Guest Blogger - MELISSA
Hayat’s Kitchen – Lebanese food in North Hollywood, CA
In New York, hole-in-the-wall restaurants are often places where families dish out generations of culinary genius. Well, the San Fernando Valley may be known for many things–celebrity homes, authentic Mexican food, etc.–but being a mecca for the culinary “diamond-in-the-rough” is not one of them. So when my friend begged me to go with her to a hidden Lebanese restaurant in North Hollywood, I admittedly hesitated.
Hummus
Garlic Fries
Crumbs cupcakes food fight: Team Shy or Team Mel?
Shyema and I have always been divided on the Crumbs cupcake front, and our most recent food fight is about to jump off.
I like a cupcake that consists of soft, moist cake, and icing that delivers an even balance of sugar-to-butter flavor ratio to the palate.
A visit to Angus Mitchell’s debut salon in Beverly Hills
Angus M. Salon in Beverly Hills
“I approach everything with a socially aware mindset as my father [Paul Mitchell] did decades ago. I plan to take the industry to new levels of excellence with a promise of beauty.”
– Angus M.
When a kid looked up at me with curious eyes and pointed to my roots before asking, “Why is your hair black on top?” (while the rest of it was clearly not), I knew it was time for a trip to the local salon. The problem is my “local” salon is 3,000 miles away. Not only did I leave my heart in NYC, but I left the one stylist to whom I have been most faithful. Since I can’t afford to jet back to New York every other month, I’ve decided to finally test the L.A. waters. So, when I heard Angus Mitchell, son of legendary Paul Mitchell and a successful hair stylist in his own right, opened up his first signature salon in Beverly Hills, I was there.
Body Cleanse Tips from Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow's website on body cleanse tips
Except for religious purposes, I’ve never put much faith in fasts or cleanses. They are unhealthy and unnatural to the body, which is built to cleanse itself automatically. But last year around this time, as I sat in a coma from the holiday food force fed to me (okay—by me), I stumbled upon a web site praising the perks of a cleanse.
There were two reasons why I liked this site: First, because the ingredients chosen for the “cleanse” included only fresh fruits, vegetables, juices, etc. There were no cayenne water or cabbage soup gimmicks presented, thankfully. The recipes looked tasty, yet simple enough so that my body could absorb nutrients without overworking itself, as it had for the holidays. Secondly, and much more shamefully, I was drawn to this site because its creator is Gwyneth Paltrow.
American Fashion Cookbook: Food meets Fashion’s Finest
Despite reports to the contrary, people in the fashion industry actually do eat. Not only do they eat, they eat well.
Proving this fact, Assouline — the renowned publishing house that produces illustrious tomes about fashion, photography, art, and design — has debuted the CFDA American Fashion Cookbook.
American Fashion Cookbook
The search for the perfect sunscreen
California sunshine has its perks, but sunburn is not one of them. I pretty much spend my days hiding from the sun, which is quite difficult to master in sun-soaked Southern Cali.
The alternative to this exhausting game of hide and seek, however, is sunscreen.
To be perfectly honest, I am not a fan of the stuff. I don’t enjoy replacing my Philosophy Amazing Grace body lotion with a chalky white substance with a smell that evokes memories of crying children at a public pool.
