The 5th Anniversary of my 28th Birthday!

Having a new puppy, traveling back to Wisconsin twice in a month, celebrating my Birthday, having family in town for a Wedding, and my work schedule has gotten me so far behind in my writing.  I'm playing catch up and writing about my Birthday which happened on June 19th, over a month ago!  I'll get into a little more detail about my feelings about the weekend in part two of my Birthday Blog but I was glad to be busy that weekend!

Wine after a wonderful Dinner...thanks Court <3

Since my Birthday fell on a Sunday this year (it was also Father's Day, and I was born on Father's Day) that meant I took off on Saturday night so I could enjoy a nice weekend with friends.  On Friday, Courtney invited me to this Political Dinner at Craft in Century City in which I met our Secretary of State, some other Politicians and learned about the possibility of the Olympics coming to LA in 2024.  It was a really fun event and Craft has been on my Restaurant Bucket List for a very long time so I was super excited to try some of the food.  There was an Avocado & Tomatillo Salad to start that was out of this world, you can never get enough Avocado and each bite was packed with it...woo!!  We had Asparagus & Mushrooms with our main courses that were Salmon and Flank Steak cooked Medium Rare for the table.  Everything was family style and there was plenty of food to go around, even seconds or thirds!  Not to mention, I found a new favorite Chardonnay (Neyers) and my glass was never empty.  I've noticed I really like the Carneros region which is between San Francisco and Napa/Sonoma in a cool climate and produces really buttery Chardonnays.  No meal would be complete without a couple different desserts that were all delicious!  It was one of my favorite meals I've had, so special thanks to Courtney for kicking off the Birthday Festivities on Friday!

Saturday I started prep for the Sunday Mimosa Pool Party and Sam came over during the afternoon to spend a little time by the pool and just relax before we had Dinner.  Sam, Rachel and I went to Lukshon in Culver City for Dinner and Courtney met us there after an Afterbuzz meeting.  We started with the Hawaiian Butterfish that was fabulous, we wanted more of that in addition to the Crispy Rice Cakes that Jamie and I had had the last time we were there.  We also had the Chaing Mai Curry Noodles that had a nice little kick although, even with another appetizer we were all still hungry.  Thankfully we were going to Blind Barber for my Birthday Party which not only serves cocktails but some of the best grilled cheese I've ever had!

My Squad...Besties, Bae, and Seester ready for the night!  I'm a lucky gal :)

We all re-grouped at my place, took a shot and then headed to Blind Barber, and spent the night dancing, laughing and chatting with friends.  Of course, there were plenty of shots but this year, I was making it to bar close and remembering the night (thankfully, no one got roofied this year)!  One of the things I love about Birthdays is friends stopping by that you haven't seen in a while, and you get a chance to catch up with everyone.  It's also nice to get all your friends together in one room because it's such a rare occasion with everyone's crazy schedules.  Overall, it was a fun and even slightly tame night but it was great to be surrounded my favorite girls and get to celebrate with friends :)

Part two will be coming at ya soon!

Afterbuzz TV's Neon Party!

Afterbuzz TV has it's annual Neon Summer Party held at our Founder's, Maria Menounos & Keven Undergaro's house in July.  Now that I've been working at Afterbuzz since September and I'd been hearing about how epic last year's party was, I was really looking forward to it!

It was the perfect day, the sun was out, and as soon as I parked I could hear the music from down the street.  One of our Hosts, DJ Jesse Janedy was playing the tunes all day long.  He played perfect Summer Pool Party music that everyone was singing and dancing to; I was super impressed by his choice in music!  There were songs I hadn't heard since college but everyone remembered!  Love it.  The pool was filled by party-goers, there were Hot Dogs and Hamburgers coming off the grill, plenty of snacks, and two separate bars for cocktails and refreshments.

With Cortez & Ashida!

I was so happy to see Cortez and get to hang out with him and meet some of his fellow co-hosts and also English, since we had all worked on the 'Shahs Of Sunset' After Show together.  It was great to get to spend some time with Ashley and Stephanie from our 'Real Housewives of New York' After Show outside of Afterbuzz.  It's also nice to cut loose since we try to be as professional as possible when we're at the studio, and even though we have fun, we can all be ourselves and just enjoy a great party!

After saying hello to a few of my friends I made my way to get a drink and some food and saw Costas, Maria's Dad, whom I recognized from her book, 'The Every Girl's Guide to Diet and Fitness,' as well as her show, 'Chasing Maria.'  We had the cutest conversation about family and how important it is to be a good role model, and make sure that your children are happy.  He obviously wants grand kids and I could completely relate in knowing that my parents say the same thing to me all the time!

On top of over 200 of our Afterbuzz TV Hosts that were invited, all the guests that have been into our Studios were invited as well.  I talked to Leslie from 'Masterchef' as it's one of my favorite Cooking Shows currently on TV, and he's been known as the villain.  There was no villain present on that Saturday afternoon, as we were dressed in matching shades of orange and talked a little about cooking and also about his competitors.  I'm rooting for you, Leslie! 

Speaking of orange, Maria and I also matched, and she called me her Tangerine Twin.  It never ceases to amaze me at how generous and kind, she, Keven, her whole family, as well as our Afterbuzz Team are.  I love that I feel like I have support behind me, and while I know that my friends and family show that, hearing how Keven wants me to succeed, just makes me work even hard for it!  Thank you to Keven and Maria for creating an outlet for all of us to get a chance to do what we love, and know that not only do we believe we can achieve our dreams, but that you both do as well :)

With Afterbuzz TV Founder, Keven and Matt D'Andria from Motorator & CarCast :)

It was an awesome day and I'm lucky to know such incredible people and be able to work at a job I absolutely love!

Tropical Summer Jam Recipe

A couple weeks ago I had helped my friend, Kristina, make a Fruit Pizza for a Barbeque and since we had made it at my place, she let me keep the leftover fruit she didn't use on the Pizza.  I don't really use Jelly or Jam on a regular basis as I'm happy with buttered toast but every once in a while, a piece of toast with Jelly just hits the spot.  So with the leftover fruit I decided to make a Summer Jam!

This is all you need for this recipe :)

Tropical Summer Jam

1 & 3/4 Cups Strawberries

1 & 1/4 Cups Blueberries

1/3 Cup Mandarin Oranges

1 Kiwi

1 Lemon (juiced)

1/2 Cup Sugar
Optional: 1/2 Tsp Ginger (powder or fresh)

After rinsing the blueberries and strawberries I quartered the strawberries and peeled the kiwi, cutting it into half moons.  Then I threw all the fruit into a pot, added in my sugar, and used the juice of one lemon to combat the sweetness and bring everything together.  I decided to add the extra 1/4 cup of blueberries to make the consistency just a little bit thicker as well as a 1/2 Tsp Ginger (powder) since I'm a Ginger fantatic.  I let it cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes until everything cooked down.  You could let this mixture cool and use it as is if you like your Jam more chunky but I like mine smooth, more like thick Jelly, so I put it into the blender and blended until it was smooth.  I then transferred it into a jar and put it in the refrigerator to get chilled.

All the fruit and their beautiful colors!

Cooking down and once cooled ready to be blended...

Blended till smooth and ready to eat!

Using nearly three cups of fruit yielded just about 10 ounces of Jam which means it's going to go fast but I will probably double the recipe next time considering it would still only require one cup of sugar!  The Jam will also thicken as it sits and cools and will also sweeten up after about 24 hours.

This was my first attempt at Jam and it turned out delicious!  You can taste all the fruits in it, it's not overly sweet, and the color is this gorgeous burgundy.  I definitely want to try different fruits like peaches, mango, adding grapes, or even tomatoes.  This was really easy to make and filled my apartment with this beautiful fruity aroma!  Lucky for me, I'm still enjoying my Tropical Summer Jam :)

*Last week I used my Tropical Jam for a yummy take on a Grilled Cheese by using two pieces of Havarti Cheese with the Jam for a sweet treat.  You could even do Honey Goat Cheese or Brie depending on what you like.  It really elevates a simple snack and makes it fun!  Or serve it over ice cream for a blast of flavor as a berry compote...can't wait to try that next!