NO CHURCH in the wild

my brother and i just aren't well-behaved enough for church. so while the rest of the fam attended sunday-school, we attended in-n-out. 

shared a number 1 animal style

double cheese

i'm dreaming of a white..

So the other day, as I was pa-rousing the fridge for ingredients to make my ten-trillionth quesadilla of the year, I decided I'd had enough. Threw the jam on the floor.  Flung eggs at the walls.  And made pasta. Garlic white wine chicken alfredo with fresh rosemary, parmigiano reggiano, and wheat spaghetti to be exact.

'ere pumkin

If any of you consume a vanilla protein shake daily and are bored out of your braaaains and guts with it (like I am), here's an idea I tried today to spice it up a bit. Just add a scoop of pumpkin, a dash of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, a little extra ice, and you're monotonous woes will soon be forgotten.

cheers

Weekend Roadtrip..

this restaurant was great.. it was called Six Arms i believe.

the first ever starbucks.. don't expect anything other than a regular starbucks.

some random incredible trumpet player

snapped this mug when Binny wasn't looking..

the fish'n chips @theCrabPot were D-lish

live performer at the market, he was reaally good. had the coolest voice.

on our way to Paramount theatre to see Yacht and Robyn perform

and Robyn put on a stellar show

To finish with a 14 hr drive home. great playlists, friends and conversation; so worth it.

FOOD:2-week experiment

So for the past two weeks, i decided to try a no-carb, no-sugar diet. I was partly inspired by my sister, who just tried the similarly trendy Dukan diet (used by Kate and Pippa Middleton), but also because I liked the challenge (the idea of having my abs show through for the first time in a few years didn't hinder me either). I kind of enjoyed cooking new meals, and these were just some of my dishes.

 Hot garlic wings with melted and havarti.

a modified version of CPK's Thai Crunch Salad. delicious..

This one was unique, but extremely good. A sugar-free, no-carb Chocolate Pecan Torte. It used blended pecans instead of flour.

Chipotle Strawberry Tillapia Salad. with red peppers and cilantro dressing. 

mushroom, (lots of) spinach, ham, cheese, pepper, onion, cheddar, omelette!
I must say that for the first three days, I became very good friends with the toilet.. and energy was really low. But after my body adjusted, I had a pretty regular, constant stream of energy --which was great! I also enjoyed gorging myself with as much cheese as I desired. Now that I'm off, I find that apart from cookies, cakes, and sweet things, I don't even have an appetite for carbs, which is also a plus!  

garlic chicken+olives+parmreg+wholegraintoast+EVOOOOO

When I like something a lot, I tend to become a little over-consumptive. I threw this together a couple weeks ago for breakfast when I woke up craving Italian. Now I eat it almost every day after work.. figured it was worth documenting. Healthy snack too.

Hollywood/LA/SantaMonquiqui\\DEJAVU

 

   

   So it's been a while since I last posted -I've been a little busy. I haven't spent much time on the internet lately, which to be honest, has been pretty awesome! I've gotten so much done.. But two weekends ago we took, yes, yet another four day trip to Cali. We like it. Obviously. 

   Our friend John who was living there temporarily was about to leave for a job on an eight-month cruise, so we went to visit him one last time before he left. We went all over. West Hollywood, Santa Monica, downtown LA, Malibu; we tend to get slightly ADD on our trips ha.

   We just had fun hanging out and walking around in the sun, and eating at some delicious places. The plate pictured above has to my favorite one of the trip --LA Cafe, on 639 South Spring Street downtown LA. The chicken chipotle burrito is what I ordered. I'm not sure if the picture does it complete justice, but it was incredible. One of my friends also got a chicken pesto panini which was to die for! They also deliver 24 hours. So if you're ever in LA, seriously, check it out. Also check out the italian restaurant, Miceli's on Hollywood Blvd. One of my favorite restaurants ever: great ambiance, delicious food, and even live Italian opera singing. Very cool.  So that about wraps up that trip.. I've got to slow down and actually start saving my money sometime soon, but I've got a trip to Vegas in a week to see Lady Gaga in her Monster Ball.  After that, I promise I'll be taking at least a month or two breather ;)

SANfrancisco

Last thursday I returned from my first visit to San Francisco. I thought it sounded fun to take the train because I had never travelled by train before in America (plus it was much cheaper). The ride was quite long, but very scenic -and the train was much more comfortable than I imagined. Upon arrival, I met up with some friends who had just completed a 10 day silent meditation course in northern cali.
 The city is beautiful. Definitely the cleanest city I've ever been in -and everyone was weirdly nice and friendly. It felt sort of like a trip to Disneyland. In a good way.

 We stayed in the San Francisco Downtown Hostel which I would recommend to anyone looking to save a dime or two. It's location was fantastic, right in the middle of Union Square; we were within walking distance of just about every shop imaginable. The food of course was incredible just about everywhere we went. The coolest dining experience we had was at a restaurant called, Opaque. It's conception is quite unique; all the servers are legally blind, and you dine in the dark. Pitch black. It was really fun, and the food was delicious. I ordered a cherry-braised duck and mushrooms with a side of steamed grated squash -it was incredible.

One night, we saw the traveling broadway production of a musical I had never heard of before, Next To Normal. I went in with no expectations and it was really, really good. If it comes to your city or you're in New York, definitely check it out.

One of the best trips I've been on yet, and I will definitely be back!

COUNTER to the cold

a STEAMING toasted croissant avec havarti cheese melted over turkey, topped with BRIANNAS asiago ceasar dressing. WITH a side of HOT HOT greek pasta with feta + juicy salty mediterranean olives. 

ευχαριστώ μαμά!

take that, 15 degree weather 

a day with the BRITS, wot wot

okay so it was really two days..
DAY ONE:

we went to the London Market and bought some of our favorite english goodies. then we snacked at the cafe: a warm sausage roll and some earl grey tea (we'll be back for the beans on toast). i also dropped a few quid on some new burberry glasses.

DAY 2:
Harry Potter 7.1 premiere!!! it was brilliant

and while we waited for our 1:30am showtime, i went to see "Never Let Me Go"

Only because I love Carey Mulligan. i hadn't read the book, but found it to be very thought-provoking. not the best film, but still worth seeing I'd say. i enjoyed it.

OCTOBER:

Family-time in autumn is mostly the best. Hayrides, pumpkin picking, mom and sisters' freshly baked goods, halloween candy, and thanksgiving dinner, on the horizon! MMM

(and biting ruth's cold rosy cheeks)

fresh blueberry muffins mom made today

It's really good to be back in Utah. Good to see family and friends again. Good to sleep in my own bed again. Good to live in civilization again. Good to be alive at this moment of time in the universe.

a little food porn

of my favorite snack

 in the united states.

 refried beans + cheddar and monterey jack cheese + fresh tortilla chips

little can be spared