Traditional "Gorge Before You Start a New Job" Pasta Dinner

Before I start a new film I like to have a HUGE pasta dinner. Why? Well, picture starting a new job/school every 2-3 months. Think about how stressful and nerve racking that is. Then think about the night before you start a new job/school....yeah, you can't really sleep that well, can you? So, in order to fix this problem, I like to gorge on food that is full of carbs in order to make myself fall into a deep food coma/sleep.
Now that I'm back to being vegan I realized it's going to be a bit harder to have my heavy pasta dinners since I will no longer be eating alfredo sauce (unless I make it). On tonight's menu: Beet Ravioli with Sage Pesto Sauce and a side of spicy broccoli.

I highly suggest that when making pasta from scratch to 1) not start making the pasta right as you start to to get hungry 2) If you screw up and start making the pasta when you are hungry make a snack (I made boca nuggets) 3) a bottle of wine and patience is a godsend. 

The final product turned out alot better than I expected. I've never made pasta so I was a little skeptical about how they may taste. Also, I don't necessary recommend the Sage Pesto if you are a fan of the normal and delicious Basil Pesto.....to which I am.

My favorite part of cooking with beets is it looks like a murder scene in the kitchen once you are done. Plus your hands make it seem like you are indeed the killer yourself. Bloooooood!

Hopefully this dinner will knock me out because my alarm is set for 345am and I'd like to get at LEAST 4 hours of sleep before I have to wake up. Wish me luck!

Juan's Flying Burrito, Mon Amour

                Every Saturday, without fail, John and I go to my favorite restaurant: Juan's Flying Burrito

I like to pretend I'll get something different but I always end up with my go-to lover: a Mardi Gras Indian (hold the cheese, add guacamole) and a margarita.

Feast your eyes upon these veggie delights.....it's okay if your mouth just got filled with a jealous rage. Mine would too.

Films to look forward for....

While I may work in film and don't have much personal time due to long hours I still make time to watch movies. I am a complete addict. I stalk different genre films and look forward to seeing a movie for months before hand. Sometimes even years.

Here are a few films that I'm looking forward to seeing:

                                   "Vigilante, Vigilante: The Battle of Expression" directed by Max Good.

It's probably pretty clear why I would be drawn to this film (*cough* street art). What I find intriguing about this film is it shows the other side of how much people hate it. I live in New Orleans so I have seen what the Grey Ghost has done to some beautiful graffiti but I never truly stopped to think what his reasoning's were to covering up the art.

                                                            " Sleeping Beauty" directed by Julia Leigh

It looks stunningly beautiful and amazingly creepy. It has a very similiar vibe to Catherine Breillat films to which I adore. Plus, it's a woman director. My golden rule: Always see a film directed by a woman opening weekend no matter if it looks good or not. Why? By seeing the film you are, in a sense, voting for that director to be hired again and are thus supporting women filmmakers.

                                                     "The GMO Film Project" directed by Jeremy Seirfert

Nothing is more exciting than seeing a film LITERALLY transform from the beginning. This film is still trying to raise money in order to complete the film. Please watch the trailer and if it interest you donate HERE! Even 5 dollars can help. I'm super excited to see the final product as I honestly don't know a ton about the subject matter and that's what makes this film so thrilling.

                                                          "Ides of March" directed by George Clooney

It's pretty safe to say, it's not a hidden fact I'm a fan of Ryan Gosling. This film is a perfect example why. I will say that the preview and the title basically give away how the film probably ends.....although I could be wrong. I still plan on seeing it even if Ryan pulls a "Brutus".

                 What films are ya'll looking forward to seeing in the next few upcoming months?

Seattle: Where I long to be....

This time last year John and I took a trip to Seattle. It was an amazing trip that I constantly think about whenever I just want to run away from work and relax in a different but still entertaining city.

So, while I sit at work pretending to do prep work (I did all the work I can for today, I SWEAR!) I thought I'd post some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

I know I'm constantly referring to street art but part of the reason I've always wanted to go to Seattle was because I knew that they had amazing pieces all over the city. This was the very first one I saw....now, I know it doesn't knock you off your feet and I'll agree with you but what I love is that the biker looks out of breath. I love my bike but I'm HELLA out of shape right now and I can relate to this painting.

This was the first bar I went to and was on my "list" of things I NEEDED to do. Why do you ask? It's the last place Kurt Cobain was seen alive.

The Bang Bang Cafe was right down the block from where we were staying. I was drawn to it for the sole reason I thought it was referring to the Bang Bang Club. Alas, it was not, but it had AMAZING food. For realz, guys. If you live in Seattle or plan on visiting PLEASE stop by this place. 

I live in a very flat city. Seattle is a wonderful city to discover how truly out of shape you are.

We went to the Seattle Art Museum when they had an exhibit on Andy Warhol (they also had a Kurt Cobain exhibit that is worth giving a "HELLZ YES" shout out too). At the end of the exhibit there was a old photo booth that you could take a photo and leave one up on the wall with everyone else who had come through the exhibit. They would take down the photos every week so it was constantly a changing piece of art. LOVE!

TOURIST SHOT!

One of John's best friend's lives in Seattle and took us Fort Worden State Park. For all you Richard Gere fans out there (can't say I'm part of your cult but I still respect you) this is where "An Officer and a Gentleman" was filmed.

 I may be vegan but John mos def is not. I do love watching my boy eat a ridiculous amount of food though. Even if it isn't animal friendly.

This is right as the plane was taking off. No, we don't have a fear of flying. This is us mourning the fact that we had to go back to the summer heat of New Orleans and leave the lovely city of Seattle.

We do plan on returning within the year. Are there any places that you suggest we go next time we visit?

My Vegan Mouth

So, I am now officially back to being vegan again. I have been for about 2 weeks now. It's been hard at times but really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I start a new film tomorrow and I suspect that it will become a bit more tricky.
I'm thinking of starting a weekly (or bi-weekly) post called "My Vegan Mouth" which shows off some of the yummy foods I've been putting in it.

White Bean and Kale Soup

Nachos (vegan cheese....not so easily melted)

Mardi Gras Indians Tacos (no cheese, add guacamole)

Avocado and Cucumber Soup

Piiiiiiizzzzzzaaaaa!

For some odd reason people think vegans are super healthy. HA! I guess I do eat better than some but TRUST me there are alot of vegan junk food options.

Roller Derby, Bitches!

Last night, myself and a group of friends went to watch Roller Derby. I've never been to a live game before  and have been looking forward to it all week to the point of obsessively bringing it up to John while we were at the beach. Poor guy puts up with alot.

Last night's game the Big Easy Rollergirls played against the Dixie Derby Girls (from Huntsville, AL). I learned pretty quickly that's it's nearly impossible to get a good photo during the game if you don't have a fancy camera. Example:

Gah, that blur drives me insane! Anyway, our Big Easy Girls played very much like our Saints play football in the sense that we were behind in the first half and then came back full force during the second half. We won 130 to 93.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Um, Roller Derby? I've heard of it but that's about it." That, my friend, is pretty darn normal. Most people didn't know of the sport until the movie "Whip It"

If you haven't seen the film I highly recommend it for these reasons:

1) Andrew Wilson - everything that comes out of his mouth is magic. I have no clue why the rest of America hasn't fallen in love for this Wilson brother more than the other two. I'm assuming it's because Andrew is so effin' cool he only does a film every once in awhile and they tend to be bit parts.

2) Mostly female cast

3) Soundtrack to diiiiiiiiiieeeee for!

Pivots: Directs the pack and sets the pace

Blocker: Plays offense and defense

Jammer: Sprints through the pack and score points

-Pivots and blockers play both offense and defense. Their goal is to try to keep the opposing team's jammer from breaking through the pack while making the holes for their own jammer to get through the pack.

-The jammer starts scoring points after her initial pass through the pack: one point for every opposing blocker or pivot she passes legally.

-If the jammer fully laps the opposing jammer, she scores and additional point on that jammer. This is known as a GRAND SLAM

(Props to the Big Easy Girl's www.bigeasyrollergirls.com/)

All and all, going to a Roller Derby game is alot more fun than you'd expect so seek out your local team and go to a game! It's even family friendly!!!

Beach, Beach, Beach

Next week I start work on another film. So, it seems only right to complete de-stress and relax at the beach this week. While there are many beaches near New Orleans, John and I opted to take a longer trip (if you can call 5 hours "longer") to Destin, Florida. John had been there before but I never had.

One thing that took me off guard was how terribly crowded the beach was. John had forewarned me about this and it's actually why I had avoided going for so long....but I'm a beach whore so I gotta try each one once.

A definite perk was the lovely white sand and the emerald like ocean that I could actually SWIM in. You may be thinking, "Well, duh, of course you swim in the ocean". Correct, you DO swim in the ocean but when you are completely desperate and a beach whore like myself you will go to near by beaches in Mississippi that has water that only goes up to you thighs.

My big margarita "to-go" cup made a appearance. I also decided to really indulge and read a total "beach book". I'm about 75% done with "4 Blondes" and I must say, it's not terribly uplifting. It's a book I found in my Mom's reading room last time I was home. I'm trying to read everything it looked like she read in the last few months before she past.

My evenings were filled with margarita's and cuddling with John (awwwwwww, gag, I know).

Check out our amazing 70s porno room! There were mirrors EVERYWHERE! 

Now, this may not mean much to many people but to me finding Yuengling Lager at a store is a godsend. While Abita is my local brew of choice in New Orleans, Yuengling is my beer of...first love of beer choice. I can NEVER find it in New Orleans! So, yup, I grabbed as much as I could when I was in Florida.

Farewell, my beloved beach. Hopefully I'll be at another one in another 2 weeks!

A Weekend in Pictures

Chillin' with the animals

Vegan Migas

Drinks at the RBar

Being impressed by dogs who can sleep at bars

Discovering I have a pocket full of condoms after drinking in the Quarter then promptly making up a song called "Pocket Full of Condoms" to THIS song.

Receiving a wedding invite to a college friend!

Grilling for a friend's Birthday

Cuddling and watching "Arrested Development"

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!!

Swoon Me

I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of street art and am always on the look out for it. I tend to even plan my vacations around them (ex: Seattle and Austin). Recently, a street artist who I very much adore has  put a piece up in the New Orleans Museum of Art.

I wish I could have been there when she spoke at NOMA about a month ago but I was still on my previous film job and sadly had to miss it. The other day I FINALLY got around to going and seeing her piece in the flesh.

It really was quite amazing to see in person. I could have spent at least a hour just gazing at it (if not more). I love the fact that with each step you take around this massive piece you see something new. I love that it feels constructed. I love that it feels like you could be wrapped up inside of it.

Most of all, I love that this piece was made solely for New Orleans. Part of what I love about street art is that it may be gone within a year. That if you get a chance to see it, you are part of this little secret in art history. I love discovering that someone is as obsessed about street art as me. When we start saying pieces we have seen all around the world and how exciting that moment was.
If you live in New Orleans, I highly recommend stopping by. Wednesdays are free, FYI.

CatFrog

                       My little baby Kahlo has taken to laying much like a frog. It is quite peculiar.

She had a hip problem that causes her to have a consent limp which saddens my heart but doesn't seem to bother her as she has never known any different. I wonder if this is her way of relieving pressure in her hips. I've had hip problems for years and this is how I tend to sleep when it's bothering me.

I love my little weirdo kitten.