Milk...Again...

I haven't been able to stop thinking about Milk's macaron ice cream sandwiches since first trying them Saturday night, so I had to make a stop on my way home from the eastside of town on Wednesday to check out some more flavors. We tried the strawberry and vanilla ice cream sandwich as well as the coffee toffee ice cream sandwich. Loved the strawberry ice cream, tasted like fresh strawberries, and also really liked the crunchy bits of toffee in the coffee toffee crunch. I think my favorite is still the grasshopper, with the half chocolate dipped chocolate shell and little bits of chocolate in the ice cream, but they are all good! I really should try some of their other offerings, but I really do love the ice cream sandwiches so it's hard to find room...

Milk is known for their "Blue Velvet Cake" in the lower left corner, made with blueberries

How cute are those cupcake ice cream cones on the left?

I've been told to try the Ooey Gooey Cookies

must...take...peek...

Silverlake Snacks

I had a business meeting in Silverlake this afternoon and stopped by a couple of Silverlake places for some snacks on my way back to the Westside, since I'm unfortunately not in the neighborhood nearly enough. It was a beautiful day in the mid-70's, perfect for some neighborhood exploration. Days like this make me truly love and appreciate living in LA with the different character of various neighborhoods around the city. You can never get bored in LA! We first stopped at the charming Broome Street General Store for a refreshing iced coffee and oreo cookie on the lovely flowering patio. Next, we stopped by Cafe Tropical for a cuban sandwich and took home some guava empanadas that our friends M&M first introduced us to for a snack for later.

Iced coffee and oreo cookie

Nice, hot pressed cuban sandwich from Cafe Tropical

Love these guava empanadas; perfect combination of tart, sweet, and flaky

Some baked goods from Cafe Tropical

Getting close...which is good because I'm running out of clothes. H&M Mama dress, Prada sunglasses, Balenciaga bag and Toms shoes (anything with a heel is too dangerous since I was never that coordinated to begin with)

Ice Cream Sandwiches at Milk

We were on the east side of town for a cocktail party so we stopped at Milk on Beverly for a nightcap on our way home. Macaron ice cream sandwiches, genius! Grasshopper (mint chocolate chip) and salted caramel. Expensive at $5 bucks a pop, but delicious. I particularly liked the grasshopper and the combo between the smooth chewy macaron, crunchy chocolate coating and baby chocolate chips and rich creamy ice cream.

Met Ball 2012 Cont'd: Model Favorites

Constance Jablonski in Haider Ackermann, Amber Valletta in Prada and Joan Smalls in a straight off the FW '12 runway Balmain (with Balmain's designer). Images via style.com

Not surprisingly, the best dressed and most impeccably styled of the evening (and clear designer favorites) are usually the models. Constance Jablonski's Haider Ackermann is probably my favorite dress of the night, although Karlie Kloss looks amazing in Jason Wu as well.

Karlie Kloss in Jason Wu (with Wu), Arizona Muse in Erdem, Mia Wasikowska (I know, actress, not model) in Prada. Images via style.com

Carolyn Murphy in Alexander Wang, Natalia Vodianova in Louis Vuitton, Liu Wen in Michael Kors. Images via style.com

Met Ball 2012: Fashion Event of the Year

I always love the annual Costume Institute Gala, otherwise known at the Met Ball, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. It's the one night where fashion, celebrities, designers and models collide. No surprise, since the event is sponsored by Vogue, that it is the fashion event of the year. The clothes are amazing, from straight off the runway looks to custom designed dresses for the stars by the designers. The fashion is so much more couture and adventurous than say the typical awards show, like this years Oscars, which was so safe and predictable. This year's theme was "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations," so not surprisingly, there were a lot of great looks from Prada, including on queen Anna Wintour herself. For me, Givenchy was the other standout on the red carpet, loved Rooney Mara's dress and Beyonce definitely wins for most dramatic. A couple of my favorite / most striking looks of the evening.

Carey Mulligan in Prada, Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada, Florence Welch in Alexander McQueen. Images from style.com

Renee Zellweger in Pucci, Rihanna in Tom Ford and Rooney Mara in Givenchy. Images from style.com

Anna Wintour in Prada, Lily Collins in Valentino, Elizabeth Banks in Mary Katrantzou (not my favorite Mary look ever, but I'm just happy that she's represented on the red carpet). Images from style.com, fashionista.com

Beyonce in Givenchy. If this isn't rocking haute couture, I don't know what is. Images from fashionista.com

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Review: A Southern Food Pop-Up in Venice

Chicken cracklins, hot pepper vinegar. Can't go wrong with fried chicken skin!

 Wednesday night, we had a really nice meal at Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, a pop-up restaurant on Abbott Kinney in the Capri space close to Venice Blvd. The food is Southern-inspired small plates, with such classics such as fried green tomatoes, black eyed peas, biscuits, fried oysters etc. Since we don't get Southern food pretty much at all in Los Angeles, it was definitely a refreshing and fun change of pace. Favorites were the cavatelli pasta with lamb bolognese, butter biscuit with pimento cheese and soft shell crab with almonds and brown butter. Everything was good though. I didn't look at the wine list, but they have a nice selection of beers, which the guys ordered. Service was friendly and we waited about 40 minutes for a table of 3 on a Wednesday night at 8pm. I highly recommend going before the pop-up ends at the end of June.

Kale salad, sheep cheese, pink lady apple, date, walnut vinaigrette. Refreshing salad, I should try this at home

Fried green tomatoes, buttermilk dressing, chow chow

Butter biscuit, pimento cheese, honey butter, black berry. Such an awesome flaky, buttery biscuit. Loved all the toppings for the biscuits too

Yum, pimento cheese

Cavatelli pasta, lamb bolognese, parmesan, bread crumbs

Quail, corn bread, smoked maple, arugula. Loved the crispy bottom on the corn bread from the cast iron dish

Soft shell crab, almonds, brown butter. Really loved this dish; perfectly fried crab, with crunchy almonds, some pickled onions, over soft buttery polenta / grits (?)

Hanger steak, fried oysters, oyster mushrooms, onion jam, cress

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
1616 Abbott Kinney Blvd (in the Capri space)
Venice, CA

Stiletto Envy

Isabel Marant Rea Sandals. Image from barneys.com

It's been ages since I've worn stilettos, not to mention bought stilettos, but I can't help but fall in love with these gorgeous Isabel Marant Rea sandals from her spring collection. Believe it or not, these are the "practical" version with the ~3" heel; she also has a version with a ~5" heel. So pretty, but I will be admiring from afar for now as I shouldn't splurge on such impractical things these days.

From the S/S 2012 runway show. I love how she pairs the shoes with everything from jeans, to shorts, to dresses. Images from style.com