Picca, the Bazzar, and Providence!

Hello!

My mom came to stay with Cort and I from Tuesday until this past Friday and we had the best time! We hiked, shopped, and ate A LOT. We went to three of the best restaurants I have ever been to. My mom is a big foodie like me so I researched which three restaurants I knew I wanted to go to when she came out. 

Tuesday night we went to Picca, where Cort and I went a few months ago. It was our favorite restaurant (until we went to Providence, which I will tell you about shortly), so I wanted my Mom to check it out. 

Then, Wednesday night we went to the Bazaar, a few miles from our house. This place was incredible. It was like an adult Alice in Wonderland, the layout of the restaurant was so funky and the menu was whimsical and delicious. I really can't do it justice by explaining it so you've got to check out their website here. This post would be a mile long if I shared everything we ordered, so I will just pick my favorite. I got the brussel sprout salad that came with tiny chopped up apples, apricots, and grapes, as well as "lemon air" on top for the dressing.

One of my favorite presentations was the"Magical Mojito" that Cort got. It was basically a mojito that was poured over cotton candy to make it extra sweet! 

And finally, as if dinner wasn't enough, they moved us to a new table in a different part of the restaurant for dessert. One of my favorites was our dark chocolate pop rocks, so fun! 

Okay so Thursday night we went to Providence. I knew it was more formal than the Bazaar, so it was fun to get dressed up for our last night! I wish I could describe how unbelievable this food was. It was hands down the best dining experience I have ever had. Our dinner was 4 hours long, yes really 4 hours, and we loved every minute! 

I will just share the highlight of each of our meals...

Cort ordered prawns for an appetizer, which are basically like large shrimp. They brought them out and cooked them in front of us in a bath of steaming hot sea salt, and then cut them open and finished them with lemon and olive oil. 

For his entree he ordered the wagyu beef. My mom and Cort did not stop raving about this all night. Cort said it pretty much ruined steak for him because nothing he eats now will ever compare to it haha. It was only a 3 oz piece, but it was so rich that was all that was necessary. 

This was sliced in front of us, and then the sauce was poured over the plate (at this point it got pretty dim in the restaurant so my pictures aren't the greatest). 

My meal was so beautiful! I ordered the salmon and it came with roasted root vegetables. 

After dinner we commented on how none of our meals came with a starch, and that's how it should be! All of our portions were the perfect size so you didn't feel overly full afterwards. 

My mom went with a lobster salad for her appetizer and veal for her entree which she loved. 

Finally, dessert. Everything sounded so delicious we couldn't choose what to order so we went big and did the 6 course dessert. So basically we were each given a mini portion of each dessert. 

Our third dessert was by far my favorite. I can't even pronounce what it was but it was a bunch of vanilla things, my favorite! It was a vanilla creme frosting with a vanilla almond cake underneath and some other delicious things. I will seriously dream about this. 

Another favorite was our last dessert. It was a chocolate mousse of some sort, and it reminded me of a fancy version of that "dirt" dessert we used to make as kids, with the chocolate pudding on the bottom and Oreo crumbles on top.

Well that is all for now, I hope you guys enjoyed these pics! We had such a great time talking and laughing throughout the night and it was a bummer when my mom had to leave the next morning. But Cort's family, my brother Mike and Cara, and Ben and Natalie will all be out within the next month and I can't wait!! 

Have a great week everyone! =)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I am so proud of these sandwiches! Fish is the only type of protein I've ever cooked with since it's all I eat. However, Cort eats all types of meat so lately I have been trying to cook something else besides salmon! When I found this incredibly simple recipe from peanutbutterfinger's blog I was sold and I went to Whole Foods to get a pork roast. 

This recipe was so simple there was no way I could mess it up because you really don't need to do anything...the crock pot does it all for you! I put the roast in the crock pot and poured a can of beef broth over top and then let it cook on low for 8 hours. 

I was dying to open the top of the crock pot all day long to check on it but refrained and waited until after we got back from our 6:30 crossfit class. 

Our apartment smelled so good all day and the pork turned out GREAT. It was so simple to shred, it fell right apart. Most importantly, Cort thought it was awesome! 

I made crispy sweet potato fries and some steamed broccoli and cauliflower to go on the side of his sandwich. He topped the pulled pork with BBQ sauce and went back for a second plate of just the pork.

So, if you have a crock pot absolutely try this recipe! It is so simple and apparently very delicious! We have a bunch of visitors coming out this summer so I am looking forward to making this again. 

I had an early dinner before crossfit while Cort was at work so I made myself a big protein shake when we got home. In the blender went my new favorite greek yogurt and almond milk ice cubes, a handful of frozen strawberries, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and a splash of almond milk to get things moving.

 I then put it in the freezer for 20 minutes so that it was as thick as ice cream, YUM! 

A Grilled Summer Meal

Hello!

Cort and I had an awesome weekend. He worked 9 hours every day this week so I know he was excited for a break. Saturday we drove to Newport Beach, just a few miles away from Laguna. I have some relatives in Newport and we had a great time visiting with them. It was 80 degrees and sunny so we spent a few hours on the beach and then went to their pool to cool off. It was such a relaxing afternoon! 

For dinner we went to True Food Kitchen. Cort and I are True Food Kitchen obsessed, we go there pretty much every weekend. And there is a pet store right by the restaurant so I couldn't help it... I had to stop in and obsess over the pups. 

TOO CUTE!! 

 We also grabbed ice cream at our other favorite spot, Sprinkles, after dinner. I got two scoops of red velvet ice cream with hot fudge and homemade whipped cream, it was the bomb. 

Sunday I went for a run in Santa Monica. I only run twice a week, normally 6-7 miles on Wednesday and 10 miles on Sunday. However, the last 10 mile run I went on resulted in my knees seriously aching for the rest of the day so I've been backing off a bit. 

So, Sunday I ran a little over 6 miles and since I shortened the distance I worked on increasing my pace. I would run for 1 minute, sprint 30 seconds, run 30 seconds, sprint 30 seconds, run 2 minutes, sprint 1 minute.... there was really no pattern but it worked for me! I was able to drop my time down from my usual 7:25 min/mile to 7:09 min/mile. 

After my run we drove to William Sonoma to get a stove top grill. I have been dying for one of these. I love my normal baked fish, but there is nothing like a grilled meal, it just screams summer! We found an awesome double burner stove top grill and stopped at Whole Foods to get some food. 

We ended up grilling asparagus, shrimp, and Cort got a steak. He was a happy guy. 

I put lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some type of seasoning I found at Whole Foods on the shrimp. It was AWESOME! I cannot wait to make these again. 

On the side we had mushrooms, tomatoes, and roasted spaghetti squash.

We ended the night watching Game of Thrones. I was a little lost because I just started watching it, but Cort was freaking out like the rest of the world, haha it was pretty intense. 

That's all for now, have a great Monday! 

Fresh and Easy Guacamole

I am a huge fan of avocados. I had a perfectly ripe avocado yesterday and ever since Cort and I ate at this Mexican restaurant on Beverly Blvd a few weeks ago I have been craving guacamole, so that's what I made! 

Fresh and Easy Guacamole 

Ingredients:

-1 Avocado 

-1 handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

-1 can of no sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 

Directions:

-Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mash together

-Enjoy with chips, on a sandwich, or on top of a salad! 

The lime juice made it taste so fresh and the cherry tomatoes really brightened it up, I'm a huge fan!

I had a big spoonful of the guacamole on top of my salad for lunch. For dinner I picked up some shrimp and scallops at Whole Foods and made a healthy stir fry complete with veggies and my favorite paprika cauliflower rice. 

After dinner I was glad to relax and spend some time with Cort. He works pretty much all day so I always look forward to when we are able to just hang and catch up! 

I enjoyed an enormous bowl of my chunky monkey greek yogurt ice cream topped with a new chocolate muffin recipe I am experimenting with, YUM!

I hope everyone is having a great week! 

Strawberry n' Cream Frosty

Happy Memorial Day! 

Today started off with a killer workout. It is tradition in most crossfit gyms to complete "Murph" on Memorial Day, a WOD in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy who was killed in Afghanistan at age 29 in 2005. So, Cort and I went to Brick at 11 this morning to take on the following... 

For time: 

1 mile Run

100 Pull-ups

200 Push-ups

300 Squats

1 mile Run

When we got back, I made myself a quick shake with this awesome new superfood blend I bought at Matthew Kenney's restaurant, MAKE. I love this place, and wrote a post about our amazing dinner there a few months ago. It is called the "Green Dream" and it is a blend of spirulina, maca, tocos, mesquite, hemp powder, chia seeds, and vanilla.  I mixed a scoop of the Green Dream powder with two cups of almond milk. It was delicious! 

So, onto the Strawberries n' Cream Frosty! Last night I was so excited to use these new ice cube trays that Cort got for me. I have been looking for ice cube trays everywhere after seeing this article, so many good ideas! 

 I filled the tray with almond milk and plain greek yogurt. After freezing it for a few hours, I put all of the cubes in a blender with a handful of frozen strawberries and another splash of almond milk, and that's it! 

It was SO thick and creamy, it reminded me of a strawberry frosty from Wendy's! I will definitely be using these almond milk and greek yogurt ice cube for now on, it makes such a difference! 

=)

Home Sweet Home!

Last week Cort and I took the red-eye back home after our last final. It was pretty rough trying to sleep on the plane so we only got about an hour of sleep but Cort was able to surprise his sister and make it to her graduation! Such an awesome picture! Congrats Rachel! =)

My mom picked me up at the airport and I was so anxious to get home and see my girls...

They are too stinkin' cute. 

My mom started a garden early this spring that I heard a lot about but hadn't seen in person yet. I couldn't believe how massive it was! 

She planted kale, butter leaf lettuce, spinach, red leaf lettuce, a variety of herbs, radishes, beets, tomatoes, and snap peas. So you better believe I made myself a fresh salad every day. 

It was so cool to be able to walk outside and pick my own lettuce! I can't wait until I can have my own garden, it's definitely worth the hard work. 

Veggies on veggies on veggies... yummm!

My mom always makes sure to stock up on food when I come home, so I had a lot of my usual favorites as well... oatmeal included. 

I spent lots of time with friends, including an awesome workout at Bob's with Natalie, Jodie, Becca, Cort and the kids. 

=)

I was able to take three Pilates classes with my mom too. I absolutely LOVE Pilates, it feels so good to stretch instead of beating up my body like I normally do. Not to mention it is a crazy good workout for your core. If I could afford it I would absolutely keep it up out here but for now I will just have to sneak in some sessions when I go home. 

We stopped at the mall to get pedicures on the way home from Pilates one of the days, my mom insisted because my toes were looking pretty rough. I decided to give in and be girly for once. 

I also made sure to spend lots of time relaxing by the pool, I'm definitely going to miss my house this summer, it's the best!

And finally, there was lots and lots of snuggle time with the dogs... 

 I'm going to miss them like crazy this summer! Therefore I am 98% sure I am going to adopt my own, but we will see. 

Our flight on the way home was almost 6 hours which wasn't too fun. I was glad I packed us an absurd amount of food. The lady sitting next to me probably thought I was crazy, I kept pulling out more and more food from my bag. I packed us salads that I made with a hard boiled egg, butternut squash, and tomatoes, as well as cut up veggies, apples, grapes, cherries, a pear, kiwis, LARA bars, and trail mix. The only thing we had to eat before going through security was the greek yogurt, but everything else we could bring right through security! It was definitely worth it, because the food they were serving on the plane didn't compare and it was nice to have some fresh food to munch on. 

When we got back, I made a trip to whole foods to stock the fridge, and Cort got to work on putting together more furniture from IKEA (he's the king at that kind of stuff... I just provide support and snacks).

Oh! And I was the lucky winner of NutButterRunner's Nuttzo giveaway. That's right, I had a delicious jar of my absolute obsession, NUTTZO, waiting for me when I got back!

And that's all for now... I am currently working on converting my blog to a new site so hopefully that'll be done soon! Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!