Hey There, It's Christa!

When a Trip to Italy Isn't in the Cards, This Just Might Ease the Sting...

While Rome is just one of many cities I have Travelocity track the fares for, I know that short of winning the lotto, a trip back to Italy probably isn't in the cards anytime soon.

But when doing a little research for Will and I's upcoming pilgrimage to NYC, I did uncover something pretty spectacular (thank you, In Style for the fabulous tip)...a patisserie called Dolce Vizio that only has coffee and tiramisu on its menu.

Can I just say that whoever came up with that idea is nothing short of a genius?

I absolutely love tiramisu, which literally means "pick me up" in Italian, so this restaurant is basically right up my alley. In fact, I'm even willing to ditch the requisite visit to Serendipity and their to-die-for frozen hot chocolate just so I can sample some of the tiramisu bliss.

Really, the only problem will be choosing which flavor to indulge in. In addition to the regular cocoa/espresso variety, they also have limoncello, raspberry, orange espresso, mango and Nutella tiramisu, too.

In a word: Yum.

Expect a full update next month once we've returned...I'm guessing it'll be one of the highlights of the trip.

So, What Happened to March?

It's fitting that I'll be spending the last two days of March on an airplane because that's exactly the kind of month it's been—eventful.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I like eventful.

As we speak, I'm (finally) updating my blog from my hotel room in Beverly Hills. I'm making what's basically a glorified cameo in California for a press junket for The Lucky One.

Since I got here today at 10:00 a.m. PST and am leaving tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., I've been packing in as much fun as I can in the meantime.

After making my way from the airport down the perpetual parking lot that is the 405 and checking into my room, I ventured over to Robertson Blvd. in search of sustenance. And since I'm a creature of tradition and wasn't dressed nearly fancy enough for a power lunch at the Ivy, I couldn't wait to eat the chicken quesadillas w/jalapeño pesto and charred corn salsa that I always order from the Newsroom.

Now if you haven't been to the Newsroom before, lemme tell you, it's an absolute treat. Not only are the bulk of menu selections a lot healthier than your average restaurant fare (but still incredibly tasty, which is a total bonus), but the people-watching is absolutely priceless. To wit, I've seen burger eaters and wheatgrass smoothie lovers peacefully co-exist, and unlike most places with a decidedly free-spirited vibe, it doesn't smell like hummus or patchouli.

Thank goodness.

But as I walked closer to the Newsroom, I discovered something thoroughly unsettling—no lights, no people and a typewritten sign taped on the door. Yep, they were CLOSED today. For renovation.

Sigh.

So with a grumbly tummy and no quesadillas or mindless magazine reading in my immediate future (yet another perk of eating at the Newsroom), I was forced to try some place new.

And when you're trying some place new, it's never, ever a bad thing if the restaurant specializes in Italian food, right?

As it turns out, Cuvee was a fantastic find. While it took a gargantuan amount of self control to resist the specials that included penne with a pink peppercorn mascarpone sauce and pappardelle with lobster and cream, I opted for something light and delicious.

First off, was an Italian chopped salad with a light and zesty vinaigrette. In addition to the usual salad accompaniments like tomatoes, cucumbers and homemade garlic croutons were a sprinkling of exotic olives and oooey gooey boccaccini, which are basically the cheese equivalent of heaven.

Since I was so responsible in ordering a salad rather than the pasta I really wanted, I decided to order a half panini to round out the meal. Filled with juicy grilled chicken, basil pesto and the admittedly un-Italian avocado which took it waaaay over the top, it was pretty much the perfect sandwich.

Aside from my passionate love of any sort of pasta, what I've always loved about Italian cuisine is how the simplest, freshest ingredients are elevated to new heights. For the record, the food at Cuvee totally fit the bill, and I'll definitely be eating there again.

As for what else has been going on, just a few days before making my way to La La Land, I was visiting this adorable girl, her parents and my Mom in Colorado.

Doesn't her smile just make you want to smile?

Yeah, me too.

Like always, we crammed a lot of fun into just a few days, and I continue to marvel at how fast little Miss Adelyn Grace is growing up.

We played hide and seek, we read her new favorite story "Curious George Goes Camping" and per usual, I was wowed by how much she's been learning.

She's quite the smartie, that Adelyn and total sweetness to boot.

And when I wasn't trying to find the perfect hiding place to keep Adelyn on her toes, I was playing Scrabble with her grandma, shopping with her Mama and during one very special day, Lindsey, her best friend Erica and I made our way to Littleton to meet the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.

Little did we know, however, that the meet & greet would involve me standing in line for five (!!!) hours.

Yeah, Lindsey and Erica both deserve a medal of honor in the category of patience...

Apparently, I'm not the only one who loves Ree—and those comfort food recipes of hers. While I'm about the last person in the world who'd love living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, I've been a fan of her blog—and Food Network show for a while now. Not only is she a major proponent of using butter and cream in her cooking (and really, who doesn't love those?) and loves romantic comedies as much as I do, but she's got a great voice which makes her blog thoroughly entertaining and informative.

Like the best people, that warmth and wit that makes her prose so much fun to read totally translates in public, too. Not only was her presentation a lot of fun, pitchy rendition of "Endless Love" and all, but she never stopped smiling, even after signing books for five hours.

Yes, FIVE hours and a genuine smile through all of 'em...

While I was convinced my feet were going to fail me (yes, I was wearing impractical shoes, naturally) by the time I finally made it to Ree's table, she was totally sweet and made time to chat with each and every person.

Gotta love it when people you admire turn out to be cool in real life, too.

In addition to flying the friendly skies and hanging with family, I've been writing like a madwoman, watching a slew of good and not-so-good movies, reading a fantastic travelogue titled Paris My Sweet and reminiscing about Will and I's time in Europe since it's been a (gasp!) year ago now.

All that to say, life's been good...and I'm incredibly thankful.

The Green Smoothie Experiment

I like smoothies. Always have, especially when mango is involved.

And after my plan for eating healthier officially went out the window when our fridge suddenly decided it was time to visit the appliance afterlife (the fact that it was Super Bowl week certainly didn't help matters either), I've been trying to gravitate toward more healthy fare ever since.

One of things I keep seeing healthy people consistently rave about are green smoothies. Now I'll be honest, whenever I see one, I instantly start thinking about the nasty green gunge that Rene Russo's character always insisted on drinking in The Thomas Crowne Affair, but I like the idea of them in theory. You get your fruit, your veggies all in one place—sort of like V8 without the unpleasant acid reflux that comes with drinking tomato juice.

Armed with the recipe I saw on a friend of mine's Facebook page, I finally womaned up and decided the only way to know if these green smoothies were the secret to my future well-being was to (gasp!) try one myself. So I put in the banana, the peanut butter, the soy milk, the why-in-the-world-is-this-so-thick Greek yogurt, and it looked pretty good until...

Yep, you guessed it, the spinach.

Since I was making a half recipe, I needed two whole cups of the green stuff. But as I started measuring it out, I thought maybe I'd go just a little shy the first time, so I opted for 1 1/2 instead.

Throwing in some ice for good measure since a lukewarm green smoothie basically sounded like the stomach flu in a glass, I whirled and whirled the mixture around in the blender 'til it looked the right consistency, poured it in a glass, briefly contemplated throwing it down the sink and finally, I drank it.

The verdict? It's not soooo bad, considering you're drinking spinach. I mean, peanut butter makes anything better in my opinion, but I doubt these green smoothies will be on my breakfast menu on a regular basis.

So green smoothie fanatics, is there a way to actually enjoy these or do you just suck it up in the name of good health? Also, are there any add-ins that make the experience a little more tolerable? Really, I'm all ears...

Fudge-Covered Ritz: Delightful or Disgusting?

If you tuned in yesterday, you discovered that my cutie patootie niece and my husband Will share a serious love of mini Reese's peanut butter cups in common.

Funny enough, in the same way that Will can easily down an entire bag of that chocolate/peanut butter goodness in record time, he's also been known to devour Ritz crackers in an equally enthusiastic fashion.

Now I'll be the first to admit, Ritz is buttery deliciousness in mere cracker form, but I'm guessing even if I was starving I'd never eat more than 10 at a time, even if hummus or some other yummy topper is involved. But Will? Well, he'll eat an entire roll and call it lunch.

So when my Mom saw that two of Will's favorite things—Ritz and chocolate—had conveniently merged for the holidays, she simply couldn't resist getting a box for his stocking. And given my love for all things sweet and salty (my favorite combo is plain M&Ms on movie theater popcorn), I couldn't resist sneaking a little taste either.

Now for those wondering whether fudge-covered Ritz are delightful or disgusting, well here's the verdict: If you like chocolate-covered graham crackers, you'll adore these! Strangely enough, I wished the salty element was a little more pronounced because it didn't taste all that Ritz-y to me. But they were still pretty delicious, and not surprisingly, our box has already made its way to the recycle bin without even the smallest of cracker crumbs inside.

I'm Dreaming of the L.A. Farmers' Market...

If you don't have the time or money to hopscotch from one exotic locale to another (and really, who does, especially these days?), I recently found the perfect way to travel around the world—no passport required.

Like some of the best discoveries in life, it was completely accidental. I'd heard of the L.A. Farmers' Market, of course, but never knew exactly where it was. But when my sister, her best pal Erica and I were in town to celebrate Lindsey's birthday a couple of weeks ago in La La Land, we made this rather happy discovery.

Now I've been to some pretty great farmers' markets, and at one point, even lived across the street from one in St. Paul, but nothing comes close to this. It literally goes on and on and on, and you could easily stay for the entire day and not get bored. But lemme warn you if you do, you'll want to be wearing pants with a some give because there's seriously yummy vittles around every corner.

And if you're there, do yourself a favor and grab an apple fritter at Bob's. It will change your life, and that's coming from a girl who isn't even a doughnut person. I don't think I've ever tasted such sticky, heavenly deliciousness in humble fritter form before. In fact, my mouth's watering just thinking about it. That, and a cup of coffee, and you'll be set for a couple of hours at least.

Whatever food you fancy, whether it's Italian, Indian, Thai, Spanish, Mexican, French or some  incredible looking falafel, they've got it—and then some. Even if you're feeling healthy, which of course we weren't that particular day, the selection of fresh fruit and veggies looked pretty incredible, too.

Adding a whimsical, unexpected flare to the festivities were all the cool specialty items. There was a shop that only sold stickers. Another featured imported candy, cookies and gifts from Europe. And while I didn't end up ponying up the $9.50 for my own bag, I was quite intrigued by the chocolate penne at a homemade pasta shop. Just looking at it reminded me of what Barefoot Contessa always says about something so utterly decadent: "How bad could that be?"

Yeah, it involves two of my favorite things—chocolate and pasta—so I'm thinking it wouldn't be too bad at all. Maybe next time, and I really hope that next time is soon because we had such a good time exploring all the unique local businesses nestled inside.

Time to Open Those Mystery Baskets!

Confession time: So, I have a new lunch ritual...

Well, when I'm not in the middle of 1,353 deadlines anyway, which was basically the case all this week. But when my work day isn't quite so insane, I make my salad, pour myself a glass of green tea sweetened a bit with citrus and watched an episode of Chopped.

Yes, thanks to my glorious DVR, I have pretty much the perfect, commercial-free lunch-time entertainment. And I'm digging this show so much, in fact, that I've been having dreams about what I'd do with my own mystery basket if I were the one competing (for the record, mine always seems to have tilapia and honey, something I'm pretty sure I'd never eat together).

In addition to marveling at the sheer inventiveness of chefs who can make a dessert out of Cheez-Its, watermelon and curry powder, I guess what I love most about Chopped is the opening reel when the chefs talk about their cooking experiences, the inspiration behind their culinary creations and lastly, what they'd do with the $10,000 if they won.

Most days, I need tissues nearby when I'm watching. Today the guy who won was planning to finally propose to his girlfriend because he could afford a ring now. A few days ago, someone wanted to take her ailing mother to Paris. Some of the winners want to finally start their own restaurant, while others can finally afford a car. Or new shoes for their kids.

For some, it's really more about the bragging rights of being a "Chopped" champion than the money, an affirmation that he/she is ultimately doing the right thing with his/her life since so many of these chefs leave successful but non-inspiring careers behind.

Yeah, I'll admit, it's sort of like watching Extreme Makeover, but with food.

What also adds to the whole experience is watching the judges in action. While they don't always agree with each other (and the deliberation is never short of entertaining), they're almost always fair. And unlike some judges on reality shows who thrive on being snarky, I feel like their criticisms are always constructive, which makes watching all the more worthwhile.

Well, that, and feeling almost as stressed as the contestants when they're trying to whip up the perfect appetizer in 20 minutes...it's quite a thrill, and I'm not even competing!

Savoring the Flavors of Summer!

I'm not kidding myself, of course...I know that in a matter of days, summer will make its official appearance for good, and it'll be at least 1,000 degrees here in Texas.

To wit, my hair will be doing all kinds of unsightly frizzy things before I smooth it into submission, and I'll be practically bathing in sunscreen to keep those rays away from my ghostly white skin.

Even with that brutal reality check filed away,  I've sure been loving the proverbial calm before the storm in the meantime. Not only has it been breezy and pretty much the perfect temperature for the past week now, but I've been enjoying a surplus of that glorious Vitamin D without turning into a lobster. Bonus!

And when the weather is this stunning, I can't help but think of lovely summer-y salads like Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Vegetable Orzo. With a light lemon viniagrette, fresh basil and veggies in practically every color of the rainbow, it's a great light lunch or a fantastic pairing with chicken or fish (well, if I ate fish, anyway...Will does, I don't) for dinner.

And when I don't feel like taking the time to actually (gasp!) boil a pot of orzo, just fresh tomatoes drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and basil will often do the trick. Ditto for a perfectly ripe avocado with cilantro taking the place of basil and a bit of lemon or lime juice to keep it from browning. Delicious.

There's something about the simple flavors of summer that make me so happy. Not only is the local Farmer's Market its most fragrant, but the hotter temps naturally make me crave healthier fare—unlike those blasted winter months where pizza, pasta and homemade chili are the cure for all that ails ya.

So with that said, I think I'll head to the kitchen and whip up a batch of Roasted Vegetable Orzo and get those five servings of veggies taken care of in one fell swoop...and I'm guessing Will will enjoy it along with his roasted tilapia tonight, too. Fingers crossed, anyway...

A Few of My Favorite Things: Spring Edition

I don't know about you, but I've been ready for Spring since, well, February. Now that everything's back in full bloom (and don't my allergies know it—maybe Zyrtec should be on the list) and the birds are singing away, it's done wonders for my mood—even when I'm inside writing away.

Now in celebration of the season before the sweltering heat wave in Texas officially kicks off, here are a few of my favorite things during this oh-so-sunshiney season.

Bossypants by Tina Fey-Just the cover alone makes me laugh. I mean, c'mon, those big ol' arms are hilarious. Thankfully, what's inside certainly doesn't disappoint either. I've laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Once my chuckling even startled the ladies I was sitting to at Starbucks—bonus!

"America's Next Great Restaurant"-Yeah, I'm a sucker for foodie shows, and I gotta say this one has been really fun to watch as the contestants are competing for their own fast-casual chain in the three cities (Minneapolis, L.A. and NYC). Not only are the judges (Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone, restaurant owner Lorena Garcia and Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle) brutally honest with their critiques in such a constructive way, but I love the stories of the people competing for the title—especially Jamawn Woods, who I'm hoping will win with his soul food concept. Considering how tough the job market is right now, it's great to see people who are already doing well investing in the career of someone who might not have the opportunity otherwise.

Salads!!!! I love that tomatoes, basil, arugula and avocados are tasting downright summer-like, so I've been eating salads like nobody's business. Now I can't wait for some great corn on the cob...mmmm.

Benefit's Foamingly Clean Facial Wash-I'm always on the lookout for a great cleanser that's hydrating and won't irritate my dry skin. Well friends, I've finally found my new favorite. Not only does it smell great (I know, it shouldn't matter, but I can't help it) and really live up to its name in the foamy department, but my face feels squeaky clean and moisturized when I'm done. Plus, the bottle is pure cuteness, which is just another bonus.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain-I read this while I was in Europe and still find myself thinking about it from time to time. It's basically Ernest Hemingway's story from the perspective of his first wife, Hadley, and my, my, my is it a page-turner! Loved the beautiful descriptions of Paris and getting the behind-the-scenes scoop on not only what motivated Hemingway as a writer but what shaped him as a person as well. In the beginning, he was a romantic and then...

Water for Elephants (the movie)-I don't know about you, but I've seen basically one dud after another at the cineplex in 2011. So after sitting through everything from Arthur to Madea's Big Happy Family, I kept my expectations very, very low for Water for Elephants and ended up just loving it. Not only is Rosie the freckled eared-elephant downright adorable, but I loved the movie's decidedly old-timey feel. Plus for anyone who wondered if Robert Pattinson could do anything but brood, I'm happy to report that he can.

Rosemary Clooney-I don't know why, maybe it's because Lauren Graham mentioned her on an episode of "Gilmore Girls" I was watching. But whatever the reason, Rosemary, along with Ella, Billie and Frank, have basically been my soundtrack to Spring.

Now how about you? What's been rockin' your world this Spring, dear readers?

Oh, the Joys of Bread and Unsalted Butter!

I left most of the picture taking to Will on our recent European adventure (and yes, a slew of photos are TK on Facebook...still sorting through them), but I couldn't resist taking a shot of this particular basket of bread in Paris.

No herbs, no cheese, they just served it with lots of unsalted butter. And really, that's all it needed because it was absolutely light and delicious—especially the crust which had surprisingly good flavor (something I can't say for most bread).

In a word: Mmmm.

 

Adventures in Europe, Part 2: Paris When It Sizzles

Back before Will and I were Mr. + Mrs., we were always introducing each other to a few of our favorite things...namely, the books, music and movies that rocked our respective worlds.

While we already shared many, many favorites in common, there was still a bit of a cinematic learning curve, considering he'd never seen Roman Holiday, and I had never experienced the awesomeness that is The Godfather (apparently, citing all the Godfather references from You've Got Mail didn't count).

So on our third and fifth dates respectively, we knocked those off the list and continued our educational journey by throwing our most-beloved books and music in the mix, too.

And thanks to Will, I'm a now a full-fledged fan of The Replacements, Nick Drake, and yes, even Bob Dylan, and my iPod's so much better for it.

Now I'm sure you're probably wondering what any of that has to do with Paris, but trust me, there's a method to the self-proclaimed Tangent Queen's madness. See, one of the best novels Will ever bought for me was Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, a book that easily ranks in my top five today.

For whatever reason, I'd always been of the opinion that Hemingway was overrated—nothing more than a drunken bore (I guess I was right about one of the two anyway). In fact, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to read The Old Man and the Sea back in high school, but I didn't make it past the first 10 pages. Something about the title, not to mention his prose's oh-so-languid pace, didn't exactly inspire me. Ditto for Ernest's enthusiasm for pine-scented forests and bull fighting in For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises. Yawn.

But A Moveable Feast, well, that's the proverbial horse of a different color. Not only were Hemingway's observations about people so wry, engaging and at times, laugh-out-loud funny, but his description of his time spent writing (and yes, boozing) in Paris immediately transported you there. Suffice it to say, my desire to visit "The City of Light" increased exponentially after reading.

Sure, I'd always dreamed about strolling down the Champs-Élysées with my madeleine, tiny coffee and a few shopping bags to boot, but after reading A Moveable Feast, I wanted to be wherever Hem, Hadley, F. Scott and Zelda were, too, including the illustrious Shakespeare and Company and the coffee shops and bistros they frequented in Montparnasse. Plus, Notre Dame. Can't miss Notre Dame.

So needless to say, as much as I hated leaving London, I was thrilled to get to Paris. I don't know about you, but it just doesn't seem right that after a mere two hours on the Eurostar from London, you're in PARIS! As crazy as the traffic is here in DFW, two hours of travel sometimes means I've merely made it to the other side of town. Or am an hour away from Austin. Seriously those Brits have it made...

After settling into our seats with our snacks (a café crema + M&Ms=the breakfast of champions), Will had a brilliant idea of how to make two hours fly by—playing Scrabble (and yes, we have not one, but two travel-sized sets). For those keeping score at home, I won the first game, Will won the second, and before long, we were enjoying the gorgeous French countryside where even the graffiti-lined walls still look posh somehow. For all its beauty, I half expected the sky to be pink.

And while the sky wasn't pink, it didn't take long for me to fall in love with Paris's myriad of charms anyway. Not only was our hotel the cutest little home away from home (complete with the tiniest little tiled bathtub known to man and a killer mini-bar with plenty of water con gas—my fave), but all the sights and smells were truly something to behold. Frankly, Hemingway was right on the money...

To properly explore Paris, I'm thinking you just have to go ahead, take the plunge and become a local because really, there's much to experience. But since we only had a short time, we did the best with what we had, meaning they'll be plenty of reasons to come back—soon.

Now, a few random observations about our time in "The City of Light"...

*Apparently, not finishing your plate is the same as saying your food wasn't good. During our first meal at a charming little brasserie in Montparnasse, my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach. For my starter, I ordered French onion soup because I've always been a fan and thought it would be even better in Paris than, say, Panera. As predicted, it was absolutely marvelous with a ton of gooey Gruyére and toasted, buttery baguette on top, and I finished every irresistable drop. Trouble is, that didn't leave much room for the sole meuniére that I chose for my entree. So even though it was pure buttery bliss (and I'm not even a fish lover normally), I only took a few bites, which inevitably led to my server to raise her eyebrow and ask if I liked it. Funny enough, the same thing happened again with an unfinished omelet at breakfast the next day. I guess if you don't finish, they take it pretty personally. So at subsequnt meals,  I made sure that I finished every bite—especially dessert. Mmmm.

*Eggs, Bacon, Salad? With the exception of the breakfast where I ordered banana pancakes, there was always a side of field greens with homemade vinaigrette next to my breakfast fare. Now don't get me wrong, I always love a good salad; I'm just not used to it with scrambled eggs and bacon. But hey, I guess that's not a bad way to make sure that you get enough greens, right?

*Yep, it's true...Yes, 99.9% of the French—especially the women—dress way better than we do in America, and scarves are an absolute must.

*It's okay to be a tourist, especially when your legs hurt. I'll admit, when I first got to town, I thought the people sitting on the top level of this double-decker tour buses looked silly and touristy. But when you've walked and walked and walked some more, they are an absolute godsend. Plus, even without the headphones, I felt like a got a great view of the city without even trying.

*Eiffel Tower: Cool, but...I don't need to spend half a day waiting to reach the top ever again. If I had one tiny—and I mean miniscule—complaint about my time in the fair Paris, I would've skipped the trip to the top of the Eiffel. Yes, it's one amazing view of the city, but I think I would've been okay just admiring it from afar.

*Shakespeare & Company: Nope, once isn't enough (we went twice).

*The Lourve: Looked great from the outside, but opted out of time with the Mona Lisa to shop and do a bit more exploring instead. Found a killer apron, an adorable new spoonrest for my kitchen, two cute little tees for the cutest niece on the planet, perfume and as a major bonus, stumbled upon the biggest Sephora I've ever been to. Yeah, it even puts the one in NYC to shame...didn't think that was possible.

*And the verdict is...The Barefoot Contessa has always insisted (on several episodes of her show, natch) that it's impossible to have a bad day in Paris, and you know what? She was right. I absolutely loved walking through this amazing city with my hubby by my side, and who knows, maybe our time there will even inspire our future writing, just like it did for Hemingway, Fitzgerald and the list goes on and on...