All'acqua.

Have you ever gone to a Dodger game or a concert at the Greek Theater and came out starving and wondering where you can grab a bite? All'acqua is the perfect place! It's located in the up and coming Atwater Village on the Glendale Boulevard strip, and its Italian name, All'acqua translates to Atwater.

The menu offers Pan-Italian dishes including wood fired pizzas and house made pastas. I went with my girl friend and we love to order a few things from the menu and share them all. It's a great way to experience different things restaurants offer. All'acqua also has a large variety Californian and Italian wines that make this place also great for date nights.

We started off with grilled country bread, which was drizzled with garlic and olive oil. This bread is one of the best breads I've eaten at a restaurant! It isn't complimentary, but for $3, it's a good appetizer.

Next, we ordered the charred asparagus egg fried in bread crumbs and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. This was by far my favorite item on the menu! The asparagus gives the dish a fresh taste and the cheese and bread crumbs give it a comfort food feel. I couldn't get enough of this.

I'm a huge pasta lover, in fact it's probably my favorite thing to eat, so I had to try one of the house made pasta dishes. We decided to try the spinach and mushroom pasta. The sauce on the pasta was really light, which was nice since we were eating so much. You can taste the freshness of the pasta, which was cooked perfectly al dente.

All the wood fired pizzas on the menu looked so delicious. My girl friend is a little picky with what she eats, so we had to compromise by ordering the prosciutto and arugula pizza. The pizza was fairly large and since we ordered so much food, I was only able to eat one slice. That one slice, however, was amazing. Somehow cooking pizza in a wood fired oven gives it a certain flavor that can't be beat.

We couldn't end the meal without dessert, of course, so we ordered the Bombolini. They were Italian donut holes covered in a Nutella sauce and paired with vanilla gelato. The gelato was super creamy and the juxtaposition of it with the warm donut holes was perefection. It's the most popular dessert on All'acqua's menu, so it's a must have!

Next time you are looking for a night out at a local trendy spot, check out All'acqua in Atwater Village and make a night of it by visiting one of the many surrounding bars after your dinner! 

Ice Cubes & Flowers.

If you're like me, sometimes you may think that your drinks like water or wine can use a boost of fun and flavor to change things up a bit. I always like adding a little lemon to my water or berries to my champagne, but I wanted to try something different. During one of my many trips to Sprouts and Whole Foods, I always noticed they had edible flowers in their produce section, thought they were cute, and wondered what I could do with them. Then it came to me...ice cubes! I thought this was the perfect way to spice up my drinks, especially with summer coming up.

I bought my edible flowers in a package from Sprouts in the produce section. The package included a mix of flowers that are currently in season including Marigolds, Snapdragons, and Dahlias.

I have this really awesome ice tray that makes ice cubes in the shape of diamonds, which I used to make my ice cubes. As a woman in the gold and diamond industry, I HAD to have this! I bought mine for a steal at Burlington Coat Factory, but you can get one online on Amazon here.

Normally when making ice cubes, the cubes come out all cloudy, but I didn't want that cloudiness to take over the pretty colors of the flowers. To fix this, I boiled the water I was going to use for the cubes twice to get rid of the minerals in the water that cause the cloudiness. While I waited for the water to cool down a bit after boiling, I arranged 2-3 flowers in the ice cube tray in an aesthetically pleasing way. Once the water cooled down, I poured it into the ice tray. I let it sit overnight, but if you're impatient, you can have them ready sooner. Just allow up to 6 hours for the water to set.

They come out looking so pretty! The flowers are a really easy way to flavor your drinks and healthy (depending on what drink you put it in ;)). You could put it in water or lemonade, but I decided to put it in Prosecco! I know what you're thinking...maybe the ice waters down the Prosecco...but actually the cubes are so small that when it melts it's not a whole lot of water and either way, its flavored by the flowers.

This was a fun way to change things up with how I drink...both visually and through taste. Next time, I think I'll try to infuse my ice cubes with some summer berries!

Organize 2016.

Since it's the beginning of the year, I really wanted to start fresh and just get rid of the clutter in my life. There are so many things that can be cleaned up and organized, which changes the complete feng shui of your life. Trust me on this, guys...with a life free of clutter, you make room in your life to allow other positive energies to flow in.

For the past 2 weeks, I've been doing a complete overhaul on all my stuff. Cleaning out things that are unnecessary in my life and throwing them out is very therapeutic and I want to share this experience with you all so you can de-clutter too. 

Here are some essential cleanses you can do to start of 2016 right...

1. Cleanse your inbox. 

Delete old emails that you no longer need, like receipts from things you've bought and won't return. Create folders to organize the other needed emails. Don't leave any unneeded emails in your inbox. 

2. Cleanse your purse/wallet. 

For the love of god toss out old papers, gum wrappers, and old makeup out of your bags! You might even find some treasures you've been looking for. 

3. Cleanse your phone albums. 

Let's face it, you took 20 selfies to get the perfect one. You don't need the rest now! Get rid of them and make space in your phone for your next selfie photo shoot. 

4. Cleanse your old papers. 

Ever stack up all your junk mail and other papers, stick them in a corner, and forget about them? Time to get rid of those. Invest in a shredder and shred those papers that you no longer need. Don't forget to recycle! 

5. Cleanse your closet. 

If you haven't worn something in your closet in over a year, it's time to throw it out. H&M has a really good incentive of 20% off when you donate a bag of clothes. There's always Goodwill and other charities too. 

6. Invest in a calendar you enjoy looking at.

Sometimes I get stressed out just looking at my calendar and seeing all the things I need to do. I find that having a calendar that's appealing to the eyes lowers my anxiety. Invest in a cute calendar. I made this one at a craft class at Paper Source. 

In general, cleanse yourself from clutter and negativity this year and see if positive energy doesn't come your way. To make room for a different energy, you need to get rid of old ones. Here's hoping to a stress free, de-cluttered, and positive 2016! 

Holidays in the Air.

It's December! I really can't believe how fast the year went by, but I am also so excited for the end of the year holidays. I love decorating and entertaining with festive ornaments, decor, and accoutrements and I want to share some of my favorite swag of this season. These pieces are trendy and really compliment most decor that you probably already have, so they are perfect. The prices on them are super budget friendly as well.

1. Mercury Glass Tree - Target
2. Winter Berry Wreath - Nordstrom
3. Gold Antler Pillar Candle Holders - One Kings Lane
4. Merry Christmas Garland - Paper Source
5. Sequin Noel Decorative Pillow - Target
6. Red Etched Cocktail Shaker - Pier One
7. Kate Spade Fa-La-La Globe Ornament - Nordstrom
8. Reindeer Wood Napkin Rings - Paper Source
9. Naughty/Nice Dishtowels - Nordstrom 
10. Nordic Snowflake Dishware - Crate and Barrel

I'm wishing all of you happy holidays and hope that you will be reveling in the holiday cheer and entertaining with fun decor and ornaments! 

New Logo!

Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, I finally have a cute little logo to go with my blog. And that means an official little image that my followers can associate my posts with! This logo perfectly captures the essentials of my blog: sunglasses representing fashion, which reflects a skyline of Los Angeles representing LA lifestyle and a popping bottle of champagne, representing my inner epicure and fabulous foods and drinks. I'm so excited to share it with all of you!...

A special, special thank you again to Seto Asatourian, my graphic designer and a whole lot more.