Archive | 4:30 pm

Love that juice

17 Jan

I was so happy to have yesterday off in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling very well, so I spent most of the day languishing in bed watching Felicity for the first time. Blame lady troubles and a random fever. I did manage to wash the dishes — to which Mr. X exclaimed, “But babe, that’s the one chore you should never do!” Apparently I’m the worst dish washer ever — and walk to Trader Joe’s for some sustenance. However, dinner last night was chips and salsa and a root beer float, so it’s not really worth documenting.

Today I feel so much better, and it’s a good thing because I’m back at the office. Work work work. I didn’t get lunches for the week made last night because of how craptastic I felt, so I allowed myself a trip to Rainbow:

An apple-cucumber-ginger juice and a salad bar run. My concoction included spring mix, artichoke hearts, red pepper strips, shredded carrots and beets, a little eggless salad (vegan, made with tofu), avocado, mushrooms, Follow Your Heart Vegan Lemon Herb dressing, and raw sunflower seeds. I’m officially in love with the juice combo and am now in “need” of a juicer. I also adored the salad, as always. I love shredded raw beets but am way too lazy to do them myself.

I had to photograph it in the car because I knew the juice wouldn’t last the drive back to work! Also, proof that I should never be allowed to wear nail polish.

I had a snack at 2 p.m. of tea and chocolate:

My favorite bar ON SALE! Except I only had a little:

For the record, I only put the chocolate on my cup like that for the photo. However, the warm tea slightly melted the chocolate, which was awesome. I’m sure other people like to hold wrapped chocolate in their hot hands before eating them, right?

Dinner will be another salad with avocado and mushrooms, but I promise it will be a creation unto its own.

Goals

I’ve really been working hard to attack all the goals I lined up for myself and, almost more importantly, the things I admitted to putting off. Aside from the ones I’ve already mentioned, here’s some more points of progress:

  • Something involving my car that I’m afraid to post until it’s actually done for fear the man might come bitchslap me. I made an appointment with the DMV for Friday so I can cross this one off my list — and stop driving in fear.
  • Be a better friend/Call a friend just to chat. I chatted on the phone with my dear friend who is recovering from a major health scare. She called me, but it to return a call I’d originally placed to her. I’m so glad to hear that she’s doing well. She’s seriously the strongest, smartest woman I’ve ever met.
  • Clear my name at the library. I paid them off, dammit, and just in time to pick up my copy of Mama Pea‘s cookbook! I’m so excited!

How’s your week starting off? Did you have Monday off?

Anniversary brunch

17 Jan

Our schedule was a little complicated this weekend, and as a result, we didn’t really have the opportunity to celebrate our anniversary as we intended. Instead, we injected a little bit of celebration into everything we did. It pretty much started with brunch on Saturday morning.

We decided to try a place we’ve been talking about checking out for a while now but never have: Cat & Fiddle. It’s super-cute:

As was the company.

It was the 14th of January in Hollywood, so naturally the weather was perfect for eating in the courtyard. Their brunch menu is fun and varied, featuring foods from “around the world,” namely Europe and Mexico. The thing that really drew me to the place, though, was the full English breakfast with a vegetarian option. I couldn’t resist:

Sourdough toast, Heinz beans, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomato, two poached eggs, and “chips.” I handed the tomato off to Mr. X, drizzled some hot sauce into the beans, and doused the chips in malt vinegar. I also had a mimosa on the side, which I didn’t think to photograph. In all, it was prepared well and was a ton of fun, but it was only ok . . . as a full English breakfast always is to my taste buds. The poached eggs were lovely, the toast was tasty, and I loved the vinegar-y chips. The beans just are never much to write home about, honestly, and I don’t at all fault Cat & Fiddle for that. The service was spectacular — seriously, maybe the best I’ve had in LA — and the view was just perfect. We decided to split a dessert, it being an occasion and all:

Apple crumble with pumpkin pie ice cream. The crumble was good — though I had to dodge raisins, ack! — but the ice cream was divine. Pumpkin remains one of my top five favorite ice cream flavors.

It was a perfect start to a day that later included watching football at a sports bar, eating an unphotographed dinner at Off Vine (so good!), and catching the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (preferred the original, though this one was good, too). I’m such a lucky lady to have found such a great guy, and though we didn’t have a normal dinner-and-gift-exchange celebration, I wouldn’t trade Saturday for the world.

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