MIMM: Indulge (pizza, wine, sushi, sweets galore)

Friday night dinner plans were cancelled so I made new ones. I spent an hour making a list and must say, I'm super accommodating because in the end, my friend wanted pizza/pasta and we just went to Mama D's Italian Kitchen in Newport Beach. I love pizza but just had it, and I just don't like pasta... yeah, call me weird!

I ate 2 slices of this MARVELOUS small meatball, pineapple, & tomato pizza. My family ate the leftovers. My tummy felt uneasy after though. :(

Saturday, Julie and I were ready for the big day: Indulge L.A.

Julie squared - I'm on the right.

There was more MARVELOUS wine, champagne, and liquor than chocolate...

There might have been more savory than sweet too! Sushi?

Turkey meatloaf in a bao?

Valrhona chocolates, truffles, Breadbar, and the best of the day: MARVELOUS Dirty Tequila (cinnamon and pineapple infused tequila) margaritas! They hooked us up with several drinks!

We spent 3 hours there and then noticed that Clementine was across the street. Like we needed more sweets...

Joy the Baker introduced this bakery in Bonkers Awesome so I had to go!

I picked up a chocolate chip cookie to try.

Our day was not over. It was barely 5 PM so we started driving home and stopped in Long Beach. I planned to take her to The Federal Bar (again!), but it was booked for a holiday party. We should have said we were part of the company/our "boyfriends/husbands" were waiting for us.

Instead, we walked up and down the area until we ended up at District Wine. The area around District Wine is much more artsy - there was a crafts fair that evening and a cute coffee shop. All day, we didn't eat a real meal so we had [more] wine and shared a tapas of 3 meatballs. So much for real food!

(source)

I slept in on Sunday, did very little yoga, and started baking eggnog thumbprint cookies!*

*The frosting has rum!

I headed to a Meetup group cookie exchange. I had a coconut macaroon from Blackmarket Bakery, a glass of white wine, and played Apples to Apples with some great ladies.

For lunch, my aunt (thanks!) picked me up MARVELOUS healthy roll from Full Moon sushi.

Tuna, salmon, white fish, and crab wrapped in soy paper. I want some more!

I got some MARVELOUS packages in the mail. I love snail mail and can't wait to share what I got!

I spent my evening on homework finally and writing MARVELOUS cards to send this week.

Did you finish your holiday cards?
Did you get cards done? I bought these last year at Target on clearance!

Friday Five Favorites: I GET to live and love life.

 

Five reasons this week was great

1.  Getting homework done (again!). I even got reprimanded for turning my homework in too early. Sorry but these one per month classes go by too fast and I get too anxious turning in work too close to the deadline.

2. Mug cakes for breakfast (and at night). Easy and filling.

3. Midday coffee run for my co-workers and getting out of work at 12:30. :)

4. Discovering "Family Tree." Chris O'Dowd, will you marry me? I know, he's not "hot," but watch him! Have you seen "Moone Boy" or "The I.T. Crowd?"

5. Meeting these 4 silly boys. Long story short, they asked if I would take them with me wherever I go. :)

Five crafts

1. DIY nail polish storage made from a shoe box and the gift wrap paper I purchased for the holidays (and beyond).

2. Gingerbread house! Check one off my "December to Remember" list!

I picked the Dancing Deer kit for $13.99. Lots of extra frosting and cookies - you build around the box.

 

My cousin helped decorate it.

 

I did the top two.

3. I could make this myself. I love ya Yancey!

4. Someone invite me to an ugly sweater party!

5. My friend says it's cold out. I suggested this:

Five recipes

1.  Pumpkin pie cheese & crackers were served at the holiday baking party.

2. Holiday stout gingerbread

3. After making pumpkin whoopie pies, I want to make some gingerbread whoopie pies with lemon cream cheese. Whoopie pies are my speciality. :)

4. Sweet potato fritters with yogurt chive dipping sauce

5. Cranberry pinot noir meatballs

BONUS: If you haven't seen this... Joy, you're killing us: Gingerbread Speculoos & Dark Chocolate Cake!

Five workouts

1. Sandbag here and here with my makeshift bag filled with clothes and some weights.

2. Resistance band workouts are all over the place including here.

3. Stability ball, which I haven't done yet but is on the schedule for tomorrow.

4. Walking every night because I don't have to plan and I did all my homework during the day!

5. Dancing - easy Latin and Bollywood.

Five links

1. When did Fullerton become one of the prettiest towns? I may have to revisit during the day...

2. 33 clever Christmas food hacks that are easy and ingenious!

3. How it would look if all humans were bodybuilders

4. 15 reasons why Costco is simply the best

5. I don't have to do anything. I get to workout. I get to go to work. This post seriously changed my life.

Five exciting events

1. Holiday baking party at work. My group make pumpkin whoopie pies and French chocolate truffles.

2. Peter's [surprise] birthday dinner tonight. It'll be a drive for some shabu - I'll explain what that is later... I should get him something though.

3. Indulge L.A. with my friend Julie. I heard there's so much sugar (and drinks) that it's impossible. We'll see about that.

4. Resolution Run, but I'm still not sure if I'm running it or volunteering. Have I told you how much I hate running and I've only ever run one 5K... and I had to train for it?

5. Holiday baking exchange with a Meetup group I joined. It's 20-somethings reading books. I'm thinking about making eggnog thumbprints, but please GIVE ME IDEAS!

Your turn:
What's your go-to cookie recipe?
What's your favorite cookie?

My first Treat Yourself Tuesday

This is my first ever Treat Yourself Tuesday post! Thanks Becky for hosting - she also inspired this more fashion-centered post.

NEW ANIMAL PRINT FLATS I definitely needed some new all-purpose flats - my old ones from Aldo were 5 years old! I don't have a full-length mirror...

CLARKS MOCASSINS Mom bought them at Ross for just $12.99. They're stuck on my feet; I even want to wear them into bed.

Trader Joe's CHEESE TRAY is only $4.99!

It went perfect with my new nightly habit of WINE and wrapping presents/stocking stuffers.

I picked up these 2 wrapping papers from Marshalls. I decided to get multi seasonal prints.

Plus, I wanted to make The Beauty Department's DIY Nail Polish Storage. :)

Any cool craft ideas?
How did you treat yourself?

Holiday Gift Guide [for me]

Happy Thursday!

Okay, it's actually late Wednesday evening... almost bedtime since I have to be up early. I'm writing notes for this PowerPoint the teacher left me to present. One word: overachiever.

I picked up an extra class tomorrow too (more $ for the holidays) and am going to bake cookies with the staff after school (in an attempt to be more involved and known).

Did you know that yesterday was Santa's List Day? I took this advice and watched a holiday film. I watched a ton of holiday movies in October so I went with a non-traditional film, "Bridget Jones' Diary."

I also put on "Drinking Buddies" while doing homework. Sadly, it wasn't good for the great actors in it.

My plans to drive to Santa Monica to practice yoga with Dice Iida-Klein, walk the Santa Monica stairs, and have dinner there just didn't happen. I ended up staying at school chatting with co-workers and staff for another hour.

No nap either. I tried but got my workout on and walked around outside. I then trucked along with my assignments for this class. There's a lot of it, but I'm fortunate enough to do it during work.

Alright, onto this post: I've seen a lot of gift guides. This is kind of like a gift guide, but it's really my wish list.

New Balance WX20v3 are the only shoes that don't hurt my feet. I've used my old ones for hiking.

ASICS Gel-Sustain TR

Onitsuka Tiger are my favorite, and they last forever even in the washer.

Saucony Bullet are a great casual shoe.

I love the colors of this Ikea flask ($7.99). I don't need it, but it's retro!


It's about time to replace my Life Factory water bottle after 2+ years!

When I lived in Asheville, I took a couple of Bhangra classes. Not much is available around here, but I spent a Saturday morning on Doonya's YouTube video. I love the music!

I want a kettlebell and am into this one-equipment trend.

A good set of adjustable dumbbells would be lovely too. :)

And after that pain, a foam roller.

I definitely need a car charger. This should be #1 on my list.

Blend Retreat 2014

(photo from Me & the Mountains)

Maybe IFBC 2014 - the only thing stopping me is a cheap place to stay. I want to visit Seattle!

What's on your wish list?