Today was a good day (@ George’s at the Cove)

Chargers playoff win. Bohemian Rhapsody takes the Globes. Parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Amazing dinner and this view ♥

(@ Cauldron Ice Cream)

Happy early birthday to my favorite sister! (@ Monello)

FYI I can only eat pasta when it’s prepared tableside in a cheese wheel now.

I’ll have one… one of everything! (@ BJ’s Brewhouse)

Alicia and I drank our way through their holiday cocktail list. The blood orange pom fireball sangria tastes like Christmas in your mouth! It’s def going on the menu for any and all future holiday spreads.

ILYSM (@ Grand Ole BBQ Flinn Springs)

My most favorite BBQ spot in San Diego (and all of California) just opened a second location near the bestie’s house in east county. It’s bigger and less busy than its North Park flagship, and more importantly, it has a full bar (the original location doesn’t serve alcohol, but you can BYOB). It should def be on your BBQ bucket list! Also, if you don’t have a BBQ bucket list, how are we even friends???

If you thought I was gonna celebrate National Cheeseburger Day, you weren’t wrong (@ Shake Shack)

Breakfast Club (@ Flower Child)

My favorite girls met at an ungodly hour for breakfast so that the mamas could have extra girl time away from their six kids (four of which are twin babies!). I only had to worry about getting myself up in the morning, and I was still one of the last ones there! Ha. I haven’t laughed this hard in such a long time. No one will ever be as entertained by us than us ♥

(@ Baron Balche, Valle de Guadalupe)

(@ La Escondida Puerto Nuevo)

Much needed daycation! Def need more of these in my life…

Hardly working (@ SKX)

Birthday beers for Cal and Francis! I’ll let you guess which ones are for Francis LOL. Not gonna lie, some of his might not make it to the party 🍓🍑💦

Came for a sandwich, but stayed for the pride parade (@ Ike’s Place, Hillcrest)

A few of my favorite things…

109° weather calls for frosé all day (@ The Pioneer)

The 4th of July fell on bottomless beer and lobster night this year (@ Viejas)

What a time to be alive.

5 hours and 2 footsie wootsie massages later (@ San Diego County Fair)

I vote for lobster trucks outside every polling place! (@ Aviation Park)

Christine’s twin babies came early, so their big sister’s 2nd birthday party moved from Chuck E. Cheese to Denise’s backyard. No complaints here!

Can we just go on record and say that I’ve added a flat top grill, fire pit and pool to my list of must-haves for my future home???

Brunch with my fave girls (@ Breakfast Republic)

Quote of the day:

If Beyoncé can get cheated on, none of us are safe!

Shi will not rest, y’all! 😅

Sunday funday with Shi! (@ Smorgasburg LA)

I love when she comes up to visit (even if she eats all of my candy).

When asked if I want my tagliatelle topped with a big ass ball of burrata, the answer is always yes (@ Pasta Sisters)

Please and thank you (@ Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken)

Lord Huron – The Night We Met

Sylvan Esso – Coffee

Young the Giant – Cough Syrup

Local Natives – Coins

Head and the Heart – All We Ever Knew

(@ Culinary Dropout)

(@ Cornish Pasty Co)

(@ Pizzeria Bianco)

(@ The Arrogant Butcher)

(@ Tempe Beach Park)

We escaped the LA rain and road-tripped it to Arizona! The first of hopefully many Innings Fests did not disappoint. Good weather, great bands, amazing food…

My morning raclette (@ Venissimo – Liberty Station)

…or what you eat when your lunch buddy is observing lent (@ Hopdoddy Burger Bar)

If I didn’t know the Impossible Burger was plant-based, I would have never guessed it was meatless! And this is coming from a girl who loves her meat. I’m not about to give up ribs or anything, but it’s nice to know there’s a worthy (albeit pricey) alternative out there. We usually go to the farmers market for lunch on Fridays, and I could get four mexican hot dogs (and a stomachache) for the price of one burger. Def worth it, though.

The guac is extra, and so is my boss (@ SKX Advertising Dept)

Catching up with my coworkers (@ The Rockefeller Manhattan Beach)

Were the tacos the best I ever had? No. But were the micheladas good at least? Still no. (@ City Tacos)

I should’ve known that this place was no bueno when I saw people drinking wine with their tacos, and the only mexicans eating there were the friends I came with.

Or as I like to call it… Thursday (@ Manhattan House)

Deane and her BF broke up today, so I drank her sorrows away with her since I’m such a supportive friend and all.

I thought most of the people flying on Valentine’s Day would be on their way to see loved ones, but the majority of the passengers on my flight were headed to see Bruno Mars. Or at least that’s what their hooligans jerseys led me to believe…

I managed to snap this without getting elbowed in the face by all the asians with selfie sticks. My mom was one of them. Just kidding (she forgot hers at home).
(@ The LINQ Promenade)

I’ll have to make my way back here, if only for Virgil’s Real BBQ. And maybe that cute guy covering Stone Temple Pilots inside.

If money grew on trees… (@ Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens)

O…MG (@ Bellagio Theater)

Infinitely better than the Luzia show I just saw in LA, but The Beatles Love is still my #1.

The guy standing next to me was belting out God Bless the USA during the entire water show. You’re lucky this is a gif (@ Fountains of Bellagio)

Pops zip lining into the weekend like (@ SlotZilla Zip Line)

We lost my dad for 24 hours somewhere between the zip lining and the poker room at the Orleans.

Put the $5 I won off of Britney slots towards his tip (@ Fremont Street)

CAUTION: They rub their meat (@ Rollin Smoke Barbeque)

Checked this gem off of my BBQ bucket list! Standouts were the beef rib (my go-to), brisket burnt ends and the “dam” hot arkansauce.

Till next time! (@ Palms Casino Resort)

Happiest birthday, Shi! I love you more than I love homemade waffles. And that’s saying a lot.

Friyay  (@ Arts District Brewing)

Weekly meeting (@ Tacos Tu Madre)

I didn’t even have to use my AK (@ Sweet Chick)

Celebrating this baby’s mama (@ Liberty Public Market)

…or this week’s edition of Mayan burns the bread rolls. Just kidding (this was the second time I burned them this week). As soon as my mom smelled the smoke, she was like, “STRIKE 2!”

I’m sure my parents can’t wait for me to go back to LA tomorrow! Ha.

Last Supper (Pop Pie Co)

Staking my claim 👅 (@ Little Damage)

Sunday funday (@ Smorgasburg, ROW DTLA)

Ice cream Sunday (@ Museum of Ice Cream)

Burgers and beer for breakfast (@ Modern Times Fortress of Raditude)

Pammie, Dennis, Paul and I arrived at the Shake Shack pop-up 30 minutes before they opened, and the line wasn’t too bad. The longest I’ve ever waited in line for food was over 2 hours at Howlin’ Rays in Chinatown, so this 45-minute wait was no bigs. There was absolutely no shade though, so our burgers came with a side of UV! It was worth the tan lines…

Level up (@ Coin Haus)

Leo took Alicia, Ray and me to this beercade in La Mesa last night. It’s in a nice area with an industrial bar and gorgeous resto next door. Things have def changed since I lived there years ago!

I like their system so much better than other barcades I’ve been to. You exchange a credit card for a tapcard and use it to serve yourself beer and play video games. It beats having to wait in line at the bar for $15 drinks or having to use quarters for the games (ain’t nobody got change for that!). When I turned my tapcard in at the end of the night, it ended up being less than $20 to drink some beers and play a few rounds of Contra, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros and more. The cashier said I was a cheap date! Boys, don’t all come running at once.

Ohhh, so this is what 6am looks like…

Our trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without me getting us lost on the subway. Again.

Morning view (@ Top of the Rock, Midtown)

I felt a little dirty recording this food porn (@ Bar Moga, Greenwich Village)

Trainspotting (@ Grand Central Terminal, Midtown East)

The OG Shake Shack (@ Madison Square Park, Flatiron)

There are five Shake Shacks in LA, but we still ate here three times during our trip! We even schlepped across town with our luggage on our last day to get one last Shackburger and their limited edition Hot Chick’n when we found out we were flying out of the JFK terminal that doesn’t have a Shake Shack. We’re kind of obsessed.

Rooftop vibes (@ Gallow Green, Chelsea)

I was worried it was going to be humid all weekend, but the weather was perfect for a rooftop cocktail or two (these are both mine).

Melt my heart (@ Raclette, East Village)

This was our favorite meal of the trip (don’t let the fact that we ate at Shake Shack three times fool you). Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the waitress came back midway through our meal to give us a second scrape!

Checked the brontosaurus beef rib off my BBQ bucket list ✓ (@ Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque, East Village)

Tame Impala (@ Panorama NYC, Randall’s Island Park)

This was def one of the smaller music festivals I’ve been to, but Tame Impala brought the big show with their lasers. Our lyft driver thought we were at EDC!

Best $20 I ever spent (@ Magic Jewelry, Chinatown)

Pammie and I got our auras photographed inside a tiny Chinese jewelry shop, and that pink ass cloud = my mind being blown.

The Westfield mall I used to work at wasn’t quite as nice as this one, but they both have Wetzel’s Pretzels (@ Westfield World Trade Center, Oculus, Financial District)

Ground Zero (@ One World Observatory, Financial District)

The last time I was here was a couple years after 9/11. There used to be a steel beam cross where this memorial now exists. They did a beautiful job!

Sunday cycle (@ Central Park)

Pammie wanted to ride bikes through Central Park, and it was one of the highlights of our trip! We rode from the Guggenheim to Strawberry Fields and stopped along the way to enjoy the scenery.

Gaining perspective (@ Guggenheim Museum, Upper East Side)

Strawberry Fields forever (@ Central Park)

Before we knew it, it was time to fly home. Anyone who knows me and my sister knows that we’re complete opposites. She’s a Potterhead, while I’m more Homicide for the Holidays! But we always have fun when we’re together. I can’t wait for our next trip!

Cancel my dinner plans (@ Jon’s Liquor)

Museum day with Pammie and this clown (@ The Broad)

I went shopping for pillows, because I literally only have two in my apartment. My mom was like, what do your overnight guests use? I’m not sure who what she thinks I’m doing in LA, but my life isn’t as exciting as she thinks it is! Pammie and Shi slept over last weekend, and I didn’t have enough pillows for all of us, so my sister had to improvise with the teddy bear I got on Valentine’s Day! 😂 I made it up to her by taking them to Shake Shack twice that weekend. You’re welcome!

Just when I thought my week couldn’t get any worse 😩

My favorite wings EVER are from this Portland transplant. I thought that I had seen all I needed to see during my last two trips to Portland, but I have half a dozen reasons to go back now…

(@ Ace Hotel Portland)

(@ Pine State Biscuits)

(@ Punchbowl Falls)

(@ Multnomah Falls)

(@ The Commons Brewery)

(@ Cheryl’s on 12th)

(@ Portland Japanese Garden)

(@ Voodoo Doughnut)

(@ Tryst)

Are there tears baked into this oreo crust, be honest (@ The Pie Hole)

Puff puff pastry (@ Mr. Holmes Bakehouse)

Birthday Blue Star Donuts for Mary (@ Venice Canals)

This peanut butter powdered donut with habanero blackberry jam will change your life.

Because Mondays. And car accidents. (@ Randy’s Donuts)

All that and dim sum (@ Din Tai Fung)

Jessie and Abe bought a legit pizza oven for their backyard and hosted their first bumble workshop pizza party of the summer this past weekend.

I’m not sure if it’s because most of my friends are in relationships, or because Jessie’s husband calls me “baby boo” sometimes LOL, but my friends are intent on finding me a baby boo of my own! They set up my bumble profile while I scarfed down breakfast pizza, chamango paletas and hell or high watermelon. I obliged them and swiped right on a few “entrepreneurs” (srsly, what do you do for a living?), but only the girl can initiate the convo within 24 hours after you’ve been matched before the connection disappears forever. Seeing that I never approach guys first and wait till the eleventh hour to do anything, this may not be the best dating app for me haha. I may need a few more bumble workshops thinly disguised as pizza parties to convince me otherwise!

What kind of meat do they serve at this booth? (@ Tacolandia 2016)

Write it down, take a picture, IDGAF (@ Arts District Brewing Company)

It took me 4 hours to drive down to San Diego for Christine’s baby shower, and I arrived with less than an hour left to partake in the taco cart. After stuffing myself with 5 tacos (the 5th one was a mistake!), I was told that the taco guy was staying an extra hour, and I didn’t need to eat all those tacos in record time.

At least the taco vendor didn’t mistake me and my food baby for the pregnant celebrant (sorry, Jessie! LOL).

Gingerbread ale and memory jars (@ Common Theory Public House)

I spent my holiday vacation back home in San Diego making memories with family and old friends.

Just after Christmas, my cousin and her family were involved in a devastating house fire that took the life of her daughter and everything they owned. It has been a difficult year for my family in general, and this tragedy solidified 2015 as the worst year ever! Hopefully 2016 is kinder to us all. A friend of the family set up a GoFundMe account if you would like to make a donation to help.

My dear friend, Jay, also lost his mom over the holidays, and I met up with him and friends I haven’t seen in forever at her memorial. I love seeing these guys, because no matter how much time has passed, we can all still pick up right where we left off. The highlight of my day was when Pammie and I walked into the chapel and Jay’s brother greeted us with arms wide open and a simple, “Bitches.” Classic Rome. Jay trying to give me dating advice was a very close second. The lowlight of my day had to be when my ex-boyfriend brought his fiancé and his parents to the memorial, and all I brought was my extra holiday weight. LOL. Just kidding. (I brought my sister, too.)

My resolution this year is to be better about staying in touch with family and friends. I have a tendency to close myself off, and I’m trying to work on that. You really never know when you’re going to lose your loved ones…

When you give your friend LA’s finest taco sweater, and she gives you Mexico’s best-selling taco book…

CRANBERRY BLISS COOKIES
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE COOKIES:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

FOR THE FROSTING:
1 (8 oz.) bar cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler
2 tsp. orange extract
3 cups powdered sugar

FOR THE TOPPING:
1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until well-blended. Set aside.

Using an an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beating in between to incorporate. Then reduce the speed to low, and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium, and continue beating until well-combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and cranberries, and mix until just-combined. (Do not overmix.)

Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. Then place dough by rounded tablespoon-fulls onto a baking sheet that has been prepared with parchment paper, at least 2.5-inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Remove pan, and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack until cool. Repeat with remaining dough until all cookies are baked. Wait until cookies reach room temperature before adding frosting and toppings.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese and melted white chocolate until combined. (**Be sure that your cream cheese REALLY is at room temperature before adding the white chocolate. Otherwise the chocolate could seize up.) Add in the orange extract and mix until combined. Then reduce speed to low and add the powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated. Then use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat once more for 1 minute on medium speed until the frosting is smooth. You can add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.

Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies. Then immediately sprinkle the frosted cookies with the chopped dried cranberries. And use a fork to drizzle on the frosting, swishing it back and forth over the cookies.