peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

I think I have the biggest sweet tooth in my family.. and I'd like to blame it on all the yummy desserts my sister made when we were growing up :) One of my favorite kinds are soft and chewy cookies (not hard and crispy). They’re always good with milk, ice-cream and sometimes (or maybe always) good for breakfast. They’re a great snack for in between long hours of staring at the computer. AND they make great gifts for any kind of holiday/season/birthday/thank you. We used to always have desserts on our breakfast bar at home, and Trisha was the one who made the most delicious cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. The family joked about helping her start her own bakery - but I was only a quarter joking. We used to have so many people living at home including our grandparents and their caretakers that desserts would never go to waste! But now that we are all oceans apart,  we don’t have as many people at home to enjoy our baking... Therefore Trish will bring her desserts to church and I will bring my desserts to work!

This recipe was a request from some of my biggest cookie fans in LA :) - peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. It took me awhile to find the perfect recipe but I found this one and posting these photos are making me crave one! These were definitely a big hit at the office!
Here’s what you need:
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats (I used gluten free rolled oats)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract for about 5-7 minutes. (With an electric mixer, set on Medium speed and mix for 3 minutes). Add the egg and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour until just combined (Electric mixer on low). Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
4. Drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. *DING* They’re done!! You can either eat them while they’re warm (one of my favorite things to do after baking) or let them cool completely on a cookie rack and keep them at room temperature in a sealed container. 
yummmm :) thanks browneyedbaker!

Good Eats in LA | Sycamore Kitchen

This weekend was full of great company, along with great conversations and amazing food. One of my favorite things when friends come to visit is taking them to my favorite restaurants but also trying new ones! 

Sycamore Kitchen - Love the website, the food, the decor and the atmosphere! Although we didn’t make it in time for the breakfast menu (which I was excited to try their Pork Belly Hash and Scrambled Egg Chorizo Sandwich), I was still eager to try their sandwiches and baked goods. I had the cured salmon toast and it was DELISH! The toast reminded me of a large melba toast – crunchy and thin, keeping the salmon and avocado with capers the main flavors. Unfortunately, I only realized after putting this post together that I had forgotten to take a close up of the Salmon! Noooo! But, you can see a bird’s eye version in the photo below. But trust me, it was delish.. :)

 Bahn Mi Pate Sandwich
 Short-Rib and Sauteed Onions Sandwich
 Yam Pastry

RufCut | Cut & Sew Design Studio

I stumbled upon this awesome cut & sew shop on the West Side one afternoon. I stepped inside and immediately fell in love with the interior design. The jeans hanging from the walls, the pins in the barrel, the old school coca-cola signs, union special sewing machines... everything!

RufCut specializes in jean repair and has an impressive collection of vintage levi's jeans from the 50's to 70's.  Rob, the man behind it all, is an very lively and friendly guy. He is the expert in the jeans lingo and has been featured in many prominent magazines internationally. He even designed the place himself!

Find out more about them here!

That's him!

Hallo Halloween

Halloween is back again! Do you know where you're going, what you're doing and what you'll be dressing up as? We haven't given it too much thought yet but we did scope around the internet for some inspiration. Some of my favorite ones are of course the creative parents that dress their kids up. 





And our favorite gif...

Here's some of the outfits we put together in the past!
We have large boxes of costumes we've kept over the years just for occasions like these! I must say all of Court's dance costumes really came in handy! Can you tell which ones they are? 
Trish & Ed - The most creative and committed! Favorite outfit will have to go to the disco divas on the right!
Maddie got to participate last year too as Carlos, the Hangover baby!
Erin - The skeleton, the disco chick & the ultimate geek, and wonder woman. 
Court - The lazy one... To the left is zombified lara croft, and in the middle is Skrillex. Can you tell?

What will we be this year?! Wait for it.... Wait for it....