It's BBQ Season!

     Living in the LBC, there's no escaping the celebration that comes around on April 20th of each year. Because this is such a public blog, I'm gonna keep it PG and let your street smarts do the guessing. But anyways, I decided to organize a little springtime BBQ to celebrate this year!
     I somehow got everything to work perfectly. No trouble, no drama, no cops, no hungry tummies. Everyone brought food to share and everyone got along. It was a hot, 90-degree Long Beach day, and we set up camp at this cute little park next to the beach. The only thing that wasn't cute about it were the bum fights going on around us, but that's just to be expected. Some cracked out lady kept screaming that people were "scaring her bird," which turned out to be a crow sitting in a nearby tree. I didn't even dare to look at "her" bird. Then another one started screaming from the opposite direction about some thug wearing a du-rag who stole her lighter. Interesting day.
     We ate lots of yummy food, climbed down the steep cliffs to the ocean, found an ice cream truck, took lots of pictures, and just overall had a lovely day. Mission successful!

Moses and I! (And some inappropriate hot dog action that you should definitely ignore!)

Carne Asadaaaaa! Oh, and the other stuff.

Carrie and I being pin-up girls. We tried.

Sooo0oo0ooo thankful that everyone brought food! 

This would have been perfect if it wasn't blurry. Booooo!

Kickin' it on the beach in Loooong Beach.

The view from the top & the view from the bottom.

If you look extra closely, you can see an ant-sized little Carrie making her way down the mountain. Which was, mind you, WAY bigger than it looks here.

Just me, casually being a free-spirited hipster on the sand.

The camera accidentally turned on and took a picture.

I'm not a model.

 These girls are crazy as hell in their own ways, but I loooove them all.

10 Ways to Spice Up Your Thanksgiving

     When you think about Thankgiving Day, what comes to mind? A picture perfect family feasting on roasted turkey and warm pumpkin pie in front of the fireplace? Or a stressful day of work which consists of sitting in silence around a dead bird? Whatever Thanksgiving day means at your house, there's always room to make it a little better. (Or more tolerable!) Thanksgiving should be fun, it doesn't have to be all about the cooking and cleaning. Here are a few simple ways to brighten up your November holiday. Stop dreading and start doing!

     1. Cook! Don't leave your grandma stranded in the kitchen! Lending a helping hand is never as awful as it seems. Get your ass in that kitchen and help out, even if it just means skinning potatoes. You'll not only make the cook happy, but you're also gaining experience in the kitchen AND making time pass by monumentally faster. Triple whammy.

     2. Make a playlist. As cheesy as it sounds, music sets the mood. Always. Have you ever tried watching a scary movie on mute? Not so scary anymore, is it? Create a playlist to fill your home with music on the big day. I'm lucky enough to come from a family that sees "Date Rape" by Sublime as appropriate holiday music, but other families might not be as tolerant. (Or as awesome. Cough cough.) Try to pick something everybody can enjoy. Make a mix of upbeat, mellow, happy songs and let it echo throughout the house!

     3. Pick out a movie. After the food has been devoured and the wine bottles are empty, a strange phenomenon called the "food coma" takes place. Plan out a movie or two to watch after dinner with the fam to keep them from passing out on the couches. Just make sure it's not Saw III.

     4. Dress up. There's no need to impress your family and friends with your appearance, but what's wrong with getting a little dolled up on a special day? Nothing! Slip into a warm, cozy, Fall-themed outfit with a simple necklace or scarf. An adorable apron adds to the whole "holiday" look. (Not cooking anything? I won't tell!)

     5. Serve a sinful dessert. Now's your chance to break out that triple-chocolate-hazelnut-caramel pie recipe. (I just made that up, but doesn't it sound amazing?) With everyone trying to cook low-calorie and low-fat meals nowadays, you have an even better excuse to go crazy with dessert. Find a sweet recipe and whip up something yummy. Now you'll really have something to look forward to!

     6. Break the wishbone! Never, ever, ever forget about this simple tradition! Dig that bad boy out of the turkey and find someone to break it with. Whoever gets the bigger side is granted a wish. Why not?

     7. Shut off your smartphone. However tempting it may be, the Thanksgiving dinner table is not the time for status updates. Tinkering around on your phone makes you look bored, rude and uninterested in the table conversation. Leave your phone in another room during your family feast. Twitter notifications can wait, I promise!

     8. Whip up some drinks. Although we all love turkey and stuffing oh-so-much, the drinks served at the Thanksgiving table are often overlooked. Instead of serving the usual wine, milk or orange juice, take it to another level and serve some creative holiday drinks! Try out these amazing recipes for apple pie spiced cider and the sleigh driver. You can't go wrong with cranberry juice either, but try to add a little extra zest. Cranberry juice slushies? Who knows!

     9. Snap tons of photos. Even if Uncle Paul hates having his photo taken with a red hot passion, he will appreciate it later in life. Don't be afraid to become to designated photographer on Thanksgiving Day. Try to get a good snapshot of everyone at least once, and don't forget to take a few pictures of the yummy food!

     10. Just deal with it. For some people, Thanksgiving will always be a miserable holiday no matter how hard they try to make it work. People get caught up in the food, the stress, the cleaning, and the nagging thought of everything being perfect. They forget the real meaning behind it. However your Thanksgiving day goes, just remember not to take it too seriously. Dropped the turkey? Laugh about it. Get snapped at in the kitchen? Brush it off. Get poked fun at during dinner? Shrug your shoulders. Thanksgiving is not about stress. It's about what YOU make it about. So suck it up and have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Mmm, Vagina Cupcakes!

     Here's a little something to brighten up your Monday! Recipe here. Eat your heart out.

This Week in Photos

     Hello there!

     Greetings, practically non-existent readers! This week has been plenty wonderful. In other words, nothing terrible has happened. That alone makes for a pretty good week in my books. Here are a few memories I've snapped within these past seven days, just some random bits & pieces that seemed perfect to share. Enjoy!

My boyfriend gave me a photoshoot at the park, he is the sweetest. I bought that fabulous dress at Target for a mere 20 bucks! It's an instant favorite, and I feel like such a 60's girl in it!

Oh, and the purse came from Target as well. It's a store of wonders!

That awkward moment when your boyfriend looks like the guy from "The Shining." By the way, this is Joe! My sweet boyfriend of two years. A happy Zoe is a happy Joe. Yeah, he actually said that once.

On Monday, I went to my friend Cody's apartment to hangout for a couple hours. He has a pitbull named Lala. She's sweet, but SO GOD DAMN SHY. It took me half an hour to get one good photo of her in which she wasn't running away or hiding. I swear, someone must have beat her with a camera when she was little.

Eugh, I hate thinking about the terrible things we put in our body. But I love taking pictures of them.

This, on the left, is my coffee. Sitting on a desk. A desk attached to a recliner. A recliner in front of a flat screen TV. A TV playing Family Guy. A TV playing Family Guy which is located inside my school. Oh, college! Could you make me feel anymore at home? The "buff me" photo is from a wall in the girls restroom. Buff that shit, bitches. They'll just keep making more graffiti. Girl power.

 Cuntaaaa! My boyfriend has a parrot at his place, along with like 20 small dogs. Note the little feet in the background.

The vintage photobooth app on my iPad works wonders!

Wonderful Wednesday. A better view of my haircut, although I'm probably the only person who can even tell the difference. Oh well!

Yeah, we can be cute sometimes.

Joe lookin' like an army boy! I'm a sucker for a man in uniform, maybe one day this will be a real one. 

Max, Joe and I messing around with Photobooth. Tell me that last one doesn't remind you of Pinky & the Brain?!

 On Thursday night, I went to the Queen Mary to see a play for theatre class! "The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer." Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Ehh. I didn't have a ride there or back, so I literally went on Facebook and offered gas money to the first person who'd be willing to take me. A good friend Mike replied. We got off the wrong freeway exit twice on there way there, and accidentally got on the bridge to San Pedro! The bridge you can't turn around on until you go all the way across & into the next city! When we finally arrived, I sprinted my ass to the front gates and made it inside at 8:02. Two minutes late, but who's counting?

One of my bestestestest friends, Carrie, came to pick me up. After circling around the parking lot twenty times looking for the exit, we came across this beautiful view of downtown Long Beach and couldn't resist having an impromptu photo-shoot! They turned out so amazing. I love this city.

Hopefully I'll stick to this idea and post a "This Week in Photos" every Saturday. I encourage you all to start carrying your camera around everywhere you go, just like I did! Have a wonderful week!

Restaurant Review: The Coffee Cup Café!

     One of my goals from "8 Weeks to a Better Me" was to write about a local restaurant or venue, and I knew from the start that the wonderful Coffee Cup Café deserved a special spot in my blog! I was planning on not giving away my hometown on the internet, in fear that some sweaty 45 year-old man from Arkansas will track down my whereabouts and come chop me up into pieces on the way home from school... But at this point, it's not really that hard to tell I live in Long Beach. Especially since I'm writing about a restaurant in it. Long Beach, California is a place of both beauty and hideousness, harsh ghettos and rows of beautiful Spanish style homes, a melting pot of all kinds of different ethnicities. It has it's bad parts, but I love this city and all it's hidden gems. Which brings me back to my main topic- The Coffee Cup Café!

   
     Walking up to the restaurant, you immediately get this hipter-ish vibe that radiates from the entire block. Not sure if it was the Harley Davidson parked at the curb or the chick with the pink hair smoking cigarettes outside, but the energy was definitely there. And it was good. The waiting list was pretty hefty, an annoying (but good!) sign. They serve free coffee while you wait outside, though. A definite plus! After enjoying a hot cup of Joe, the hostess brought us in. I felt a little sorry for her, she was practically dripping sweat and getting a full body workout from trying to please the mass amount of people entering and exiting the restaurant. I always feel for the hostesses, since I know what it's like to be one!

     The inside of the restaurant- although a bit loud due to every table being packed with patrons- puts out a warm, friendly and hip atmosphere. Colorfully abstract paintings dot the mustard-yellow walls and leafy green plants bring life to every corner.
     In the Coffee Cup Café, I received some of the best service I've gotten in a long while. The servers are quick on their feet, friendly, and best of all... NOT annoying! Don't you hate it when you're trying to enjoy your meal, but the freakin' waitress never leaves you alone? "How's everything?" Five minutes later. "Anything else you need?" Five minutes later. "Everything tasting okay?" Ugh.
     I'm already kissing this restaurant's ass way more than necessary, but I haven't even reached the most important part yet... THE FOOD! Oh my Lord, the food. I ordered a Baja Breakfast Burrito ($8.50 but I split it with a friend, half was more than enough) with chopped potatoes. It looked like a fucking painting. The burrito was beautifully served with salsa, sliced avocado and a dollop of sour cream on top. On the inside there was rice, black beans, melted cheese, carnitas and eggs. Now, let me tell you, I've never been a fan of breakfast food. I hate pancakes, I hate eggs, I hate waffles, and I rarely even eat breakfast at all. But the Coffee Cup Café is a life changer, man.

     Everything about this place was lovely. Five stars. Grab a few friends and head down to 4th street if your a Long Beach local like me, I pinky promise you will love it.