The First Annual El Segundo Grilled Cheese Invitational took place last weekend and I was invited to be a guest judge because I've been professionally trained in culinary school (very flattering and if that lets me eat as many grilled cheese as I want, then by all means!) This was hosted at my brother's house most commonly referred to as OAK. The first grilled cheese to hit our palates was a flaming hot cheeto encrusted buffalo chicken blue cheese filled grilled cheese sandwhich. By far this was the most unique entry of the night and was actually quite delicious. I wish it would have been a little crispier but overall it was a winner in my eyes but we still had many more entries to go. Ultimately, the winner ended up being a grilled cheese with apple on a croissant. Not necessarily my choice but I was apparently biased since my boyfriend entered the competition as well!

I recently attended my friend Nicole's wedding on July 4th. Ironic, I know, with the whole independence day but getting married idea. She asked me to make her wedding cake :) I made a wedding cake for my other friend and it was a little stressful but I felt that it was a great learning experience and that this time around it would be a little easier. By a little easier I truly mean a LITTLE easier. The bottom layer was carrot cake, the middle layer was going to by styrofoam (delicious!) and then the top layer was going to be carrot cake. There was a separate sheet cake that was white cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Despite blowing out my tire on the way from Vegas to LA, I thought I was off to a good start.Baking the cakes was the easy part. Only a slight mishap where I didn't put enough eggs in and therefore the cake came out dense but delicious. The frosting was what killed me. My buttercream did not want to come together. I finally had to call it quits for the night and start fresh in the morning. After sleeping for a couple of hours I felt like I was off to a good start. We had to pick up the cake display (an entirely different ordeal in itself) only to discover that it hadn't been polished in ages. My wonderful boyfriend polished it while I finished the cake. We ran off to the wedding ceremony and then back to the house to put the finishing touches on the cake before transporting it to the reception. Once at the reception, we added the flowers and a little bit of sparkle and it was out of my hands. Then I had to wait for the reviews: EXCELLENT! Phew. Glad that it is over now and that it all turned out well. Most importantly, that the bride and groom were happy with it.

I've started this new diet based on your blood type from the book "Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight" by Peter J. D'Adamo. I started it mainly to be healthier and see if it would improve my energy. Here is the Amazon.com Review: "If you've ever wondered why the latest fad diet doesn't work for you... well, there are lots of reasons, mostly the fact that it's a fad diet. But it could also be that you're the wrong blood type for the kinds of foods the diet recommends. Peter D'Adamo makes a persuasive argument that your blood type is an evolutionary marker that tells you which foods you'll process best, and which will be useless calories. He covers the entire range for each of the four blood types, from entrées to condiments and seasonings, and also makes type-specific exercise and lifestyle recommendations." My blood type is B+ and there were definitely some interesting suggestions for me. Foods that I should avoid are: Bacon, Ham, and oddly enough CHICKEN. Although chicken is lean and generally good for most people, it creates potential problems for those that have type B blood. Foods that are beneficial are: lean meat, venison, and lamb. It also advises that I should avoid tomato in all its glorious forms at all cost. Corn, wheat and lentils are weight gainers for type B because they inhibit the metabolic process. Shellfish is a no no because it blocks the production of insulin which leads to hypoglycemia and being lethargic. Dairy is really good for type B to eat but if you start to feel bloated, eating pineapple puts acid in your stomach to help with the bloating. There is more technical wording in the book but this is just the basic summary as I understand it. I am on day #2 of the diet and I'm feeling pretty good (AND I also made it to the gym yesterday too which helped a lot I think). The hardest part of this diet will be to avoid avocado! My dad has an avocado tree in his backyard which has spoiled me with delicious tasty goodness all my life. But I can make the sacrifice if it will make me feel and look better. I'll keep you posted!

My grandpa is kind of a big deal!

Jerry Huben's 68-year career in aviation comes in for a landing - Los Angeles Times

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