Book Review: The Longest Ride

So I'm an absolute sucker for a good Nicholas Sparks book, and "The Longest Ride" was no different. I finished it in about half a day, and was absolutely touched by the beauty of the novel. I have no idea how he does it, but every time I read a Nicholas Sparks novel, I somehow end up entranced with the characters and their heart-warming or heart-breaking love stories. I think Nicholas Sparks' novels are the best for a rainy day or a quiet Sunday or when you're feeling a little out of sorts with the world; they offer the perfect amount of comfort and transport you to a beautiful, but unrealistic world for at least the afternoon. While "The Longest Ride" did follow a somewhat familiar story-line/plot to all of Sparks' previous novels, it did have its own unique twist to it with two completely different love stories that take place simultaneously.

“If we'd never met, I think I would have known my life wasn't complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn't know who I was looking for.” 

The story has three narrators, 91-year old Ira Levinson, college senior Sophia Danko, and cowboy/bull-rider Luke Collins. When we meet Ira Levinson, he is badly injured from crashing his car on the iced road, and stranded in the middle of nowhere. As he struggles to retain consciousness and fades in and out, his delirious mind conjures up an image of his beloved wife, Ruth, who passed away several years ago. With Ruth, he reminisces about the past, how they met and fell in love, how WWII changed their future forever, the struggles they faced together throughout their long marriage, the impact their childlessness had on both of them, and how they rose from their humble beginnings to becoming the owners of a priceless art collection worth millions. Meanwhile, just a few miles away, yet in a completely different world, young Sophia Danko and Luke Collins meet for the first time at a local bull-riding event, and can't fight their attraction to one another. We read as they discover one another and fall head-over-heels in love with each other, in the most heart-warming way. Despite their instant connection and deep-seated romance, neither knows what the future holds for them: both Sophia's plans for a future in museum curating and the dangerous secret Luke has been harboring can destroy their relationship completely. Two very different couples and two very beautiful love stories converge in the most alluring, and most unexpected of ways in this wonderful read, "The Longest Ride".

"You made me happy and you made me laugh, and if I could do it all over again, I would not hesitate. Look at our life, at the trips we took, the adventures we had. As your father used to say, we shared the longest ride together, this thing called life, and mine has been filled with joy because of you.” 

I don't think I've ever met a Nicholas Sparks' book I didn't like and this one is no different. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy, really lovely read. It's not a thriller or a fast-paced novel, but a simple, delicate story that enamors you throughout, with its comforting pace, warm characters, and inspiring story. Definitely give it a read!

Recipe: Thandai (Spiced Almond Milk)

Since the end of summer is fast approaching (SoCal summer), I was feeling nostalgic this weekend, and decided to whip up a favorite drink of mine from childhood camping trips. From the ages of 10 to 16, I used to go on a yearly camping trip with my family and about 10 other Indian families. We would set up camp about a half mile away from Leo Carrillo beach, and then have the most memorable weekend of the summer. My childhood camping memories consist of tie-dying shirts, hunting for sun-kissed shells on the beach, taking long hikes with 20+ people, fighting over walking Lucky the puppy/eventually dog, and countless games of SoCo, dodgeball, cricket, and freeze tag. And let's not forget the awesome food we would have: all the aunties would plan menus weeks in advance, and we would have an eclectic, but amazing combination of American and Indian food. For breakfast, we would have pancakes with chai, lunch would be tandoori grilled chicken or chicken hot dogs with a countless number of side dishes, and dinner would usually be some sort of elaborate Indian meal with a side of grilled cheese sandwiches or corn on the cob. Interspersed between the main meals were afternoon bhel puri or pani puri accompanied by some deliciously cold thandai. Thinking back on these wonderful childhood trips made me crave some ice-cold thandai, and so I decided to recreate it using this recipe.

Thandai (Spiced Almond Milk):

Ingredients:

Almond Paste:

1/2 cup finely ground almond meal

1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)

Spiced Milk:

2 cups milk (I used 2% again)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp rose water'

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

6 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

1 pinch saffron, optional

1 tsp crushed pistachios, for garnish

1.) Grind a little over 1/2 cup of almonds until it resembles a fine meal. 

2.) Blend the almond meal with 1/2 cup of milk until a thick, creamy paste forms. Refrigerate the paste for 2 hours.

3.) Gather your spices and then crush the cardamom, fennel seeds, cloves, and black peppercorn using a mortar and pestle.

4.) Combine the milk and sugar in a heavy-based pot

5.) Add the crushed spices and cinnamon stick to the sugar-milk mixture and set pot over medium flame. As soon as the milk starts to boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn off the heat completely and allow the spices to infuse into the milk for at least an hour. 

6.) After the milk-spices mixture has cooled, strain the spices out using a sieve and refrigerate the milk until chilled. Once ready, combine the milk and almond paste, stirring thoroughly. 

7.) Pour spiced milk over a few ice cubes and garnish with the saffron and pistachios ( I couldn't find either, and was too excited to look for them). Enjoy immediately. 

SoCal Girl Goes to Halloween Horror Nights

So, I decided to start out my most favorite month with a terrifying bang, and went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios on Saturday with a bunch of friends. Based on all the hype, crazy crowds, and sold-out nights, we went in with some seriously high hopes.

         

The event started at 7:00pm and went until 2:00am. Expecting insane crowds and packed lines, we got to City Walk by 5:45 (after another fun experience on LA's public transportation) and grabbed an early dinner at CityWalk's Taco Bell/Johnny Rockets. After a scrumptious dinner of french fries, nachos and cheese, milkshakes, and hard cider, we made our way towards the masses congregating near the security check-points. After going through a security check that may have rivaled LAX's, we got in and our night of terrors kicked off. At the entrance there were dozens and dozens of terrifying creatures attacking the incoming visitors with chain saws and axes and blood-soaked swords. After barely escaping with our lives, we quickly made our way to the Terror Tram and within ten minutes, we were boarded on and dropped off in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse.

 

After our first encounter with the terrifying zombies, we took a break from the mazes and ventured towards the rides. Since the lines weren't too bad, we went on "The Simpson's Ride", a really cool virtual roller coaster, and "Jurassic Park", an old classic. After the still terrifying eighty-foot drop in the land of dinosaurs, we decided to venture back into the land of the semi-dead, undead, walking dead, half-bloods, etc., by going into "An American Werewolf in London" maze. It was surprisingly much scarier than expected, with giant, ugly, hairy werewolves jumping at you from all corners (what happened to all the super hot werewolves I keep seeing on TV).









Next came "The Mummy" roller coaster, which was my absolutely favorite, not only because I'm obsessed with Egyptians, but because its an indoor roller coaster that goes backwards! Then came the Walking Dead maze, with its 90 minute line, the most popular maze of the night. After an exhausting wait, we got in, and true to its name, it was absolutely terrifying with zombies coming from all directions, and a few that would literally stalk you. I was a bit disappointed by how short it was though, especially after the insanely long wait.

With a little over an hour left, we went on the Transformers ride, a 3D flying around experience, and last but not least, the other four dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the evil clowns 3D maze. It was absolutely horrifying, and I'm pretty sure I kept my eyes closed throughout the entire thing. It ended quickly enough, thankfully, and we made our way out of the park, dragging our exhausted feet and struggling to stay awake.

Overall, it was such a cool experience, and I'm definitely glad we went. We went in with high expectations and had such a great time. The mazes were so entertaining and completely terrifying for the most part and the rides were pretty thrilling and incredibly fun. I think we'll have to make this a yearly tradition...can't wait to go back next year! (P.S. Since my phone died early on into the night, most of the photos don't belong to me, but were stolen from my best friend, Google)

Book Review: Portrait in Sepia

Isabel Allende's "Portrait in Sepia" is one of the most beautiful novels I've ever read. Allende has woven together a stunning tale of love and desire, tragedy and loss, family and betrayal, over three generations of a prominent Chilean family. Her writing is incredibly detailed and she manages to fill in every character's personality so vividly and colorfully, that its as if they're brought to life. Furthermore, she manages to discuss so many important issues in the backdrop of the tale, including Chile's brutal political history, the difficulties immigrants faced in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, and the many intricacies of being a female during this time.

The story revolves around Aurora del Valle, illegitimate daughter of Matías Rodríguez de Santa Cruz and Lynn Sommers, granddaughter of Eliza Sommers, Tao Chi'en, and Paulina del Valle, and adopted daughter of Sevaro del Valle. Aurora has a missing gap in her memory: that of her first five years of life, and the story revolves around her reconstruction of that gap and the horrific events that transpired that led to the creation of the gap. As the story progresses, each character's background and personality is explored thoroughly and woven intricately and seamlessly into the storylines of the other characters. Beautiful Lynn Sommers, daughter of Eliza Sommers and Tao Chi'en, has the love of two men; the noble, handsome Sevaro del Valle and the wealthy, charismatic but cocky Matías Rodríguez de Santa Cruz (son of Paulina del Valle and Feliciano Rodríguez de Santa Cruz). Lynn Sommers falls irrevocably in love with Matías, and Sevaro is forced to watch quietly as his cousin Matías tricks her into bed, impregnates her, and then claims no connection to her or her unborn child. Lynn dies soon after giving birth, and Sevaro claims the baby girl as his own, in order to give her legitimacy, but he too leaves the infant to join the brutal war in Chile. Aurora is raised by her doting grandfather, Tao Chi'en, and her hardworking grandmother, Eliza Sommers until the age of 5, when she is dropped off on the doorstep of Paulina del Valle by Eliza, with no explanation other than that Tao Chi'en had passed away and Eliza wanted to return her beloved husband's body to his homeland. Between the grandmothers, they agree that Eliza should never meet Aurora again, and it would best if they could erase any memory of her early years with her maternal grandparents to avoid confusion. The rest of the novel traces Aurora's childhood, adolescence and adulthood, under the indulging wings of her grandmother. As she grows older, she grows more and more curious of the blaring gap in her memory and the black demons that plague her dreams, and yet life and the constant political turbulence of the time distract her from fully understanding it. Years later, when she finally unfolds the truth of her past and the meaning behind the black figures that haunt her dreams, it offers her both relief and overwhelming sadness, as well as a sense of closure to the mystery that has always surrounded the memory of her childhood.

“Memory is fiction. We select the brightest and the darkest, ignoring what we are ashamed of, and so embroider the broad tapestry of our lives.” 

"Portrait in Sepia" is truly a spectacular novel and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed every last sentence in this book and hope that everyone that reads it does so as well. The detail is truly exquisite, as is Allende's storytelling and writing.

SoCal Girl's Fall Reading List

Since Southern California doesn't really experience "Fall" until October/November-ish (if ever), I usually don't compile my Fall Reading List until October even though Fall technically starts in September. In our sunny, southern Californian world, September is still considered part of summer and so I take full advantage of that extra month to finish up my summer reading lists. But now that October is officially here, I can embark on my Fall reading list, and with that, here are my reading choices for my absolute favoritest season of the year:

1.) "4,000 Years of Uppity Women" by Vicki Leon

2.) "A Train in Winter" by Caroline Moorehead

3.) "Family Life" by Akhil Sharma

4.) "The Marriage Trap" by Jennifer Probst

5.) "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger

6.) "The Lost Wife" by Alyson Richman

7.) "Broken Wings" by Carla Stewart

8.) "The Traitor's Wife" by Allison Pataki

9.) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

10.) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

SO excited to read all these wonderful books!

WanderLust Wednesday: Peru

Happy October! October has always been my favoritest month for so many reasons: first and foremost, it's the month I was born in so obviously it's pretty awesome; secondly, it's the month of Halloween, which happens to be one of my favoritest holidays (candy, costumes, haunted houses, what's not to like); thirdly, it's the beginning of pumpkin season, and I love seeing pumpkin patches pop-up everywhere and pumpkin-flavored everything; and fourthly, for us SoCal people, its the beginning of fall, the most beautiful season.

Going back to the original topic, Peru is on my list of countries to visit someday for a variety of reasons: the adventurous terrain, the unique culture (both ancient, and modern), the food, the people, THE LLAMAS, and of course, Machu Picchu.

Visiting Peru would make for such an adventurous and unique summer trip!

Recipe: Easy Garlic Knots

These garlic knots are the absolute best for two reasons: First of all, they're so garlicky and yummy, and secondly, they're SUPER easy to make. I usually try and stay away from making garlic knots because it takes SO long and they never taste like the ones at the restaurant, but these were absolutely delicious. Definitely try these out if you get the chance: they make the perfect addition to any meal. 

Easy Garlic Knots: 

Ingredients: 

-1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

-5 tbsp butter or olive oil (I used a combination of the two)

-2 tsp freshly minced garlic

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 1/2 tsp oregano

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

1.) Separate the biscuits from one another and then slice each biscuit in half.

2.) Roll out each piece into a rope easy to knot (approximately 5-6 inches).

3.) Knot each of the ropes loosely; you don't have to make a full on knot, just tuck the ends in.

4.) In a bowl, melt 5 tbsp of butter (or olive oil) and then add the remaining ingredients. Whisk together mixture until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

5.) Dunk your biscuit knot into the garlic-herb-butter mixture or brush the mixture on to the knot.

6.) Once all the knots have been thoroughly coated, spread them out on a baking pan, and stick them in a 400 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (until golden brown).

7.) Once the knots are a beautiful golden brown, take them out and let them cool for a few minutes.

8.) Once they have cooled down, coat them lightly in the olive oil mixture again or brush the mixture all over the knots, and serve immediately. 

Yum Yum Yum