paulette. intelligentsia. frida.

i finally, finally, finally was able to make a trip out to paulette, a couple of weeks ago, for some macarons. and honestly i have no idea how i've lived so long without this place! 

a feast for your eyes and belly! not only does this place look amazing, the macarons taste incredible as well! some days i contemplate making the dive out to beverly hills just to get my hands on a box of goodness that these macarons are {yes, they're that good}. 

don't live near LA? fear not! paulette offers online ordering with overnight shipping!!

sicilian pistachio

rose

caramel - one of my faves!

columbian coffee - another one of my faves!

sweet wedding almond

lemon - this one tasted like it had a lemon bar inside!

after filling up on macarons we were off to silverlake for some tea & coffee from intelligentsia.

and finally to complete the day we met up with more friends for dinner at frida... 

enchiladas poblanas - cheese enchiladas dipped in chile chocolate sauce. yes, the chile chocolate sauce is as amazing as it sounds!!

three more places to add to my growing list of things that affirm my love of LA :)

dinner outdoors.

a few weeks ago i threw a small outdoor dinner party. its the first of it's kind i've ever done & i absolutely LOVED it. i'm obsessed! i want to have dinner outside every night! it is summer after all!

not everything turned out exactly as planned, but in the end the only thing that mattered was that my belly was completely filled with delicious food and i was surrounded by some of my closest friends.

p.s.

oh and yes, it was a subtly laker themed party :)

party favors of homemade lavender fleur de sel caramel sauce. seen here and here!

which by the way, is another new obsession of mine.

penne frittata with basil & ricotta - made by debby

tofu burgers as sliders & garlic fries

macarons with chocolate ganache & strawberry preserves - made by debby

and at the end of the night we had a surprise fruit pizza to celebrate mello's upcoming birthday!

can't wait for the next outdoor dinner!

i'm thinking a garden party - everyone brings a dish using an ingredient from their garden! who's in?!!

YES!

:)! <3!! <3! :D!!!

if i wasn't in chicago you would find me here on monday, just like last year :D

so since i can't go, if you're in the LA area go to the parade and cheer for me! :)!

i'm off to chicago for a little bit. mostly to visit this little one, but also to attend a wedding, visit with family & friends and hopefully see a little bit of the city i miss and love dearly!

have an inspiring weekend and i'll see you next week!

a day in the city.

after a much needed break from the cyber world, i'm back! and {hopefully} back to blogging regularly.

last week a dear, dear friend happened to be in town visiting her sister, which gave me the perfect opportunity to, once again, hit up a few of my fave spots in LA!

here is just a small sampling of some of the things we did and saw...

p.s.

:) on a completely different note...one win away! the lakers are one win away!! :)!