Santa Monica's Muscle Beach

One of my favorite weekend hangouts has been Venice Beach- but right next door is Santa Monica with its very own Muscle Beach! Here are some of my favorite shots from Roman and I's trip to work out one afternoon. Just another wonderful example of how California takes full advantage of its constantly beautiful weather and scenery!

Bramble! Camping in the Mohave desert...

I manage to find a camping trip just about every weekend- between groups of friends from LA, San Diego and of course solo trips- this is one of many trips to the Mohave where I brought my friends from downtown LA out to the desert for a family campout. The location is secret- haha thats what makes it fun! But here you see us playing on the "car in the hole in the ground" and exploring the land surrounding the party grounds. I love it here- such a truly extraordinary place to be able to go to spend weekends with friends. This is also where Roman and I started to really put some acrobatics into motion... more craziness was obviously going to follow.

Fuente Eterno! Mexican paradise...

My first trip out of the country and it was to go camping with hundreds of friends from southern California! We ventured down to Guadelupe Canyon where there were hot springs at every campsite and hiking to amazing waterfalls. This was another one of my birthday adventures- I was so lucky to get to go spend my birthday fire dancing with some of the best in SoCal, dancing all night, hiking all day and just relaxing with good people.

Birthday Party:)

All I wanted for my birthday was a little quality creative time with some of my girl friends! We all brought a couple bags of stuff and swaped scraps and supplies- each of us finishing about 3-4 projects including feather hair pieces, sock poi and costume accessories. This party was such a big hit- I had a few girls upset they couldnt join us- so next time I think it will grow! This is going to provide each of us a place to not only share our skills but hopefully develop some new ones!

I Heart Lady Lush Performance

My friend Mimi is a DJ in San Diego- my friend Lara Love and I offered to help her make her event a little more interesting. We performed as the Heartbreakers with hoops, POI and Acrobatics. The audience was definitely into what we were doing and we had a blast entertaining the crowd- I can't wait to add to the Heartbreakers and do more shows:)

Harbor Moon Boat Party!

Here is just another fabulous example of the variety you will find in the entertainment available in Los Angeles- this was a floating dance party! Friends from all ends of southern California met here to celebrate the beauty of the winter moon in style. I have to say- I had one of the more colorful outfits of the evening but since the boat was dark, it worked out well for me:)

Changes in the Kitchen...

Since about October of this past year- I have been eating vegetarian diet through the week and only having meat occasionally on weekends. This has been such a wonderful change for my body that I figured I would share some of the things I am eating so everyone can try these easy vegetarian ideas! Keep in mind eliminating meat means getting protein from sources like beans and nuts. Some of my favorite proteins are hummus, walnuts, almonds, soy, and garbanzo beans.

My best advice for making the switch is to focus on little steps. Sometimes I still have to put a little cheese on top or add something more flavorful but when paired with smaller portions, eating vegetarian is a sure way to improve health and energy levels!

The first meal is a rice with veggies I make with brown rice, vegetable broth (instead of water in the rice- sub in some water if you need more than 1 box), chopped garlic, carrots, broccoli, green beans, chick peas (or garbanzo beans). Split the mix into portions for meals in Tupperware to make easy ready made meals.



























The second meal is a pizza I made on a flour tortilla! Just spread the pizza sauce, spinach, and cheese on top. Its the perfect portion for lunch or light dinner with 5 min cook time. Its also easy to continue improving with whole wheat tortillas, organic tomato sauces and cheese made from soy! Pile on the veggies or do like I do and hide them under the cheese!

ENJOY!!!!