Summer Salad Series: Wheat Berry!

What a beautiful weekend we just had in Southern California!  The weather was so wonderful and inspiring, we spent two, yes two, days visiting farmers’ markets – one in Santa Barbara and one in East L.A.  We came home with a bounty of fresh, wholesome goodness;  which has inspired this week’s theme of Summer Salads!  The first to be featured: our Wheat Berry salad.  With no “official” recipe to follow, I just chopped and mixed in a plethora of earth’s little treats:

Ingredients:

-          1 cup uncooked wheat berries

-          Olive oil

-          Juice of one lemon

-          Splash of white wine vinegar

-          Sea salt

-          Fresh black pepper

-          1/3 cup dried cranberries

-          6 stalks of quickly blanched asparagus, chopped

-          ½ cup of feta cheese

-          8 large leaves of fresh mint, chopped

-          ½ of a medium red onion, diced

-          1 cup of halved yellow and red cherry tomatoes

Preparation:

After preparing the wheat berries (which essentially means boiling them for an hour and then letting cool), combine cranberries, asparagus, tomatoes and onion in a large mixing and toss.  Then dress with olive oil, the juice of one lemon, splash of vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the feta cheese and mint and toss one more time to incorporate all ingredients.  Enjoy!

Weekend Rendezvous: Santa Barbara

Happy weekend, all!  We have decided to take a day trip to Santa Barbara tomorrow with a couple of friends for a little oyster tasting and beach-chillaxing fun.  The weather is forecasted to be a beautiful “sunny and 74 degrees”.  Alright!  Our plan is to depart LA around 8:00 AM in order to make it to Santa Barbara in time to visit a guy you sells live sea urchin from the harbor before he closes shop at 10.  We’ll then find a nice place to brunch, walk around and enjoy all Santa Barbara has to offer, then head back down to Ventura Beach for some Jolly Oyster action, bubbles and bocce ball.  Look for recap pictures next week!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Santa Barbara... drink it in.

The Jolly Oyster

The Vagrancy Project

Last weekend, a girlfriend and I attended The Vagrancy Project... and it was probably the best thing I've done since being back in LA!  It included all of my favorite things:  great food, tasty and new drinks, and the opportunity to meet fun and interesting people!  The chef and host of the dinner was Miles Thompson and for us he created 11 (yes, ELEVEN) beautiful, light and exotic courses - each paired with a beer or wine.  I finished everything, which I didn't think was going to be possible.  I guess it's just a true testament of how amaze-balls the food was!  I took a few pictures (obviously) of my favorite dishes.  Enjoy!

Loup de Mar

Pied de Cochon

Double-fisting.  Only natural at such an event.

Angolotto

Monkfish

Lamb

Oriol de Montbru (My absolute favorite!  It was lick CRACK!)

Citrus (lemon curd)

Extra 25% Off @ Madewell!

Madewell is offering and additional 25% off already-reduced prices from now until Friday!  Just enter the promo code WHYNOT at checkout.  They've got some pretty cute things, so hurry into a store or order on-line for some season-appropriate gear, like the below.  They have TONS of stuff!  Eeeek!

Were $82.00, now $45.00



Was $118.00, now $67.50

Was $49.50, now $26.25

Was $88.00, now $45.00

Was $25.00, now $15.00

Was $125.00, now $52.50

Was $148.00, now $90.00

Air New Zealand... alright!

Yay!  We have booked our flights for our 2012 English Holiday Spectacular and are, for the first time in a LONG time, actually excited for the journey across the pond!  That's because we decided to book in Air New Zealand’s new Premium Economy class – which is being equated to other major airlines Business or Upper class.  Eeek!  The new “Spaceseats” come complete with USB power sockets, a touchscreen monitor (which can also be used to order snacks, drinks or a meal if you don’t want to get up a visit the “lounge” – ha!) and beanbag pillows to rest your feet.  The slide-and-tilt design of the seat also means that the person in front of you cannot recline back into your space.  As for food, Business and PE actually share the same wine selections and menu!  We are super-amped, even though we still have to wait another eight months to embark.  The new seats are only available on the fleet’s 777-300 planes, so if you want to check it out first-hand for yourself, make sure to confirm which plane will be flown on your flight. Safe travels!

Air New Zealand's new Spaceseat.

The many different configurations of the inner isle.

The PE Gallery Bar - niiiiice!

ANZ Spaceseats

Loving...

Echo Park’s Cookbook!  This quaint storefront in our adjacent neighborhood of Echo Park is stellar.  You’ve probably noticed that I’m somewhat of a “foodie”.  I enjoy lots of different cuisines; as long as the ingredients are wholesome and REAL. No cheap, GMO’d, or mass-produced poo-poo for me!  I like good ol’ earthy, natural, back-to-basics, heirloom quality that makes you feel all good inside.  And that is the quality Cookbook represents! Love these guys for simply doing the “RIGHT THING”.  Check out their feature in a recent issue of the NY Times Style Mag as well!

Cookbook - Echo Park

Mmmm... wholesome goodness.

Cookbook has an everchanging selection of prepared foods as well!

Hush, Hush

Happy Friday, everyone!  So, I was asked by a friend of mine to accompany her to a “secret dinner party” this Saturday evening… fun! (Of course I said, “YES!”).  But what do you wear to something described as operating like this:  

          We’ve built a master list of slightly-above-average attractive people who receive a proprietary list of event dates. The first handful of repliers (we keep it mad-intimate) are then privy to must-have, on-the-DL important-ness like location, time, and length of the meal. Topping 10+ courses, the donation-based fetes all have themes (e.g. "I Live in the Wild", "Welcome to the Jungle").

All I know is that the dinner will take place at a private residence in Hollywood. Some thoughts affecting my decision of what to wear are: I don’t want to be dressy, but it is for charity (the Aviva Center), so I also don’t want to look too casual.  We won’t know anyone else there, (as another stipulation is only two people can come per invite in order to create an “interesting mix of guests that will be forced to mingle”) so it’s hard to ask what everyone else is wearing! What a conundrum! If only I had an unlimited tab with Net-a-porter (that someone else was paying), I could wear either of these outfits:

Dress, Bag, Trench, Shoes, Polish.  Charity is expensive!

OR

Dress, Bag, Necklace, Pumps.

Bringing Sexy Back

Okay, so I know I've already posted once about how much I adore Phillip Phillips on American Idol.  But last night, his cover of Usher's U Got it Bad took my admiration of the artist to a completely new level!  His super-sexy performance made even me swoon!  (as did JLo) (as did my husband - who re-watched the performace twice after I went to bed!) I can only imagine how the masses of American Teenyboppers are reacting to the 20 year-old "true" musical artist.  Expect great things from this guy.  I have a feeling we're going to be seeing alot of him in the future! At least I sure hope so!!

Phillip Phillips - U Got it Bad

Skincare!

I’ve had more than my share of bad skin experiences in my days.  Up until my mid-twenties, my face was a blemish fiesta!  (And I’m talking about the under-the-skin, painful kind that leave their mark!)  It was years (a good 12 or so) of constant struggling and I had basically given up on the idea of naturally beautiful skin.  Then, as if suddenly, it all seemed to disappear and normalize. I could go out (comfortably) without wearing makeup or concealers  and started to welcome the idea of essential oils in my skincare products (gasp!).  I began getting compliments on how “beautiful” my skin was from strangers, like the women in the cheese shop, the flight attendant on the plane or the lady cleaning my teeth.  What was happening!?  I didn’t care… I was thanking the heavens for this personal miracle!   It’s been a solid two-three years now with my “new skin” and I was recently reflecting on what products I could attribute it to.  My one secret weapon has probably been my Clarisonic.  And below are the products I use daily.  What are your favorite products and how have they changed your life?  Sharing is caring!

AM Routine

I don’t actually wash my face in the  morning.  I just rinse it with warm water then layer the following:

-          Lumene Eye Cream

-          Epicuren Noni Serum (a light layer over my entire face)

-          CeraVe Moisturizer with SPF 30

-          Original Chapstick

-          Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (yep, I do a double-dose of moisturizer over my  entire face!)

-          Philosophy’s Supernatural Mineral Powder (the finishing touch to set it all)

PM Routine

I wash my face with Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser and my Clarisonic.  Then layer on:

-          Lumene Eye Cream

-          Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate (this is basically pure essential oil)

-          Kiehl’s  Rosa Arctica Cream

-          Original Chapstick

My Husband Reads My Blog!

Today is my two-year wedding anniversary… yay!  Although my husband and I had agreed on “no gifts” this year, he surprised me with this WONDERFUL Kelly Wearstler cuff!  Look familiar?  It’s the one I posted HERE back in the beginning of March.  He said, “I got the idea from your blog.”  Love it!  I have the best partner-in-crime in the whole wide world.  (And if you’re wondering, yes.  I broke the “no gift” rule as well as got Nick these nifty Warby Parker spectacles.  Hehe!)

That's us!

Thanks, Nickel!  XOXO

Warby Parker's Roosevelt in Striped Chestnut

Snug Harbor Inn: Catalina Island

While Nick's parents were here, we took them to Catalina Island for a couple of days and stayed at Snug Harbor Inn - a cute, six-room boutique hotel right on the harbor.  We love heading over to the Catalina because it feels like a “real” vacation, complete with golf carts and a pedestrian-friendly sized town that feels hundreds of miles away, yet it’s just a quick trip across the channel!  We like Snug Harbor because of their kitschy, coastal décor and the complimentary cheese and wine at five o’clock every day in the “den”.  They also deliver a breakfast basket each morning, complete with a freshly-baked mini-loaf, Greek yoghurt, granola, fruit, juice and coffee.  For being such a small island village, there is alot to do!  We usually go hiking in the hills or jogging along the coast, rent bikes, do some snorkeling and sea kayaking or just hang out at Descanso Beach Club.  So fun! Here are a couple of photos from our trip.  Enjoy!

Avalon Bay

The view from our room

Relaxing at Descanso Beach Club

When in Rome... (at Descanso)

The "breakfast basket" (They'll even set it up for you!)

We heart you, Catalina!

Current Obsession: Zara Shoes!

Zara is on fire right now with their shoe “collection”!  I’ve long-been a fan of their shoes because of their 1) comfort and 2) price – since I normally run my shoes into the ground like a third-grader on the playground.  (I swear, sometimes I think I shouldn’t have nice things!)  Here a few beauties I wouldn’t mind adding to my closet:  Pop-tastic, Not-so-dull Neutrals and Pastel Preppy Flats!  A lot of these would be perfect with a little white-on-white action.  Hehe!  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!

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Herb Ritts & The Getty

If you didn’t already know, I am absolutely obsessed with the Getty Center.  It’s a great place to spend a day observing not only art, but architecture, people and the great outdoors.  When I was first living in LA several years ago, I would head up to the Getty by myself and spend hours in my own personal “heaven” of solitude and beauty.  Now, I take visitors and friends and am pleased to see they enjoy its magnificence almost as much as I do.  Last Sunday, we attended the opening weekend of the new Herb Ritts photography exhibition in the West Pavilion (AMAZE-BALLS!).  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take any photographs in the exhibit, but below is the entrance to the exhibit (which I was able to snap) and one of his more well-known images I pulled from his website.  The exhibit runs until the end of August, so if you have the opportunity, SEE IT! 

Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood, 1989

Southeast Upper Terrace - Getty Center

After lunch, we headed over to survey the and 17^th  & 18^th century furniture in the Getty’s permanent collection – where we were able to snap away as much as our little hearts desired.  It’s breathtaking what they used to do with wood!  Below are a few detail shots of desks and cabinets with extraordinary marquetry work.  Why don’t people put this same level (or even half) of passion into their work anymore.  Just a little food for thought!

I dare someone to try this!

2012 Walk MS

Hello all!

I'm participating in the 2012 Walk MS event this Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California! Like me, some of you may have close friends, family or co-workers suffering from MS.  Let's come together to raise money and support research efforts to help end this degenerative disease.  Every bit counts! Thanks in advance for your support!!  Recap pictures of this terrific even to come next week.

Check out my page HERE.

xoxo,
Chelsea