July has come and gone, and here I am finding myself midway through the next month already! A new show I’ve been employed on has just started ramping up, and I’m having a great time working with a new crew and learning a lot of new things, because you know, technology is always changing and advancing. I never in a million years would have considered myself a technical person, but nowadays I find myself geeking out over the nerdiest things like camera and computer specs and finding the quickest, most efficient ways to do things. Anyways, here is July’s recap! It started off with a week in Yosemite, included a weekend in Yucca, and had a lot of dog-sitting thrown in there. We were just remarking how it’s been a pretty mild summer here, weather-wise, so far .. and we are grateful for that! I think we’re trying to jam as much in while we can before a heatwave comes and zaps us of all our energy!
JULY, IN REVIEW
Watching:
The Upside, starring Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart, is a “dramady” (comedy/drama) about an ex-convict (Hart) who finds unexpected work assisting a quadriplegic billionaire (Cranston) in (I believe) Philadelphia. It’s actually a remake of a very successful French film. Although I don’t think it’s been as successful the second time around, it was a heartfelt film that I enjoyed. It wasn’t the best. It wasn’t the worst. But it was good and made me laugh.
Schitt’s Creek, viewable on Netflix (seasons 1-4), is my new current obsession. I don’t typically find shows that I want to sit down and hardcore binge, but this is one of those. Originally airing on the Pop Network, this Canadian family-comedy has made me laugh and cry all in its short 23 minute episodes (seeing as Scrubs is my other binge-worthy show, I think I am sensing a similarity here). The series is about an extremely wealthy and out-of-touch-with-reality family who suddenly loses everything and has to move to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere called Schitt’s Creek…with all it’s small-town characters. The series, though, brings you along as each character really, truly grows, individually and as a family-unit. I think the icing on the cake for me though is that this show is truly a family affair — Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, and Sarah Levy (father, son, daughter), write and star in this series, which to me is just really stinkin’ cool. They’ve decided to end the show on their own terms at the end of Season 6 which I also can appreciate.
Making:
It’s been a busy month of making — the best kind of busy! I made a large-scale weaving for a friend’s new home back in Philadelphia, PA, that I really loved watching come together. And then I was commissioned a fun little two-piece for twin boys on the way! I went with an exploring theme, as I hope these boys grow to find adventure in their lives. I wove a mountain landscape and an alpine forest landscape — I love putting together little mini series like this one. And lastly, I had a fun evening with a friend who I was teaching how to sew! We made a couple of pillow cases for her place, ordered Thai food, and let the pups romp around the yard together while Al was out of town. It was pretty great.
Cooking:
Boy, have I got some good recipes for you guys this month … and I think all of them come from my favorite site, TheModernProper!
This Coconut Curry Ramen has my mouth watering just thinking about it again. This was my first time making ramen, and I appreciated it because I could use the Top Ramen packs of noodles, but I didn’t have to use the salt-heavy flavor packets at all! Instead, the recipe has you create your own broth. I also soft-boiled an egg for the first time, and hey! It’s not that hard! Alex loved this recipe. I added an extra pack of noodles because I personally like a ton of noodles in my ramen. This is on my “favorite recipes” list!
This Salmon Sushi Bowl isn’t sushi in the sense that you’re probably thinking of it. The salmon is actually pan-seared in a teriyaki sauce that you make. If you make your rice and chop your veggies ahead of time, this is almost a 5 minute meal! And it’s tasty!
These Pineapple Pulled Pork Sandwiches are a great crockpot meal if it’s a hot day and you *literally can’t* turn on your oven, for fear of melting your face off. You’ll want to get your hands on a Pork Shoulder for this recipe if you can. And also opt for the fresh pineapple and cut it yourself, because it is soooo good on top. Pop everything in the crockpot before you leave for the day, and then when you come home you only have like 3 minutes of prep to do before you can eat, wa-la!
And finally, it’s summertime, so I’m big into salads during this time of year, whether they be green salads or pasta salads. TheModernProper has had me COVERED this month! Here are some of my favs:
This Mediterranean Pasta Salad with rotini noodles is like the stuff from the box but 1,000x better. The olives definitely are a game-changer in this recipe. My only recommendation is to double the dressing … but maybe that’s because I added just a little bit extra of every other ingredient because I didn’t want this salad to ever end! This is a great potluck recipe!
This Summer Tortellini Pasta Salad is one of those dishes you could take to a party and everyone will think it was super complicated to make, but it’s actually insanely easy. And it’s really good as leftovers too! I got two different flavors of tortellini pasta for this one, and make sure you do the fresh mozzarella balls because they make all the difference! Loved this one…I ate it for lunch for a whole week!
Although I had to substitute brown rice for the couscous, this Mediterranean CousCous Salad was packed with delicious flavors! Again, I think it’s the olives 😉 I want to make this one again with actual couscous, but this would be another great one for a party setting as it makes a lot! I ate this one for a full week of lunches too and never got sick of it!
Celebrating:
We celebrated our neighbor, Lauren’s, birthday out with a nice dinner and some wine in Manhattan Beach…and of course a cake afterwards!
This month we celebrated our Lucy’s 2nd Birthday! Lucy is the golden retriever that we watch pretty regularly, and we just so happened to luck out and get her on her birthday. She’s a great pup, and she’ll always be part of our family whenever she needs to be! Also, it wouldn’t be a dog birthday if we didn’t break out the tiny birthday hats we have stashed away! 😉
And we also celebrated the health of our boy, Marty! After a month-long back and forth to the ER, he’s finally been cleared to go back to the dog park! Seeing him run his little heart out that first morning literally brought tears to my eyes. I love seeing my little man happy again.
And finally, on the 31st, I celebrated five whole years of living in LA! I can’t believe it’s been so long already … I am so thankful for all of the friendships I’ve made in this state, and for the sense of adventure and appreciation of nature that living out here has given me.
Going:
I mentioned earlier that I spent the first week of the month in Yosemite National Park with my brother, Jim! I had won Half Dome lottery tickets, and since Al couldn’t come with me due to his back injury, my brother graciously stepped in! I’ll have more posts to come about our trip and lots of great photos to share!
I spent a weekend with some girlfriends from work in Yucca Valley out near Joshua Tree. A friend of mine bought a little place out there that she’s been pouring her time and love into, and so we thought it would be fun to spend a night out there with the dogs and just decompress and get away for a bit in the desert. It was exactly what we all needed I think, coming from the city. I just love the desert, and will look for any excuse to make it out that way as often as I can!
Along with going to Yosemite, I was happy that my brother got to spend a couple of days here in LA with us! I took him to my favorite breakfast burrito spot in the Southbay, we walked the dogs and painted outside together, and we got up early one morning to run/roller blade together! I’m really trying my hardest to convince him just to move out here! 😉
Listening:
I’ve been on a huge Lord Huron kick this month! And I discovered a new band through friends called, The Middle Kids (female singer, heck yeah!). Check ’em out!
And that about sums up July! August is looking promising as a project I’m working on with some friends is heading into Production (!!!) and I’ll be helping out with another friend’s personal project as well! I don’t have any travel plans, so I’m hoping I can convince Al to pack up the car with me and camp for a night out in the woods 🙂 Happy Summer Days, friends!
thanks for stopping by!
xo!
LAUREN LIVES 