Week 2 out of 12

This week went by so fast. I'm learning SO much! I feel fortunate to have found something I love to do as a profession. On another note, I miss my classmates =(. It feels strange not having seen them for several weeks. 

Mark Rothko

I love me some Mark Rothko. One of my favorite things to do is to sit silently in front of a Rothko for 10 minutes. I get absorbed into the painting, the color, the scale and everything else doesn't matter in that moment. Art is a tricky thing...it's subjective. For example, my husband finds Judy Fox sculptures that I posted about weird and gross. I find them beautiful and interesting. Some think Mark Rothko's paintings are easy to do. They say, "anyone can do them, just give me some paint and a canvas". I think he's a genius and a master color theorist.

On another note, I started my internship this week. I knew I would be tired, but I didn't realize just how tired I would be. I just need to get used to waking up at 5:30am and being on my feet all day. Aside from my calves getting a workout my brain is pumping some major iron as well. I am trying to soak in everything I can. Honestly, I am really enjoying my internship. I enjoy being with the other interns, observing/learning from my CI and interacting pts.

9.11.2001

It was going to be my first day of class at Art Center College of Design. As I am walking downstairs to head out the door I hear my mom say, "oh my god, oh my god". I go back up to see if she's okay. I see my parents glued to the T.V. and I ask them what's going on. I then  see the footage and for a second think that my parents are watching a movie only to realize it wasn't. As each second goes by I am becoming more shocked, sad and scared, especially when I see footage of  people jumping out of World Trade Center. When I went to school there were school personnel motioning us to turn around to go home. I don't think anyone would have been able to concentrate that day. The world was in a state of shock. In the following days after 9.11, I remember watching the news whenever I could to see if the firefighters were able to rescue people from the rubble.

I think a lot of people remember what they were doing moments leading up to finding out. It's been 10 years since 9.11. It's amazing how resilient humans are and how brave we can be in the face of such tragedy. My prayer goes out to friends and families lost.

2 years

In Paris 2 years ago I saw jazz shoes that I was dying to get however, the price tag was too much for me to handle. I left Paris hoping that I would come across a pair of Oxford/jazz flats that would make my heart skip a beat. Yesterday after 2 years of looking and waiting I finally found the one.

getting back on track

Having visitors can totally throw me off the healthy track. I want to cook them breakfast, lunch and dinner and take them to best eats in town that are usually not conducive to a healthy diet. This visitor has stayed with us for 1 1/2 months and she'll be leaving in 2 days. Although I'm sad to send her back home, I'm really looking forward to eating clean and shedding the extra padding I've put on since she's been here. 

To keep me on track, here are some things I plan to implement:

1. start off the day with a healthy breakfast
2. hit the gym 5 times a week ,an hour each session
3. reduce carb intake
4. don't eat past 6pm
5. eat out only once a week
6. take multivitamin every day

My goal by the end of September is to be 8 lbs lighter.

Son of a Gun

shrimp toast

avocado lettuce salad with green goddess dressing

Lobster roll (it was very small)

highlight dish of the night, fried chicken sandwich

scallop tortellini

Decided to try Son of a Gun after reading about it in Bon Appetit. I love Animal so I had a feeling I would like Son of a Gun too. I wish portions were larger and prices were lower, but other than that I loved pretty much everything we ordered. I like how they have a communal table for folks without reservations seated on first-come first-served basis. Even Emily Blunt didn't have reservations to the coveted Son of a Gun as she sat next to us at the communal table looking like one of us "regular" folks.

Dessert

Waiting for hubby to get home

Saturday night in ktown

I LOVE MISO

Miso-glazed chicken and eggplant with a side of tofu.

Last 2 weeks of school

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Thirty

I got this pin from Banana Republic nearly 10 years ago. I still love it.

Grey oxford heels from Paris

King's Hawaiian Passion Fruit Cake

My husband got me this card for my birthday. Yes, I'm 30 and FABULOUS!

Drago Centro, downtown LA

Farro, pancetta, olive salad

Wall art done by Haze

Saturday Night in Little Tokyo

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Glittery Pink

Seriously this color and sparkliness makes me so happy. Go to Rite Aid and get them now!

Sashimi Deluxe Combo at Sushi Gen

another shot of the glittery nails in action

CicLAvia

CicLAvia was really fun! It was really crowded and at times slow moving, but overall it was fun. I would do it again.

LACMA

World's Tiniest Elevators

LACMA is free after 5pm for LA residents and it's open till 9pm. I really enjoy going there after 5 not just because it's free, but because you practically have the whole museum to yourself. When you're done walking around you can end the night at Stark's bar and have some cured meat with a glass of sparkling wine.

Clean Program: Day Two

I'm on day 2 of the Clean Program and so far so good. I went to the gym this morning and had my green smoothie when I got home. Yesterday, my lunch at school looked something like the picture below minus the plates and silverware.

brown rice with mixed beans and purple wild rice, broiled chicken, salad, and sauteed mushrooms and mustard greens

Vegan Dessert

ingredients

I made raw vegan brownies. The first time I made them, they were DELICIOUS. The second time I made them, I used 2 Tablespoons of cacao nibs and it turned out too bitter. I got the recipe from these two sites: http://mygoddesslife.wordpress.com/ and www.juliemorris.net

Recipe:

• 1 C Raw Walnuts
• 1/2 C Raw Cacao Powder
• 1 T Raw Cacao Nibs
• 10 Medjool dates (take seed out)
• 1/4 C Water
• pinch of salt

Directions: 
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix all ingredients until it becomes kind of like dough consistency. Dump them into an 8x8 pan and press down, then cut into little squares.Enjoy!

Homemade Pho Bo

I made pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) for the first time several weeks ago. It took a total of 12 hours because I messed up on the first batch of broth. I didn't realize that my fish sauce was old and when I poured it in the broth to season, it ruined all the hard work I had put in so I had to go out and buy new fish sauce and remake the broth. After eating homemade pho, I don't know if I could eat Koreatown pho again. At the Koreantown pho places they use powder to make the broth instead of beef knuckles, oxtail and bone marrow. They also use a lot of msg to give it that savory flavor. At home you can use the best ingredients, omit msg, and make it healthier.

I used these two recipes for the pho:

• http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html
• http://eatdrinknbmerry.blogspot.com/2007/03/pho-bo-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup.html

I went to 4 markets to get all the ingredients:

• Galleria Market (Olympic and Western)
• Bangkok Market (Melrose and Kingsley)
• Whole Foods (Fairfax and 3rd)
• 99 Ranch Market (Arcadia)

beef brisket and beef knuckles (I also added oxtail shortly after taking the pic)

Some of the spices and ingredients

The broth that got ruined by the old fish sauce

Second attempt at beef broth

Blood, fat and gunk you need to skim off the surface of the broth

Forgot to take a picture before I started eating

Brother-in-law enjoying the noodles