We're big fans of TOMS, and of fun parties, here at the BEAT.
One of the best Easters of my childhood was one spent in London. Every friend and family member that came 'round brought me a chocolate Easter egg. I must have ended up with at least ten, of all different kinds! This year, I'll be about a month away from my twenty-sixth birthday on Easter, but am still looking forward to my kiddie-style Milkybar white chocolate egg.
I love when a magazine interview says where it takes place. The May Vogue cover story--Reese Witherspoon--starts at Santa Monica's Blue Plate Oysterette. As if the lobster rolls weren't reason enough to try the seafood joint with an ocean breeze.
We wrote about Artisanal LA back in December, and it looks like the special foods community event is back for a spring edition. This time, it's taking place in the brand spanking new Santa Monica Place, which is just another reason to check out the scenery. Look out for all the cool artisanal vendors offering goods like special teas, pies, yogurts, chocolates, soaps, spices, wines and gelatos, among panels on local honey, craft beers and more. There'll even be a wine tasting, butchering and mixology demos and a food swap.
Los Angeles, of course, is never short of global food options. But with the rise in popularity of the food truck came the arrival one thing we may have been missing out on: street food. Obviously, we've all been exposed (/tortured) by those wonderful-smelling carts on street corners selling bacon-wrapped hot dogs and other sizzling goodies late at night, but what is honest-to-goodness street food exactly? And why should we care?
Finding a reliable place for a decent manicure is no easy task. Yesterday evening, after just over a week of dark (when in New York ... ) nails, I wanted it off, and a fresh application of a more comfortable pretty pale pink. 
Love her or hate her, Gwyneth Paltrow is without a doubt a Hollywood success story. The Oscar winner spent her early years in Los Angeles, and still knows her way around this town.
I feel Jon Favreau's Elf went a little underrated when it was first released. Sure, it simply features Will Ferrell (most overpaid actor) jumping around in an elf suit, and it's your general feel-good story of the season, but the film does it all quite well, in my opinion. The jokes are good-hearted and not overly cheesy, and the acting/characters aren't trying too hard and are surprisingly believable. Plus, Zooey Deschanel (a blonde!) sings! The film's definitely become one of my holiday classics.
For all the various cuisines we're able to enjoy in Los Angeles, somehow Malaysian food seems to get forgotten in it all. I'm sure most, even those who like to think of themselves as foodies, probably are not be getting as much great Malaysian cuisine as they might like.
Can you believe it -- that little white cartoon kitty is turning 50! And you know she has to celebrate in style.
As the weather gets colder, it's increasingly difficult to get out of bed in the morning! Other than a robe, sometimes a blanket you can wrap yourself in to decrease the initial chill is the perfect tool to make waking up less painful.
Football season is well underway, and hey, those Monday Night Football games just happen to be perfect for happy hour, no? But not everyone wants to head to a grimy sports bar every week for the same boring cheap beer.
As far as Shakespeare goes, you can't do much better than seeing a show at the recreated Globe Theatre in London. But if you can't quite make it over to the Old Country any time soon, Santa Monica's Broad Stage is offering the next best thing: a run of "The Merry Wives of Windsor."
In another case of 'Why didn't we think of that before?', the B.A.M. Fest is giving people what they want: Beer, Art and Music. It can't get any simpler (or more sublime) than that, right?
People (myself included) are loving the new Santa Monica Place, and it's about to get better. Next Friday morning, August 27, a brand new Nordstrom opens at 10:00 a.m.
Admit it: every June, whenever you're flipping the channels around and see the Scripps Spelling Bee is on (or if you don't even try to pretend and just immediately switch to it), you get excited. You get pulled in. You suddenly get overwhelmed by every single awkward and passionate emotion that you remember feeling as an adolescent child and put all that energy into that one kid with the glasses, nervously asking for any alternate pronunciations. And no matter who wins, you're happy. Everyone loves the spelling bee.
Lares in Santa Monica is my new favorite Mexican restaurant. My parents read about it in the Los Angeles Times 'My Favorite Weekend' feature, as being a favorite of Brad Paisley. While this wasn't quite enough to sell me on the place, I thought it was worth a try, and I'm so glad I did.
Santa Monica is full of great brunch options, and Blue Plate is just another one of those always-busy spots that, thankfully, lives up to the hype.
