Why I love living by the beach...

Coconut water, sand, the Pacific Ocean. Why would you ever need anything else on a Sunday afternoon?

Last night

Baywatch competition, didn't understand much of it. People were running around in the sand, swimming a bit, wearing very tight and cute little swimming hats. I have no idea who won.

Went to have some beers downtown Hermosa, which turns out to be a crazy party scene; not quite the quiet little beach town we had imagined it to be after all. People were queuing up at the bars before ten, we felt like we had somehow been thrown into an episode of Jersey Shore, fighting our way through the beglittered and beheeled early 20-somethings and ravingly drunk 40 year-young men hunting them down. We ended up listening to a band playing surprisingly decent versions of Kings of Leon and Weezer, before downing a Patron and going home before midnight. Getting old, us? Nooooo.

Now, a walk down to the beach to catch some late rays!

Sunday, Sunday

I bring thee the perfect late breakfast, especially tasty after a few glasses the night before. The only thing needed is garbanzo flour (that would be grounded garbanzo beans, kikerter for you Norwegian gliders out there) and water and some of that green stuff laying around in your fridge. Just mix equal parts of flour and water, throw in an egg if you’re feeling feisty, I did this morning  (if you make it without an egg it’s a bit trickier to cook, but perfectly do-able), and some veggies. I used leeks, red pepper and some basil leaves. Oh and a little slize of turkey breast made the whole thing a little more luxurious. You can also put some more substantial stuff in there, like cooked red lentils, mmmm. Add spices to your liking (I prefer salt, ground pepper, cumin and a bit of chili). Leave the mix for around 20 minutes before you fry it, so it gets all nice and thick.

Just cook it like you would a pancake or an omelet. Start with pretty high temp to give it a crisp, golden edge, then turn it down to medium/low and let it cook for a while until you can flip it without the whole thing falling apart. This might take some practice. The “pancake” is done when the insides are dry-ish.

Serve with some avocado and tomatoes or whatever rocks your socks, and squeeze a bit of lemon over it. Voila. A healthy, filling, delicious b-fast.

Bohemian like you

Not quite true that, but one can dream… I did however buy something. How could I not, right?


One of the things I love about moving to a new place is getting a feel for the fashion, what styles people have and what they wear. The weather obviously has a lot to say, but so does culture and I guess also people’s perception of the culture. Here, in some places, you can’t get away from the fact that you live in the centre of celebrity craze, people want to be the skinniest, the tannest, the blondest, the white teeth-iest… you get the point. So some delusional people do stroll around looking like they just stepped out of a scene of Beverly Hills 90210 - the remake, all glossed and glittery. But what I love the most is the SoCal bohemian look, the beachy, flimsy, flamsy, cottony, wooly, braided and feathered look that Rachel Zoe made famous some years ago, with Nicole Richie, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (doing a more “goth” version of it, but anyhoodles) among others.  A bit of an updated version of that. Think Kate Bosworth at Coachella clad in a macramé tank top, leather pants, beaten boots and a colorful hippie bag, and you’re there.


Key pieces are denim shorts, mile-high wedges or super flat flats, printed kaftans, soft leather bags, feathers, big antique silver earrings, long necklaces… and in my opinion the must-have is a big, soft, knitted wrap in earthy colors that you can just throw over anything. Perfect for hanging out at the beach watching the sunset; because it does get CHILLY here at night, don’t think it’s like in Madrid where you can glide around in a flowy paper-thin Ibiza dress all night long and be gleaming with sweat. So the whole supershort shorts, boots and a wrap kind of makes sense to me now. Point being, when I found this, it came home with me.

Next on the list : Mother jeans

Ooooo they look so COMFY and 70's-ish. They're described as "soft and cashmere-like". What else can you ask of your denim? The skinnies aren't bad either. The not-so-skinny skinnies. So tired of the jeggings. Please rest in peace.

Addicted

So, yes. Whole Foods. What can I say. I can’t be let loose in there all by myself. One word of wisdom though; the raw bars in front are HEAVEN. They only consist of the kiiiind ingredients you see here, they have like one tenth the calories of a chocolate bar and they taste ten times better, although they can’t really be compared to chocolate… They taste exactly like freshly picked raspberries, I swear. And the cutest thing is that a stay-at-home mom invented these little finger lickers. Cred. I’ll bring a suitcase full when, if ever, we come back.  In the meantime, check out their web.

Oh, and they actually sell them at iherb! Well, not these exact bars, but granola bars with chia, cinnamon and gojis. They’re real goody too. Aaaand now I'm hungry. I can't wait to get a bike so I can jump on it and pedal to WF whenever the cravings set in. Sweet.

A green one!

I've been doing this for a while, but if you live in SoCal you HAVE to start your day with a green shot. There's a law on that. Mine has wheatgrass, chlorella, spinach, carrot, apple, celery and water. Gött! Now, a home spa with my Whole Food finds (it just took me 20 mins to walk there! Who says you need a car. Hah.)

Later, Hermosa Beach SURF FEST! Kicks off tonight with some kind of lifeguard competition, oh my god how could I miss that?!

in the bedroom...

...where my beloved Venice painting has made its home. Try to ignore the wall-to-wall carpet...

that's what I do.

Painted out of pure boredom

Kitchen nightmares

Our fridge has dressed up in pieces from an old Scrabble.

Freshly painted. Well, except from the ceiling. Please notice that we've already had the time to down two bottles of vino.

Yes, I got an orchid. Soooo 2000's.

THE AWESOME ART

I just had to show you this... 30 dollars from a crazy guy on the Venice boardwalk. It's painted on an old post-sack, and it covers a whole wall. I'm not sure where to put it just yet, but stay tuned for more happy days.

THE DECORATION

The reason I haven't been around for a while, is because I've been busy scrubbing, cleaning, washing, painting, shopping, measuring and decorating. When I do that, I usually stop eating or just replace my lunches and dinners with (organic) nacho chips and (low cal) beers, I don't really have any contact with the outside world, and I become generally unpleasant to be around. Which was also the case this time. But I got the results I wanted. More or less. It's a never-ending project...

Birdcage from Star's Antique, the chest was actually already in the house, as was the couch (not crazy about that).

Empty old frames from Star's Antique...

An old lamp-thingy from, yes, you guessed it, Star's Antique. The BEAUTIFUL vase that looks like a birds egg is made by my BEAUTIFUL mother. She has a whole new "collection" out in that very same color, I love it.

I've hidden an extremely hideous, non-working radiator behind that blind!

I'm picking up the turquoise bench tomorrow, couldn't resist buying it... It will be placed somewhere in the living room as well, will update pics when I have it. Also, more to come from the kitchen and bedroom! Do not miss!

THE VIEW

So, FINALLY, we've moved in to una humilde morada in Hermosa Beach. Just to make you a bit jealous, I'm posting some pictures taken from our living room window. Yes, I know, I hate myself a bit too.

(If it helps, they're 16 x zoomed, but don't tell anyone)

Baseball!

The first thing to do before going to a baseball game, is to put on a checked shirt...

...and some high heels. Ofcourse.

Then you feel a bit excited for a while and contemplate the great view. We went to a Dodgers game, and the stadium is really spectacular, surrounded by hills (not pictured).

After a while though, you start getting really bored and focus on other things than the game, such as having people take your pic, drinking beer and watching the kiss-cam. The match lasted for over 3 hours, and basically NOTHING happened. Next time we'll try American football.

Antiquing!

There's this place right next to our new apartment, called Star Antique. It's a big red barn filled with everything from old cupboards, tables and chairs to records, bags, glittery clothes and costume jewelry, and pretty much everything else you can imagine (I actually got a birdcage).
I also found the most amazing bench in the EXACT colour I've been looking for, as well as a huge white dining table with just the right amount of scratches. I'm in love with this place.

Hermosa, hermosa

Our new home, Hermosa Beach....

Creepy Pigeon Man feeding his pets

A surfer's footsteps

Views from the Irish. Winedown Wednesday = half off Coppola's merlot (which is not half bad!)

CARMAGEDDON

What happens in a drama-queen city obsessed with cars and traffic when they close down one of the major freeways (the 405) for a whole weekend? They call if Carmageddon, ofcourse. We're staying put in our little beach village, stacked with raw chocolate and chia bars ;)

And this is our own carmageddon! A handfull of cocoa beans for the first one to guess the colour...

The perfect lunch...

... is a clarete...

... and  a "low-carb" burger (yes, that is the actual name in the menu).

Sidenote: It is freaking cold here, and every single restaurant insists on keeping the temperature reeeeally nice and cold. I won't even tell you about the movie theaters...

Campomaggi

I've already had two people asking me about my bag... Yes, it's awesome, and it's from Campomaggi; without a doubt my new favourite bag maker.