BIG FUN WEEKEND PLANS

AHHH so stoked for this weekend. Dan and I have been wanting to have an L.A. weekend for quite some time now. My sweet cousin Emy just got an internship with FOX news and moved to Westwood L.A. for the summer! Lucky us, we get to crash with Em and our friend Bryce for the weekend. Here are a few places we are planning to hit up, maybe we'll see you there.

The Getty - A center well known for its famous art, architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles -- can't wait!I've never been and I've heard so many wonderful things about the Getty. The current exhibits feature Parisian artists and rich material ambiance of Paris during the mid-18th century. Oh my...I'm really going to love this!

The Grammy Museum - A museum that uses music as a gateway to learning; inspiring and cultivating creativity, critical-thinking and self-expression. Right now they have exhibits on The Beatles, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson etc.

The Edison - A lounge that retains architectural and mechanical artifacts; a homage to its history of the first private power plant of 1910 in Downtown LA. You enter the lounge through an alleyway! It's located in the sub-basement of the historic Higgins Building. Too cool! The whole lounge has an industrial gothic vibe of the early 1900's. Fun fact...the Edison sells martinis for 35 cents on Thursdays and Fridays. How fun!

Santee Alley - One of the most popular shopping areas in the LA Fashion District and downtown Los Angeles. It's best known for its festive atmosphere and amazing bargains; I like it for it's knock-off's of designer bags and shoes. Shhhhhh don't tell on me. Anything you need, you can find on Santee Alley -- from fluffy bunnies to taser guns, not so sure those are legal. Ha-ha.
Located within two blocks between Santee Street, Maple Avenue, Olympic Blvd., and 12th Street, "The Alley" is open 365 days a year from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm.

Illy Espressamente - An authentic Italian-style café focused on coffee and light gastronomy. Illy food embodies the excellence of Italian cuisine, combining fresh, high-quality ingredients with the creative flare of the numerous chefs who created each recipe. Were going to the Cafe in the JW at LA Live!

Lake Street Creamery -  An ice cream truck of dedicated artisans that brings you unique flavors in ice creams, gelatos, sorbets and the floats. They make all of their ice cream from scratch!  This creamery believes in summer afternoons, ball games and Grampy's old time lemonade.  They believe that a donut-flavored ice cream should be made with real, fresh cake donuts and not Polyol-6 Donut Simulator and that licorice ice cream and grape soda belong together.

Lake Street Creamy sure sounds amazing. I hope we can catch them! Click on their "find us" link to see where they're located for the day.

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and give you the complete update on our weekend when we get home! Yay!

Our 1920's House...

A few months back, Danny bought a house! I know...big news! We are very excited to see what it will become. The house is a major fixer-upper from 1921, but it has great potential and a BIG backyard. Dan and his father are remodeling the house and making it rent worthy for future tenants (with hopes to start a nest egg for ourselves). We recently tore down a wall and found a newspaper ad from 1929! Too cool -- an advertisement for a permanent hair wave for $4.50.

Sometimes we drive over to the house just to visit our adopted cat (Captain Jack - he apparently belongs to our address) and I like to sit in the house with Jack and Dan and imagine what life would have been like in the 1920's. I think about the history this house has seen...who lived here, what did they look like, did they own a Model T, did she wear a mink stole, how many families had memories of this house before us? If only walls could talk. Right?

We are so thankful for our little shack/soon to be cute cottage. We hope we can get it finished in the months to come. Here are a few pictures of our fixer-upper and a photoshop image of what we hope it will look like in the future. Hmmmm...what would life have been like in the 1920's?

Our big backyard!

Some vintage wallpaper...I'm guessing from the 1950's

Here is some of the original wallpaper from 1921!

Danny and his father Doug working on the kitchen

The 1929 ad we found in the wall space

Working on the house

This is a Photoshop image of what we hope the house will look like when we're finished

She must have seen our ad!

Maybe they lived here...

These babies crack me up! Too funny

I'll be sure to keep you updated on our progress!

Pictures:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

YSL Rings.

Pictures: 1,2,3

Newspaper Nail Art! How Fun!

How fun!
1. Paint on a light colored nail polish and let dry
2. Dip fingernail in alcohol -- basically any will do, vodka is suggested 
3. Press a strip of newspaper big enough to cover the whole nail on to your alcohol soaked nail
4. Pull off slowly
5. Paint a clear top coat 

Picture: Pinterest   

DIY: Lanterns

Lanterns add pizazz to parties, dinners, shindigs etc. Here are some fun DIY lanterns that will jazz up any special event.

P.S. Kids love making these too!

Cocktail Umbrella Lantern

Illuminate your outdoor soiree with a saucy summer lantern made from cocktail umbrellas.

Doily Tree Flowers

These are dainty and adorable. You can use a strand of Christmas tree lights! Wrap small paper doilies around the base of the each light. Secure with clear tape.

Fabric Makeover Lamp

Find your favorite fabric and cut the length and width of the lampshade circumference. Sew the fabric ends together and pull it over your lampshade. Vuala.

Tin Can Lanterns
Draw dot designs with a washable marker and then poke holes in the tin with a nail and hammer. Hang with a wire and place a candle inside. Simple and cute.

Pearl Lamp

Ooh la la, this is so pretty. You will need a wire cage and wire pearl strands.These pearl strands can be found at craft stores like Michael's in the flower or wedding section. Simply twist the pearls between the slats on the cage and hang you lantern with a metal chain and hook.

Tissue Pendant Lamps

These are fun looking! I would make these the same way as the cocktail umbrella lantern -- A paper lantern, glue and tissue paper. I've also seen these decorated with newspaper circles and thin book pages. Fun stuff.

Lace Lantern
BEAUTIFUL! This one takes a bit longer, but the finished product is magnificent. You will need lace doilies, a large balloon (found at party supply stores), string, wood or wall glue, a brush and a light with an extension cord.

1. Blow up your balloon to the desired size of your lamp and hang it from a string
2. Soak all of your lace doilies in glue and place them on your balloon. Make sure that the doilies overlap -- this will give your lamp more support
3. Once all of your doilies have been placed on the balloon, take you brush and coat the lamp once more.
4. Let the lamp dry for 24 hours or until the glue is hard.
5. Pop your balloon and carefully peal it away from the inside of the lamp.
6. Attach your light bulb and extension cord and secure it to the inside of the lamp...

Pictures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Shaker Lemon Pie with Vodka Pie Crust

My Dad makes the best pies! He’s a perfectionist at heart and when he makes this pie, you better believe it’s the best darn pie you’ll ever taste - perfect lemony heaven. He found this recipe at Cooks Country and makes it for special occasions. It’s my favorite pie! I always tell him to make two so he can share the wealth with me!

You will need 6 tablespoons of lemon juice for this recipe. Have an extra lemon on hand in case the 3 sliced lemons do not yield enough juice.

Serves 8.

Ingredients

1 double-crust pie dough (Dad uses this Vodka Pie Crust Recipe )

3 large lemons, sliced THIN and seeded (see technique below)

1 ¾ cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie plate with 1 dough round and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Squeeze lemon slices in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl; reserve juice (you should have 6 tablespoons). Bring drained slices and 2 cups water to boil in saucepan, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slices are softened, about 5 minutes. Drain well and discard liquid. Combine softened lemon slices, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup reserved lemon juice in bowl; stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Whisk cornstarch and remaining lemon juice in large bowl. Whisk eggs into cornstarch mixture, then slowly stir in lemon slice mixture, then slowly stir in lemon slice mixture until combined. Pour into chilled pie shell. Brush edges of dough with 1 teaspoon cream and top with remaining dough round. Seal, crimp edges, and brush top of dough with remaining cream. Using paring knife, cut 4 vents in top of dough.

4. Bake until light golden, about 20 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour. Serve. (Pie can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 2 days.)

Technique

The Slice is Right

We found that using a knife to evenly cut the lemons into paper-thin slices was a difficult and time-consuming task. We had better results with a mandoline (or V-slicer), which produced perfectly thin slices in no time at all. If you don’t have a mandoline, we did find another piece of kitchen equipment that will make the process easier—the freezer. Popping the lemons into the freezer for about 30 minutes firms them up for better hand-slicing, which is best accomplished with a serrated knife.

Technique

Building Bold, Not Bitter, Lemon Flavor

Using sliced whole lemons, pith and all, can produce an overwhelmingly bitter filling. We found a few tricks to create bright lemon flavor while tempering the bitterness of the pith.

1. Squeeze the seeded lemon slices and reserve the juice for the filling.

2. Simmer the slices to mellow the bitterness of the pith and then add them to the filling with the uncooked juice.

Picture by sindicatosbuzz and knoxnews