Like everything else with this blog, it's been awhile since I've made a list of a few joy-inducing things. But I have a whole lot of reasons to smile these days-- I'm currently between jobs and, while looking for employment isn't the most enjoyable activity, the amount of time it's given me with Matt, the dogs, and my new-ish city is pretty great. I am fairly certain I'll be back to work in a few weeks, so I'm glad to share some moments that made me smile while this #funemployment stint winds down.

I'm going to lead with photos, below are some links, including an absolutely amazing app that you need to download. Right now.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Quick smiley chalkboard fridge doodle

Asparagus and Speck from Matty's work, the incomparable Pizzeria Mozza

A really, really pretty Pomeranian we met at the NoHo dog park

Beer and shuffleboard with my favorite at Sweeney's Ale House

Sage for smudging at my BFF's new apartment

1. Inside Amy Schumer - This show returned this week and Amy Schumer is incredible. If you haven't watched the last season yet, Comedy Central has them all on demand. Her sketch/standup/on the street interview style is refreshing and hilarious, and I watched seven episodes back to back yesterday while I cleaned, despite already having seen them all. Because unemployment.

2. The Illusive Traveler Grapefruit Ale from the Traveler Beer Company - I was really depressed to find out Harpoon released their grapefruit beer, The Big Squeeze, shortly after I moved from Boston and was no longer able to grab their wares at my local store. Luckily, the Traveler Beer Company filled the void in my heart with this delightful summer beer, available at my favorite local Clueless reference liquor store, Circus Liquor.

3. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Not to make it seem like I've been spending all my time watching TV these days, but I've watched the entire first season of this new Netflix hit twice. It's hilarious, quick-witted and just plain fun, and the recent Pop Culture Happy Hour that discussed the show made me go back and watch it all over again.

4. My Idol App - This app is entirely in Chinese. And really, really weird. Basically, it scans your face and then turns you into a really strange looking avatar that you can dress up and make perform in a variety of ways. After seeing the crazy shit people were doing with it on Gawker, I had to download, and am really glad I did. Here's why: (sorry Matty. Kind of. Not really.)

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 large basil leaf per shrimp; plus a palmful more, any size
• 1 16 oz can garbanzo beans
• 1 head (8-10 cloves) garlic, peeled
• EVOO

1. Heat a couple tablespoons of EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle the shrimp liberally with salt, pepper and paprika then add to the skillet and cook until just pink and curled, about three minutes per side. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to an ice bath or the freezer to quickly chill.
2. In the meantime, heat a small skillet over medium heat, pour in 3-4 tablespoons EVOO and the garlic cloves. Cook the garlic, stirring often, until it's starting to get soft, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 
3. In a small food processor, combine the garlic cloves and their cooking oil, a handful of torn basil leaves, and the garbanzo beans. Add the juice of half a lemon, as well, if you have that handy and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Purée until smooth, adding additional EVOO by the tablespoon if the mixture is too lumpy. You do want it to be quite thick, though. 
4. Smear a tablespoon of the bean purée on each basil leaf then top with a shrimp. Squeeze with lemon and add a pinch of salt. Serve immediately, preferably on a duffed up cutting board.

I've made some great friends since moving to LA.
A big part of leaving Boston was knowing I wouldn't see my people on a regular basis. There was a six month or so stint there, living in Dorchester, when my BFF Courtney would just drop by on her way home from law school every night. She'd have been in traffic for hours, and just needed to get out of her car (or sometimes use my bathroom. Especially when she was pregnant.) and would stay for an hour, just shooting the shit with me while I made dinner.

While no one will ever replace my Boston friends, my social circle in Southern California has added some pretty awesome people in the past year, and it makes living here all the more enjoyable. One such friend is Oscar, a former client turned buddy who recently started working for the awesome Vegan product brand Follow Your Heart. He came by one afternoon, armed with some product samples, and we tested drove some delicious veggie-heavy recipes. Even for the most carnivorous of us (my fiancé Fazekas, obviously) we agreed the snacks were as delicious as they were satisfying.

I must admit, we have been hitting the Thai takeout pretty hard these days. When we don't feel like cooking, and aren't in the mood for tacos (which doesn't happen very often, to be honest) Matt's go-to menu item is almost always Pad Thai, his favorite gluten-free luxury in a world of hidden soy sauce. This Thai trend, for a moment, encouraged me to step out of my drunken-noodles comfort zone and discover Tom Kha Gai soup.

Good morning!

I'm currently sipping some coffee out of the most gigantic owl-shaped mug I've ever laid eyes on, and it's making me quite happy. I love weekend mornings-- the ritual of leisurely sipping your beverage (caffeinated or alcoholic. Or both?) and planning a day that is wide open.

Lately, Matt and I have been partaking in what we call "surprise Saturday." I'll share photos from our last few adventures soon but, basically, one of decides what we will do and the other gets to be blissfully ignorant until we arrive at each destination. Last week, I took Matt to a driving range in Koreatown and out for shabu. The week before, he greeted me after my shower with a mimosa, and declared it "treat yoself!" day. We went for pedicures shortly thereafter.

There's just something about not knowing what today will bring (it's his turn. All I know is we are taking the train somewhere,) that seems to have invigorated us both to step out of our comfort zone, and explore LA beyond our little 'hood. Whatever today brings, I'm sure it'll be delightful.

But before we're off, I wanted to share another weekend-friendly post. I have some more breakfast ideas for you, but I also like to use the weekends to make more labor-intensive types of dishes. Rice balls almost always turn into a huge pain in the ass, it's just the nature of the beast, but they're almost always worth it. As per usual, I had to make these gluten-free (can you imagine if I made like twenty rice balls and then just looked at Matty and said, "oh, sorry, you can't have these." That would be a real kick in the rice balls.)

It was a while ago now, but Matt and I spent New Years in Palm Springs with some close friends. I've wanted to start beefing up my travel stories around here, and I love some of these photos too much not to share.

We stayed at the gorgeously colorful Saguaro hotel, and spent the mornings in the hot tub after snacking on a short rib skillet at the hotel's El Jefe bar. The Saguaro is dog-friendly, too (!!) so we brought the boys along and snuck in a quick hike at Murray Canyon on New Year's Eve before settling in at El Jefe with our friends for tequila and noisemakers.

Before leaving town, we headed right down the street to the amazing Moorten Botanical Garden to check out some cacti and other gorgeous plants. We came home well rested and fed, with a few new little succulents to add to our collection.

While Palm Springs is currently full of Coachella chaos, I loved our quiet holiday here so much. The mountain views, the bright colors, and friendly faces of Palm Springs made for a great little getaway we were in desperate need of. It was a hell of a year, and I was thrilled to bid it adieu on a balcony in the desert with my guy.

Hello! Here I am, back fifteen minutes later, sticking to my breakfast-recipe guns. Since there's two days in the weekend, why not two easy ideas? This one is debatably easier than the last, especially if you have previously cooked rice. And you know how to poach eggs. Which I kind of do, now. Almost.



Anyway. This was good. Like, really good. It was also good the night before when I made something similar with bacon, pesto, leftover rice and a whole lotta cheese. The moral of the story is make a ton of brown rice every time you cook, because the opportunities are endless.
ENDLESS I SAY.

Like this. Brown rice for breakfast?

Why the fuck not? Isn't brown rice nutritious? This could be diet food. I swear.

I SWEAR.

Happy Friday, everyone!

I've told you what to make on weekends past, but never consistently. Like everything lately, I'm attempting to establish some semblance of order over here. Starting with some Friday recipes that will hopefully make their way into your kitchen some Saturday or Sunday morning. Sometimes it'll be labor-intensive stuff, or the occasional baked good, but for the most part it'll be delightful breakfast recipes like what I'm featuring today. Starting with these breakfast tacos, that are quick, easy and feed a crowd (or a hungover couple. Either way!)

Sorry I'm not sorry for being heavy on the chorizo lately. When in SoCal.

I'm currently in the middle of making a batch of these for dinner to eat over some salad, but last time I made these bad boys was for an afternoon get together and sports-watching at our place. They were gone in minutes, and I couldn't blame anyone. These highly addictive little balls of spicy goodness are exactly what you want for a party spread.

Or a Thursday night dinner, apparently.

I'll keep this short as I have about five more minutes until my latest batch of meatballs should come out of the oven, and I'm getting pretty hungry looking at these photos!

While I usually come to this place armed with a recipe and/or memory of something delicious, I wanted to switch things up a bit today (and maybe once a week going forward? Maybe?) and offer up something free for the public!

I may or may not take my Photoshop skills for granted sometimes, but I feel that I'm quick with the friendly charity work, like Christmas cards and birthday invites and whatever else my people seem to need from time to time. Everyone knows they can reach out for quick design projects, because I absolutely love to do it.

On that note, I made this wifi sign for our place last month before we had some weekend house guests. Since then, I'll stick it in the living room if we're having a bunch of people over, so no one has to ask. When friends come over and want to show you a video of a pug who pees while standing on his two front paws, you want them to be on your wifi network. Obviously.

So! You'll need an 8x10" frame, a printer, and some heavy cardstock or matte photo paper.

If you're like the general public and do not have Photoshop (no judgments!) you can download a blank PDF here. Then, you can pop it in a glass frame and draw over the glass with some chalk paint to display your wifi network and password. This is especially handy if your password changes often to incentivize your kids do chores (again, no judgments. That is genius.)