Coconut Water and Runners

I have been a hater when it comes to all things coconut since a very young age. My earliest memory dates back to Halloween when I bit into an Almond Joy or Mounds thinking it would taste more like a Milky Way or Snickers. Nay. The taste and texture of the coconut warranted a spit back into the wrapper. Since then, I have given it a chance....in baked goods, raw, smoothies etc but the verdict has always been the same with the exception of curries. Perhaps the flavor for me meshes more with savory items. Who knows? Either way, when it was suggested by both Amy and David that I drink coconut water after runs I immediately scoffed at the idea. Both did have a point though....coco water is fresh, full of electrolytes and considerably more natural of an item than the neon, fructose laden sports drinks that are so common these days. After picking some waters up at David's request, I decided to give one of the flavored ones a shot. I ran through DTLA today...short run....only 4.5 miles but it was warmer than usual. It was my first run post the Hollywood Half last weekend. I felt awesome, but towards the end, the heat was hitting me. I was very thirsty. When I came home, I saw the little Mango Coco water staring me down from the fridge. What the hell. I have it a shot. Surprisingly, I didn't want to spit it out. In fact, I wanted to keep drinking! The coco flavor is definitely hidden by the mango puree added to the juice. Definitely looking forward to trying some of the other fruit flavors in the future!

DIY Wedding Decor: Mini Pinatas

After being totally inspired by the JCrew / Confetti System collaboration, I decided that I needed to have mini pinata ornaments in some was shape or form at the wedding. After deciding on a color palette of Orange, Fuchsia and Green, I decided I could begins crafting some of these puppies up. I found the ornament templates at Michael's. When I got home, the first thing was to cut strips of tissue paper and fringe them. Next, I started at the bottom of each pinata and using a tiny amount of Elmer's glue, I attached each row of fringe on top of one and other. The sphere ornament was by far the most difficult to do. The diamond shaped one, while time consuming as each side needed to be done separately, was the easiest because the tissue sat the nicest do to the flat surfaces. I am going to head back to another Michaels location to see what other shapes there are to play with. The Glendale locale was a bit low on supplies.....

I will post more as they come along....we are thinking of either placing them on the centerpieces or in the Chuppa somehow.

More Loteria Fun: Breaking Bad

Love the silence.....

Daikokuya

On Tuesday last week, Amy and I went to Daikokuya Ramen after our Olvera Street shopping. I don't know if I have blogged about the ramen place before, but for those unfamiliar, the restaurant is bustlin'. It is never not busy. We got there around 2:45 on a weekday and we were still met with a 30 minute wait. The wait wasn't so bad as we had nibbled on churros earlier in the afternoon.

Daikokuya is super cute on the inside and has a cabin vibe with all the wood beams. There are several vintage Japanese ads and bookshelf full of Naruto manga to read while waiting. The pork ramen is their specialty and is what we both got. While it tasted ok, the pork was a bit fatty for my liking and I ended up leaving most of it behind. Amy ordered smart and asked for no pork in the soup. While the soup and noodles hit the spot when going down, about an hour or so after, both of us were dehydrated to the extreme. I couldn't quench my thirst at all. The next day, I found myself hit with a migraine which coupled with the severe dehydration, suggested msg in the soup. Duh. I did some researching and on the website, while they don't admit to putting additional MSG in the soup, the restaurant admits they can't control if some of the ingredients they use are laden with the substance prior to use. So I probably wont be going back anytime soon. Ramen lovers rave about the place so if this is your thing, definitely check it out.

Hollywood Half Marathon Race Report: 2012

Or shall I say "Holywood Half"? For those of you who raced today, you know what I'm talking about but for those who didn't, let me fill you in. Quick sidebar, the mile marker flags/banners what have you had a pretty significant misprint. I sure hope the race organizers got a price break for that one. But anyway......

All in all, I thought the race was pretty fantastic. After hearing about some pretty severe traffic back-ups at the expo the day before, I opted to take the metro to the race....Universal City has a designated stop on the red line. I drove to the NoHo park and ride and rode the one stop to Universal. The 1.50 fare sure beat the 10 dollar parking fee and helped keep me out of some traffic woes! Some other runners had the same idea because as 4:45AM I immediately spotted some running shorts and Zensah socks exiting a car in front of me.

The uphill walk to Universal City was not too bad, but bad enough that I was thinking...."Oh shit...I am going to have to do this post-race as well!" Once at the top, it was already 5:30 or so. I hit up one of the 35 port-a-johns and then took a stand in the 11:00 pace crew. With the amount of runners in a pretty small area, the race had a staggered start. By the time my corral was sent over the starting line, it was around 6:20. Our first 1/4 mile was winding through the streets of Universal City and then we were let out down Cahuenga, to Highland, past the Hollywood Bowl and our first turn was at Hollywood Blvd. The beginning was amazing. Downhills, fast and beautiful as the sun was just starting to make her presence and well, how often is there zero traffic passing the Hollywood Bowl? We made our way through Hollywood to the edge of Silverlake and at Sunset Junction, we had our turnaround back the way we came. Around mile 10 or so is when I began to feel the woes of running such a distance. Everything was just not right. My sock felt bunchy, my iPod was uncomfortable, my water had spilled and was bothering me when it shouldn't have been. At mile 11, around the Highland turn, the earlier amazing downhill became a 2.1 mile uphill challenge! I listened to my body and ran walked the remainder of the race for a finishing time of 2:26. I was pleased as I have not yet ran a half. LaJolla Canyon last month at 11 miles was the longest race til today.

The walk back to the metro was kind of a bummer. Bagel, banana and Sparkletts water bottle in hand (some of the handouts at the finish), I made my way back up the Universal hill, through Citywalk and down the other side to Lankershim. With the stiffness already setting in, the steps down to the Metro were miserable. However, not as miserable as the steps down to my house were when I arrived home! ;)

Looking forward to my next half....the Kaiser Marathon in Pasadena in late May! Wooo!

Marvimon House and Ames

This was an extra special spring break for me as Ames came out to help me with wedding ideas and decor. Amy and her friend Kristen are also known as Moon Canyon....they do tremendously beautiful styling, floral and decor. When I told Amy that David and I were getting married, she immediately volunteered to help out with her incredible eye. So on Monday, after a pickup from LAX and brunch at Dusty's, we headed over to our appointment at Marvimon so that she could scope out the space.

More pics of our ideas and decor to come! Stay posted!