At Least I can Bake

So as I have shared in previous posts I may not be a domestic goddess but I can cook. And lately I've been hard at work with my cooking, actually mostly baking.
Just a few photos of items I've made recently:

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch, even the Pumpkin. 

Caprese Salad Prep

Toaster Pastries-Apple, Lemon, and today I made Cherry

Cupcakes for my Daughters Fall Festival

Happy 4th of July and Centennial!!

Happy Independence Day Everyone!! 

So Far this weekend has been great! I got in so much needed exercise, Rest, and Got to Celebrate my Community's Centennial. For several months there has been a large banner across the main street of our Community announcing the Centennial Celebration of Eagle Rock, but no dates and not a single mailer sent out as to when and where the celebration would be happening. Well yesterday I found out that there have been celebrations all year long and will be further celebrations. But the Big one was planned yesterday as a joint celebration for Independence day and the Centennial. Eagle Rock Park was the venue. Filled with all kinds of food vendors and organization booths, from the Local Catholic church to the Green Daycare. Live Music and dance performance by several of the local dance studios. But I nearly began to drool over the great food options. They had a few local favorites, Mom and Pop Kettle corn, Gourmet Tamales, Corner Pizzeria, and Crepes. A couple of pleasant surprises were a candied Apple booth and an Aguas Fresca's stand. Can you tell I LOVE food?! Tons of activities and All I saw were the Candied apples and Tamales. 
Once the sun finally went down they began the main event. Fireworks! It was great fun and even better is I still have today to celebrate even more!

Aguas Frescas!

See WHY I was so excited about the Food?

Centennial Swag!

Two Bouncers that constantly had children in them.

Lazy Days in Eagle Rock

I thought it was finally Time I wrote about my neighborhood. Eagle Rock is a small town in the big city. I know thats a contradiction in terms but it's true. It's a small neighborhood tucked between Glendale and Pasadena in the North East Corner of Los Angeles. Most people drive right through without knowing they been in a new neighborhood. I love it for this reason. It's a hidden gem. A family town with great food, fun shops, and plenty of community activities. I grew up in this little town moved away and decided to move right back once I got back to California. I love it here. I walked Eagle Rock, visited my favorite places and snapped a few shots to share with you.

First Stop was at the Four Cafe, the day this place opened was a blessing for me. They have a delicious vegetarian menu. I stopped in this morning to pick up a Ginger Mandarine Soda and  a Mexican Spiced Cookie.

Outdoor seating, perfect in the summer!

Comfortable atmosphere inside

Ready Made Salads and Desserts for a quick meal.

Second Stop was the Colorado Wine Company. The owners are the sweetest couple who really changed the feel of the neighborhood when they opened up this shop. We picked up two bottles on our walk.

I popped in to my hair salon, Double O, because I just love the decor the ladies have in there. Not only do they do GREAT hair but they've made the experience unique and fun with this great decor.

For Lunch we stopped at Lemon Grass, Great for vegetarians and Meat eaters like. I had the Vermicelli and Shredded Tofu and my fellow explorer had Chicken. They also have a full menu of Pho. Yum!

Chowing Down!

I think we Liked it.

Next we walked the residential streets where I snapped a few shots of the homes. This is where you can find all kinds of character in Eagle Rock.

Average Scene on an Eagle Rock Street

This is my dream house. And actual Castle in our little neighborhood. It's rumored Matt Damon and Ben Affleck  once lived in this house but I don't know for sure. One can dream though.

 Lions are a bit much, but we've grown to love them.

I picked these Olives up from The Eagle Rock Italian Bakery the day before.

Olives from Italian Bakery, Coconut meringues from Ruby's Bakery,  Mexican Spiced Cookie from Four Cafe,  and wines from the Colorado Wine Bar.

End to a Perfect Day.

Catch Up!

Once a month I try to have  girls Night with my former Coworker and catch up on life. However recently life has been a bit chaotic for the both of us and we have gone two whole months without a night out. We were way over due.  Since we both work in LA but live on opposite sides of the city we try to pick places in Downtown close to our Offices. This time we tried a new place called Botegga Louie. I was sold after I saw photos on Yelp and saw that they made macaroons. Of course during our girl's Night we also require a cocktail and so I was thrilled to see they had a full bar as well. Parking was tricky, we both found two different lots in opposite directions but with reasonable prices.
We arrived early and a good thing too because it was packed by the time we got our food. The cocktails were decent, but we tend to keep it simple, Vodka Soda for us. The food was delicious though. I had a Caresse salad with real Mozzarella and an order of Portabello fries. The Fries were out of this world, I'd never tried anything like these and the sauce they came with was matched perfectly. So we ate and we gabbed and finally it was too crowded and noisy to stay so we headed over to the dessert counter to pick up a few treats before we left. As you can see I enjoyed them.
No matter where we meet it's always great to see my friend, but the food and desserts just added that cherry on top a great Sundae.