Saturday Brunch

{Mushrooms and garlic -- anything is better with garlic.}

This weekend was filled with accomplishment: I not only did all of my laundry but I went to the grocery store (more than once) and checked off every single item on my list -- which is exceptionally satisfying.  I also cooked up lots of delicious treats, including helping Paige host a little brunch for some friends from college on Saturday.  Paige made a kick-butt frittata, yummy smoothies, and no Saturday brunch is complete without mimosas.  It was so fun and easy, and such a nice treat that we definitely need to do more often. 

....and because our brunch was so successful we made chocolate pancakes and dinner!  Tell me that those aren't perfect chocolate chip pancakes!? Thanks Paige and Emma :)

Happy Weekend!

Yesterday I went for a walk at lunch to stretch my legs and get some sunshine in my life.  As I mentioned yesterday, I so loved my time in Paris just wandering around and taking the time to notice the little details.  While I don't have the luxury to do that for an entire afternoon, I enjoyed my little lunchtime stroll.

{Atlantic Ave.  I've always loved brick walls and the different 

distressed brick is so interesting}

{Atlantic Ave. A glimpse of the clocktower in the background...

This building always seems so elegant to me.}

{Fanieul Hall.  The lights look like bubbles on a stick, so fun and playful.}

{Urban Outfitters, Fanieul Hall. I wouldn't hate hanging ribbon in my windows.}

{Chez Nathanson. Home cooked Thursday night dinner with the local adopted parents and their b-e-a-utiful new kitchen! 

Stay tuned for new segments: "Cooking with Ken"....it's in the works...}

Have a lovely weekend.

xo, soph

Paris, tu me manques

When I lived in Paris I spent most afternoons wandering aimlessly with my ipod, paris pratiques, camera and journal.

When I lived in Paris I had a view of the Eiffel Tower from my host family's apartment, but as my host father Hubert said, "c'est magnifique, tous les jours." It amazed me everyday.

When I lived in Paris the Eiffel Tower was lit up blue every night because Sarkozy was the head of the European Union. I want to go back and see it lit up in gold.

When I lived in Paris they turned off the spotlights on the Eiffel Tower every night at 2 am to conserve energy, and it was always so eerie -- you couldn't see it but you knew that it was there, looming in the sky

Sometimes I wish I could take the afternoon off and wander around Paris.

Happy Humpday

Good things about this Wednesday:

1. The heat was working in my apartment this morning and when I woke up it was a balmy 67 degrees, as opposed to 50 degrees, which it was yesterday morning

2. My book is getting to the good part

3. It's sunny

4. My cup of coffee this morning was extra delicious

5. There are thin mints in my desk drawer waiting to be eaten

6. I received two funny work emails before 10 am

7. Top Chef is on tonight

8. I really like the scarf that I'm wearing

9. I saw a cute dog walking to the T

10. I found my favorite pen underneath my desk

Happy Humpday!

Image Credit: weheartit

Planes (Buses), Trains and Automobiles

During the three day weekend, I spent approximately 16 1/2 hours traveling.  I took the bus to New York City on Friday -- I left work early to take a 3:30 pm bus in the hopes of missing the worst of the traffic, but I didn't manage to get to my final destination until after 10 pm. Then Saturday morning my boyfriend and I drove to his family's house in the Poconos -- more time in the car. We drove back to Long Island on Monday and then I took the train into the city, got on a bus to Boston and then took a cab home because I was just too exhausted to take the T.  (I should probably mention that when I got off the train and was walking outside Madison Square Garden to the bus, I walked by some VERY interesting characters.  Why, you ask?  They were little monsters of course -- Lady Gaga played at MSG last night and I seriously wish it would have been socially acceptable to take pictures of these people.)  I'm exhausted. And really wish I could have slept an extra hour and gone to work late today.


The bus is great because it's cheap, easy and has wifi.  But, when we were in traffic I was frustrated because I had no control and tried to convince myself that if I was driving in my own car I would have been there by now, but the fact is, Boston and New York are deceptively far away and it's not so bad letting someone else do the driving.  I did pack some good snacks to eat and a friend lent me the first season of Dexter.  I'm not sold on it yet, it's really kind of creepy, but I'm willing to give it another episode or two.  On both of my bus trips I was surrounded by people from so many different walks of life.  College students going home for the long weekend, little kids with their parents, a couple in their 50s who were pissed they had to load their Louis Vuitton luggage in the luggage compartment themselves -- they must have missed their Acela train.  I heard so many different languages, many of which I didn't recognize.  I wonder where all those people were going.  Were New York and Boston their final destinations?  Where did they come from?  What's their story?  I'll never know.


Despite all the travel, I really did have a great relaxing weekend.  It was freezing in the Poconos but my boyfriend is an expert fire builder, so it was nice and cozy.   The house is in the woods near a couple of lakes and one of them was frozen solid and we walked all the way across.  I was terrified the entire time and kept hearing the "thud-thud" of the ice and hearing my mother's voice in the back of my head telling me that I wasn't allowed to be on the ice, but it was so beautiful when we were out there.  It had been really windy the day before and the wind had wiped the ice clear of snow.  It would have been perfect for ice skating.  The quiet was amazing.  When we woke up Monday morning there was a foot of snow on the ground and the woods were beautiful.  It was nice to have another little winter weekend with spring just around the corner.  But now, back to reality...

{scrabble, wine and a fire. perfect saturday night.}

{winter wonderland}

Happy Weekend

{Too. Cute.*}

Happy weekend! I, for one, can't wait for the long weekend up ahead.  I'm gettin outta dodge and heading to the Poconos for a weekend of no internet, no cell service, delicious diner breakfasts and a cozy fireplace.  This false spring weather has been awesome, but it won't be following us to the Poconos.  As exciting as it is that spring is around the corner, one last winter weekend will be nice.

*I promise this won't turn into an "i love puppies blog" but I just want one so badly I can't help it! How can you resist that face??

Dad Saves the Day (but of course)

{Dad and I at Fenwick Beach in CT, 1996ish. 

Please note the sweet cowboy boots with matching cowboy boot skirt, made by my mother.}

Life after college is pretty swell.  I have a job, I have an apartment, my friends live nearby -- all in all, life is pretty great.  However, as is a fairly normal occurrence in my life (or at least a monthly one), I had a mini freak-out yesterday.  Am I putting enough money into my 401K? Is this the best job for me? When do I have to start applying to grad school? How can I save money and continue to make irresponsible (but beautiful) purchases on GiltGroup? Where am I going to live once my lease is up? And of course, in my overly dramatic mind all of those questions needed answers immediately.  So, what's a girl to do when she's on the verge of a nervous break down in the middle of a quiet day at work when she's had too much time on her hands and gets lost in her own thoughts?  Dad to the rescue!  I don't know about you all, but I basically hit the jackpot when it comes to dads.  My dad's the best -- fun to be around, gives good advice, makes stupid jokes (there's a pho restaurant around the corner from our house called Pho King -- I'll let your imagination take it from here...) and always knows just what to say to snap me out of it.  Most of the time he actually just says, "Snap out of it" -- he cuts to the chase.  Long story short, I called my dad and he calmed me down, just like he always does.  Days like today make the US of A seem awfully big.  San Diego is about as far away from Boston as you can get within the continental United States and I sure do envy my friends who can still go home for lunch if and when they need to.  But, that's why there are cell phones and computers and though my parents (my mom is just as great, promise) are physically far away, just like when I was a kid, they're always there for a hug when I need one.  So Dad, thanks for saving the day, yet again.  Love you!

{One of my favorites -- Pentwater, MI 2000}

{Having champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower, 2008}

Extreme Home Makeover: InMyDreams Edition

Growing up my parents were always doing projects on the weekends. Whether my mom was sewing me a themed holiday skirt (could have used one yesterday, Mom!) or my dad was sanding and painting some piece of furniture that he and my mom saw on a street corner that they "had to have," it seemed like there was always an ongoing project.  Sometimes I think that the only way I will be satisfied with my house is if I have a really really really big one and all the money in the world so I can just always be redecorating.  I could start one room at a time, and if the house was big enough I could just never even finish.  This is where my dad would interject his infamous "Bet you don't -- " and bring me back to reality.  Our current apartment is too big for three girls who are constantly on the move.  There are actually two whole unused rooms - unheard of for a first apartment after college I know, but we got really lucky.  However, it's become clear that we just don't need this much space.  Who knows what the next place will be like, and who knows when I'll finally start to settle in to a place that I can start to call home, but in the meantime I'm just going to create an Inspiration Folder with everything that I want my house to look like.

{I've always wanted a library with a ladder.  I think that the main reason is because whenever you go into a store that has one, there's always a "do not climb" sign on it, so I've always wanted one that has a sign that says "climb away!"}

{I love this table.  I love the simplicity of the candle holders and the industrial but cozy feeling of the table itself.  I can just picture it as the central hub where everyone gathers and stays for hours.} 

(Plus it's Emily's and everything she does is the awesome.)

{In our family, no home is complete without permanent marker on the walls -- as a height chart of course! The above left photo is a door frame at our old house in Chicago taken the day we moved.  According to the new owners it's still in tact and they continued the tradition with their own family on the opposite side. :) My parents hacienda-style house in San Diego doesn't have traditional door frames, but with a new niece they're going to have to find a place to start the tradition back up! The picture on the right is the door frame at my grandparent's old house in Connecticut.}

{This chair is perfect for my reading nook. And I like that print too.}

{This kitchen. And every other kitchen on i want that kitchen.}

love love love

I'm not a big valentine's day gal.  I love love, don't get me wrong -- some may even call me a hopeless romantic and I don't take that as an insult.  The thirteen year old girl in me still thinks that my life is going to end up like a romantic comedy. (Especially because even if the characters have no money, they always have fantastic apartments, awesome clothes and always manage to be able to go out to restaurants that are undoubtedly out of their supposed price range.)  If you have a someone special, there's just extra pressure to make them feel special, but shouldn't you be doing that every day anyway?  And if you don't have someone special, then the world is just giving you a huge slap reminding you that you don't. Where's the love in that? Valentine's day is so relationship-centric when it could be a lot less exclusive if we celebrated everything that we love.


Some of the things that I love:
My comfy bed, made more comfy by the afghan my mom made me for Christmas.
Good coffee
My friends
My family
Listening to the voicemails I have saved on my phone
Seeing my niece walk for the first time (!!)
Living in Boston
Good wine
Going on adventures with my boyfriend
My great-grandfather's wedding band that I wear
My iPhoto library and all the memories that it holds
Surprise Valentine's day visits
Books, books and more books
The smell of old books
Experimenting in the kitchen
Lazy Sundays


Happy Valentine's Day!

Sunday Soup

As I've mentioned before, soup is my new Sunday thang.  I was always intimidated by making soup - they seemed so complicated.  But it turns out they're actually pretty easy to make.  When I make a batch on Sunday, I have tons of leftovers and easy lunches to bring to work during the week. I also freeze portions too.  I love minestrone soup (pronounced minestrone-y, as I always have and no one has had the sense to correct me) and I thought I'd give it a try.  I used this recipe and was very very happy with the result.  It wasn't expensive to make and it's pretty healthy too.  It calls for low-sodium chicken broth, but I had two open containers so I just used up what I had.  I also used farfalle pasta because it's what I had in my cabinet.  All in all - a great Sunday soup.  The only thing I forgot at the market was to buy some great bread to soak up the bottom of the bowl! 

{mis en place -- usually I never follow directions and do this ahead of time, but when I do I'm always glad I did, as it really does make everything easier and go faster}

{Soup for one - 5 times!}

TGIF



The only thing getting me through today...

thank goodness I know people with Costco cards

who understand my obsession :)

Happy Weekend!

Well folks, we did it. We made it through yet another week with little scars and bruises. Since I still feel like crap, I'm going to spend this weekend positioned in front of my new fancy tv watching mostly educational Bravo reality television and the food network.  I'm pretty pumped.

Last night my roommate and her boyfriend made kick butt margherita pizza.  I take zero credit in anything but the eating of it, and I can attest that it was delicious.  

...and their friends came over with their dogs! Jonah is a 3 year old lab mix and Nike is a 12 week old golden retriever puppy. Needless to say, even though I felt like crap (and still do) the puppies made everything better.

Sharing is caring.

I wish they could stay!

And on another note, a couple of weeks ago my friend at work brought in her niece's girl scout cookie order form.  I obviously placed the largest order at the office (slightly embarrassing) and have been anxiously awaiting their arrival.  Well, today is the day! I told her that she could leave the boxes in my office until she is ready to distribute them, but I am already seriously regretting that decision, as they are now just looming enticingly behind me and I'm now going to have to use every ounce of self-control not to break into them. I've strategically placed them behind me so I'm going that whole "out of sight out of mind" thing will apply.  It probably won't.

Happy Weekend!

Sick Day (The real kind)

Last night I could feel a sore throat start creeping its way into my system.  I tried to ignore it and blame it on the dry February air, swearing to use my (expensive) humidifyer religiously until it went away.  I told myself I wasn't going to get one of my bi-annual horriblenogoodlastfor weeks colds. I went to trivia night with the gang in the hopes of winning six pairs of tickets to tonight's Celtics-Lakers game (well, I could care less about the tickets, I was just looking to prove myself as a random-fact-knower) and as the night went on my throat got worse. So did our trivia score and though Emma and I racked up some serious points because the boys had no idea what the movie "Serendipity" was and had even less of an idea about the cooking technique "blanching," we didn't win the tickets. I did, however, receive a free New Castle tshirt that I am pretty pumped about. But, this morning what I woke up my throat was worse, I was achy all over and I've been exhausted all day. Yuck.

However, even though I've been taking my temperature at my desk all day (yes mom, I really have been) it was celebrate February birthdays day at work and there was lots of delicious cake -- I gave myself a sizeable piece because afterall, I'm sick -- and my recent impulse purchased arrived much sooner than I expected and it's almost too good to be true.  I'm looking forward to going home to my book, my cozy afghan my mom made me, and my cozy bed and going to sleep early.  Thank goodness it's almost the weekend!

PS - Another thing to add to the list of things that make college easier than real life: you can't just not go to work when you feel sick because then it counts as a sick day and there are not unlimited numbers of those so you have to use them wisely. It is only February, afterall. lame.

PPS - if anyone is looking to get me something for Valentine's Day, this is an option. Note that whoever gives me one of these will not only be my favorite person of all time for the rest of time, but will also be able to weigh in on the name:

Humpday Inspiration

Though the sun is out, it's still bitterly cold.  And since, due to some recent impulse purchases that shall not be mentioned since my financial advisor (father) reads this, there won't be any flowers on my desk any time soon, these photos will have to do.

"The earth laughs in flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

{My parent's veranda, San Diego, CA}

{An orchid at my grandparents' house, Essex, CT}

{The Lath House, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA}

 {My grandparents' yard, Essex, CT}

 {The Lath House, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA}

{Another shot at my grandparents house in Essex, CT}

Superbowl Hangover

Now I know what happens when you go shopping with your boyfriend and his dad: you come home with a 37" super fancy tv.

Needless to say, I had some friends over for the Superbowl on Sunday and I think the only healthy thing that was consumed were avacados; although, they were part of a delicious seven layer dish my roommate crafted, so not sure how healthy they really turned out to be.  My boyfriend made his "secret family recipe" knock-your-socks-off-delicious cheese dip that was consumed in approximately 20 minutes.  Katie and Ben brought over a very appropriately themed cake.

...and to top it all off, post-Superbowl Glee was awesome! All in all, a good end to the weekend.  I vow to only eat vegetables for the rest of the week to make up for the lack of healthy foods I ate last weekend.  We'll see how long that lasts...