marvelous monday.

my favorite happenings of the week!

Taking a different route to work to enjoy the beautiful scenery..the houses of Hancock Park are such a sight.

Gossip Girl...although I love Chuck and Blair together, I miss the bad ass Chuck Bass. xoxo

Seeing a guy dressed up as Spiderman walking down Hollywood Blvd. All he was carrying was his murse....only in LA! Don't know what cracks me up more - the fact that I saw Spidey on a day that wasn't Halloween, or that no one seemed to even be phased by it!

Running into old co-workers at the EP Client Party.

The open bar at the EP Party....endless Cosmos for me!

The Thai Chicken Salad I got from Louise's Trattoria-amazing thai peanut dressing with some chopped up mango!

Ice Blended Black Forest from Coffee Bean..forgot how much I enjoyed these!

Dinners with Miss Mia..I was lucky enough to get 2 this week!

Going bowling and getting the lowest score..but I had a blast, gutter balls and all!

Trying out new recipes..and having them be a success! So glad my chocolate cheesecake turned out so good!

Spending Sunday evening watching the entire first season of How I Met Your Mother. I feel it's this generation's Seinfeld- an amazing show about nothing!

Kitty Bear sitting curled up next to me as I type this. I love how in her old age she has become such a lounge kitty and my perfect TV buddy! She likes all of my shows, and never asks to change the channel :)

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

Tonight's mission: Come up with a dessert that was easy to make yet still tastes great.

With the help of the Hershey's website, I was able to whip up a chocolate cheesecake...and trust me, it was much easier than I thought!

• 1 bag chocolate chips

• 12 ounces softened cream cheese

• 1/2 stick butter

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 cups cool whip

• 1 graham cracker pie crust

I first melted the chocolate chips in the microwave, and then let them cool. Using a mixer, I combined the cream cheese with the butter and sugar. I then mixed in the melted chocolate, and then the cool whip. I spooned the mixture into the pie crust, and then refrigerated for a few hours. It came out simply amazing! I would definitely make it again, but maybe use an Oreo cookie pie crust instead.

The pie/cheesecake had more of a chocolate mousse consistency. It was light and airy, and wasn't as firm as cheesecake I've had in the past.

Uncle Rick already requested it at the next family barbecue, so my dessert was officially a success!

TGIF!

Pismo Beach: BOOKED!

marvelous monday.

I've decided that every Monday I'll do a post that recaps my favorite events from the past week...titled Marvelous Monday. Why you ask? Marvelous was the word I used to use to describe things when I was a little girl..so I figured it was time to bring it back!

Beautiful 75 degree weather here in So-Cal

Making a March Madness bracket with JP

The incredibly bad acting on Life Unexpected...yet I still continue to watch week after week!

Corn beef and cabbage for dinner on Tuesday (a day early)

Green beer on St. Patty's Day

Spending St. Patty's Day with great friends

Gyenari happy hour with Sopheap and Jae

Starting my new diet and work-out routine..or rather just start eating better and exercising regularly.

Laying in the sun attempting to finish (again) Eat, Pray, Love

Spontaneous Saturday night rendezvous with Jeanne-Marie

The amazing bargains I got on stuff I didn't need at Gap and Victoria's Secret..couldn't pass it up!

Sunday evening bike ride with Dad

HoLLyWooD

3. Hike to the Hollywood sign.

December 26-2009. Jeanne-Marie and I were hiking to the top of Mt. Lee, home of the famous Hollywood sign - rain or shine. We had been talking about hiking to the sign since we were either junior or seniors in high school, so it was about time. We decided that instead of talking about doing things, we needed to actually just do them. Ended up being a slightly overcast day, but no rain so we were in luck! Her lovely sister Ali and our friend Kevin accompanied us on our journey. It wasn't much of a hike at all - actually the hardest part of it was the first 5oo feet of the hike, mainly because there was horse droppings all along the way! Took us about 30 minutes to get to the top. On the way back down, we took a path that led us front and center of the sign, which was great for our photo opt!


Obviously we were beyond famished after this hike, so we decided to go somewhere that was a first for Jeanne-Marie: Apple Pan! After all these years she's never been, so what better time than now?! We all got juicy burgers that were amazingly good...and definitely used about 15+ napkins each. I got my favorite, hickory bbq cheeseburger! Yum!

25 Before 25

1. Take a vacation

2. Learn how to knit a scarf

3. Hike to the Hollywood sign

4. Eat at a restaurant talked about in the tabloids

5. Write a blog

6. Go to a spa

7. Take a self defense class

8. Go on a road trip

9. See a concert at the HollwoodBowl

10.Use a new recipe once a month

11. Visit the Getty museum in Malibu, CA

12. Learn how to surf..again.

13. Go wine tasting

14. Reread a classic book that I was supposed to read in high school

15. Weigh what my drivers license says i weigh

16. Be a tourist on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

17. Visit Pismo Beach, CA

18. Do something completely out of character

19. Attend a major league baseball game

20. Shoot a gun

21. See a movie at a drive-in movie theater

22. Watch 5 movies I haven't seen from the IMDB Top 250 Movies list http://www.imdb.com/chart/top

23. See a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

24. Turn my cell phone off for a day

25. Buy myself one expensive item in remembrance of my first 25 years

My First Post

With me turning 25 this year I decided I wanted to come up with a "25 Before 25" list.

First on the list: Write a blog.

So, here I am...writing my first personal blog (not one for a class where I am given topics to write on and then being graded on my opinion, so glad those days are over)!

My "25 Before 25" list is made up of activities that I want/hope to accomplish before I turn 25 in October...one thing on my list was to blog about the goals I have completed.

Yes, I came up with this grand idea on December 26, 2009 (after my hike to the Hollywood Sign, another item on my list..more about that later)..and yes, I know that was almost 3 months ago - but better late than never!