Eat In. A quick breakfast.

Waking up early is no picnic, and getting something in your stomach before you need to be out the door can be hard when an extra 20 minutes for breakfast can be spent in a warm bed. But eating some kind of breakfast in the morning is also said to be quite healthy.

One quick and easy breakfast is just a banana with peanut butter on it. Slice a banana into coin-shaped slices and spread peanut butter on them. Wrap it in a paper towel and you're on your way with a filling, nutritional breakfast and a good start to your day.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat Out. Figaro [Sunday Brunch].

Figaro on Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz is a place some (including myself) consider a near-perfect brunch spot. It's on a street that has loads of cute shops for post-brunch strolling around, they have both inside and outside (sidewalk) seating, and the food is fresh and flavorful.

The meal is started off right with a bread basket--something many restaurants reserve for lunch and dinner only. It includes a varied mix of breads including olive and nut among others, sliced and with a little dish of strawberry jam on the side.

Their coffee is tasty and refilled often, the latte bowls are ginormous, and the hot chocolate looks like an image from a childhood dream.

We were all very pleased with our meals (omelettes for Lauren and I, a Parisian croissant for Heather, and a spinach salad with hard boiled egg and crumbled bacon for Chau) ... I went with the classic choice, Omelette Figaro (pictured). It was a perfect combination of mushroom, brie and avocado. I had a seen a neighboring bruncher with it and almost didn't order because it looked a bit dry. The egg and mushrooms are cooked together, then folded around thick slices of brie and soft creamy generous slices of avocado. I am SO glad I got it. I ate every last bite. The inside ingredients easily blend with the egg/mushroom exterior.

One downside to the cute European-style sidewalk seating--a sensitive car (parked near our table) alarm (loud!) going off every time a fast car or bus would pass.

Figaro Bistrot is located at 1802 N. Vermont Ave. in Los Feliz

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Do it. Bundle up!

This weekend's expected to be quite cold, very cold for Los Angeles standards, and if you're like most Angelenos and only have one set of clothes (people in other parts of the country have "winter clothes" and "summer clothes") then here are a few tips on bundling up that I've learned from friends who've been in wilderness survival classes.

First, focus your layering on the central parts of your body, i.e. chest, torso region. Most of your blood goes here because things like organs are important. If you feel cold in your feet or hands, instead of adding another pair of socks or gloves, add a sweater or better a vest.

As my one friend put it: "Your body is smart. It knows it needs a heart more than it needs a hand." Basically, your body reallocates blood to the most vital areas when it is cold. So focus on your vital areas and you will be fine.

Also, wool repels water, so for your feet and hands or other areas that get wet often cover them in wool socks or mittens.

Stay warm!

--Lauren Williams

Do It. FLAVORS at The Echoplex.

I love the 90s. My little kid brain was just a sponge for pop-culture during those ten years. Ask me to describe the plot line of any En Vogue video or list every song on the Clueless soundtrack. I can do it. Easily. Any music that had even moderate mainstream success (I developed my love for 90s indie rock way after the fact) was on my radar and was/is pretty much my favorite thing.

However, there is a special place in my heart for mid-to-late 90s r&b and hip hop. Convincing my mom to buy me The Score even though it had a parental advisory sticker on it, learning all of Left Eye’s raps on the playground, dancing to Wu-Tang at the 6th grade dance—those are my best childhood memories. So it always excites me when a club boasts a 90s night. There was a great one in Boston (some bar that I forget the name of in JP), but most of them are kind of whack.

Tonight at the Echoplex is going to be different though, because DJ Spinna, J. ROCC, and DJ Scratch are spinning at an event dubbed FLAVORS. It’s going to be a Best of 1990s Hip Hop (The Golden Years) party and a you-were-only-10-when-these-were-hits-in-the-club-so-get-out-there-and-shake-it-now kind of night for me.

Starts at 9 p.m., $10 in advance and $15 at the door. As that kid Kevin in my 6th grade class would say, it’s going to be Ill, Dope, Phat.

The Echoplex is located at 1154 Glendale Blvd.

--Heather Robertson

Photo Credit: atheecho.com

Check It. TOMS Shoes [Gift Guide].

You've all heard the story: that cute surfer-looking dude who went on The Amazing Race with his sister started up this shoe company that gives to a child in need one pair of shoes for every pair bought. "One for One" says TOMS' motto.

Who could resist, right? Getting to be charitable without having to do much at all, except buy yourself something. Too good to be true. And it was, for a while. Because what their motto didn't say was, 'Wow, these shoes are pretty freaking ugly.'

I mean, look at this shoe. I'll just wrap my foot in a bandage, thanks.

I get it. Some people don't care about what their shoes look like, they're comfortable (go choke on a Croc), and it's supposed to be for charity, blah blah blah.

Okay, they're not that bad. But if I'm going to spend a hard-earned $50+ on charity/myself, I may as well look really good doing it. Plus, I’d want them to be more than just wrapped canvas.

TOMS heard my calling (it was like those “Windows 7 was my idea” commercials). It seems now that not only have they made that front foldover part a bit less awkward looking (and probably better fitting), but they added things like stitching. And grommets!

These "Cordones" pictured on the right are in the good ole trustworthy canvas, but TOMS is also offering them in wool and some flashy silver material.

It's all in the details, TOMS, and finally, you've got it. Now we can all join in on the charitable giving--perfect for the holidays--and not feel so darn unfashionable about it. Oh, and these come for $69/pair, but hey, it's the holidays, and it's for charity. Blah blah blah.

Now please, don't get me started on these:
-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: TOMS

Advance Notice. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at Echoplex.

Set your alarm clocks and cell phone reminder messages for Saturday morning! Grab a cup of coffee and get online by 10:00 a.m. to order tickets for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's March 14 show at Echo Park's Echoplex. It will sell out.

In October, their song "Done All Wrong" was released on the Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. Other bands with music in the super-popular film include Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear and Los Angeles' Sea Wolf.

The L.A.-based band (formerly from San Francisco) is named after Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in The Wild One (awesome).

BRMC's new album, "Beat the Devil's Tattoo", is due out March 9.

Order tickets at: www.ticketweb.com Saturday December 12, 10:00 a.m.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: spaceland.tv

Make It. A budget -- using cash?

Lauren Williams: Hey, Heather. So I read this article in the Atlantic Monthly about using cash to better budget your money (the whole "spend what you have" thing). My mom, who manages budgets for research projects, has always used cash herself to better balance her money. Have you heard the same thing? Have you ever tried using cash instead of card?

Heather Robertson: I tried this week, actually, in preparation for this post. It was hard and I had to cheat a couple times. I think for it to work, I'd have to really think about what purchases I need to make and take out a chunk of cash to last the week. That would help me monitor how I'm spending and keep me from going over budget. Removing the ability to make lots of impulse purchases would smart, but not be nearly as painful as looking at my bank account and trying to figure out where all my money went.

LW: I know that when I do have cash, I am more reluctant to spend. Watching it leave my hands is so different from swiping a card. It's harder for me to let go of money when I see a $20 bill turn into a few dollars and cents. Do you have the same experience?

HR: I definitely spent less this week. But this was mostly because I had no idea how much money I actually spend in a day and simply didn't have the cash (or a nearby bank to replenish) to make purchases. I took out $20 yesterday, thinking it would be enough for a day where I was at my desk job for 8 hours, but by 7pm that night I had to really consider how much a coffee at Starbucks costs--and how much it was worth to me--because I was down to spare change.

LW: One definite downside to having cash is the chance that you get robbed and someone winds up with all your cash. With a debit card, you can call the bank, and have your money protected. This one time I was biking to the work and someone took my satchel with all my life's possessions from my bike. All my cards were no problem to replace, and my balances stayed the same, but whatever cash I had was just gone.

Sometimes, if you are a homeowner, your home owner's insurance will cover a robbery, but if you're like me and what you have on you is less than the deductible, you're just out of luck.

That's really my only hesitation to having cash. That and the prospect of me losing it. Again, a lost card is easy enough to replace. Lost cash however, is just gone.

-- Lauren Williams & Heather Robertson

Do It. Ice skating in the city.

Why yes, ice skating does exist in this tundra of a city, and guess what? It's actually quite festive too. Get into the winter spirit by hitting these special and uniquely-L.A. skating spots:

Pershing Square in downtown, open now until Jan. 18, $6 + $2 for skate rental.
This probably goes without saying, but there's simply nothing like skating your freezing heart out right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. Surrounded by downtown landmarks like the Eastern Columbia building and the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, this rink is downright charming. It's a little on the small side, but there are free concerts on most nights (Wednesdays are sponsored by Spaceland, and Dramarama showed up last Thursday!). This weekend is the family-friendly Winter Holiday Special, complete with sledding.

Holiday on Ice at L.A. Live, open now until Dec. 31, $10 (includes skate rental).
You sure can't miss all the lights and madness known as L.A. Live if you're anywhere near downtown, so get right in the middle of the action by skating at this L.A. Kings-sponsored rink. While skating, you can bask in the neon brightness of the center's infamous holiday tree, and afterward, you can take a breather with a fancy dinner at Katsuya (you know, that one restaurant). Does it get any more "L.A." than that?

ICE at Santa Monica, open now until Jan. 31, $10 (includes skate rental).
Need to make all your ice-shoveling, non-Californian friends jealous? Tell them about that time you went ice skating right next to the beach. The rink is two blocks down from the 3rd Street Promenade, so you can basically smell that brisk salty air as you breeze down the ice. Oh, not so much of a breezer on the ice? ICE offers skating lessons for everyone and anyone on Sat. mornings. Then you can tell your friends how you went ice skating right next to the beach and how you were actually kind of good at it.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Pershing Square

Eat Out. Birds [Thirsty Thursdays!].

One of my favorite Eastside bars is Birds, where delicious bar food is de rigueur. Located on Franklin Avenue, near Los Feliz Village, Birds is a cute, small bar that always seems to be packed.

A picture of Alfred Hitchcock covered in crows from his 1963 classic, "The Birds," hangs on a wall. The decor is warm, with red checkered table clothes and brick walls. Toward the bathroom, there's an enormous cage, keeping with the bar's avian theme.

Birds occupies the same great little strip of Franklin as the Upright Citizen's Brigade, the Bourgeois Pig coffee shop and cafe, and The Daily Planet newsstand and gift shop, where some of the best cards in town are sold. Popular L.A. restaurants La Poubelle and Prizzi's Piazza are also on the block, as well as a large used bookstore for browsing the night away.

The selection of beer on tap is a bit lacking, I usually end up with their refreshing cider, and the appetizers are excellent (the mozzarella sticks are amazing).

Birds is located at 5925 Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Birds website

Check It. Modern Family.

This week's "Undeck the Halls" episode of ABC's new hit show "Modern Family" is sure to get you in the holiday spirit. Family webcam chatting with grandpa (Fred Willard) in ugly Christmas sweaters? Yes. If you're not already obsessed with the mid-week treat, tune in tonight to meet the cast, and discover what is sure to soon become a favorite.

Ed O'Neill (perhaps better known as Al Bundy) is better than ever as Jay Pritchett, the thread between each "modern family"--his own (he's re-married to a much younger Columbian beauty named Gloria, played by the hilarious Sofia Vergara), and those of his two children (Claire Dunphy played by Julie Powell and Mitchell Pritchett, played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Claire is married to my favorite character in the show, wannabe hip dad Phil Dunphy, played by Ty Burrell. He will make you LOL (he "surfs the web" and texts, so knows these abbreviations, like WTF--why the face?). Burrell has a familiar face from various small-ish roles, but he's making a name for himself here.

Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.tvguidemagazine.com