OMGZ so many things

Posted by Lauren and Nicole

L: The 6 am race was just one freckle of our busy weekend! By the time we finished the Hollywood half marathon, Nicole and I were [surprisingly]not extremely hungry. However, after drinking some coffee, walking from Universal City to the metro, and taking the metro to our hostel, brunch quickly became the first thing on our minds. Yelp to the rescue (as usual) – we picked a four-star, new American joint in Mid-City/WeHo called Lulu’s Cafe (7149 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles 90036).

L: As you can see, we kept our race gear on, but added compression socks. Oh, and Nicole changed into her furry Sperry’s. Stylin’

N: I really don’t understand how people can eat burgers, fries, etc. after a race… all I wanted was ice cold water, fruit, and EGGS. I always want eggs.

L: The heat and sunlight lulled us to sleep while we waited for the waitress…

L: We picked two amazing dishes to split – even with our eyes closed!

Garden Burger Salad ($12) – Mixed greens, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, pine nuts with grilled garden burger (with balsamic dressing and tahini sauce on the side)

Create Your Own Omelette (4 items $11, +$1 egg whites) – mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, cream cheese; with fresh fruit (or home fries) and english muffin (or other toast option)

L: Creeeaammmmm Chhhheeeeesseeeee :) makes me really happy! I overly enjoyed each cream cheese forkful of the omelette. As for the salad, the veggie patty was wonderful – but the crunchy pine nuts were what really took that plate from good to great.

N: These dishes totally hit the spot. The combination of ketchup and Cholula was great for replenishing my salt levels and for clearing my sinuses! Everything was extremely fresh and  Lauren and I both limped away from the restaurant perfectly content.

L: We drove back to DG, put on swimsuits, and headed for the roof for some sun ;)

L:  Both of us were ragingly tired (thanks to Nicole’s coughing spell the night before and our early alarms), so naptime was crucial. It was tough falling asleep when this party was going on literally next door. Imagine: DJ playing simultaneously with a live band… wild.

N: I only managed to fit in about 15 minutes of sleep, but it felt good to lounge in the sun.

L: After the roof nap:

• shower
• more napping (indoors), snacking
• CVS/Freebirds for real food
• call Aunt Cori – she let us know that USC was playing UC Irvine just down the street from Nicole’s place!
• … of course we went!

L: Nicole cheered for USC. Collin cheered for UC Irvine. I cheered for both, with maybe a little more clapping for Collin’s team… ;)

N: USC won, but Collin was nice enough to smile for a picture with us.

L: The action-packed volleyball game was juuuuuust what we needed to WAKE UP. We said goodbye to Collin and walked across the street to USC Springfest.

N: Springfest is a day-long free concert and Lauren and I made it just in time to see Macklemore and Wolfgang Gartner. We danced around a little bit, despite our achy legs.

L: Highlight – amazing lighting and lasers; Lowlight – fearful of people stepping on my toes! Flip flops = bad idea!

N: Lauren went back to DG to hangout and nap, and I somehow mustered up enough energy to go out again.

N: The dancing was kept to a minimum considering I could barely walk, ha. It was the longest day of my life… but totally worth it. Who needs sleep?! Not me.

L: Easter Sunday we woke up bright and early, and had breakfast before driving about 45 minutes to Glendora. Our grandparents live there and, instead of going to a random church in downtown LA, we decided to go to a church near our family :)

L: Three egg whites for each of us, a banana for me, and…

N: …some Special K and almond milk! We stopped for some much needed Starbucks on the way, and it perked us up for mass.

L: Gosh, this church was such a blast from the past!! We probably hadn’t been there in 10 years!

N: The main takeaway from the homily were the three types of “seeing”- glancing, observing, and comprehending. Food for the soul!

L: After a lovely mass, we drove to our grandparents’ house.

L: They live up the street from a castle! (see the gate, below):

L: We caught up with our grandma, grandpa, uncle Steve, and cousin Stevie – enjoyed the sun and talked about Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, of all things!

N: After the visit, we tackled another thing off of our to-do list: shopping!!! We drove to The Grove in West Hollywood and hobbled around for about an hour.

N: Neither of us wanted to spend much money, but we ended up getting a few random items from F21. Can’t beat their deals!

N: And then it was time to do the deed- officially break Lent! Frozen yogurt was my dessert of choice. USC is so obnoxious that we even have our own flavor at the local Yogurtland…

N: I ended up getting a mix of caramel, coconut, cookies ‘n cream, and peanut butter. Just what I wanted :)

N: For the rest of the night, we took it easy and relaxed. I did homework, Lauren packed up, and then it was bedtime! It was such a fun weekend and I’m exhausted just thinking about everything we did! :)

- Nicole and Lauren

Question: Would you rather:

• shop at an outdoor or indoor mall?
• give up drinking for 40 days or sweets for 40 days?
• go to a sports game or a concert?