Resolution Check-In!

We finally got some rain in LA this past week and rain makes me want to relax on the couch and watch old black and white movies with take-out and a bottle of wine.  Alas, I've got work later tonight at The Garage and I'm hoping people will want to come out and have some beer and tasty food to get out of the house during this dreary week!

Salted Caramel Goodness...

Since it's the last day in February I figured it was the perfect time to check in on my 2014 Resolutions.  I've certainly tried new Happy Hour and Restaurants in the past two months, trying Buffalo (in burger form) for the first time in January along with FIVE new restaurants during Dine LA week.  All my Dine LA restaurants have blogs dedicated to them in addition to instagram pictures.  This month I've had Happy Hour at Akasha and Dinner at Sage, a new Vegan restaurant in Culver City.  At Akasha I had a mushroom flatbread which was so good but very light so I had plenty of room for the bourbon salted caramel chocolate cake with ice cream.  Since it was Happy Hour I had to try their Citrus Germain which was vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon bitters and agave.  It was really refreshing!  At Sage I had a mushroom and leek burger with sliced mango and a saffron aioli which was delicious and perfectly spicy in addition to amazing chocolate espresso vegan ice cream.

As for trying new things and going out of town more often, I went to Pomona for the Drag Racing Winternationals, which was also a great Hosting day since I filmed clips for another Hosting Reel I'm currently working on.  I spent a few days in Phoenix for a friend's wedding and got to enjoy beautiful 80 degree days with good people, hiking mountains, and lots of wedding fun.  I saw another Troubadour show in January as well as my first ever Three Doors Down concert which was incredible!  I've even tried some new recipes that I'm just perfecting before I post them :)

Afterbuzz TV Headshot

Advancing my career in new ways was creating this new Hosting Reel after being in Pomona for the Drag Races and also having my first meeting with my Agent to set up a plan for what we want to target in the next few months.  I'm gaining more experience at Afterbuzz TV and have had some incredible meetings with new ideas and have already set them in motion.  Getting my ideas up and running is making sure I've got my content available for people to see.  I blogged and instagramed all my Dine LA experiences because I love food and I'd love to be able to go out to restaurants and try new dishes and talk about it and I'm getting great feedback on it as well!

I'm pretty happy with how 2014 has started and thanks to the Happiness Challenge I did in January I'm continuing with the positive and getting rid of the negative.  Make sure you're surrounding yourself with people who make you feel happy and better about yourself and the future.  There's no use in keeping people in your life who make you question yourself or doubting your inner happiness.  Rock on 2014!

To follow me on Instagram check out: http://instagram.com/lyndseywegner#

Featured on 'The Daily Server'

A couple weeks ago Robert liked one of my photos on Instagram and I looked at his page to see it was called, 'The Daily Server.'  Each day Robert posts from various restaurants throughout Los Angeles to New York, Nashville, and even Buenos Aires and profiles a different server or bartender.  I commented on one of his photos saying it was awesome that he was doing this because it's not every day that we have someone appreciate our hard-work and here he was sharing our work ethic to the Instagram world.

We went back and forth and he said he'd come by The Garage at some point.  I wasn't sure whether he really would or not but sure enough on a Monday evening in late January, Robert and some friends came to check out the bar.  They loved our generous selection of beers and Happy Hour menu.

Featured on The Daily Server's Instagram Page

So thank you Robert, for coming in and checking out the bar!  I hope you'll be back soon :)

*Find Robert's tribute to amazing service here: The Daily Server on Instagram

Karaoke Madness!

It's been over a week since I last blogged and I've been pretty busy with work, travel and other fun stuff like celebrating National Wine Day on Tuesday after Hosting at Afterbuzz.  I'm really behind on my Karaoke posts so today is the catch up for that!

Two weeks ago it was a slower night so I opened with 'Gold Dust Woman' by Fleetwood Mac and then did my new song of the night right away singing 'Missing You' by John Waite.  My Mom and I always loved that song so it was a fun one to sing.  It had been a while since I sang Aaliyah so I did 'Are You That Somebody' and then 'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks.  Carolyn and friends were in so we ended up doing a little Disney super-set so I did another new song from one of my favorite Disney movies, Cinderella, 'So This Is Love.'  McCracken and I closed out the night with a couple duets from Rent, singing 'Another Day' and 'Light My Candle.'

Last week was another quiet night, I'm sure with preparations for Valentine's Day and people taking the week off to get ready for that lovely day.  I had forgotten I had sang 'Gold Dust Woman' to open the previous week but did it again, and I think it would be fun to record an acoustic version of it.  There was some jazz songs being sung so I did Ella Fitzgerald's version of 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore.'  We all switched it up for some country so I did 'Here For The Party' by Gretchen Wilson, and can't remember the last time I sang that!  Next up was 'Love Is A Battlefield,' by Pat Benatar and my new song of the night, 'Ain't No Other Man' by Christina Aguilera.  I played with a key change and it made the song sound almost unrecognizable (it could have been because there was only one version of the song) so it was really difficult.  It's still a good challenge to try something new but that song is already daunting so it'll be a long time before I try that one again.  It was a night of adding new songs to my History folder so I also did 'Mercy' by Duffy which used to be one of my go-to's and such a fun song to sing.  I had heard Adam Lambert earlier that afternoon so I did 'Whattaya Want From Me' and then closed the night with Adele's, 'To Make You Feel My Love.'  It ended up being a good night for Karaoke!

Rahsa, me, and Lon at Gabe's!

This week's Karaoke was all about the Powerhouse, as I set a little theme for myself because I think it's time for a once a month theme at Karaoke.  So I started with the teeny tiny Pat Benatar, doing 'We Belong.'  It's probably been a year sing I sang Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know' and it was a fun song to sing; I had to mention that even though I was singing an angry song I was having a great day :)  Another song I hadn't sang in a while was 'Love Song' by Sara Bareilles a challenging song but went well once I got into it.  Following the lines of the same title, I did a version of 'Lovesong' that Adele did but I don't even think I've ever heard it so in American Idol style I made it my own.  I really enjoyed doing that song!  Challenging myself again I did 'Call Me When You're Sober' by Evanescence, that girl has such a big voice and so much power behind it, it's hard to keep up with her.  I swapped it back to some of my favorites with The Supreme's 'Baby Love' and then closed out with 'Part Of Your World' from The Little Mermaid since we had a musical theme going.  That song is right in my range, I had just DVR'd the movie the week before and watched it, and it always brings back memories :)  

One of my good friends, Lon, also stopped by Karaoke last night with one of his friends so it was great to see him as I've known him for nearly 7 years.  It's crazy how the time flies!  Until next time...

Drag Racing Winternationals in Pomona!

Last Tuesday I had a meeting with Matt D'Andria at the CarCast Studios in Glendale.  CarCast features hot rods, muscle cars, and anything automobile-related with expertise as well as humor considering it's hosted by Adam Carolla and Matt.  Thanks to Keven Undergaro and Phil Svitek at Afterbuzz TV for putting the wheels in motion :)

Not only did I get a tour of the studio that day and saw some incredible cars (including some of Paul Newman's old cars since they're working on a documentary) but Alexis DeJoria was the guest on their show that afternoon.  Her Assistant, Allison, and I chatted about LA, racing, and cars while we waited and she invited me to the drag races in Pomona this past weekend and I said I would love to go!

Alexis was racing in the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car category and is the daughter of John Paul Mitchell, (of the famed hair products) who is also the owner of Tequila Patron, that sponsors her car.  She made history on Saturday as the first woman to make a pass under 4 seconds in a funny car, which is one of the elite classes.  She hit a speed of over 318 miles per hour!  Unfortunately I wasn't there to see that as I went on Sunday because I wanted to see the final rounds and find out who would take the win for the opening races of the 2014 season.

Alexis and I at the 2014 Winternationals in Pomona!

I've gone with my Dad drag racing a few times and he drives a Blown Alcohol 1931 Roadster with a 1957 Hemi-Engine.  He built the entire car from the bottom up on his own so it's customized and hits a top speed of over 170 miles per hour.  He won the Hunnert Car Heads Up in 2013.  This was a little bit different with cars hitting over 320 miles per hour.  Your whole body shakes as the car goes by and since I stood up against the fence, I was right in the action.

Thumb's Up for John Force's win!

I got to see the Force girls race as well as legendary John Force but I was Team Alexis since we were invited by her and her team.  Neil offered his help by filming me doing some Hosting spots as well as getting some action shots right down by the track.  We even got to hang out in the Patron Hospitality tent and have Lunch as well as cocktails and meet some fun people.  She was one of the last cars to go in her category as she was coming in third and as she was up against Gary Densham she pulled out faster but after 100 feet her tires started smoking and he took the win.  She was knocked out in the first round on Sunday and definitely bummed when I saw her later in the tent.  I'm still really glad I got a chance to talk to her and thank her for having us.

On top of walking around and looking at all the exhibits, cars, and snack stops I had to support Alexis and get a purple t-shirt from booth her as well as a John Force t-shirt just in case I would run into him so I could get an autograph for my Dad.  John had a busy day from the beginning and ended up winning the whole thing for his 7th time in Pomona.  I actually got a lot of great video footage throughout the day thanks to Neil and I hope to put together a fun little video/reel from my first major drag race.  

Thankfully there was a really nice and healthy lunch at the Patron tent so the smell of hot dogs, pizza, and fried food was curbed by the yummy spicy pasta and chicken marsala.  And we were able to drink Tequila all day and enjoy it with the fun cocktails they had come up with!  The season starts and ends in Pomona which is pretty cool since it's less than an hour away and I'm already looking at where the upcoming races are and when I could go and see more.  Let's hope one of the next times my Dad will be able to come with me!

Special thanks to Neil for coming with me and dragging a camera around with him all day so I could put together a reel from this event!!

*To see other photos from Winternationals, Dine LA, and everything else check out and follow me on Instagram at http://instagram.com/lyndseywegner#

Superbowl Sunday!

All that preparation before the season even starts, then 14 weeks of intense regular-season football, play-off games, finally pays off when it's Superbowl time.  Although the Superbowl game this year wasn't all that exciting with a 43-8 score, Seahawks taking the win, it was a fun celebration with friends!

Kristina had a Superbowl Party this year at her place in Venice and she had all sorts of goodies and snacks, wings and beer, and even Skittles for Marshawn Lynch.  I decided to bring a Bloody Mary bar for anyone that was interested in having one of my specialty's as well as making Crock-Pot Lava Cake for the first time ever.  I used the Betty Crocker and Taste of Home websites as inspiration, starting with Devil's Food Cake Mix, Chocolate Pudding, Milk Chocolate Chips, and Mini-Marshmallows to make the tasty goodness.  I set it right before the Superbowl started and then let it go until after Half-Time and then everyone got to enjoy this perfect dessert!  It turned out awesome but pictures didn't even do it justice.

The game was rough to watch, thankfully I had a Bloody Mary on hand and it had all the fixin's like Horseradish, Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives, Celery, and my secret ingredients.  I never thought the Seahawks would pull out a win like that after the season the Bronco's had but my Wisconsin QB prevailed.  I wasn't rooting for one team either way, and aside from hoping that Wes Welker (my Fantasy Football WR for three years) would have a great game, I just wanted a good game in general.

Guarding Dessert till Half-Time :)

I did love the Half-time show but I'm a Bruno Mars fan and I loved his style of music.  It appealed to different age groups and audiences across the board.  I loved the dancing, all the musicians on-stage and Bruno sounded great!  It was cool that he had Red Hot Chili Peppers join him and that gave his performance more of a rock feel.  He's definitely been my favorite Half-time show over the past few years.  My only dislike about the show was that it wasn't long enough!

After the game we went down the street to Casablanca for celebratory Margarita's on Derrick since his team won for the first time in Franchise history on their second appearance.  Then we went back to Kristina's for a round of board games before everyone headed home after a long day of fun!  The Party was a success with lots of friends showing up to hang out and enjoy Football, as well as eat some yummy food.  I'm already planning my next Crock-Pot Lava Cake dessert ;)

*In case you're dying to try the Lava Cake recipe, which you should be because it was so amazing, check out the two links below :)

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chocolate-lava-cake

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chocolate-lava-cake/4f08a6d7-da83-4aff-b2ee-611d19024f04

Tapenade for Dine LA

I hit up another Dine LA spot on Friday, taking myself on a little Lunch date.  This time I checked out Tapenade which is located on Olympic & Sawtelle.  It was also a new restaurant and had a four course meal for $20!

My Appetizers...

Tapenade just opened a little over a year ago and serves Lunch and Dinner.  They also have a nice Happy Hour that serves full-size appetizers at half price in addition to a bunch of other great specials.  Apparently, their portions were so big for the first week of Dine LA that they changed their menu up a little.  I had picked that specific restaurant because of the menu and assured the Bartender/Manager that I would finish my meal and not throw anything away even saying to give me a smaller portion of the first appetizer.  He finally agreed but it took lots of prodding.

My meal started with the Italian-style Brussel Sprouts that had currants, pine nuts, Parmesan and vinegar.  It's a close tie with the Goat Cheese Brussel Sprouts at Freddy Smalls, because those are my favorite and these were just as good but just different.  I'll definitely go back in and try those again or the other Thai-style with mango and chili's.  Next up I did the Goat Cheese Tapenade that was served with Rosemary Bread.  I loved the goat cheese but I thought the olive tapenade was a little over-powering.  I had no problem finishing the sprouts but started to slow down after three pieces of bread and my entree hadn't even arrived!

Mushroom Fettuccine with Parmesan

I was actually chatting about food and dinner parties with a nice woman sitting just a couple bar-stools down from me and her daughter was involved in theater and music so it was nice to share insight and advice when she met up with her Mom right after my entree arrived.  I ordered the Mushroom Fettucine with chives and Parmesan.  Luckily, there wasn't a cream sauce or I think I would have fallen off my stool!  It was delicious and I loved the mushrooms but I was filling up quickly so I had them box the rest of my Lunch (only a third of my entree and one piece of the rosemary bread) so I could get to dessert.  The dessert I chose was a Chocolate Nutella Pot de Creme with a coffee cream and berries.  It was so yummy but I was so full.  I needed to finish though because I wanted to show the guy I could finish the meal but unfortunately, his shift ended early and I didn't get to prove my huge appetite.  Ah well.  So I didn't waste anything :)

Nutella Pot de Creme

Tapenade did a great job giving a wide variety of choices and providing me with a nice hearty meal.  I actually can't wait to go back and explore more of their menu.  Who's in?!

A Wednesday of Dine LA and Karaoke

It was the final week of Dine LA last week and I wanted to finish strong with at least one more Lunch and Dinner.  On Wednesday night it was Dinner at Duke's in Malibu and my first time to the restaurant, so something new for me!

I know that Duke's does Brunch on the weekends and also has a great Happy Hour so I was really looking forward to checking out the menu and trying some cocktails.  Because it was Wednesday, they had half off wine and no corkage fee so hooray for bringing a bottle in!  We decided to start with cocktails, one Basil Strawberry Cooler and a Jalapeno Margarita, both of which were delicious and refreshing.  I could have tried a bunch of others and will come back when they've got some Happy Hour deals.  For appetizers we started with Calamari that came with a Lemon Remoulade and Guava Cocktail Sauce as well as the Crab Macnut Wontons that had a Plum Sauce.  The Calamari was perfectly crispy and I loved all the sauces to dip it in but I thought the Wontons were just a little fishy but I'm super sensitive to that.

After opening the wine (Coppola is a wine you can always count on) and getting our entree's I was so excited to dig into my meal and I hadn't even taken a before picture.  I ordered a Filet with a dijon rub, creamed corn, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes.  Everything was so incredible!  The other option we went with was the Mahi Mahi with avocado, grapefruit, a ginger vinaigrette, and jasmine rice.  It was light and I loved the grapefruit and ginger flavors.  Finally, it was time for dessert and a huge piece of Hula Pie, that was macadamia nut ice cream, Oreo cookie crust, hot fudge and whipped cream, in addition to a couple scoops of chocolate ice cream.  It was certainly plenty of food!

Finally had a reason to wear my green pumps!  Wine, cocktails, and amazing Dine LA at Duke's in Malibu :)

One might ask how I can eat that much food and then go dance around and host Karaoke but I just have to thank my Jacoby blood for my love of food, and copious amounts of it.  It was actually a busy night and people got into the 90's theme that was started and I had opened with "Don't Speak" by No Doubt.  I know that 'Ballroom Blitz' by Sweet isn't a 90's song but Wayne's World is a 90's movie and I was channeling Tia Carrere when I was singing it.  What a fun song to sing, and on top of it being my new song, the crowd loved it.  Next up, I slowed it down for a little bit with Jewel's "Foolish Games" and Roxette's "Listen To Your Heart."  It was duet time for "Another Day" from Rent and "Like We Never Loved at All" by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.  It wouldn't have been a 90's night without a little Britney Spears so I had everyone sing along to "Baby One More Time"to shut it down.

I love when the bar really gets into the music at Karaoke and people like being challenged with a theme.  Everyone did a great job and asked what our next theme night would be!  Now that's the spirit :)

The Happiness Challenge!

I always like checking out Glamour.com to see any new style tips, fashion ideas, and good advice.  In January they started a column that was called The Happiness Challenge.  For four weeks they were going to post a different challenge each week to bring more happiness into your life.  I'm hoping that the column has done so well they continue to post for the next 11 months but if they don't, at least I got a good start for 2014.

Week One - This challenge was about Bravery.  Author Amy Spencer, who wrote a book about happiness, suggested to take a lesson or learn something new.

For me, 2014, is about new beginnings and positivity.  Now, it may have taken a couple weeks to start this initial task but over the course of two weeks I was able to try five NEW restaurants while Dine LA has been happening.  I tried new food and drinks and was able to experience something totally different at each restaurant, and that, was brave.

Week Two - This challenge was about Self-Worth.  Amy suggested to delete at least one toxic person's number from your cell phone.

I went beyond this task and deleted a couple, as well as some Facebook friends.  This challenge was to get rid of the people who don't treat you the way you deserve to be treated.  If I want to be happy, I want to surround myself with positivity and get rid of the negative.  It feels so much better to be able to walk away or say, I don't want to be involved.  If those people are really worth-while, they'll come back to you when they're in a better place :)  Or you'll be making room for someone new!

Week Three - This challenge was about Independence.  She said to take yourself on a date.

That's exactly what I did, twice this month.  I have gone out to lunch solo.  While the first time was a little awkward, yesterday's Dine LA experience was awesome!  Not only did I get to enjoy my food and some me time, I could go at my own pace, without being rushed, and just relax.  This is something I want to do on a more regular basis; I prefer to be around people but I think every once in a while, this is important for my own sanity.  Her goal here was to show you that you can provide your own happiness and don't need to rely on anyone else for it and how awesome is that!

Week Four - This challenge was about Generosity.  Amy's last suggestion of this month was to do something kind for someone else.

After reading this on Monday, I had gone for my run and while I was doing my stair work-out, I encountered a Mom carrying her children's backpacks up these never-ending stairs.  I quickly offered to carry the heavy bag and she was so surprised, and I instantly felt happier.  I think I grinned for the rest of my work-out, and I still had six more sets of stairs to go, plus the mile run back home.  It was feel good vibes the rest of the day and those little things are little boosts of happiness that everyone can use.

Honestly, I'm really hoping she continues writing these articles because January has been an incredibly optimistic and happy month!  

**Just wanted to post the link to first article in case anyone was interested in more details**
Happiness Challenge