando. That’s cous cous with a tomato-based sauce and roasted veggies, topped with pistachios and minty yogurt. I mean, really? So delicious.

Last thing! I haven’t mentioned our Montreal hotel much, but we stayed at the Auberge du Vieux-Port and loved every second of our experience. It was smack in the middle of Old Montreal, the room was beautiful, the staff was so accommodating, and there was complimentary breakfast every day. And I mean GOOD complimentary breakfast, like eggs benedict and waffles. It was nice to save a few bucks each day by eating breakfast in our hotel.

And lest you think my blog is turning into a travel blog, it’s back to regular programming tomorrow!

Facebook

COMMENT (2)