Avocado Pie

There is such a thing as avocado pie.  It is green and delicious and tastes a lot like a creamy key lime pie.  I highly recommend you try it as it is also one of the easiest deserts you will ever make.  Simply take 2 avocados, 1/4 cup lime juice, and a can of sweetened condensed milk and blend/whip/puree together, pour over a graham cracker crust, and refrigerate for about two hours.  Boom.  Deliciousness.

You might wonder how one discovers such a thing.  No, I wasn't just looking at pinterest. A friend of mine was talking about his love for avocados and mangos and I was telling him of my love of baking pies.  The crazy idea of avocado pie came up and a quick google search made the dream happen.  We were skeptical at first but with such easy directions and limited cost it seemed worth a try.  You should too.

Lists

It's been a while, apologies.

Marks of a successful day:
1. waking up and getting out of bed
2. being ready and on-time to Church
3. meeting new people and hanging out with friends after church
4. making that hang-out involve show business/networking
5. coming home and actually doing productive things like:
        laundry
        cleaning (bathroom, kitchen, various rugs)
        eating my leftover thai food (delicious)
        going for an adventurous run around my neighborhood

Why I love my neighborhood (Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA):
1. The Griffith Observatory is visible from my street and every time I come home at night it is lit up like a giant star on a Christmas tree guiding me home and making the area seem more cheerful.
2. It contains various coffee shops, an awesome book shop, a boulangerie that reminds me of Paris, a diner that is not only famous but is green and orange, and an historical looking theater!
3. Walks around the beautiful neighborhoods (above me, where I can't afford to live) are filled with floral smells, wafts of outdoor dinner party conversation and happy clinking sounds, snippets of a classical clarinet player practicing, and a spectacular view of the sun setting behind the observatory.
4. I can work out by walking through said beautiful neighborhood because most of the hills are at 45 degree angles or more.
5. I can come home to a cozy apartment and write this while drinking some lady grey tea all snuggly warm in recently dried clothes.

"springtime" milk

Today's morning went as follows:
wake up, roll over, close eyes, roll over, pick up computer, email, buy running shoes, get hungry, go to kitchen and make pb and j, decide that a glass of milk sounds perfect with that (an unusual experience for me as I do not normally drink straight milk), pour milk in pretty pink plastic cup, sit down to read "The Brother's Bloom" script, munch on sandwich, pick up glass, drink a sip of milk, something is off....it's like....flowers....the smell of them....in my mouth, realize there was still soap in my glass and I've just drunk the palmolive "springtime" soap.  Lesson learned: milk is not for drinking, I'll stick to water.

First Day of Work

Today was my very first day as an (unpaid) intern and it was fantastic.  I always thought that I would hate office jobs but that was when I was never interested in what the company was doing.  This company is producing films and television shows.  I got to spend all day reading interesting material and organizing it.  To most people this sounds tedious, and maybe it is a little, but I was the child that grew up making my father pretend to sign a large stack of "forms" (read: old paper from his office that was being thrown away).  I mean I did the whole scan certain clauses with your pen, write an x, end with a sweet smile saying "sign here please...and here....and...here." The other benefit is that they fed me and as a poor (unpaid) intern I relish the wonderfully organic Trader Joe's goodies they are stocked up on.  And the coffee.  Oh, man.  They have a milk foamer and almond milk plus different levels of strength coffee thingys (you know like keurig but better).  There is (almost) nothing better than a great cup of coffee and some interesting material to read.

The Heart of a Pirate and Men on Fire

found this vid on my friend Caroline's blog, she's rad. Check her out!

The Grove

The Grove is a shopping mall in the district of Fairfax, Los Angeles near Park La Brea and Beverly Hills.  It is a large outdoor shopping mall that has an aspect of whimsicality to it. An historic free trolly runs through the middle of winding streets marked with notable store brands and beautiful cafes.  One road looks like it could almost be a European side street (except much cleaner and newer and generally more American).  One of these cafes, the Marmalade Cafe (a local chain in the Los Angeles area), was the site for a birthday celebration of my new friend Katie.  It was her twenty-first and we had a wonderful waiter who both brought out the cake her roommates had bought at the right time with lighted candles and an ice cream sundae from the restaurant (new ice cream and cake dance?).  I was also able to try this wonderful pear flatbread.  Savory pears? Yes. On warm flatbread with cheese and balsamic drizzle.  It was simply delicious and much more affordable than the gargantuan bowls of pasta they offered.      

View from my spot on top of the 1759 Historical Trolly Ride!

Malibu (updated)

I was going to try and upload some pictures from the lovely ocean town of Malibu, CA but time and exhaustion have prevented me from doing so (not to mention that here at the beach June Gloom hits things more prominently making the mornings and evenings foggy and, thus, unsuitable for pictures).  I am here at a Catholic Monastery for Act One's kick off retreat.  It has been fabulous to meet and talk to the sixty or so other participants about the intersection of art, truth, beauty, and filmmaking.  Tomorrow will be a long day of workshops and information but tonight was a lot of fun and a little exploring.  I went with two new friends down to the beach and into the town of Malibu tonight where we talked of muppets, musicals, and a love of diet Dr. Pepper.  The more time I spend learning about "the business" and talking with the other people here the more at home I feel.  I am so thankful to have this opportunity to learn from experienced writers and producers in this field and to get to know people who share the same love of story-telling that I do.  In an effort to avoid the cliched "coming home" and "these are my people" statements I will simply state that I am uncertain what the future holds but confident that this is where I am supposed to be.  More to come after the retreat ends...

UPDATE:
Here are some pictures from Malibu and the retreat!

Love Shack?

Alyson and Barnabas

Santa Monica in the distance

self-explanatory

View looking out on the Malibu neighborhood we were in

View from outside the balcony on my floor at the retreat

Garden and bench

Serra Retreat Center

The most beautiful and heartbreaking statue of an angel I have ever seen

...Forever (see previous post)

The line waiting to get into the cemetery

        Last night was my first night attending one of Cinespia's screenings in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Right by Paramount Studios, the cemetery was filled with people eager to see Johnny Depp (in all of his youthful cut-off shirted glory) play Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).  It was my first viewing and I was happy to find that not only did the movie make you jump even with dated effects (there was the added element of seeing it in a cemetery at night with a man dressed as Freddy Kreuger sneaking up on unsuspecting audience-members) but it was also quite funny.  Small quips throughout, playing off of a comical reverse of parental roles, made the movie much funnier than expected.

       Although we were a bit of a ways aways from the screen it was a lot of fun to sit out on blankets as the sun went down over the not-so-distant ocean.

I went to a flea market today and picked up a piece of artwork for my room: a painting of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Even though it's in the wrong city I suppose it reminds me of the east coast.  The price was right at $22 for an oil on canvas that's about 1.5 ft by 2.5 fit.  Looks great in my new room.     

 

On the way home I passed this sign.  I thought that it was a remarkable idea, perhaps I'll try it when I run out of books on "tape" (aka CD or iPod, times they are a changing).  First, I have to get my Los Angeles library card, something I was happy to find was on the top of one of my 

friend's to-do lists upon moving to LA as well.

Hollywood...

Skylight Books

Fred 62

This weekend was full of excitement and exploration.  I was able to take a walk around my neighborhood, Los Feliz, and wander around the shops and places to eat along Vermont Street.  In search of a tourist book on LA for Tamara we discovered Skylight Books which, aptly, has skylights and a tree growing out of the middle of the store.  We then looked up Los Feliz in the guidebook and found Fred 62, a 24 hour diner that seems to be a favorite of many.  We were going to eat lunch there but the prices were unexpectedly high for diner food.  

I paid a visit to the Act One's office at the bottom of the Hollywood Hills and took advantage of the street view of the sign.  Then I drove up through the neighborhood and hiked a bit up towards Sunset Ranch where you can take horseback tours along the Hollywood Hills.  

Later that night Tamara and I hike up the hill to the Griffith Observatory and were able to see the city lights at night.  It seems that Griffith is a popular date-night spot as well as a prime tourist destination so cars were parked all up and down the hill on the road, it was a good thing we were prepared to walk  a bit.  I can't wait to go back up during the day.  Maybe next time I can actually catch the sunset!

The Observatory and downtown in the distance.

A view of downtown.

Sunny Southern California

Driving into Los Angeles for the first time.

Well it certainly seems true that it never rains in southern california.  I just looked at my weather for the next five days and its all glowing orbs with numbers like 75 under them, go figure.  It's certainly been a busy couple of days.  I arrived in Los Angeles around 2pm Wednesday and met 2 of my apartment-mates (Cori and Tamara) for the first time! They were very helpful in bringing up my things from my fully loaded car (full of stuff not fun gadgets and gizmos).  After putting everything in my new room we ventured off to Long Beach for some errands for them and sight seeing for me.  

 

My street.  That little white building in the distance is the Observatory.

Tamara and me at the Pier in Long Beach

Colorful house-like shops

As soon as I saw the area around the pier I said "this looks like Miami" to which Tamara began to explain how it doubles for it in many TV shows including Dexter.  This then became a theme of our outing.  Tamara would point and say "these are the offices in Dexter," etc.  We proceeded to walk along the pier past the multicolored pastel house-like shops, lighthouse in the distance, and we came to the chocolate/ candy shop.  Forgive me but I was jonesin' for some salt water taffy.  I don't know why, I guess it was a combination of sun and sea air that made me want that sweet and sticky rainbow colored treat.  

After taffy, we headed back to Tamara's old apartment for a bit and then off to Bible study with her crew down there.  As our last stop we went to In-N-Out Burger, a place which I had never been to before (*pause to hear the exclamations of all who have tried it*).  Almost the entire Bible study came out to see me try my first burger.  Along the way I sampled some of the others' fries and fries with animal spread.  Next time I'll have to get a milkshake.  It was a very good burger and not too expensive, I think I'm a new fan.  

The next day (Thursday) was a flurry of organization.  I organized and put together my bed.  I also had my first interview for an internship.  The interview was on the corner of Hollywood and Vine which was a little surreal.  After the interview I got a little turned around and drove past Grauman's Chinese Theater. It was awesome to see it outside of Disney World (The Great Movie Ride).  I headed down Hollywood Blvd. (straight shot to "home") and caught my first glimpse of the Hollywood Sign.  I know that I'll get used to it eventually but for now I'm a tourist.   

I also got to take a small break and get some Yogurtland.  It's pretty much the same as Sweet Frog or Dream Berry but it was delicious non-the-less.  I'm wondering if I can find any small frozen yogurt/custard places nearby, something like The Dairy Godmother in Alexandria.  Now I'm off to another full day of unpacking, meeting my roommate (Harley), another interview, visiting my program's office, hiking up Griffith for sunset, and all of the other unplanned excitements of living.   

Grauman's Chinese Theater

The Dairy Godmother

Sedona

The desert off 160.

From Pagosa Springs, CO to Sedona there is a lot of desert.  I took US-160 most of the way there.  At points there I could only see orangish dirt and miles of road ahead and behind me.  There are few towns along this road and the ones that I passed through present the idea of a completely new way of life.  There is no shade, there is no water, there are few trees.  I admire the people who manage it.

First green after the desert.

I was able to pass through the four corners on my way to Sedona (one of the big plusses of being on 160).  As I was doing a backbend over the state lines I couldn't help but feel I had bested poor Jamie Sullivan who only got to be in two places at once (see: A Walk To Remember).  Once I got to Flagstaff, however, I was surprised (and a little relieved) to find a lot of green.  The Coconino National Forest on the way to Sedona is one of the most beautiful parks that I've ever seen.  Driving down the canyon on 89 A (my friend Bianca joked "how many 89s do they need in Arizona") I decided that this was my favorite part of the trip so far.  The red rocks tower over a forest of evergreens as the road winds downwards towards the town of Sedona.

Flagstaff

Once I got to my great Aunts' house I was taken on a little tour of their community...by golf cart!  It is a cute area with small roads and small houses with beautiful and unique gardens.  They took me out for a lovely meal at the Bistro located at the resort just down the streed.  I had vegetarian lasagna with everything from fried carrots with espresso powder on top to yellow squash, snap peas, and corn salad (with crushed corn-chips).  The lasagna was also rolled in individual sheets rather than layered so it looked much fancier.  The rest of the night was spent looking at picture albums of the family and then it was off to bed early because I was getting up the next morning at 5AM.

The red rocks of Sedona

The tourist bit of Sedona

 So, the next morning I got up at 5 and was surprised to find that the sun was up (or nearly there) and it was rather light.  This was very helpful (plus the cup and a half of coffee my Aunt Patti made for me). The three of us (my aunts and me) sat around drinking coffee out of mickey mouse mugs (they love Mickey) as I made a PB and J (not your average "J" either, I had Prickly Pear Cactus Jam!) and they loaded me up with an assortment of groceries including chips, 2 half loaves of bread, Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and a couple apples and oranges.

My aunts' backyard.

The sign for the community my aunts live in

So it was a bit over 7 hours but I made it to LA by 2pm PT.

Pagosa Springs, CO

  

For the last day and a half I've been hanging around Pagosa Springs, a place I've heard about pretty much all my life from my friends Casey.  Casey and I were trying to explain our relationship to some of her friends last night and we decided on adopted cousins.  This, of course, is a completely made up term as neither of us were adopted and we aren't related in any way really, but we've grown up together, kinda.  Casey's grandparents live in the neighborhood that both me and my mom grew up in.  So my mom knew Casey's dad growing up and I knew Casey.  Every summer for a week Casey would come and visit her grandparents and I got to hang out with her.  It's funny waiting a year to see someone, especially in childhood when you change so much from year to year.  Finally, after two years  (college has put a little wrench in our yearly reunions), we are re-united only this time I'm in Pagosa!

To get to Pagosa (by car from NM) you have about three hours of small highways (with no easy bathroom stops, beware!).  It's a beautiful drive but I was happy to reach town.  I drove through the downtown area to get out towards where Casey lives.  After about a mile of gravel roads I found her mom waiting for me in a beautiful house overlooking "the best of Colorado" with Tangerine/Grapefruit margaritas at the ready! It was a wonderful and relaxing night (we had delicious pork tacos).  The next day I had the pleasure of sightseeing all over the area around Pagosa with Casey's dad.  We hiked a waterfall, stopped at an overlook, saw a mountain that looks like an "Indian Head" (no offense meant), ate some Sonic, saw a forest fire (or the smoke from it at least), and visited Casey at the coffee shop she works at.  Later that evening we went to Kip's where I thoroughly enjoyed my grilled fish tacos with fresh salsa and XXX jalapeno sauce with a piece of Strawberry Rhubarb pie for desert.  Then, Casey and I met up with some of her high school buddies at "The Springs" (Pagosa has a bunch of natural hot springs...hence pagosa springs) where we soaked the night away under a full moon (despite the fact that a high school wrestling boys were all there as they are here for some kind of camp).  I wish that I'd had more time to hike and camp and explore this awesome town.  I'll be back soon I hope. 

View from Casey's front porch

Treasure Falls

the same waterfall he just hiked.  view from the overlook

Indian Head (he's looking at the sky)

Kips

I heard you moved to West LA (not quite), New York, or Santa Fe...

Unfortunately this was just a drive by through Santa Fe (I know I'm like a pizza w/ extra cheese, sok)

Yesterday after my first trip to the gym since attempting Jillian Michaels with my friend Alison in Nashville.   Then it was off to the Church St. Cafe in old town Albuquerque to eat with Diane and her friend Diana.  This seemingly quaint cafe is surprisingly big.  Diana, a local, took us through several rooms until we reached the enclosed outdoor patio where we sat well shaded in a perfect summer morning.  We all got the huevos rancheros, Diana and I with the red chili and Diane with the green, and after I'd eaten almost my entire plate of deliciousness (2 eggs over medium on blue corn tortillas smothered in red chili with a side of beans and potatoes, mmm) Diane and I each got a sopapilla, a name which I find a perfect translation of Spanish to English because you can use this delicious fried dough to "sop" up the honey you eat it with.  This is my personal translation.

San Felipe Church in Old Town Albuquerque

awesome benches!

Then we walked around Old Town Albuquerque for a bit, taking a look at the preparation for a fiesta they were having later on in the day.  Then it was goodbye to Diane and Diana and hello to the open road.  

Reflections Gallery

I drove the one hour up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque and found street parking (after 20 minutes).  It was fun to walk around the plaza and discover a small art show near the art museum.  One of the paintings was so striking to me I had to stop and walk over to it.  It was a large oil on canvas of a winding river in golden grass.  Four fifths of the canvas was sky though.  I was staring for so long the artist came over and started talking to me which made me feel bad because I can't afford to buy anything so I quietly slipped away into the ally (no joke it was really an ally) towards the hubub of the plaza again.  Taking the advice of Diana and Diane I walked over to Canyon Road which is filled with galleries.  I walked into Reflections and discovered Pedro Fraile's landscapes. From there I walked across the street to the Cafe Des Artistes where a very kind frenchman made me a deliciously strong latte.  

Then it was back across the very underwhelming Santa Fe "river" to the car and off to Pagosa Springs!!!

Santa Fe River