Early morning vibes

Look at that light!

 Goodmoring, while scrolling through my Pinterest this morning I realized that there was somewhat a theme that was catching my eye. Whites, eerie lights, all very dreamy and clean.   Even though it is Thusday, it is my Sunday and I   think that is putting me into this vibe. Well, that and the sunshine that is poking through the window. You know that early morning light that just makes you feel cozy? Yeah that light. It might seem like nothing, but for me it always brings happiness. I imagine a steaming cup of  coffee, a chunky knit blanket... maybe some uggs. It reminds me of being together, it's a time when  people come together in the morning to wake up. So I gathered some photos for you, hopefully these help you get into the same mind set I am in currently. I love white in rooms, it looks both clean and crisp but yet somehow so cozy as well, like a cloud. Pinterest is one of the greatest websites to me, it is so fun and motivational to be able to find all of your favorite things and photos that give you butterflies in your stomach and put them in one place. It's like blogging for people who don't have much to say, and don't want to spend the time making a personal site. It's straight forward and amazing.

Oatmeal Crunch Scones with Maple Glaze

Don't these pictures just make you feel so satisfied? It has been raining around here for what feels like a month straight. This is one of the first mornings that has had this feel to it. While I love the rain, I kind of hope to have more mornings like this. Also, those scones are giving me some serious baking goals right now. Scones are one of my favorite pastries because they are so dense, and usually not too sweet. I love sweets, but more so understated sweetness. So scones are at the top of the list! Well now that I have these vibes surrounding me I am going to drink another cup of coffee, watch the news, and Pinterest some more!

For more photos like this follow me on pinterest! https://www.pinterest.com/cmikelre/

xx Cass

Revival

Has it really been over a year my old friend? Boy oh boy, how time flies. The funny thing is they say "time flies when you're having fun", but I can't necessarily say its been a year for the books. For me, this has been the biggest learning year on every level. I have had some amazing moments that I will remember forever, and those are good experiences that I have learned from... Although, there has also been a lot of mistakes and what I believe are experiences I had to go through just so I could learn. So overall, I am grateful for this year and most of all excited to see what 2016 brings me. I can feel all the way to my core that I am going to be able to look back another year from now and be really pleased and impressed by what I make happen. This is my revival.

As far as my blogging goes, I am going to try to get back into being my little foodie self but also add in more of my life as well. I guess you could call it a lifestyle blog. How basic of me.

Fashion is one of the steady joys in my life. In a bad mood? Go shopping. Just get great news? Go shopping. Just being in a room full of clothes can instantly turn me into the best version of myself. Kind of like the snickers commercials, you know? "You're not you when you're hungry. Eat a snickers".... Except fill the snickers with a rack of blouses. I recently started reading "#GIRLBOSS" and I can't deny that is half the reason I am here typing to you right now. It truly is empowering and only a small way through the book I already know what I need to do if I want to be a #GIRLBOSS in life, and starting here is only a small step.

Now, my main goal in 2016 is to be utterly happy. I do not want to set an out of this world goal for myself that scares me away from achieving it. I think being happy is a fair goal though, no?

For my posts, one thing I want to set as a goal is my usage of the word "totally", I really need to cut back on that one. Looking at my past posts I realized how often I used the word, it is totally bonkers! Okay, after that one I really am going to try to cut back.

Well, I don't want to get too deep into this post but I hope that you guys decide to stick around with me this year. I most likely will not post before the new year, so cheers!

xo Cass

Sweets and Treats

Hi ya'll~

Again, so sorry for being slow to return... Just haven't been feeling inspired lately so it took me a few to get it back! But I'm here now! Tonight I am going to talk to you about the little snacks that I have found! Well not so much snack snacks like a bag of chips, but these aren't really full meals either! So let's just dive straight on in...

The first place is called Cafe Bellagio! It is on the 3rd St. Promenade, a bit down from where I work. It is really a cute little place, in an outdoor kind of cafe right in the middle of the walkway. It is hard to explain so that you can fully understand, so just know its adorable. So, I decided to stop in to see what they had for me. They serve mostly panini style sandwiches but I decided to try this kind of a wrap thing called a piadina! I got the Piadina Salmone which was smoked salmon, cream cheese, and arugala inside this....piadina! It was like a thick pita almost... But in a tortilla shape, not a pocket. It was very good! It was a nice snack and a perfect balance of saltiness with the delicious taste of the arugala! I really did enjoy it... Also before I forget, they serve gelato there and I tasted one of their flavors which was Farmers Market Apricot.

     SO GOOD!                          

'

Next is my newest sweet tooth fixer, Treats! I mean the name basically speaks for itself. It is a frozen yogurt and ice bar (aka snow cone bar). While I have yet to try a snow cone... The frozen yogurt is always DELICIOUS. Everytime I have gone I have like the flavors so much that instead of choosing flavors from different machines, I just get whatever two flavors are in the swirl. The first time I went I got Huckleberry Angel Food Cake swirled with Salted Caramel Popcorn and coconut flakes, graham crackers, and raspberries on top. As I said, DELICIOUS. I was instantly hooked, the fact that I could mix such weird flavors together and it be good... I knew this was a gem. One of the things I really like is that they do their frozen yogurts in two layers. First they put the yogurt, then the toppings, and they another layer of yogurt again with a topping on top! 

The next time I went I got Pumpkin Spice and Pomegranate (again with a mixed swirl) with coconut, graham cracks, and raspberries! They came through again for me... My mouth was extremely happy! The last time I went I got a small kids size just to fix my sweet tooth with Red Velvet and Creme de Cocoa. YUM! They also always have atleast one NSA option, which I got the Pumpkin and Creme de Cocoa versions of this. Also they let you know which yogurts are low fat, and which ones are non-fat! It is just an all around good place! 

Well it will probably be awhile again until I write because next week I will be in Colorado visiting with my two favorite people! My Mom and my Auntie! It is going to be such a nice trip, and I am sure I will find something to write about for you guys while I'm there.. But until next time, eat good food and be happy!

xo Cass

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Tacos Por Favor

So, I am pretty sure I have told you guys a time or two that I really love sushi, it's my favorite food! But I don't think I have told you about what my second favorite food is, coming in right behind sushi is Mexican food! Boy oh boy I just cannot get enough of it! And that being said I think it is very important not only to know about all the good Mexican places in Los Angeles but to know about the good places that are within a 5 mile radius of myself, so when I do get a crazy craving that I can't kick I know where to go. Luckily yesterday I found the place! And better yet it is the #3 Mexican food place in Santa Monica, not too bad if you ask me... So drum roll please... My new Mexican joint is Tacos Por Favor! 

 To start let's talk about the visuals here... It is a total hole in the wall! I would honestly never think to go in if it weren't for hearing about it from other people and from Yelp! It is in a old looking building, not super inviting. When you walk in you see that it is pretty big, and laid out very openly. It was very busy, and it is a order-and- pick-up serving style. The menu had very many options, and being that I am not Mexican nor do I know much about the traditional meals, I had no idea what most of the menu was other than tacos and burritos! I decided to get a burrito because I was pretty hungry...and I'm really more of a burrito over taco kind of gal! The burrito I got was the Al Pastor. Like I said, I do not know much about the traditional Mexican meals but Al Pastor is basically a marinated pork, I'm just unsure of what that marinade it! But what I do know is I have really come to love it, and also it is spicy! Not only to I love Al Pastor, but I really really loved Tacos Por Favor's Al Pastor! It was so good, my mouth is watering right now! It had the perfect amount of spice and kick in it!

 One of their things is that they like to have tasty and healthy Mexican food! Now, I truly am not sure just how "healthy" it is, but what I do know is they do not use lard, they cook every meal fresh with fresh ingredients, and (this one made me laugh) they use roma tomatoes! Maybe I'm the silly one who should be laughed at but I didn't know that romas were more healthy than the alternative tomatoes? Anyways, it was delicious! It also had a bountiful amount of cilantro, onion, and beans! The Al Pastor though really stole the show! Oh! And another really important thing was that the pork was cooked very well, it wasn't dry at all! 

Something else I really loved about Tacos Por Favor was that they had a salsa bar! I hate when restaurants serve you chips but only give you one thing of salsa, and charge for extra! Like come on, you think that is really going to be enough for me? It also makes it seem more authentic to me, along with having the carrots, jalapenos, and other special Mexican salsa bar items that I don't know the name of! Before I forget as well, I also got a horchata! Now it wouldn't be a true Mexican meal without horchata... It really did make the meal better! I love love love horchata and it just goes so well with an Al Pastor burrito. 

Anywho! I can't believe tomorrow is already Labor Day, man oh man doesn't time just fly? I wish I was going to be eating a bunch of delicious barbecue food while sitting on the lake... But instead I am going to be working! It is going to be a mad house and I am not the least bit excited! But it's time and a half so... oh well? What are you guys going to be up to tomorrow! I hope it's something to perfectly end your three day weekend! 

 xo Cass

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MIA

Guys! 

I am sorry I have been totally MIA this week! I have just been going and going and going, not leaving time for the only thing I have been wanting to do... blog! My work schedule is now totally crazy and every day is a different shift so I don't have a set time just for me like I did before. But I atleast have been making sure to try yummy food while I have time so that when I am finally all alone and able to relax, I could tell you guys about it! Last weekend on my days off I went and visited a friend who moved to San Diego so I wasn't really available then, making you guys wait all week! But when I got home from San Diego on Monday I decided to try a new American Mexican fusion restaurant called Mondo Taco. Some people call them the "Best Taco's in Santa Monica"! So of course it was inevitable that I would have to try them at some point. First off, there are SO many options! Atleast ten different tacos in three different categories which included crawl, swims, and grows (aka meat veggie and fish)! So there is definitely something for everyone which is always a big plus when eating with the picky ones! Everyday they have Happy Hour from 3-7 which is also TOTALLY AWESOME! They have you spin a wheel which includes percentages off, free tacos, and cool stuff like that! I spun the wheel and got 20% off my whole order! So right off the bat I was pretty pleased with Mondo Taco. When it came down to ordering I got two tacos, the Beefeater and the Crazy Fish. The Beefeater was braised shortrib and a horse radish slaw. It was so so SO good! It was filled with such an abundance of meat and was spicy, which I liked a lot! It is probably a taco I would order every time I went there, thaaat good. The second one was the Crazyfish which was filled with panko crusted fish, pico de gallo, and 1000 island sauce. Again, SO much fish! They definitely do not skimp on the meat or any fillings in your taco which I think is super important if you want to be a successful taco restaurant! They also make all their tortillas in the kitchen so they are super fresh, and make the tacos taste even better! Overall I would definitely give Mondo a 10! They did me good in every category and I cannot wait to go back!

 

The next place I went this week was Swingers Diner in Santa Monica. It is totally not your average diner, I already love this place after going in once! It is totally funky, I LOVE IT. The inside in partly american flag, pink and yellow cow wall paper, and orange tile with pink and green plaid chairs and booths. Like I said, so funky! Little fun fact: they shot a scene from the movie Knocked Up in this diner! I was sitting there and thinking about how it looked so familiar to me, but yet I had never been there before...and that's when it came to me! It was from Knocked Up! But anyways, they have a good size menu with both you everyday diner choices and their own original ones as well. But I would say even the diner choices are probably whipped up extra special! I decided to go with the California Omelette with the home fries on the side. Before eating I was less than excited, expecting to get some greasy potatoes and an okay omelette but as usual, I was proved wrong! It was actually phenomenal! First of all, the potatoes were not greasy, and they were some of my favorite breakfast potatoes I've ever had! They were with rosemary and cooked perfectly, I am craving them now. And my omelette was also super good and a thousand times better than I thought it would be! It was three eggs filled with avocado, jack cheese, bacon, and alfalfa sprouts! Again, I'm craving it! I might have to go in the morning, even tonight if this doesn't go away! I am usually not much of an egg girl but I could eat this over and over again and still enjoy it, it was really a great omelette! They also have tons of cupcakes on the counter which look to die for that I am going to have to try soon, they are called Bite Me Cupcakes made by an outside bakery. I basically can't wait to go back and eat more omelettes, eggs, and cupcakes!

xo Cass

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Home Sweet Home: Part 2

Hey my faithful readers, sorry to be late on this part two edition of Home Sweet Home! But better late than never, right? So, before I told you about my mouth watering Baked Green Mussels that I had at Sushi Q and now I am about to tell you about my just as amazing rolls that I ate as well!

The first is called the #15, it has scallops, sprouts, and mango inside with salmon, Japanese mayo-sauce, green onion, and sesame seeds on the outside. It may seem simple but it is one of my favorite rolls, I have to order it everytime! The mango and the white sauce just go sooo good together, you want every bite to last forever. One of the ways you can tell if you're eating good sushi is if the fish is cold, has a smooth creamy texture, and if you can tell the difference taste-wise of every fish! And here you can! The scallops have such a smooth texture where the salmon is just a bit thicker, but perfect for salmon, it also blends nicely. Then to top it off, the subtle but necessary bits of green onion and sesame seeds in every bite just set it off the charts! I highly highly recommend this roll to anyone!

The second roll I had is called the Ruby Slipper. Also one of my favorites and often in my order! This roll is much more refreshing compared to the #15 and I think that is why I am often drawn to ordering these two together, you get a little bit of everything! Inside the ruby slipper is crab, avocado, and sprouts. On the top is where it gets crazy, it has tuna, yellow tail, and salmon with soy sauce, wasabi, and regular flavor infused tobbiko (mini fish eggs) on top of thinly sliced lemon. This is a sushi roll is very appealing to the eyes because of how colorful it is! Luckily it pulls through flavor wise as well once you see it and make the plunge! First thing you taste is the sweet and refreshing crab mixed with the lemon! One of my most loved flavors in sushi rolls is lemon, it always brings a good punch. Then you start to get the creamy avocado with the fish that is also creamy, its magical. And all the fish is always so cold, especially the crab, which is one of the things that makes it such a refreshing roll! It is simple yet so tasty and just what I always need! Like I said, you can always differentiate between tastes and textures of the fish here so on this roll the three fishes really make a difference. Usually me and my mom have to split this roll up equally or we end up saying "You got more salmon pieces than me".

I also of course had to get a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll as well or the meal just wouldn't feel complete. Sushi Q handrolls always have an awesome amount of tuna in them, it always end up falling out the bottom it's so loaded! Along with the tuna they put in the spicy sauce, sprouts, and green onion! Along with lemon, green onion is also a favorite taste to get when eating sushi! I love it, therefore I loooove that they put it inside of their handrolls as well!

After going to Sushi Q while I was home, I also partook in the Nevada County Fair! I love our little small town fair, I'm so glad we have it and that everyone always makes it out atleast once! My first day there I worked all day long at the Firefighters Soda Booth! My step-dad is a Captain for Nevada County Fire so we of course always have to be a part of the booth. While I was there though I of course took a stroll down Treat Street, and OF COURSE got a baked potato! These baked potatoes are the most simple 'taters but yet if I made them at home they just wouldn't taste the same, it's all about the nostalgia of being at the fair while eating them... I can't get enough! I also had to indulge in a Frosty Ice Cream (Frosty Freeze, Froster Freeze? Still unsure) cone! Vanilla and Chocolate swirl! Yeah!! You're hardly a true Nevada County-er if you haven't had one of these ice cream cones. Overall, it was an A+ experience at the fair this year and on my trip home as well!

Time for me to go to the gym and work off all of the yummy foods I eat. I do it for you guys, true team player!

Goodnight guys! I will be back soon!

xo Cass

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Home Sweet Home: Part 1

Wow guys! It seems like it has been so long since I last posted, but yet this whole trip home went by so so quickly! I feel like I all that I did was go go go the entire time, it was crazyness to say the least. But I am back in Santa Monica now, and while I do already miss home, I am super glad to be back. I guess this is really my home now.

The first night I got home to Grass Valley me and my mama went out to dinner together at one of our favorite sushi joints, Sushi Q. Let me start by saying that our small town has some of the BEST sushi. The owners really buy great fish and it is phenomenal every single time. I have yet to find a good sushi spot down here in Los Angeles, I am scared to try too many places and end up eating too much bad sushi! So instead of doing that, if anyone knows any good spots down here that are rave-worthy, please let me know! Sushi is my favorite food!

Back to Sushi Q though, I am splitting my evening there into two posts! The reason why is because I think the food I ate, and that I enjoy eating every time, are almost two separate categories. The first category I am going to share with you tonight is: Baked Green Mussels. I do not care what you say about mussels, these are unfathomably delicious. Unlike anything else, and unlike any other mussels you might try. The sauce that is on them is completely amazing. I am not even sure what it is made of, but I know it is japanese mayo, lemon, and some spices... But there has to be more to this recipe because I am positive it is something I could never recreate. On top of the mayo sauce is a few sprinkled black sesame seeds, and they make every bite perfect. They are baked with all the ingredients combined and go so merrily together. Each order comes with three baked mussels, and as for price... I would say they are cheap, especially for the flavor-trip they take you on. When I say they are good, I mean they are GOOD. We never leave any behind, to the point of licking the each and every one to make sure you get all of the deliciousness in the mayo sauce. As you can see me and my mom had to get two orders because there was no way one of us was going to get more than the other, we both need our three muscles. Only other thing I can say about these Baked Green Mussels is that they should be on Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sea Food. 

Tomorrow I am going to post about the rest of my Sushi Q food which consists of some sushi rolls that are also finger lickin' good. 

What I also will be posting about this week is the Nevada County Fair! It comes once a year and I still get excited about it like I was in 6th grade. If you know what Treat Street is, you know there are some of the yummiest fair foods around! It is always such a fun experience and I am so glad/lucky to have grown up in a place like Grass Valley!

 I wish I could eat Sushi Q every single day, it almost seems unfair that I am so far away and will only be able to indulge every few months... That also gets me back to the fact that I need someone to please tell me some good sushi places! They could be well known or they good be local only, hole-in-the-wall joints... If they are good, they are good! I just need something to get me by. I don't only have a sweet tooth, I have a sushi tooth as well and it ALWAYS ACHES. Help!

Well guys I am excited to give you my next few blog posts and to show you guys a little more about my home sweet home. I'm sure any of you readers that are also Grass Valley natives or have even passed through understand my sushi craze and saying they have some of the best sushi around. Time for me to unpack and get back to my normal adult life now! How boring and responsible....

xo Cass

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