Proof Bakery {Los Angeles, CA}

On the way to the Glendale mall, a friend & I decided to stop by Proof Bakery which we've been hearing about and have been wanting to try for some time now. I love bakeries and seeing how different people make their bakeries their own.

Proof was a little hole in the wall, but simply gorgeous. Admittedly, I arrived 30 minutes before their closing time, so I knew I wouldn't have the greatest selection or the freshest goods... but I was willing to try it anyway. 

There was barely anything left, which says great things about the bakery! I just grabbed an almond croissant to go with an iced tea, while my friend grabbed some gougeres. The gougeres smelled so deliciously cheesy and were so perfectly crispy.


The almond croissant was good, but not as good as the ones I make haha. Although I don't make the croissant dough myself so I'll give them that!

Of course, I got iced tea because I love it so.

Yelp

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The Kitchen {Los Angeles, CA}

People who live in Los Angeles like to eat locally, or at least that's what my best friend tells me. It makes sense though... with all of that horrendous LA traffic, it takes a good 30 minutes just to get from one side of town to the other. With all of the great restaurants around, eating locally doesn't get boring either!

If I were to live in LA though, I just know I wouldn't take the same approach to eating out. I'd travel far and wide to try every new restaurant, trend, scene. When my friend told me about The Kitchen, and it being one of her favorite new eateries in her neighborhood, I was excited to say the least. 

The first time I tried The Kitchen was on New Years Eve. As you might have guessed, for me, it wasn't very memorable. I tried the meatloaf, and to me, meatloaf is a great deal - so if you don't do it right, well I'll be very sad. 


The meatloaf... was just not as exciting as I hoped it to be. But, I decided to give The Kitchen another try, and this time for their brunch! The one thing my friend told me I had to, had to try was their pear pancakes. I was so excited about Pear Pancakes that I attempted to make them before even trying The Kitchen's famous ones themselves.  

Being the gluttons that we are, we both started with some savory breakfast. I opted for the Italian Breakfast Sandwich, which consisted of toasty, soft, fluffy slices of French bread, smothered in marinara, topped with perfectly poached eggs and zippy Parmesan and herbs. Alongside was a mound of country potatoes with sauteed veggies and bacon... and boy was it a mound of bacon... BACON!

As you can see, it was quite the spread. It was hearty and comforting on a warm Saturday morning. I really love how much bacon they gave me though... I hate it when restaurants skimp on things and they sure did not skimp me on any bacon!


My friend opted for the breakfast sandwich (picture all the way at the top). It was served alongside a frisee salad with blue cheese and breakfast potatoes as well. I didn't get to try it, but from the moans I heard across the table, I can deduce it hit the spot as well. 

Lastly, but certainly not least-ly are their utterly fabulous pear pancakes with caramel sauce... caramel sauce ugh!!! Can you believe we ended our meal with pancakes?! As if ginormous plates of meaty carnage weren't enough. But you know me... I can never end a meal without something sweet.


These were so fantastically fluffy and perfect, perfect pancakes. I wish there were more pear but that just made me savor every bit of caramelized pear. Every other part was doused in buttery caramel sauce deliciousness. The caramel sauce, decadent though it was, was perfectly balanced and not too sweet. 

Yelp

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Chewy Matcha Chip Cookies

I did the unthinkable. I still can't believe I did it; something magical, something so beautiful I thought it only existed in dreams. I made matcha chips. Yes, yes I love tea. Blah blah blah, I say it so many times I don't think I need to say it again. I'm always searching for new ways to get tea into my baked goods and people, I have struck the tea-in-baked-goods gold!

I was inspired on a day of boredom to create such goodness. I've recently seen Nutella being made into chips, which of course, I plan on making soon as well - I mean, come on, how could I not? With the last bit of my matcha, I decided to mix it into some melted white chocolate and voila! Matcha chips, literally in 10 minutes. It... could... not... be... simpler! 

Kermit, you were surely wrong. It is very easy being green - especially when you are as lovely as Matcha. I mean come on with that stunning color! Of course, I had to toss these into these a chewy cookie batter and then nom, nom, nom on them as if my life depended on it! Oy vey... such is the life of a baker.


About the matcha chips, I only had 1 tablespoon of matcha powder left, so that's what I added to my melted white chocolate. After they had hardened, and I popped one in my mouth, the matcha flavor was not as distinct as I had wanted them to be, so in the recipe, I upped the amount to 2 tablespoons. Although, after being baked into the cookies, the matcha flavor was a bit more prominent - score! But next time, I still would double the matcha since a "pow" of matcha flavor is highly welcomed.

The cookie dough in all of its wispy, lovely goodness:

A celebration of GREEN!

Chewy Matcha Chip Cookies

Yields: 24 - 30 cookies

Highly adapted from here.

For the cookies

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 tbsn. strong-brewed green tea

2 cups matcha chips

For the matcha chips:

2 cups white chocolate chips

2 tbsn. matcha powder

To make the matcha chips, carefully melt the white chocolate over a double boiler, making sure not to burn it. Once smooth, whisk in the matcha powder until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into 'chips' onto a piece of foil. Allow to harden completely, about 1 hour or you can speed this up in the freezer.

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until very smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and green tea. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the matcha chips carefully. Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, then place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 1 1/2" apart. Use your palm to press them down slightly. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cool completely on a rack.

Tailored Tuesday & Travel

1. paul & joe sister {so navy striped linen scarf}

linen scarves are perfect for those light summer breezes & late summer nights.

2. bally {vivyan leather-trimmed canvas tote}

a tote to carry everything you could ever need.

3. matthew williamson {escape shell-print silk-chiffon dress}

looks like a whole lot of lovely on a summer day.

4. cutler & gross {acetate and metal frame aviator sunglasses}

aviators are a classic, but these are a modern take on it.

5. miu miu {woven leather brogues}

ummm woven brogues?! a must for summer.

6. frederick fekkai {marine summer hair spray}

i love beach hair products for that perfect tousled look. 

7. fuct {ssdd a-3 backpack}

obsessed with backpacks lately, just bought this one. got a deal of course - looove it!

8. yves saint laurent {touche eclat radiant concealer}

i've always wanted to try this but it's a tad expensive! so chic!

9. zimmermann {embellished floral-print triangle bikini}

the colors just scream BEACH!

10. zara {luggage}

impractical to carry but sure is pretty.

11. clinique {dramatically different moisturizer}

i love this moisturizer because it's so light and not too oily.

12. nars {blush in orgasm}

the epic blush to end all blushes! looks awesome on everyone and the name is always a giggle.

13. forever 21 {2-piece gingham hair bow set}

bows make everything cuter.

{abiqua falls, oregon}

waterfall frozen in mid fall? a definite sight to be seen.

{aurora borealis, as seen from ersfjord, norway}

i think anyone who wouldn't want to see aurora borealis must be certifiably insane.

{avenue de baobabs, madagascar}

baobad trees are these trees that grow inflammed because they harbor all of this excess water in their trunks. people might call them fat - i call them beautiful!

{lake louise, canada}

who knew such beauty was hiding in canada?

{the milky way, as seen from Jökulsárlón, Iceland}

you can almost eat the stars they're so bright!

{a morning glory pool, seen at the yellowstone national park}

psychedelicccc!

{16th century bridge, mostar, bosnia & herzegovina}

a small part of me dies whenever i see crystal clear, gorgeously bright blue water.

{mykonos, greece}

if only....

{pamukkale, turkey}

so awesome! imagine sun bathing with your friends, all in your own personal pool!

All images from Pinterest and Net-a-porter.

Images are linked to their sources.

Tranquil Tea Lounge {Fullerton, CA}

There's not a lot of 'new' in Orange County. I mean, of course, there are always tons of new restaurants but it's never really 'new' to me because it's always an old concept, re-done or something that doesn't interest me or excite me much. 

Tranquil Tea Lounge is something that excites me. I've wanted to go here ever since I first heard about it, but never took the time to travel that way. Bad, bad me!

Tranquil Tea Lounge is everything I've ever wanted in a small cafe/ tea house and more. I love tea and the tea selection they have is insane! And not to mention, sooo perfect. The cafe is small and intimate and every detail of the space is perfect and well thought out.


Talking about details, this place serves their tea with great care to the specificity of tea. My favorite part is how you can order any tea hot or cold, which is amazing because to make iced tea, they first have to make it hot, then cool it down - which I really admire them for. When they serve it hot, they set a timer to when they poured the hot water in, then pour it for you at the optimal time. It's amazing.

All of us opted for their Tranquil Trio, which is a fabulous deal consisting of 1/2 sandwich, with either a cup of soup or a small salad plus a tea of your choice, hot or cold for only $8.00. Considering that a tea alone is already $4.00, it's a great deal. I don't recommend bringing your boyfriend or manfriend or male friends here, since they'd probably need 2 - 3 of these but for a girl, it's a great portion.


Below is the roast beef with caesar salad. The roast beef had a spicy jalapeno cream cheese and was delicious! The salad was simple but a good salad nonetheless.

Soup of the day: Vegetable Minestrone!

Below is the mixed green salad with the prosciutto sandwich. The proscuitto was one of my favorites, but then again, I'd love anything with proscuitto in it. The mixed green was simple with some feta and a white tea vinaigrette.

For desert, we opted for the Blueberry Tea Cake which was served warm a la mode. It was amazing! Deliciously moist, and gorgeous to look at too. It's not pictured but the warm lavender-white chocolate scone was soooo good. Super moist and had the perfect balance of lavender, because I hate when it's too floral.

I just love their carafes!

Yelp

Website

Manicure Mondays: Half Moon

Say hello to my new obsession: the 'half-moon' manicure!

It's a throwback to the vintage manicures of the 1940's, brought back by popular demand. Dita Von Teese rocks it all the time and that woman has some serious style. After seeing a tutorial online, I figured it was easy enough for me to do on my own.

And it is! I'm obsessed. This was my first one I had a couple weeks ago, but I've done it at least 3x more in all kinds of color combinations. Seriously, it's my favorite manicure yet!

My attempt at a shabby tutorial:

But if that isn't very helpful, here's a video tutorial:

{What I Used #1}

Base Coat - Sally Hansen Diamond Strength

Base Color - Essie in 'Sew Psyched'

Top Color - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 'Wet Cement'

Top Coat - Seche Vite

{What I Used #2}

Base Coat - Sally Hansen Diamond Strength

Base Color - Essie in 'Sand Tropez'

Top Color - Nicole by OPI in 'Nicole's Nickel'

Top Coat - Seche Vite

This one has been my FAVORITE yet! I love how classic the color combination is yet how gorgeously sparkly and glamorous it is too. Nicole by OPI's 'Nicole's Nickel' has made its way to one of my favorite nail polishes ever! It's sooo pretty - I mean look at the way it sparkles, it's insane.

{What I Used #3}

Base Coat - Sally Hansen Diamond Strength

Base Color - Essie in 'Dive Bar'

Top Color - OPI in 'Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous'

Top Coat - Seche Vite

Green Monster Smoothies

I'm sure I've mentioned before in this little space that I like to call home that my dad has diabetes. For a while, he didn't even know he had it since he's led such an active life to balance out his tendencies towards ice cream and pound cake (often combined -___-). But since then, it's been a constant struggle for him to keep his blood sugar at the appropriate levels. Drastic measures have been taken in the form of daily injections; ick, which I might add: have not been helping whatsoever! I bake a lot of devilish, completely moreish things here at my humble blog, but other times, I really love to dabble in healthy cooking and baking.

I don't believe at all that things that taste good can't be good for you. I've been on a mission lately to find these things and I can say, happily, that I am well on my way to finding great alternatives for my dad. The thing is, he's a picky fella - he refuses to eat leftovers and gets bored easily, which, I must say, is okay by me since I like to reinvent, reinterpret and try new things anyhow. 

But all in all, this is just me saying that there will be a lot more things on this blog rather than decadent sweets. But, again, this is me saying that I will always be committed to delicious food. So if it doesn't taste as good as it is good for you, then it will be sent back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth!

Anyways, onto this green monster smoothie. You've seen it; you might have cringed a bit at the thought of it. It's green and healthy and has spinach in it and has all the signs that tell you to click out of the page and wander off to find a cookie somewhere. This is where I tell you to take a deep breath, allow the thought to cross your mind, and let it settle there. This magical world that we live in has found in its right mind to allow the combination of spinach, orange juice, pear and honey to be something so, so incredibly delicious. Make it, drink it, love it - just like I have been for the past week (and my dad too)!

Green Monster Smoothie

Yields: 2 servings

2 heaping cups of baby spinach leaves

1 ripe bosc pear, cored

1 1/2 cup orange juice 

1 tbsn. honey

In a blender, combine the everything and blend until no large spinach leaves remain and everything is well combined. Add more honey to taste if desired. Serve over ice!


* Option 1: Add a fresh or frozen, ripe banana and forget the honey! The sweetness of the banana is more than enough for the smoothie.


* Option 2: Add 1 - 2 cups of water. Sometimes I like drinking my smoothie more as a juice/ water!