For a couple of years my friends and I would make these list of things to do, places to go, restaurants to try, exhibits to see. This list would come in handy when we had visitors but most of all give us a chance to explore this city. As L.A. daily can drain you, but if you search around there are some really cools things to do here. It also a chance for us to explore LaLa land other than the 405, 10, 101, 90, 110. We use to have time to make lists and go on what I would call an L.A. adventure, life gets in the way of fun. We would pick a few places that were relatively close together so we wouldn't have to take the 405, 10, 101, 90, 110 to get from one place to another. Today came together VERY last minute, but ended up being a lovely adventure. All of us wanted to see the photography exhibit at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). So with connections, yes it's WHO you know in this town, we were able to go for free.
Of course you can't take photo's of the photographs but I did take a few of the outside entrance. The Vanity Fair photographs are amazing, every well-known photographer, actor, musician, writer, director, politician has a photograph for this magazine. Here is a list of a few favorites: Did you know that Fred Astaire had a sister named Adele that he would dance with before Ginger? She married a Lord and became a Lady, but the photograph that captured these siblings was fantastic she had the best outfit on with wide sleeves and amazing details on the edges. C found a picture of an author, none of us could remember, but she loved the hair cut and is vowing to mimic that look.
New sculpture at the entrance of LACMA was pretty amazing and made for some cool photos.
We went on to see the William Randolph Hearst art collection which was a hodgepodge of stuff that a very rich man purchases just because he has the means. Interesting but not that exciting. There was another exhibit of photographs from all the best, William Fox Talbot, Julia Margeret Cameron (Mrs. Subs that made me think of you), Alfred Stieglizt, Weston and Imogen Cunningham to name a few of my favorites. One thing that is amazing is that these people took pictures of their friends and then they or there friends or both became famous. 
So I figure either I or my friends have a 50/50 chance of this happening to us. Here's to you Zeff and L, we're bound to be famous now. 
As you may have seen in an earlier post I love the Chris Burton public installation. Tonight it lit up just as we were leaving the museum. 
After we illegally climb over everything and took lots of pictures the sun set and it was a gorgeous L.A. evening. 
I must admit, I think I'm rather obssessed with these lamps.
After this we took off to Sweet Lady Jane to enjoy dessert and hopefully the black ham and jarlsberg cheese sandwich. This place is a little bakery that absolutely has the best cakes, everyone who has ever lived in L.A. has to have this cake at least once. They are both tasty and beautiful. My favorite is the Triple Berry Shortcake as we have ordered that for a few parties before.
A new delicious cake just now found was the oreo cookie tiramisu....delish.
Of course everywhere in the world has to have their version of the red velvet cupcake, this was a good one to try. Love the cream cheese frosting.
They no longer serve sandwiches but that didn't stop us from some amazing desserts and a pot of French pressed coffee. It's been a long time since I've been here and this area of Melrose is covered with all the designer shops that we salivate for, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Herve Leger, all places I will never be able to afford to buy at, but window shopping is a rush.
There was a slight chill in the air when we left, finally. The fog had set in as we traveled back to the Westside. Since I missed out on my ham and jarlsberg cheese sandwich (I am such a Cuban) I ran to the local store and stocked up on the necessities and made my own version with a nice glass of Voigner and a comfortable evening at home with SB.
For the sweet and savory party I was able to make one dessert to contribute to this feast. I had a craving for coconut. So I went through a few cookbooks till I found a recipe I hadn't tried yet. The always reliable Ina Garten provide the recipe that seemed the easiest and most tasty.
And who doesn't love chocolate right. Ultimately these macaroons ended up with chocolate. I melted semi-sweet chocolate in a double broiler and then tried to decide if I was going to dip the top of each one or brush the bottoms. Bottoms one over at a suggestion from SB. These I have to say turned out delicious.We had plenty to give everyone and took a few home ourselves. Next day over a cup of coffee was the best breakfast.
Here's Ina's recipe from her Barefoot Contessa Family Style.
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condesed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kocher salt
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper (I tried to use my silapat cookie sheet liner on one sheet as I was short on parchment paper - this didn't work well as the sticky coconut stuck to it, even after cooling. So parchment paper is the way to go) using either a 1 1/4 inch diameter ice cream scoop, or two teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.
If you choose to put chocolate on them follow instructions below.
Put semi-sweet chocolate chips (or your chocolate of choice) in a bowl set over boiling water in a sauce pan. Don't let the water hit the bowl. Once chocolate is melted used a icing spatula to spread chocolate evenly over the bottoms of each macaroon. Put macaroons on a baking sheet upside down and refrigerate to harden the chocolate about 30 minutes. Plate and serve.
Enjoy.
Last night a good friend who is an amazing host, cook, mother, decorator, gardener, baker this list goes on, had an evening of all appetizers, both sweet and savory.
I took a million pictures of everything that came out.
Chinese Chicken Salad on crispy wontons.
Cheese plate with Chipolte cheese, smoked gouda, brie a tasty platter of interesting flavors. Delicious bacon wrapped scallops.
Mushroom sausage bruschetta. This was my favorite as I could eat pounds and pounds of mushrooms. We wanted to stuff filo doughs with this but ran out of time so a couple of slices of bread toasted and then a dab of mushrooms was a welcomed and tasty alternative.
Shrimp and frozen ice shot glasses with cocktail sauce to go.
Filo dough cups with chicken, parsley pesto and olives.
Cucumber slices with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
Tabouli stuffed cucumbers, pigs in a blanket with savory sausage wrapped in the perfect pasty dough. Followed by a special turkey dinner purse with a cranberry surprise.
And dessert was fantastic. My favorite dessert that she makes are these crispy pavlova's with kiwi's and berries and a little passion fruit sauce to top it off. 
Chocolate Fountain followed with various fruits and cookies to dip. I loved watching the kids dip everything possible in this fountain. Poor little ones were left rolling on the floor with serious tummy aches.
Cheesecakes with dripping cherry sauce and Champagne to follow. This appetizer meals and array of desserts is my favorite way to eat a meal. I went back for seconds of the savory and forgot about the sweets coming next, but somehow I managed to find room for those as well. Seriously a night of good food, good wine and most of all good company. Bravo SS it was a night to remember.
Road Trip. I have to say I really enjoy road trips. I've spent many hours in the car growing up driving Route 66 and many other US highways, Interstates, freeways etc...A few months ago we drove from Los Angeles to Boise, Idaho. Dear friends or ours were moving up there. We drove their second car and made our way through California, Nevada, Oregon and finally Idaho.
We left LA at the grueling hour of 4am, it was suppose to be 3am (I took that picture above at that time, no turning the clock back for a photo op) so you can imagine how early we had to get up for this. Our friends have two kids so it was essential to get them in the car asleep and get in a good 6 hours of driving before they woke.
We took the 5 freeway and hit a few pockets of nothingness and then stumbled upon the worst smell ever. And for 5am, it was miserable. Cow's for miles and the stench just wouldn't go away.
After passing the stench we get to the grapes of wrath where there are lines of fieldworkers that define this part of the continent.
Food fair on the road is pretty dismal. My mom use to pack a lunch or stop in some great little hole in the wall diner in some small little town along our route. There weren't that many options this time. So as typical Americans we stop at the usual fast-food, chain restaurants. McDonald's, Denny's and a Subway, which is the healthiest of the bunch. For some reason this food is appetizing on the road.
As we drive into Nevada and closer to Reno the scenery drastically changes it becomes beautiful blue sky's, tree line mountains, with patches of snow higher up. 
We arrive in Reno about 2PM and are completely spent, it's the ridiculous tired feeling. We stay at the Grand Sierra Resort Casino. 
I take a nap, check out the hotel amenenties while SB runs down to the pool with our friend and his two kids.In Nevada's alternate to Las Vegas, Reno pale's in comparison for casinos, though the views are awesome. We do however, decided to head down to the Casino to eat the buffet....seriously we get there and the line is around the corner, through the slot machines to the race track and through to grandmother's house. Wait is 1 hour. I feel meltdown coming on all of us...finally we can't make a decision and just head to the quickest nearest place possible, Johnny Rockets. More burgers, fries and shake...but ooooh so delicious.We had a great night sleep in a bed that SB absolutely loves so much that once we got back he called the hotel to find out what kind of bed as we need to purchase a new one ourselves. We ate breakfast repacked the cars and took off for some interesting scenery. 
You may or may not be surprised how many penitentiaries we passed in the middle of nowhere, not a lovely site. 
We really got to see the little towns, abandoned shacks, farms and beautiful places.
Just before entering Boise we came through this town that had wineries and fruit orchards and the like it was really inviting.
After a day waiting for our friends POD to arrive we checked out downtown Boise, reminded me of Portland. It felt very College town like, without the FRAT boys. The next day when the POD arrived we unpacked it and it was barely empty before SB and I had to catch a plane home. I got very emotional. These are dear friends but because of our busy schedules we didn't get together as much as we'd like. We really bonded with them and their kids and I for one was sad to leave them. I know they'll adjust to their new 3 bedroom, 2 car garage and yard quickly and their new friends will come to love them as much as those of us who grew up around them.Can't wait for the next road trip, I've already got my mind spinning. We were sad to leave our friends behind, but made a promise to visit in the winter, I'd love to see Boise with snow everywhere. We miss you P family.
So I figure either I or my friends have a 50/50 chance of this happening to us. Here's to you Zeff and L, we're bound to be famous now. 
After we illegally climb over everything and took lots of pictures the sun set and it was a gorgeous L.A. evening. 
I must admit, I think I'm rather obssessed with these lamps. 
A new delicious cake just now found was the oreo cookie tiramisu....delish.
They no longer serve sandwiches but that didn't stop us from some amazing desserts and a pot of French pressed coffee. It's been a long time since I've been here and this area of Melrose is covered with all the designer shops that we salivate for, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Herve Leger, all places I will never be able to afford to buy at, but window shopping is a rush.
