Happy Holidays to L.A. Fashionistas!

What could be better than shopping and ice cream sandwiches?!?

GILT GROUPE has partnered with COOLHAUS ICE CREAM SANDWICHES and TRINA TURK to offer Southern Californians one sweet holiday treat this Saturday, Dec. 1th.

Gilt Groupe invites you to take a break from your holiday shopping to satisfy your sweet tooth, and fashion fix, to indulge in a guilty pleasure... a free COOLHAUS ice cream sandwich!

Follow @COOLHAUS on Twitter and like them on Facebook to find out where they are located once you're ready for your break.

Plus, they'll be making a spcial stop at the Trina Turk boutique on 3rd St. in Santa Monica from 11am - noon for an appearance by Trina herself and 25% off for shoppers!

For additional times and locations, etc. visit www.Gilt.com/COOLHOLIDAY

First Valentine's Day in California

Random observations, and lessons learned, from my first Valentine's Day in California...

1. If Valentine's Day falls on a weekend and it happens to be 80 degrees and beautiful outside do NOT attempt to drive from Hollywood to Santa Monica to go rollerblading. You will (A) be stuck in traffic for over an hour and (B) won't be able to find parking -- someone needs to invite beach valet please!

2. Grocery store are full of guys buying last minute flowers and bottles of champagne

3. Massive line outside Pink's hot dogs - I have one word for this: GROSS!

This is Why I Don't Make Rash Decisions...

Last weekend, blind sighted by the amazing offer due to my corporate discount, I joined 24 Hour Fitness. BIG mistake!
I will admit, though, it is my fault that I didn't ask for a tour of the place until after I swiped my credit card, instead I should have walked in and asked for a 7 Day Free trial rather than asking to join. But I figured it would be at least the same quality of the 24 Hour Fitness I went to in Dallas or have the same amenities of the NYSC I belonged to in NYC. But no... first of all, the location where I signed up (not going to point any fingers) was incredibly... let's just say I saw some people in there who I'm pretty sure could have passed as homeless! I made a mental note not to return to that location so quickly had to find another location that would be easy for me to drive to in the mornings before work.

Tuesday morning I went to the one in Santa Monica, it was better than the first one and actually the spinning class that morning was awesome but I wasn't in love with the location-- no ab/stretching area and the locker room was a maze.

That evening after work I drove to the nearest LA Fitness where I was given the same monthly rate as 24 Hour Fitness but this time the initiation fee wasn't waved, I'm still trying to argue my way out of that though! But trust me, I had learned my lesson... this time I asked for a tour and a 7 day trial pass before I signed or paid for anything. My week isn't up yet so I still want to check out a few locations but I think that's what I'm going to do. So far it's not as crowded as 24 Hour Fitness, which I have learned through this process is a gym trait that I highly value.

Jumping to the end of my story, my overall most shocking points are that 24 Hour Fitness does NOT offer you free towel (even if you shower there) and most of the Los Angeles-area locations have parking lots you have to pay to park in-- on top of your membership!

If someone would have told me that I would move to LA and suddenly feel like I had been spoiled at NYSC I would have laughed in their face. Now I'm the one telling my friends back in New York to appreciate what they have with NYSC because receiving an unlimited amount of free towels, having a gym on every corner and an overwhelming amount of class selections is a treat!

Fairfax Flea Market

Also known as the Melrose Trading Post...
Last weekend, after brunch at Toast, a couple friends and I decided to check out the nearby flea market. Every Sunday outside of Fairfax High School vendors setup shop selling everything from antique furniture, vintage clothes to old and new jewelry.

Plus, the entrance fee (I think it was $5) goes right back into student organizations at the school. Each week is sponsored by a school club or student organization, which has petitioned The Melrose Trading Post for the opportunity to earn money for activities and purchases not provided for within the school budget. The students from the sponsoring club work the full day at the market.

I only bought a necklace but have made a mental note to go back there once I actually have an apartment of my own. Some of the pieces would be really cool to have- like an old turquoise dresser or antique mirror.

If you've been or if you end up going let me know what you think of it, I'd love to hear what great finds you stumble upon.

FYI: The flea market is located on Melrose and Fairfax and is open from 9am - 5pm every Sunday, rain or shine.

Waxing in Los Angeles

Last weekend was my first full weekend (without my parents) in LA. First order of business: get my eyebrows done! I hadn't had them done since Thanksgiving so I was in need of a good shape-up. At the recommendation of my sister's friend, mind you she's 17- but has great eyebrows, I went to Anastasia in Beverly Hills.

After making my appointment with Jasmine I checked out their website and quickly realized I may have just signed up for the most expense eyebrow wax ever! For two reasons- (1) they don't offer a menu of services on their website, or at least not one that I have been able to find, and (2) the place is widely known for their eyebrow shaping expertise and have been featured in In Style, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and more. Not to mention Kristin Cavallari visits the salon, check out the paparazzi video here.

All the eyebrow waxing stations are out in the open, just like a hair salon would be set up, with similar kind of chairs that just recline a bit more. (Bikini waxing is thankfully done behind closed doors! Haha) I was sitting in the waiting area for Jasmine to finish with her client who happened to be a man in his early to mid 60s. I was totally transfixed by this man and his stunning 30-something wife and her huge diamond ring.
As I sat there I thought, so this is Beverly Hills!
... and I like it! I mean, at least the people watching! It's fun to imagine who these people are, what they see in each other, how they met, etc.

Anyway, back to the waxing experience, it was great, $50, but I walked away loving my eyebrows! I've been getting my eyebrows done since I was in 6th grade and this was the first time the esthetician finished by applying makeup to my brows and brow bone- I loved it!

I'm not 100% sure I'm going to go back though, I think I'm going to try a few more before I decide on just one place.

What I Learned Today in Hollywood

By 2pm this afternoon I had already learned two valuable lessons for living in Los Angeles:

1. Parking Tickets are $50.... and $50 that I don't have! No one ever seems to pay the meters on my street so thus far I have been following their lead. Last night I parked my car out front around midnight, all of the non-metered parking spots were taken so I parked next to a meter and didn't pay it. The sign says 4 Hour Parking from 8am-8am except on Sundays (when it's free) but last Saturday afternoon I didn't pay the meter and I didn't get a ticket so I figured I'd be fine. I walked out of my apartment at 11am to go for a run only to find that I have a $50 parking ticket on my dashboard! Blah!

2. Quarters are a Valuable Commodity... When I was home over the holidays unpacking boxes from NY, packing bags for LA and cleaning out my childhood closet (finally!) I found an entire coin collection so I now have a heavy coin purse in my bag that I carry everyday. Okay so that's the background story... So this afternoon I went to the laundry room in the basement of my apartment building for the first time- keep in mind this walk-up building was built in 1926. I had everything I would have needed in my NYC apartment buildings- my wallet with cash and credit cards, laundry detergent and a bag full of my dirty clothes- oh and my door key to get back in. I assumed that I would pay for my laundry by using a debit card-type machine.... no such luck! The washers and dryers accept 4 quarters and quarters only! So with all my clothes in the washer I went back upstairs to my 3rd floor apartment and get out my newly created coin purse which, unfortunately, is full of nickles, dimes and pennies! Not wanting to drive my parked (and ticketed) car I walked half a mile to the corner liquor store and had the guy give me eight quarters in exchange for seven nickles and twenty two dimes! Needless to say, I felt pretty pathetic and rather annoyed.
My clothes are in the dryer now so all is well. :)

Moved Out West...

I figured this massive change in my life required a blog post as it will eventually have an affect on my blog's content.... Three and a half years ago, shortly after graduating college, I moved to NYC. At the time I wasn't too keen on moving to the Big Apple. Senior year of college I had my heart set on moving to Southern California but after graduating I had an internship offer in LA and a job offer in New York so I took the job offer (and so glad I did!).

I knew I would like the city but coming from Dallas I was not looking forward to the cold weather or public transportation. A couple mentors of mine at the time told me to give New York a chance for 3 to 5 years and then move out West if that's still something I wanted to do. So here I am, three and a half years later, sitting in my new sunny Hollywood apartment!

I am thrilled that I have finally reached my goal of moving to California but incredibly sad that New York is no longer my home. I have truly fallen in love with NYC and know that I will miss it every day.

Things I will miss about New York...

• Obviously my amazing NY friends top the list along with the fabulous people in the New York office!
• The variety of restaurants within walking distance to wherever you are
• The abundance of taxis
• Central Park
• The running path along the Hudson
• Broadway shows
• Rolling my eyes at tourists who are so easy to spot once you become a local
• Having a NYSC on every corner
• Walking to and from work every day
• Bumble & Bumble
• The skyline, especially at night
• Working in a famous building (our NY office was in the original Superman movie!)
  

How my blog will change.... I am still not 100% sure what direction I want to take my blog but I think I'll be more casual about my posts and simply write about things that I've attended, tasted, enjoyed and hated- whether it's a restaurant, a spa, a movie, a comedy show, etc. I'll see how it goes and adjust accordingly along the way. However, there are a TON of New York restaurants that I still want to review so I will intersperse those with my other posts.
Hopefully you all will stay tuned and please feel free to give me feedback along the way!

Craft

This past week my mom, brother and I went to Craft in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan (map). The restaurant, owned by the famous Tom Colicchio, is an amazingly cool space with modern hanging lights and a large leather wall. The menu lists our a wide range of meets, side dishes, salads, pasta, seafood and more and is served family style, meant to be shared with the table. We ordered a wide variety of dishes each better than the next! We started off with cocktails and two side dishes. My brother ordered the Crispy Bacon, recommended by our waiter, while I went with the Roasted Tokyo Turnips. The Crispy Bacon was four big slices of bacon, it was like nothing I had ever seen before, I never knew bacon could be so large. The bacon was sauteed in orange marmalade and my brother loved it. The turnips were very tasty and a great dish to share.
Before our entrees were served we were greeted with a shot-like portion of fava bean panna cotta puree. Thankfully I had mentioned to the waiter that I'm a vegetarian when we ordered our side dishes because they gave me the non-bacon garnished fava bean puree. :)
Our entrees included the Roasted Baby Carrots, Asparagus, Roasted Beets with tarragon, Gratin Potatoes, Mezzaluna Pasta (moon-shaped pasta) and the Braised Beef Short Rib.
It was too hard to pass up dessert since everything else we tasted was so fabulous we knew that dessert would not disappoint. My brother had a single scoop of vanilla ice cream while my mom and I shared the Warm Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, candied walnuts and Rhubarb sorbet.

The service was amazing, our waiter was very friendly and made wonderful suggestions. Just like at Bouley the hospitality continued until we left the door, as we left we were each presented with individually wrapped homemade chocolate chip muffins.
Craft is a restaurant where you are encouraged to sit as long as you'd like, enjoy your company, the food and the wine. You may want to make your reservations via Open Table a few days in advance.

Babycakes NYC

If it's vegan it's healthy, right?!? That's what I told myself as I bit into a carrot cake cupcake at Babycakes bakery in NYC a couple weeks ago. Skeptics would be surprised that desserts made from coconut oil, agave nectar, garbanzo flour, and spelt are actually very good and much more filling than those made from white flour and sugar at places like Magnolia Bakery and Sprinkles.

Owner and founder Erin McKenna, opened Babycakes in 2005 tapping into the cravings of those who need to eat wheat, gluten, dairy and sugar free or even stick to a Kosher diet. McKenna's sweet factory was named the Best Cupcakes in NYC by NY Magazine in 2006.

Babycakes' menu offers cupcakes, loaves, cookies, cookie sandwiches, crumb cakes, muffins, spelt tea cake, brownies, macaroons, scones, pies and more. Among my favorite menu options are the tiny sweets like the cupcake tops and frosting shots.

Babycakes is currently located at 248 Broome Street (between Orchard & Ludlow) in Manhattan but are planning to open a Los Angeles location soon. The LA location will be cool, near The Grove and will share a space with the denim design shop Earnest Sewn.

A Vegetarian Who Loves BLT

A goal of mine while living in NYC is to dine at every restaurant in the BLT family, as you know I’ve made it to BLT Prime and BLT Market, both of which left a lasting impression. Since those outings I’ve ventured to BLT Fish Shack, BLT Steak and BLT Burger. (BLT Fish is the only one that’s missing!) As a vegetarian I’m probably harder to please then their typical customer so hopefully the fact that I love these restaurants despite my non-carnivorous ways should only further prove how wonderful these restaurants are- amazing service, knowledgeable staff, impressive décor and great food and desserts.

BLT Fish Shack is located directly underneath BLT Fish on 17 St. between 5th and 6th Avenues. The décor at BLT Fish Shack is not shack-like at all; in fact, you feel like you’ve just walked into a local Cape Cod restaurant. Diners sit in white wooden booths upholstered with nautical blue and white striped cushions, there’s a raw bar where fish specialists are preparing mussels, clams and lobsters in the middle of the room and the menu and daily specials are written out on chalkboards throughout the space. My friends ordered mussels and calamari for appetizers and lobster and fries for their entrees. I joined the clean plate club by choosing from the "Pick A Fish" section of the menu where patrons choose a fish- Organic Salmon, Yellowfin Tuna, Cod, Skate, Striped Bass, Flounder or Steamed Lobster- and a sauce- Lemon Hollandaise, Spicy Salsa or Tartar Sauce, all of which are served with arugula sald and a choice of rice pilaf or roasted potato. I had the Organic Salmon grilled and topped with the Spicy Salsa.

A few weeks later I made reservations via OpenTable for BLT Steak while my dad and brother were in town visiting. Just like at BLT Prime, our meal started with the amazing popovers, severed with butter and rustic sea salt. We ordered appetizers to share followed by our individual entrees. I definitely recommend these vegetarian options: the Roasted Beets and Apple salad, a side of Grilled Asparagus and the Chopped Vegetable Salad. For dessert we enjoyed the rum laced carrot cake with cream cheese icing, Carmaelized New York cheese cake and the Sliced Fruit and Berries.

Later that week I took my brother to BLT Burger, who surprisingly offers a to-go menu, located on 6th Ave. btw 11th & 12th Streets. We began with an order of sweet potato fries that were cooked to perfection. My brother ordered the Classic Burger which is made with 5 oz. of Certified Black Angus beef, however we have heard from friends that the Lamb Burger is the best. Having looked at the menu beforehand I knew I had to try the veggie burger. I have never tried the frozen veggie burgers like Boca Burger, nor do I want to, so I saw this as my chance to order a “gourmet,” handmade veggie burger. It was served on a whole wheat bun and made with a medly of organic grains, vegetables and spices. It was good, especially when I loaded it with ketchup, but I’m definitely not hooked. We topped off our dinner with milk shakes! A friend of mine recommended that we try their spiked milkshakes which included a list of tasty sounding concoctions like The Shocker (Stoli Vanilla, Oreos, vanilla ice cream) and Grandma's Treat (Maker's Mark, caramel syrup, vanilla ice cream). My brother ordered The Shocker, while my theory was, why mess up a good thing that I only treat myself to about once a year with alcohol because chances are I wouldn’t like it. So I ordered a vanilla milkshake but asked to have Oreos in it. And of course, the other older sister was right! He didn’t love his, he was hoping that it would taste more like a milkshake and less like alcohol, while I finished mine so fast I wished for another. ;)

Many other cities are lucky to have at elast one of the BLT restaurants besides NYC including, San Juan, Washington D.C., White Plains, Miami, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Las Vegas.

All of the BLT restaurants are owned by Executive Chef Laurent Tourondel. And interestingly enough the BLT stands for "Bistro Laurent Tourondel." After the four year program at Saint Vincent Ecole de Cuisine, where he earned a "d'Aptitude Professionnelle de Cuisinier," the French chef cooked his way through some of the world's most esteemed kitchens. He first opened BLT Steak in 2004 which garnered so much praise he then opened BLT Fish, BLT Prime, BLT Burger, BLT Market and BLT Fish Shack in NYC.

The Cat & Fiddle

Sitting outside in the courtyard at The Cat & Fiddle is the perfect spot for a casual drink in LA. Walking under a stone arch way into the courtyard makes the setting even more enchanting and creates the perfect hide-away for celebs who want to go unnoticed.
There is live jazz on the patio every Sunday from 7pm to 11pm and a Fish and Chips special all day long every Monday.
Located at 6530 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, CA

Urth Caffe

My final stop during my two weeks in LA was at Urth Caffe on Melrose Ave. Recommended to me by a friend who knows me well, which was even more obvious when I arrived at Urth, saw the great outdoor seating and read over the menu. It was exactly the kind of place I'd want to go to on a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles with its patio seating and vegetarian-friendly menu that features mouth-watering dishes that are good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With so many great salad options I decided to go with The Tostada sald (minus the fried tortilla shell)- a chopped salad served in a friend toritilla shell with grilled veggies, on a bed of black beans and organic romain lettuce with house salsa, guacamole and monterey jack cheese. My friends at the Urth Quesadilla and the Panini Roasted Turkey (Urth butter roasted turkey breast with Jarlsberg swiss cheese, grilled on a poppyseed crusted honey wheat bread and served on a whole grain mustard sauce).
Of course we finished with an aray of Urth's famous desserts including the New York Cheesecake, Banana Bread Pudding, the Deep Dish Apple Pie and the Chocolate Crown Cake.

Asia de Cuba

I had no idea what to expect when Rolland Berry and I drove up to the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Blvd. but was pleasantly surprised as we sipped wine among the white and orange interior of the bar in the lobby, ADCB, before being escorted to our table at Asia de Cuba. Seating at the table amongst giant terracotta pots it's hard not to feel a little bit like Alice inside her world of Wonderland. The outdoor, courtyard-like seating is the quintessential night out in LA.
I loved the innovative Asian and Cuban fusion cusine paired with the unmatched Philippe Starck design. I was totally impressed with the menu, and how could you not be with dishes like bamboo steamed asian and caribbean vegetables, plantain fried rice with avocado salad, Lemongrass Skewered Chicken (coconut thai chili marinade, grilled pinapple and lychee) and the Calamari Salad 'Asia De Cuba' (crispy calamari with chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory and radicchio-sesame orange dressing).
Reservations can be made at Open Table.

Aroma Cafe

During lunch at Aroma Cafe I was overwhelmed by the extremely large menu while, at the same time, underwhelmed by the service we received. As much as I love having plenty of options, I had a really hard time understanding what this restaurant's specialty was- there were salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, Mediterranean and BBQ- really there was just too much variety. But the good thing is that Aroma Cafe has something for everyone.
I loved sitting outside at this newly renovated, street-side cafe and at night it would be nice to sit in front of the small fireplaces for a drink or during dinner.

Mexicali Cocina Cantina

Great Mexican restaurants are not hard to find in LA but Mexicali Cocina Cantina was a great find, located in Studio City on Ventura Blvd & Laurel Canyon Blvd. We had a very strange waiter but the food was great. My friend and I shared their homemade Guacamole, she ordered the Grilled Chicken Quesadilla and I had the Mexicali Fajita Salad. But their menu also includes a long list of Tacos, Tamales, Burritos, and Enchiladas as well as fabulous margaritas and sangria.

101 Coffee Shop

I have to admit, I'm not much of a diner girl but the menu at 101 Coffee Shop in Hollywood, CA is pretty unbelievable! Serving up retro diner fare with a Southern California twist, Acclaimed Chef Brandon Boudet combines the best of the Hollywood Farmer’s Market with hearty yet simple classics. They even had a great selection for a picky vegetarian like me, especially since it was 3am and I just wanted something warm and not french fries!

I ordered had a bowl of their Veggie Chili while my friends ordered everything from omelets to cheese burgers and milkshakes.

I didn't have any dessert but apparently their Waffle Brownie Sundae is amazing. And how could it not be?!? It's basically chocolate and ice cream served in a jar!

The look of the 101 Coffee Shop was carefully designed by Warner Ebbink after extensive research of coffee shops of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. From the stone wall behind the retro brown leather booths to the counter that extends through most of the space, the hipster patrons are transported to a funky diner straight out of the late 1960’s.

Celebrities through the decades have visited the space and countless movies and television shows have featured the 101 for its unique décor and cool Hollywood vibe.

Location: 6145 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028, (323) 467-1175. Breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days 7 a.m.&-3 a.m.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Not only can you smell the goodness of Sprinkles Cupcakes a mile away but you can see a line of people waiting in a line a mile long just to experience the famous treats. And yes, I too stood in that line outside of the Beverly Hills store excited for my first Sprinkles cupcake! The flavors change daily but we were able to pick up a great sampling of the Black & White (Belgian dark chocolate cake with creamy vanilla frosting), Cinnamon Sugar (lightly spiced buttermilk cake dusted with cinnamon sugar), Peanut Butter Chip (chocolate chip-studded peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting), Red Velvet, Strawberry (strawberry cake with sweet strawberry frosting), and Vanilla (Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with creamy vanilla frosting). Overall I'd have to say my favorite was the Strawberry cupcake but I also really liked the Cinnamon Sugar- it tasted more like a sweet breakfast coffee cake. Today, via Twitter, I asked my followers what their favorite cupcake flavors were and/or bakery. The response, keeping in mind I only heard back from New Yorkers, was Red Velvet from Buttercup Bake Shop. Obviously, my favorite cupcakes are from Emily Knapp (my little sister)- I mean just look at these cupcakes- she's amazing!

Tart

After an afternoon of shopping at The Grove in LA I met up with a group of friends for dinner at Tart- located at 115 S. Fairfax Ave, attached to The Farmer's Daughter Hotel. We sat in the courtyard section of the restaurant which was decorated with strung Christmas lights.
The restaurant serves freshly baked American Fusion dishes including Tart Fries- french fries made from French, Sweet, and Purple potatoes, served with a three different dipping sauces; Fried Green Tomatoes served with a toasted corn salsa; and amazing organic salads like the Roasted Beets Salad- red and gold beets, mixed greens, goat cheese, and a lemon vinaigrette; big entrees of fish, meat, sandwiches and more. (Tart is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.)
A couple weeks ago on The Hills Heidi Montag had lunch at Tart with her mom, which was included in YumSugar's Episode Eight The Hills Food Quiz- part of question number 5.

Caffe Primo

Another trendy spot lining Sunset Boulevard is Caffe Primo. Inspired by the coffeehouses and espresso bars in Italy, Caffe Primo attempts to bring European style America, where guests are encouraged to linger from early morning until late the night.Caffe Primo offers house-roasted coffees, salads, pizzettas, paninis and most importantly, gelato from Riviera’s renowned Primo Gelato, which was named among the “Best of LA” by Los Angeles Magazine and one of the “top five ice creams in the city” by Angeleno.
Primo Gelato contains only 6 percent butterfat (as compared with ice cream’s 26 percent butterfat) and their sorbet is made with fresh fruit and is entirely fat free and dairy free. Gelato flavors rotate seasonally but typically includes Roasted Almond with Fig, White Chocolate Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio, Fresh Melon, Wild Italian Strawberry and Pure Indian Mango.

Chin Chin

Chin Chin is another Asian restaurant located on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood with great outdoor space that is also perfectly situated for people watching and cocktail sipping. Everyone at my table ordered their famous Chinese Chicken Salad which is made up of shredded lettuce, scallions, carrots, toasted almonds, and crispy noodles tart red ginger dressing.