On Friday, Marco and I went to see a film in the Newport Beach Film Festival. It was a lot of fun, and we loved the fake "red carpet" backdrop.
Here's Marco posing for the cameras.
He tried to get a good picture of me, but I didn't stand still long enough. I kind of like it, though!
We saw an incredibly gory movie called Portrait of a Zombie. But don't click on the link unless you can handle gore! I was a little sick at times. It's a mockumentary about a film crew who follows a family with a zombie son, set in Ireland. We got to meet the director, and we stayed for the Q & A. He's a nice, mild-mannered guy with a very sick mind.
The Festival is still going on, so now's your chance to go meet and support some budding filmmakers!
Posted in Love and Marriage and tagged film festival, movies. Bookmark the permalink.
Sometimes brie appears in unexpected places.
I was shopping at Trader Joe's, and they were giving away samples of a pasta with brie and asparagus.
It was pretty good, but I would add some ham or chicken to it, and maybe something a little crunchy, like pine nuts.
While I was there, I decided to try out their Chicken Gorgonzola. We had it last night, and it was good, but it was a little too salty. It was great for Marco, though, because it only has 9 grams of carbs, and 320 calories per serving.
I was at work late on Friday, so I decided to eat there. I had been given a Starbucks card as a gift, and I went across the street to find something yummy. I was very happy to find a meal with apples, cheese, almonds, flax seed crackers, and dried cranberries. The best parts was the sizable slice of brie!
The box is about $5, and very filling!
Posted in The Pretty Penny and tagged brie, budget, food, free, starbucks. Bookmark the permalink.
Last weekend I met up with friends to celebrate an old friend's birthday. We met in North Hollywood's artsy NoHo district, which is delightful. I'll have to take Marco back there for some walking and window shopping. We ate at Pitfire Artisan Pizza, which started off a bit questionable, but ended up being great. Two of my friends asked for draft beer, which the restaurant advertises, but they were informed that there was no beer available on draft. They had a minimal selection of bottled beers in an open cooler next to the cash register, but they were closer to luke warm than cold. The waitress jokingly said they were also out of pizza and pasta, so she scored points with us! Since I was driving, I had a root beer. It turned out to be a "microbrew" root beer, which has a much stronger flavor than mass market root beer.
The birthday boy and I ordered the same type of pizza, and it was wonderful! It was simple pepperoni, but the sauce, cheese, meat and dough were all delicious. I don't recommend the flatbread, though. It's a little to crispy for my taste.
Here we are after a good meal, despite his less-than-cold beer.
Posted in The Pretty Penny and tagged arts district, birthday, food, friends, noho, pizza, restaurant. Bookmark the permalink.
Us in front of a rock.
As we wandered the park, I wore my Shape Ups and Marco wore his new Gel Kahana Asics, which he says are the most comfortable tennis shoes he's ever had. I can definitely feel the effects this morning. My legs are still tired from the 2 to 3 hours we spent walking last night. Never discount the impact of walking! We often think we need to go to the gym and lift weights for two hours to get in a good workout, but last night was EXHAUSTING! We went home and slept for eight hours straight.
Not that we walked the entire time; here we are on Goofy's Sky School. It's a roller coaster that is very jerky and jarring, as if you're on a propellor plane. It's really scary!
But the rides were short, and the walking was long, so a few times, we stopped for breaks. We discovered the Bug's Life show in 3D, and it was so much better than we had anticipated! It's a little scary for young kids, though. Black widow spiders come out of the ceiling to attack the audience, wasps "sting" the audience, and bugs crawl under the seat cushion. Here we are in our 3D glasses.
Me in my silly bug glasses.
We also discovered some exciting new attractions that will be opening this summer. One section will be called "Buena Vista Street," which will have old Spanish style buildings and Mexican influences. They are also adding a "Cars" area; it's a real-life Radiator Springs. We could see a little of it over a fence. It looks perfect!
A peek over the fence at Radiator Springs.
I hope the walking will pay off when I step on the scale, but the beauty of the park is definitely better than a gym!
Posted in Stayin' Alive and tagged diabetes, exercise, fitness, health, photography, tennis shoes, workout. Bookmark the permalink.
Our journey toward health continues! When Marco and I don't feel like going to the gym, we like to take a walk. Last night we went for a long walk in Riverside, following the riverwalk that leads up to La Sierra University. It's a beautiful spot, and I highly recommend it to anyone who lives in the area. Some ducks followed us, and we watched a great blue heron wade through shallow water. When we thought we had reached the end of our walk, we heard a waterfall. We can never resist, so we wandered onto the La Sierra campus in search of the sound. We continued up the hill, and discovered the beautiful art deco buildings of the campus. I wore my Shape Ups and Marco wore his new comfortable walking shoes. The campus trek took us up a big hill, and I can definitely feel the effects in my legs today. The Shape Ups work!
Marco's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and my family bought him something he has been eyeing for quite a while: a Shake Weight! He has been using it regularly, and I can assure you that it is working! His arms are tighter and bigger…nice!
So if you're in the market, Shape Ups and a Shake Weight are some good, useful purchases!
Posted in Stayin' Alive and tagged exercise, health, La Sierra University, riverwalk, shake weight, shape ups. Bookmark the permalink.
The brie is on the right, on a cracker, topped with the fig jam.
This got me thinking that I should post some brie recipes. Here are three of my favorites.
Get a good piece of bread (french bread or any artisan bread) and put a few artichoke hearts on it. Lay some slices of brie over the artichoke hearts, and sprinkle sliced almonds over the top. Heat in the oven or microwave until the brie melts enough to hold it all together. Add another slice of bread on top, or eat open-face. This can be a full sandwich for lunch, or small canapes for appetizers.
Slice the zucchini part way, lengthwise (making slits in the vegetable, without cutting all the way through). Take slices of brie and insert them into the slits of the zucchini. Bake or grill until the zucchini is soft and the brie is melted. Cut the zucchini into canapes, perpendicular to your original slices. Everyone gets a striped appetizer that is very yummy!
Place one brie cheese round in a microwave-safe 9-inch pie plate. Spread raspberry preserves over the top. Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes, or until warmed through. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and serve warm.
Serve this with crackers and/or apple slices.
Posted in The Pretty Penny and tagged appetizer, brie, food, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.