eat food.

  

A variety of these "food rules" (above) were published back in 2009 by The New York Times. A lot of them were funny, most I agreed with but some were just plain unreasonable. Although I'm down with the sustainable and sensible eating and I am definitely cautious of my consumption habits (most of the time), I think it's important to, for lack of better words, eat like crap, every once and a while. Although typical junk food (i.e. Doritos) isn't usually what I crave, I'm known for the occasional late night trip to In-N-Out or Chick-Fil-A for some fries (and lots of dipping sauces) to feast. I feel like I see it every day, especially going to USD where everyone is, literally, perfect: people don't enjoy their food. Even guys are worried about their waistlines and to see a girl eating something other than a salad at school is actually shocking. I know you're probably thinking, "she's definitely the source of American obesity," but I'm not suggesting pigging out on a daily basis. I'm just saying that if you want something, eat it. Don't agonize over the calories or "it going straight to your ass." JUST EAT IT! And enjoy it, you only live once!

twerk twerk bounce bounce clap clap

                  

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending my very first Girltalk show. Although I was with a few veterans, I was determined to fit in the best I could. Allow me to set the scene: small, skinny, sweaty and hairy Jewish guy, dancing and jamming to his own beats, on some very expensive-looking equipment while a very large crowd in a very small space jumps up and down uncontrollably (one-third of the fans most definitely on a drug or two), mesmerized by the toilet paper, confetti, water and balloons emerging from the ceiling. Needless to say, this quickly became one of my most favorite concerts ever.

 

The best friennnddd

 

The man

 

The best part

la la la la la la bamba!

As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't updated in a while because I was on my very LAST spring break trip ever (til grad school that is...), a cruise to Mexico with my best friend AJ. We tried to rally our group of friends, but AJ and I were the only ones dedicated to an insane, going-out-with-a-bang vacation. It was AJ's first cruise, but I'm embarrassed to say it was my 10th. Although the food was only decent (and I'm a little bit of a food snob if you couldn't tell), the best part of the cruise, I think, was meeting people. We met people from all over and even with some we discovered mutual friends. Meeting people when everyone's on vacation, just relaxing and not stressing about anything, is the best because everyone's always in a happy mood. How could you not have the time if your life? But wonderful people aside, the other highlight was one of our ports, Puerto Vallarta.

Of course when my dad, Juan the Cruise Director as I like to call him, found out Puerto Vallarta was a stop (PV as he likes to call it), he gave us a list of places we had to check out there, his old stomping grounds. We only had time to eat at one restaurant, but Juan definitely did not let us down. La Palapa, located literally on the beach (tables in the sand!) served up some of the best and freshest seafood we had ever had. Leave it to AJ and I to treat ourselves to a $100 dinner for no special reason. There's not much I wouldn't do for good food.

Feast your eyes on... the appetizers...

  

Fresh Goat Cheese and Beet Salad

  

Tortilla and Shrimp Soup


Then the sun started to set so I had to capture that...

 

And finally came... the main events... 

Scallops with Saffron Polenta

 

Red Snapper with Herbed Risotto and Plantains


Needless to say, it was a pretty picturesque and perfect dinner (although maybe more appropriate for an actual couple, but I'm not above it) and a pretty awesome cruise in general, I definitely did not want it to end.

LA (kinda) finally winning me over: part two

After an afternoon in Santa Monica, AJ and I ventured to none other than Hollywood to see Erin. We admired the incredible view from her amazing apartment and then headed off for our next feast: The Village Idiot. It was dark and trendy but didn't give off that cold vibe many chic-y restaurants tend to send. We requested a beer menu and to my surprise, Saison Dupont was listed!! This was clearly a good sign. The restaurant also mixed brews, which created some really interesting and delicious tastes (and conveniently upped the alcohol level...)

 

 

super classy in a wine glass!


Although there was a two hour wait, of course Erin worked her magic and we were sat immediately. After enjoying chugging the beer, we ordered some grub...

 

Veggie Pot Pie...to DIE FOR

 

Fish and Chips

LA (kinda) finally winning me over: part one

I've always had a little bit of a grudge against LA. Don't get me wrong, it's a city full of booming businesses, great food and who could forget, Hollywood. And I'm absolutely not above running into celebrities at Trader Joe's and giggling over their fame. But the problem for me is identifying the stars. From the naked eye, it's hard to tell who's famous and who's not. That's because most of the people that live in LA, actually think that they are famous, but they most definitely aren't, which doesn't allow for friendly conversation or new friend-making, something I'm very much into, especially during a night out on the town. And being from Texas, where even strangers can turn into your new best friend, this is a hard thing to get used to. Nevertheless, after my most recent visit to LA last weekend to visit a friend and prepare for my cruise to Mexico (hence the lack of updates), LA definitely impressed me more than it had in the past. I blame it on the food and my discovery of Santa Monica (which I LOVED).
The first stop was Santa Monica, where AJ and I met our friend Kendra for lunch at Real Food Daily, a vegan restaurant. Although a vegetarian, I'm extremely skeptical of vegan food. Lots of it is great, but oftentimes there's too much fake cheese and fake meat and it ends up tasting just plain weird. But I swear on my life this restaurant would win over even the most dedicated meat-eater. We started with the nachos, which were made with cashew cheese (surprisingly delicious), black beans, salsa and guacamole. Sadly, they were devoured too quickly to capture a photo. I tried to document the rest...

                 

   

Veggie Wrap

  

Kendra and I