The most wonderful time of the year
This weekend, Courtney went to a free holiday concert at the Guggenheim featuring the Vox Vocal Ensemble and the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble. It was a neat venue because of way the Guggenheim rotunda spirals up.
The music was beautiful, and they let the audience join in on a few songs. I also scored an awesome deal on a super warm down jacket from Lands End this weekend, it was on sale plus an additional 40% off... hello $100 coat for $25! Ignore the ugly mustard color in the picture, I got it in black.
I think I will most definitely need it over the break, Utah is currently 10-15 degrees cooler than New York and there is snow in the forecast for the weekend. I'm okay with a white Christmas, which I can't believe is only a few days away. I'm not looking forward to my travel day today, but I'm really excited to see my family and furbabies. I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday week! I know my plans include copious amounts of hot cocoa, cuddling by the tree, and eating 'real' food (thanks mom!). Feliz Navidad!
Getting ready for the holidays
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| My apartment decor + Picnik pizazz |
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| Decorated JJ's aparrment with snowflake lights and mini stockings |
Fa la la la la Lu and Lolls
Last weekend Courtney and I experienced a whole lot of Christmas spirit, NYC style! We checked out the amazing Christmas display windows at the big department stores, including the Lady Gaga Workshop. We also stopped by the Rockefeller Center tree and discovered the best/cheapest way to make our own microwave popcorn (read: addicted).
We have big holiday plans for next weekend as well, stay tuned.
Thanksgiving
I am so thankful for a wonderful (close-knit and crazy) family and kittenwhiskers, the best friends a girl could have, a great city to live in and the gorgeous November weather we are having, the ability to get a degree in something I love, the technology that lets me keep in touch with people who are far away, and as finals approach I am especially thankful for sweatpants and microwavable dinners from Trader Joe's.
xo!
About DC in October
I went to an international development conference at Georgetown University last month, and Courtney decided to bus on down from NYC to hang out with me for a fun BFF weekend! We stayed at the Westin Gateway Hotel in Arlington, VA (so plush). I crossed from DC to Virginia when I walked over the Francis Scott Key (oh say can you see) Bridge from Georgetown after my conference, with Georgetown cupcakes in hand. I absolutely loved G-Town, I hope they will accept me for a PhD in 2013 :)
Court and I went to the Smithsonian Museum of National History; some highlights included the America on the Move exhibit (there was a van just like Old Blue!), Julia Child's kitchen, the original ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie, and (reverting back to Francis S.K.) the Star Spangled Banner, which was displayed in a cool, glowy light that gave me the chills. We also went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of rights, which was super legit. One of my other favorite things at the Archives was an 1800s land grant signed by Mr. Charles Ingalls (Pa from Little House on the Prairie!), witnessed by Royal Wilder (Almanzo's brother!).
We also saw the White House (President O was not at home, sadly), the WWII and Korean War memorials, the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. monument. I stopped and had my picture taken in front of the EPA, maybe I will attach it to my job application... We visited the Holocaust Museum and its special exhibit about propaganda -- that is definitely on my list of places everyone should go. I initiated a visit to the National Gallery of Art; I was sad that the National Mall reflection pool was under construction, it was just a long patch of dirt unfortunately.
I got to spend time with my cousin Jenn in Baltimore before I came back to Boston, and we visited the inner harbor (gorgeous) and had dinner at Hon Cafe -- both of which I recommend! We passed by Fort Henry, but it was closed so I only got an outside view. 3 hours in Balitmore was not enough, hopefully I will be able to visit again soon.
All in all, DC and I had a very nice dynamic; maybe it will be the next city I live in!
Court and I went to the Smithsonian Museum of National History; some highlights included the America on the Move exhibit (there was a van just like Old Blue!), Julia Child's kitchen, the original ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie, and (reverting back to Francis S.K.) the Star Spangled Banner, which was displayed in a cool, glowy light that gave me the chills. We also went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of rights, which was super legit. One of my other favorite things at the Archives was an 1800s land grant signed by Mr. Charles Ingalls (Pa from Little House on the Prairie!), witnessed by Royal Wilder (Almanzo's brother!).
We also saw the White House (President O was not at home, sadly), the WWII and Korean War memorials, the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. monument. I stopped and had my picture taken in front of the EPA, maybe I will attach it to my job application... We visited the Holocaust Museum and its special exhibit about propaganda -- that is definitely on my list of places everyone should go. I initiated a visit to the National Gallery of Art; I was sad that the National Mall reflection pool was under construction, it was just a long patch of dirt unfortunately.
I got to spend time with my cousin Jenn in Baltimore before I came back to Boston, and we visited the inner harbor (gorgeous) and had dinner at Hon Cafe -- both of which I recommend! We passed by Fort Henry, but it was closed so I only got an outside view. 3 hours in Balitmore was not enough, hopefully I will be able to visit again soon.
All in all, DC and I had a very nice dynamic; maybe it will be the next city I live in!
Today
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| Can't decide which I love more... giant glow-in-the-dark cat face or dancing glitter cat in red high heels |
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| A week and a half later, my birthday flowers still look so pretty and bright! Happy kitchen |
Burthday
We gon' party like it's my birthday
My birthday this year was very festive. Last year I didn't really do anything at all because I didn't know anyone, it was very depressing. This year I felt an abundance of birthday love, and I'm so glad I got to spend time with the people I dearly love (minus my family and BFFs who were geographically unable to attend). On my actual birthday, JS took me to breakfast and then I had class virtually all day. After that I just had a quiet night in with my homework so that I could go out Friday night.
On Friday, a total of 13 of my work and school chums joined me for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant, Brown Sugar Cafe. Besides the delicious cuisine (their pad se-iew is to die for...) Brown Sugar does the best birthday shout-outs. Case in point: disco ball, spotlight, Asian techno birthday song when they brought my birthday cupcakes out with candles. Awesooome. Then we headed to my favorite bar (sadly, the dance floor was closed because of a private party... boo) and after most people headed out and I was winding down, my other work friends who had just gotten off of work came over and the party started all over again! In case you were wondering, no, I don't have any pictures. And yes, I am super depressed about this fact. I looked really, really cute though, and am planning on wearing the outfit again and will definitely post pictures next time. Part of my birthday also included tickets to the Red Sox game! Which was the only game they haven't lost in the last few weeks. Apparently I am their lucky charm, which is bad because I simply cannot attend every game until the playoffs. So far 23 has started off with a bang, and I am loving it thus far.
**An addendum: I also went to Atlantic City with Courtney a few weeks before my birthday! We partied it up on the boardwalk, perused casinos, experienced some excellent shopping ($18 designer jeans!!), and had a romantic night at the beach. We were confused by the adult strollers in AC (see photo below).... but we decided to try and go back for a day every year if we can :)
My birthday this year was very festive. Last year I didn't really do anything at all because I didn't know anyone, it was very depressing. This year I felt an abundance of birthday love, and I'm so glad I got to spend time with the people I dearly love (minus my family and BFFs who were geographically unable to attend). On my actual birthday, JS took me to breakfast and then I had class virtually all day. After that I just had a quiet night in with my homework so that I could go out Friday night.
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| Birthday flowers |
**An addendum: I also went to Atlantic City with Courtney a few weeks before my birthday! We partied it up on the boardwalk, perused casinos, experienced some excellent shopping ($18 designer jeans!!), and had a romantic night at the beach. We were confused by the adult strollers in AC (see photo below).... but we decided to try and go back for a day every year if we can :)
DIY
After a little quality time at Home Depot, I was able to finish my bookshelf! I picked this up for free on move-out day, and it was in pretty bad shape. I sanded it down, fixed the shelf, and painted it up. I used a basic white paint for most of it, and a matte nickel color for the inside back and shelves. I can't wait to use it for all my dvds and school books, which currently reside all over my room. Not a bad little project for $10! Now if only I could get the paint out of my hair...
Thrifting!
Every now and then I have really good luck at the thrift store that's on the way home from the gym -- like the time I got never-used-still-in-the-box pots and pans for under $10 -- and today was another one of those days.
Ta-da! A little wall bling to make my apartment feel homey and decorated.
Ta-da! A little wall bling to make my apartment feel homey and decorated.
Life imitates art
I've always liked pretending I'm an artist, and though I was never good enough to pursue it, I find drawing or doing a little project a good way to relieve stress (oh hey giant test on Tuesday that determines if I get a masters degree) and have fun. I'm usually an oil pastels kinda girl, but I was inspired to pull out watercolors. Also, Urban Outfitters catalogs and Vogue are my favorite muses for making pictures. So dramatic and art nouveau!
I like cats, okay?
Even if you don't drink/don't party... please just check out this link. It totally made my day.
On my mind today...
- These Jedi knights
- Quirks. Some of mine include always squeezing the bottle of toothpaste from the bottom, turning a cereal bowl when I pour in milk, 1998732948374 food quirks, and having to make the total end in a multiple of five when putting gas in my car (got that one from my dad)
- Mmm. Tempeh.
- Hurricane Irene's impending arrival and the fact that I forgot to buy bottled water
- Jonesing for Utah after seeing the picture my cousin Kate posted
Veg.
As a personal challenge, I have been cooking/eating vegan for almost a week .... and I actually kinda like it? I really miss cheese though.
Thanks to blogs like CKC, Herbivoracious, and VeganYumYum, it has not been difficult and I have already found a lot of healthy and (no exaggeration) supremely tasty dishes. I am undertaking this endeavor simply because I am trying to be healthy and eliminate as much processed food as possible from my daily diet. Though I will probably never fancy myself a true vegan (the vegan version is just not even worth it in some cases, i.e. my favorite example, cheese) in the very least I am discovering new recipes and paying better attention to the food that fuels my body. Here's to healthier eating!
Scholarly
'Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that sh*t out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.
Snickerdoodle Pancakes
(that I have made for breakfast every single morning this week)
Serves 1
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1T plus 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 2T almond or soy milk (or more, for thinner pancakes)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- tiny bit over 1/16 tsp salt (don’t omit)
- Cook on frying pan lightly sprayed with non-stick spray, turning once. Optional: if you don’t like the texture of fat-free pancakes (dense and cakey) you can add 1T canola oil
- Calories: 223
- Fat: 1 gram
'Sup?
What have I been up to lately? Good question. A lot of the time, the answer is 'not much.' This is becoming an issue, since I am supposed to be 10x farther than I am on my directed study paper. Some of my favorite summer days (aka days off) have included:
- Any time with my friends in New York (for example Terrible Movie Nights with homemade ice cream and this gem of a film)
- Gorgeous weather, Wonder City donuts, New York Public Library tour, yoga, reading Boccaccio in Bryant Park
- Metropolitan Museum of Art and Magnolia Bakery banana pudding
- American Museum of Natural History
- Strand books, Sephora, Pizza Bash $1 Mondays, Union Square, NYU, reading in Washington Square Park, rainy walks through Central Park
- Copley farmers market, a sunset cruise on the Charles River and Crane Beach
- Salem, Exeter, Portsmouth, and Kittery
- Watching movie adaptations of every Jane Austen novel
Anne with an E
Amanda posted an article about the lessons to be learned from one of our favorite literary ladies, Anne Shirley. I started re-reading the books today! Perfect timing, since I just finished The Enchantress of Florence. Next up, The Dud Avocado and The Postmistress, a 'book club' book I'm reading with Courtney.
Lately
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| Mad Decent Block Party at the pier in NYC |
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| Squirrels like I've never seen |
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| $1 pizza @ Pizza Bash by Union Square. Best. |
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| Brooklyn, as seen from Manahattan South Seaport |
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| Eyebrows? Me?? |
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