Thanksgiving Massive

Last Saturday was our annual Thanksgiving Massive potluck.  Since I enjoy cooking and baking, I usually make a savory and sweet dish for our potlucks but this year I knew I wouldn't have enough time.  So, I decided to go with something simple and easy, bruschetta.  I followed this recipe that my sister sent me.  I knew it was a hit when I came out of my room from getting ready to find that people had already ate some when I didn't even put it in the oven yet.  There was so much good food that I couldn't help but pile my plate with a little bit of everything.  I was more than stuffed by the end of the night.  I can't wait for next week's dinner though with my family. I love the holidays!

 

 I piled my plate with this much food!  I was full but I wanted to try everything!

 Everyone stuffing their faces!

Our group costume this year was Indians and surprisingly everyone made their costumes.  Well, I guess it's pretty simple for the guys but all the girls' costume came out really well!  I found the perfect fabric with fringe in brown and bought ribbon that resembled Indian pattern.  I bought a braided headband from Claire's and glued feathers to it and bought some feather earrings.  It took alot of work and thinking but I was very pleased with the outcome.  If I plan on making my costume next year, I'm definitely using a sewing machine.  It took me forever to sew by hand.  I also used fabric glue for the first time and it actually works really well.

Pizza Roll

Since I don't live at home (sometimes I wish I still did), I cook dinner almost every weeknight.  It gets boring though when you're cooking the same meals over and over.  I try to find new recipes but ones with a lot of ingredients or ingredients I've never heard of make me pass on it, even if it looks like a delicious dish.  I've had this pizza roll recipe bookmarked for a while, but always figured it was difficult to make.  To my surprise, it's probably one of the quickest and easiest dinner I've ever made.  I added my own touch by adding pizza sauce into the recipe.  Instead of making pizza dough from scratch, I bought some garlic and herb dough from the store.  I'm definitely going to make it with wheat dough next time though.  Just to be somewhat healthy. 

Ingredients
- pizza dough
- pizza sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- pepporonni
- canadian bacon
- basil

You roll out the dough and put all the ingredients on top.  After that you roll it into a log shape.  Make sure to seal the ends so nothing oozes out.  Put it in the oven at 350degrees for about 25-35 minutes and voila!  Cut, serve as you please, and enjoy!

 Tomato soup and pizza roll

The Little Door

This week is the last week of Dine LA so the bf made reservations for dinner the other night.  It was a surprise so I didn't know where we were going but I figured it out as we got close to the restaurant.  THE LITTLE DOOR! It's been on my list of LA restaurants to try and I love french food so he definitely made a good choice.  I absolutely loved the ambiance of this place!  You walk in through these small wooden doors that you wouldn't expect to be the entrance of a restaurant.  It's surrounded by trees and plants with leaves on the open rooftop and it's lit up by candles and lights hanging from the trees.  They also have a wine bar! What made me like this place even more was the excellent service.  Oh and of course the good food.  I would definitely try The Little Next Door (cafe/bakery), which is well.. right next door!  Isn't that cute? 

It was a hot day and by 7:30pm, it wasn't even chilly out so I went with this sheer and lightweight top.  These COH jeggings are my absolute favorite! They're so stretchy and comfortable.  I added the scarf last minute for some detail. 

 

Foreign Exchange shirt, COH jeans, Mango scarf, F21 bracelet & ring, Marc Jacobs watch, Marc Fisher booties

Friday Likes

  NY and LA tables.  These would look great as a stand in the corner of a living room.

  

Accessories galore.  You can never have enough.

 

Pumpkin pudding.  It's that time again for pumpkin everything!

Gold Tips

For the past two days, the weather has been in the high 80s.  Not that I'm complaining or anything.  Since this summer weather seems to be prolonged, I'm taking advantage of it and wearing summer nail colors for as long as I can.  So, I decided to have a little fun with my nails and added some gold tips on top of Essie's Tarte Deco.

Katsuya

For my birthday dinner we went to Katsuya, which recently opened in Laguna Beach.  I've been to their Hollywood location three years ago and remembered liking the food, but I enjoyed it even more this time around.  We have a friend who works at Katsuya so everything she recommended was so delicious!  Their drinks were also good.  I normally don't like mojitos because of the minty flavor, but the watermelon cucumber mojito I ordered was fruity and refreshing.  If you're ever in the area, give this place a try.  Or the LA one if you want to run into a celebrity.  You'll definitely see paparazis outside.

 

Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna

 

Miso Marinated Black Cod

 

Foie Gras

Skin Food

For as long as I can remember, I've always used Shisheido face wash.  My mom uses many Shisheido products so she was the one that had me start using their face wash.  It was just recently that I decided to try something new.  Skin Food, a Korean brand that is very popular in Korea, recently opened in Irvine.  It's their second location in the US.  I decided to give this brand a try and this foaming face wash with aloe vera was recommended by the sales girl for normal skin.  You can get this cleanser in different textures such as water, foam, and cream.  I bought the foam one and I really like how it soothes and hydrates the skin.  It's very gentle and does a good job at cleaning the skin even if you don't use a brush.  I'll definitely stick with this face wash for a while especially since it's inexpensive compared to many other brands. 

Henry Cowell Park

One week after going camping at Lake Mohave, I went camping with my family at Henry Cowell Park, which is basically a park for beginning campers.  My aunts and uncles are first time campers so it was a good spot for them.  I haven't gone on vacation with my relatives in a long time so this was a nice small trip to hang out with the family for the weekend.  We hiked a 6 mile trail on Saturday and all three dogs were able to finish the whole thing.  This camping trip was definitely not as crazy as the camping trip the weekend before, but still fun.

It doesn't look like it in the picture, but we had to walk across another fallen tree trunk to get to this one and it was pretty high off the ground and scrary

Channeling Marilyn

I'm not a huge fan of Michelle Williams, but when I saw these photos taken by the amazing Annie Leibovitz, I thought she looked gorgeous!  For Vogue's ctober issue, Michelle is channeling the iconic Marilyn Monroe.  You can go to Vogue for more photos.

In a Michael Kors beaded halter dress

Donna Karen New York dress

Camping at Lake Mohave

I guess I'm pretty behind on updating because this camping trip was a month ago.  I've never been to Lake Mohave so I had no idea that the five hour drive to this place would take us to Arizona.  We rented a houseboat, which was pretty cool.  It had a kitchen and 4 beds.  What surprised me was that they allow anyone to drive it.  After we found a spot and docked I tried wake boarding and it's definitely a lot harder than it looks.  The weather was perfect! Swimming in the lake and jumping off the boats was so much fun!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I haven't baked in a while and I wanted to use this new cake stand that I got for my birthday so I decided to bake some blueberry crumb bars.  It's probably one of the easiest and fastest things to bake and they taste so delicious!  I've been wanting a cake stand like this with a dome so that it covers what you put inside.  You also don't necessarily have to use it for cakes.  It works well for any baked goods. 

Katy Perry Concert

I went to the Katy Perry concert last month and she was awesome! I love going to concerts.  If it's an artist I really like, I actually don't mind paying a lot to sit closer to the stage.  I think it's so worth it.  Best part of the night was when she sang Teenage Dream.  One of my favorites!

 

Art in the Street

One of the things on my summer to do list was to go to the Art in the Street Exhibit at MOCA in LA.  We went on the last day that it was open and it was pretty crowded.  Luckily we all still had our college IDs so it was only $5 to get in.  It was a pretty cool exhibit with lots to look at.  For lunch we ate at Wurstkuche, this place known for the exotic meat it uses for its hot dogs such as rattlesnake and rabbit.  We ate at Bottegga Louie for dinner and everyone ordered the burrata pizza because we had heard from friends that it was good and it definitely did not disappoint.  Their portobello mushroom fries are a must try.  Dessert was also good.  I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone who's in the downtown LA area.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changing Colors

I was looking at dresses and stumbled upon this one.  I love everything about this dress.  The deep neckline, the two toned color, the pleats, and the cinched waist with the belt.  Feels like a dress that's going from spring/summer to fall/winter. 

Wooden Tree Bookshelves

Aren't these bookshelves cute? I think they'd go perfect in any room.  Especially if you paint them and gave it some color.

Ocean Party

Boyfriend's nephew turned one this month and he had the cutest ocean theme party.  The decoration and goodies were adorable.  It makes me want to throw a theme party.  We went shopping for his birthday present a few days before and were quite proud of the gift we picked out.  We figured everyone probably got him clothes and toys.  Well, we bought him..... a halloween costume!! A woody costume to be exact.  He's going to be the cutest sheriff in town.  Hanging out with this little guy makes me miss my nieces and nephews back home. 

Cirque de Soleil

Not too long ago boyfriend and I went and spent a day in LA since we had tickets to the Cirque de Soleil Iris show at night.  We had lunch at Versailles, which I've always wanted to try when I was living in Culver City temporarily a few years ago.  I like Cuban food so this place definitely did not disappoint.  We had some time to kill before dinner so we walked around The Grove, which I haven't been to in maybe three years.  For dinner we went to doughboys, which has been on my list of LA restaurants to eat at.  My sister has told me that this is one of her favorite places to eat at when she comes down to LA.  It was good, but I wouldnt consider it a favorite.  Their red velvet cakes though was a very good size for $5 and was delicious!  There's something about LA that I just love.  Maybe it's the atmosphere, the busy city life, the numerous cafes and places to go and things to see.  Or maybe it's because I live 40 minutes away and don't go very often during the day so when I do, it feels like a fun treat to go.  Either way, I love going to LA.

 

Cirque de Soeil was at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards

Summer TO-DO List

I created a summer to do list at the beginning of summer and I'm actually surprised at how much I've crossed off.  I know it's barely half the list but it's alot more than I had expected.  By next weekend I'll have two more crossed off.  Summer isn't over just yet!

1. Disneyland
2. Farmer's Market
3. Bike riding along the Beach
4. Tim Burton Exhibit
5. Getty Museum
6. Cross one of my LA restaurants off
7. Hiking
8. Decorate room
9. Art in the Street
10. Camping
11. Half Marathon

Tim Burton at LACMA

A few weeks ago some of us headed to LA for a sunday funday at the LA County Museum of Art to see the Tim Burton exhibit.  I've been wanting to go for a while so I was pretty excited.  Cameras weren't allowed inside so I couldn't capture any of the art.  Some parts of the exhibit displayed art from movies that he's done, which actually made me realize I haven't seen alot of Tim Burton's movies.  Looking at his work makes you wonder how he comes up with such dark and quirky ideas.  He definitely has a style of his own that stands out.  Not only did I get to see the exhibit that day, I finally got to see the Urban Light, which is several lamppost sitting in front of LACMA.