Handsome Coffee

Everyone in Los Angeles has already been to Handsome but I didn't see why that should stop me.

{afternoon espresso}

We've been testing out different espresso bean options over the last several months. D and I splurge on beans because we figure we save so much by not buying coffee out that we deserve to treat ourselves.

{handsome coffee}

We tasted both the Dandy and the Dapper. D settled on the Dandy for now. They don't carry a decaf espresso, so I'm still sticking with my Intelligentsia for the time being. Still can't handle daily caffeine. Bummer.

The run commute

A few months ago I was sitting in traffic trying to get home and I googled "run commute" on my phone. And yes, it turns out there are people who run to work.

{gear}

It took me a full month to think about the logistics before I decided to just try it and see how it went. Now I've been doing it for just over two months and I'm hooked. Get ready for an incredibly wordy post about running an incredibly short distance. I can't help myself.

(Minimal) gear:
Backpack
Running shoes
Clothes, ideally with a pocket of some sort


Basic routine:
Wake up, shower if I didn't shower right before bed.
Make breakfast (smoothie or eggs) and package it up.
Run to work.
Get to work, sit down outside and eat breakfast while cooling off.
Get dressed, put on makeup, tell myself that my hair looks perfectly fine even though it's about a 50/50 chance.
Hang up my running clothes to dry out, start my day.


I'm using a Camelbak with the water insert taken out. It's more than enough space. I can put my entire purse in there if I want to and that's what I'll do if I'm planning on going out to dinner after work. It does add weight (at most, 15 pounds - I checked) and the first week will feel hard but then you get used to it. I don't think this Camelbak is meant for running. It has supportive straps (which you need, for sure) but they're meant to go around your hips. Great for hiking, doesn't work for running - those suckers ride right up. I end up cinching the straps around my waist instead and the end result is that the backpack sits a little oddly on my body and sometimes rubs my back. I'm considering upgrading to a better solution but running packs are expensive. If I find something that works, I'll update you.

Workout pants with a couple of good pockets are the best because I can tuck my phone into the front pocket and zip my keys in the back. Sadly, I only have one pair like this so I make do the rest of the time. I want to figure out a way to have a phone pocket on the straps of my running backpack. Some of the backpacks meant for running have them built in.

I do listen to music while I run outside but I'm careful about it. I only keep one earbud in and the volume is low enough that I'm still able to hear the street sounds easily. My route is very public so I'm not too worried about safety but I keep an eye out and an elbow ready.

I have the option of showering at work but it isn't completely necessary during coolish weather. I know, that sounds horrible. The key is showering right before you run and then giving yourself a cool off period before changing into your work clothes. 30 minutes is the best but 15 will suffice, at least for me. I don't sweat while I run, because the wind wicks it off but as soon as I stop moving I start sweating. During the summer, I will be showering.

Am I saving time? The time is almost a wash. Sometimes I beat the bus, more often it beats me by a few minutes. I avoid a lot of frustration though. There's no waiting for the bus to arrive and there's no sitting in traffic. I do leave the house a little earlier than normal because I have to build in the cooling off period. But I have to eat breakfast anyways, so the timing ends up being similar. I also consider this multitasking, because I'm getting in some exercise while commuting.

Some people that run to work are comfortable doing their cooling off in their office while catching up on their morning email. This might be okay in my workplace but I still feel weird about it and I prefer to cool off outside. It's nicer to change if you have a private office and/or a single restroom, but you can do it in the regular restroom. I now have favorite bathrooms around campus.

I usually run to work at least three days a week, and I average about 5 - 6 runs each week. Some days I only run one way or the other. Some weeks I'll run every single day.

The most direct route to my work is just a hair under two miles. It is not a pretty route. The 405 splits my commute right in half (and is also responsible for the horrendous traffic snarl that is motivating me to run in the first place). When I was planning this I tried to find a better one but there really isn't one. Oh well.

This mostly works for me because:
1. The distance is just right - a minimum of two miles, which I can increase easily with different routes. It's just long enough to make daily walking annoying for someone as impatient as me but it's short enough that I could start running it even without being in top shape. Other people who live further from work sometimes blend their commutes, busing it part way and then running the rest.
2. I have access to a shower at work if I need one because my gym is close by and I have a permanent locker there.
3. My normal commute is on the bus, so I always have the option of only running one way if I need to (although the traffic is even worse in the evening, so there is a high level of motivation to run both ways).

{ready}

Lately

{lights, potted plants}

{gorgeous salads}

{the cutest packages}

{circe nesting}

{simplest dessert}

{road to the getty}

{saturday breakfast with beauty's}

{pinata}

{kale salad, hands}

{popped}

I have been working, a lot. This isn't a plea for sympathy. I like working. It just takes up most of my time and energy, so there's not a lot of motivation left to hop on the computer at night and edit photos.

We've been barbecuing, a lot. With friends, with family, at home. The weather demands it.

I have made Kate's cookies three times in the last three weeks.

I spent a weekend in Oakland and Marin with some lovely ladies and came back feeling refreshed in that way you only do after a two day grown up slumber party. I've resolved to figure out a way to make this happen more often.

May is always crazy but in a good way. Birthdays, bridal showers, weddings. My goal is just to enjoy and make it through. I'll sleep in June! That's my motto this month.

Cocktails and taxes

We put off our taxes until last weekend so we told each other we'd tackle them Friday night.

And then we got cocky. We weren't just going to do our taxes, we were going to enjoy them! And we weren't going to buy TurboTax, we are smart enough to do our taxes by hand!*  I made dinner and mixed up a couple cocktails and put on Sam's Town (it's our household power album) and we pulled out all our various documents.

Guess what? There isn't anything that makes taxes enjoyable. And I'd recommend not mixing them with cocktails because I spent 20 frantic minutes thinking we owed $3000 and while it was a definite buzz kill, it wasn't a literal enough buzz kill because the two of us together couldn't figure out where we'd gone wrong.

We figured it out eventually, printed everything and (thank god) decided to review it on Sunday before mailing. At which point we found two more major errors. I'm 99% sure that our final calculations were correct.

Note for next year - buckle down and do them in late March, celebrate with drinks afterwards. And possibly purchase TurboTax, if only to avoid the strange worksheet calculations.

I'm planning to post this week but I've been avoiding my computer. We'll see how it goes.


* My justification was that I did my taxes by hand for years but I had conveniently forgotten that it was back when I used the easy form and had no information to fill in. You can definitely do your taxes by hand but it takes a lot more concentration.

Krav Maga, 4 months in

I've mentioned in passing that I started Krav Maga classes and a few of you have asked about it. If there's anything I didn't address, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll reply. I'm not an expert by any stretch but I'm enthusiastic.

{gloves}

Krav Maga is fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine, which is to secretly be capable of serious ass kicking. I'm not sure where this originated because I've never been beat up by anyone other than my sister (we had some pretty good sister-style fights growing up) but I think it has to do with a disconnect between my mental and physical confidence. I won't hesitate to speak up in any situation but I've always been keenly aware that I'm pretty timid physically and if push came to shove I'm not sure I could hold my own.

I'd read about Krav, which is basically street fighting based on the Israeli Defense Forces training, and then a Groupon popped up and it was meant to be. After our Groupon was up we got a good deal on a year long membership and called it our Christmas gift to each other.

I've been going 5 - 8 hours a week since early December and I didn't start to turn a corner until a full two months had passed. I should have guessed this would be the case because my athletic coordination ranks just above that of a sea slug. I've spent most of my life trying to get out of any and all group sports, occasionally by hiding in a bathroom stall with a book (summer daycamp grades 4 - 6, I'm looking at you). I will run and swim and ride but please don't ever ask me to participate in any game involving aim. Krav isn't really choreographed but it does involve simple sequences of movements that I find incredibly challenging.

I hate being bad at things so it was hard to willingly subject myself to several hours a week of being the worst. I sometimes dreaded going. If I had a particularly rough class I'd feel bummed out when I got home. There's a lot of pressure because you partner up and working with someone below your skill set can really ruin a class. I'm keenly aware that I'm not the best partner yet and I feel guilty about it, even though everyone else presumably was bad at some point as well.

But, as I said, I started to feel a change around two months. I am getting better. When I have a good class, I feel amazing. I know from past experience (a few years of ballroom dance classes that were highly humiliating at first) that once I get the muscle memory built up I'll start progressing faster. I'm not going to let myself be limited by my comfort zone.

Obviously, Krav is very physical. It's focused largely on self defense but we learn offensive moves as well, so that we can hold up in a fight if we're in a situation where bailing out isn't possible. There's also a mental aspect to it. The instructors stress the importance of getting used to the physicality of being hit so that if you're ever in a situation where you do get hit, you have some frame of reference and you don't freeze up. I take this to heart because even in the safe environment in class my mind will blank out the second someone starts choking me, even though I know it's coming. And yes, people do choke you in class, but it isn't as creepy as it sounds.

We spend time punching (with boxing gloves and strike pads), kicking and doing drills. It isn't cardio most of the time, so I still need to supplement with a bit of running. I don't think I've lost any weight, but I am developing new muscle.

I also take immense pride in the gnarly bruises I often get. Not everyone appreciates them, so that could be a pro or a con depending on your point of view.

If you're thinking about taking a class, go for it. Wear exercise clothes you'll be comfortable moving around in. Don't get discouraged if you feel like you're behind. If you're naturally timid, try to break away from that - one of the most annoying things for an experienced person is partnering with someone who is afraid to touch you. Above all, SHOWER. I'm a generally clean person but I'm now obsessively clean. Knowing you're likely to end up in a headlock or clamping your thighs around a stranger's neck will make you more aware of that. You don't want to be wondering if your breath is okay when you're supposed to be focused on learning.

Public service announcement

Just thought you should know that the avocado pasta recipe from Oh She Glows is ridiculously good.

{avocado pasta}

I was apprehensive, because the idea of heating avocados icks me out. But for this recipe you toss the creamy avocado sauce with hot noodles and while it just heats through, it doesn't really get hot.

She warns you to serve it immediately, but I don't think that's completely necessary. It's great fresh and I certainly wouldn't re-heat it but it tastes perfect straight out of the fridge. You know how creamy sauces are gross cold because the fat congeals? This doesn't happen - the sauce stays perfectly creamy and doesn't harden when cold. So, so good.

I used wide noodles and modified only slightly, by adding a few handfuls of arugula to the bowl before pouring the hot pasta over it and then adding the sauce. As you mix it all together the arugula wilts and I like the slight bitter contrast it adds.

I will say this - the recipe recommends using a food processor but when I tried it I found it messy and not very effective, and I'm normally a huge fan of the food processor. The volume wasn't big enough and the oil splattered everywhere. The first time I used my little blender and the sauce turned out creamier (I think because it emulsified better?) so I'm going to stick with that. I don't have a full size blender (we're in the market!) but I'm guessing that would work as well.

If you have an avocado surplus around, you know what to do. And it doesn't take any longer than boiling a pot of water and cooking the noodles.

The weekend, briefly

{lemon + basil}

{dates for stuffing}

{saturday afternoon}

{coolhaus + space cat}

We cooked (way too much food) on Saturday and then spent the whole evening eating it with a good friend. It was almost too chilly to sit out on the balcony but we braved it.

Prompted by this smart lady, we made it downtown for the NorthernGRADE event on Sunday where we resisted buying anything although I was sorely tempted by this gorgeous waxed weekend duffel and D by this jacket. We had to walk around the block a couple times before getting our willpower in check and then we got Coolhaus sandwiches and proceeded to make a huge mess of ourselves. Success?