Sunday funday (@ Smorgasburg, ROW DTLA)

The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away

Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity

Love Forever (@ The Broad: Infinity Mirror Rooms)

Unsolicited fact about me: I can ice skate circles around you ⛸ (@ LA Live Holiday Ice)

Blessed (@ Flood Church)

– Chosen as a godparent for the Lapel twins ✓

– Opened a 401k ✓

– Paid off all my credit cards ✓

I’m adulting the shit out of 2017, you guys.

24K Magic (@ The Forum)

My mom has visited me twice in LA since I moved here 5 years ago—once to see Adele at Staples, and this past weekend to see Bruno Mars at the Forum!

Now who has to tour LA for her to come visit me next year??? 

Linkin Park & Friends (@ Hollywood Bowl)

Even though it had been years since I last saw Linkin Park in concert, I was heartbroken when I found out about Chester Bennington’s suicide.

I can remember exactly what I was doing when I first heard Hybrid Theory. Pammie and I have this game we play called Guess What Year? (it’s a working title), and I can always pinpoint the year a song came out because I’m able to tie it to life events. Like I know that Boyz II Men’s One Sweet Day came out when I was 13, because I remember crying to that song at Sharon Bernardo’s birthday party when I found out that Raymond Alcarion liked my best friend and not me. I’m totally over him now, partly because that was 22 years ago, but mostly because my name would have been “Marion Alcarion” had our love stood the test of time! Yikes.

When I was 18, my friend Nick Costa told me, “Linkin Park… Remember that name… They’re gonna be HUGE someday.” I downloaded some songs off of their EP on Napster (yes, I was 18 that long ago) and became a solid LP fan after that. I remember going to the library to chat in their forum in between classes in college. I remember listening to their CD in Sheena’s car while I practiced driving stick around Jamul. I remember how sad I was when their intimate show at Canes sold out before I could get tickets to their first tour. Linkin Park soundtracked a time in my life that I reminisce about often, and it makes me sad to think that Chester is gone now, too.

I was lucky enough to see Chester in concert a couple times in my life, and being able to go his memorial show and hearing all those songs made me feel like I was 18 again (my sore stems the next day from standing during their 3-hour set reminded me that I’m nearly twice that age). All these years later, I still remember their lyrics. Also, can we just talk about how good Mike Shinoda still looks??? Some things never change…

Watch a full stream of the show here.

Lit 🔥 (@ Rise Festival)

Loved, loved, loved ♥

Stacked (@ Seven Magic Mountains)

Happy 64th birthday to a man of many talents!

The Shins (@ The Greek Theatre)

It’ll change your life, I swear…

Ice cream Sunday (@ Museum of Ice Cream)

Khruangbin x Geto Boys (@ The Fonda Theatre)

The Fonda is across the street from the Shake Shack in Hollywood, so we skipped the headliner for a shack stack and some crinkle fries (yes, I have a problem).

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.

We all float down here (@ Reading Cinemas Grossmont Center)

I came to get scared, but I stayed for the dick jokes and NKOTB references! It was funnier and less scary than I remember the original being 27 years ago. Not gonna lie though, I still avoided eye contact with the sink drain while brushing my teeth last night.

There is a hell and it’s my apartment during the hottest heat wave in LA 🔥🔥🔥

I’ve been stuck at home with the flu for 4 days (I tried to go to work yesterday and they sent me back home!). I’ve gone through 2 seasons of Game of Thrones and 5 boxes of tissues (for all the sickness coming out of my nose and mouth, not the tears coming out of my eyes when Khal Drogo died—yes, I’m that far behind). I escaped to my parents’ air-conditioned house in SD for the holiday, and it took me 4 hours to get here in triple-digit weather. I guess everyone else had the same idea. Some of my relatives are staying at my parents’ house this weekend and they’re sick, too! Misery really does love company. And air-conditioning.

I thought it was too late in the year to buy a portable a/c unit, but climate change is real y’all. My windows don’t open, so it would have to be a sliding door unit. If anyone has any suggestions on brands/installation, please send them my way!

Lord Huron (@ Del Mar Racetrack)

I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met

The last time I attended 4 o’clock Fridays may or may not have been 14 years ago to see Hoobastank.

I’m learning some amazing moves from these guys (@ Wonderspaces)

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!

One more week!

All I want to do is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven’t got

R.I.P. Chester Bennington 💔

Cancel my dinner plans (@ Jon’s Liquor)

Sunday funday with Sabrina (@ Arroyo Seco Weekend)

Heart eyes since 2010 😍😍😍 (@ El Rey Theatre)

Tuxedo (@ Observatory)

When your friends give you free tickets to see Mayer Hawthorne, you repay them with booty shorts from the merch table, obvs. Thanks, Jessie and Abe! 😘

SKX Global Sales Conference (@ Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center)

Hearing Schwarzenegger tell us “it’s not a tumor” was clearly the highlight of our conference.

R.I.P. Chris Cornell 💔

I worked 16 hours straight yesterday and haven’t slept much these past few weeks 😩

I always need something good to look forward to during conference season, so I bought tickets to two LA shows (Sylvan Esso and Blind Pilot), an OC show (Young the Giant), and music festivals in LA (Arroyo Seco) and NYC (Panorama).

I may or may not have been delirious at one in the morning.

#FBF to these three amigos in their Baja Ponchos 🇲🇽

Welcome to the world, Dominic & Elijah!

Pammie, Christine and I were finally able to visit these two nuggets. I think their parents were happy to have a little help and a lot of Halal Guys.

Pad squad* (@ Petco Park)

*not pictured: Alicia and I dodging homerun balls (none of which were hit by the Padres, of course).

Bastille – Good Grief (@ The Novo DTLA)

Every minute of every hour
I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more

Cheers to Alicia’s 36th birthday! 🍻 (@ California Adventure)

I spent 14 hours and $200 at the park, and all I took home was some dole whip cotton candy and a sunburn.

My boss texted me this picture of my car when she went out for lunch today. This is why she gives me USB cables and portable battery chargers for Christmas. She’s also the one who bought me a fire extinguisher after I almost burned down my apartment!

Yeah, I have no idea why she hired me.

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!

La La Land was def overhyped, but this dream sequence of what could have been was everything 💔

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…

Home for the weekend (@ Camp Temenos)

Wild west (@ Pioneertown Motel)

On Sundays, we sound bathe (@ Integratron)

BRB, getting saved ✌ (@ Salvation Mountain)

Never Knock / You Send Me (@ Troubadour)

My favorite Kevin Garrett show yet. Alessia Cara came out to sing the song he wrote for Beyonce, and all was right with the world.

The way I keep myself together
Is by not keeping anything at all

Tomorrow ♥

Unlike that one time I won the dirty diaper baby shower game by identifying 10 out of 10 melted candy bars (some without even having to smell them), my intimate relationship with candy did not give me the edge in this puzzle competition at work today.

We placed #9 out of 10 (but still #1 in your hearts!). Who needs a $2K grand prize when you get to go home with this guy???

Workmode Squad (@ Universal Studios Hollywood)

NOTE TO SELF: Don’t get blitzed on bottomless mimosas on the bus before you ride every 3-D ride at Universal Studios.

Bumble bio update: Must hate smoked BBQ beef ribs.

Tourist trap queen ✌ (@ LACMA Rain Room)

Pammie and I snagged tickets to the last day of LACMA’s Rain Room exhibit on LA’s rainiest day ever and got more wet outside than we did in the exhibit 🌧️🌧️🌧️

Even faces change, my heart stays the same

Tame Impala in NYC??? Yes, please.

(@ Ace Hotel Portland)

(@ Pine State Biscuits)

(@ Punchbowl Falls)

(@ Multnomah Falls)

(@ The Commons Brewery)

(@ Cheryl’s on 12th)

(@ Portland Japanese Garden)

(@ Voodoo Doughnut)

(@ Tryst)

I’m sick and I have to wear pants to bed??? Ugh.

After a couple years of entering an online lottery, Shi won a permit to hike The Wave in Arizona! We flew to Vegas and road-tripped it the rest of the way to Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and The Wave.

Here’s a little video I put together of our trip. I kept it under a minute to fit the whole thing on insta, so I cut out the part where I fell down and also the part where Shi got pulled over, among other footage! Ha.

Hardly working (@ Skechers Corporate)

We had a sub in cardio hip hop yesterday, and now I’m wondering whether to apply ice or heat (@ Culture Shock Dance Center)

My mom flips bottles better than yours.
I hope I’m half this cool when I’m 58!

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

Bon Iver (@ Hollywood Bowl)

The rain may or may not have hid my tears! So apropos…

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.

Glass beauty (@ Wayfarers Chapel)

I think I might get married in this Lloyd Wright stunner. I just need to find a husband first! Just kidding (they also do baptisms, so a baby daddy will suffice).

<3

Case Study House No. 8 (@ Eames House)

Leave the keys under the mat. I’ll take this house exactly as it is!

Happy new home to the Lansangs! I hope they’re better at keeping things alive than I am.

DIY Indoor Herb Garden:

• Herb plants, $4.98 each @ Home Depot
• Potting mix, $4.97 @ Home Depot
• Wooden planter, $12.99 @ Wayfair
• Chalkboard stakes (set of 6), $8.14 @ Amazon
• Impeccable penmanship, Priceless

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Lapel (@ Los Peñasquitos Ranch House)

I can’t decide if the most memorable part of today was when the wedding singer dropped panties during cocktail hour, or when a wedding guest was taken away in an ambulance after one too many pot brownies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Et tu, Target? (@ Target – Manhattan Beach)

Tame Impala was lit af (and so were we) 🔥🔥🔥 (@ FYF Fest 2016)

4 years in LA today. What a dump! (@ Vista Hermosa Natural Park)

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Lansang! So bummed I couldn’t be there for the wedding, but happy I was able to witness them shotgunning beers without spilling a drop on their sleeping newborn! Ha.

Cheers!

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

Hardly working (@ The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas)

Our advertising department was in Vegas for less than 48 hours, and it took me longer than that to recover.

All that and dim sum (@ Din Tai Fung)

BRB crying (@ Staples Center)

I’ve wanted to see Radiohead live since I first heard Exit Music (For A Film) in the 9th grade. You guys, that was 20 years ago! Yikes.

I kind of expected them to stick it to LA and not sing Creep, but no Paranoid Android or Karma Police, either??? You’re killing me, Thom! OK Computer is my favorite album of theirs, so No Surprises was my favorite song of the night:

Jessie and Abe bought a 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!

I just binge watched two seasons of Casual, and I can’t believe this lady is only supposed to be five years older than me.

In her defense, I get carded all the time. Also, some dude coaching youth track at the park during lunch last week asked me if I was in high school! Sir, if you’re trying to get me to join your track team, I’m in my thirties. And more importantly, I don’t run.

My dear friend, Christine, is officially engaged! Just a year ago, we were livin’ la vida loca in Cabo, and now she’s got a baby and a fiancé! Time moves so quickly around here. It seems like only yesterday, Christine, Jessie and I were at Blind Lady talking about the crapshoot that was the three of us, and now I’m the last one standing! The only time I’ve ever felt bad about being single is when I got into a car accident this year and had to be rescued by someone else’s husband. I was standing there at the auto shop watching them lift my car up, and my best friend’s husband was there talking to the mechanic for me, and my heart sank. Partly because they told me how much it would cost to fix my alignment, but mostly because I forgot how nice it was to have someone there to help me.

The few single friends that I have are serial daters. Tinder, Bumble, OK Cupid… If there’s an app for it, they’re on it. And although I pretty much pioneered online dating 20 years ago with my first AOL boyfriend (LoL), I would still prefer to meet someone IRL. Even though most of the guys I meet in real life are assholes. My problem is that I like assholes. If Christine and that rock on her finger taught me anything, it’s that you don’t always end up with the kind of guy you’re used to being with. I definitely have a type. If they’re bearded, witty and/or an asshole, all the boxes are checked. Maybe if I go for a nice guy with a babyface who tells mediocre jokes, the outcome will be different. I guess I’ll never know since the guys my friends want to set me up with have girlfriends already! Ha.

Hot Tub Cruisin’ (@ Mission Bay)

Chel’s grandma always told her that she changes boyfriends like she changes panties, and this is the final one. Congrats to the bachelorette!

S/O to our captain, Shi! You the real MVP.

The Psychedelic Furs (@ Santa Monica Pier)

Sabrina and I got separated on the way back from seeing her favorite 80s band at the pier. They cut off the line for the metro after she got on, and she turned around just in time to see me mouth, “I have your keysssssss!” from outside the train as it pulled away from the platform. I waited 15 minutes for the next train with these kids who were discussing the ending of Lost (that I had somehow avoided finding out for the past six years in futile hopes that I would start watching the show someday). They got on the train with me, and I missed my stop because I was too preoccupied listening to them ruin the endings of shows I’ve never seen. I got off at the next stop and tried to text Sabrina that I had to wait another 15 minutes for a westbound train, but her phone was in my bag, too! I thought she would for sure push me onto the tracks once I finally arrived at the station half an hour after she did, but she was just happy that I was okay. She even brought me pastries from Uplifters Kitchen today as a thank you for the pizza I brought for us to share at the beach!

Twilight Concert Series (@ Santa Monica Pier)

Watching Mayer Hawthorne for free while eating a churro??? I could think of worse ways to spend my Thursday night.

I was standing next to the guy from Stepbrothers (the one who’s not Will Ferrell) while waiting to get in. I can count on one hand how many celebrities I’ve spotted since I moved to LA nearly 4 years ago. Most of the ones who live near me in Manhattan Beach are pro-athletes, so I probably just don’t recognize them (like that one time we ate at a communal table with Marshall Faulk). I’m pretty sure the tall drink of water who asked me where I got my torta bread from at Costco last week was an athlete. After directing him to the bread aisle, I asked him where the toilet paper was because I like to embarrass myself in front of hot guys, obvi. I crossed paths with him again while making my food sample rounds and died a little when he smiled at me and my bulk 30-pack of Charmin Ultra Soft Jumbo Rolls.

Unsolicited fact about me: Inflatable tube dudes are one of my favorite things in the world.

I’m pretty sure the victim in this episode stole my CD binder circa 2001.

Where do broken hearts go??? (@ Museum of Broken Relationships)

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

Kevin Garrett (@ The Echo)

Remember that name. He’s gonna be big! Also, he liked my video, so I can die now, obvs. Please invite him to my funeral. And request that he sing this Sam Cooke cover ♥

Live from the Artists Den: Young the Giant (@ El Rey Theatre)

When your sister, your cousin and Baberaham one of your best friend’s husbands enter a contest for you to win tickets to see your favorite band’s secret show, you know you’re loved… especially when one of them wins and they take you as their guest! Young the Giant was just as good as the first time I dragged everyone to go see them five years ago! They’re coming back to LA in October, but I’m considering missing their show to go on a trip with Shi to NYC instead. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly (@ Birch Aquarium at Scripps)

Claws + crop tops (@ Green Flash Concerts at Birch Aquarium at Scripps)

I saw BØRNS for the third time, and unlike the weather, he did not disappoint! It was my first Green Flash concert overlooking the pacific, and the only green flash I saw on this gloomy day was the overpriced beer all the UCSD kids were drinking. I love this venue, though. You get to explore the aquarium before the show, and on a clear day, you can watch the sunset while your favorite band plays.

I baked my mom a pie, but her love for strawberry rhubarb doesn’t run as deep as mine. Good thing we got her sold-out Adele tickets as a back-up!

The highlight of my weekend was seeing my mom jump up and down and scream like a fangirl when she opened her gift. A very close second would have to be getting carded at the casino. Apparently, I look like I’m under 18 (#stillgotit). I was with my parents and Pammie who was not carded. And highly offended.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Thanks to Nine Space for picking me as one of their instagram winners of this Rifle Paper Co. Coffee & Tea Calendar and a $50 gift card!

I can’t decide whether to buy one of these ceiling lamps or pay my rent this month.

File under: Questions I ask myself on the regular

There’s this tall drink of water at my work, and every time I run into him, I’m either wearing no makeup or holding a loaf of bread.

I woke up late one Monday, rolled right out of bed and into an elevator with him inside. I’ve never looked uglier than I did that morning, and he’s in there asking me how my weekend was, and all I kept thinking was PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYES. Another time, I was changing the iPads at work when I look over and see him looking at me, so I froze and dropped my screwdriver. Today, I was in the elevator with him on my way to get coffee, and I just had to be holding that freaking loaf of bread that I keep in my desk drawer. Ugh!

He doesn’t even know how cool I am.

This was like the time Paul Walker died, and everyone was texting me to make sure I wasn’t hanging from my shower rod (with the exception of Shi, of course, who was texting me corgi vids instead).

Rest in paradise, Prince! May you purify your soul in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.

ILYSM ♥

Going to a rap show and staying out till 2am on a Tuesday reminded me that I’m no spring chicken anymore. I used to be able to hang on a weeknight, but now I just get hungover! So this weekend, I was happy to do lowkey adult things like apartment hunting, grocery shopping and laundry. I even woke up at an ungodly hour to shop the early bird sales. Now I can’t wait to go to sleep on my new Vera Wang sheets and mattress topper (it’ll change your life, I swear). This old lady’s ready for bed!

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

When you’re dictating your shopping list into your notes app while driving and some asshole cuts you off:

Casting charms with these clowns (@ Universal Studios Hollywood)

Wizarding World of Harry Potter officially opens next week, but Pammie, Shi and I were able to attend a sneak preview. I’ve only seen a few of the movies, but I went partly because two of my favorite Potterheads were in town, and mostly because I was promised butterbeer. Shit was magical. Check it out if you’re in LA with $115 to spare.

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…

We were watching TV at my mom’s house over the holiday, and right after they showed this part, my aunt paused it, turned to me with a concerned look on her face, and was all like, “You know you can talk to me, right???” I meannnn.

#1 How dare you?
#2 This explains so much.

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

Further evidence that Mindy and I were separated at birth.

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.

For Friendsgiving this year, I made an oxtail ragu that would bring you to your knees. It took me five hours to cook, and I didn’t finish until three in the morning! It was worth it, but I’ll probably never make it again (just like the chocolate babka I made in 2012). I hope you enjoyed my tender meat, because that’s the last time you’re ever gonna eat it! Ha.

Bread pudding bound. Happy Thanksgiving, loves ♥

The best part about driving from LA to SD Thanksgiving weekend was making a pit stop at NYC’s Halal Guys in OC! The worst part? Everything else.

Touché. I’ve always loved Justin Bieber a man with Rubik’s cube solving skillz. Add a Costco membership and I’ll likely have his babies.

You should be writing this down (@ Whole Foods Market DTLA)

“The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears or the sea.” (@ McWay Falls)

It’s impossible to capture the beauty that is McWay Falls in a photograph (we came back three times to try!). It would have been perfect during magic hour, but we opted to test our friendship instead at Pfeiffer Beach. More on that below! Ha.

Hello, Big Sir (@ Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park)

Across from McWay Falls, we stepped into this magical forest where we were happy to have the sun on our face and wood between our legs.

Beer tastes better when you drink it in a river! Just ask this babe (@ Big Sur River Inn)

You can find this Spirit Garden, a breakfast pizza that tastes like heaven, donuts topped with more donuts, and most importantly, the only cell phone signal you’ll get for miles and miles here (@ Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant)

They say that “nepenthe” is a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow… I should’ve had more of these! (@ Nepenthe)

“It’s only 2.3 miles,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said (@ Pfeiffer Beach)

We wanted to catch the sunset at the beach, but the parking lot was full. We parked on the main road with 40 minutes till sunset and started our 2.3-mile trek. It was all downhill from there (figuratively and literally). I was wearing boots that were def not made for walking! I tried to run in them, and my hip flexor failed me LOL. I arrived just after the sun disappeared below the horizon. Luckily, Shi’s hip flexors worked perfectly fine, so she made it there in time and was able to snap this photo. After the sun set, we had to hike those 2.3 miles back uphill to the car. It was pitch black. Every tree looked like a bear. We were legit scared. And cold. And my phone was dead. We had brought scarves and beanies and portable battery chargers in preparation, but they were all in the car! We are the worst road trip duo ever, and it’s a miracle we made it back home alive! Ha.

When in Roman pools… (@ Hearst Castle)

A road trip up the California coast isn’t complete without stopping at Hearst Castle for a quick tour and a soft pretzel.

Afterwards, we drove back to LA in the rain and sighed at each and every smogless mile in between. Till next time, Big Sur!

I did more cleaning in the hour before Shi came over than I’ve done in the six months since she was last here! Off to Big Sur…

Preach!

I caught up on seven episodes of How to Get Away with Murder with Pammie over the weekend. I’m dying to know what happens next, but I never watch this show by myself because I get too scared. I can’t wait till I’m home for Thanksgiving to find out who shot Annalise, so someone please come over when the new episode airs this Thursday!

Spoiler Alert: There will be frozen salmon from Costco (it’s the only thing I keep stocked in my fridge because holiday weight) and me with no pants on.

Leon Bridges took me and Anthony to church last night (@ The Observatory North Park)

Brunch in the barrio with these babes (@ ¡Salud!)

Tacos always taste better in the hood. You know it’s gonna be good if you hear gun shots exiting the freeway (shout out to Tacos Arabes in Boyle Heights!).

PDX ♥ LA (@ Pok Pok LA)

My favorite wings EVAR are from Pok Pok in Portland, and now they’re in LA! If you didn’t have a reason to visit me before, I can give you half a dozen now…

I downloaded the transitory app partly because of craigslist killers, but mostly because my friends go on sketchy tinder dates.

Love, love, love ♥

WARNING: This beer is cold af, you guys (@ Wood Handcrafted Pizza)

I’m here for the tamales (@ Hollywood Forever Cemetery)

I cropped the meth heads out of this shot (@ MacArthur Park)

Pumpkin Carving, Level: Expert