2012 - my year in review

Since I started this blog, I've spent either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day reflecting on what I did or did not accomplish the prior 365 days. So on this New Year's Eve afternoon -- now that I've finished watching two seasons of Homeland in eight days, and OMG! SO GOOD! -- I'm sitting down to reflect on 2012.

Again this year, I set six goals for myself... the same six I had in 2011, with minor adjustments. Let's see how I did:

1. Stay Healthy: After losing +/-25 pounds in 2011, the goal for 2012 was to keep it off, but also figure out how to balance moderate exercise (2-3 times per week vs. the 5 times per week during my weight loss campaign) with eating the foods I love and had deprived myself of in 2011 (ie: bread, pasta, cheese, cocktails) in moderation. 
• Check! I have kept the weight off, and even lost about 5 more pounds every now and then as a buffer prior to events where I knew I'd want to pig out so I wouldn't slip above my goal weight. I have kept up almost weekly pilates, dusted off my bike and finally started riding around Lake Balboa's great bike paths (a 7 mile roundtrip ride from my house), and started going to Pop Physique more regularly... the workout that kicks your butt, but makes it look great in the process :) Haven't been hiking much since June when I took the 'rents cocker spaniel Sophie and almost killed her. (Note: cocker spaniels are not hiking dogs; they are dogs who like to lazily trot around sniffing everything in sight on flat surfaces.) But doesn't matter. I feel like I've got a handle on maintaining my weight and enjoying food... especially since I made it through goal #2 and came back two pounds lighter than I left (note I said "I," not my suitcase ;) 
2. Finally Go to Italy: This has been a failed goal for many years. To quote a text from my friend Erika back in early September, "I have known you nearly five years and you have been planning to go to Italy for nearly five years. GO TO ITALY!" 
• Check! Thanks to a fortuitous lack of having to go to work this fall, and a few friends who hounded my ass and helped me plan (aka the aforementioned Erika, plus Diana, Mari, Shawn, Barrett, Jason and Lisa :), I booked a bunch of planes, trains and automobiles, plus four great rentals via AirBnB for an October trek through Rome, Florence, Lamporecchio and Venice that my mom joined me on. It was a great trip, if you don't count the part involving the automobile in Tuscany. It will not be another five years before I go back.
• Travel Bonus: I also took a summer vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii to celebrate my friend Katharine's "Hawaii Four-O" birthday extravaganza. It was super fun and relaxing. Now, after three trips to the Big Island, I think I need to venture out to another island next time.
3. Write More: This used to mean opening up my journal and brain-dumping thoughts and ideas to keep my head clear and hopefully get creativity flowing. But there's no real accountability there. So this year I decided that it would mean writing privately in the journal or publicly here.
• Check! While I don't think I opened my journal more than once (as I tend to only write in that the last few years when I'm in the middle of an emotional breakdown), I did blog a LOT more in 2012 than I did in 2011 -- 440% more to be exact! I've even started to notice trends in what I write about, thus the new nav bar above linking to posts about travel, fun things I do in LA, food, products I love, hockey and my home improvement projects. 
4. Read The Classics: I used to read a ton of books when I was a kid, and I still love to read. But I now treat curling up with a book as a reward... something I only allow myself to do when the magazine pile (which is replenished weekly) is gone and I have no other pressing projects. The goal the last few years has been to read one book per quarter, so I would get through at least four a year. In 2012, I wanted to attack the classic novels that have been sitting on my bookshelf since high school and college... unread. 
• Fail (if you're going to be technical about the goal): I didn't read a single classic novel, although I did take Pride and Prejudice with me all the way to Italy, and had The Hobbit sitting out on my coffee table taunting me for about four months. And I DID read five books this year... even more if you count repeat readings of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy as additional books (Hey, at least I'm honest :P) Keeping up my smutty book theme, I also read Rick Springfield's autobiography Late, Late at Night, and Judy Blume's controversial (back in the '70s) first adult novel Wifey, both when I was in Hawaii. I'm sad to say, as much as Judy Blume is a hero of mine, I hated Wifey... probably because it was very '70s, and I'd just finished my first read of the FSOG trilogy, so it was very tame/lame in comparison. But I did enjoy Rick's book... I was just shocked to read what a man-whore the first rock star I ever loved was (is?). Although I guess I really shouldn't be. God help me when Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora write their books. 
5. Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Half Check/Half Fail: I did great this year in raising funds for the MS Society! (For those that don't know, my mom has had MS for two years.) I created a team page and recruited six of my awesome friends (Christina, Keira, Cwennen, Diana, Daryl and James) to walk a 5k around the Rose Bowl in April. We raised more than $2000, and I was the #169th top individual fundraiser for our walk, thanks to very generous donations from my friends and my and my dad's co-workers. I also asked my friends to make donations to the MS Society in honor of my big 4-0 back in February (and raised another $1k+. Yay!) But that's all I did this year. Didn't make it to Operation Gratitude or any other volunteer events. Bad me. 
6. Host More:  I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more.
• Fail: No big events this year outside of the annual 4th of July BBQ + Bounce House Extravaganza, a Labor Day BBQ and Christmas Cocktails. I think I only used the grill two, maybe three times. Sad. And while I have been eating at home more, I wouldn't say I've expanded my cooking skills. Maybe I should start having dinner parties where I'm forced to open cookbooks. Hmm...

I am going to think about this stuff tonight as I eat finger foods and drink vodka and champagne. My 2013 goals (don't call them resolutions!) will be posted at some point tomorrow. I may actually incorporate more detailed things, like from my list of places I want to go in LA :) Until then, here's a look at my month-by-month memorable moments of 2012:

January:

• Started going to Pop Physique again regularly -- four times in January. Hurts so good.
• Two Kings games. Remember hockey in winter? I don't...
• My mom and dad celebrated their 42nd Anniversary
• Had a great dinner with a great friend at Perch in Downtown LA

February:

• Burke Williams trip #1
• I turned 40, and rented a suite at Staples Center to celebrate! The Kings wished me a happy birthday by losing 0-1 to the Calgary Flames in the third period. Snooze. But I had great cupcakes and champagne surrounded by great friends anyway :)

March:

• Lots of fun this month at PaleyFest with the casts of Once Upon a Time, New Girl, Castle and Modern Family
• Saw my friend Jeff star in Noel Coward's play "Private Lives" in Burbank. Great show!
• Liked the movie version of Hunger Games almost as much as the book. Almost. 

April:

• Walk MS at the Rose Bowl. My team raised more than $2000 for MS research and care!
• I met my writing hero, Judy Blume, at the LA Times Festival of Books
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs at the last minute for the 3rd time since 2002! And keep playing through the end of the month...
• Jonathan Quick is named a finalist (one of three) for the Vezina Trophy.

May:

• The 2012 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season with The Avengers, which will end the year as one of my top 2 favorite movies of 2012.  
• I went to the opera. Yes, the opera. La Boheme at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. I don't think I'm an opera person. 
• Got invited to a lovely afternoon garden party at the residence of Dame Barbara Hay, the British Consul-General. It was filmed for an episode of Cupcake Wars that aired in August.
• The LA Kings are still playing hockey. Really well. They make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, for the first time since 1993. Only the second time in their existence. I start to get really nauseous whenever they play.  

June:

• The LA Kings WIN THE STANLEY CUP!! That's all I can really remember about June. Sorry. But that was enough for me :)

July:

• Hosted my 3rd 4th of July BBQ (actually on July 4th this year)
• Enjoyed summer

August:

• Went to a LOT of shows!
• Pixar in Concert @ The Hollywood Bowl
• Aerosmith @ The Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ The Greek Theater
• Memphis @ The Pantages Theatre 
• Cirque du Soleil's Micheal Jackson The Immortal World @ Staples Center
  
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl, with narrator James Taylor
• Trip #1: Hawaii! 

September:

• Held a BBQ for Labor Day
• Found out I was going to have a lot of free time on my hands...
• Saw The Book of Mormon @ The Pantages Theatre
• Met The Stanley Cup, up close and personal
• Saw Pat Benatar @ The Canyon Club
• Went to the Getty Villa, and saw the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour over LA.
• Started and completed  Project Kill Crabgrass & Clover in my front yard
• Had a fancy, cultured day in Pasadena at the Norton Simon Museum and The Langham for afternoon tea.

October:

• Painted my hallway, guest bathroom and guest bedroom. And finally got new blinds for the guest bedroom, admitting to myself it will be a while before I get new front windows and shutters to go over them.
• The Kings season does NOT begin... thanks NHL for locking the players out and preventing the Kings from raising their Stanley Cup banner because that means I was free for...
• Trip #2: ITALY!!!

November:

• Did a lot of blogging about Italy :) (see link above)
• Saw Richie Sambora @ The Ford Theater. Great small, intimate show, with all proceeds going to Hurricane Sandy relief.
• A super-fancy VIP Day at Disneyland, thanks to our friend and new Club 33 member Shawn.
• Thanksgiving Dinner #4 at my house for Mom, Dad, little bro Ryan and me
• After Thanksgiving, Afternoon Tea in Pasadena with Jenny and Ruthie Z.
• Super-successful garage sale with Diana, Daryl and James

December:

• Baking-palooza 2012
• Christmas Cocktails 2012
• Afternoon Tea on the 3rd Day of Christmas at Daryl and James' house
• New Year's Eve Finger Lickin' Game Night at my place for those who hate NYE :)

on the third day of christmas...

... my dear friends gave to me, a lovely afternoon tea!

I think anyone who has read this blog lately knows I love afternoon tea. So when my friends Daryl & James invited me over for tea on the Friday after Christmas -- using Daryl's fancy silver and gold trimmed china -- my only response was, "What time should I arrive?" :) It was a super fancy way to celebrate the third day of Christmas!

We had two rounds of tea -- a yummy "house" blend and a citrusy Christmas blend. They even had sugar cubes, which apparently you can get at the supermarket. I need to pay more attention to my sugar purchasing options. Sugar cubes are a quick and easy way to fancy-up a cup of tea if you're not drinking out of china teacups and saucers ;)

The first course consisted of really good, homemade egg salad and chicken curry finger sandwiches.

The second course was a delish scone with a choice of yummy apple cinnamon jelly or mixed berry preserves. (However, if you're smart, you cut the scone in half so you can have both -- one per half :). And then the final course was a mini mincemeat pie with brandy butter. 

It was a lovely, lovely afternoon! And I even got a lovely parting gift -- since Daryl had just been to London for work again, he brought my favorite cookies ever back for me! A tin of Marks & Spencer Scottish Shortbread Petticoat Tails. Yay! And just in time... my previous stash I've been rationing was down to two triangles. Now I should have enough to last me through March (I hope!)

PS: I would just like to note that my blog now comes up as the #4 Google search result when you search for "marks and spencer scottish shortbread petticoat tails." Woot!

my favorite things

It's the weekend before Christmas and all through the land, frantic shoppers are fighting their way through malls, last-minute shopping lists in hand.... 

I, however -- being one with a lot of free time on her hands these days -- finished that cray-cray (wrapping included) weeks ago and have instead spent the last week sitting on my sofa, watching PGA movie screeners and recovering from what I hope is my only cold of the 2012-13 season. 

While taking a break between Beasts of the Southern Wild and Hyde Park on Hudson on Wednesday, I turned on ABC and caught Katie Couric's "Katie Gives Back" show... or what I realized within five seconds was Katie's version of Oprah's infamous Favorite Things disguised as helping Hurricane Sandy Victims get ready for the holidays. 

The show made me think of some of my favorite things to give and get at the holidays (other than home improvement store and Starbucks gift cards of course ;). They all elicit a feel-good, warm-fuzzy feeling in different ways, and are great for last minute gifts.

Slatkin & Co "Winter" candle

I've written about this before. This is my favorite candle ever. It screams Christmas to me, even though it's called "winter." It should actually be called "warm & cozy" because that's how it makes you feel... just add a cup of tea and a warm blanket to cuddle up under on the sofa and you're all set for a warm, relaxing, cozy night at home in front of the tree. 

Owls

Okay, owls are not warm and fuzzy. And I don't really love them. But I love that they are now an awesome in-joke that keeps on giving for me and three of my friends.                                        

A year ago on a day trip to Solvang, in a store selling something with an owl on it that I don't remember, my pal James commented that owls were going to be the next big thing. Was he ever right. This year, they are everywhere on everything! (I even found a ceramic one with "Venezia" painted on its chest while wandering through Venice, Italy... which I promptly purchased for James!) And now, everywhere our group of friends goes, if we happen to see an owl, we must stop and comment: "Owls -- ya know, they're very trendy this year."



We all bought owl Christmas ornaments this year to commemorate the "trend." (That's mine on my already-dead Christmas tree above.) And while shopping this year, I've seen them on mugs, tees, phone cases and journals, which are another one of my fave things to give and receive. I have a stockpile of them, waiting to be written in. There's one I take when I travel and another one I write in when something monumentally depressing happens. I need to start just jotting happier ideas down in another one of them... maybe one day it will turn into that book I want to write but never get around to.

Scarves

I freely admit I'm a little bit obsessed with scarves. They are soft, keep your neck warm and are great for jazzing up a solid shirt or sweater, so who wouldn't love them? Certainly not any of my gal pals (which is a good thing since there are four scarves straight from the stalls of the Florence, Italy Central Market sitting wrapped under my tree right now ;) 

In fact, a year or so ago, I remember a male co-worker commenting that, "Apparently, you have to love scarves" to be on my team ... and therefore he would never be on my team. (Boring boys!) Erika, Sarah, Lisa, Molly, Malinda and I LOVE scarves. As does my crafty friend Diana, who crocheted this beautiful, soft, sparkly, purple scarf for me this Christmas. I wore it to a party last weekend and every female there complimented me on it!

I love homemade, crocheted scarves. I love long, light, cotton scarves (I find some great ones, surprisingly, at Coldwater Creek when shopping for sweaters for my mom). And I love super-soft pashmina wraps -- my black one is my go-to neck warmer.

BTW, did you know there are more than 50 ways you can tie a scarf? I've gotten into a rut with the slip knot and loose wrap. Maybe in 2013 I'll make a resolution to try a different knotting technique with one of the 20+ scarves and wraps I own ;)

Fun Dining Experiences

Who says a gift has to be a thing you wrap? Some of the best gifts I've had recently have been time spent enjoying good food and great conversations with friends. For years (three to be exact), some of my friends kept promising to take me to Ford's Filling Station for my birthday. I'd never been, and when we finally coordinated the big dinner, one might fear it wouldn't live up to three years of expectations. But it did. It was great to be out somewhere nice and new with friends, enjoying amazing food and great service.

And just last week, I had afternoon tea at Scarlet Tea Room with a long-time friend I hadn't been able to spend much time with recently. We spent two hours talking about our families, the holidays, job hunting and my trip to Italy, while eating scones and finger sandwiches. It was a lovely, lovely afternoon. And a great holiday treat!

enjoy every moment

Today I went to my goddaughter's 6th birthday party at Scooter's Jungle. She is the sweetest, most polite little kid with the prettiest smile and the perfect princess wave -- hey, it's her birthday, which makes her the princess, and she can wave if she wants to ;)

We went down the giant slide over and over and over together, laughing all the way down. Then she'd say, "Let's go again!" and start back up the stairs. So we would. When the party was over and I left, she got the biggest hug ever.

Then I came home and checked Facebook for the first time today. Everywhere there were lists of the names of the 6-and-7-year-olds and their teachers who that stupid, selfish fuckhead gunned down yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut. None of them will get to go down the giant slide or bounce off the walls of a bounce house again. And that makes me SO angry.

I could go on a tirade about guns, but I'm sick to my stomach of hearing about them over the last 24 hours.

Instead, I will say enjoy every moment you have with the people you love. Life is too short.

May those 26 new angels in heaven rest in peace. And may their families, whose hearts are irreparably broken, somehow find the strength to go on.

random thoughts on 121212

I'm watching the 121212 concert for Hurricane Sandy relief tonight and having a lot of random thoughts I'm going to document here because there is no one in my living room at the moment to share them with. I apologize in advance. I'm in a snarky mood. But to make up for my snarkiness, let me remind you that you can buy music from the concert here on iTunes, with all proceeds going to the Robin Hood Foundation. (Hopefully that will keep me from going to hell for what's about to occur ;)

First, one non-snarky comment: This is the first time I've heard Springsteen and The E Street Band play live since Clarence Clemons passed away. "Born to Run" just isn't the same without The Big Man on sax :(

Now, let the snark begin:

Kristen Stewart needs to fire her stylist right now.

Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen should not duet together anymore. They don't sing in the same key. Jon messed up "Born to Run." Bruce messed up "Who Says You Can't Go Home."
-- Sincerely, a huge fan of both Jersey Boys... separately.

Why were the only musicians who played this benefit OLD? The Who, Clapton, Springsteen, McCartney, The Stones, Billy Joel. Even Bon Jovi is now all officially 50+. Do the organizers think fans of people under 25 have no cash to donate? Or did Taylor Swift and One Direction have a hot date tonight? (Not that I actually want to hear Taylor Swift and One Direction, mind you. But maybe the concert could've been on network TV if they had an act or two that wasn't a member of the AARP. Just a thought considering the goal of this whole thing was to raise money.)

Also interesting that they were all either from the tri-state area (not surprising since that's where the hurricane hit) or Great Britain.

Alicia Keys looks to have hired Victoria Beckham's hair stylist. OOOH! Alicia's under 40. There's one! She's also from NYC.

Did Roger Daltry really think unbuttoning his shirt to show off his waxed, fake-n-baked 70-year-old chest was a good idea?

Okay, Kayne West is now rapping. The "one of these things is not like the others" song is playing in my head.

So this Nirvana reunion thing with Sir Paul McCartney singing... ummmm. Let's just say I never really liked Nirvana. And that fact has not changed tonight.

This was, I am fairly certain, the longest concert ever.

baking-palooza 2012 - day 3

Today's "Baking-palooza 2012" session was a short one... just one item on the agenda: adding frosting to the cupcakes I baked last night. (And thank goodness.... I'm kinda baked out ;) 

My friend Diana came over with her cake decorating gadgets, specifically her coupler and decorating tips, and made me realize I've been really stupid frosting cupcakes with a knife or spatula all these years. Stuffing frosting into a decorating bag and squeezing it out into pretty, fluffy designs not only looks better as a finished product, but it's faster, easier and more fun that spreading frosting the old-school way. 

During today's decorating lesson, we used one decorating tip for all the cupcakes and I made two different designs -- the swirl (left below) and what I shall call stars (or from the angle of the photo below on the right, Hershey's kisses ;)

"The Swirl" 

Stars (or Hershey's kisses)

Decorating two dozen cupcakes with frosting and then holiday spinkles took a grand total of about nine minutes. I shall never frost with a spatula again... and I can't wait until Christmas Eve when I make my big Christmas cake! Gotta buy my own coupler before then ;)

Cupcakes - After Photo, with sprinkles

baking-palooza 2012 - day 2

Day 2 Group Shot

"Baking-palooza 2012" continued today with day 2 of cookies. 

The Sugar Cookie and Chocolate Crinkle dough I prepped last night for overnight chillin' was joined on the agenda by Snickerdoodles.

Today's common theme: "Cookies that are messy to make." (Powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar and sprinkles... oh my :)

Read on for my cookie commentary and stay tuned for "Baking-palooza 2012 - Day 3" tomorrow... I'm getting a lesson in fancy cupcake decorating!

*Again, Please Note: Recipes linked to are not necessarily the friends & family recipes I used, but are close enough :)

Sugar Cookies

For something that seems oh-so-simple, these cookies are the biggest pain. Maybe that's because they involve a rolling pin. And artistic talent, which I don't have when cookie icing and decorating pens are involved. That said, I do think my snowmen cookies came out cute. The frosting pen and my star-shaped cookies did not like each other though. And by the time I got to the Christmas tree-shaped cookies, I was sick of the pen and just dyed the icing green and dumped sugar sprinkles on top.

Chocolate Crinkles

I make these from my Aunt Trudi's recipe every year. They are soft, chewy, chocolate, powdered-sugary-deliciousness. They are also chocolate, powdered-sugary-messiness to prepare. :) But having to scrape layers of chocolate and powdered sugar off my palms is worth it. 

This year, I actually read how many cookies the recipe is supposed to produce, and realized I've been making these too large for a long time. So for those of you who eat these each year, don't be shocked when you see what I shall lovingly refer to as 2012's Mini-Crinkles ;) 

Snickerdoodles

These are the cookies that gave me my upper body workout today, which consisted of quickly waving dish towels in front of the smoke detector near my kitchen (which legally has to be there next to the door to the master bedroom) in order to stop it from going off over and over and over again as the parchment paper these bake on got a little crispy around the edges.

Other than the noise, these are pretty simple to make. ;)  I usually double the recipe (I have a whole jar of cream of tartar taking up space on my spice shelf and these are all I use it on... I'd like to get rid of it before 2022 ;)

baking-palooza 2012 - day 1

Day 1 Group Photo on the Cooling Rack

Today marked the start of "Baking-Palooza 2012." Yay! 

This year, "Baking-Palooza" is being split into a three-day event because :

a) baking dozens and dozens of at least four types of cookies and baking cupcakes in one day (as I've done in previous years) is exhausting and... 

b) let's admit it, I've got the time this year ;) 

That said, I'm raising the stakes and making six different cookies this year. 

Today, I completed three of the six, totaling about 9.5 dozen cookies. The common thread was peanut butter and/or chocolate :)

I also prepped the dough for the Chocolate Crinkles and Sugar Cookies I will shape and bake tomorrow after the dough has chilled overnight. 

Here's the scoop + yummy food photos for today's batches:

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies*

These are super easy, as long as you remember to unwrap your Hershey's Kisses before you take the cookies out of the oven. Because once the cookies come out, you have a very limited amount of time to stick the kisses in them before they harden. I am proud to say that this year, I remembered to do this ;)


*Note: Recipes linked to are not necessarily the friends & family recipes I used, but are close enough :)

 

Peanut Butter Truffle Cookies

Also super-easy! And a great, quick way to get rid of the peanut butter in your pantry that you bought back in June because you wanted to make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich... and then never did. 

Entertainment Bonus: These look a LOT like chocolate chip cookies (since have chocolate chips in them). So it can be very entertaining to watch people react to the bite of peanut butter they thought was something else. (Of course, some people have peanut allergies, so to purposely feed these to random strangers for your own amusement would be evil and irresponsible.)

Celiacs Take Note: These cookies have no wheat and are therefore gluten-free. That means my friend Susie, who was also at one time allergic to lettuce, can eat these. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not really a Christmas cookie, but a classic. Also something that comes in tubes of refrigerated dough that someone might have had sitting in the bottom drawer of her fridge and decided to throw in the oven while it was conveniently already heated to 350 degrees. (I'm making five other cookies. Gimme a break on this one cheat :)

"oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree..."

"... I really should've gotten a bigger version of you." Oh well.....

I get a live tree each year and it's always a gamble trying to find the perfect noble fir that is full enough to not look like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, yet has enough space between branches for my long, dangly ornaments plus enough strong branches for my heavy glass-blown ornaments. This year I went to three places looking for a tree. I found the almost-perfect tree at Home Depot for at least $20 less than the private tree lots charge. But alas, its needles were yellowing and I knew it would be dead at least a week before Christmas. The tree guy looked at me like I was nuts and then sold the tree to a couple who didn't even check for the freshness of the needles. They will be regretting that purchase by December 20th, mark my words. 

Anyhoo, my tree came from the "Oliver Holt Sons and Daughters" private lot I've gone to for at least the last five years that keeps moving farther and farther away from my house. (They used to be in a lot across the street from my grocery store/vet/Starbucks, which is now a gas station. This year they are located near the Northridge mall.) They had a good selection and I picked out a really full, green 5.5 footer and was really happy with my purchase till yesterday when I was decorating it and was running out of space for long, dangly ornaments. Thus, the very bottom of my tree is SO decorated! I'm sure if my cats weren't old and lazy, they'd be having a field day with those ornaments. Instead, they are spending their time figuring out paths through the presents to get under the tree stand and sleep/hide. I thought I'd done a good job blocking them out until five minutes ago when I saw Lily's tail sticking out from under the tree skirt. Oh well... that seems to be a theme with this tree. ;)

Bare tree, pre-lights

Step 1: My least fave part - stringing the lights 

Step 2: Unpacking & hanging ALL of my ornaments (and I have a LOT!)
I think I have enough snowman ornaments now though ;)
(Note: this isn't even all the snowmen!)

Step 3: Add all the presents I wrapped last week.
(Yes, I know you hate me :P)

"raindrops on roses..."

I love the fact that it's December 1st and my ginormous rose bush is still blooming. I cut this beauty and brought it inside so I can enjoy its lovely smell just after I finished putting up my outdoor Christmas decorations this morning. Gotta love Southern California, even on a rainy weekend :)

products i love: marks and spencer scottish shortbread petticoat tails

My friend Daryl works for the British government here in LA and had to travel to London back in September for work. He was taking requests for souvenirs so I told him to try and find me something from the London Summer Olympics. 

When he returned, he brought me two cute collectible pins featuring the Games' mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. That would have been enough. But then he handed me a shopping bag containing what has turned into two months of streched-out, carefully-rationed edible heaven.

This is the totally adorable Marks and Spencer London Olympics souvenir biscuit tin that was inside the bag...

And these are the amazingly wonderful Scottish shortbread petticoat tails that were stacked inside of it...

I'd never had "petticoat tails" before, but upon one taste, they became my favorite cookie in the world. 

They remind me of a thinner (and therefore better for you, right? ;) version of the old Girl Scout Shortbread cookies they had back when I was a Brownie. (These weren't just a plain "Trefoil" shortbread cookie like they sell now. These were the amazing, now-discontinued "Scot-Teas" that had sprinkled sugar on top, which I used to lick off before devouring the remaining cookie. ;)

These petticoat tails also have a light sprinkling of sugar on top. And taste oh-so-delicious with hot tea. The tin had about 10 of the cookie sheets (pictured above) inside of it, which can be broken up into six individual wafers, which I've been seriously rationing since October because when they are all gone, I'm going to be very, very sad. 

Of course, thanks to the internet I could order more (although the cute collectible tin is now only available on eBay). But that just wouldn't seem as special. 

So from now on, if anyone is going to London, you now know what you can get me as a special treat. My sweet tooth and I will love you forever :)

the joys of shredding

No, I'm not talking about skating or snowboarding. I'm talking about taking piles of paper and running them through a powerful cross-cut paper shredder so crooks don't steal your identity or financial records.

While a chore to some, I LOVE shredding stuff! And yes, I freely admit that I have a slight case of OCD. However, based on recent finds of not-so-recent paperwork in my home office files ("Why hello tax returns from 1993"), I don't shred nearly enough. But now that I'm sort of caught up, I'm going to be much more diligent about my shredding because...

a) ... it is super-fun to watch piles of paper turn into confetti.

b) ... it's also fun to take a cheap trip down memory lane and discover fun facts. For example, during this last shred-athon, I found my driver's license road test scoring sheet from when I was 17 (where I was marked down for driving too slow -- ha!) and figured out, based on the previously-mentioned tax returns from 1993, that I spent as much on my recent trip to Italy as I made during all of 1993 at my editorial internship at the now-defunct Disney Adventures magazine. I will let you decide whether that means Disney Adventures paid their interns well or I am a very frugal traveler ;)

c) ... I will never run out of paper clips as long as I keep shredding. Here's the colorful paperclip collection I reclaimed during my last shred-fest.

d) ... it gives me a great sense of accomplishment to turn a few piles of paper into three giant bags for the recycling bin :)

things i love: afternoon tea in pasadena

I don't like coffee. In fact, I hate it. So I drink a lot of tea instead. Normally I've got my Starbucks Chai tea latte with me on-the-go. And at home, I brew Twinings English Breakfast or Stash Double Spice Chai.

But every so often, a girl just needs a fancy afternoon out with friends and finger sandwiches (not to mention scones with strawberries and clotted cream!). And one of my favorite places to go for such fancy afternoons is Pasadena, home to three establishments offering great, yet distinctly different afternoon teas.

This past week, one of my oldest, dearest friends came to visit from Portland with her 7-going-on-30-year-old daughter, who I adore. So we decided to go out for ladies afternoon tea at Pasadena's Chado Tea Room, which is located in Old Town. (So not only can you have tea, but you can go shopping afterwards at fabulous places like two of my fave stores -- Pottery Barn and The Container Store -- that are only a block away, and decked out for the holidays :)

Chado is one of the first places I ever had afternoon tea and it's a great starter place for people who fear a tea experience that's too fancy -- like those with young daughters.... or guys. (My mom and I have taken my dad here and he survived!) Part of the reason it's great is it offers things on the menu other than the traditional afternoon tea. Chado also doesn't bring your tea in delicate china teacups. In fact, Chado specializes in tea leaves. They have a whole wall of canisters packed with loose leaf tea, blooming teas and their own special blends. It is essentially the equivalent of a great, non-commercialized coffee house, but with tea. And when you order the "afternoon tea" you receive a 10+ page tea menu to peruse and order your individual pot of tea from.

I always get a black tea, since that's my fave. This week, I chose "Reena's Chai," which comes steeped with milk and sugar. It wasn't the best tea I've ever had there, but it was good. As for the food, it was delish! Each person gets four finger sandwiches -- a great open-faced smoked salmon, chicken with cranberry sauce, egg, and a watercress and goat cheese.

Then there are the scones... I love scones! I shouldn't but I do. They come with strawberries and cream. How could I not?

And finally, cookies and cake. All super yummy deliciousness! And only $18 a person, which is pretty cheap for a dining experience that lasts 1-2 hours and stuffs you before you're finished.

Another historic Pasadena place for afternoon tea is the Tiffin inside The Langham Hotel, which used to be The Huntington... which used to be The Ritz Carlton, and is still a tea-time fave of the famous Red Hat Society, who I actually saw here once for tea about 10 years ago, back when it was the Ritz. 

Being a fancy hotel, the afternoon tea here is more fancy than Chado's. So three of my friends who love fancy things + tea and I went here back in September on a Saturday I dubbed "Being Cultured and Stuff Saturday." (Before tea, we experienced culture dating back to the 14th century at the "You see it on TV every New Year's Day as the Rose Parade floats by it, but have you ever bothered to go inside?" Norton Simon Museum, which has an amazing collection including more Degas "Dancers" than you can point a toe-shoe at and Claude Monet's beautiful "The Artist's Garden." Highly recommend this museum... well at least the side to the left of the main entrance. I could do without all the older, religious art to the right.)

Anyhoo, back to fancy tea! One example of why The Langham is fancy: You don't pour your own tea here; the waiter/waitress does it for you, always making sure your tea pot (that doesn't even rest on your table) is full of the flavor you ordered. However, there are fewer tea choices here than at Chado. But, what they lack in tea choices they make up for in food! While I can't remember exactly how many sandwich options there are, the dessert choices are out of control! We couldn't even get close to finishing them all. The scones on the bottom of the three-tiered dessert tower were delish. And the custard filling these gold-tipped cones on the top-tier were an amazingly-wonderful surprise.

Then there was the middle tier, which came loaded with two of my favorite things -- cupcakes and creme brulee'. Sadly, the cupcakes were chocolate with a not-good fruit filling. And the mini-creme brulee' cups were just okay (they did have the brulee' though, so bonus points for that ;) But it didn't matter. There was so much food, we were stuffed by that point... and did I mention how amazing the cones on the top tier were? (Traditional Tiffin Afternoon Tea is $39/person.) 

Finally, if you love fancy British things and personalized service, then Rose Tree Cottage is the tea establishment for you! I went to Rose Tree with two friends for afternoon tea on New Year's Eve's eve almost a year ago and loved everything about the experience. 

Rose Tree is located in a beautiful old house in Pasadena and, while a bit crowded at the entrance, has a lovely old English feel once you are seated in the tea room. There are three seatings for afternoon tea (1pm, 2:30pm and 4pm) and Edmund and Mary Fry, the owners, greet guests at the door and are extremely friendly. Edmund seats everyone personally, and helps you open your holiday popper (an English tradition). The service is excellent... I was asked if I take milk in my tea once, and then everyone who came back to refill my beautiful china tea cup throughout the afternoon knew how I liked it. 

Afternoon tea starts with a delish non-alcoholic, fruity wine prior to the English tea being served and the food coming out. All of the finger sandwiches were yummy (I couldn't pick a favorite) and the scones with cream + a house preserve were AMAZING! (Note, you can purchase these in the gift shop and take some home too!) I'd show you photos, but Rose Tree has a strict no cell phones policy, which adds to the old English, relaxing and extremely enjoyable environment. I will definitely be going back there for tea and bringing my mom, as I promised Edmund... she's gonna love it :) 

gratitude

Gratitude is defined as "the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness."

Today is Thanksgiving, an annual day Americans gather together to eat too much food, watch parades and football (snooze) and spend time with family and friends. It is also a day when we reflect on what we are thankful for.

Looking back, this year has been one of major transition and personal growth for me, more than I can remember in many years. I experienced amazing kindness from both expected and unexpected sources. I saw things I didn't think I'd live long enough to see and visited beautiful places. And I experienced loss, which helped me grow and will quite possibly end up being amazing for my life in the long-run. I feel like a very different, much stronger and more secure person than I did a year ago. And I have much to be thankful for....

My family -- As crazy as we are, I love each and every member of my wacky brood. I am thankful that my mom is coping well with her MS. I am thankful my 82-year-old grandma made it through knee replacement surgery in March and that my aunt and uncle are there to take care of her. I am thankful that my little sister called me all ticked off and ready to kick some ass when I got laid off in September. I am thankful my little brother was there with me to see the Kings get their asses kicked in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in June, and that my dad was there with me to see them win the Cup in Game 6. I am also thankful that I have parents who support me in good times and bad, that my dad is around to answer my financial questions and my mom is here to help solve all my household plumbing problems. :)

My friends, new and old, who are there to laugh with me when I'm happy, listen to me when I need to vent, and lend a shoulder when I need to cry. I am thankful for those who walked a 5k around the Rose Bowl with me to raise money for MS Research, and all our friends and colleagues who sponsored us. I am thankful for the amazing group who made donations and granted my special birthday wish to an extent I couldn't have imagined. And I am thankful for the friends who pushed, prodded and encouraged me to finally go to Italy, and to those others who helped me plan and prep for the trip, so I could finally see this with my own eyes.

Modern veterinary medicine -- A year ago, I feared I would have to say goodbye to my sweet cat Lucky, when he was diagnosed with renal failure. But thanks to a vet who cared and whatever strength allowed me to overcome my fear of needles and give him IV fluids everyday (+ a mom and two friends who took care of him when I traveled), Lucky's numbers are thisclose to being in normal range again and he's gaining weight and looking like his majestic self again :)








Freedom -- I feel as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders two and a half months ago. And I'm thankful that I now have the time and financial security to sit back, reflect and figure out how to make a living doing something that keeps a smile on my face vs. stress in my neck. 

Miracles on Ice -- I still can't quite believe this happened...

... but I'm very thankful I was still alive to see it, and was lucky enough to be in the building as it did. If that was the last NHL game ever played (which is sadly looking like the case, at least for this year), then I have no complaints.

Happy Turkey Day!

things i love: crumbs cupcakes

I love cupcakes! And more and more I'm starting to like Crumbs Bake Shop cupcakes. Mainly for three reasons:

1. They are big (like muffin-sized). You buy one for $4.00 and, as long as you have some semblance of self-control, can get two or three desserts out of it. (For more info on this, ask me about my poker group's long-standing tradition of slivering up desserts into "Barbie Dream Slices.") 
2. Crumbs usually packs your cupcakes in lovely cupcake containers for safe traveling, ensuring no sprinkles or frosting are misplaced or smushed if you take your cupcake to-go.
3. They come in fun, ever-updating flavors. Although, there is also a downside to this as sometimes your favorite flavor, like my beloved Cotton Candy Cupcake, is not always available. The upside of that downside, however, is you get to try new flavors, which is exactly what I did recently upon two separate visits to two different Crumbs Bake Shops.

Visit 1: Crumbs @ Hollywood & Highland

Cupcake Flavor: Grasshopper

Cupcake Commentary:

I'd been thinking about trying this flavor for a long time, because it looks like one of my fave ice cream flavors, mint chocolate chip. But I always got distracted by my beloved Cotton Candy cupcake. However, H&H did not have my beloved Cotton Candy cupcake, so I went for it. The frosting was indeed mint-chippy. And the cake was very chocolate. Sadly, this cupcake made me realize I don't really love chocolate cake that much. And, double sadly, this shop did not put my cupcake in the cool cupcake to-go container. Boo!

--------------------------------

Visit 2: Crumbs in Larchmont Village

Cupcake Flavor: Raspberry Swirl

Cupcake Commentary:

Again, there was no Cotton Candy Cupcake to be seen. I'm now thinking that's just a summer flavor. Boo. Oh well. This time as my flavor experiment, I went back to white cake. Wise choice. This cupcake was delish, with a creamy white frosting and a swirl of raspberry jelly on top, plus -- spoiler alert -- in the middle of the cake. Yummy! This might just be my new go-to to-go cupcake, especially since the Larchmont shop uses proper packing (which also doubles as a storage container for your remaining "Barbie Dream Slices" :)