I've Got 99 Problems But A Kick Ain't One

I came to a harsh realization after graduating from college: meeting new people is just harder when there aren't 2000 kids confined to a half mile radius.  My solution: join a kickball league.  There are plenty of other summer sports leagues I could have joined, but I figured that someone who joins a kickball league has to be a little bit fun and silly, so my odds of meeting people I'd have fun with were pretty good.  My friend and I signed up and made a deal that if it was terrible, we just wouldn't go back.  Last night was the first night and I was pleasantly surprised.  Mind you, I haven't played kickball since I was about 7, and I still flinch when the ball is thrown at me. However, I didn't completely make an ass out of myself, and I was pleased to realize that I wasn't the worst on our team, which someone so creatively named "Red Balls and Vodka," (very mature). No one on our team took the game too seriously and we just had fun with it.  We finished the night with beers at a bar across the street and did some necessary team bonding.  Side note: bonding with strangers is much easier when pitchers of Bud Light are involved.  However, it also makes remember names more difficult.  It's going to be rather awkward when I go back next week and only remember 2 or 3 people's names.  I'm hoping that others will be in the same boat...

All in all - I'm glad I joined.  It'll be something fun to look forward to during the week, and even if it turns out to be terrible, at least I get to act like a kid for a night!

*I can't take credit for the clever title of this post, it's what's on the back of my "uniform

Why I Write

Recently, I've had a lot of people discover my little blog and ask me, "But I don't get it. What's the purpose?"  Good question. The blogging world is viral.  You click on one, it leads you to another, and then another, and pretty soon I find that it is way past my bedtime, yet I'm still awake, marveling at the amount of creativity on the interweb (that's a technical term, if you didn't know.) It's not that I think I'm some sort of creative genius.  Or that what I have to say is so important and great that all of you should be reading it.  This little blog has become a nice hobby for me, almost therapeutic in a way.  Let me explain...

I have a love/hate relationship with the concept of "routine."  In some ways, having a routine is imperative to my fondness of order and control in my life (mom and dad - didn't I just do such a good job of making myself not sound like a control freak??)  In other ways, I am absolutely terrified of getting stuck in a dull routine and never being motivated enough to get out of it.  I know that the worst thing I can do is to settle.  Of course not everything in my life is going to be spectacular at all times, but I don't want everything in my life to be "just fine."  I want them to be great.

How the hell does that have anything to do with a blog?

Creativity - I wasn't an English major for no reason.  I have a passion for writing and while I don't always write novels on here, it's cool to be a mini-published author by my own terms. 
Inspiration - When I see something, read something, make something that inspires me - I write about it. So, I'm always looking for new material.  I'm always searching for things that inspire, thus keeping me on my toes and reminding me that there is so much I want to do, I can't possibly get stuck in a routine. 
Accountability - if I write it and post it, I have to follow through.  I don't have to, I guess, but my closest friends and family read this, and if I keep making lofty statements and don't follow through, sooner or later they're going to call me out.
For my family and friends - who are spread all over the globe. I don't have the luxury of going home for dinner or home for the weekends, and this gives my family another look into my life, in a way that phone conversations can't always provide.  Plus, I'm a "sharer" by nature, and if something makes me happy, I want to tell people about it.
For me - because I just graduated from college, and why not do something self-indulgent and silly?

Besides, it's fun.

Cooking with Paige part 1

One of the best things for my kitchen skills and the worst things for my eating habits was living with Paige.   Basically, if we weren't watching Bravo, we were in the kitchen.  And boy do I miss it! We recently went out to dinner and got some kick butt goat cheese bruschetta.  Well Paigeygirl did a little Camel Clubhouse remix, and just typing this is making my mouth water. Seriously. It was unbelievable. I could eat it all day every day, and therefore I need to refrain from making it too often, or else I will.  The trick is to spread the goat cheese on the bread right after you take it out of the oven (or off the grill if you should be so lucky) so it gets nice and gooey.  The tomato topping is a mix of tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper.  Don't try to use exact measurements, just use as much as you feel like. The gooey goat cheese combined with the crispy-on-the-outside-but-still-perfectly-chewy bread with the bright bruschetta flavors was melt in your mouth delicious.  I can't wait to make it again!

how you doin?

a pup for your monday afternoon. try to tell me one thing that isn't cute about this picture. you wont.

lazy saturday

On the agenda this weekend was surprisingly: nothing. Sometimes it's such a relief to be home with nothing to do and nowhere to go.  Even though I've been complaining about the horrible weather Boston has been having lately, it was sort of nice to have a day to myself with crappy weather.  I had a quiet day of cooking, coffee, reading and napping.  The sun came out late in the afternoon and I went for a run along the Charles and it was just beautiful.  I left my apartment around dusk, so the light on the river really was gorgeous.  It was so relaxing -- I need to remember to have more days like this one!

I tried to make brownie crinkles as a treat for my friends, but they turned out really, really badly. So badly that taking a picture would immediately strip me of any kitchen cred I've earned thus far.  However, melting the chocolate smelled SO good.  It was the only step of the recipe I did successfully...or maybe, this is the part I messed up and the chocolate seized without me knowing it, and that's why the crinkles didn't rise. Baking just ain't my thang, I guess...

Summer Veggies

I've been seriously lacking in the kitchen lately, and frankly it's pretty pathetic for someone who considers themselves a decent cook. I vowed that I was going to make a whole meal last night when I got home from work, despite the gloomy weather and pan of brownies on the counter that could have easily filled me up.  I ate the rest of my pea pesto and have decided that it should just become a staple in my fridge because it is so easy and SO delicious.  I had a ton of vegetables and decided to make an easy dinner by sauteing them all together.  I just added a bit of olive oil and salt & pepper and tossed it all together.  The end result: an easy, flavorful, yummy meal, with plenty leftover to bring for lunch tomorrow.  

{I mean honestly, what's not to like?}

{Bright veggies made my kitchen feel like summer, even with the thunder 

and lightening outside my window}

{The end result, with a little bit of cheese - obviously.}

peas, brownies and giggles

{smiling to hide the tears -- last night of college}

...Three things that make up a perfect date night with little Emma, who provided me with just what I needed to get me out of my funk.  I invited Emma over for dinner with the intention of getting down to business in the kitchen, but this rainy Boston evening provided little motivation.  Instead, we ate way too much pea pesto crostini, so we were too full to make dinner, but not to full to make brownies.  We spent way too much time looking at YouTube videos of puppies. and babies. and other various websites which provoked lots of giggling.  It was wonderful.


Oh, my little Emma, how I adore you and so love your company. Thanks for always knowing just what to say to make me feel better.

{real smiles - before the greatest night EVER}

*Sorry for all of the layout changes -- I'm trying to change things up a bit and it's a lot more complicated than I thought!

Don't Worry, Be Happy.

{Nantucket, 2010}

Last night was one of those nights I wanted to light the lanterns, pour a [very] large glass of wine and go sit on the porch and relax.  Since my mom won't give me her vintage lanterns, the liquor store was closed and I don't have a porch, none of those things happened.  However, I still stewed in my own thoughts for a good long while.  I've been thinking a lot about the future and what it holds for me, and unfortunately I haven't come up with any definite answers.  Not even as definite as where I'm going to live two months from now.  There is so much that I want to do, that I want to see, that I want to learn, and sometimes it feels like there just isn't a way to make it all happen.

If you haven't checked out champagne bubbles, you should.  Camilla recently posted this quote:

"Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want."

I think that is damn good advice.  Tough to follow through with, of course, but good words to live by.  As my mother always says, "use what you have."  I have to try to remember to use what I have to create a happy life, while at the same time, keep my eye on the prize.  As I continue to navigate this awkward post-college/real-world/twenty-something time in my life, I suppose that what that prize is will be narrowed down some, but will remain ever-changing. That's the beauty of my very expensive liberal arts education my parents so kindly donated to (see dad, I didn't forget) -- I have it in my head that I really can do anything.  That goals that seem unreachable really aren't, as long as I work hard enough.  I simply have too many wonderful people in my life telling me that "I can" that all of this "What am I going to do?" introspection really does seem awfully whiny at times.  (But then again, if you can't whine to yourself, who else is going to listen to you?) 

So today, I wake up and take a deep breath. Go for a run along the river to get rid of some pent up energy. Treat myself to a extra large cup of coffee.  And hum Bobby McFerrin all day.

Sights of Summer

Today makes it official: summer is here.  I've spent the summertime in several different places, and these are a few of my most favorite sights of summer:

The jacaranda trees in Southern California are gorgeous -- They are so purple they almost look fake.  I'm seriously missing them this summer.

On-the-vine tomatoes not only taste so much better, but they smell like my childhood, when I would steal the cherry tomatoes off their vines before my dad got home from work and could notice!

Summer calls for being out on the water. We humans aren't the only ones who like to tan...

{San Diego Harbor} 

Summer means baseball season -- I go for the hot dogs and beer, not so much the exhilarating game...

Summer means the beach: sand, surf and serenity.

Philly is Phun

...so fun I didn't take any pictures. Except for this one, on my phone, when the Philly miracle happened: The ice cream man stopped at Pat and Maureen's apartment. 

Team HoJo

{Dad is the best dancer EVER}

It's a big weekend for Team HoJo (also known as Mom and Dad).  

Father's Day and Mom's 29th birthday -- isn't it it amazing that we're only 7 years apart? -- are today! 

Happy Father's Day to my own dad, the greatest dad on the planet!, and all the other ones who fill in when geography gets in the way.

And very very Happy Birthday wishes to you, Mom! Have a wonderful day, you deserve it!

{Dad with the twins!}

{Dad, me, Emma, GoogleNathanson/Boston Dad}

{Pentwater :) }

{It's just like when I was 4 and we had matching pajamas on Christmas....}

{Paris, 2008}

TGIF

This has been an exceptionally long and stressful week. This weekend can't start soon enough!  Last night I went on a pizza date with little Emma -- we went to Zing! and got pizza with carmelized onions, tomatos, cilantro (ew. but surprizingly worth it for this pizza) and pomegranate drizzle. YUM

I keep waking up on the wrong side of the bed

This is the second morning in a row that I woke up and thought it was Friday. And then I realized it wasn't. That has to be about the worst way to start your day, EVER. I guess I'm just so excited to go down to Philly this weekend I keep trying to will it to come sooner, but alas, it's not.

No amount of coffee will make me perky this morning, especially since it came out of the office Keurig (look at me being all fiscally responsible, huh?) and therefore doesn't look like this:

In other news -- Boston brought home the cup last night -- go Bruins! (don't worry Mom, my heart still belongs to the Blackhawks and Chris Chellios, I haven't forgotten my roots.)

The Simplicity of Nature

Nate's dinner. The beauty of simple food never ceases to amaze me.

PS -- how do you like my new blog header? my extremely talented friend maureen made it for me -- i love it!

New Camera!!

Using what my grandfather would lovingly refer to as "women's logic" I decided to use the money I was saving on rent this summer to make two purchases: a bike and a SLR camera.  Well, wouldn't you know that before I could even get my first pay check of June, both items have been purchased. (Shocker.)  I've been wanting a SLR for forever, and I finally bit the bullet and bought a Nikon D3000.  I was able to get two lenses with it (a post on my amazing bargain hunting skills is soon to come) and I'm so pumped to put my new toy to use!  Unfortunately, the weather gods forgot that it was summer, and it was cold and rainy all weekend, so my subjects were limited to my apartment.

{easy weekend reading}

{"an appetizer session"}

{it amazes me how oddly refreshing a glass of water can be}

{a new camera makes an at-home pedicure look that much nicer...}

An evening with Hercules

Yesterday was my one year anniversary in the working world.  It's so crazy that it's been a year since I graduated college and started my real life.  It's been a great year - filled with new friends, new places, some tough challenges and some pretty amazing adventures along the way.  I gave myself a pat on the back and permission to skip out of work a little early in honor of my big day.  As a present to myself, I purchased a new and improved bike seat (the other one was as old as the bike, and seriously uncomfortable) and took Hercules for a ride along the river.  Summer has arrived in Boston and I've been trying to get outside as much as I can.  I topped off the evening with a surprise visit from friends for dinner, and an cold Blue Moon.  Not too shabby.

{The Charles River, sparkling.}

Summer in the Kitchen

If you read my blog, or know me at all, you know that food plays a very large part of my life.  Whether I'm eating it, cooking it, talking about it or thinking about it, it's pretty much an ever-present "thing" in my life. I just got my new Bon Appetit in the mail yesterday and my "To Make" list for the summer is already several pages.  It's a particularly good issue this month, despite the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow is on the cover.  (I have something against her. Not sure why, she has great clothes, a killer body and apparently is a good cook, but still. Don't like her, not one bit.)

Summer is here and that means going to farmers markets, inviting myself to friends' houses who are lucky enough to have a grill, and enjoying a nice refreshing beer -- there's something about a hot summer day that makes an ice cold beer that much more refreshing, don't you think?  For now, here are some photos of summer inching its way into my kitchen tonight -- do you have any recipes I should be adding to my "To Make" list?

Maps as Art

I've always loved maps as art. There's something very personal and inspirational about them. Whenever I see a map or a globe it always makes me think of where in the world I want to go next.  I also reminisce about where I've been lucky enough to travel thus far.  In short, they get me thinking.  I saw this awhile ago and loved every thing in the room - the maps on the wall, the red lamp, the blue chair, and I can just tell that the overhead lamp is awesome.