Let's face it, I am extremely low key these days. My ideal night is probably dinner out and a movie or cooking at home or a glass of wine out and then cooking at home. All of the aforementioned options are not what my peers would call very risqué but that is me, and that is how I do it.
I am not going out in costume this year (doesn't mean I won't ever). I will not drink hard liquor (not this year, not really ever). I decided about a week ago to host a low-key girls' night of art and crafting for Halloween. It is Monday night, after all and I am sure traffic to go out anywhere is a royal @%#4! (400,000 are expected in West Hollywood tonight, and there are road closures, uhm, I am staying in!)
I have just pulled my place together. Soon, it will be time to get crafty! I have paint, I have canvas, I have cardboard, mason jars, buttons, golden markers, and a hot glue gun. Not to mention, wine, beats streaming from Pandora, fresh-out-of-the-oven pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, dark chocolate, olives, cheese, bread and candy corn (because even though it is kind of gross, it only comes around once a year!).
Happy Halloweenie!
My fabulous cousin clued me in on a little snack recipe for athletes. I call it: The Nugget. It is my go-to when I have a sweet tooth and deep runner hunger pangs. It takes about 10 minutes total to cook, cool, and eat,
which is somewhat of a miracle when it comes to baked goods. It has four ingredients: chocolate chips, peanut butter, milk (almond, soy, or dairy), and raw oats. Here's the prep:
1. Mix 1/4 cup chocolate chips (or baking chocolate, dark chocolate, your choice), 2 tablespoons milk, and 2 tablespoons peanut butter In a saucepan and stir on low heat.
2. Once the chocolate has melted and everything has smoothly come together, add 3/4 cup oats. Take the mixture off the heat.
3. Stir.
4. Ball the batter and place in the fridge. Wait for about 8 minutes and munch away.
5. Approach your next workout feeling fueled and satisfied.
For the original recipe:
http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000002002350,00.html
Must give credit where credit is due. Oh and thanks to my cuz.
A hot yoga studio has locally established itself. Go Moksha! I am on cloud 9. The weather is getting nippier and, alas, I have a steamy place of refuge to practice my vinyasa. Hot yoga has got me hooked--there is nothing like listening to your sweat drip off of you as you twist and turn and move and hold still and then move again.
The best part is when you step out of the studio doors after a tough class and the blast of cool evening meets the more lucid and lighter post-yoga you.
Out of all the things to do in LA (there are tons!), one of my favorite is to dine. When it comes to lunch, Joan's on Third cannot be rivaled. Best Sandwiches ever (I go for the basil, mozzarella, tomato, on a baguette. It is perfectly peppered). Tons of people watching (and star sightings. Jeremy Piven was a lunch companion one day). The pastry case is among the best I have seen and the cupcakes are not to be missed. My personal favorite: Classic Vanilla.
It makes me think of Meryl Streep's restaurant/cafe in the movie It's Complicated (as pictured below).
Anything, and I mean anything sweet and pumpkin. I am an addict. In the morning, I typically take coffee from my French press strong and unsweetened, but when October and November kick in I spring for pumpkin lattes (with half the sweet, heavenly, but artificial stuff, an extra shot of espresso, and extra hot). .and pumpkin bread, and pumpkin scones, and pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin pancakes. Oh, heaven!
