from raleighwood to hollywood

don't worry, santa has some signifigance in this blog.

1. "always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need" ~julia child

just because i have a small kitchen doesn't mean i'm not going to rachael ray every once in a while. did i just use rachael ray as a verb? anyway, today i made two fantastic meals and they of COURSE made my teapot list. i also made a pretty kickass fruit and yogurt granola parfait for lunch, but i was so excited about eating it i forgot to take a picture. i used a combination of my pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon granola from whole foods. my breakfast was two sunny side down eggs with parmesean, diced roma tomatoes, and hashbrowns with fresh herbs, garlic, parmesean, and caramelized onions. i pride myself on my hashbrowns...and this morning i believe i outdid myself. the second meal was a chicken, cheese, tomato, hot sauce, and red onion quesadilla with whole foods guacamole and salsa. the chicken i used was leftover from my mom's dinner the other night. she had ordered half a roast chicken and it was from a french restaurant so of course it was loaded with butter, garlic, and herbs. it MADE the quesadilla. i don't know if it was my new pan or the perfect amount oil, but the quesadilla was so perfectly brown and crispy it looked like it came from las margaritas. oh how i miss las margaritas. but we'll get to that later. as for HOW i made these delicious meals, check out the fan-fare section!

2. pink

i think everyone deserves to feel sexy in a nice pair of victoria's secret undies.

..yes. this is my neighbor's dog wearing underpants.

3. timing is key

i walked into home depot for key copies, and walked out with a job interview. no...not at home depot. don't get too excited, this story doesn't end like you might think. as i was waiting for the woman to cut my new keys (how rad is that tye dye one!), the man behind me struck up a conversation. people in los angeles are friendly like that. he told me that he's the general manager of a new hollywood nightclub called spot 5750 or "elxr lounge" and as he passed me his card and told me a bit about the place, he casually said "we just finished our hiring today." i sighed and told him it was just my luck, i've been looking for jobs since i moved here a month ago.

he had originally began telling me about the club because i'm a young twenty-something woman and he wants to get the word out to people my age (he obviously didn't realize this very saturday night my plans involved making quesadillas, eating ice cream sandwiches, and watching a lifetime movie), but once i mentioned i had been looking for a job, he asked me about my serving experience and then told me to come by the club tomorrow afternoon.

i was stoked. talk about the right place at the right time. well...as i was sitting here writing this blog it occured me to grab his card out of my wallet and check out the website that was on the back. i typed the website address into my browser bar. hmmm...no website. i googled the name of the club. hmmm...no information. oh wait, here's something in an article from the los angeles independent:

"fictitious business name statement: the following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 1. spot 5750 2. elxr"

apparently GOOGLE is key. 

(and yes mom and dad, i know you're proud of me for being so cautious)

highlight of the day:

guess who's coming home for christmas?! well, i already knew i was coming home in december, but as of today my ticket is officially bought! (thank you mom for doing all the research and buying it for me) i was planning on coming home for around ten days, but because i'm coming so close to christmas (my sister comes in town december 20th), it turns out that the three days on either side of christmas are INSANELY expensive. so instead of shortening the trip and having less time at home while my sister is there, it'll be a two week vacation back to raleigh :) although it seems like a long time to visit, i know that when you live so far away, getting to come home is a little more rare. also, by the time i arrive, i'll have been gone for three whole months. i still can't believe it's already been a month here.

 this long trip home will give me a chance to do all of the things that i've been missing. eat boondini's. play with the cats all day long. pack a duffel bag and head straight for little river. celebrate my sister's birthday and mine with all four of us together. ask my dad very nicely to make me breakfast on a saturday or sunday. get a hot dog from a street vendor on glenwood. see all of my friends. shop in normal stores that have normal parking lots. eat bojangles in my pajamas with my sister. make a daytrip to wilmington and go back to kilwin's. order a to-go pizza from bella monica.

i'll even get to go to las margaritas.

twice.