Contact in the Desert

So this weekend is going to be all about nerding out in Joshua Tree.  You would think one would go there for the beautiful scenery and the hiking, but not me.  I am heading out there this weekend to attend the Contact in the Desert Convention- a.k.a let's talk about aliens.

Thanks to my father, who is a borderline fanatic about aliens, my sisters, Jose, and I are driving out there tonight to be a part of this three-day fiasco.  I think it will be interesting and I'm sure I'll hear a lot of stories, some of which may seem too insane to be true, but I'm going into it with an open mind.  The lectures look mind-blowing, covering subjects like "Ancient Ruins and Vanished Civilizations Of Southern Africa: History & Revelation" or "The 1997 Historic AZ Mass Sighting & the Mass Media".  The speakers will include scientists, astronauts, and other experts who are going to share research findings, personal experiences, and more.  I'm starting to nerd out- but I am excited and it is fun to see how excited my dad is about attending.

I am going to be spending time enjoying the desert too since I've never been to Joshua Tree, so I'm looking forward to that.  Follow me on Snapchat @nataliefm so you too can enjoy, what is bound to be, a very interesting weekend.

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L.A. Sushi Spots

Sushi has been a part of my vocabulary since I could talk.  My mom has been a regular at Noshi Sushi since right after it opened 30 years ago and she started taking me there not too long after I was born- I'm sure the 9 months away from it were brutal for her.  When I was three years old, my aunt from back east was visiting and my dad and her were figuring out where we should eat lunch when I decided to chime in and scream "Sushi!!!"-that's how long I have loved this cuisine.  Since then, my palette for raw fish has evolved from the rice roll (so, nothing but rice), to the California roll (fake crab), to what I order now which consists of 5-7 different types of fish, fish eggs, and other sea animals.  While Noshi is still my #1 spot, here is a list of other places I've tried or plan on trying in the future. 

{ 1 } 

Sugar Fish by Sushi Nozawa 

Neighborhood: 

Mid-City, Brentwood, Studio City, Downtown, 

Marina Del Rey, and Beverly Hills (coming soon)

Price Range: 

$$$

What you need to know:

It offers multi-course meals based on your level of trust in the chef. 

             

{ 2 }

Urasawa

Neighborhood:
Beverly Hills

Price Range: 
$$$$

What you need to know:
Claimed to be one of the best sushi restaurants in L.A.,
they have a small menu but each item is more mouthwatering than the next. Reservations are required and no photography is allowed. 

{ 3 }

Sushi Stop 

Neighborhood:
Hollywood, Pasadena, West Los Angeles

Price Range:
$

What you need to know: 
All items are $2.95! HELLO?! #talkaboutadeal

{ 4 }

Sushi Zo

Neighborhood: 
Cheviot Hills & Downtown

Price Range: 
$$$$

What you need to know:
This restaurant provides a sushi-only experience,
but offers unique cuts of fish that are hard to find elsewhere. 

{ 5 }
Teru Sushi

Neighborhood: 
Studio City

Price Range: 
$$

What you need to know:
They have a bunch of no rice options on the menu which is great for
people looking to keep the meal low-carb! 

{ 6 }

California Roll & Sushi Fish

Neighborhood:
Hancock Park  

Price Range: 

$$

What you need to know: 
It's delicious and was another childhood staple of mine.
They have great rolls like the Shrimp Killer and
their Teriyaki Chicken Bowl never disappoints.

{ 7 }

Yamakase Sushi 

Neighborhood: 
Palms

Price Range:
$$$$

What you need to know:
You must be invited to attend this Japanese restaurant
(don't worry you can apply online). 

{ 8 }
Sushi by H

Neighborhood: 
Beverly Grove

Price Range: 
$$

What you need to know:
It may be hard to find and parking might be tricky depending on the time,
but the ambiance created by this restaurant and the incredible sushi will keep you coming back. 

{ 9 }

Echigo Sushi 

Neighborhood: 
Sawtelle

Price Range: 
$$$

What you need to know:

They offer the Omakase Meal, which is a 15 course meal
chalk-full of different fish and shellfish.

For the tenth Sushi Restaurant I'm doing a shout out to my
absolute favorite sushi restaurant in San Francisco! 

{ 10 }

Sushi Bistro 

Neighborhood: 
Inner Richmond

Price Range: 
$$

What you need to know: 
They have an amazing menu of rolls with the most creative names.
My favorite menu items are the Monster-In-Laws, Yellowtail Basil, and Albacore Dream rolls. I also dream about their cucumber salad.

Photos: 1 / 2

What are some of your favorite sushi spots? 

P.S. Just a quick update- my mom read the post and laughed at me for thinking she didn't eat sushi while she was pregnant. She claimed they didn't know better in the early 90s.  

Gallery Walls

One of the best things about moving into a new apartment is having blank walls to fill up however your heart desires.  Jose and I have had a lot of fun, though I'm not sure Jose would agree, hanging up all of our frames and making our place feel like home.  I like to mix up what goes into the frames whether it be a family photo, an old postcard, a vintage print, or the knick knacks that aren't in frames that really give a mixed media effect to the wall.

After collecting everything I want to put up, I organize the pieces in a way that makes the most sense so each group flows well together and then I arrange them to make each wall will look different.  There's no need to balance out how many vertical or horizontal frames you have, just take your time and play around with the possibilities to find what works best because once the nails are in the wall, it is harder to move them around.  The best part about decorating your walls is that there are no rules.  You can display a collection of something or just dedicate a wall to abstract art- it's all up to you and your style.

And while you want to get creative, gallery walls don't need to break the bank.  IKEA has frames in all shapes and sizes starting at $1. Flea markets are also great places to find old frames and great prints that you can usually haggle your way down to a price that fits your budget.   And be sure to go into those places you always drive by, but never stop to look into because they might surprise you with unexpectedly unique pieces for prices you can swallow. 

These are some of my favorite gallery walls that I used as inspiration for my apartment. 

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Shelves are also great places to display your art, books, and other decor! 

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Putting an end to plastic waste

Without a doubt, entrepreneurs are, in my opinion, what makes the world go round.  They are innovators, forward-thinkers and doers, and they create jobs for millions of people.  As an entrepreneurship student, I was surrounded by incredible energy from people so eager to share their ideas and somehow make the world a better place, creating a more promising future for their industry or country.  Today, there are endless possibilities when it comes to new ideas for products and services because of our access to constantly improving technology and our ability to connect with other innovators from almost anywhere in the world.

Today's Eco-Tuesday post is brought to you from Egypt.  Seventeen-year-old, Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad, has discovered an affordable way to turn plastic waste into millions of dollars worth of biofuel.   While her idea is not totally original, she has discovered a new catalyst that can make the process of turning plastic into biofuel easier to do.  With this breakthrough, we are one step closer to the technology necessary to clean up the nauseating amount of plastic waste we produce that ends up in landfills and in our oceans.  Plastic ends up killing sea life, polluting our water and creating it's own island!  Have you ever considered where your trash ends up once you throw it in the dumpster or a trash can on the sidewalk? Most of our waste can be recycled or composted and what should be thrown away in the black trash bins is much more limited than people think. 

This is a great link to better understand what should go in each trash can! 

Here's to Azza for saving the world!
Or at least being a big part of it cause she's such a smarty pants!

{ Source: inhabitat }

Memorial Day Weekend

I have always loved Memorial Day because my birthday, May 25th, always falls right around this holiday.  To me it marks the beginning of summer, my favorite season.  Some of my best memories growing up were during those warm summer months where days running through the sprinklers turned into night-swimming and sleepovers with tons of kids.  My mom always had the outdoor fridge stocked with every popsicle under the sun and she even warmed the towels in the dryer for us when we swam late at night; my mom knew how to keep the fun going.  I will be spending this long weekend with friends and family and the agenda includes sushi, a get together at my place, and a beach day in Malibu.  Here are a few of my favorite looks for what will hopefully be, a very warm Memorial Day weekend. Hope you have a great weekend!

{stripes & shorts}

{white dresses}

{short overalls and sun hats}

{retro bikinis}

{espadrilles}

{colorful robes with neutral pieces}

{flowy dresses}

{white Ts}

{braids in my hair}

{jeans with classic pumps}

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**Four additional ensembles from my Polyvore**

{ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 }

Creative in the Kitchen

Since I moved in with Jose, I have been getting creative as best I can when it comes to making us dinner because I try to stick to a vegetarian diet as much as possible and he loves his meat.  And just to make matters worse, Jose has been spoiled by two amazing cooks- his mother and sister.  So needless to say, I need to not only make a meatless dish taste good, but I need to make sure it tastes really good. 

This is a recipe I made up by using basic cooking skills I've picked up watching my mom cook and living on my own, which to me means you can add anything to olive oil, onions, garlic, salt and pepper and it will be delicious.  I have successfully tricked Jose's stomach into thinking quinoa in tomato sauce is basically pasta and meatier veggies are sorta like that beef he'd rather be eating.  

**Disclaimer: I am not a chef- this is a yummy dinner but nothing special.**

Rainbow Carrot, Zucchini, and Quinoa Medley with Tomato Sauce 

Ingredients: 

try keeping it organic if you can! 

3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1/2 of an Onion 

2 Cloves of Garlic 

3-4 Rainbow Carrots 

3-4 Zucchini

1 cup of Quinoa

1 cup of Tomato Sauce
Salt & Pepper

Directions:  

1. Add 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water to a pot and bring to a boil.  Turn the flame down low and put the lid on it.  Let it cook for about 10-12 minutes, until the water is all gone.  

2. Individually, chop the onions, garlic cloves, carrots, and zucchini into small pieces. Salt and pepper all of the vegetables. 

3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic. Stir until they start to brown.  Then add the carrots and zucchini to the pan. Mix the ingredients around and then cover for about 2-3 minutes just to soften the carrots and zucchini a little. 

4. Remove the lid and cook the ingredients, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. 

5. Add as much quinoa as you want into the pan and stir.  Then add the tomato sauce and do the same.  Makes about 2-4 servings, depending on it being a side dish or not.  

   

Eco-Tuesdays

As I've mentioned on my About Me page, something I am very passionate about is the preservation of this wonderful planet, so every Tuesday I'll be sharing news on issues I think are important and, hopefully issues you'll find interesting.  There are some super duper smart people out there creating, discovering, and sharing their ideas on how to make the world better and I am going to do my best to share those ideas with you! 

SO, to start it off, this wonderful water crises in California.  I attended my sister's graduation on Saturday night at UC Berkeley's School of Natural Resources where she received a B.S. in Society and the Environment.  The commencement speaker, who was the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for California, spoke a lot about issues facing our generation.  In regards to the drought, she explained that we need to stop trying to place blame on who's at fault because that doesn't solve anything and it's a big waste of time.  Instead, we need to work together in fixing the problem, which requires many things needing to be changed.  Of course, she was including large scale issues like our farming practices and not simply turning off the faucet while washing dishes, which you should be doing, but we have to do our part while people like her work hard to fix those statewide dilemmas.  Here are a few ways you can do your part to save water, even if you don't live in California! 

{Food waste} A lot of people don't consider the amount of water it takes to grow those delicious fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, but it takes a lot.  So before you go out to fill up your fridge with new groceries, try to finish everything that is perishable first.  This is an easy way to avoid produce going bad and wasting the water that was used to grow it all.    

{Almond Milk} Now that a lot of people are turning to alternative sources for milk, they really just want to find an option that tastes good and is lactose free.  An important thing to consider with almond milk is that it takes 1 gallon of water to grow one single almond, before even turning it into milk.   So if you can, drink coconut milk, which seems to have the lease amount of an environmental impact on the land (Grist). 

{Meat} This relates to the first tip on food waste because like produce, it takes a whole bunch of water to bring that hamburger or grilled chicken to your plate. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that "it takes 4,000-18,000 gallons of water to produce one hamburger, depending on the conditions the cow is raised in" (Fast CoExist).  This includes all of the water needed to feed, hydrate, and service the cow.  So a few less hamburgers a year saves quite a lot of water. 

                                                 
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Cool in Camel

Spring is a great time to layer your warmer weather clothes with pieces from winter for those cooler mornings and evenings that are still lingering. Camel is a neutral color I love to have in a few different staples, whether that be a coat, a pair of pumps, or a sweater.  The color has been seen repeatedly in some Spring and Cruise runway shows so be on the lookout the next time you find your self shopping online during work. Here are some of my favorite looks that use Camel in a few different ways.

 {dresses}

 {sweater over jeans & a tee}

{coat over a little black dress}

{heels with pretty much any outfit}

 

{coat over jeans, a button down, and a tee}

{wedges with cropped jeans} 

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this weather's got me like...

let's light some candles and snuggle in bed, am I right? While I am so happy it is raining during this terrible drought in CA, I tend to get cold very easily and my apartment doesn't have the best insulation, so candles help me bring warmth to any room.  I love keeping a lot of candles around anyway, but they are especially wonderful for the cloudy, rainy days L.A. has been experiencing lately.  Candle Delirium in West Hollywood is my favorite place to go because it has every candle under the sun, no matter the price, scent, or size. Here are my top 10 favorites.

{1}

Voluspa Baltic Amber Boxed Scallop Candle, $18

Burn Time: 50 hours

Scent Family: Woodsy 

(Amber, Cedar, Sandalwood, Vanilla) 

Wax Family: Coconut Blend

{2}

Malin & Goetz Cannabis Candle, $52
Burn Time: 60 hours
Scent Family: Herbal (Cannabis) 

Wax Family: Soy Blend

{3}

Paddywax Rosemary and Thyme Candle, $18

Burn Time: 60 hours

Scent Family: Herbal (Rosemary, Thyme)

Wax Family: Soy

{4}

Diptyque Rosafolia (Rose and Ivy) Candle, $65

Burn Time: 60 hours

Scent Family: Floral (Ivy, Rose)

Wax Family: Soy Blend

{5}

Trapp Fresh Cut Tuberose #8 Candle, $24

Burn Time: 55 hours

Scent Family: Floral (Tuberose)

Wax Family: Food-Grade Paraffin

{6}

Votive Breath of Lavender Candle, $28

Burn Time: 60 hours

Scent Family: Floral (Lavender)

Wax Family: Soy Blend

{7}

Tocca Florence Candle, $38

Burn Time: 60 hours 

Scent Family: Floral (Centifolias) 

Wax Family: Food-Grade Paraffin

{8}

Aquiesse Moonlit Petals Candle, $36

Burn Time: 100 hours 

Scent Family: Floral 

(Gardenia, Jasmine, Must)

Wax Family: Soy 

{9}

D.L. & Co. Thorn Apple Candle, $40 

Burn Time: 40 hours

Scent Family: Fruity (Apple) 

Wax Family: Soy Blend 

{10}

Voluspa Santiago Huckleberry Candle, $24
Burn Time: 100 Hours
Scent Family: Fruity
(Huckleberry, Sugar Cane, Vanilla)
Wax Family: Coconut Blend 

a new do

I'm going up North to Berkeley this weekend for my sister's college graduation and while I am excited to see friends and family, I am very much looking forward to visiting the only stylist I trust 100% with my hair. Finding a great hair stylist is like winning the lottery so I try to make a trip up to San Francisco every 4-6 weeks just to see her. She cut 5 inches off my hair and made me way more blonde and I have never been disappointed. Tomorrow I'm becoming even more blonde, which I'm nervous about but at least I'll be in good hands!

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a place to relax in

Pinterest and Houzz are two sites I find myself often getting lost on.  Looking through the photos I've pinned or saved, my style is always changing.  Currently, what I'm really loving most are those casual spaces with lots of color and some incorporation of nature. I don't like being so detached from plants and the living things outside of the four walls of my apartment. I can thank Jose for bringing more plants, and color for that matter, into our home.   

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