Shana: 5 things I can't live without

1. My phone.

I don't even really like talking on the phone, but somehow my phone has become an extra appendage.

Do I wish it was an iPhone?

YES!

I'm dreaming of the iPhone 5.

2. A nice glass of red wine at the end of the night.

Thanks to Dee Eaton and the cool wine glass she gave me, it's affectionately also known as "Mommy's Sippy Cup". :) 

Do you have a favorite wine?

Some of my favorites are:  Opolo Mountain Zinfindel and Cupcake Red Velvet

3. RE9 Advanced Skin Care.

Every esthetician has a bag of tricks and this is mine.

Less wrinkles is a good thing and it gives great protection from the sun.

4. My monthly mani/pedi's.

Because my toes need all the help they can get. 

Do you have a favorite color right now?

Right now, it's essie playa del platinum

5. Sleep is always good! 

How many hours do you need?

If I can get a good 6-7 hrs, I'm a happy woman!

 

 

xox

 

 

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I want breakfast: Whole Wheat Quinoa Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

"Mommy, I want breakfast.   Can you  make me more pancakes?"

Those words were music to my ears this morning. 

 I am on a quest to find healthy recipes that my son, Maxwell, will eat.

He loved these healthy pancakes I made him yesterday so much that he wanted more.

I love it!

I took some friends to True Food Kitchen in Santa Monica, CA this weekend and we had their Quinoa Johnny Cake.  (See the Brunch menu below.)

It was sooo good.

And my son loved it too. 

So, I made a mental note to try making it at home.

My recipe is heavily addapted from Ambitious Kitchen.

(I also saw a nice recpie on Martha Steward as well.)

My photos are not as nice as Monique's, as I was rushing this morning to get to work,

but they tasted supurb!  I am totally hooked right now.

Next I am going to try a lemon blueberry version.

Can't wait.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 large egg whites (about 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

2 tablespoons of milk of your choice (skim, soy, almond, coconut)

1 tablespoons brown sugar (you could also use honey, agave or maple syrup)

I used agave

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cups organic unsweetened applesauce

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, yogurt, milk, vanilla, and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine. Add pureed bananas and mix until just combined.
2. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter or cooking spray and heat over medium. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, about 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter.

Makes about 10 pancakes. Top with your favorite maple syrup, or fruit. 

I love the Maple  Agave syrup from Trader Joe's.

Notes

If pancakes are too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk to the batter.

If pancakes are too thin, add 1 tablespoon of flour to the batter.

Sub gluten free flour for whole wheat if you’d like.

I have made Ambitious Kitchen's verion with banana's and those were very tasty too!

Bon appetit!
xox



Take a look at the Brunch Menu from  True Food Kitchen




Candis: 5 things I can't live without...

Candis

5 things I can't live without...

1) My camera:

I've learned through the past 3 years that this outlet for my artistic side is important to my well being.

Growing up, my grandparents and parents were very picture oriented,

and it rubbed off. I never regret snapping a pic of our memories, and having something to look back on.

C and S: Do you have favorite brand or model?

I am a Canon girl and in love with my Canon 5d Mk II

because of the video quality (important for any videographer).

And we also love our point and shoot Canon Powershot for everyday things.

And worse comes to worse, I always have my iphone which I'm constantly snapping pictures on as well.

2) Books:

As a kid, we did not have video games or iphones or ipads.

We had books.

And my dad really wanted us to love to read as much as he did, so he would always take us to the library or buy us any books we wanted.

So it became a big hobby of my brother and I down to this day.

It definitely helped me in so many aspects of my life later, in wirting, in concentration, and even in my imagination. 

It's definitely a love I hope that Eliza learns to have as well.

C and S:  Can you name a favorite book from childhood? 

Do you have a favorite title now?

Growing up, I loved mysteries, and trying to figure them out before the story fully unfolded,

so I owned every Nancy Drew there was.

Now my favorite book is Jane Eyre and it probably won't change for a long time.

3) My Bible:

The best thing to keep me sane, grounded, and humber. 

An important thing for any wife, mother and friend.

It's definitely the most important thing to me.

4) Coffee:

I am not, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be 

~ A Morning Person ~ and neither is my husband.

So coffee is the way we stay sane, and the way we get our work done when you get done with work.

It's been hard during my pregnancy to even cut back and to switch over to decaf and to really monitor my caffeine intake, but I'd do anything for Eliza!

C and S:  Do you have a favorite brand or flavor?

Teiler and I have gone back and forth with so many types of coffee,

 starting with our huge espresso maker and making Amerciano's from home.

Now we use Espresso in our French press and our favorite one is actually a little green can from the store called Cafe La Llave.

But we are also big suckers for Coffee Bean.

MMM....

5) The Beach:   

There is nothing quite like feeling the sand beneath your toes and listening to the waves of the ocean crash on the shore.

 I grew up in a beach city, and it is forever in my bones. I can't wait for Eliza to experience it.

C and S:  Do you have a favorite beach?

One of my favorite beaches because of nastalgia of growing up there is Huntington Beach,  CA, tower 9. It's where we always used to go growing up. 

But I'm also a sucker for Table Rock beach in Laguna. 

It is quite a treck down at least 100 stairs and hard to find parking down there,

(and to be honest, if you blink you might miss the entrance)

but the very secluded beach,

and the beauty of that beach is definitely worth it.

xox

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Jessica: 5 things I can't live without

Jessica

5 things I can't live without...

1.  Any kind of dark chocolate out there!!

One of my favorites is Trader Joe's Salted Chocolate Almonds.

2.  Black eyeliner and black mascara.

I know, I listed two items technically, but they go hand in hand.  I view them as one flesh, lol!

3.  Reggiano Lambrusco... a yummy sparklilng red wine which is just divine. 

You can find this at any Trader Joe's.

4.  Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's Vanilla powder.  This vanilla latte is my daily jolt!

I could never live without this one, even on vacation I bring this powder with me.

5.  My tinted spf 20 by 100% Pure.

xox

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Weekend fun in Southern California

This weekend was a fabulous fun filled weekend!

The weather was just fabulous here in sunny California. 

Our very close friends from Manhattan, NY (Josh, Lisa and their little cutie pie, Eliza) spent the week visiting their old stomping grounds here in Los Angeles, and we were so happy they were able to spend the weekend with us.

Here are some Instagram pics from the weekend.

Josh is known for knowing all the best eateries in town, so I was happy to be able to take them to a place he had never been to before.

He loved it!

I was ecstatic!

If you can, you should check out True Foods Kitchen. 

It's very fresh, healthy, organic, and so tasty!

If you are visiting the Santa Monica area, you can rent bikes along many parts of the beach. 

We rented some at Santa Monica Bike Center which is just next door to True Foods Kitchen. 

We parked at the Santa Monica Place - which is fabulous by the way - had lunch at True Foods, then rented bikes.

We had so much fun.

Have a great week everyone!

xox



Britney: 5 things I can't live without...

Britney

5 things I can't live without...

1. Apple Bear Claws

...think of bear claws in their natural state with almond paste,

but with the wonderful addition of apples.

  My favorite part is what I call the nub at the end of the danish which is the crunchy bit of almond paste that got away from the danish and got a little crunchified.

Also, Maple Oatmeal Scones (I had 'em everyday for about a month during one stint of my life). Scones are healthy aren't they?

They make all of everything they sell from scratch with real ingredients, I know, I worked there!

Some Crust Bakery, located in Claremont, CA.

2. Passion Fruit Macarons

First of all, Bouchon's macarons are about double the size of most macarons, and then the taste is nothing short of pure pleasure!

It's like eating a individual lemon meringue pie, tart yet tangy.

I do believe it's what dreams are made of!

And then there's the Brioche loaf, which my mom once bet I'd have polished off by the end of the day. I saved an end to eat the next morning to prove her wrong!

Bouchon Bakery, located in Beverly Hills, CA.

3. Empanadas and Guavaid from Johnny Pacific.

Now I'm not sure if this is what life tastes like in Argentina where Johnny learned how to make empanadas, but these things are soooooo bomb (can I still say bomb?).

Anyway my faves are the mushroom, spinach and cheese, chicken, kalua pig, ok basically all of them are a favorite!

And they come with these wonderful dipping sauces like basil aioli, chimichurri, etc...

And then there's the Guavaid which is half lemon aid and half guava juice, which just happens to be THE perfect union of tart and sweet!

Trust me!

Johnny Pacific, located in Winettka, CA

4. Bean and Cheese burritos.

Since I was raised in southern California mexican food is kind of a staple in my life.

I soon learned the import of all of this after living on the east coast and the mid west... there's NO Mexican like what we have here in southern CA.

That being said, this is just a simple bean and cheese burrito with no frills, just homemade tortillas and love in the form of refried beans.

I think they are worth writing home about if I do say so myself.

This is a little hole in the wall literally the size of a studio apartment, they only take cash, and they don't have a website just to show how little they are.

Juanita's Mexican Food, located in Pomona, CA

5. Macho Salad, Cluck & Moo, skillet cornbread, and this oreo ditty (not sure of the name of it).

  DISCLAIMER: Vegetarians close your eyes!!!

Ok the Macho salad is amazing!

The croutons are made of their skillet cornbread, it has dates, avocado, a honey mustard type dressing, and this chicken that you smell down the street because it's been on this spit fire thing all day long!

We are talking serious food here not for the faint of heart!

And then there's the Cluck & Moo which isn't on the menu, but is a combination of their amazing chicken previously mentioned and these meaty beef ribs.

Skillet cornbread is a unique version of hoe hum version spiced up with cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and this crust on top that is only the result of loads of butter.

And as if that wasn't enough to top it off there is this chocolate cookie ditty which is made of crushed chocolate wafers, sandwiched with vanilla ice cream, and then set atop a coffee based sauce with homemade whipped cream.

Ok I think I just gained 10 lbs talking about all this!

Bandera, located in Corona Del Mar, CA

xox

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Felicia: 3 things...

Felicia

3 things you may not know about me...well maybe 5 things

1.  I can stand on the knuckles of my toes and have been doing it since as long as I can remember.  My husband thinks its creepy...

2.  I use to be really, really shy and cried a lot when I was little at the slightest thing.  I would literally try really hard to hold the tears back, but to no avail.  It was so embarrassing. 

So glad I grew out of that... (for the most part.)

3.  I am a vegetarian.  Well technically a "pescatarian", but 99% of the time a vegetarian.

4.  I hate it when people use the word ugly when describing others.  It's just wrong. 

People are born the way they are.  We don't have any control over it. 

We are all beautiful.

5.  I really wish I had longer legs.

xox

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Jean-Marie: 3 things...

Jean-Marie

3 things you may not know about me...

1. My great grand mother and i are exactly 71 years apart and this

June see turns 106 and you can do the math to figure out how old I am. Lol!!! And she still lives on in Texas.

2. I love to cloth diaper!!! Yes I cloth diaper my kids. I never thought I would be into it.

But when pregnant with Naomi I started doing research on it and I quickly fell in love.

I have tried it all and I even have made some of my own wool diaper covers.

It's a weird obsession of mine.

And so with that said I will talk to anyone about cloth diapering as I have seen the benefits of it with our budget, for the environment and for the health of my babies bums.

3. I moved to Los Angeles on a whim with a girl I barely knew in 1999.

We became best friends and as we grew to feel like sisters when we were single we actually became sister in laws as we married brothers and our kids are cousins.

We couldn't have planned it out better.

xox

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Fabulous Family Video

Gonzalez Family at the Beach 2012 from lolavideo.net on Vimeo.

I really have some talented friends!

My friend Gina makes these really fabulous videos and I especially love this one because the Gonzalez Family is close to my heart.

What a fabulous way to document a moment in time.

Check out Gina's work at Lola Video.

Have a great weekend.

xox

Dee: 3 things...

Dee

3 things you may not know about me...

 

1.  I can juggle, don't judge me!

2.  I cannot sleep with my feet hanging off the bed! Scares me!

3.  I was the hugest Hanson fan in the world. Ever. Mmmmbop!

xox

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Shana: 3 Things...

Shana

3 things you may not know about me...

1. My mom almost named me Desiree.

My middle name (Michelle) was after The Beatles song.

2. I had my first job at 15 working at Taco Bell.

I wore a polyester gold and brown uniform and came home after work smelling like a greasy taco. Gross.

To add insult to injury - I made a whopping $2.35 an hour. No joke!

3. I'm scared of rats. Like ridiculously scared.

If I even think I see one ..I want to jump up on a chair and cry like a baby!

xox

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Candis: 3 Things....

Candis

3 things you may now know about me...

1) I'm a huge nerd. I love Star Wars and have embraced my large geeky glasses since I've had them since I was 7.

2)  I'm obsessed with the candy Swedish Fish.

3) I hate feet. I won't touch other people's feet, nor do I like mine being touched.

xox

We can't wait to meet Eliza!

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Polenta with Kale and Mushrooms

I am heading over to a friends this weekend for dinner.

She and her family bought a new house a few months ago and we are finally getting over there to enjoy her great back yard and eat some good food.

We are colaborating on dinner, so I think I am going to make my verison of this recipe from  Tartelette.

This looks divine.

I may also try this verison with a poached egg on top...

Also, she has never tasted Nutella before...I know, can you beleive it?

I'm making some cookies stuffed with Nutella for her.

I'll let you know how it all turns out.

xox

Deborah: 3 Things...

Deborah

3 things you may not know about me...

1.   Growing up my parents didn’t allow me to have more than one pierced hole in each ear.

So what did I do as soon as I moved out?

Well, I didn’t even wait that long, on my honeymoon I made sure to find the only place on the entire island of Kauai to get my second hole pierced.

My new husband thought this was a little strange to be so intent on accomplishing on a honeymoon.

I did not. :)

2.  I am allergic to cats, and I’m okay with it. Not sure if I’m just not a cat person because of the allergy, or just because. For some reason I don’t trust them...

3.  My senior year of high school I was editor of our yearbook and also voted ‘Best Hair’ and ‘Most Fashionable’. If you saw what I wore and how I did my hair, you may think the students at my high school weren’t the brightest. :)

xox

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Victoria: 3 Things...

Victoria

3 things you may not know about me...

1. I wanted to be a fashion designer. Yes, I actually applied to FIDM for their fashion design program.


2. I studied dance in High School and was a proud member of the lyrical dance troop. I now watch " do you think you can dance" and still think I should go audition, yeah right!


3. I used to secretly like the puerto rican band Menudo and knew all their songs. My favorite band member was "Micky".



Congratulations to Victoria on her new bundle of joy
Luca Brett Rivera born April 23, 2012.
Love you guys!

xox

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