Making My Own Fall

Even if it doesn’t quite feel like fall yet in LA, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some fall classics. Some of my ultimate fall favorites are pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider, cranberry relish and chili. Last year, I can’t tell you how many crockpots full of chili I made. It freezes well, so it’s perfect for multiple meals. Thankfully you can make an amazing batch of chili with only a few key ingredients! I like to start with my mom’s recipe but add a few of my own special ingredients. 

          

            1             pound ground turkey, browned

            1             8 oz. can tomato sauce

            1             12 oz. can petite-diced tomatoes

            2            12 oz. cans Kidney beans, undrained

            1            envelope McCormick’s chili seasoning

            2            tsp. nutmeg*

            3            shakes of Tabasco sauce*

Yes I use McCormick’s chili seasoning over making my own seasoning mix. I like the ease of the package but more importantly I like the flavor. My two special ingredients are the nutmeg and Tabasco sauce. The nutmeg adds warmth to the chili and a true spice of the holidays. After I brown the ground turkey, I simply combine all the ingredients into a crockpot and simmer for four to six hours. If you don’t have a crockpot, combine all ingredients in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and then simmer for two to three house. The left picture turns into the right after a couple of hours as the ingredients reduce.

Top with traditional finishers such as cheddar cheese, sour cream and oyster crackers. I decided to crumble Gorgonzola cracker crisps into my bowl to add another flavor dimension! Happy cooking and happy fall!

The Bar Scene: From WeHo to Culver City

Since moving to West Hollywood, I have been trying out an array of new bars and not just in the WeHo area. I love going out and trying new places, and bars are one of the easiest places to sample until you find the right fit. The search for the perfect bar is “research” I don’t mind participating in! Los Angeles has more bars/clubs/pubs/lounges than you can really even imagine. Each area of town also seems to cater to a certain genre of bars. West Hollywood with lounges, Hollywood with clubs, Culver City with pubs and Santa Monica with a nice mix of everything. That’s not saying you can’t find a pub in Hollywood because one of my favorite pubs is there, but the area is definitely more concentrated with clubs pumping top 40 remixes.

One of my favorite new bars is The Woods. Located just two blocks from my apartment, this loungey bar stands out from the rest with a “starlit” ceiling and deer antler chandeliers. Also it’s located in a semi-sketch looking strip mall similar to a thousand others that liter Los Angeles County. The Woods offers a happy hour that extends later than many bars, which I appreciate since I work until 7 p.m. If you get there before 10, you can enjoy $5 martinis of many different varieties. Another new favorite is Village Idiot on Melrose, which is a gastropub with some delicious specialty drinks. The Texas Mule mixes homemade ginger beer, vodka and a squeeze of lime. It’s similar to summer brew but so much better! A similar drink mixes the same components minus the vodka and adds whiskey. The ale steamed muscles aren’t bad either. This bar gets packed late at night, but still maintains a chill atmosphere.

If you are looking for a classy place to grab a few appetizers and drinks, Blu Jam Café and Lolas are great options. Blu Jam is known for its amazing brunch, but recently made the transformation into a bristro at night. You can choose from a large variety of cold and hot small plates. To bring in the breakfast crowd, the restaurant has been handing out free bottles of wine if you come in after 6 p.m. This is how I ended up here, but will definitely be back for more wine and small plates. If you like martinis, Lolas is your place. Lolas claims it invented the apple martini, which wouldn’t surprise me because it offers around 100 different martinis. I came here for my birthday with some friends, and it was definitely a good time. All the appetizers were delicious, but my martini was fantastic. There were almost too many martinis to choose from but I eventually settled on one with a lychee base.

If you are looking for a crazier atmosphere, head over to the Sunset Strip. Clubs and lounges liter this iconic street, such as Bar Marmont, The Standard and The Saddle Ranch. Be prepared to spend away your paycheck, but it’s definitely fun every once and awhile. Venturing to the Westside, you can find another wide varieties of bars. On a mini bar crawl of Culver City, I discovered City Tavern. Differentiating itself from your typical brewhouse, City Tavern offers a unique experience if you sit at one of the booths. Here you can pour your own pints from three taps along the back of the booth. This could definitely get out of hand fast, so thankfully the waitress puts a cap on the amount of ounces you can pour! Another fun spot in Culver is Seventy 7 Lounge. Entering this speakeasy themed bar, you feel transported back to the 1920s. Well until you hear the 1970s music, you hear jamming from the speakers. I can say this was a fun experience. You had the classiness of a lounge with some awesome “Staying Alive” music that you can dance to. Slightly north of Culver in West LA sits another one of my far bars, The Arsenal. I guess you would classify The Arsenal as a swanky sports bar. Later in the night, people begin to dance around the bar in any space they can find because there isn’t a designated dance floor. This bar definitely reminds me of my good ol’ college days!

I’m sure this list will grow over the next year as I enjoy exploring different parts of this city!

Behind the Scenes: On the set of my first movie

Two weekends ago, I had one of my best new experiences in Los Angeles. I got to be on set for a real movie shoot! Ok, well reshoots but still. I hung out in “video village” aka the behind the scenes area where all the director chairs are set up to scene the ongoing shot. I arrived during the second scene of the day, the crew’s breakfast spread was still out, and I was shocked by the amount of food. Cereal, eggs benedict, bagels and lox, hashbrowns just to name a few. Reminded me of my good ol’ sorority days when food was simply provided for me without me actually having to cook it! Anyways after I stopped salivating over the breakfast and the extensive coffee selection, I settled down into my own director’s chair (see above if you don't know what I'm talking about). I will just come out and say it, I felt pretty big time even though I was pretty much only observing. I enjoyed seeing first hand how the director can manipulate the entire scene with one simple note to the actors. Dialogue’s tone and volume can also transform a scene from angry to compassionate.  

One of the best parts was seeing our VP in action. At eight months pregnant, she can still command a room. If the director has gone a little too far into his vision, she was able to reel him in and create better takes. She definitely sets a high standard for what you can achieve through hard work and putting in the time to get to a certain position. Before I knew, it was time to break for lunch, and we were presented with another incredible array of food. I don’t know how people on set stay in shape because if I had access to this much food everyday, I would be obese. I have little to no self-control when it comes to good food! I patiently waited for the crew to get their food before I dove in. I filled my plate with salad, mashed potatoes, lemon chicken and veggie meatloaf. If that wasn’t enough, I sampled each of the three types of pie that were available for dessert. After an hour break, we were back on set. Six hours later, it was about time to wrap when the director yelled he needed more young people for a rave scene. I quickly saw one of the on-set producers coming my way. I tried to hide, but it was no use. He had spotted our development exec and I. After a few costume adjustments ie putting an embarrassing pink bowtie around my neck, we were ready for our shining moment. Our task was simple. Dance and then when the other extras run toward you, don’t let them through. I hid in the back and did my part. I danced, I held the line, and I waited to die… Yes, my big debut is a horror movie!

After 10 hours on set, the day finally wrapped! It was an absolutely amazing learning experience, and a great first time on set. I wish we shot more of our movies in Los Angeles! Being on set is a completely different experience than the development side I am used to. There are so many steps that go into making a movie, and I can’t wait to experience even more aspects such as editing, scoring and distribution!

New Movie Overload

A great perk of my job is “having” to see new releases during the weekend. I enjoy this perk probably the most since my previous unemployment kept me from seeing all the movies I really wanted to see. I only saw two movies in LA before three weeks ago, which is pretty sad since I am in the entertainment industry. In the past three weeks, I have been able to see three great movies. My first movie assignment was The Help. I already mentioned this but want to say it again. The casting was perfection, and the acting was spot on. I can’t wait to see, which of these actresses will be nominated for Academy awards. Next up, Contagion. There was just something about Gweneth Paltrow dying in the first scene that intrigued me. Where is this movie going if they kill off one of the big names in the first ten minutes? Well it was going in the direction to freak you out! The movie basically plays out what H1N1 had the possibility of becoming. The movie struck a nerve with me because KU had one of the largest outbreaks of H1N1 my senior year. It definitely made me think twice about touching doorknobs and finding the need to carry Purell with me.

Three weekends ago, I saw Drive. I had been dying to see Drive all week, but figured the boys had already saw it in Toronto. I lucked out and none of them did. Ryan Gosleing has emerged as one of the most talented actors in his age group. He can make audiences melt with a quick, small smile or cringe from an angry outburst. Well, Drive combined both of these things and so much more. The music sets the tone for the movie into a 80s vibe, which is reinforced by the hot pink opening credits. One thing I wasn’t expecting, the intense violent scenes. My heart was literally racing as I hide behind my splayed fingers. I think I freaked the poor guy next to me out as I jumped and squealed. I loved the tone of the movie. I loved the music. I loved Ryan Gosling and Carry Mulligan. I didn’t love all the violence, but I am willing to over look that.

This past weekend, I saw two new movies. One was a huge disappointment and the other only confirmed why I am in the entertainment industry. Margaret has been suffering through countless lawsuits and editing problems for the past six years. All those problems were evident in the movie that ran a little more than 2 ½ hours. It was over acted with every scene spilling with high decibel screaming matches and dramatic overreactions. I was ready to leave after 45 minutes but stayed and suffered through the remaining hour 45. Later that day, I saw 50/50, which I had been anxiously anticipating for about a month. The result was pure movie love. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It made me cry and then laugh at the next moment. Yes, there was still plenty of Seth Rogan raunchy humor, but the story as a whole was simply the perfect mix of laughs and tears. I also got my Joseph Gordon-Levitt fix who I have been pinning over ever since 500 Days of Summer. While this movie isn’t necessarily Oscar worthy, his performance deserves one. By the end of the movie, you truly believe he has cancer. 

I can’t wait for the movies premiering in the next few months. One movie I still need to make time for is The Lion King 3D. No I am not kidding. This was my all time favorite movie when I was younger. I had Nala earrings, necklace, shirts, two stuffed animals and countless stickers (yes I realize this is completely embarrassing to admit but also completely true). My mom even found me a piano book of Lion King songs. I can’t hide the fact I am excited to see how it has been transformed into 3D. Other titles I am counting down the days to include: Moneyball (I know it’s already out), Melacholia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Ides of March, The Rum Diaries, The Descendents, Like Crazy and Martha Marcy May Marlene. What movies are you looking forward too?