Thank Fuck This Week Is Over

Crazy ass, horrible week. Like tears ever day bad. So let's review the good stuff that kept me from jumping off my balcony and rejoice that it's Friday mf-ers (even though I am staying home like a granny tonight to work on my e-portfolio for school)!

 I picked up this sweet little card at Ige on Beverly Blvd. after having a seriously tasty salad over at Susina Bakery with my mom on Monday. Man do I wish I could have tried one of their almond croissants!

 Ayelet in eyelet. More noteworthy, however, is that I took this photo using Apple's Photobooth application. Because I am the proud owner of a brand new MacBook Pro laptop! Mark brought it home to me as a total (major) surprise the other day as a sort of make-up gift for our anniversary and Valentine's Day. I am such a lucky lady and cannot wait to stop using this old, ugly, and annoying PC. Apple for life, bitches!

 I am currently obsessed with filling the pantry with Weck jars. They look so much more streamlined than having a bunch of ugly boxes or loose bags of lentils spilling their contents all over the place. After picking up some Hawaiian black salt up over at the Broome St. General Store that was packaged in a tiny version, I realized that everything just looks better in coordinating jars! I picked up some local produce (and a package of Justin's dark chocolate peanut butter cups-so sue me...) at Atwater Village Farm over the weekend and loved being able to immediately give the items a pretty home.

Between the Weck jars and Martha Stewart's new line of office supplies for Avery, I'm totally in organizational mode. Get. It. Done. We reorganized the bedroom on Tuesday and it looks a million times cleaner and more open now. I picked up these elastic tags to keep our plethora of cords under control, a folder that adheres to the inside of a cabinet drawer to keep all of our random appliance guides in one out of the way place, and labels for the Weck jars. I'll be buying a billion more of the items once I have time for extra projects.

Today I went on a tour of the LAPL's Central Library with the San Jose State ALA student chapter. While I'd been there before to pick up research materials I never quite realized what a beautiful and massive space it is. This stained glass globe light is surrounded by the twelve zodiac symbols and a ring of lights to represent the library's central theme-the light of learning. It's spectacular and cost $50,000 in 1933.

Reconnaissance Work At Trader Sam's

For months people have been asking Mark if he's checked out Trader Sam's the new(ish) tiki bar at the Disneyland Hotel. So finally, we had a proper chance to check it out so the mister can regain his street cred as a tropical drink-pouring bartender. The verdict: I love the decor and the fun kitsch of it all, which feels perfectly "Disney," right down to the friendly bartenders who throw water and ice at you if you order a drink like the aptly named Shipwreck on the Rocks. The drinks we tried were a mixed bag. Some were amazingly good and really refreshing (Mosquito Mojito), while some would have given me diabetes had I finished them (Shrunken Zombie Head, which would have been lovely if the touch of passion fruit had been a little lighter). We tried the ahi poke after I realized I was otherwise going to be on the floor thanks to the mid-day booze, and we both really enjoyed it.

A happy little tiki on the door welcomes us.

Just slightly off-kilter after a few cocktails...

Fonuts According To A Real Nut

A few months ago the former pastry chef of Jose Andres's Bazaar opened up Fonuts, a shop devoted to baked donuts. While the reception has been lukewarm at best, with most people annoyed at the idea of selling round pieces of cake as donuts, I am willing to try anything simultaneously sweet and cutesy. What can I say? Sometimes even if  don't believe the hype, I reaaally want to anyway. Besides, tempted by the holiday flavors of pumpkin and gingerbread, I was willing to risk disappointment for the sake of sugary comforts.

The gluten free pumpkin was delicious. Seriously, the moistness of the cake coupled with just a touch of overtly sweet glaze, the spiciness, and the fact that it was devoid of wheat flour, made it something worth coming back for and a delicious morning treat with some strong coffee. Sadly, there was no gingerbread on the day so I went with salted caramel. Mistake! The salt suffered from the stickiness of the caramel and mostly stuck to the bag it was packaged in. But even the salty-sweet combo couldn't have saved this sad donut imposter. The cake itself was incredibly dry and sort of spongy, with the caramel weirdly textured. It reminded me of childhood experiences back in the day when my mom would buy a box of hideous Kosher for Passover cake mix for the sedar dessert and the result was something even a sugar-crazed kid wouldn't touch. Not sure how that's even possible, but after one bite I was ready to chuck it in the bin. There seems to be a real inconsistency in the cakes here (some of the donuts are half the size of others but still upwards of $3? Bitch, please) and unfortunately, it leaves me feeling like Fonut is a bit bipolar rather than just acting like something it's not. So would I still be willing to risk it on gingerbread? Well...I did say I'm a nut, didn't I?


Ist photo courtesy CurveWire

Metallic Cupcakes

To celebrate my birthday my grandma invited me up for lunch this weekend, so since she was going to be cooking some of my favorite things I told her I'd take care of dessert. A box of Rainbow Chip mix and a can of metallic gold edible spray later, I had the perfect bright pink and gold cuppies fit for a 7 year old girl or 27 woman. Not to mention the heart and star shaped edible glitters!

Light Noms

As someone with a major sweet tooth, I'm always looking for healthier, savory snack alternatives to keep me away from the bf's assortment of tempting sour candies and ice creams. Thank the heavens for Trader Joe's, which I can always count on to keep my pantry stocked with delicious (mostly) nutritious items. My latest discovery are their wasabi almonds-dry roasted almonds coated in wasabi powder. The mix of luscious nutty flavor with a kick of spice makes these ideal to hold me over 'til dinner or afterward, while the bite of the wasabi flavor keeps me from wanting to each the whole bag.

Mmmm.