la street food fest

The 1st Annual LA Street Food Fest was a couple of weekends ago. Since it was the first event of its kind in LA, I knew to prepare for disappointment. That being said, I actually ended up having a pretty good time. Sure, there were huge crowds and long lines, but the people were friendly, the DJ played good music, and of course, the food was delicious.

My goal was to visit three food trucks that I'd been wanting to try out. I was able to try two of them: Coolhaus and The Grilled Cheese Truck. I got to sample two mini treats at Coolhaus: a chocolate chip cookie & maple with candied bacon ice cream sammie and a brownie & strawberry ice cream sammie. Both were so good and perfect for the near 80-degree weather that we were having that day. My friends and I tried out a few different sandwiches from The Grilled Cheese Truck, but the hands-down winner was the Brie Melt - double cream brie, a slice of crisp Bosc pear, and honey on cranberry walnut bread. The textures and flavors were incredible! The perfect mix of creamy, crunchy, savory, and sweet. I've been craving another Brie Melt ever since. I plan on recreating it at home sometime soon. My hunger wasn't even close to being satisfied by the time I left the festival, so I ended up stopping for chicken wings at Kyochon (best chicken wings ever). Yeah, it was a fairly gluttonous day, but I'm not making any apologies. Food is amazing. Days like this make me feel lucky to live in LA.

I (h)EA(r)T LA

Going to the LA Street Food Fest today, armed with an empty stomach and a fully charged camera battery. Stay tuned for photos! In the meantime, here's Amy Poehler and her dreamy panda boyfriend:

via Bust

Whatever you're celebrating this weekend, have a great one!

pretty little basterd

What is it about French women? They're just so effortlessly cool and chic...and they have such good hair.

I've been smitten with Mélanie Laurent ever since I first laid eyes on her in Inglourious Basterds. I haven't had a girl crush this huge since Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise (another French girl - coincidence?). If you haven't seen Inglourious Basterds yet...well, why haven't you? Laurent glows in every single frame (even when she's covered in blood), but the first shot of her in that red dress at the beginning of the final act is the real "wow" moment. Tarantino has featured some badass female characters in his films, but Laurent's Shoshanna may very well be the most badass of them all. Inglourious Basterds is out on DVD today, so go out and rent it if you haven't seen it already.

an education in fashion

The elegant Carey Mulligan as Jenny in An Education. I saw this film last month. It's based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and written by one of my favorite authors, Nick Hornby. The costumes are so gorgeous and really help to visually illustrate Jenny's transformation from a schoolgirl to a young woman. The rest of the cast is great as well. I particularly loved Olivia Williams as Jenny's stern but caring teacher.

french navy

One of my favorite bands, Camera Obscura, released a fantastic album back in April and I feel like a big dummy for just becoming aware of it now. Chalk it up to being really preoccupied, I guess. I'm definitely not as updated on bands & artists as I used to be, but thanks to a friend, I've belatedly discovered this absolute gem of a song (and video). Enjoy!