Fab Friday Roundup

Hey Ya'll 
Yes its FRIDAY but I work in retail so its just another day in paradise LOL! Anyhoo, I've compiled a list of some of my fav recipes, foodie sections of bloggers and some great fashion blogger inspo for your viewing pleasure! This should give you some great ideas and also spread the word about some of my fave online people! Have a great weekend everyone! 

FOODIE

Oven Roasted Tomato Soup & Thanksgiving sides from Dirty Diapers & Designer Bags looks amazing! I have been following her blog for a while now and she always has the best apps and fashion finds as well!

Check out the Nutrition section from Andee Layne she is another blogger I've been following for quite a while and she is a perfect example of balance!

Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from Wear To Wander look like the perfect pick me up along with a pumpkin Latte!

All the recipes from The Minimalist Baker look delicious especially this Pesto Pasta Salad! I'm obsessed with pasta salads so this should become a fav in my book!

FASHION

One of my fav style bloggers lately is Sazan Hendrix she is really fun to watch and has great style!

I discovered Richelle on Instagram and love her straight up attitude and her sexy and fun tomboy style! 

Homemaker Wannabe

My homemade chocolate cake and cheers from my messy haired self!

    Over this past holiday season I have seen myself becoming more and more of a homemaker wannabe...I've been craving cooking, and I honestly don't cook. I sewed buttons onto a dress at work today...news to you. And I baked a cake for my Dad's birthday on Christmas day, call the police because someone has abducted the old me. What could be this sudden inspiration? Why have I begun to want to slave over a kitchen stove and have a immaculate house? 

Must be love. 

I just about died of laughter reading this vintage ad. 

    I have a list of dishes I want to attempt to make...I jokingly told my mom that I'm going to be a pastry chef  after baking that cake. Someone please feed my ego and tell me I can do anything I want to do, or be anyone I want be. Because right now I want to be a great cook. I know that the only way to a mans heart is through his stomach...best get started. 

Here are two recipes that I hope are the way to a mans heart.

Linguine with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce & Green Beans Via Realistic Nutritionist. 

Eggs En Cocette via Ceramic Canvas

Im sure I will have an update with more recipes, but for now I must go and figure out how to put these two together. Does your man have a favorite recipe? If so, please do share :) Would love to know what you have to say about this topic. 

Weekend at Leighs

Gotta love it!

   I absolutely love spending time with my sister and her girlfriend. Their apartment is one of my weekend destinations for sure. On one of my recent weekend visits we went to lunch at Paninoteca Maggio in Santa Ana. Great place for a quick bite. Its quite small err intimate might I add. But definitely full of charm as you can see in the pic above :) Of course this was just the beginning of our weekend adventure that Saturday afternoon. So off we were to the Mexican market to load up on spirits and prep for a very, umm strange movie night. Have you ever seen Troll, Labrynth, Strange Sex or Human Centipede II? 

Lets just leave it at that...

You know whut I'm saying?

Say ello to my little friend! 

Strange statues at the market.

Bang Bang pinata time. 

What if god was one of us? 

Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything GOOD

     When people ask me if I cook I usually pause and think to myself, no not really. Then I remember that one time that I made a ridiculously good meal from a pumpkin of all things and reply "Yes, Yes I do cook!". 

    A few years ago I was driving home through the dark canyon listening to my fav station KCRW which has an awesome cooking show, "Good Food: with Evan Kleiman". That day they were talking about a recipe from Chef Dorie Greenspans cookbook "Around my French Table" which had me salivating from the start. I knew that one day I would have to make this dish. 

   So my friends, I followed along with this recipe and my pumpkin came out SO GOOD! This recipe would be great for Thanksgiving, or a cold rainy night! ENjoy!

My fav blogs of the moment #3

J's Everyday Fashion

J's Everyday Fashion-Fashion

Lil Blue Boo-Arts & Humanities

I Do Windows-Visual Merchandising 

Effortless Style-Interior Decorating
Gold Diggers-Vintage Women
Closet Cooking-Food Porn

Previous Fav Blogs Of The Moment
here

Go West

Back in March my sister and I attended EXPO WEST to do some product research for Road Less Traveled!It was our first time attending and we were def. blown away by the awesomeness! 

If ya'll aren't familiar with what I'm talking about EXPO WEST is an annual springtime show held at the Anaheim convention center featuring natural products for all aspect of life including: health, beauty, textiles, food, and home accessories. There was an enormous amount of cool products and everyone was friendly and offered generous samples of their products! And since I had my badge on Saying my job title and company name it was a great way of doing some networking. 

While I was there I made sure to take photos of all the cool products displays as well as some people watching :)  ENJOY

(Below) Horizon and Silk milk display was massive and made from pallets. They even had a little patio. 

(below) Posing with the RC Garcia tortilla chip mime. 

Best of TV this week

Proof that you need'nt cable tv to find watch-worthy shows! Oh and did I mention I dont have tivo...yeah.

Almond-Crusted Chicken With Sweet Potato

Almond-Crusted Chicken With Sweet Potato & Asparagus-Dr Oz Show

Nutritional Homemade Cocktails-At Home With Lisa Quinn

DIY Coat Racks-Steven & Chris

Almond-Crusted Chicken With Sweet Potato & Asparagus-Dr Oz Show

DIY Cocktails-NBC

Spring Trends-Mirror Mirror

Good Food Happy Hour: Mesa, Costa Mesa

If you're a fan of KCRW and OC weekly you're going to love this post. 

I have been a fan of KCRW for a while now and love their DJ's and Programs, they are hosted by really interesting people. Being they're studio is located in Santa Monica I think it's really cool that they have listeners all over the country and the world. 

One of my favorite shows they offer is Good Food with Evan Klieman. Her voice is really cool and her topics are all over the map and are mainly about food culture (duh) so it makes for an interesting listening experience.  My favorite segment of hers features the Pumpkin Stuffed with everything good. This weekend I finally got around to making it. Going to post it soon (promise). 

Back in March I attended KCRW's GOOD FOOD Happy hr @ Crosby and it was a great night of food and drinks. So when I heard that Evan and KCRW  and Gustavo Arrelano of OC WEEKLY would be hosting another Happy hr this past month I couldn't wait to go! This time it was held at Mesa which is located at the Camp in Costa Mesa, CA. 

It was my first time going to Mesa and I heard good things about the decor and the hot bar tenders. So I brought my boyfriend with me and we hung out with the OC celebs Delilah Snell owner of Road Less Traveled, Raya Belna former chef for Seabirds, Gustavo Arellano of Ask A Mexican, Tanya& Mark  owners of Avanti Naturals and of course Evan Kleiman of KCRW's Good Food!

Here are photo's from that night. ENjoy.

 Raya, Delilah, Tanya and Myself. 

Evan and Gustavo calling out raffle numbers. There were lots of great prizes.

 One lucky winner!

 Looks like we have a winner! Raya will surely make something tasty this this gift basket. 

 Happy Winners! Is that a photo bomber to the left?

 Walking to the restroom was a sight to see. 

 Texting by firelight, how romantic. Not. 

 A blurry and busy shot of Mesa.

 Check out the roof. It's alive!

 There is a vast mix of expressions on everyone faces. Must be all the alcohol. 

 Either he didnt eat all day or the food is just "that" good!

 Photo op of all of the beautiful people of OC and LA! 

Movies were playing on the walls. 

At the end of Happy Hour I went up and spoke with Evan and she remembered me from last time! Gasp...I get star struck sometimes especially around people who I think are talented and hard working. 

Evan if you're reading this I just wanted to say thanks for coming down to our neck of the woods and making just another Thursday into a KCRW Happy Hour experience! 

Eat Real Festival

Eat Real Festival 

July 16-17th, Helms Bakery District, Culver City

What is Eat Real Festival?

Eat Real combines a state fair, a street-food festival, and a block party to create a celebration of good food. At the Eat Real Festival, participants learn where food comes from, who grows and makes it, and how they make it. Eat Real Festival attendance is 100% free of charge, all food at the festival costs $5 and less, and all food incorporates regionally sourced, fabulous, and sustainably produced ingredients.

We know that today’s eaters are concerned about how to spend their food dollar yet are also increasingly interested in learning about how food choices can contribute to a healthier environment and stronger communities. By using fresh and local ingredients (and their amazing flavors), Eat Real aims to show how easy it can be to support a regional food system by bringing farmers, food producers and eaters together. We are very excited to be supporting more than 300 local and regional businesses and organizations at in Oakland and Los Angeles. 

Where is it located?

The events will take place at Helms Bakery District in Culver City, CA.

What you will see at the event:

Eat

Come enjoy your favorite street foods, all with tasty, local, and fresh ingredients.

Drink

Get quenched with our rockin’ selection of local handcrafted beers and wines, agua frescas, and more.

Make

Find your inner urban homesteader with our D.I.Y. food fun, backyard farmers, and food craft contests.

See

Don’t miss the food skills demos, live music, lit fest, and Flying Knives butchery contest.

For more info please visit their website:

Eatrealfest.com

Thai Love You

For some reason I have become obsessed with Spicy Thai and I see no end to it. I have managed to get my hands on as many Thai infused products lately and I want more more more. Have you ever had a taste of something that all of a sudden you couldn't get enough of? 

image via (facebook.com)

I bought these spicy thai chips on a whim hoping they would be just as good as they sounded. And yes they were great and I went to buy another bag and they are all sold out. Spicy, gingery perfect. 

image via (randommealoftheday.blogspot.com)

Picked up this spicy Thai chicken salad the other day for a dinner between classes. This was such an indulgent salad with not too many calories compared to others. I bought another one this week.Yummy peanuty, spicy and just the right serving size. 

image via (closetcooking.com)

Mmmm Thai Chicken Pizza is so wonderful. I usually get it from Schlotzky's Deli. Unexpected toppings for a pizza but together they make an aromatic mouth watering combo.

image via (recipes.howstuffworks.com)

Thai Tea looks so rich and creamy but where can I get it besides in a can from the grocery store? 

image via (bonappetit.com)

This is a dream come true: Thai Coconut Tapioca Pudding. Enough said.

Can someone tell me where the best Thai Restruant is in the Orange County area?