Places to Check Out: Vasquez Rocks and Agua Dulce

I had a great time hiking, climbing, caving, and exploring in the Vasquez Rocks today. 

The Vasquez Rocks are part of a wilderness park a bit north of Los Angeles. Many movies and TV shows have been filmed there for decades. 

The park includes hiking trails, wonderful rock formations, caves, rock climbing opportunities, old house/town ruins, Native American pictographs, and a visitor's center.

You better believe I got all up in dem caves. I love the outdoors. I love hiking, caving, and rock climbing... this was definitely a great place to go.

In the above picture you can see some of the Tataviam Native American pictographs located on site. On the far right is some kind of bird, and on the far left- a snake.

 

 

  I was so mesmerized by all of these pictographs. I love anything relating to or concerning history and culture. Let me tell you, this place was FULL of all that and more. I am seriously so happy with the time I had today.

 

I took the above two pictures to try and show you what the landscape looks like up close. I took these from the top of some of the rock formations. Of course, it is much more breath-taking in person.

I am hoping I can do a photoshoot in this area soon. Everything about it inspired me artistically and revived me culturally. 

BKL 

Places to Check Out: VeggieGrill

I finally got a chance to check out VeggieGrill! 

I was running some errands in Hollywood earlier today and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try VeggieGrill, especially since there was one close by and I've always wanted to try it. 

VeggieGrill is a 100% vegan restaurant. 

They are actually a chain of restaurants. There are quite a few in the Los Angeles area, which makes sense to me because there is such a high volume of vegetarians and vegans living here.

So, here is my experience:

The style of the restaurant is very similar to the layout of a Chipotle. The three main differences being that VeggieGrill is fully vegan, they don't assemble the food in front of you like Chipotle does, and VeggieGrill has a wider variety of foods. They have some Mexican food...as well as American, Italian, rustic dishes etc. 

I looked at the menu while I waited in line. After taking quite a while to choose what I wanted to eat, I decided upon the "Crispy Chickin Plate". It goes without saying that the "chickin" was not really chicken. The entree was supposed to be the vegan version of a country plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and greens.

The fried chicken is replaced with vegan chicken, the mashed potatoes are a healthy combination of potato and cauliflower, the gravy is a mushroom gravy, and the greens are kale!

All in all I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved my meal. My only complaint would probably have to be that it was just a little bland. It was also a TON of food! I didn't finish it and took the rest home to eat later.

Have you guys tried any vegan/vegetarian restaurants? Let me know if you try VeggieGrill and what you thought!

BKL

 

Some People Make Resolutions...

...and I make one year and five year plans...

Seriously, I have a problem. Well, I guess you could say it's both a really good habit and a really bad habit. I make lists and plans and schedules and notes for EVERYTHING.

On one hand it really helps me remember things, stay focused, and actually get shit done. On the other hand it makes me nervous because I can actually see all of the things I need to do and still haven't done. It's just the teeniest bit nerve-wracking.

But, nevertheless, if I didn't write these lists like this I also wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I would just stay awake, hopelessly thinking about all of these things swirling around in my head. Instead if I find that I can't sleep because too much is on my mind, I get out of bed and write it all down.

Now, onto my plans.

On the paper below I wrote my important dates for January, my 2015 plan, my five-year plan, and my monthly budget. 

I won't go into everything on the paper because that would become tedious and it's unnecessary.

  

2015 goals:

   

• Become fully vegan: I have been vegetarian for almost two years now, and the longer I go on without making the plunge to vegan the more unhappy I become. So, I want to finally make that switch over to full veganism this year. It will take a lot of money and determination, but it's worth the happiness and peace it will bring me.
• Get fit and work out more: Okay so I know this is something almost everyone says they will do at the beginning of every year, but I truly want to do this. This isn't a wish for me, it's something that will happen, and something I've already been working on. I've already lost about 5 pounds (yes, even through the holiday feasts) and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I've been walking more, doing yoga, hooping, hiking, and eating better. I plan to carry that into 2015.
• Blog and Vlog: I want to continue blogging! My life is going to be crazy busy this year but I want to write at the very least one blog post a month... and continuing on that note, I want to start vlogging. Yes, people, YouTube. I want to start making YouTube content. I don't care if that means only one video up this year, I just want to start.
• Work and Career: This year is going to be huge for me career-wise. Last month I finally got my cosmetology license and I am working on getting an assistant job in a salon in Hollywood. I want to really put everything I've got into furthering my career. I want to work full time. I want to continue working with Mikaela Phillips on her photoshoots. This year is really going to be a game-changer for me and my career. 
• Conventions galore: This is going to be the year of conventions for me! I've already attended quite a few conventions in my lifetime, but I want this year to be full of them. I am going to make every effort I can to attend as many as possible. I want to do this partially because it's fun, and partially because conventions are a huge platform for education in my career field. I plan on attending IMATS LA, ISSE Long Beach, The Makeup Show LA, VidCon, BeautyCon, PHAMExpo, ScareLA, and any other cons I can get my hands on. 

Five-Year Goals:

•  MUD master's program: Unfortunately I will not be able to attend MUD this February like I had hoped. I will simply not have enough time to devote 5 days out of 7 to school. I just can't make it work, even if I only worked part time. So, instead I have moved the MUD program to my 5 year plan. I still have every intent on going to the master's program there, I'm just unsure of exactly when I'll be able to do it.
• Living on my own: Every young adult's dream: I want to move out! This is in no way an expression of any sort of disdain for my family, please understand. It's just that I'm a twenty year old young woman who can't wait to be independent! Anyway, I plan on being out and on my own by 2020.
  I'll probably be living in a studio apartment somewhere in LA. I love the Hollywood/Los Feliz area. Of course, I make this a part of my five year plan because it will take at least a couple of years before I can even begin to afford living on my own in LA. For now, I am happy living in LA with my father. 
• Career: By 2020 I want to own a salon suite. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is basically a huge apartment-like building that houses many, many individual, small salons. Imagine an apartment complex where each apartment is a different, mini salon. Each beauty professional rents his or her own space, and is completely in charge of their business. That is where I want to be with my career in five years. Oh, and working on movies/photoshoots/editorials/TV wouldn't hurt either.

 THERE YOU HAVE IT.

Have a lovely 2015!

BKL

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Places to Check Out: Romancing the Bean

Move over, Starbucks! This coffee shop in Burbank was so insanely cute, and of course, the coffee was to die for.

I don't usually go for black coffee, but in this case I got my own little French press with my coffee inside, and the flavor of the coffee itself was subtle. It wasn't bitter or too strong. I drank the whole thing without adding any sugar or cream at all!

Besides the great coffee, this little coffee shop offers excellent decor and ambiance, free wifi (every coffee shop customer's dream and necessity), a variety of foods to try, and an overall laidback feel that I greatly appreciated. 

Stop by Romancing the Bean in Burbank for a truly awesome coffee experience!

Besitos,

         BKL

Places to Check Out: Hollywood Farmer's Market and Dia de los Muertos

vegan cheese stand at the market

  Today I spent my morning and midday at the Hollywood farmer's market at Sunset and Vine and Dia de los Muertos at Olvera Street! There was a woman at the farmer's market that was giving out samples of vegan cheese. Of course, I had to try it! The "cheese" was absolutely fantastic! I tried both the chia cheddar and herb cream cheese. I couldn't leave without some. I can't wait to try it out. 

The herb cream cheese has a really light herb/creamy taste. I'll definitely be buying from this brand when I go fully vegan! (The brand is Nary Dairy fyi)

vegan cheese from the market!

 I also had some tofu pad thai while I was there. Yeah, it was 8:30 in the morning, but I'm not a huge breakfast foods person and I couldn't think of a better thing to eat than Thai food. Thai food always wins.

Vegetarian tofu pad thai from the market.

All in all the farmer's market was just the place I like to be. They had fall flowers and gourds everywhere! ...not to mention the amazing food.

Amoeba Music was right across from the market

After the farmer's market I headed to Olvera Street in DTLA where they were celebrating their annual Dia de Los Muertos...

Even though I am not Mexican or Hispanic in any way, I am Californian, and Mexican culture is very dear to my heart. In fact, every culture fascinates me. Just because I'm not a member of a certain culture doesn't mean I can't celebrate and appreciate the diversity in my country. That's one thing I love about America. There is so much diversity in cultures. I love being surrounded by it. 

Tamarindo holds my heart.

 

The traditional Dia de los Muertos dancers were so beautiful!

 

Pan de Muerto, sugar skull, and tamarindo and chile apple

By the time I was ready to leave Olvera Street, I had accumulated quite the array of Mexican dulces.

I picked up some pan de muerto, a sugar skull, and a tamarindo apple. All of these are traditional Mexican sweets, especially for the day of the dead.

The apple is my favorite. It's a green apple covered in tamarindo candy and then rolled in red chile. It doesn't sound like it would be that good .....but trust me, it is!

I hope you all had an amazing Halloween!

             Warmest wishes,

                               BKL