In the Mix

In an earlier post I alluded to the possibility of purchasing a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This is often considered the “Holy Grail” of kitchen appliances to the home chef.

Being one of those who consider themselves to be such a chef, I began to get an itch for the mixer at the end of 2009.

This need for the mixer was driven by my new obsession with finding the perfect thin crust pizza recipe.

I know, that makes no sense, but it’s the truth.

For the record, I should state that my love of cooking started out with baking. I was 9 or 10 years old and I made a “Stir n Frost” Spice Cake.

I wonder if 10 year old me would be as excited about the stand mixer as 40 year old me was when I took it out of the box?

All I know is that 40 year old me has plans to make a slew of creations that would knock the socks off of 10 year old me.

With the plethora of attachments available, the possibilities are endless.

I want the Meat Grinder, the Pasta Maker and the Ravioli Maker ASAP !!

I welcome baking challenges, suggestions, recipes and ideas.

One of my first requests comes from my lovely “Cousin-In-Law” Julie who wants me to make some type of sugar free, vegan, health conscious dessert.

Should be interesting.

Stay tuned.

"B-Ugg-in"

I just have to talk about a disturbing trend that I’ve seen a lot recently during my travels.

Men in Ugg’s.

What is the deal with this?

It’s bad enough that I still see the Brittany Spears uniform circa 2007, running rampant today, but guys?

I’m all about fashion, trends and fashion trends that promote comfort (I am the proud owner of Crocs), but the men that I’m seeing in these boots shouldn’t be in them.

I feel like they are dads whose daughters bought them the boots to prove a point.

“See dad, they’re comfortable.”

In Sea-Tac airport, I saw a man who seemed to be a cross between Brokeback Mountain and Deliverance. He was wearing extremely tight Wrangler jeans, a way to stylish camouflage pull over jacket with an oddly pastel color scheme, a gold pinky ring with what looked like a milky blue marble glued into it and the piece de’ resistance, caramel colored Ugg’s with a sporty fur cuff.

Really?

On the last leg of that same trip, in Oakland Airport, there was another tall lanky man in baggy jeans, a windbreaker and the aforementioned Ugg accessory.

I’m all about letting you freak flag fly.

I get grief from some close to me for wearing skinny jeans past the age of 25, but I know my ass looks good in them.

The next time you are in an airport and killing time, take a stroll and play the 2010 version of “Where’s Waldo” and see if you can spot “The Man Who Wore Ugg’s”

Keep me posted.

Happy Hunting !

Was Oprah Right?

So apparently I'm learning how to relax.

Yeaaa!!!

Lucky you... You get to hear me prattle on about finding my way!!!

No seriously.

I have always moved at a rather fast pace.

I've worked since I was 12 and I've had a strong work ethic from a very young age.

But I'm not sure if I was working as smart as I should have been during that time?

I think my newly found, slightly narcissistic inner voice, which loves to chat about things online is helping out in my quest to work smart "as well as" hard.

I think Oprah said that she's always written in a journal to let some of the ideas in her mind find a voice.*

Whether it was her or someone else. They were oddly right.

By allowing me to knacker on about a whole lot of randomness on this blog, you've allowed me to think about the way I do things in a different light.

I wouldn't quite call it an epiphany, but it's definitely a good thing.

I'll save the epiphany moment for my appearance on whatever Oprah's new talk/self-help/realization show format will be on her new network.

Thanks for reading...

and thank you Oprah !!!

*I have no idea if she actually said that, but it sounds like her.

Relaxing 101

So I consider myself to be a relaxed and laid back kind of guy, but I've come to realize that I don't really know how to actually relax. I always hear about lazy weekend mornings spent lounging in bed with a lover, pet or even....God forbid...alone. After having my ass handed to me by the busy and hectic first work week of 2010, I was looking forward to the weekend.

Here's how it went.

Saturday morning started the same as they usually do, with me rolling over and checking out my bedside clock.

6:45 am.

Yeah, that's about right.

This is normally when I turn on the TV to see what's on Food Network. I then lounge a bit (no more than 15 minutes) unless my Food Network friends are creating something especially inspiring. From there it kind of depends. Sometimes, it's a walk to get coffee with my neighbor/stunt wife Michelle. Sometimes it's straight to doing laundry. Sometimes it's a hike up Runyon, but one thing that never comes into play is heading back to the bed.

This time, I decided to give it a try.

So I crawled back into bed.

I told myself over and over again that there was absolutely nothing that I needed to do, so chill out and lie down. Since it was a gorgeous morning I decided to open the windows and enjoy the fresh air and sounds of the morning as I napped.

OMG !!

Who knew?

I was out like a light. I woke up around 9 am to my neighbor at my front gate with a freshly baked bagel (How Pleasantville of us). She came in and we had a very pleasant coffee clutch. Ok, it's 10 am, should I go ahead and hit Target or do I dare toy with the idea of being lazy for just another hour or so?

Lazy it is.

Actually taking advantage of that down time was so amazing. I got over the guilty feeling and went with it.

As I woke up for the 3rd and final time, I checked out the clock one more time.

Are you serious?

2 pm

Wow, not bad.

It's still gorgeous outside and I can now head to Target to use the gift card that is burning a whole in my pocket.

Was that a Kitchen Aid, stand mixer that I was dreaming about?

Hmmmm....

Get rubbed the right way at Ole

In November of '09, I went to Ole Henriksen Face/Body for the first time. By being located in the Sunset Plaza right next to my favorite restaurant Chin Chin, I had definitely seen the name and the location, but I had never tried it out.

OK...Here goes nothing!

WOW!

This gem is now my new favorite massage destination! It's small, comfy, quiet, clean, reasonably priced and close to my house. What more could I ask for? Being a "product" nut, I was so excited to try all of the different body washes, shampoos, conditioners (BTW- I have little to no hair to condition) lotions, tonic, etc that they had in the dressing room. They are all amazing. In regards to choosing a masseuse I'm positive that all of them are at the top of their game, but if you want to be taken far beyond the realm of relaxation, book a treatment with MJ. Once you come back to earth. Tell him that Felix sent ya'.

OLEHENRIKSEN FACE/BODY
Los Angeles Spa
Phone (310) 854-7700
Hours Sunday – Monday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST, Tuesday – Saturday 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM PST
Closed the first Monday of every month.

A Thousand Words

We've all heard the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words". When I look at the picture that I chose for my blog, I only think of one word "Shane". This is a word that you should probably get use to hearing if you are going to read this blog. Her name is Shane and she is hands down one of the most amazing people I've ever met and had the opportunity to call a good friend. She's a businesswoman, fashion plate, photographer, cook, confidant, crony and love of my life. She's the woman behind the lens of the above picture and I love her to bits. Check out her blog to get a better sense of the legendary "Panda".

http://www.pandarazzihearts.blogspot.com/