Just Because I Can!

So as my roommate would put it “how adorbs is this”. I saw this one night with one of my “I’ll just step into this store to kill time, while hoping I wouldn’t actually purchase anything” moments. I actually picked it up, walked around, justified why I should by it but some how by some force unknown to me put it back on the shelf. Then the next day at work I showed two co workers and thought about it through out the day. That’s when you know you are really allowed to by it. When you keep thinking about it. Is it me or do other’s do the same thing, they figure it’s “ok” to buy it because you can’t stop thinking about it, so why deprive yourself of this item.

Unfortunately for me there aren’t many times I actually have to go through this very often because shopping is my weakness and I right away justify buying the item.

So there is no sleep on it moment for me. Though I am trying to rectify this knowing that I do not need every item that I see, it is purely impulse buying and then I remember all the little kidos in Uganda who won’t be able to ever just walk into a store and buy something just because they want it.

You’re proud of me? So am I.

It’s been a hard thing to realize but slowly and surely I will learn that I do need everything…or do I?

Back to the cup, so stinking cute right!! If you want one they are at Urban Outfitters. Enjoy!!

500 days...

So this weekend I had a really great time enjoying the lovely town on LA and I have decided to share it with you. Awhile back I saw the movie 500 days of summer. Amazing movie and I highly recommend it. As I was watching the movie though I was trying to figure out where it was filmed and to my surprise it was right here in my backyard. The movie made LA look cool all over again.

So my roommate told me about a walking tour of the film to see where it was filmed. I was instantly excited and took the day off work to enjoy the day in LA. It was set up through the LA Conservancy who does tours all over LA and including Venice Beach. Our tour guide was the guy who choose the places for the movie to be filmed which was great because he told us why he chose those places and what makes the so unique.

I highly recommend taking a tour around LA to fall back in love with the place you live because sometimes we all just get stuck in a rut!

Awesome building that I want to plan an event like a wedding or a ball, this scene was at the end of the movie when the main character was at a job interview. Amazing amazing building!

LA first sky scraper, so cool to see up close and notice all the little details.

The famous bench in the movie also known as Angels Knoll, super cute place to relax and just hang!

When I say I do...

So a couple of my friends are getting married this year and the last couple of months I have seen multiple engagement and wedding photos. It doesn't help either that I work at a wedding destination where for a mere million dollars you too can get married there!

At work we receive wedding resumes of the couples, with information all about their grand event and the names of all their vendors. I usually look at who their wedding event coordinator is and then I look at the photographer and visit their website for ideas of my own. I find that photographers are so creative not just with pictures but also with such a beautiful view of life. I know have my dream wedding pretty much planned in my head but won't be planning it for quiet sometime!

I have come across one of my favorite photographer so far. I love this guys work because it is so vintage, funky and out of the box. I have also met him and his wife and think they are just the cutest couple! Check out their blog and see for yourself, this is Gabriel Ryan's blog.

spare the chook eat more red meat!

I just want to mention how much I heart 17th street. Not only is there a yogurtland (which in itself is a whole other blog entry), and what I think to be by far the best frozen yogurt in the land, but I just saw another great store opening early 2010!
As I was walking to the shops as I do on 17th I noticed the old Pasta Bravo was now covered by a sign that said "The Counter". I am instantly excited and actually took a picture of the "opening early 2010" sign and bbm'ed it to my roommate and my friend Michael who share the love of The Counter with me.
This is a build it yourself burger restaurant that also specializes in micro brews and plasma screen tvs which play the current sporting events. This isn't any normal burger joint though, it has a type of glam and flare that makes it a little more classy than any other burger joints.
I would strongly advise you look at their website, just the page makes you hungry for one of their custom burgers!
Looks like the next 6 months are going to be an exciting one on 17th!!

I had to share!

Ok so with Twilight's new moon coming out soon there has been much talk about promotional items, memorabilia etc etc...

I am not one who usually buys those types of things also I am not one to wear a star wars shirt or have figurines. You're surprised by this? Not so much.

But when I came across a designer who had come out with a line of jewelry for Twilight's New Moon I decided that I might just have to get one.

Take a look for yourself and if you are a fan of the series I am sure you will be on the look out for this collection, the designer's is Gina Nigrelli and her jewelry line is Jules Smith.

Just a sneak peak...

Uber Cute!

I'm the kind of person who enjoys grocery shopping, it brings me a sense of peace to walk up and down the isles looking for something new or just being so fascinated with the amount of choices we have now a day to spice up a meal.

I remember being in Israel and grocery shopping with my uncle, which was one of my favorite moments because we spent hours upon hours there trying to figure out what things were because all the labels were in Hebrew. Luckily I pride myself in the kitchen so I was able to figure out what things were by just the taste and touch test.
Ok so that was a bit of a side track to the theme of this post. Back to the topic at hand, another thing I like to do it walk up and down the card isle. Some of my favorite places to meander is Where's the Party? on 17th and also Papyrus. I purchase cards in case I need to quickly send one out to a friend who is not feeling well, or a birthday that has snuck up on me.
Recently I found the uber cute online store called The Paper Wink. Adorable stationary, note cards and labels (which are shown below). Our culture has lost the art of writing cards and we now send impersonal emails or facebook messages. I propose that we all go out and buy (or even make your own) cards and send it to someone to brighten up their day! You'll be surprised how good it makes you feel just for that little gesture.

Summer Lovin

So now that summer is around the corner (as well as my bday) I have been trying to come up with cute ideas for summer dinner parties or a cute cocktail idea. Also fun things to do with the little ones during those hot SoCal days. So the other day I went and checked on to see what Martha would say.

Yes we all know martha, the crazy lady with lots of crafty ideas, the lady who went to jail for investment fraud, but really the lady is amazing! Check out some of these ideas for the summer, super duper cute!

Yummy to do with the kids, a scoop of ice cream rolled in sprinkles!

Very classy way to dress up a candle, wrap around some string or rope and pop in a flower and you have a very attractive center piece!

One of my favorite ideas. Decorating a vodka bottle from the outside. You can use fruit, flowers anything you decided. So fun!

A little Change Goes A Long Way...

My roommate and I have been redecorating our apartment since the beginning of the year and it has been quite a fun process. We started out by taking a day trip up to LA's fabric district which is always an adventure. We came home with a wonderful cream colored (washable!) fabric, we managed to barter down the price quite significantly, as two well knowledgable ladies would do. My extremely talented roommate then made a slip cover for our lounge chair from scratch with no pattern. We also rearranged some items so give more height and depth to the room, painted a mirror, ordered at print online which I saw at a store in Fashion Island for $250 but found online for $25 on esty, a great source for all things creative and hand made.
The next step was to pick a color for the walls. This came from an inspiration pictured below which my roommate found. Now that we are in the just about finished we are so pleased with the results and will catch each other staring at the walls.

Redecorating can be done on a budget from getting discounted fabric to saving on paint at home depot and just a simple reorganizing of a few fixtures. You'll be amazed at how a little redecorating can change the whole feel of your home and makes everything look fresh again!

Need I say more...

The all time cream of the crop, numero uno, utmost favorite place to get a cup of coffee (or tea, or bagel or acai berry bowl for that matter) is Kean coffee on 17th. It is a favorite to the locals here in Newport and I place that I splurge on at least once a week. I used to get my usual sugar free vanilla soy latte, but I have recently been introduced to the soy lavender infused latte. Yes I said it infused (said in a fancy drawn out way).

Knowing that I would want to blog about Kean someday I have been racking my mind how I was going to convey to my audience the magnitude of it's greatness. There are so many reasons why one would be attracted to their coffee shop and justify paying $4 or $5 for a cup of joe. Maybe it's the funky urban feel, maybe it's a leaf or a heart they skillfully design on your foam or the fact that all of their coffee is fair trade thanks to the coffee aficionado and owner Martin Dietrich.

For me it's the memories I savor there. Memories of my roommate and I strolling across the street to our old friends at Kean to pick up a cup of coffee, enjoy the sunshine and wander back to our apartment. Or the memory of when I met my sister there and she pulled out a little black and white photo to tell me about the new baby in her belly.

I love when my mom or sister call to say they are going to be there knowing that I will drop what I am doing to run across the street to meet them. Now that I think about it those poor barista's have seen me in every stage of my day, morning, afternoon after a work out, and night. And well let's admit it...my morning after look as well!

Below is a photo my roommate took on the beach at Corona Del Mar on a 80 degree day in January. I think it is the best depiction of my love of Kean simple yet oh so enticing!

So Creative

I was on the plane on the way to Nelson, New Zealand to visit Mum's side of the family and found these in the Air New Zealand Magazine. Kiwi's are so creative, little ginger cookies dipped in chocolate in the shape of a spoon. Yum! Don't be surprised if you see these for your next birthday present or Christmas present as I think they are darling!

Universal Language

Note the Kosher sign below it.

Kosher Hamburger with unleaven bread cause of passover. It was interesting for sure.

Yogurt land can you believe it!! I didn't go there though because I didn't want to have it taste different and ruin my love for froyo!

This is where we got the furniture, but the weirdest thing is that is was so expensive there, not the typical IKEA we are used to!

What Can I Say...

I've got a new obession! Today we travelled to Hebron because I have been seeing these amazing pieces of palestinian pottery in the Old City, but it is basically a joke to buy it there if you have access to Hebron where it is half the price. So fortunatley my uncle needed to pick up a few things for his new place and made a work trip out of it with a UN driver and all.

So we stopped at a pottery and glass shop which was just amazing to see the guys blowing and making the glass right in the front of the shop. Then we went in to where all the beautiful and colorful pieces of pottery were. I could have spent many hours just looking (and a lot of money). I had to keep reminding myself that I need to some how get all this stuff back to the states with me.

While we were shopping there was also a group of about 30 palestinian school girls on some sort of field trip. After about 5 minutes I began to feel a bit cramped and realized that these girls were literally following me around the store and were standing right next to me, no matter where I went. They tried practicing their english by asking; What your name?, "Amanda", Where you live? "California", Are you Hebrew? "no no", and at the end of the round of questions they said "Amanda we love you" and walked away.

Looks like I am moving to Hebron.

I Hate Guns!

All my life I have been told not to use the word hate because it is "not a nice word". Well I hate guns, hate hate hate them. They are not nice and they hurt people. Being here I have had to get used to seeing them every where and worn by any one. The other night after dinner we were walking to the taxi and there was a kid dressed in civialian clothes carrying this big gun, I was told he was an off duty solider but I think he was just showing off to the girl he was walking with.
Now I have gotten used to stopping in the front of parking lots so the attendants can check your car to see if you have any weapons or bombs and I have gotten used to opening my purse to show the security guy that I have no weapons when entering a store, but not to the open policy of guns!

Here it is acceptable to have a gun and wear it around town. My uncle has noticed my fear of them and now points out when he see's one. For instance we were walking out of the grocery store the other day and there was a nice looking man walking in front of us with one in the back of his jeans, just as normal as carrying his cell phone clipped to his belt.

Here is a typical day in Tel Aviv out and about shopping with some friends, and oh yeah encountering more guns. In this picture are two police officers on the sidewalk next to me, this is one thing I won't miss.

A Salad Sounds Good

My first meal in Israel was at a lovely resturant at the top of the Legacy Hotel in East Jerusalem. I decided to order lamb since I love it so much and I knew it would be good as it is a popular dish here. The waiter asked my uncle if we would like to share a salad before our main course. He ordered one and I thought that would be nice to get some greens before my meal.

Reality check, Amanda you aren't in America therefore "salads" and other foods might have the same name but can actually be completely different. This being the case here. What he in fact ordered was a "Meeza Salad". If you are unaware what this is, like myself at the time, it is actually group of dished such as; a plate of hummus, a plate of tabbouli, a plate of chopped up onion, tomato and herbs, a plate of pickled grilled cauliflower and a big plate of pita bread. Seeing as I am in a new country I told myself to try new things and went for it.

The meal was actually really lovely (though quite filling) and I decided that I should eat more middle eastern food. Though I don't think I am going to eat the pickled colliflour again I was proud of myself for trying something new. Anything with warm fresh pita bread? Sign me up! Below is an example of what a Mezza Salad is, imagine getting this before your main course!

All's Fair in Love and War

My first blog from Israel! I have had blog subjects running through my mind since I have boarded the plane in LA! It amazing how much your life and your perspective can change within 4 days. I went from working at one of the most beautiful areas in the world to going through an army check point with boys holding guns on the westbank of Israel.

A story I have decided to blog about is from my trip to the Old City in Jerusalem. It is a brisk walk from where I am staying, about 20 minutes away. I got to the gates of the Old City and right away felt a presence when I walked through. It is an amazing experience! I thought I had my route planned out but my world was turned upside down by the lay out of the city. From what I can compare it to is, when I was a child and went to the fun zone there was a maze you would wonder through and collect stamps and once they were all collected whoever exited first won! That's what it was like, a crazy maze with streets lined with vendors and places I knew I wanted to see. Since I was by myself I didn't want to walk around with a map in front of my face so once I realized I saw the same place 3 times in 2 hours I sat down and tried to figure my route out again.

I was looking for a church and this boy, who was no more than 17, came up to me and asked if I was alone, I told him noooo I am meeting my friends at the Church of the Sepulcher. He then asked if I knew where I was going, I said oh yeah I am fine and walked away. He came up to me again and said, mamm you are not going the right way let me walk you there. I thought "red flag" after I told him I was American and he said his sister lived in Chicago, New York...hmmm really? But we walked quickly through narrow streets and up narrow stairs and ended up on a roof top. I thought right away if anything happens here this guy is going off the roof!

It turns out that it was an amazing view of the city and of the Dome of the Rock that only locals would know. He then showed me the street that I needed to go on. I thanked him for his help and gave him 20 sheckles. He said NO! That's not enough you give me 50! I gave him another 10 sheckles so that he wouldn't harm me and went on my way. I almost said "You can't hussle a hussler homie", but left it as it was.

The Final Count Down...

Ok so I have a mixed feeling of anxiety and nerves. Today I took my luggage out of my closet and laid it open on the ground thus officially beginning the packing process. I have bought things I think I might need like snacks for my walking adventures, new clean white socks and things my uncle has asked me to pick up like a salad spinner and goo gone.

How does one prepare for an adventure of a lifetime? I think I have everything I need but am not sure and I guess I won’t know until I get there. But that is precisely the point of me going, to make sure that anyone to follow will have the knowledge of what to pack, where to go (and NOT go), what to expect, where to eat and what to do. This is truly my dream job!

I am preparing as best I know how. From what I have read the greatest and most memorable way to get from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is to take the train, then you can experience the country side and towns throughout your one and a half our trip. Also a good tip is to purchase travelers insurance, they cover medical, dental as well as luggage loss…very important!! I have also bought the Discovery Channels book Guide to Israel; who would know better than discovery channel they made the show Earth after all! Next I checked my in-flight entertainment and I am happy to announce they will be showing Twilight. (Don’t groan, roll your eyes or have any negative thoughts it’s an amazing book and you should read it too!!) I have purchased a box of Kashi Go Lean bars for those moments when I am out and about and starving and wouldn’t have a clue where to turn for a kebab (more research for the trip, apparently the local common snack is a kebab aka gyro).

The final preparations is to make of list of items I need to pack to make sure I am not forgetting anything, put aside things that I need to bring to New Zealand only because don’t forget I will be going there 36 hours after I get back for Israel, spend time with co workers at my going away party on Wednesday, also spend quality time with my nephews and family. And last but not least make sure my roommate does not feel like I am abandoning her in anyway. (We have joked for the last couple weeks that I am going to come home with my things in the courtyard, my room rented out and locks changed.)

All in all I have to just keep telling myself that I have prepared for this the best I can and that though I will be by myself most of the time while touring I am just going to walk around looking like I know exactly where I am going and what I am doing. Self confidence? That won’t be too hard at all! Count down is T-minus 2 days 15 hours!

Shoulda been...

I am often told, and will freely admit, that I should have been a housewife in the 50's. For goodness sakes I got myself a crock pot and was given a sewing machine for Christmas this last year! My favorite show currently is Madmen which I think you should all watch because it's an amazing show! I love the little outfits that Betty wears and how she is always so put together. She prances around the kitchen and with her perfectly put together children in a dress and coordinating apron, and then dresses up in heels and pearls in the evening to have a dirty martini with her hunky debonair husband. So the other day I was strolling around the "net" and saw this amazing little number...





...Now an apron like THAT would make you want to stay in the kitchen all day whipping up something sweet and savory!! It is on a site called heavenly hostess and while looking at their locations of course I found that they sold it in a little store on 17th called Fleur de Lys.



Now all I have to do is find some cute fabric (and a hunky hubby) and copy them whilst saving myself $80!

Tick, tock it's almost time!

A few of you might have heard recently that I am gearing up for a month long adventure overseas. I leave in a week in a half to spend 2 weeks in Jerusalem, Israel with my uncle and then fly back home for 36 hours to spend a little time catching up on sleep, doing copious amounts of laundry and visiting the nephews before I fly off again to New Zealand. I am still in disbelief that this is all happening! I am so excited and in a bit of denial that I am this truly blessed!


So I have been trying to prepare for my trips and as I have lived and been to New Zealand many times I know what’s in store for me there. Israel is a whole new ball game. I went shopping a couple of weekends ago with my bestie trying to figure out what to wear while touring over there and not sticking out like a sore thumb. I have heard that I need to cover my knees and shoulders, well for goodness sakes coming from Southern California I don’t have many items that go past my knees or that are some form of tank top.


Luckily Old Navy just came out with these long flowing dresses I can put a shirt under or throw a cardigan on top when in need of covering my shoulders. Needless to say, little by little, as I was piecing it all together I noticed my "look" was very reminiscent of biblical times, a long flowing dress with a cardigan and roman sandals. So I guess I subconsciously concluded that when in Israel one should still look like they did when Jesus roomed the earth 2 thousand years ago!


Another fun fact about my trip is that my uncle emailed me suggesting that I learn a few key Arabic phrases. Fortunately I work in the hospitality industry and have a co worker who speaks Arabic so he has been teaching me words like hello, goodbye, where is the woman’s bathroom, don’t shoot…you know the basics. Hopefully those few words will suffice along with whatever I might find useful and easy to understand on the pod cast that my roommate was so kind to find for me.


A few things I think about while I am gone, one that I somewhat have an understanding of what people are saying or ironically there will be a group of English speaking tourist who also can speak, read and write Hebrew and Arabic that are coincidentally are on the all same tours as I am! Two that I won't get completely lost in a foreign country, get kidnapped become missing, turn into an Arabian princess and have a movie made about my life. Three that I will not want to come home because I am already internally struggling with the over abundance of things and stuff and nonsense that are consumed by Americans these days.


Over all I am so overly excited about this adventure, it finally pays off to be single 25 with no major responsibilities therefore having the ability to whisk myself away for a month of fun adventure and memories to last a life time!

Hello World!

It is an astonishing thing what a new baby can bring. There is a sense of excitement and something new in the air.

I went over to my sister’s house Tuesday night after picking up some frozen yogurt which was a craving, for her husband, to find she was having contractions. One would find this uncomfortable to watch and though it was hard to see her in pain, it was a different feeling because I knew that the baby was coming. So it was more of an exciting anticipatory feeling rather than a negative one.

The last time she had a baby I was living in Seattle and so I missed most of her pregnancy and moments before the birth. This time was much different as I was able to watch her grow and go through those pregnancy moments with her, also fortunate to throw great baby shower with her dearest friend. Now nine months later I am an auntie (or Tia as Zach would call me)again to a beautiful new baby boy, Mason Charlie.

I am even more excited now to have children of my own in no less than 10 years. I am excited to share those precious moments with my family and friends. I am also excited to go shopping and register for all the fun things that the baby can use and wear. Some things that I am hope that will not happen when I have my babies are as follows. One that we will not be in a recession, two that my sister will not be too busy with her 15 children that she will be too busy for me, three that my parents won’t be living more than 20 minutes away from me at any time before, during or after the birth, and finally four that I won’t gain more than the baby weighs. My only hope is that I can look as good as my sister does after giving birth because I’m pretty sure there was an extensive list of people who thought she looked amazing after the birth of both her sons!

I wanted to add photos of the little guy to this posting but didn't want to spoil it for his parents, so photos to come!

Golden Birthday

Happy 50th Birthday Barbie!


You might wonder why I am wishing Ms. Barbie a Happy Birthday. Well this falls under the savoring the memories category. Recently my mom decided to get rid of all the things at her house that belong to me, which includes a box of my old barbies and accessories. I was going through the box and came across two barbies that had me giggling for quite some time!

They had pink lips and obnoxious purple and blue eyeshadow circa 1980's. Interestingly enough one was bald and the other had a failing attempt for a short cut a-la Zach Morris from Saved by Bell. Memories came flooding back to the fact that I wasn't allowed a Ken doll, therefore defying my parents by cutting my barbies hair instead to make them Ken!!

Needless to say after my run in with my past I picked the fanciest dress I could find in the box, put it on the Barbie, took it home to my apartment, propped he/she up on the mantel place so my roommate could see it with a sign next to it saying NO on Prop 8!

I actually owned the barbie below which was featured on most memorable barbie looks on LAtimes.com! I am pretty sure she was one of the ones who had her locks cut off!

What's in a Name...

...well let me tell you. I have wanted to start a blog for quite sometime now. My roommate and I have even considered starting one together and the only thing holding me back was what to name it. I went through many avenues trying to figure it out...posting in my status on facebook asking for ideas, also asking various friends what they thought. I considered naming it "Running in Heels" (but then quickly discovered I had only thought of it because it is a name of a movie, very cute name mind you!!). Then my roommate suggested I named it Cheerio. Multiple reasons there, first I eat a bowl of honey nut Cheerios everyday, and also because I am "British" and that is the term for goodbye. But I thought since this will be a blog about my travels around the world and my love for the street I live on (17th in Newport, the cutest and most convenient street in all of America), I came up with this name.

Savoring the World is more than just taste, it's in the moments, in the photos and in the memories. So here's to my first blog and to savoring the world! Hope you enjoy!!