Hank Turning Two

Our little guy suddenly isn't so little. He turns two this Friday. To be honest I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it all. You really do measure time so differently once you have a child - their endless progression constantly reminding you that time keeps marching along. Kids force you to be present in the moment and yet also make you feel like they are moving too darn fast. We don't have much planned this year for his birthday. Last year we threw a little party in our new backyard. Recently though I've noticed that even a small group of people at our house makes Hank uncomfortable. He doesn't quite get why so many kids are playing with his things and he tends to retreat a bit. As much as I love to throw a party it feels like it would be for me and Mike and not for Hank. So instead we will mark it simply by doing some of this favorite things - the train at Griffith Park, some cupcakes, and that's about it. Above is the movie I put together when he turned one! It's crazy how much bigger he is these days. Here is a recent photo of him:

Pizza Making Class at Mozza

My recipe book and glass of prosecco

Ever since I heard that Mozza offered pizza making classes I have been dreaming of the right moment to go. I have somehow only been to the pizzeria a handful of times since it opened but the pizza there is to die for.  Recently my step-father came to visit. He instilled a love of cooking in me early on so I figured he was the perfect person to take the class with me. 

At first I was a bit disappointed to learn that the classes are just demos and that you don't get to actually make a pizza yourself. Once you learn how involved making the signature dough is (modified for the home cook slightly) then you understand why nearly all three hours is eaten up simply by making this dough. The classes take place in the scuola di pizza space which is lovely. You are greeted with a crisp glass of prosecco and delicious antipasti and then you watch the teacher get to work. 

Fellow Students watching the demonstration

Showing us what the dough should look like

The Dough

The class was really fun. You got to take home copies of the recipes and I took copious amounts of notes and lots of videos so that I hopefully can achieve that crispy dough perfection at home someday soon. Perhaps the best part of all was getting to sample so many of the signature pizza flavors. These pizzas are so delicious its crazy. I am beyond envious of anyone who lives close enough to get home delivery of this pizza. I highly recommend taking this class or one of the many others they offer over there. They aren't cheap but you get a really beautiful experience, a lot of bang for your buck. 

The Pizza! 

Les Misérables is coming.........

If I somehow have been shy about bearing my love of musicals on this blog this post clearly puts me in the musical theater camp. Les Mis the movie is coming people and I am super psyched for it. This trailer makes it look so so good.

We would go to every big travelling musical show that came through Chicago growing up - Cats, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera...I enjoyed all of them but none meant as much as Les Mis. I think I saw it three times. The second time I went with two girlfriends and afterwards we ate at Benihana which was the height of sophistication in 1989. I loved this show so much I had the Broadway and the London cast cassette tapes (London is better in my opinion). Girls in my school would sing "Castle on a Cloud" for talent shows. I probably spent countless afternoons singing "On My Own" in the mirror with a hairbrush. I think this is the penultimate musical experience for a girl my age. That is why I seriously cannot wait for this movie to come out. Bring it Les Mis.

Aspirational Tuesday

Have you ever checked out Emerson Fry's gorgeous clothes? Every season I drool over everything and dream of pulling the trigger and getting something but I haven't yet. Every piece feels a bit timeless. This fall collection doesn't disappoint. Alas these days clothes like this remain in the aspirational category. She is lovely and her home is equally stunning. Design Sponge did a feature on it a while back. p.s. Are pointy-toed heels really back? 

My Go To Breakfast

My go to breakfast with a bonus side of turkey bacon

When I was growing up my favorite thing in the world to order at brunch was eggs benedict. It was someting delicious that I couldn't get at home. It felt grown up and sophisticated. These days it feels a bit heavy even for a special occasion to order something like this. Luckily I have found a healthier version that I can whip up on a Sunday morning at home. This breakfast, some coffeee and the morning paper equals heaven in my book.

My go to version consists of soft-boiled eggs with avocado and sriracha.. I highly recommend you trying out the combination. I cook the eggs in boiling water for six-minutes to get the perfect soft center. I take a toasted English muffin (I like the sprouted Ezekial kind so that I feel extra healthy) and top it with avocado, sprinkle it with sea salt and pepper, the soft-boiled egg, and just a drizzle of sriracha. This combination is so delicious. It feels just as special as when I was young ordering my eggs benedict.

Fiona Apple at the Greek

This weekend we went to see Fiona Apple at the Greek here in Los Angeles. My husband got me the tickets for my birthday this summer. For those of you who don't live here the Greek is a magical, intimate outdoor venue in the middle of Griffith Park. It's one of the best places to see a concert ever. Now I've listened to her music since I was in college (sorry college boyfriend who endured endless road trips of nonstop Fiona Apple blaring from the stereo) but somehow I've never seen her live. She was extraordinary. You literally felt like she was giving herself over completely in every single song and she just might collapse or worse because there was nothing left for herself. She was also frighteningly skinny. It reminded me of girls who were fading away in high school and no one knew quite what to think or do but just catching a glimpse of those girls was too much. It almost hurt to watch her but the music was really beautiful and much more raw then the polish of her albums. I haven't seen a concert since becoming a mom but my new thing seems to be tearing up (were talking tears streaming down my face) when I first hear music. Is this normal? I am not sure. If you haven't heard her new album I highly recommend checking it out. It takes some getting used to but it's so worth it. Here is a live performance from South by Southwest earlier this year.

p.s. if you read my blog with any frequency you might think I only listen to angst-y women who play acoustic guitar or piano. While I love this music I swear I listen to other things as well despite what my husband might tell you.

Three Years Equals Sparkles

Yesterday we celebrated three years of marriage. We've packed a lot into three years. We had Hank! We bought a home. It's been an incredible ride and I feel so blessed to have such an incredible partner. We celebrated by going to our favorite restaurant. We weren't going to do gifts this year because we are trying very hard to be on a budget but we both ended up getting each other little thoughts. I got Mike a new wallet because he desperately needed one and leather is the traditional three-year gift. Mike got me something so much better.

He got me a SodaStream. Oh my goodness it's amazing. I made my first bottle this morning and it tastes so good. This thing is a total game changer. Everyone should get the gift of sparkly water for their third anniversary. 

Me at my desk with my bottle of homemade sparkly water

The Secret to Pasta

I have always been a sucker for pasta. In college, when I was a vegetarian, I think I consumed just pasta and bagels all day everyday. I assumed that since it was all non-fat that I was being super healthy. Whoops! In hindsight, I was non-stop carbo-loading which would have been awesome if I was training for a marathon. No wonder I gained the dreaded freshman fifteen. Those early pasta dinners in my off campus hovel mostly meant marinara sauce from a jar and that was about as complicated as it got. These days my pasta dinners have improved tremendously. Along the way I learned how to make a delicious marinara from scratch. I often toast breadcrumbs to toss on top and I make a mean puttanesca sauce, but somehow no matter how hard I tried I can't quite replicate the sublime beauty of a pasta dish from a beautiful Italian restaurant. Perhaps I am a fool to even try?

Years ago I read the book "Heat." It is a fantastic read. Bill Buford, a writer for the "New Yorker," spent a year working in the kitchen at Babbo and following Mario Batali's own journey through Italy and the path he took toward becoming a chef. I can't recommend this book enough but in it Buford tells us the secret to those rich pastas Babbo is famous for - the pasta water! Now that pasta water gets denser and denser as the night goes on because so many pastas are cooked in it. I am guessing most home cooks just make one package of pasta per day. So while we can't replicate the magical pasta water at home, we should be using our pasta water to finish our sauces. It is the secret to good pasta! This means take the pasta out of the water when it is still extremely al dente and cooking the pasta in the sauce with plenty of water added as well to finish it. This makes the pasta richer and creamier and be sure to add lots of the pasta water to the sauce. I have been using this trick for a while. It works! but the other night I put the pasta in the sauce when it was extremely al dente and the final product was so much better than anything I've ever made before. Next time you make your pasta take it out super early and finish it in your sauce with heaps of pasta water. The sauce will reduce and the pasta will be infused with all of those delicious flavors.

Normal Hours Again

I am finally finished with two weeks of 3:00 am wake up calls and heading to work when it's still dark and everyone is asleep. It was brutal and left little time for family let alone blogging. This weekend we made up for all that lost time. We had the most wonderful time visiting the Griffith Park trains (they know us by name here now) and LACMA and just having some family downtime. Here are some photos from our weekend and I hope to post more this week.

Morning Blankie Love

Riding the Choo choo

At the Park 

LACMA 

More Riding the choo choo with friends

A Visit to the Boulder or I'm Back!

Hank checking out the light installment outside LACMA

I am not quite sure how it happened but suddenly you blink your eyes and it's been weeks since you've blogged. I've had a lot going on. My mom came to visit for a wonderful long weekend which took up most of our time and then last week I have had to work insane hours, we're talking 3:30 am start your days insanity. Waking up when it's still dark out does a number on me. One of the highlights of my Mom's visit was our trip to LACMA. We mostly just ran around and finally got to see the famous elevated boulder. It did not disappoint. There is something fascinating and scary about standing under something so massive. I highly recommend checking it out. Also LACMA is just a great place for kids to romp around. Here are some pics I snapped. 

Hank under the boulder 

The Boulder

Running around 

Hank's favorite sculpture of all, the fountain across the street in front of LA FITNESS