Sunday Mornings

Good morning dear reader! I hope your weekend has been filled with fresh air and a little sunshine. I can feel spring coming. Can you? Hang in there.

The photo above is a picture of bacon-and-chocolate -covered -strawberry-roses. Remember how on Thursday I mentioned I once did one fun Valentine gift for E? That was it. It was during my first year in Los Angeles and I decided to get crafty. Needless to say the roses (and how I delivered them) were a big hit. Now the bar has been set too high. (Also, I apparently had sushi that week?? I dunno.)

As for this week, I want to bake a chocolate cake. Not for Valentine’s Day per say, but mostly because I know it will be a rough work week. I feel like it will be good therapy/self-care: baking (and eating) a chocolate cake. Options one, two and three. (Feel free to add your vote or share a favorite in the comments!)

Besides looking at several dozen chocolate cake recipes, I found a few other tidbits on the ‘net this week.

• Hi, I work from home. This is why I’m super chatty with the grocery store clerk.
• ICYMI, Run the Jewels’ Tiny Desk Concert!
• Currently reading: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
• In case you need a good cry. Humanity at its finest.
• Every time we fly, E and I talk about the crazy-long time it takes to board and the lack of efficiency. Except when we fly Southwest, of course.
• Head in the clouds. A cute makeup bag.
• Been watching a lot of Leslie Knope lately. “I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself.”  Yep.

Enjoy the day! Chocolate cake for everyone!

XO

 

New Year, New Goals

Do you make New Years Resolutions? I haven’t always done it. When I started a few years ago, they were fairly simple: breaking a bad habit (nail-biting) or the typical be-healthier-and-start-exercising…again (most recently with an attempt at yoga). I think of resolutions as goals. They usually shift mid-year resetting with whatever reality has set in by May or September. As the year goes by, I’m changing, so it’s important to remember how the goals may change with me.

With that in mind, here are a few of my goals for 2017:

• Learn how to make jam. My mother-in-law makes amazing raspberry jam and shares it with family and friends often. Not only does it seem like a good tradition to continue, but something needs to go on all the biscuits of 2017!
• Have at least one coffee date a month with a friend or colleague. This may not seem like much, but we’ve all been there. You’re in the midst of Monday’s to-do list and then it’s suddenly Thursday and then how is it the end of the month already and you haven’t seen that person you care about and enjoy chatting with about life? I happens. I feel the predictament is especially true in Los Angeles. Making an effort to see someone who lives a mere 12 miles aways can be much more difficult than it should be. There are boatloads of excuses to keep from sitting in traffic for two hours, yet sometimes you (read: me) should make that extra effort. Social media is no longer an excuse to keep up with people. So part two of this 2017 resolution is: cut back more on Facebook because social interaction is amazing and REAL. If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that life is too short and you should spend quality time with the people you care about. And typing out a hashtag, while amusing, is not actually taking action.
• Read at least one book a month. I go through stages of reading. Last year I got back into a solid reading habit and visited the library often. I want to keep this going and I know it’ll be a struggle when my submission screening is high. I tend to lean more towards nonfiction, with the occasional novel thrown in. I’m currently reading: Year of Yes. Tell me readers, what books should be on my 2017 to-read list?
• Visit a new film festival. I have a regular schedule of festival travel due to work, so the festivals become very familiar. I’d like to add a new regional festival visit to the calendar this year and squeeze in a different fest experience. A SIFF screening may be possible this June, fingers crossed. Will I see you at a festival this year?
• Grow this blog. Starting Cinema Sous Chef was scary and a little challenging between learning the basics of blogging and setting out the time to WRITE. I’ve never thought of myself as a writer, but I’ve enjoyed the learning process of starting a blog and the creative outlet it’s given me. Now I want to dig in and learning how to make it thrive. I will need your help here, so let me know what posts you’ve enjoyed so far or what kind of posts you’d like to see more here. Excited to see what happens and sharing more with you.

What are your resolutions for 2017?  Any resolutions you’re proud to say you checked off last year? Best of luck to you and yours!

Gift Guide for the Foodie

Holiday gifts. There are so many options to choose from. Where do you start? Well this week, you’re in luck. I’m here to help!

Today, I’m posting a Gift Guide for the Foodie: a few of my favorite cooking and food items that I’m sure will please anyone on your gift list. All (but one item, #2) are things E and I have either received as gifts in the past or have bought ourselves. Nothing but rave reviews here.

So without further ado, this year’s Gift Guide for the Foodie:

1. Help save the environment while you shop for your produce! We made the switch to reusable produce bags this year and love these cotton muslin bags from Simple Ecology.
2. For when you need meal planning inspiration, roll the Foodie Dice!
3. The Toddy Cold Brew coffee maker is a definitely favorite in our household. Easy to make, sits over night and you have coffee good for a week!
4. For the wino, Honig’s Sauvignon Blanc – Late Harvest is lovely. The Honig winery is one of my favorites in Northern California and this dessert wine is a highlight.
5. A pit mitt is a must-have for any BBQ-er in your life.
6. For the foodie who is also a history nerd, I recommend: A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell
7. A stylish mortar & pestle is handy for every chef and doesn’t take up much counter space.
8. A cocktail kit is nice to kick things up a notch while traveling and a perfect stocking stuffer!
9. Give the gift of cheese. I promise, it will be their favorite gift. (Also if you want to send me something from Cowgirl, I’d be cool with that.)

Stop by on Thursday for part two of my Gift Guide, focused on the film fan in your life!

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? What are some of your favorite foodie gifts?