Cute Izakaya in LA
July 3, 2009 by mari
Filed under Yummy Eats
At LIVINGcute, we like to share cute, cool things. So why not share yummy food at a place called “Musha”!
Cindy talks about our mini get togethers called GNO a.k.a. Girls Night Out. It’s so much fun to round up the bunch for a night to gossip and laugh at our (sometimes) extremely stupid jokes. Add a pitcher of beer to that equation, and the stupid jokes become even funnier.
Quite a few of our GNO’s have been held at a cute restaurant called Musha in Torrance, CA. Musha is an izakaya, a Japanese version of the tapas bar. There you order various plates of food to share and its super fun because everyone can try a little bit of everything! We probably don’t even need a menu because we almost always order the same things – M.F.C a.k.a. Musha’s fried chicken, crispy chicken served with ponzu (soy sauce with a hint of citrus) and grated daikon radish; Ebi Mayo Mayo, deep fried shrimp with a creamy mayonnaise sauce (pictured above); the house salad; and the cheese risotto. Don’t get scared by the hunk of cheese that the cheese risotto comes in. (You’ll know what I mean when you order it!)
So if you ever see a group of four tipsy girls being a teeny bit too loud, giggling away and not acting their age at all…come over and say HI!
It’s probably us..
Tip: this restaurant gets packed real quick! So get there early!
Musha
1725 West Carson Street
Torrance, CA 90501
310.787.7344
Mon-Sat 6:00pm-11:30pm
Sun 6:00pm-10:30pm
Beautiful, Colorful Pasta
July 2, 2009 by cindy
Filed under Food and Drink
Jazz up your summer pasta entrees with this unbelievably beautiful pasta by Pastificio Pozzo del Re. The rainbow colors will simply astound you. Each color is actually indicative of different all natural ingredients like spinach, tumeric, red beet, tomato, carrot and red peppers. How clever! The pasta is also very flavorful.
La Table de Nana, one of Alisa’s favorite bloggers, prepares this pasta with shrimp just perfectly. The below description is taken directly from her blog:
We baked the shrimp in the oven while I was cooking the pasta. In a saucepan, I warmed some EVOO and butter..added fresh garlic,red chili peppers from Italy….some lemon juice and white wine.. ..Reduced it all .. then quickly added the cooked shrimp..loads of chopped fresh parsley from my little herb pots..and lots of grated lemon zest..tossed w/ the pasta.
The scrumptiously delicious looking pasta below is the result:
Omg, drool…
Click Here to Buy – a bit pricey 
childhood flames – cute blog
June 19, 2009 by cindy
Filed under Accessories, Fashion
Bao and I often discuss things via g-chat. Gossip, relationship issues, work crap and of course, she provides me with the latest fashion tips. Today while discussing Father’s Day for two seconds, she introduced me to childhood flames, a blog she follows religiously.
Take a look at our convo:
Bao: Cin?
me: Ya?
Bao: I got off at 12pm today : ) Bought my daddy somethin’
me: Oh crap, I gotta do that too
Bao: I got him a dirt cheap (but cute) 5×7 frame to put our picture in
me: Hahaha, maybe I’ll do that.
Bao: YEAHHH
Bao: By the way, look up childhood flames on Google. I really like her stuff!
me: Oh cool!
Bao: I LOVE what she picks and she’s fun. She makes her own clothes too and sometimes puts good recipes 
me: OOOO
Bao: She likes COOL people too
Bao: That dress, COOL.
me: Awesome, thanks for the tip! Imma post it 
Bao: YAY!
Wow, this blog IS really cute…like, cute cool…drool….
Click Here to go to childhood flames
Cute, Colorful Sundae Spoons
The girls and I were able to enjoy a nice little dinner for Mari’s birthday. We started off with some drinks while chit-chatting to catch up on our latest updates. Everyone looked very cute, and Bao was even wearing the Mixed Charmed Bracelet from Forever 21 and rocked it in her recommended oversized t-shirt and skinny jeans.
We quickly moved on to our favorite part of birthday dinners: GIFTS. Mari got a lot of cute, practical and very useful gifts such as a mini travel blow-dryer from Brookstone, Luckies Zipper Pulls, a large silver shower head and an adorable strawberry plant that sits in a little egg.
My favorite among the gifts was from Alisa. Her gift included these SUPER cute, candy-colored, acrylic Sundae spoons from Crate and Barrel. I absolutely love sundaes, smoothies, ice-cream, parfaits…pretty much any kind of dessert so I turned into the green-eyed monster when I saw them and vowed to get my very own set. And it’s perfect as they are on sale on the Crate and Barrel website. Only $3.95!
Top-rack dishwasher-safe
On sale for $3.95 (regularly $4.95)
Click here to buy
How to Make Super Cute Piggy Pancakes
June 9, 2009 by cindy
Filed under Food and Drink
Mari is pretty much a genius when it comes to finding adorable treats that are fairly simple to whip up…or at least she makes it seem that way. Her item of choice today is a splendidly charming piggy pancake, no doubt inspired by our piglet friend, Bao.
The recipe below is direct from Betty Crocker and makes 10 delightful pancakes. Only 25 minutes to prepare. Click the play button below the instructions to watch the how-to video.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Fresh blueberries, chocolate chips or raisins
Step by Step Instructions:
- Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat or to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and eggs until blended.
- Lightly oil griddle. For each pig face, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot oiled griddle. Pour scant tablespoonful batter onto griddle for snout and another scant tablespoonful for ears.
- Cook pancakes until edges are dry. Turn; cook until golden.
- To serve, place large pancakes on individual serving plates. Place 1 small pancake in center of each face for snout; poke 2 holes for nostrils with end of handle of wooden spoon. Cut second small pancake in half for ears; place at top of face.
- Use blueberries for eyes. Or like the video, use blueberries for snout and chocolate chips for eyes. (LIVINGcute prefers the former over the latter)
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.
Success Tip:
Flip pancakes only once! Repeated flipping will toughen the pancakes. Pancakes are ready to flip when they’re puffed, covered with bubbles and slightly dry around the edges. Cook the other side until it is golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
1 Piggy Pancake: Calories 120 (Calories from Fat 35); Total Fat 4g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 1g); Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 310mg; Total Carbohydrate 17g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 2g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 6%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
More info at Betty Crocker’s Website
