Recipe Book: Ham and Cheese Sliders

Made these sick sliders with the fam tonight and they were super delish. Just had to share. Great idea for a finger food at a party. Super simple to make and just all around yummy comfort food for those cozy autumn evenings ahead. Served 'em with potato chips and homemade coleslaw. CHECK PLUS.

                                                                     Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Max on Pinterest

Found the recipe on Pinterest, but it's originally from The Girl Who Ate Everything. Her recipe is below. Enjoy and thank me later, bitches!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

adapted slightly from the Recipe Club

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce (you probably could half this...I had plenty extra)
1 T poppyseeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.


XOXO.

Port of Los Angeles Lobsterfest 2011

So, last weekend I went to the Port of Los Angeles Lobsterfest with some of my besties. It was UBER awesome. Made me feel like I was back in New England again. An actual boatload of lobster imported from Maine, food trucks, beer, interesting apparel available for purchase and live music.

Me and my friend Arbo with the 2 Lobster meal for $33 (amaze-ballz deal!)

 Christine and I with our COOLHAUS ice cream sandwiches. (and yes, Christine bought those spiffy/weirdo/OG hipster tourist glasses at the fest for just $8)

The "modeling" shot Arbo made me pose for at the harbor :-P

It was a great afternoon of food and fun, plus the mid-September LA weather was perfect. I totes recommend it to anyone, especially if you can appreciate good seafood. The lobster was literally melt-in-your-mouth delicious! (Christine would know, she devoured two whole lobsters in ONE sitting...she needs to enter a competitive eating competition, seriously!) 

Things to note about this year's Lobsterfest:

• Parking is annoying. You must park at the cruise ship parking lots and then take a "shuttle" (aka-- a very uncomfortable, old yellow school bus to the festival)
• Admission is $10. Though, we found $2 off coupons online.
• Lobster hats are only $5...and obviously well worth it.
• One of the local live bands we heard while we dined was Deap Vally. They absolutely suck. Worst live performance, ever. Their song "Drought" was particularly nauseating)
• If you have friends who hate Lobster, like my friend Arbo, that's okay! Bring them along, because there were at least 6 other food trucks on site including the Nom Nom truck, Barbie's Q truck, and COOLHAUS
• Speaking of COOLHAUS, found out that the famous ice cream sandwich truck is opening a store front location in Culver City in October! Fab news, right? Now we don't have to stalk the damn trucks on Twitter all the time to find out where the hell we have to trek to in order to get ourselves a bomb.com bacon and red velvet ice cream sandwich!

Overall, minus the school bus parking sitch and Deap Vally, I give Lobsterfest 2 thumbs up! 

It May Not Feel Like Fall in LA, But It Is!

Happy Autumnal Equinox! Los Angeles always seems to welcome Autumn with 80 degree weather and green palm trees, but there's no reason not to get into the spirit of fall.

Benefits of an 80 degree Autumn: Go to Oktoberfest in a t-shirt and a tan instead of a wool sweater, go wine tasting instead of apple picking (because wine's always in season in so-cal), drink iced Pumpkin Spiced lattes instead of hot ones, bonfire on the beach instead of in the woods.

Here's a fun fall bucket list I found to help you get into the spirit:

I'm going to try to chronicle my adventures as I check these boxes off for you, mainly so I can prove that not only can you have a great Autumn without a seasonal temp change, but that like so many other things, Autumn is better in LA than it is anywhere else ;)

Xoxo,

Maris

Fashion Police : Michael Kors meets Water World

I was about to go to bed, but then something in my Google Reader frightened me. Now I can't sleep because I am so shaken. I was just scanning the latest Michael Kors Spring 2012 collection, amused by the typical animal print and neutrals, the safari inspiration, and then I saw this:

Excuse me, but exactly what, might I ask, is THAT?

 Michael Kors, what are you trying to say by showing these shoes with your collection? Are you trying to say something obsurd like, "sometimes, I pair ugly, unflattering shoes with my collection, not because they actually look good, but because they enhance the overall 'campy' vibe of my collection."? Because I hate that. I really hate when designers put unflattering pieces in their collection for art's sake. It's called "Ready to Wear" for a reason. Am I supposed to be ready to wear those shoes? Because that will literally never happen. I hoped this was an error, but the fashion gods at Camp Kors would never let something like this slip. Therefore this must be intentional. A disgusting and purposefully made, mistake. 

More goodies I found as I scanned the collection:

Look! Does this look familiar to anyone else? WATER WORLD chic. (aka: one of the lamest movies ever, set in a post-apocolyptic, water-covered Earth)

Like WTF, Michael Kors. WTF is this? I am so confused. I need to understand how you paired the above "fashions" with these amazing pieces, all in the same collection:

How was this all part of the same show? I get the whole safari, traveller thing. But come on, Kors! How is it that you can judge these poor, idiotic, wannabe designers every week on Project Runway and then sit here with your dumpy man shoes and Waterworld costumes and claim to have a cohesive and fashion forward Spring collection?

You've never been on my shit list before, MK, but you're fucking on it now! You've been warned, people. If disgusting, leather, fugly, man shoes make headlines next spring...we all know who to blame. I also blame Michael Kors for my lack of sleep. 

New York Fashion Week: Spring 2012 Lookbook

I yearn for the day that Fashion Week in LA becomes as awesome as Fashion Week in New York. Though, let's be honest here, that day will probably never come. So instead, I make look book after look book on Style.com, documenting my favorite collections from the runway and try to figure out how I'm going to look half as good as those emaciated models next Spring, ::sigh::.

That being said, I pulled all my fave looks and trends for you guys to swoon over with me. A few of my thoughts at first glace at the runways:

-Yellow, blue, red and neutrals are key colors for Spring
-Nods to early 1990s fashion statements are clear (Think Alicia Silverstone circa Clueless)
-Long skirts/dresses
-Large floral prints will be a key focal point, and a worthy statement piece in your closet
-Ethereal undertones make a significant statement across many runways
-Pops of neon and feminine details amongst 1960s modern art-inspired pieces will be essential trends next season

Christian Siriano 

Neon + long skirts

                                                                                

Peter Som Blue + Length + Florals

Jason Wu Neon + Length + Florals

                                                                          

Diane Von FurstenbergNeon + Florals + Feminine Details

                                                                                   

J. Mendel Blue + Pops of Color

ADAM1960s Mod + Feminine Details

                                                                      

Rachel Zoe Yellow + Pops of Color + Feminine Details   

Parabal Gurung 1990s Clueless trends + 1960s mod

                                                                     

So who else wants to have a threesome with Christian Siriano and Jason Wu for putting out the sickest collections for next Spring? Yes, please! Off the runway, some of my imagery from Fashion Week comes from NY street style and backstage shots from the shows:

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You can see these and a collection of all my fave looks in my Spring Summer 2012 Lookbook pinboard on Pinterest.

Swoon on, fashionistas, swoon on.

Xoxo,

Marisa

Pinterest Mood Board 1: Marisa Board

Since discovering Pinterest.com a few months ago, my down time is now officially dedicated to cataloging all my favorite things, bookmarking articles left and right, obsessing over making my pin board collections perfect. Why? Because Pinterest is like heroine or In-N-Out Burger or reading Twilight...once you start pinning, you just can't stop. 

What is Pinterest.com, you ask? The site defines itself as:

"Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes."

Basically it's a site to find cute shit, share cute shit and comment on other people's cute shit. It's really fucking adorable and organized. There are tons of ideas, DIY how-to's, pretty pictures, fashion tips, hair and make-up tutorials. Plus it's a pretty way to  bookmark awesome things you find on the web, to get creative. You actually get inspired, without reading thousands of idiotic tweets or sifting through your tedious Google Reader to find that one interesting article or photo.

I just love Pinterest, and I have the best boards ever, so I made a mood board of some of my recent pins that really express my personality, as well as some of my favorite things with links to explore, because it's fun and I felt like it. We will call it the Marisa Board.

This is what I probably look like at work everyday. Two of my favorite things in one.

From my Disney Princess pinboard.

I'm all about that sexy, retro, feminine style. Trendy with a splash of class.

From my hair dresser pinboard.

My favorite color is pink. I also happen to think Jason Wu is a fashion god. 

From my Spring Summer 2012 Lookbook pinboard.

This is what my daily beauty routine looks like. A hot tranny mess.

From my technicolor pinboard.

I am the ultimate cupcaker. 

From my baker's dozen pinboard.

I have this shoe problem. A ridiculously high-heeled shoe problem.

From my shoe shop pinboard.

I'm a sucker for fairytale princess stories. Real and fake ones.

From my style idols pinboard.

I've got this thing for french bulldogs.

From my technicolor pinboard.

No matter what my mood is though, the end of the day, I'm always reppin' LA.

Holla at yo gurrrl.

Happy Pinning!

xoxo,

Marisa

Industry Night At POP Champagne and Dessert Bar

Nothing quite hits the spot like a $12 glass of champagne for only $5. Introducing Industry Night at POP Champagne and Dessert Bar in Old Town Pasadena. Only a few blocks from my office, POP is the ultimate locale for a girls' night out. And what better night to enjoy a glass of bubbly than on a Tuesday night...WTF else do you have going on anyways? ...Exactly.

Lucky me, a few of my girl friends were in the mood for some wine and dessert tonight. With an ever-changing menu filled with gourmet wines, champagnes, desserts and appetizers, POP is ideal for anything from date night to girls' night. All I had to do was flash my swanky work ID card to prove I was an employee of a local Pasadena business, and voila! I got happy hour prices all night long! $5 wine, $6 dessert, chandeliers over head, and awesome indy throwback remixes in the foreground...needless to say, I was in heaven, people. A champagne-filled heaven.

Here's how Industry Night works: one person in your party shows their local Pasadena work ID or business card and your table is given the choice of Happy Hour prices all night long (on items off the Happy Hour menu) OR 10% off your entire bill. Pretty sweet deal, right? We went for the Happy Hour all night deal because the house wine offerings on the HH menu are always awesome, plus the fantastic Apple Crisp Tart was included in tonight's HH, so obviously it was a no brainer. 

The Apple Crisp Tart kind of makes me want to die and go to apple crisp heaven. Baked granny smith apples, toasted oatmeal/brown sugar crumbles, homemade caramel, and salted caramel Italian ice cream. I mean, SHUT UP. It's fucking awesome. 

If you wanna try Industry Night, just holla at yo gurl. I will go with you, you can use me for my local work ID. It's fine, I won't judge you. Because it's worth it. 9 stars for POP, the place where you could have 9 glasses of 4-star champagne for only $45 on Industry Night. Come on, it's out of control.

Other note worthy things to consider POPping in for--Sunday brunch, $35 for bottomless champagne or beer with brunch bites at 11am and 1:30pm, one Sunday per month. Yeah, I know. Ridic. See you there! 

xoxo, Maris