Native Foods

Before I delve too deeply into this post about a recent restaurant try with a friend from my program, I want to show you this photo first:

This salad looks pretty delicious, right? It's the Southwest Chipotle Chop salad from Native Foods in Westwood. The salad is essentially romaine, native chicken (I'll get to this in a second), corn, black beans, roasted red peppers, and a variety of tasty dressings.  Would you ever guess this is a 100% vegan salad?

This restaurant makes "meat" out of their vegan products; the Native Chicken is a mix of soy, wheat, and, I think, pea proteins.  I'm not one to shy away from vegan foods or trying new things for that matter, so I was more than happy to try Native Foods when my friend asked to go.  I've had vegan "meats" before, so I will say this before continuing: if I'm expecting a vegan "meat," no problem--if someone tells me I'm having a chicken salad but fails to tell me that it's vegan, I'll know something's wrong. That being said, I was extremely impressed with the salad and the Native Chicken. I think it was the texture that made you think that it was actually chicken. It doesn't have a chicken taste (or so far as I could tell- there was a lot of BBQ sauce), but while I knew I wasn't actually eating chicken, my brain could have been fooled. In general, the salad was super delicious, and there were many things on the menu that I was interested in, but wanted to try something that was more "safe" in case I wasn't a fan of the vegan "meats." I wouldn't mind going back there again, especially if I'm in the mood for something quite healthy with lots of veggies (that afternoon for lunch I had pizza, pasta, and lots of dessert...typical college food, ha!)

My friend joked that this place was "So, LA." because of the huge emphasis on healthy foods, which, to some extent, I think is true, but it was tasty!

P.S. That's a blueberry hibiscus tea and my friend had french lavender lemonade. So fancy!

We Have a Food Thief!

It's no secret that Cameron and I (ok, mostly me) spoil Gambit with table scraps and lots of treats (I was told yesterday to stop buying treats as we put away the ones we had already bought...) However, apparently we starve our dog despite feeding him twice a day and giving him lots of snacks. I say this because any time there is even a smidgen of food on the counter or the coffee table (never mind the floor), it magically disappears.

What's most impressive is he's actually pretty sneaky about it.

Example A:

Cameron made steak burritos for dinner one night, but only cooked 1/2 of the flank steak we bought. He left the other half on the kitchen counter on the cutting board. We ate in the living room, but by the time Cameron went back into the kitchen, the steak was gone.  Nothing had moved, and we were pretty sure that Gambit had been sitting begging with us for our meal.  Cameron even asked me if I had moved the steak to the fridge before we ate, but I hadn't. Nope. Our small pony just nosed his way up and ate a pretty sizable chunk of meat and didn't pull down cutting board or anything. So much for my lunch the next day. 

Example B:

A few weeks ago, Cameron wanted to go downtown to an Artwalk that's held once a month. I was told there would be food trucks, so I happily went along. The Beignet Truck was there, and I was beyond excited. I've been wanting to try beignets since a) I heard of them and b) heard of this truck because it sounded delicious. I bought five of them with the intent to eat a few while they were fresh, but to take some to campus the next morning for breakfast. In the end, I forgot to take them for breakfast, but had them for an afternoon snack when I came home. I had three left; I heated up two and ate them while watching the Downton Abbey premiere. I left the third one in the box on the counter. Gambit, I thought, was sitting with me the entire time while I ate them and even had some Wheat Thins with me. When I went to reheat the last one, it was gone. The only way I could tell he had been there was because the box was on its side instead of upright like I had left it. I wasn't sure if I should have been upset or impressed. Honestly, I was more impressed because beignets are doused in powdered sugar, and there was no sugar on the counter or floor (or his face for that matter). The box was still on the counter; I swear, he's like a food-stealing ninja. 

Needless to say, we are much more diligent about making sure he's in the room we want him to be in while we're eating. Last night we had homemade hot wings, and when I went to get a drink after placing my plate on the coffee table, Gambit was herded back into the kitchen where Cameron and I were. We're not taking anymore chances! I'm pretty sure he has no regrets. When we call him into the kitchen to confront him, he knows what he did with that hang-dog look on his face and his would-be tail between his legs, but I think he thinks the reward of the crime is definitely worth the punishment. 

For fun, here's a few recent photos of the pooch: 

So that's not really a scarf, but some paper from a package we received. He's so patient.

I'm pretty convinced he's got a lazy eye... Once you see it, I feel like you can't unsee it. 

Belly rubs!  

What a tough life...

 

Happy Thanksgiving from Disneyland!

Cameron's sister, Lauren, visited us over the Thanksgiving Break; instead of doing a Thanksgiving dinner, I suggested we head to Disneyland instead. A few people from my cohort were already going, and it seemed like a better tradition to start than trying to squeeze a turkey and all the fixings into our small kitchen.

I have been to Disneyland many times from visiting family and friends here, but never for the holidays, and boy, were the decorations fantastic! Cameron and Lauren got their first taste of Disneyland, and I think it was an overall success. We did a half day at the park so Gambit wasn't left alone all day. We got there at 3pm (after eating a very festive lunch at Del Taco) and came home at around 12am. Talk about tiring! We got to ride most of the rides we wanted to and saw the sights.

If my memory serves me right, I think that I prefer California Adventure, which is a California themed park right across the walkway from Disneyland (Disney owns California Adventure). I think there are more "thrill" rides than Disneyland, which has more story-themed rides. Laura, one of the girls from my cohort, brought up a good point that if you ride the rides without having seen the movies or knowing the stories, the rides would make no sense. For example, in the Snow White ride, you only see Snow White once! My favorite I would have to say is the Peter Pan ride. You get to "soar" over Neverland and it's surrounded by stars. So pretty!

I almost made a fun purchase, but convinced myself that I didn't need it. It was a Sully zip-up hoodie from Monster's Inc. It was blue and purple spotted and the hood had Sully's horns, teeth, and eyes. So cute! It's a kid's sweatshirt, but I could squeeze into a XL (although the sleeves were too short).

Disney Christmas Trees!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle with Winter Decorations

Entrance of Tomorrowland

Iron Man Exhibit!

Lanterns about Teacups. By far my favorite ride to look at!

What a lucky shot! 

The King Arthur Carousel

Peter Pan Ride--It's Big Ben!

These were the bathroom doors in Fantasyland. Disney doesn't leave anything boring! 

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Sleeping Beauty's Castle Extreme!

New Orleans Quarter

It's A Small World ride

The purchase I didn't make and regret to this day :[ 

Happy New Year!

Whew, 2013 has definitely flown by for the both of us. 2014 for Cameron and I have some uncertainty in the upcoming months (hoping for jobs and maybe a more permanent location for more than a year, ha!) We'll see what comes in this new year!

P.S. We learned Gambit does not like the New Year's Eve horns... he gets a bit scared :(

Here's a fun little video I didn't know my phone made for me. There's a lot of Gambit photos, not surprising.

The Room at Hollywood

A few weekends ago, a few of my cohort and I celebrated the birthday of a cohort member, Jenny. We had dinner at El Nopal, a Oxaquena restaurant close to campus that is owned by the husband of another cohort member. Originally, I was planning on just going to the dinner and then coming home to spend some time with Cameron after he got done with work. Halfway through dinner, Cameron texted that he had gotten off work early so we decided to go to the bar/lounge they had planned to go to.

This is where living in Hollywood became extremely convenient: our apartment was a 15 minute walk to the lounge. No parking hassle for us! Although lounges aren't necessarily where Cameron and I like to hang out, it was a lot of fun with my cohort and we got a taste of Hollywood night life!

Ok, so many clubs do bottle service, but you can also order individual drinks. Talk about sticker shock for a bottle!

The University of California at Los Angeles

At least once a week, I remind myself how incredibly lucky I am to be at UCLA (and Los Angeles for that matter) and how grateful I am for the opportunity I was provided all those months ago. For those of you who don't know how I made my decision to come to UCLA, it really starts with the Janss Steps. I came to UCLA desperately hoping that I would hate it. Seriously. The whole plane ride over, I wanted to hate it. I finished NC State's recruitment weekend and felt pretty positive about the school and the program. While secretly I wanted to go to UCLA and live in California, a big part of me had concerns mostly about the out of state price tag. But, I at least wanted to see how I felt about the program in person, and how I felt about the campus. When Cameron dropped me off on campus for the Preview Day, and I walked past the Janss Steps, I knew I was sold, and that the program would have to be terrible for me not to come to UCLA.

Ok, so confession I didn't take this photo and the credit goes to Wikipedia. I could never get a great shot of the Janss Steps and I felt like this once does some justice to what they look like in person.

So, the program itself turned out to be, I felt, a better fit for me. It's a one year program (most comparable programs are two years) and many of the people in the program were older and had a variety of experiences that gave this program a different vibe. Unfortunately in March, I didn't have the opportunity to get a tour of campus, though Cameron and I did walk around for an hour or so before we came back to NC (ironically Cameron took more pictures than I did then. I think I knew that I was going to come and had plenty of time for photos).

Thus, this post is dedicated to the school and my experiences thus far. I will say that I'm super excited to be here, and I think that is best expressed by the amount of stuff I've bought/accumulated and the events I've jumped at going to, especially when you compare it my prior college campus. Exhibit A: I have bought 6 UCLA shirts/gear in two months; at AppState, the same amount took about 6 years (and I'm not counting the stuff I got through my sorority or being an RA). Exhibit B: I have been to THREE football games; I went to maybe five at ASU.

A cool fact about UCLA I learned (maybe it's not true, but I like to think it is) is that UCLA has the highest student body population, but has the smallest acreage of any of the UC campuses (419 acres if I'm correct). My favorite part of campus is the main campus, especially the older buildings. The Janss Steps lead up to the four original buildings: Royce Hall, Powell Library, the Humanities Building, and Haines Hall. The architecture on campus is amazing. They really don't make buildings like this anymore. The details are breathtaking and I enjoy just looking at the buildings. Don't get me wrong, some of the more recent buildings are boring/ugly, but the majority of the buildings I see on a daily basis are lovely.

Similar view of the Janss Steps

The Humanities Building

Royce Hall

Atrium in Powell Library

Powell Library

Powell Library

I've been meaning to try and explore more of North campus (South is primarily STEM and medical buildings, which aren't attractive looking and are closer to Westwood Village). North campus houses more of the humanities buildings and a newly renovated research library. It's hard to find a study spot on main campus, especially when the Grad Study Lounge in Moore is full, so maybe I'll get lucky there!

Kerckhoff Hall- this used to be the old Student Union

 

 

 

Awesome detailing on Kerckhoff

Patio on Kerckhoff

Moore Hall

Detailing inside Moore Hall

Moore Hall

I've also been on "the Hill" a few times. The Hill is where UCLA has all it's undergraduate residence halls. Now, when I say it's on a hill, I mean that with all sincerity-- I did go to a school in the mountains. These residence halls are nothing like what I've experienced before- most are high risers and look more like apartments or hotels. The most impressive thing about them are their dining halls (separate post to come). Apparently, UCLA has won several awards for their dining hall food. I'm not sure if I really believe that or how true it is, but it's still pretty nice food, and definitely puts all other dining halls I've eaten at to shame, ASU or otherwise. I've eaten on the Hill several times when people who live there offer to swipe us in to the dining halls on their meal plans.

Residence Halls

At other campus restaurants- these are separate from the dining halls in that meal plans don't work and you have to use "real" money to eat there-- the food is pretty nice too. There's one place called Fusion, which is located in the "bomb shelter" in the Court of the Sciences, which I like to eat at a lot. First, the bomb shelter is actually a rennovated bomb shelter turned student center. There are a few eateries and a small store for students to get snacks or emergency supplies. Fusion mixes burritos, tacos, and sandwiches with other ethnic foods. They rotate between Korean, Argentine, Indian, Vietnamese, and Mediterrean throughout the week- I've had one of each and it's super tasty, and not to mention pretty affordable if you don't want to spend too much on campus. 

I am, unfortunately, a fan of the white chocolate mochas at the on campus coffeehouses. And Kerckhoff Coffeehouse is right next to Moore... I was trying to give up my coffee addiction. That may have to wait now until I graduate. Ok, so I didn't mean for this huge tangent about food. 

I've realized one of the cons of a larger school is the bigger student body. It's sometimes hard to find a space to study on campus. And when I say that, I mean a place to sit comfortably for an extended period of time. I think I'm lucky that I can really study anywhere regardless of noise or distraction, but sometimes it's just hard to find a seat. I tried one Friday afternoon to sit in the super pretty Powell/College library and there wasn't a free seat. We joke in class that UCLA is full of overachieving undergrads... I guess that's true if they're all in the library on a Friday and it was only the second week of class.

In the past weeks, I've been able to explore a little more areas of campus, but not by much. Hopefully, I'll get to really see parts of campus I haven't yet by June!