Lazy summer days

One of the perks of summer vacation is the luxury of uninterrupted Netflix,not cooking therefore a lot of meals that consists of salads,appetizers and plenty of rose.
I spent last summer in Cannes, France and had rosé every day with lunch or dinner. It's very light and refreshing. This summer, I have tried couple of brands from Trader Joe's which were really good.

Last week I made Salad Nicoise  using the recipe from Saveur .

The only missing ingredients were the Dijon mustard and shallots. I layered the salad on a flat serving plate as they did in a cafe in Antibes, France. Here is their version:

I served the salad with cheese, crusty bread and a glass of wine. It was very yummy. 

Friday

Today , I am going to a book signing . One of my favorite food bloggers Smitten Kitchen is here in Los  Angeles, at William Sonoma. She will demo a recipe and sign her first book. I made several of her recipes from the blog and they are delicious. 

Since I am in the westside , I'm stopping by West Elm to pick up my new table for my kitchen. So excited !

Before all these activities I have to go to my optometrist for an eye exam ... Wish me luck !!

I am so glad it's almost Fall in Los Angeles... Let the decorating, baking cookies and drinking apple cider or hot toddy begin !!

How to kill a succulent

As the holiday season approaches, I thought why not incorporate plants with the decor.  Since ,  I have not been able to keep any plants alive from bamboo to orchids, I thought succulents are the best way to go. I purchased the succulents from Lowe's and bought glass containers and assembled the whole thing . I think they look really nice , but one of them became a victim to my overwatering tendencies. 

Obviously , havent watered them since, now waiting to see if it will revive.  On the weather front , it's raining.

I'm watching the rain as I sip my cardamom tea.

Italian Class

I love anything and everything about France and French. My dream is to live there someday whether in Paris or South of France. I took the language classes ,read all the travel related  books and drank all the wine. I still can't get enough of that country. So imagine my surprise , when I took an Italian language class and loved it.  Yes , more than French. I love the Italian accent, the words, my professor... I visited Italy in August 2007. Although it was very hot and crowded, I didn't realize how much I liked there until this class. When we're learning the words gelati, biscotti, panini, I miss Italy. Hope to return there soon !!!

Spanish Homework

Finished my first Spanish homework online.... Now ready to start my long weekend , or what's left of it.... I have to post some pictures that i have been taking over Christmas and on. I have been very busy with the move. When we were living in the apartment, I thought buying a house, furniture and decorating would be a fun process with a little stress. However, I  found that it was more than we both could handle. After cancelling the second dining room set, (1st was damaged, 2nd was to be delivered mid-march) we are looking at less costly options , hopefully these will help us get our furniture on time and making our house look more homey.
As I'm sitting on my living room couch , I am making a mental list of things to get for this room.I can't decide whether to get a mirror or a picture above the fireplace ???

It's cold and rainy outside. I have been home all day, watching TV , drinking vanilla tea , now bluberry green tea..... This is called Avoidance !!!! Need to go out and get things done ... Yesterday I had breakfast at a hollywood hot spot BLD    http://bldrestaurant.com/  .  I wasn't impressed with it.. I think it was mostly due to the service and hostess , long story, but their pain de mie  and coffee is so good.I had the Spanish omelet and my brother had the Wild mushroom omelet . Food was good but not worth to drive 30 minutes to get there. My chorizo looked like salami. I thought chorizo was supposed to be chunks since it's a sausage, this was thin slices with lots of red peppers. However, I still enjoyed myself . Bunch of people were having bloody mary's ... So , I want to give BLD another shot at lunch or dinner and try their spicy blood mary !!

Breakfast and beverage menus

return of me

I have been meaning to rearrange my blog for a while now. Today seems to be the day. So many changes took place, and I will share them as time comes. Another day off and it's Friday !! I started the day with green tea and honey and looking forward to having breakfast later at favorite spot in Pasadena.