On the move.

moving over to a blogging platform this weekend, see you soon. xoxo - naat.

milk & cookies.

Have you ever had a serious craving hit you when you could do absolutely nothing about it, like when you're in the middle of your work day and all you want is a giant chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk?  I came home a couple of weeks ago and immediately headed into the kitchen to make my favorite gluten free chocolate chip cookies and I've included the recipe below so you can enjoy them too!

• 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour (I swear by Bisquick's GF Mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease cookie sheet

2. Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt)

3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, white sugar and brown sugar.  Add vanilla extract and eggs one at a time (make sure to mix in each egg before adding the next).  

4. Mix wet and dry ingredients, stir in chocolate chips.

5. Place cookies onto sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Approximately half way through cooking time I take a fork to flatten the cookies because I find the gluten free mix fluffs the cookies up more than your standard all purpose flour.

Yields approximately 36 cookies. 

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seeking inspiration.

So I picked up this black number during the final week of the LF sale, but, since I've brought it home I've been stuck on what to wear it with.  I love the way it drapes when I put it on and I can't help but love the buckle detail. I need some inspiration, can I have some of yours?  

long weekends.

I can't believe how quickly the past few weeks have flown by, has it been the same for you? My parents have been visiting since last Friday and we took Monday off to take them wine tasting in Malibu.  We ended up driving up the coast just a little more for a late lunch at Neptune's Net. Can I just say that I wish every Monday could be spent sitting by the ocean with fish tacos, fresh lobster and bottled coke?  We're spending their last weekend here wine tasting, movie watching and vintage shopping (if the weather cooperates on Sunday for the Melrose flea market).  Hope you have a great weekend, xo - natasha.

downtown.

How was your weekend? We spent most of our time downtown this weekend for a birthday celebration and for a concert at the Nokia. Some of my downtown highlights?  Falling in love with the macaroons at Bottega Louie, whisky sours at Seven Grand, and a great tasting menu at Corkbar. 

{image via food exploits}

P.S. Where did last week go? It slipped through my fingers and before I knew it, Friday was here. I missed you!

baby, it's cold outside.

It's supposed to be a chilly, windy and rainy 49 degrees in our neighbourhood this weekend.   I feel the need to stay under the covers with a toque and mittens for weather under 60 (how I survived 20 years of icy Canadian winters, I don't know) so I was ecstatic when my husband suggested we pick out a couple bottles of wine, hop on the couch and stay warm under the blankets for the weekend. 

Whatever your plans, wherever you are ... keep warm!

dinner for two.

Just a simple Tuesday night dinner for two, inspired by Elizabeth Bard.  I had no idea what I wanted for dinner when I stopped by the market after work so I picked up these ingredients intent on making shrimp tacos, spent a few minutes talking to my favorite market friend (I see him on a daily basis, sometimes twice) and headed home. At the last minute I switched out the tortillas for lettuce wrap, and served the dish with a side of Mexican rice. It's definitely a refreshing, tasty dinner that's easy to prepare on a weeknight, I highly recommend it!

btw... I have to admit that I switched out the corn tortillas I originally planned to make in favor of the lettuce wrap because I also made chocolate chip cookies and I wanted as much room as possible to enjoy a couple with a giant glass of milk.  I'm so full now they might have to wait until tomorrow, but at least I was thinking ahead. Right? 

cookie monster.

This is exactly how I feel today, all I want is a delicious cookie (or two) and a giant glass of milk.    Did you see the Muppets on Top Chef last week? Instantly one of my favorite quickfires because I love the Muppets, and as Anthony Bourdain (who I also love) said, it was fun watching "Angry Dale" being challenged by Cookie Monster.

sweet hearts.

I baked these cookies for Valentine's Day, but I'm always in the mood for a little love and sweetness so it's never too late to share these little cuties with you.  I was cooking for a group of preschoolers with a variety of food allergies, so I made these dairy & gluten free cookies using Cherrybrook Kitchen's gluten free sugar cookie mix, rice milk and vegan butter spread.  Using a smaller cookie cutter, I cut out a smaller heart in the middle of the cookie and filled it with a red dough I prepared and let sit for 30-40 minutes beforehand (The colored dough was easier to work with after sitting). I usually don't bake dairy free and I thought the results were pretty spectacular, almost reminiscent of my favorite Pillsbury sugar cookies. The texture was SO similar, you couldn't even tell it was food allergy friendly. I'm definitely going to try this mix again with a classic sugar cookie (including my favorite danish creamery butter, milk and a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top).  

Happy Friday :)

roasted beet salad.

Looking for a quick and simple salad to compliment your dinner?

Wrap 4 small beets in aluminum foil, roast in oven for 45 minutes at 400F. Sprinkle sugar over walnuts in a small skillet, stirring constantly until sugar begins to caramelize. Take beets out of the oven and allow to steam in the foil for 10 minutes before removing skins and slice beets into bite size pieces. Add goat cheese and candied walnuts to taste. 

An extra treat that's always fun? Using a mandoline, slice one of the beets into thin pieces and place at the bottom of the serving dish.

black swan.

I'm seriously tempted by these Alexander McQueen feather sandals I saw on gilt today, they're very black swan. What do you think?

image via gilt

bhldn.

Anthropologie launched their new bridal site BHDLN yesterday, and among the many things I've fallen in love with already (exhibits one, two, three and four), this necklace is on the top of my crush list.  I think I've found a new sweet spot and it makes me want to get married all over again. 

Will you marry me, again?

image via BHLDN

my kinda weekend.

It's always hard to get back into work mode on Monday, don't you agree? Especially after long leisurely weekends that include an impromptu drive up PCH to Neptune's Net for shrimp tacos, late night tapas at Cobras & Matadors, margarita's with a side of movie trivia, lots of time by the beach watching surfers and a couple of deliciously fantastic homemade meals.  It was definitely my kinda weekend, what was the highlight of yours?

happy valentine's :)

whoopie, it's Friday!

A quick post, because I spent way too much time enjoying dipping bread into the white wine sauce from the mussels we had as an appetizer tonight, and now it's time to catch up on some work. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, part of my mine will definitely involve enjoying a great meal (or two) and some quality time with my husband, and trying my hand at these Valentine Whoopie Pies that I found on foodgawker. Happy early Valentine's! xoxo ... naat. 

image via Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

chocolate chip almond biscotti.

Over the weekend I used this recipe for orange flavored biscotti that I found over at Cupcakes & Cashmere. This biscotti brings me back to my childhood, when I would find a Terry's milk chocolate orange in my stocking on Christmas morning, have you ever had one of those?  I loved breaking them open, but the orange & chocolate combination? Not so much.  However, every time I bite into one of these chocolate chip biscotti now, I wonder how it was ever possible to not love this combo!  

Notes:

• I started with 3 cups of Bisquick gluten free baking mix.  The recipe calls for 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, but I find I need to use less of the GF baking mix as a rule, and it's easier to add than take away.
• If you are making this with a GF mix, I would use a small pan and bake one loaf at a time.  The dough tends to spread out more than it's gluten-filled counterpart.
• I added 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter along with the 1 cup of chopped almonds.

new york steak (with a balsamic marinade).

I'm a firm believer that food tastes better when prepared and enjoyed with good friends.  But there was a moment on Friday when I seriously questioned my belief after realizing I had offered to take charge of the main protein for dinner with two of our good friends and the words, "how does New York steak sound?" popped out of my mouth.  What was I thinking? I'd never cooked steak before, yet there I was standing at the butcher's counter reaching for the freshly packaged steaks I had just ordered.   I walked home (I love living that close to the market) wondering, "is it possible that even if a meal is horrible, can good company and a bottle of wine make it better?" After they were finished marinading I said a little prayer to the food gods, poured a glass of wine and hoped for the best.  After a satisfying mussel appetizer and a couple of good-natured jokes about takeout on speed dial, I plated the finished steaks and we sat down to eat the main course.  Whether it was the company or beginner's luck, the steaks were amazing (prepared medium) with fresh greens and a spicy shrimp & scallop ceviche.  Since we had leftover salad, yesterday I pan seared a tilapia fillet, added it to the tomato and asparagus greens and enjoyed a light post-workout lunch.  What do you do with leftovers after a big meal?

Some other highlights from the weekend? A horror movie marathon on Saturday (Dawn of the Dead and the 2004 remake of Nightmare on Elm St.), a new episode of Big Love, Spanish coffee at Urth and homemade chocolate chip biscotti (pics tomorrow). 

BTW... For the steak marinade I placed a small shallot, 5 cloves of garlic, soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar into a blender and blended on medium for 15-20 seconds.  I eyeballed the liquid ingredients and used about a 1/4 cup of melted butter to start.  As I blended the ingredients, I added more of the soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar as necessary for taste and texture.

t.g.i.f.

via Valley & Co.

Is it just me, or does this look ah-maz-ing? I spent some time perusing Food Gawker tonight and I'm currently debating which of these three recipes I want to make this weekend:

Cookie + Kate's Chocolate Macaroons

Smitten Kitchen's Almond Biscotti (dipped in chocolate)

Phodography's Chocolate Brioche

I need something to balance out all this chocolaty goodness, so I might try my hand at a lemon dessert as well (maybe a tart or a macaron). Check back on Monday to see what I came up with!


What are your plans for the weekend? 

blue & white.

While we were enjoying a rainy bike ride up PCH Sunday morning (above), my parents were waking up to the icicles left behind by the latest snow storm (below). I love how the color palettes in both pictures are so similar, despite the fact they were taken on opposite coasts in drastically different climates. I wouldn't mind waking up one morning to 30cm of snow, because you know what that means ... snow day! I am long overdue, by about 6 years, I wonder what my boss would say if I called out for a snow day tomorrow... 

soup on demand.

Every time I tell you about Wahoo's chicken tortilla soup, I can barely stay awake long enough to finish the soup let alone take a picture. I'm telling you, this tortilla soup is what you need if you have a cold/flu/allergies/rainy day blues/extra time on a Sunday to lounge around. On Sunday afternoon I was still recovering from our morning bike ride up PCH, so I took advantage of the rainy weather, went to Wahoo's for a cup of soup and ordered Sex and the City 2 on demand. Sadly, I was disappointed in the movie but the soup was wonderful (as always).  For those of you who don't live near a Wahoo's, I'll post my homemade version of the soup later this week.

btw... This is the blanket I mentioned here, I love the funky details on the blanket like the little gold buttons you see here.

la vie en rose.

As some one who's response to everything hard to find is, "let me Google it", I was challenged this weekend over a dirty martini and a glass of red cab to physically locating an Edith Piaf vinyl album somewhere in L.A. instead of clicking the "buy-it-now" button that delivers the album right to my door.  It all came about as I was telling my husband how much I want to bring home a vintage record player to listen to some of my favorite classic music.  If I can find an Edith Piaf album, my husband will personally bring home the vintage record player (I'm up for the challenge!). I was planning to visit the flea market at Fairfax High yesterday to jump start my search but the rain got in the way and I was happy to lounge around the house instead.  For those of you in L.A., where would you go if you were looking for vintage vinyl albums?

Is it just me, or do some vinyl albums transport you to the time and place they were created as soon as you put the needle down?  I wouldn't mind spending some time in 1940's France with Edith, or in Johnny Cash's 1950's Tennessee.

recycled vintage blankets.

via anthropologie

We picked up a red/beige/orange version of this blanket from Anthropologie just before the holidays and I wish they were still carrying it because I would definitely get another. It's perfect for the days you finally accept that you're still sick and the heaping pile of laundry should wait for another day. Yesterday was definitely one of those days for me and while I was debating whether I should go to the market or call for take-out, I was curled up this comfy blanket perusing gilt and rue la la, hoping dinner would magically appear while I distracted myself with Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs.   It didn't happen quite that way, but I did receive a text from my husband saying he wasn't feeling well either and was coming home early.  Any thought of making dinner went out the window and it was decided that we we're ordering chicken tortilla soup, perfect.  Is it bad that I was secretly happy he wasn't feeling well either so we could indulge in soup, some quality time on the couch and I wouldn't have to make dinner? Luckily we're feeling much better today and I think I'm finally on the mend.  Fingers crossed, xx.

P.S. Look at this throw, isn't it lovely?

wedding gowns.

As much as I love the over-the-top fabulousness of Carrie's Vivienne Westwood gown, I'm even more in love with the gorgeous skirt and jacket ensemble Carrie paired with the blue Manolo Blahnik's for her afternoon city-hall wedding. Her outfit reminds me of the pretty yellow dress with tulips that I wore one early Friday morning in April when I married my best friend. I'd love to show you a picture, but in the midst of the day we completely forgot to take one.  Luckily I was able to find an old bookmark for the dress on Anthropologie and you can always check out more pictures from our second ceremony here.

via Anthropologie

I came home from work today remembering Sex and The City was waiting on my DVR, so I threw down my bag, hopped on the couch and hit play. The gorgeous Vivenne Westwood wedding gown Carrie wears in the movie always reminds me of her fabulous Parisian wardrobe from the series finale. Maybe it's the fact that I'm still reading Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes and I have Paris on my mind, but I have the sudden urge to slip into something tres chic, open my book to the pâtes aux petits pots, roquette, et fromage de chèvre recipe (pasta with fresh peas, arugula & goat cheese) and cook a fabulous dinner worthy of the first meal using the new pot and pan set we purchased over the weekend.  Want to dress like a fabulous French woman? Check out this interview with garance dore over at A Cup of JO. 

sealed with a kiss.

Cheap Monday

I came across these necklaces after catching up on The Daybook the last week. I love the edgier look of the Cheap Monday version but think I'm leaning towards this softer gold version from Anirtak on Etsy.  If you were leaving a note for some one special in a cute necklace like this, what would you say?

Anirtak - Secret Love Letters

meet me in paris.

I finally got my hands on a copy of Elizabeth Bard's "Lunch in Paris" and I haven't been able to put it down since it arrived on my doorstep.  I already have several recipes dog-eared and I'm not even halfway through the book, and I have big plans to create my own "student" charlotte this weekend.  If you don't hear from me for a few days, I may have run off to Paris because nothing sounds better than enjoying a forbidden pastry from a delightful little Parisian boulangerie.

oui, mon cherie.

Oui to watching horror flicks, pushing my buttons, tickling my feet, making me laugh and everything in between.  

What does this pretty ring from Dior make you want to say "oui" to?

hello, lover.

I've been lusting after these Christian Louboutin's with the pink chiffon cascade since the very first time Carrie laid eyes on them and declared, "hello, lover." If you ever find them in a US 7, you must let me know.

chicken soup.

You know when you wake up with a raspy voice and before you know it your whole body hurts and you can no long deny that you're sick? I had a long list of things to do this week, but since Wednesday the only thing I've managed to do is sleep through some of my favorite shows and very little at night.  It's supposed to reach a warm 80 degrees here in LA this weekend, and I'm hoping the warm weather will cure my chills and chase away my cough.  See you on Monday, xoxo.

paper-bag princess.

via the sartorialist

I bought a pair of similar paperbag pants from Anthropologie last month, but I've been having a hard time styling them given the chilly weather. I think I've found my inspiration!

boot crush.

Marc by Marc Jacobs - Five Buckled Boot

Do these boots look familiar?  A few weeks ago I wrote about their black, high heeled fraternal twin and shortly after that I fell in love with this version.  I was more than happy to have them for my birthday, and even happier that I was allowed to wear them a couple days early.  Today I threw them on for the two block walk to the nail salon since it was freezing outside (by L.A. standards), even though I inevitably had to walk home in a pair of flips (and that walk turned into a light jog by the time I reached our parking alley). What do you think, aren't they fun? 

la cocina.

I hope the dear friend who gave me this adorable apron and fun measuring cups for my birthday knows this means she's going to spend a lot more time in the kitchen with me this year!  What would you like to make first?

new year, new job.

Remember all that good news I was telling you about last month? Well, today I officially begin my new job (in the same field) and I couldn't be more excited.  Things I'll definitely miss about my old job? All the great kids (like the one who drew this picture for me) and the cute things they said on my last day (like the one who kissed my cheek and informed me that I was to never wash that cheek, ever again). 

mt. wilson: after the rain.

 

I couldn't wait until Monday to share these pictures with you and tell you that you must go to Mt. Wilson as soon as you can.  We went off the beaten path, climbed into old kiln and hopped across a few rocks to the other side of the creek.  You might want to bring waterproof hiking boots so your socks don't meet the same fate as mine after I misjudged how deep (and cold) the water was when jumping from rock to rock. It's so beautiful after the rain.  Enjoy, xoxo.

happy birthday, mom :)

I hope you laugh/smile/giggle as much today as you did in this picture ... xoxo

Welcome to ...

The Twilight Zone .... My favorite episode so far? The Monster's are Due on Maple Street.