Spicy Shrimp and Freak Outs

Hello again!  This will be the blog where I tell you about my scary experience that I had the second night in London.  However, I wanted to tell you about something special that we saw, that I forgot to mention in my last blog. When we visited the Tower of London we were also lucky enough to see a beautiful art installation of porcelain poppies surrounding the castle. This is not something that is always there and it was absolutely stunning.  It is a WWI tribute called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red and it takes its title from an unknown soldier’s poem.  There are 888,246 poppies, one for every death in the British forces in the first world war.  The installation encircles the Tower of London.  It was just breathtaking! 

Alright, so before I go into my scary experience in London, I have to give you some back story.  Around May of this year I started experiencing some anxiety.  There were several factors that contributed toward this anxiety, and at one point it felt very out of control.  My days would be fine, obviously I was teaching and had to keep it together.  But the anxiety would manifest at night.  I had trouble sleeping, or if I was able to sleep, I would wake up constantly with my brain spinning.  The anxiety progressed into panic attacks.  They were mild at first. where I just felt my heartbeat increase and had slight difficulty catching my breath.  At the end of May I had a horrible attack in the middle of the night where I truly thought I was going to die.  Because I was living at my parent’s house at the time, I woke up my mom and told her I was dying.  Before you jump to thinking that this sounds exaggerated and dramatic, I want to try and explain what a panic attack feels like.  It is as if someone flips a switch.  Suddenly this aura comes over your brain, it feels kind of fuzzy and you might feel a bit dizzy.  For me, it always felt like my heart was going to explode or give out.  There would be insane pressure in my chest and I would be gulping for breath.  It is absolutely terrifying and it is incredibly horrible to feel like you cannot control the situation.  That night my mom was able to talk me through it, and I came out of it within about an hour.  But it scared me enough to go to the doctor in the next couple of weeks.  I got a full physical and my heart was completely fine.  So was all of my blood work.  This put me at ease, but the doctor offered me meds for the anxiety.  I did not want this.  I would NEVER judge anyone for being on meds for anxiety or depression or anything else.  I think it is a very personal decision and extremely necessary for many people.  Thank goodness we have these medications for those who truly need it.  For me, however, I’ve had bad experiences with medications in the past and I simply refused to go on medication before at least trying to deal with this situation with natural remedies.   This is right around the time I started Plyojam.  I felt like daily exercise and meditation might help with the situation.  And it did!  Even with the anticipation of the massive life change of moving abroad, I did not have another panic attack the entire summer.  I just worked out daily, meditated, stretched, practiced breathing exercises and slept like a baby every night.  As I traveled to Europe, I thought the problem was behind me.  I did bring Xanax with me JUST IN CASE, but I was confident that I wouldn’t need it.

Skip forward to our second night in London.  As I mentioned in my last post, Erin did some amazing research and found some really cool places for us to eat and drink.  Hakkasan in London is this sort of edgy upscale restaurant serving Cantonese cuisine.  It has an almost night club feel as you walk up to the door to find a doorman and a woman with a clipboard.  After giving our name, we had to descend two flight of stairs down into the restaurant.  Nothing about going underground to the restaurant bothered me or made me feel claustrophobic   I was more caught up with looking at the decor of the restaurant and noticing what everyone else had on their plates. :)   The restaurant definitely has a glitzy and seductive feel.  Glamorous Eastern decor, dimly lit sexy ambience with a bit of a “who’s here?” feel.  We ordered drinks and a few dishes.  The first dish, a sesame shrimp toast, was incredible.  The second dish, a salt and pepper squid, was absolutely delicious.  It was after digging into the third dish when the trouble started.  It was another shrimp dish, described as spicy on the menu.  Now, I am a spice lover!  I love pouring tabasco on my eggs, cholula on my burritos and salads.  So I am not sure what happened here.  But I took one bite of that shrimp and my mouth was on fire.  And suddenly, that switch flipped in my brain.  It suddenly felt like the spice was going to close my throat.  I started gulping water, but the panic had been triggered and was starting to spin out of control.  You would think this would be something you can control.  You would think you could logically tell yourself that you are fine, that you are breathing, that it’s just a little spice, not a big deal.  Not the case.  Your body starts to shoot out adrenaline and the shakes kick in.  It is so terrifying.  This is where I have to give Erin so much credit.  I don’t think I had even talked to Erin about my panic attacks a few months prior, so she was completely caught off guard.  I looked at her wide eyed and said “I’m having a problem. I can’t breathe.”  You can imagine how scary this would be if your friend said this to you in the middle of dinner.  To be honest, I cannot remember what Erin said.  I know she remained very calm, which was a HUGE help.  I stayed seated for a minute or two and realized that if I didn’t move, it was very likely that I would go down in the middle of the restaurant.  Despite being in the throw of a panic attack, my brain was working enough to realize this would be humiliating. Even mid attack, I wanted to keep it classy.  Ha!  I quickly stood up and started grasping for my purse.  I remember yelling that I had to get out of there.  I grabbed my glass of water and went running.  I was like a damn olympian taking those stairs two at a time in four inch wedges!  I remember the hostess saying that I wasn’t allowed to bring the glass outside as I streaked by, and I simply responded “emergency.”  I made it to the top on wobbly legs, hit the fresh air gasping for breath.   My body was trembling and I just kept sipping the water.  WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!!??  I can only guess that the spice triggered this feeling like I couldn’t breathe.  And suddenly I was deep down in this basement crowded with people and I could not breathe.  It was horrible.  Erin followed me upstairs after taking care of the bill and was so comforting.  I was so grateful that she was with me.  It was so embarrassing, not to mention I completely ruined our fancy dinner, but Erin was very understanding.  I recovered within about thirty minutes as we walked back to our flat.  While I was of course embarrassed and frustrated for messing up our dinner, my bigger concern was why this was happening.  I still wonder.  I know that stress and anxiety can manifest in a variety of ways.  We use multiple coping mechanisms to deal with these stresses.  Exercising daily had become a big part of my remedy, and I had not been able to exercise as regularly while traveling.  Also, the big life change of traveling for a year may have been sitting on the surface ready to rear its head.  I don’t have it perfectly figured out.  I would imagine this is something I may have to deal with again.  This is a really personal thing to share, but I wanted to share it because I know I am not the only one dealing with something like this.  Many people suffer from panic attacks and it is nothing to be ashamed of.  There are ways to deal with it and many techniques that can help the situation.  

Our dinner at Hakkassan may have not turned out exactly as we had planned, but it was certainly an experience we both won’t forget.  And of course, we stopped for dessert on the way home, so the night was not completely ruined!  Haha!  For me, it just confirmed my ability to trust Erin and know that she will be calm and take care of me in an emergency situation, as I would for her.  It was a really scary experience.  As I am writing this post a month later, I can happily say I have not had a similar situation.  For that I am so thankful.

I promise my next post will be happy happy!  But I had to share this experience…it’s not real if it’s all unicorns and rainbows right?

Travel Tip #5 - Skip the spicy shrimp.  Ha!  

Leaping Around London - Day #1

How is time flying so fast?  It is now September 30 and I landed in London on August 30!  I can't believe I am now a month behind on this blog.  This week I am going to do everything in my power to catch up!  Ok, so we left off with me saying farewell to the Irish, and bonjour to the British!  The flight from Dublin to London was very short and I was so excited to meet up with Erin.  As soon as I landed and retrieved my luggage, I spoke to an airport employee and asked for directions to the terminal for international flights.  His reply was that it depended on the airline.  Crickets….  Um, Erin and I had never swapped info about the airline and flight number that she was on.  What were we thinking!?!  Oh my gosh. All I knew was the time she was supposed to arrive…which in airline language means just about nothing.  Whoops!  Heathrow is huge and I really wasn't sure what airline Erin was on.  I had British Airways at the forefront of my mind, but Air France was also rolling around my noggin.  I went with my initial thought, British Airways, took the tram to that terminal, and was thankfully correct!  What a joy it was to see Erin come out of the terminal!  To be in London with one of your best friends and getting to travel together for two whole weeks in Europe!  Happy dance!!  We had done some research and learned that Uber is also in London, so we requested an Uber to pick us up and shortly we were on our way to our London flat in SOHO!  For those that don’t know, Uber is a car service that you can request via your smart phone.  You just need to download the app onto your phone, enter your credit card information and then when you request rides, you don’t have to worry about an exchange of money!  Everything is charged directly to your credit card!  It is the best system and we ended up using Uber in London and Paris.  

As we drove toward Soho, I saw my first red double decker bus and felt like I was in a movie or something!  The Georgian building designs were gorgeous and we were just so excited to be there! 

Unfortunately, our elation was set back a bit when we arrived to our flat to find what I’d pretty much call a dump.  I mean, it wasn’t horrendous and it wasn’t dirty, but we definitely did not feel it was worthy of what we had paid.  I am a huge proponent of Air BnB and usually rave about this website and company, but I was so disappointed with the flat.  The WiFi was totally spotty and really only worked in one room (we were counting on this to figure out plans, routes, do research, etc), the bathroom was TINY, the second bedroom was more like a closet, and worst of all, the bed in the second bedroom tilted a good thirty degrees.  I mean, it was truly unsleepable.  Furthermore, we were in the very heart of SOHO and it was SOOOO loud at night, it was very difficult to sleep.  I wouldn’t consider myself or Erin old fuddy duddies when it comes to noise or sleep…but this was rough.  Oh, and to exit the building we had to pass heaps of stinky garbage bags from the restaurant below our flat.  When we contacted the host of the apartment, her suggestions were to use earplugs, put a book under one of the leg posts to help with the tilt, or sleep on a thin twin sized mattress in the living room.  Really?  We responded with the suggestion that she give us a 20% refund.  Ha!  Luckily she did not fight us on this suggestion, considering we payed extra to have a two bedroom apartment and it really did not meet those expectations.  Anyway, enough about the crappy apartment.  By the second day we would make a game of it and place bets on how many bags of trash we'd have to hop over to exit the building.  It didn’t get in our way and we truly enjoyed London.  

Erin did a great job of researching some places for us to go.  Our first night we went to dinner at The Wolseley.  

The Wolseley is a gorgeous restaurant located on one of London’s most famous boulevards, Piccadilly.  It was originally opened in 1921 as a prestigious car showroom.  The architect who was commissioned to design the building drew on Venetian and Florentine influences and the interior is truly magnificent.  The building boasts grand arches, towering pillars and elegant stairways and the upscale cars sat upon the shiny, checkered tile flooring.  The Wolseley Car Company did not last long, and in 1926 Barclays Bank acquired the building, opening a branch in 1927.  It remained a bank for many years.  In 2003, the site was purchased, renovated and restored and what is now The Wolselely restaurant opened in November of that year.  It has an absolutely stunning interior and I would definitely recommend a nice dinner here.  

It is also a good location for tea or brunch, but we had the most amazing dinner including seared scallops, beetroot and goats’  cheese salad, and a heavenly dessert of pistachio, hazelnut and almond nougat ice creams, whipped cream, and butterscotch sauce.  All of this was washed down with several dirty martinis and a whole lot of laughter.  It was a perfect first dinner in London and we were full and happy!  

On our way back to our flat, we had the pleasure of seeing portable urinals set up on the sidewalks.  Soho is a predominantly gay neighborhood, so the bars and clubs had gorgeous men spilling into the streets in every direction.  I can sort of understand the need for extra urinals, but my goodness!  It came as a shock to us as we came around the corner from our elegant dinner at The Wolseley to see Joe Shmoe dropping trow in the middle of the street.  Shocking, but hilarious.  Picture worthy….  ;)

The next day we planned on hitting several touristy spots.  We woke up early, grabbed coffee and were on the go!  More to come in my next post!  xo

Flamenco Show at El Cid

My favorite gift to give to a friend or family member is something we can DO together.  Yes, purses and earrings are lovely, but memories of an experience are simply enchanting.  In the last several years I've tried to step up my planning game for my mom's birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, etc.  It's been wonderful…we've gone to many fabulous plays, musicals, concerts, tea on the Queen Mary, museums, exhibits, excellent restaurants, etc.  For her birthday a couple of months ago I was scouring L.A. Weekly and every other entertainment guide I could get my paws on and I just didn't see a play or musical that looked interesting.  I was starting to fear I'd have to resort to the old "lunch and a movie" routine (which of course she would love) when I remembered something I had seen during my month in Los Feliz.  There is a restaurant in Silverlake called El Cid that features live Flamenco shows.  I checked out the website (check it out here!) and looked into the shows.  The prices were great, $15 per person, and they had a variety of times available.  I opted for the Sunday show that started at 5:30 p.m.  We arrived a bit early to have cocktails and tapas on the patio before the show.  I love the set up of the restaurant.  Upon entering, you have to descend several uneven brick stair cases, which lends to the feeling of being lost in another world.  My mom and I felt it was charming and tranquil and we felt swept up in the whimsy of the occasion.  The tapas menu was fun…we ordered crispy brussels sprouts that were flash fried and dressed in a lemon vinaigrette and topped with sliced Spanish almonds.  We snacked on artichoke and boursin cheese beignets, mini spicy shrimp po' boys, and topped it off with crisp white wine from the Rioja region of Spain.  After enjoying our delicious tapas we headed in for the show, which was equally delightful.  If you have not yet seen a Flamenco show, go.  Now.  Flamenco is a dance performed with unparalleled passion and intensity.  It tells a story, and typically the musicians are also phenomenal.  We loved out experience and I would highly recommend adding El Cid to your "To Do" list.  We all have one of those in the note sections of our phones, right??  

xx

All Hail the Croughnut

For the past year or so the word “croughnut” has been resounding in my brain.  When I first read of this miraculous anomaly I felt my taste buds go into overdrive.  The idea behind the croughnut is an exquisite blend of doughnut and croissant.  It holds true to the size and shape and sweetness of a doughnut, but infuses the buttery, flaky, fluffy goodness of a croissant.  Heavenly, right?  The problem with these angelic pastries was that they were only being created in New York?  Ex-SQUEEZE me?  I would continuously ask people, “WHEN is the croughnut coming to L.A. ? I mean something that comes from the heavens should reside in the city of angels, am I right?”  But no one could answer this question and my heart remained heavy.  For a year I have been continually teased and tempted and mocked by food diaries, blogs, articles and even tweets about the almighty croughnut. Until today.  Today I logged onto twitter and saw the words I’ve been anxiously awaiting.  Croughnut comes to Los Angeles!  What’s that I hear?  Angels singing??  To make the situation even more beautiful, the shop that is selling croughnuts is exactly 1.8 miles from the humble Los Feliz studio in which I’m currently dwelling.  I immediately hopped in my car and high tailed it to Kettle Glazed Doughnuts at 6211 Franklin Avenue.  My heart was literally racing as I was speeding along Franklin.  For a moment I thought that perhaps I should reassess just HOW excited I was about this croughnut.  Maybe it was a bit excessive.  But the truth is, there aren’t many things we have to wait for anymore.  We live in a time where we can get almost anything we want on the ready.  We can google something if we don’t know it, we can buy something on credit if we don’t have the cash, and we have access to transportation to take us just about anywhere.  We don’t get the gut wrenching pleasure and thrill of anticipation all that often anymore.  So I think the thrill of awaiting the croughnut for an entire year made the ability to go get one that much sweeter.  Plus, I knew it was going to be good.  How good?  Boy was I in for a shock.

Kettle Glazed is in a modest strip mall on Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles.  They have only been open for three days and the shop had a crisp clean feel upon entering.  A friendly employee welcomed me and I proceeded to quickly scan the gorgeous pastries looking for my precious croughnut. I ordered two, along with an iced coffee.  They sell Coffee Bean coffee, along with an assortment of other beverages.  I paid for my fare ($3.75 per croughnut), snapped a few pictures and left quickly.  The anticipation was starting to make me drool.  I’m just going to warn you now...what I’m about to tell you next isn’t pretty.  I jumped back into my car and tore into that first croughnut as though I was seeing a morsel of food for the first time after a sixty day fast.  Did I care that the man from the liquor store was staring at me through the window, mouth ajar?  Did I care that crumbs were falling all over my freshly washed car?  Nope.  Not even a little.  The supple sugary party that was commencing in my mouth took me to a place beyond reason.  Nirvana was dancing on my tongue.  The thing I usually don’t like about doughnuts is that they are too sweet and dense and leave me feeling sick.  But the croughnut, oh the croughnut.  It was the most perfect blend of sweet, flaky, airy awesomeness and it far exceeded my expectations.  It was genuinely amazing.  To have waited to try something for a year, and then have it exceed my expectations....well, I think I just might be smiling for the next year! I guess some things truly are worth the wait. If you are even remotely local, get yourself to Kettle Glazed Doughnuts, buy a croughnut or three, hop in your car, abandon all sense of propriety and enjoy!

Blue Table Gourmet Deli and Market

The other day I was desperately craving a deli sandwich.  I also wanted to go somewhere local where I could sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous Southern California day.  The sun was shining and I was hungry!  I decided to try Blue Table in Agoura Hills, as I have passed by it several times and have been wanting to give it a try.  Blue Table is located in the Whizin's shopping center, right next to the Canyon Club.  

  

The restaurant is actually a deli and market combined and presents a quaint European cafe style atmosphere.  The cafe offers small tables for two and longer communal tables inside, as well as sidewalk seating for those of us who love to eat with the sun on our face. It is a perfect place to dine alone or with a group of three or four people.  It may be difficult to find seating with a larger group.  The shop portion of Blue Table offers gourmet pastas, sauces, dressing and preserves.  I can see these coming together to make a fine gift basket or a special dinner at home.  The menu at Blue Table is written on a large chalkboard and boasts delicious sandwiches, paninis, pizzas, salads, soups and several tantalizing desserts that look freshly baked.  Blue Table also offers hot daily specials such as pastas and quiches.  On the day I visited, the special was Mac 'n Cheese, which was very tempting!  

Alas, I stuck with a sandwich which is what I was craving.  I ordered a tuna salad sandwich on a baguette and it was just what I was in the mood for.  Fresh, light and tasty.  Unfortunately, I only remembered to take a picture after I had eaten half.  (Did I mention I was hungry?) :)  As you can see, the portions are generous. 

To accompany my sandwich I added chips and an old fashioned orange cream soda, which hit the spot on such a warm, beautiful day!  My total came to $14, which is a bit more than you would pay for a sandwich, chips and a beverage at a chain restaurant such as Subway or Jersey Mike's.  However, the taste, ambiance, and sidewalk seating providing a view of the gorgeous hills of Agoura made the extra dollars worth it!

Overall, I had a lovely experience at Blue Table.  As someone who is forever on a quest to find delicious and unique non-chain dining spots, I was pleased with Blue Table's atmosphere, menu and flavor.  I also love that this is a perfect pit stop coming or going down to Zuma Beach.  I will definitely be going back soon to try another delicious sandwich.  Thanks Blue Table!

Owen Plant and Four Brix

I was first introduced to the unique sounds of California musician Owen Plant last summer when I attended a "Concerts in the Cellar" event at Four Brix Winery in Ventura.  I didn't know what to expect, but I am always up for live music and discovering new talent.   Plus, there was wine.  Need I say more?  :)  While the wine was delicious and the setting lovely, exposing my ears to the sounds of Owen Plant's art was the true highlight of the evening.  From the moment this artist sang his first note, I was hooked.  It's amazing how just one man and his guitar can fill your senses.  Owen's music is reminiscent of James Taylor-esque folk blended with a subtle Jamaican sound.  His strong vocals are so rich and pleasant that I wanted to listen forever.  Every track seeped into my soul, some of my favorites including Sink or Swim and Sweet Girl.   While some folks may not include reggae at the top of their list of musical favorites, the reggae influence in Plant's music was illusive enough not to overwhelm.  I am convinced his sound will appeal to everyone.  Owen Plant put on a fantastic show at Four Brix Winery last summer, but to make sure I wasn't just intoxicated by the balmy summer evening and flowing wine, I recently caught another show, this time in the cold winter months.  The result was the same, my musical soul was still warmed by the sounds of this talented artist.  I look forward to following Owen Plant's path and catching more performances in the future. I hope you will add him to your list as a must-see local artist.  Join his mailing list to learn about upcoming gigs. Join Mailing List For my friends outside of California, you can preview and download his music here. Preview and Purchase Music

A little more about the winery.  Four Brix is a unique winery and tasting room, nestled in an industrial section of Ventura. Once you step inside the building, you will find a warm and inviting spot for wine lovers.  They have many wonderful wines to taste, my personal favorite being Zeductive, a beautiful blend of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah.  Other uniquely named wines include Smitten (a Viognier from Santa Ynez), Temptress (a Spanish Rioja style blend of Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and Grenache), and Rhondezvous (a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah). Sexy names for mouth watering wines.  What I especially like about Four Brix is that you get the genuine feeling that the owners love making wine, and even more so, love having you there to hang out and drink it with them!  Four Brix hosts various fun events throughout the year, pairing their love of wine with fantastic food and music. You can join the Four Brix mailing list to learn about exciting year round events. Four Brix Winery

The Penthouse at The Huntley

Ok, so I'm not going to lie.  I'm slightly obsessed with a little A Capella group called Pentatonix.

This group won the Sing Off a season or so ago.  (Check out YouTube for a sample of their glorious voices.  I recommend their cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know,"). My friend Darin introduced me to their eargasm inducing sounds last summer (thank you Darin, love you forever!), and since then I've been floating around in A Capella heaven. I've been to one concert already, and I have another coming up in a couple of weeks.  I'll be sure to blog about it!  Anyway, being the hip trendy 34 year old that I am (insert sarcastic lol), I religiously follow the members of Pentatonix on the good ol' Twitter to stay apprised of their performance schedule, musical advice, and, of course, daily eating habits.  You can imagine my utter glee when I was out in Santa Monica with my friend last Friday night and saw on my Twitter feed that a few of the Pentatonix clan were around the corner having drinks at The Penthouse.  The Penthouse is a luxury restaurant and bar atop the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.  So, we decided to fangirl it up and hightail it over there to see if we could catch a glimpse of these adorable singers that house the most angelic voices in the world. I love spontaneity and adventures!

The Huntley Hotel is a tall tower on 2nd Street that offers chic accommodations and a top floor restaurant and bar with panoramic views of the city on the East, and gorgeous visions of the Pacific Ocean on the West.  Upon entering the hotel, you will take the elevator to the top floor.  The doors will slide open to a barrage of creamy white leather furniture, a gleaming white marble bar, picturesque chandeliers and candle light everywhere.  A D.J. is spinning tunes, and well dressed Angelinos sipping cocktails can be seen hobnobbing throughout the bar. 



The sad news about this night is that we never spotted the lovely members of Pentatonix.  By the time we arrived at The Penthouse and landed two highly sought after chairs at that heavenly white bar, the musicians with the angelic voices were already at another bar around the corner (according to the trusty Twitter feed).  Stalker mission failed...it's hard to keep up with twenty year olds.  The good news is that we had a lovely time sitting at that bar, sipping champagne, and people watching.  The Penthouse is definitely a place to see and be seen, while many a Westsider is heard guffawing over their latest script being sold.  But truthfully, it isn't so over the top that a single gal from the suburbs felt out of place. Just don't forget your leather collarless jacket.  It is Los Angeles after all.