Sun, July 7 - Hop Li and lilies

10.13am - tea made from some fresh sage we picked in the Santa Monica mountains near Malibu yesterday, and from some horsetail from our last trip to Mexico, at home10.28am - kashi seven whole grains boiled w/ almond milk and coconut milk, w/ some honey and fresh blueberries, at home

13.27h - Chinese egg flower soup, at Hop Li, with Ritesh

13.34h - Chinese spinach, at Hop Li, with Ritesh

13.35h - Chinese spicy eggplant, at Hop Li, with Ritesh

13.38h - fish fillet w/ garlic and black bean sauce, at Hop Li, with Ritesh

13.57h - in my world, this is a decent fortune ...

16.51h - fresh squeezed OJ, at home, while doing laundry

20.28h - a ton of pistachios from the Kosher Market - can't stop eating these, so this was dinner. Note the lovely, lovely flowers I got from Ritesh - thanks, love! I am one lucky gal...

Sat, July 5 - Malibu

7.59am - lavender, rosemary and clove tea, with the fresh lavender and rosemary from Nadya's garden, at home9.45am - lemon and apple tart that was leftover from Jing's. Not doing so well on the dairy free today, but couldn't let this go to waste, could I?

12.33h - leftover Thai noodle salad, at home, with Ritesh

17.10h - Walker's prawn cocktail crisps! These are not so easy to come by around here, but we scored some at the British shop by Ye Olde King's Head pub in Santa Monica. With Ritesh.

17.50h - peanut M&M's and a banana = great combo. Driving to Malibu, with Ritesh.

18.10h - we went too far and had to turn around, hence the ocean now on our right. This is the Odwalla version of my blueberry-flaxseed smoothie. Berries GoMega they call it. Mine has more flaxseed and a lot less sugar is all I will say. With Ritesh, in Malibu.

18.45h - this is an unexpected find on the hike up Solstice Canyon in Malibu - the ruins of a house burned down in one of the many forest fires of the past few years. You can literally climb around what's left. Somewhat surreal atmosphere, had something of Pompeii, but also of Angkor Wat with all the overgrowth. And looking down on it from high above further up the trail, the layout of it kind of looked like Macchu Pichu. A little ways from the house, there's a waterfall with a natural pool. Would have taken a picture but there was a couple frolicking in the water. But will definitely bring my swimsuit next time...

19.08h - more surreal landscapes = burnt black trees and new vegetation growing around it. Picture doesn't do it justice. Very weird and slightly postapocalyptic.

19.12h - on top of the ridge, more burnt down hillsides, and the ocean in the distance

20.28h - half of a Mahi Mahi burger w/ pineapple slaw and crinkle fries, shared with Ritesh at Duke's Hawaiian bar/restaurant in Malibu

21.51h - a nice pot of camomile rose tea, at home, with Ritesh. Somehow, Ritesh manages to drink tea along with his whiskey...

22.20h - the rest of the lemon tart, shared with Ritesh during a rousing game of Canasta (which I won, for once...)

22.33h - Ritesh's dark Rapunzel chocolate - so bitter you need a handful of walnuts to get it down...

Fri, July 4 - Tailgating at the LA Galaxy game

10.11am - Ritesh's Indian beans w/ poppadum, at home, with Ritesh11.15am - fresh cantaloupe, at home, with Ritesh

11.58am - blueberry-flaxseed-aloe vera smoothie, at home

14.14h - Thai-style noodle salad w/ spicy peanut-coconut dressing, at home, with Ritesh, who's taken to calling this my signature salad. Ahem.

15.31h - cucmber-lime agua fresca, after this week's recipe in the LA Times, at home, with Ritesh

18.21h - Phinney's great white wine sangria, tailgating at the Home Depot Stadium before the LA Galaxy game against the New England Revolution, with Greg, Phinney and Ritesh. Greg has season tickets for the LA Galaxy, we just tagged along to see Beckham play...

18.26h - Golden Bird fried chicken, barbecue beans, coleslaw, greens, biscuits and tons of bubba sauce, all from a place called Porky's BBQ in Inglewood, outside the Home Depot Stadium

18.55h - Phinney brought watermelon for dessert! Thanks, guys!

19.30h - opening ceremony - see how small and intimate the Stadium is? I didn't expect to be this close to the field...

19.41h - Beckham doing his thing, and people going crazy. He didn't score until the second half, and I didn't catch his goal on camera. And the LA Galaxy lost 1:2. But who cares. The atmosphere was fabulous, and a great time was had all around... have more videos to post but they take forever to upload. Maybe I'll get to it later...

Thurs, July 3

9.11am - peppered-turkey sandwich from Subway, at work. Half for breakfast, half for lunch.12.24h - fresh grapes, at work

2.04h - fruit-nut bar, on the way to Sharon's. Love Andrew Weil's products, but why does he have to slap his Santa Claus-y portrait on everything? A little embarrassing if you ask me...

17.20h - Thai spaghetti, leftover from Ritesh's lunch, at home

18.10h - a perfectly ripe fresh cantaloupe from Whole Foods, shared with Ritesh

20.28h - pistachios, at home, with Ritesh

Wed, July 2 - at Jing's

7.57am - fresh squeezed OJ, blueberry-flaxseed-aloe vera smoothie, spicy hummus w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, whole grain tortilla chips, after bootcamp, at home12.27h - Riteh's Indian beans and rice w/ some fresh tomatoes, at work

14.33h - turmeric-hazelnut roll from Breadbar, fuji apple, outside work

15.37h - walnut-raisin roll from Breadbar, at work

16.03h - Mirabelle plums, at work

19.59h - mock salmon nori rolls, I think, from Leaf Cuisine, at Jing's, with Jing and Liz. These were delicious - will have to make it over to Leaf Cuisine for lunch one of these days...

20.04h - Japanese black sesame cookie, at Jing's

20.13h - fabulous Thai veggie spread from Thairama (?) in Torrance - eggplant, spicy veggie curry and pad thai. With Jing and Liz.

21.31h - dessert spread from Whole Foods: flourless chocolate cake, lemon tart, a raw vegan strawberry cheesecake (with fake cheese made from cashew nuts, amazing, if prone to melting a little at room temperature), and an apple tart. With Jing and Liz.

Tues, July 1

8.03am - oatmeal w/ strawberries and walnuts, boiled egg, Mate, after bootcamp, at home8.03am - and a close up of my new "Buddha bowl". Interesting little thing. This may sound silly and woo-woo but holding a bowl like that kind of does something to you, makes you more mindful, and grateful for what it is you're eating. Don't sneer until you've tried it.

10.31am - cherries and strawberries, at work

13.13h - a ginormous plate of Cuban ropa vieja, w/ black beans, rice, the best fried plantains, and some amazing garlic bread. No mindfulness here, this was pure gluttony. At Versailles Cuban Restaurant.

20.13h - more beans and rice - Ritesh's Indian rajma and salad, at home, with Ritesh

20.16h - fresh poppadum, and Nadya's peonies, slowly beginning to wilt (after about two weeks!)