ETHIOPIAN FOOD

Very often I am asked, “What’s your ethnicity” or “What’s your mix.” I think my beauty (a girl’s gotta have good self esteem), my unique, strong features confuse and interest people. Most often because of my name people think I am Indian, but I get asked at least once a week if I am ETHIOPIAN.

My mom is black and my dad is white and Jewish. My big eyes and high forehead come from my mom and my nose from my dad. The mix gave me caramel colored skin. I am happy with my unique look (though nasty blogs and the people who read and comment on them would rather I never leave the house since they obviously feel my features are offensive. GRRR… I hate those nasty bloggers).

An older ETHIOPIAN man in DC once told me the story of the Jews who fled Israel for Egypt after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Many settled in ETHIOPIA and mixed with the locals… My mom and dad just did the mix later!

It’s funny that people (even ETHIOPIAN’S themselves) think that I could be ETHIOPIAN. I always respond, “no, I’m not BUT I love the food.” Here in LA there is a little gem of a neighborhood called LITTLE ETHIOPIA, 2 blocks filled with the yummiest restaurants. I have eaten at almost every single one and even a couple in other areas.

My favorite spot by far on Fairfax is MERKATO. It’s a little grocery store with a small restaurant attached and its always filled with locals. It’s inexpensive and the portions are big. Also on the street and very yummy are Rosalinds and Nyala. Both are FABULOUS and super delicious, but they tend to be a bit more touristy; the prices are a bit higher and the portions a bit smaller.

My friend Carolyn and I head to Fairfax often (in October we were feeling wild and went once a week). We always order the same thing and it’s always FABULOUS! We start off with the Vegetarian combo, which comes with red lentils (my favorite!) cabbage, greens, split peas and salad on a large circle of ingera bread.

You eat ETHIOPIAN food with your hands (Not one utensil at the table) and you use the ingera bread to scoop up the food. It’s fun and so delicious! We always add Yodoro Tibs (chicken in red pepper sauce) or some other meat (they use a lot of lamb and beef too, but we tend to stick to the chicken). Also Carolyn’s favorite is the Tim Tim Fit Fit (a vinegary, cool injera bread mixed with salad) so we always get a side of that too.

ETHIOPIAN food is healthy, delicious and FABULOUS. If you haven’t tried it you must go out and find your local ETHIOPIAN spot!

LADIES CLOTHING SWAP

One persons junk is another persons treasure (or new winter outfit) so come on over and lets swap clothes and goodies!

A couple years ago, my friend Pearl invited me to a clothing swap. Basically, a bunch of women got together and brought all of their old clothes. It was a big free for all with clothes all over the floor, but it was fun. I took the idea and made it my own and now each season my friends and I get together in my living room for A LADIES CLOTHING SWAP and potluck.

Maybe I’m a bit of a control freak (ok… definitely), but I set out a bunch of rules that must be followed closely. Here are the rules: (I’ve patented them, but I will let you use them for free)

Everyone trading clothes must bring at LEAST 4 items of clothes plus accessories, anything really (the more the better!!). But remember bring only the cool ones u no longer wear NOT your old underwear or moth eaten sweaters, and no half used lotions or hotel shampoos (you would be surprised at the weird things people have showed up with).

Everyone sets up their stuff on the floor, couch and chairs (like a little shop). The mingling, eating and viewing of clothes ensues and the SWAP STARTS PROMTLY AT 8PM!

When the swap begins everyone chooses their first item, which is called “First Picks”. Once everyone chooses their first item, we move onto second and third and fourth. Once we get to five, the floor is usually opened for a free for all where everyone rushes around grabbing all the items they want (organized mayhem) till everyone has enough new stuff.

Here’s the fun part! If more than one person wants the same item, both try it on the rest of the party goers decide on who it looks best (mini-fashion week in my own living room). That person gets the keep it (everyone is friends so this rarely happens and when it does it is all in fun).

Anything that is left at the end of the night, I donate to Good Will (you get new clothes and donate to charity all in one night!)

You should try this at home with your friends!!

MY BIRTHDAY

MY BIRTHDAY is Nov. 4th and I decided to celebrate bi-coastally (One celebration in NY and one in LA). Paris Hilton had 4 parties, so I think I am at least FABULOUS enough to have 2! Having grown up on both coasts, I have friends that are spread all over. It was a FABULOUS treat to party with my new and old friends on both coasts. I’m a LUCKY girl!

The party preparations started with the hunt for the perfect BIRTHDAY dress in NYC. My friend Samantha and I cruised the east village boutiques with no luck. Then, I headed uptown to try BARNEYS (too expensive), BERGDORF’S (MUCH too expensive) and finally BLOOMINGDALES (Whew! Finally more in my price range!) BLOOMINGDALES has an ALICE AND OLIVIA section (my favorite designer of the moment)! I tried on 3 dresses and adored each sparkly, sequined one. I finally decided on a black sequined (my signature color) turtleneck mini MINI dress!

Friday, I celebrated the first leg of my bi-coastal BIRTHDAY in NYC. Annie and Schuyler from high school, Celeste, Amy and Sarah from college and Samantha and Grason transplants from LA congregated at my apartment for a glass of bubbly!

Then, we walked to PHILIPPE CHOWS (A delicious, upscale, Chinese restaurant opened by the former chef of Mr. Chows in LA… which I LOVE! YUM!) More friends joined us, Cheryl my old room-mate from Aspen and new friend Miguel (Golly, I’m popular and this is only the east coast party! LOL). We devoured chicken satay, crispy beef, squab lettuce cups (delicious) and more!! It was truly wonderful to be surrounded with so many friends from so many different eras of my life. Everyone was laughing and eating and having a blast!

After dinner, we headed to a club/hookah bar called KUSH. It may not be the hottest NYC spot for a Friday night, but at a table in the corner with all my NEW YORK friends dancing and partying, the evening was truly SPECTACULAR! Let’s see in my LA BIRTHDAY can live up to the FABULOUSNESS of NEW YORK!

Saturday evening, I flew back to LA and spent the night resting up for Sunday, my real BIRTHDAY (November 4th! Mark your calendars!) After a good night rest and morning snuggle with my dog, I went to the Coffee Bean (My favorite way to start the day) then the Farmers Market. I met up with my Dad (visiting from CT) and my sister Tracee for a yummy lunch at Mao’s Kitchen in Venice (cheap and delicious Chinese food). I had a family birthday dinner with mom before my birthday since she is touring.

That night I checked into the Standard Hotel on Sunset (easier/safer option than driving home after all the festivities) and I dressed in my BIRTHDAY sequins for the second time. I met up in the lobby with my room-mates Dara and Jill for pre-dinner coctails. Then headed to BELLA (yummy Italian) for dinner.

On the way my text messages kept buzzing with bad news. One after another my friends started dropping like flies. One was sick, two were tired and so on and so on till 14 dwindled down to 7. I was upset at first, but the friends that did show up (Kim, Sara, Nate, Zoe, Dara, Jill, Kennedy) were FABULOUS and fun. Dinner was delicious! I ate penne arrabiata and bruscetta, drank champagne and ate chocolate cake!

After dinner we headed to a club called PLAY where the owners had offered me a free bottle and a table. PLAY is NOT a hot spot for Sunday, but I figured with all my friends it would be fun. BUT since so many people canceled earlier and many left after dinner, I was wrong! The people at the club forgot about the free bottle, which I didn’t want to argue about and with only a handful of friends, it was all less than FABULOUS. We made the most of it, had a couple drinks and called it a night.

In all I had an amazing BIRTHDAY. East coast definitely won out over West, but it’s always FABULOUS to be surrounded by good friends… and getting presents ain’t that bad either ☺

Happy Birthday to ME!!

NEW YORK CITY

I love NEW YORK CITY and all the excitement that goes along with it. The hustle and the bustle of the city is unbelievably FABULOUS!

This past week I went to NEW YORK CITY for a whirlwind week of socialite parties, Halloween haunts, exciting literary meetings (yes, on occasion a girls gotta work) and even a little pre-birthday festivities!

I took a ridiculously early flight in order to get to NYC in time to prepare for THE ANGEL BALL, a G&P Cancer Charity Event thrown by the ultimate NY Socialite, Denise Riche. Her daughter passed away from Leukemia, and ever since Denise has been raising huge amounts of money for research by throwing amazingly FABULOUS events of course all of NY’s richest and schnazztastic people in attendance. Every year, I am asked to be on the junior committee for the BALL and though the cause is very close to my heart (my grandmother died of breast cancer) I know I can’t be much help to the committee from LA. This was the first year I was able to attend.

I slept from take off to landing and arrived at 3pm rested and ready for all the FABULOUSNESS that is NYC. A car picked me up and swept me to B. MICHAEL’S showroom (a high end NY designer). I walked in B. MICHAEL’S fashion show during NY Fashion Week a couple seasons ago and ever since he has helped make me FABULOUS and FASHIONABLE for NY events. I tried on one dress and it was perfect (classy and gorgeous)!

Next stop, JUDITH RIPKA (a swanky FABULOUS jewelry store). I hosted a charity event for them once and when I have an event they lend me diamonds so I can sparkle! I borrowed a ridiculously expensive and beautiful, shimmering pair of earrings and a bracelet! (Golly, I’ve made some good connections for freebies!)

I had just enough to shower, throw on some make up, do my hair and jump into my designer duds before my friend Mary and her husband Ryan arrived. Off we went to the ball where we rubbed elbows (dined and danced) with NEW YORK’S social elite. Joss Stone rocked the house and danced on the chairs. John Legend crooned at the piano and Chaka Khan belted her ballads. It was an amazingly fun and FABULOUS night and in my pink dress (surrounded by a sea of dark, winter hues) a truly stood out and felt like the bell of the ball!

Tuesday, I had a meeting at Harper Collins regarding my series of children’s books. Since I live in LA and the majority of the literary market is in NY, I always like to stop in and chat with my literary agent and publishers while in the city. Lets get those books on the shelves!!

Wednesday was HALLOWEEN. It’s one of those holidays where you spend so much time preparing and then it rarely lives up to the excitement you had hoped for (I feel this way about New Years too). I have never celebrated HALLOWEEN in NY so I was excited for something new. I wore my same costume for last year (a sexy angel) and didn’t put to many expectations on the night. I was blown away! HALLOWEEN in NEW YORK is FABULOUS.

We started the night off by going to a fancy party that my friend Mary was catering (Her company, MARY GIULIANI CATERING AND EVENTS caters to the high-class, socialite types). The party filled with seriously expensive and diamond studded costumes. It was like being at a high-end masquerade party with free drinks, delicious food and dancing.

Next, we headed to Cipriani’s for ROBERTO CAVALLI’s Halloween Party. Eve rocked the stage dressed as a referee. Celebrities and NY Socialites squeezed into the VIP section where fancy drinks were poured from ice sculpture bars. The party would have been a bit more FABULOUS had there been about 300 less people. I could barely turn around or move with those damn wings on my back, so we headed downtown to a club called ROOM SERVICE.

We met up with more friends and danced till the early morning while Rev Run (Once Run DMC) yelled along with tunes from the DJ booth (I mean…a rapped). As the sun threatened to come up, this little angel headed to bed pleased with the events of Halloween 2007.

My birthday is Nov. 4th and I decided to celebrate Bi-Coastally (One celebration in NY and one in LA). Friday, I rocked out with my East coast friends for the first leg of my birthday and then I flew back to LA in time to celebrate my real birthday on Sunday! Read all about my birthday festivities in next week’s blog!!

I had an amazingly fun and productive week in NEW YORK! I always have a blast and love to visit, but all excitement that is NEW YORK is too much for little old me ☺ I could never live there! I’m always super psyched to come home!!