Mint Chocolate Chip

Here's the mint chocolate chip ice cream I made! This is the recipe I used.  It was so fun and easy to make.  The hardest part is waiting for it to solidify a little more in the freezer.  I have the Cuisinart ICE-20 with extra freezer bowl.  Next on my list is to try making vegan ice cream and add some fresh berries to the mix.  What's your favorite kind of ice cream? My mind is swirling with all sorts of concoctions for the summer!

Snail Mail

A little while ago I won a giveaway on Dawn's blog, handmadelove.  The prize was a mystery so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting a whole package full of her artwork!  I was absolutely surprised to receive so many wonderful things from her.  My favorite is a print of one of her many mountain paintings that I love so much.  Thank you, Dawn!

Gratitude - June 27

(Still in love with gorgeous peonies, but since I just posted a photo practically identical to it, here's a photo of my Aunt's dog, Maggie. She's adorable but a bit of a terror.)

+ Toy Story 3! Just as good as the first two. Did I ever tell you I met John Lasseter? I was a bit awe struck to say the least.
+ Big dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, Masa.  If you live in LA you have to go!  I recommend a deep dish pizza (get the "lots of cheese") or the penne or gnocchi.
+ Hours of girl talk... just what I needed.
+ Getting an ice cream maker and making mint chocolate chip!  More on that to come.
+ My first tomato growing! 
+ And last but not least, all the positive feedback I've been getting on my stationery.  Thank you all so, so much.  It really means the world to me because I am extremely self conscious about my work.

Sneak Peek

Here's a little peek of what I've been working on.  Slowly but surely my stationery is coming along! What do you think?

The Daily Wag

Happy Monday, hope you had a lovely weekend.  If you have a case of the Mondays though, I have something that might cheer you up. 

The Daily Wag is a blog "written" by Martha Stewart's french bulldogs, Francesca and Sharkey.  In the photo above is Sharkey.  How cute is she?! (photo: The Daily Wag)

Gratitude - June 20

+ a very happy birthday to my boyfriend
+ successfully making donuts for the first time
+ making fresh pasta! 
+ new job opportunities
+ growing friendships
+ spending quality time with my mom
+ mini golfing and arcade playing
+ getting lucky and finding 2 tokens, a nickel, and a ticket at the arcade!
+ delicious food and fun times watching game 7 at tony's darts away
+ receiving beautiful peonies
...I am so, so lucky :)

Brioche Donuts

Two nights ago I made donuts for my boyfriend's birthday.  I got the idea from Artisan Bread in Five's blog, since that's the only type of bread I'm familiar with.  I made the brioche dough earlier that day and we fried them together later that night.  It was so much fun! I've never deep fried anything before (my mom is a nutritionist), but it was so exciting to see the dough puff up. The first few donuts looked kinda lopsided (see second photo), but towards the end they looked like real donuts you get at a shop! 

Container Garden

Here are some photos of my little container garden.  It's not much, but I am planning on getting a few more herbs this weekend at the farmers market.  So far I have mint, cherry tomato, and rosemary plants.  We also have a lime tree! Unfortunately something might be wrong with my tomato plant, there were a few flowers growing but they dried up!  It might have been the heat wave we got last week.

I also have a basil plant indoors that is doing very well!  I hope to add parsley and thyme, and maybe another vegetable.

Lazy Weekend

This weekend I...
- attended a leisurely barbecue (barbeque?)
- shopped our local farmers market (and bought a little mint plant for my small but growing collection!)
- had a long lunch at le pain quotidien
- made this delicious vegan dish for dinner
- started a quilt! Something I've never done before but am excited to try it out...

How was your weekend?

Gratitude - June 11

+ having the opportunity to go to Australia for two weeks and spend quality time with my family

+ the lovely moss that gross between bricks and rocks everywhere in Sydney

+ being back home in sunny California 

+ impromptu barbeques by the swimming pool

+ deleting my facebook and realizing how unnecessary it is!

Back Home

I'm back! Apologies for disappearing without any notice.  In my usual fashion I left packing to the last minute and didn't have time to make a post.  I actually got back from Sydney last week but got a little sick towards the end of my trip. I'm still trying to get in the swing of things.  Being away from the computer for two weeks messed with my usual routine (kind of a sad statement).  Anyway, here's a photo of one of the many birds that visited my grandparent's back yard.  I love all the birds you can hear outside!  Nice change from pigeons and crows.