plenty || plenty

vittles


So I have been MIA.

It probably wasn't smart to start a blog right before a big move but I was done transitioning at work and was bored.

While I have been eating (lots!) & covering myself, here are some hinderances to the updates (not that one should care) :

- mbp still won't recognize my Canon! Now the problem includes my Nikon as well. Big blumber!
aside: mbp won't allow me to update my iPhone either - something wrong with the memory so I forsee a big backup & restore

- I'm still getting used to life in LA!
Spending about 2 hours max in traffic each day takes away a lot of free time.
I've also been hitting the gym about 6 days a week (yet I am gaining weight? please let it be muscle weight & not all the food I've been eating)

vesture


Since I've been hitting the gym so often, my usual attire is either business-y work clothes (will post on that) or working out clothes (will post on that).

brb.

craft || bcbg

vittles


Because of Dan's occupational move, our 3rd Valentine's day together (the first two were in 2004 & 2005?) was spent in LA - a city I once had a horrible impression of but now really like. One of our earlier Valentine's dinners was at Boston Market. Reservation-less, we tried going to two restaurants but didn't want to wait 2 hours.

This year, Dan tried making reservations a week ahead but we were still faced with 10 PM seating times.
So instead, we chose to eat at Craft on the 13th at 8 PM.

Ironically, we ate a late lunch at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada (4 tacos each - too good!) and more Scoops (peach yuzu & salty chocolate this time) and ending up pushing our reservation back to 10 PM anyway. Doh.

After a nap & throwing a bunch of treats on the ground to distract Moosie so we can make our exit, we headed to Craft.
It was in a very surprisingly business-park and empty area..but then, it was already 10 PM.

Onto the food...

Since the menu was family-style, the waiter suggested that we order a starter, a main course, and a side dish for each person so that there's enough food to go around.

Amuse Bouche: this waiter that kept smacking his lips when he talked (very strange!) brought out pureed parsnip w/parsnip chips and parsley. I really liked it.

Libation: He ordered a Corpse Reviver (Bluecoat Gin, Lillet Blanc, Fresh Lemon & Absinthe) and I ordered a lavender dry soda

Starter One: Wagyu Beef Tongue with horseradish sauce.
This was my favorite of the night - I was hesitant because I've never had beef tongue but I was also curious. It came with a Yorkshire Pudding that was really delicious as well.

Starter Two: Pork Tortellini with Mejdool Dates.
I think our eyes gelled over seeing the mejdool dates.
We LOVED LOVED the chorizo stuffed mejdool dates at Avec.
It was good, but since it came with the beef tongue, it paled in comparison.

Side One: Assorted Mushrooms. 2nd best choice of the night.

Side Two: Roasted Pee Wee.
Maybe I wanted it because of the name but I also really love potatoes & fingerlings are delicious.

Main One: Pork (something) & Pork Belly. Not memorable & pricey. Meh.

Main Two: Loup De Mer. Roasted sea bass with rhubarb. I liked the crispy skin and the crispy rhubarb.

Dessert: I'm not one for sweets so not a lot on the menu appealed to me. That and my dress was getting tighter and tighter. Since they didn't want us to leave sweet-less, the waiter brought out a sampling of their desserts. It was ok.

Favor: Chinese restaurants give fortune cookies. Craft gives granola.

Overall, a very good dinner - especially since Dan was able to expense $100 of it



vesture

please excuse the wrinkles, I dug it out of my suitcase for this picture

For the dinner at Craft, I wore a favorite BCBG dress that I got Spring 2009.
I had worn it once before to Fogo de Chao (not wise as the dress is already a bit tight around the ribcage on an empty stomach).

I'm a big fan of white (hard to keep them white white though) and I really loved the neckline.

As always, I'm wearing a Tiffany's key necklace from Dan and paired the dress with some brown peeptoes.




neither vittles nor vesture



As for the actual Valentine's day, we went up to the Griffith Observatory via the trail with Moosie, ate brunch at Toast, watched a little of the All-Star Game, went to 85C Bakery & Cafe in Irvine, and ended up with Korean food to go from Beverly Soon Tofu. The best Valentine's day yet :)

scoops || puffy sleeves

vittles


My recent weekends have been spent in LA & all the food explorations are giving me a good stockpile of fodder for V&V.

After a fun dinner of Korean food & conversation with friends, we headed to a very delicious ice cream shop called Scoops.
According to a friend, "it's an ice cream place where the guy makes whatever flavors he likes for the day".
Despite not really liking sweets, it sounded like perfection to me.

8 driving minutes, one cut-off incident (WE don't think we did), and a couple tastings later (one flavor i was surprised i liked was goat cheese & lavender), we settled on a 4 scoop $4.95 bowl of:

almond tiramisu
malt & honey (my fav of the batch)
guinness chocolate
salty caramel (not as good as Bi-Rite's salted caramel, my ultimate fav)

More good conversation. Happy tummies.

vesture

H&M cardigan, Diesel matics, white F21 tank, Tiffany's key necklace

I'm a pretty lazy dresser & I think Dan would agree - I love wearing white tanks (whatever is still bright white), jeans (Diesel-specific), and flip flops (Rainbows).
Because of this, I love the convenience of layering I can get from cardigans.
It's what I love to wear plus something else on top to keep me warmer.

I saw this one at H&M back in September while I was in Chicago and regrettably, didn't purchase.
I loved the puffy sleeves and the small specks of color. At $39.95, it's not bad.


Lucky...or plucky...I dug the cardigan out of a rack & purchased immediately.
It's very cute with a pencil skirt & heels at work too.



neither vittles nor vesture


Happy Birthday to Issarocks at wewearthings!!

frozen dinners || uggs

vittles


I usually get ragged on pretty badly at work for eating frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Kashi) but I "love" them!

I get to save money (they're about $2 each - beats spending $5 on a crappy sandwich), eat at my desk while I'm working (I used to cycle or shop during lunch), control my calorie intake.
BUT, the portion sizes are usually small, the food isn't fresh, and they're usually high in sodium.

Today's entree: Healthy Choice Bacon & Smokey Cheddar Chicken (btw...why do I not see the Lobster Cheese Ravioli one at the grocery store??) with a pack of Green Giant Healthy Weight veggies.

Oh yea, and about work? There's currently a weight loss contest going on right now (I'm not participating) and guess who I see eating these things? All of those fools.


vesture


It's a rainy, 50 degree day in the-city-that-I'm-soon-to-be-leaving.

The inhabitants of the-city-that-I'm-soon-to-be-leaving tends to view Uggs as superfluous & ridiculous fashion and probably associated with the once-Juicy-jumpsuit-Ugg-wearing inhabitants of the-city-that-I'm-soon-to-be-moving-to.

Thus, wearing them to work (I change into heels in my cube), especially with work clothes, usually elicits guffaws and disdainful "eww, Uggs".

Shrugs. I love them - they keep my feet warm in -4 degree weather while the rest of my body freezes, they don't pinch, and they're easy to slip in & out of in the airport security line (the proper way to travel, per George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air").
I would totally buy another pair** in chocolate -hrmmmmm.



*I am beginning to notice a trend in getting made fun of at work
**If you're thinking of getting a pair, you can try getting them at Shoes.com. It's usually free shipping, not taxed (at least in TX), and Ebates.com has an 8% cashback!

cottage cheese || jcrew ruffled tux

vittles

My current breakfast of choice is 1/2 a cup of lowfat cottage cheese with some diced (canned...er, plastic'd) peaches. 200 calories total and it staves off hunger until lunchtime.
I had no idea of it's "frumpy image" until my coworker asked me why I was eating "old mom food".
I told her - "it's a great source of protein and calcium with the low calories" and she shook her head and said "old mom".
Shrug. I'm trying to keep healthy & *improve my figure, woman.


*Eating cottage cheese to get ride of a little cottage cheese butt. Woe. Seriously, it's probably my least favorite body area. I got stretch marks from a 5 inch growth spurt & the side affects from my desk job.
"Cramming protein into every meal helps build & maintain lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest". - Women's Health Magazine



vesture



I have been jonesing after this shirt for MONTHS and atypical to JCrew pricing trends (their items seem to go on sale rather quickly), it hadn't gone on sale until very recently (though, I'm not sure why it went off-sale today). Sadly, I jumped on the price change a little too late & the sizes that I could've dealt with (regular 0-4 or petite 2) were gone or had a shipping date of 4.13.10!
So, I mulled it over, took the plunge, & bought the shirt at regular price (by the way, $150+ orders get free shipping with the code R4R3AB, exp 2.8.10 - thanks JCrew Aficionada!)
I do like a nicely structured shirt.

V&V

Main Entry: vittles
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: food
Synonyms: chow, comestibles, eatables, eats, edibles, fare, foodstuff, goodies, groceries, grub, larder, meal, nourishment, provender, provisions, refreshments, snack, viands, victuals

&

Main Entry: vesture
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: personal attire
Synonyms: Sunday best, accouterment, apparel, array, caparison, civvies, costume, covering, drag*, drapery, dress, duds, ensemble, equipment, finery, frippery, frock, full feather, garb, garments, gear, get-up, habiliment, habit, hand-me-downs, livery, mufti, outfit