29 April 2009

back from the AZ.

just got back to my apt in LA after 5 days in phoenix/scottsdale, arizona. pretty exhausted - the drive back was 7 hours. uploading pictures to flickr now. will post details and linkage when i can.

23 April 2009

non-stickeroos.


got an email today from WiSo (aka williams-sonoma) and i am SO excited! calphalon has these 2 new non-stick pans (one normal, one with grill texture) that are DISHWASHER SAFE and OVEN SAFE (up to 500deg)! and they're selling the set for $100! freaking awesome. i think i'm gonna get them.. just wanted to share. (=

sudden drop.

day of the dead figurine.

the temperature has dropped from the just-above-100 range to the low 70s range in the past few days. i don't like it!! grrrrrr.

there was a crew screening of how to train your dragon yesterday at work. it's looking pretty good, i think. hopefully we can finish it on time. (=

20 April 2009

mini sirloin burgers!!



i don't know why, but i LOVE this commercial and have the chorus stuck in my head without being remotely annoyed by it. AND, for every home game that the dodgers win by 3+ runs, they're handing out free coupons for them. yippie-ai-yay MINI SIRLOIN BURGERS!! >.<

sun-a-shining in los angeles.

citrus-y reveal.

well, last week was opening week at dodger stadium and it was amazing! opening night i went with dan, john, baby dylan and mum and dad. thursday night was with john, cindy, natalie and dylan in first row bleacher seats behind manny. dan and i got basically got bludgeoned by some guy who thought he could fly forward over 4 rows to try and catch a ball that manny had tossed in our direction. my left cheekbone still hurts. but it was a great week! the dodgers swept the giants AND the rockies, winning 8 straight games in a row - no games lost at home! and some pretty sweet/crazy stats.

friday night we celebrated mom's birthday (which isn't until later this week) at lawry's in beverly hills. it was fun, though i'm really not a fan of eating so much beef in one sitting so i wasn't all that excited for the food. my niece and nephew are so cute it's ridiculous.

a few weekend highlights:
got my camera's sensor cleaned, as well as a sweet new bag for it.
purchased a birthday present for mum.
kogi bbq at the alibi room - finally tried the kimchi quesadilla and the kimchi sauerkraut (sp?) hot dog. yummers!
went to the stetson house that night to play board games and watched role models.
brunched at huckleberry with eli and my bro.
did some shopping on montana.
played some catch since it was oh-so-nice outside.

12 April 2009

family food & fun.

bonsai.

john, cindy and the kiddies flew into LA friday afternoon, so i left work a couple hours early to help out at home a bit. i can't believe how big they are now! natalie turns 4 this month, and dylan is a year and four months. and they're so cute! ahhhh.

saturday morning dan and i went and got our teeth cleaned at my dad's office. then lunched at dai ho noodle house (best beef noodle soup in the states i swear) with my mum. we did a bit of shopping at century city - i found a great argyle patterned stationery set at papyrus - and watched observe&report, which is a really weird and disturbing.

afterwards, we stopped in at craft and tried out their new craftbar menu - nothing over $9! we had:


$6 snacks
falafel with chipotle feta
bacon&lobster slider

$8 small plates
veal ricotta meatballs
foie gras croquettes
truffle garlic sausages

$9 pasta
tagliatelle with abalone puttanesca.


while everything was pretty small, it was all very delicious. that plus 2 glasses of wine (a yummy tempranillo) and the meal came to $59 (before tax&tip, obvi)! and we were definitely full and happy. it was awesome, i can't wait to go back. it's totally worth it.

today was a nice enough day that we went to the beach and walked around santa monica. it's so nice to feel the sunshine and the sand.. mm i can't wait til the summer weather really kicks in.

06 April 2009

foodness.

too lazy to find a picture to post today. i had a great weekend, filled with food and baseball. what else could a girl ask for?

friday. dinner @ r+d kitchen in santa monica with manza & dawn.

saturday. lunch @ din tai fung with some coworkers. i heart the stetsons and their boys. dodgers vs. brewers exhibition game @ dodger stadium.

sunday. lunch @ huckleberry. i had the cured salmon sandwich, dan had the turkey meatball sandwich. sunday supper @ suzanne goin's lucques in melrose with the rents, mike & dan. everything was absolutely fantastic and spot on. this was the menu:

appetizer
leafy green salad with buttermilk, soft herbs and avocado

entree
grilled coho salmon with potato cake, cucumber salad, meyer lemon and mint yogurt
or
braised jidori chicken with hand-cut noodles, asparagus, green garlic and wild mushrooms

dessert
crème fraîche semifreddo with schaner farms' citrus



mike got me goin's sunday supper cook book, and my mom got me a little japanese apron (from her and my dad's recent trip to japan) that maybe can pass as a cute shirt/dress thing. plus watched the phillies get trampled for baseball's opening day. goodness i hate them.

monday. homemade turkey meatballs in a blueberry balsamic bbq sauce (recipe here). really freaking good.

03 April 2009

wallet update!

desert plant @ the huntington library.

so i called to speak with penn police this morning and found out a little more about what happened to the darned thing. as it turns out, my wallet was found on a high ledge in a men's bathroom at the university hospital. i can only hope that whoever stole my wallet threw it up there right after they took the cash out and that it hasn't been subject to the nastiness that i can only imagine inhabits the bathroom floor. sounds like my old license and credit cards and what not are all in there still too. anyway, the detective in charge of my case wasn't in today, so i'll have to call back on monday to discuss them mailing that bad boy back to me.

02 April 2009

pleasant surprises.

huntington library cactus.

two things.

one, i came home one day earlier this week to find a very thoughtful package waiting for me. it was a very fancy cookbook, with very exquisitely arranged and beautifully photographed dishes in it. too bad it's all in german and i can't actually make anything in it. or even make sense of it.

two, there was a voice message left for me today at my parents residence. it was a phone call from the penn police, saying that my wallet had been found (it was stolen october 2007).

a little back story: i had a 9am-noon class in the art building basement. i left my bag at my computer while we had a crit on the other side of the room, when i got back my wallet was gone! two other kids in my class had their wallet stolen too, so we reported it. over the next couple weeks, more and more stuff was stolen from the art building. one girl had her whole bag taken - wallet, ipod, cell phone, laptop. anyway, i was lucky since there really wasn't any money in my wallet, just a couple bucks. but it was a pain canceling all my credit cards and what not. the real bummer was the wallet itself, which was a ~$200 ferragamo wallet my mom had given me for my birthday, and i absolutely adored it.


but yay, now it's found! or potentially found, and i'm super excited. hopefully they can mail it out to california..