this + that :: summer
Posted: July 16, 2012 Filed under: babble | Tags: babble, call me maybe, cookie monster, dillions, eureka, matsu, starbucks, summer 10 Comments »Summer heat wave!!!!!!
How are you guys dealing with this yucky summer heat? All my life, I’ve grown up in sunny Southern California but I secretly long for gloomy Seattle days…
For much needed cool downs, this has been my current favorite sip (Starbucks Cool Lime Refresher) when I’m out and about! But for days when I’m home, I still love homemade limeade! I first had this drink last summer and I’m so happy they brought it back again this summer!
We’ve been indulging ourselves and had quite a few happy hour dates :)
at Dillion’s Restaurant & Irish Pub
Speaking of hour happy, what’s your favorite happy hour sip of choice?! I have the hardest time deciding, so I would love your suggestions for me! I love vodka :)
at Eureka! (a review on this place coming soon!)
Beverly Hills :: Crustacean
Posted: June 11, 2012 Filed under: babble | Tags: beverly hills, crustacean, crustacean beverly hills, graduation, Le Pain Quotidien, sprinkles 9 Comments »How’s your Monday treating you? I hope it’s going well!
Yesterday was graduation day and after years of hard work, I am so happy to have my Master’s Degree! As I reflect on all of this, I’m going to miss my University and all the wonder teachers I had and friends I’ve made…
Here’s a photo diary of all the festivities from yesterday that I want to share with you guys!
Rather than traditional graduation leis and flowers, I got mini vodkas from my boyfriend! These definitely came in handy for calming down my nerves :)
Not too shabby graduation seats, huh? I think we one of the first departments to have our hooding ceremony so that was nice! The graduation outfits for Masters students is definitely the not the cutest thing I’ve ever worn but it did feel extra special wearing one and standing out from a sea of baccalaureates :)
After the ceremony, we headed straight to LA to start our celebrations! Animal-style fries from In N Out is the food of choice for this hungry grad! :)
En route to Beverly Hills, we spotted the Scooby mobile! I asked my boyfriend to stop the car so I could jump out to snap a quick pic :)
We meet again, Sprinkles and Sprinkles Ice Cream!
We walked around Rodeo Drive and I swooned over a pair of Chanel black satin pumps with the Chanel logo in crystals on the back, le sigh. I’ll be back for you soon! xoxo…
Then we had pre-dinner sips at Le Pain Quotidien. He had his usual Americano and I went for the chamomile mint iced tea, so refreshing!
After drinks, it was dinner time! I remember passing by this place the last time we went on our cupcake adventure and thought how amazing it would be to eat here. Well, we had dinner at Crustacean. It’s so beautiful inside! The decor, the ambiance, everything! And they seated us in a booth with big poofy pillows, so obviously I loved it already! I do have a penchant for laying down after meals lol :)
For dinner, I ordered the dragon fried rice with scallops, scallions, and egg whites, the boyfriend ordered one of their specials of the day which was the sea bass, and we also got a plate of their famous garlic noodles. The fried rice was very good and the sea bass…the most softest and flakiest fish I’ve ever had! But I think the real winner of the night (at least for me, I think he really loved his sea bass lol :), was their garlic noodles! I can’t describe it… It doesn’t look like much at first, but upon first bite it was heavenly!
And for dessert, I couldn’t decide lol so we went with the flan! Their description says it’s a must have for flan lovers and well since this was going to be my second time eating flan, why not haha! :)
It was very good, creamy, and rich!
Be sides the food, the best part of my night was when the owner of Crustacean (the An family and their whole entourage) walked right past by us and into their exclusive dining area….I die, swooooon! I was in foodie heaven! :D
If you find yourself in the Beverly Hills area, do give Crustacean a try (check out their Yelp reviews here)! It’s a splurge but their food definitely lives up to the hype! You must get garlic noodles!! And if you have been to Crustacean before, let me know what your favorites are! And feel free to leave me a recommendation for other Beverly Hills dining hot spots for me to try!
Thank you for reading and thank you for all your well wishes from my last post! You guys make me so happy! Will update soon with more recipes!
Have a wonderful day! xoxo, kat
Crustacean Beverly Hills
9646 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
(310) 205-8990
Beverly Hills :: Cupcake Adventure
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: babble | Tags: beverly hills, cupcakes, desserts, food, sprinkles, sprinkles cupcakes, sweets 8 Comments »I am mad at myself. I love my little blog here, and I love the food blogging community! Everyone is so talented and creative, I wish I had half the talent, ingenuity, skill, and creativity as you guys out there! Sigh…
Welp, I apologize for not blogging as much as I have been but these past few months have been super chaotic! I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out why below… :)
Here’s a photo diary of what I’ve been up to recently…
Sometimes, it’s fun to smart the morning off with a little sip of wine (or I’ve dubbed them “wine shots” lol), a two-day old chocolate chip blondie, and probably the best vegan soy drink ever! If you haven’t already, try VitaSoy! It’s all-natural, high in protein, and best of all no dairy!
After my super healthy breakfast (haha, not really!), I made my favorite purchase of the year…
After that, we made an impromptu trip to LA and spent the day with his family. They feed me so well, I left with a belly full of tacos! Eeek, I ate 4 tacos! And then my boyfriend surprised with a late-night rainy trip to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills. I finally got to see the cupcake ATM!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to use the ATM machine but I did have fun waiting in line and drooling over all the yummy cupcakes on display…
On the way back, we found this…
9021PHO!! Has anyone tried? :)
But noshed on this instead…
Hmmm so many choices!! Which one is your fave?
And our nights ended with a scary movie marathon!
Hope everyone’s having a wonderful week!
xoxo, kat
ps, i’m now obsessed with Instagramming and tweeting all my recent eats! please follow me on twitter @shecooksheeats :)
Surviving the College Dining Hall [INFOGRAPHIC] | Foodbeast
Posted: January 26, 2012 Filed under: babble | Tags: college, freshman 15 5 Comments »Surviving the College Dining Hall [INFOGRAPHIC] | Foodbeast.
Thankfully, I never succumbed to the harrowing “Freshman 15″ during my freshmen year at the dorms. Actually, I lost weight and my tummy was at its flattest and fittest point ever. I must admit, it’s possible and tempting to overeat because of all the different food choices available. I mean where else, besides the mall, can you find Chinese, Mexican, Italian, pizza, hamburgers, and tater tots served in one place?
My favorite time of the day to actually eat at the dining halls was breakfast. Why? Because at my college, they served all my favorite breakfast foods…eggs, tater tots, bacon AND there was a make-your-own waffle station! I loved it!
So how did I survive the “Freshman 15″? Well, I myself am a very light eater especially when it comes to non-homemade foods. But when it’s my dad’s cooking, you bet I’ll have seconds and thirds! In public places, I eat like a bird. This eating like a bird habit actually developed during my freshmen year. If you’ve seen dining hall food, then you know that it’s not that you go home and rave to mom about… So I would just pick and choose a little bit of everything and eat little bites of it, just enough to get me full and not starve. I always loaded up on salads (because veggies were always cooked in tons of oil), fresh fruit, the occasional cookie or two, and lots of bacon/eggs/tater tots for breakfast :)
During my freshmen year, I was an occasional vegetarian. I avoid eating meats, just because those were the most bland dishes being offered. I also purchased the cheapest meal plan offered because on the weekends I was always gone. Trust me, you would too if you went to college in the desert… Since I was living at the dorms, it was very convenient for me to take advantage of the recreational activities. My college had a wonderful recreational center!
So my advice is to be watchful of what you’re eating, load up on anything fresh like veggies and fruit, and do not deprive yourself of the treats but don’t over do it! And do take advantage of your school’s recreational activities!
How was your college experience? Did you gain the Freshman 15? And what are some of your tips for healthy living in the dorms?
xoxo
the first Friday of 2012!
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: babble, thank you babble | Tags: friday Leave a comment »
photo flickr.com
One week down, only 51 more to go!
Dear universe,
Please slow down… Only one week in, and I’m already LOVING 2012!! :)
Love you long time,
kat
All I can say is that it was hard putting together this week’s Friday Favorites because the start of the new year has been so good to me. Sigh, I would love to share every fun adventure and special moment with you but I don’t want to bore you :)
I hope you all had a great week! Did any of you guys make resolutions for the new year? I’d like to say that I’m already crossing things off my list! I think the key to accomplishing resolutions is to always keep them in mind since we’re always on the go and it’s so easy to forget come mid-Feb. These are some of my tips on making resolutions last:
- “Out of sight, out of mind” right…Who says that has to be true? Always keep a list of your resolutions with you. I like to keep a list on my phone using this note-taking app (it’s my favorite at the moment and reminiscent of my trusty old post-its)
- Also I chose to “sticky” my resolutions post on my blog, so feel free to remind me and check out my progress because I will be checking things off! Hopefully, that provides motivation for you and me :)
- Be sure to keep yourself in check. Take the time at the end of each month to go over your resolutions. If you’re not crossing things off, then how will you ever accomplish those goals? It’s another constant reminder and motivater.
- Most importantly, make sure your goals are within reach! And always stay positive!
From the bottom of my heart, I hope the start of your 2012 has been filled with many laughs, hugs, and tons of giggles!
Here’s just a few of my favorites from my week…
Favorite quickie (recipe coming soon!):
italian meats with basil garlic naan pizza
Favorite challenge:
man vs. food spicy miso ramen challenge || food dominated man. girl dominated food :)
Favorite read:
"fresh and frisky"...? does one really know how fresh and frisky taste? anyhoo, you know me, I bought it! I felt frisky afterwards :)
12 for 2012: New Year’s Resolutions
Posted: January 3, 2012 Filed under: babble | Tags: 2012, new year, resolutions 32 Comments »
photo weheartit.com
At the start of each new year, I like to make resolutions…some easy, some impossible and of course, the cliché ones. Last year I was able to work on one resolution that I know will definitely carry over to 2012 :)
Here’s a list of a few of my resolutions that I want to accomplish or work on throughout the year:
- Reduce plastic consumption.
- Take one day out of the month to make my own compound butters.
- Jan. ✔
- Learn to make fresh pasta noodles.
- Incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet.
- Eat less meat (that means bacon too…) :(
- Last year my boyfriend turned me into a coffee drinker. A little sips here and there from his cup turned into a full cup for me…coffee kills my tummy and afterwards you can always find me curled into a ball plopped on a couch. That’s my boyfriend, the coffee pusher :). Bye bye Starbucks and Coffee Bean, no more coffee drinks for me this year!
- Jan. ✔
- Drink lots of water!
- Start an exercise routine.
- Bedazzle a shirt.
- Save money and spend wisely. Sorry Nordstrom, no more impulsive shoe/purses/accessories splurges!
- Finish one pesky thing that’s getting in my way so that I can have 3 milestones to celebrate come summer!
- Learn one new word a day and try to use it in a sentence.
What are some of your resolutions for 2012?
xo
tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la
Posted: December 2, 2011 Filed under: babble | Tags: friday 7 Comments »
photo 4ng.tumblr.com
Today, Friday officially meets December! I can’t believe it’s already December, this years has just blown by! I am so excited for everything the holidays have to offer! I love the cold weather, cozy sweaters, gingerbread lattes, all the shopping, baking… I wish it could be like this all year long!
As you all know, the holidays also mean crazy busy hectic days… Le sigh, I feel so behind on blogging. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to catch up over the weekend!
For date night this week, I made Paula Deen’s Lots O’Meat Lasagna and also got to try her garlic bread recipe (which is so good!). We called it Paula night :)
I think date night was the highlight of my week! Hope everyone had a great week? Now that holiday season is in full swing, have your schedules gotten a lot busier?
Here are some of my favorites/disasters from the week that made it memorable…
Favorite masterpiece (recipe here):
beef and bacon rouladen || simply amazing! please check out her blog, she is the sweetest lady around :) || photo salmonfishingqueen.wordpress.com
Favorite loaf (recipe coming soon!):
paula deen's zesty roasted garlic bread
Favorite disaster (recipe fail coming soon!):
you'll never believe it, but it's actually a german pancake (aka dutch baby) sigh... :(
Favorite cook-off (it was a tie!!):
i made the chocolate chip pancake waffle :)
mom's classic belgian
Favorite performance:
How cute was that kiss?! Swoon :)
What made your week special? Hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay cozy!
xoxo, kat
