The best pie in Los Angeles

I think the picture says it all. But to explain.. above is banana cream pie from The Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. It's so perfect it makes me want to go in to some kind of meditative state. We even catered it to our wedding. It's got the perfect mix of creamy custard, whipped cream, fresh banana, and flaky crust. The restaurant is a treat too, unchanged (besides the prices) since the 1940s when it opened. It's definitely an atmosphere to take in. I hope you get to enjoy it one day if you ever visit, or just get around to it if you're a local!

(photo via The Eaten Path).

16.5 weeks (last week)

Here I am at my aunt's house last week with my first "pregnant photo". I can't tell if I look pregnant or bloated, but we all know the truth. I'm really feeling the difference in my body now, and I think this coming month is going to bring that "oh, you're pregnant!" look. On Tuesday, I'm already entering my 5th month! Time flies when you're having fun, drinking only 1 cup of coffee a day, and not drinking! ;)

Dreams of Italy

Emily, the woman behind Cupcakes and Cashmere, recently blogged a post from her honeymoon in Rome. It makes me want to transport there, eat gelato, and roam the gorgeous cobblestone streets. I've been to Italy, but only for a few days. I never made it to Venice, Italy, but I've heard its amazing and I've got my heart set on visiting there next time. Given that Zac is (partially) Italian, like my 25% self, I would love to go there with him one day. So romantic.

Have you ever been to Italy? What was you're favorite part of the experience?

(photo via Cupcakes and Cashmere)

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Today, that guy (above), turns 30! The big 3-0. I'm excited for him because we're having a party at our house that is LUAU themed! (he picked the theme when presented with the options, just to be clear).. I can't wait to serve (not drink) fruity cocktails, eat Hawaiian BBQ, and celebrate such a sweet occasion with friends.

Do you remember what you did for your 30th birthday? Or, if you're not there yet, how do you feel about getting older? I like to say, we just keep getting better ;)

Happy birthday my sweet husband! Here's to the next 30 years.

Motivation

I seem to have lost my motivation. But where the hell did it go?!

Usually I'm pretty good with this sort of thing. I wrote one of my college application essays on motivation and having a sort of competition with myself or my friends that always pushed me to do my best. But lately, I've been feeling a cloud over my head saying "study" (for my licensure exam), but haven't had the umph to get it done like I need to. So as a person in need of a kick in the pants.. what do you do to get yourself going? Structure? Rewards? Schedules? Or just that little voice in the back of your head that makes you feel guilty if you don't do it? Or maybe I'm too hard on myself? No, that's not it!

Help!

(comic credit unknown, unless you can read the tiny signature at the bottom!)

Are you a hat person?

How cute and effortless and hippie is this hat? Would you wear it?

I'd try it out. I think the bangs really make the look though. Find it here, on Etsy!

on the road again

What are you up to this weekend? Zac and I are heading out to Las Vegas to celebrate his and his dad's birthday with his family. In honor of their special days (and Zac getting a gift card from work), we're going to see Cirque Du Soleil!

I'm way excited. I hear "O" is one of the best, which is the one we're going to see, and I haven't seen a Cirque show since I was a kid, with my dad. Zac recently saw the Love show, and highly recommends it too. So here's to a fun weekend everybody!

Do you ever shop Etsy?

Today I got an email from one of those companies that you forget how they ever got your email address in the first place. They sell the most beautiful jewelry. Unfortunately, it's way out of my price range. But inspired by the beautiful jewelry, I started searching for a cute necklace that I could then email to Zac (I know..) in hopes that maybe it would magically end up on my neck ;)

I found the beautiful necklace above for only $18 on Etsy! Now that's my kind of price range! Do you like it? Have any good go-to jewelry shops? I find that Etsy is great for this kind of shopping, lots of affordable, handmade, and unique options out there!

Hope this Wednesday is turning out to be as lovely as you are!

Do you wear heels?

Helllo wild berry pumps! Could you ever see yourself wearing them? They're from J Crew, and they also come in a burnt sienna color that is toned down but equally as beautiful. I was in Macys the other day and tried to convince my friend Kim to try on some pink heels. I think I just wanted to try them on but couldn't justify the splurge. She refused! She said there was no way she would rock those. But I disagree. I think some statement shoes like these can add panché to any neutral outfit, and obviously dress it up a notch.

So do you wear heels? Only on special occasions? To the office? Or never? I wear them when I feel like dressing up for a nice dinner out with Zac or a party/ special occasion. And when I know I won't be walking too much...

Pretty Things

I love my mom's story about the advice she got from her dad about being pregnant: always remember to look at pretty things. So that's my goal for this adventure. There's so much beauty in the world, but sometimes it's easy to get distracted. All I want to do for the next 5 and a half months is to look at all the pretty things. I think my little Apple will somehow see it too, no?

What are your go-to pretty things? I think mine are nature, my dog Brewster, and the stars (which is kinda like nature again).

(photo via crunch post)

baby heart beat

Last week, I heard our baby's little heart beat for the first time!

People kept asking me if I had heard the heart beat yet, before I had. And I have to say, it's surreal. Although, I think the sonogram got me even more. To see the little profile of something that looks like a baby growing inside of you (!), yes surreal.

So this all happened during my first visit without Zac. Poor guy missed out. But it was like a surprise! I whispered to the doctor while I was waiting to hear the little beat, "my husband's going to be so sad he missed this!". But there'll be lots more for him to hear and see in the coming visits. Next visit, we'll find out, boy or girl! Any guesses??

(photo credit unknown)

You, in Malibu?

Can you imagine spending the night at an ocean front property in Malibu? Have you done that before? I remember visiting my high school boyfriend's aunt's house who lived in Malibu, and damn, what a view. The back wall was like one big sliding glass door to the sea!

Today I thought I'd share with you an amazing get away spot if you're ever in town and want to be luxurious. Or, if you live in LA, like me, try this as a 'staycation' option for a special occasion. Zac and I stayed at the Malibu Beach Inn for our 1 year anniversary in October, and it exceeded my expectations. Our room had a balcony overlooking the ocean, they have a private beach with lounge chairs, and the restaurant at the hotel is amazing!

And we booked through Jetsetter (as linked above) and saved a few bucks. If you're budget conscious I would recommend waiting and trying to book for Fall as it is not as expensive, and let's face it, LA weather can accommodate beach season year round.

When was the last time you splurged?

(photo of Malibu Beach Inn King Beach Suite).

Austin and NOLA

As promised, I did my best to take a few pictures of our kick ass southern vacation. We had lots of fun (even without me drinking a sip of liquor!), and saw lots of things, but mainly, we ate A LOT! So hopefully you can get a taste of our adventure below...

First up, we got to zoom around the interstates of Texas in a BRAND NEW Fiat! I loved it, we named her FiFi.

While in Austin, we went to Barton Springs, a natural spring the size of at least 2 Olympic swimming pools! I know it looks cold out, but it was warm and humid. Although, the water was CHILLY, we got in (slowly!). This day was my favorite.

That is the face of a man who just ate some REALLY good BBQ. At Stiles Switch in Austin.

Where do you think the first place I wanted to go in New Orleans was? Cafe Du Monde of course! We went twice in total. The second time we took shelter there during a thunderstorm on our way to the Finals NCAA game, and there was a blackout! It probably lasted about 15 minutes, but it was eerie! (and kinda fun..)

This is what you look like when trying to consume mounds of powdered sugar..

How amazing does this look!? New Orleans is known for it's crawfish, and I have to say this meal was my favorite. We went to a little place called Somethin Else Cafe in the French Quarter. Highly recommended!

One day we went on a Plantation Tour to get a taste of the 'South' and visited two old sugar plantations, one known for its 300 year old oak trees lining the entry way for a 1/4 mile! It was so beautiful. They do weddings, can you imagine!

And of course, we went to the basketball games- the whole reason for the trip! It was fun watching Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio St. and Louisville duke it out for the title, but I do admit, it would have been nice to see Loyola Marymount or UCLA in there! (Don't you love how high up our seats are!?)

I have more pictures, but I would just recommend you go see these cities yourself! They are impressive. And I really don't think my pictures do Austin justice- I was so surprised by how beautiful the city is! And the Texas country side was breathtaking as well. New Orleans was definitely more of a 'swamp' if you will, but that's to be expected. I was surprised to find Austin to be more my kind of town, but if you're into partying it up, New Orleans is the place to be. The live music there was amazing, and my favorite parts were exploring the less touristy side of the area, checking out Frenchman Street and some areas of Marigny.

So here's to exploring new places! And to coming home, because there's nothing like that feeling of sleeping in your own bed again.

Disappointment

You know that feeling where you find out something so disappointing that you are kind of in shock? I don't know how else to put it. I'm sure we all react differently. Like when you get a ticket or find out you missed a deadline for something you really care about. Well, I think my shock turns into sadness/ disappointment mixed with some anger (partially at myself, and partially at usually the 'thing' that caused the heartache).

Maybe this is all a little too cryptic. Basically, I'm upset because of a mailing error. I'm trying to get approved to take an exam to become a licensed clinical social worker.. but that means I must go through the state licensing board to do this, which isn't always the smoothest. Long story short, the letter got lost in the mail. On top of that, they are having me resubmit documents due to technicalities (can you sense my rage?).

I bring this up because when things like this happen to me, I think I feel frozen. Like, ineffective. As in what I've done so far hasn't worked- so what in the world can I do now to make it better? Or, GEEZ, this takes up so much of my energy, time, and emotions, I don't know if I can do this all again today! It's just hard for me. Does this make any sense? I hope I'm not alone.

So I thought I'd bring it up here. Partially to help me cope with my feelings and be able to get the drive to fix everything, partially just to reach out and see if there's anyone else like me, and to verify that, it's okay NOT to be perfect.

(photo credit unknown)

How OCD are you?

With this extra time on my hands this week, I have created a list of things "to do" that is roughly one mile long. One of them is to organize the guest room closet. Currently, it is a disaster. Tomorrow, this is what I would like it to look like:

(the cute clothes wouldn't hurt either).

Any organizing tips? Are you good at this sort of thing? I'm pretty good at keeping things neat and in their place, but I'm no wizard and it's especially tough to make organization look this stylish for me. Would love any tips you have to offer for my venture into Spring cleaning and organizing.

Apartment Therapy had a great tip on using umbrella stands for odd pieces like yoga mats. I liked that one.

(photo via The Container Store).

Beautiful day for 'blading

Today, in honor of only having to work 1 day this week (and only a half day at that!), my really fun friend Kimmy and I went rollerblading. It's not often I wear a sweater blading, but the windchill kicked up the cold a notch! It ended up being a beautiful day, perfect for rollerblading on the beach. Can't wait to do it again!

Do you rollerblade? Or skate? Or maybe ice skate? Ice skating is fun, but I think I'm more of a bike path kind of girl.

Green thumbs

I find it semi-embarrassing to tell you that I am pretty much incapable of keeping a plant alive and healthy. I mean, maybe if you paid me, I would be able to come over and water your plants while you were out of town. But there is no way I have the ability to keep a plant of my very own alive without serious incentive or constant reminder. I guess this is ok. I mean, not everyone is a "green thumb". But I can scientifically say that this trait does not run in families. My mom is a fabulous green thumb. She even tries to come over and save the plants that I have relentlessly neglected. Which is strange, because otherwise, I am a very caring a thoughtful person. Just apparently not to things that don't speak or have a pulse.

So that's it. Any tips on how to be better at it? Remember, tips for a hopeless person who probably won't do them... I just wish I could be one of those people with a beautiful garden! At least I can handle flowers, those are expected to die after a few days. How morbid, right!?

Anyway, are you a 'green thumb'?? I hope so, there should be more splendid people like you in the world to keep apartments green and homes smelling like Christmas year round! :)

(They say succulents are easy to keep, maybe I could handle that? The above picture is via picable).

Sunday Morning Coffee

Are you a coffee drinker? Well, let me tell you, I am! And with this whole pregnancy thing, I've really had to take an inventory and scale back on my caffeine intake. My girl friend, with an equally amorous relationship with coffee as myself, asked me "how do you do it!?" (limit my coffee intake that is, as if that is the most difficult point in pregnancy- which, let me say, she wasn't far off). I told her, it's amazing what you learn to sacrifice when you have to. But all that to say, I'm still having my doctor approved cup a day. I will not give that up! Moderation.

So in tribute to my beloved beverage. What's your favorite coffee shop? Or coffee drink? I'd have to say, mine is a medium, nonfat, vanilla latte from Peet's. Yes.

Other good places to grab a good cup of coffee in L.A.:
Urth Caffe, for an insanely delicious Spanish latte.
Groundwork, for the strongest ice coffee you'll ever have!
Diners... (don't they usually have the best anyway?)

(photo via Small Kitchen College).

Bethenny

Do you ever watch Bethenny Ever After on Bravo? I have to say that it is one of my guilty, or maybe even not so guilty, pleasures. I'm not big on reality shows, but she cracks me up, and it's nice to see a career driven woman on TV. I think she probably is too hard on herself for wanting to do it all/ have it all, because really, who wouldn't want it all? I just don't think I could do it all without a lazy weekend thrown around in there very often.

Dad-isms

Lately I've been quoting my dad a lot. It's strange, I've had a hard time posting about my dad on public forums like Facebook and the like, but I think I consider this place more private and personal in some way- although I hope more people end up reading this than any of my silly status updates.

I wanted to talk about my dad today for a few reasons. One, he was the best dad in the whole world. And two, I'm trying to find a way to honor him on this very sad day for me, the one that marks the day he passed away 7 years ago.

So I thought I'd share his humor with you. Since I think that was one of the best parts of him. My dad knew how to make people laugh without trying, but it's funny how the silly things are the things you remember. Like how he used to say to me, "You're a good kid, but who likes goats?", or whenever I said "I'm thirsty", he'd say "I'm Friday". And when he really had to pee, he'd say his back teeth were floating! That one is particularly gross, huh? He never got tired of those. They still make me chuckle.

I think those sayings will always be my 'dad-isms' if you will. Does your mom or dad have funny little sayings like that? Or is there something funny about them that just makes them "them"? My mom still talks about how she remembers how much her dad hated sticky things, and as kids, her sister would run around threatening to smear her syrupy hands on him! Isn't that the best? The silly things always seem to be the best. So here's to you, dad. Miss you.

(photo of my mom, me, and my dad at an LMU basketball game)

Announcement!

Ah hem...
We're pregnant!! I wanted to have some smooth and creative way to make such an amazing announcement, but I have found that I am pretty much only able to blurt it out! I'm just about 14 weeks now, and let me say, I'm over the moon and in shock at the same time, if that's possible.

I do this thing where I call the baby whatever fruit it corresponds to in the prenatal size charts for that given week (it's kind of random, but cool). So this week it's going to be my little lemon! (last week it was our little peach). I can hardly believe it. It's so exciting. My father-in-law asked if we felt "ready", and I said no! But I think we will be by the time the little pumpkin arrives, that's why we have 6 more months to prepare, right?

So, here's to life, and making more of it. Cheers!!!

(photo via The Bump).