LA Eats

In the past two days, I've had the good fortune to be treated by some generous friends to some outings around town: 

CASA - A friend is involved with this restaurant, and I am so glad he is!  Otherwise, I might have missed out on two of the best margaritas I've ever had.  Also recommend the guac and tacos.  I need to arrange a trip to MOCA just so I can come have cocktails here afterwards.

COMME CA - Muscadet, Burger medium rare, oysters, and bread you pull apart to coat with butter.  This place is consistently delicious, and I love the depth of the seafood menu.  Great for lunch, dinner, or very late dinner.  

NOBU - The epitome of how people stereotype Los Angeles.  A Lindsay Lohan sighting just about sums up the clientele, and I'm sure you can imagine the atmosphere and food to match! 

One of my New Years Resolutions is to embrace Los Angeles as if it is (...and it is) my home.  By getting out to different parts of the town and spending time with people I adore... this might be one resolution I can keep!

Shining the Silver

I know most people polish their silver before the holidays, but the task didn't make my to-do list.  However, I am writing again and I've been so productive recently, there isn't much to procrastinate with: thank you notes are written, house has been cleaned, rearranged the items on the mantle and pictures on the wall, the garden is tended, etc.  You can see that I need something new to do on my "breaks." When I moved to San Francisco two years ago, I bought a ton of antique silver and silver-plated flatware.  I zealously polished it all back then but have since neglected the job.  Today I organized the flatware drawers, dug out the polish and some rags, and started removing the tarnish from my dinner forks.  Perhaps by the end of the week I'll have worked my way to the butter knives!  Below are blurry photos I took when I did the job in '06.  I just love the different handle designs!

Ready... Set... Grow!

Tackled the container garden this morning.  Remember the empty crate from my other post?  Well, I finally drilled the holes in the bottom (received a Dewalt for Christmas), put gravel in the bottom, and covered it with soil.  I applied a charcoal wash, but may change the color in the future.  Transplanted some baby plants from other containers and planted a few types of seed.  From left to right in the rows: beets, radish, cucumber, mesclun mix, snow peas, and carrots. Hopefully I will be able to harvest the other plants in time to give the cucumber and snow peas enough room to be fruitful.  Very happy with the whole container set up!

Depression Glass

I spend all too much time window shopping in antique stores.  Always learning something new about the tools people used to use.  Always imagining new purposes for abandoned items. Always wanting the set of Bauer bowls or the pristine farm table.  And very recently... I have added Depression Glass to the list of items I covet.

Found a mint condition Fostoria creamer and sugar bowl on a little tray at an antique store last week.  Managed to avoid buying it - hoping to quell the desire - but after two days passed I had to go back and give the piece a proper home.  Because I loved it so much, I hoped that my soon-to-be-bride friend would too.  (She is one of my few friends who appreciates antiques and history which makes me love her all the more)  I had some help wrapping (see earlier post) and gave her the set for her bridal shower.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture before gifting the items.  Found the above photo of the set (sans tray) online. 

Home(made) for the Holidays - Part 2

I knit this scarf for my boyfriend.  Originally, it was flat after steaming but has since curled back up as stockinette is inclined to do.

The very same boyfriend mentioned above helped me wrap a bridal shower gift.  He is a big proponent of crease-and-fold.  Photos of the gift will be posted after the shower tomorrow!

A few friends and I decided to spend a calm New Years Eve together.  We raided the grocery store for Blue Point and Kumamoto oysters, a gorgeous tuna steak, and accompaniments. Having forgotten to purchase oyster shuckers, we used whatever blunt instruments we could find: a screwdriver, butter knives, etc.  They all were opened and eaten with a mignonette sauce.  Afterwards we devoured this salad:

We had a green onion-lemon rice, soy sauce seared tuna, and more champagne than you could shake a stick at.  The overall price tag was a fraction of what we would have spent out on the town, and part of the evenings fun was communally preparing the meal.  We topped it off with Liars Dice and mimosas/walnut french toast the next morning.... great way to bring in 2009!

Home(made) for the Holidays - Part 1

One of my delightful friends gave me some homemade vanilla extract for Christmas... and the motivation to make it myself.  After some web browsing, I found these comprehensive instructions and dove in.  If you choose to try this, I recommend looking at the apothecary section of Whole Foods to buy the Madagascar beans in bulk.  Otherwise you might end up purchasing each bean individually which can be costly.

Above, I have split the beans in half and scraped out the caviar.  Below, the beans are in the jars and awaiting vodka.

 Once completed, I tied pretty ribbons around the lids.  A perfect little gift!

Union Level

Recently had BBQ and hush puppies at Wilson's (vinegary bbq sauce has no equal) and then spent the afternoon at the farm.  Below, you can see the dogs are ready for a ride across the road in the Ranger.  

The beaver pond (all inhabitants seem to be hibernating):

The neighbor's cows:
Brynn waiting for someone to catch a fish: