Oh no! I got on here to check something yesterday and realized I haven't posted anything since... MAY! Ahhh! And now it's June... oh, no, July, July 1st already!
Well, since May 7th I made the Big Decision to move home, to Ohio, for the summer. So things were crazy for awhile as I crossed all those things off my "To Do While Living in New York" list (and had a pretty fab time doing everything) then had the fam with me and all those sad goodbyes with my friends then packed up the last year of my life (actually, I couldn't really get myself to pack up like anything so thank goodness my family understood and could do everything for me -- thanks Mom, Dad, and Bec!) and headed west, back to Ohio.
I've been back for a week and a half and so far it's been pretty great. I've done some odd jobs, painting and such, a little unpacking, a lot of fun cooking, and gotten to enjoy the slower pace of life that comes with the country and not being in New York City.
How long I'll be here, I can't say for certain. I'm weighing a lot of options right now and doing a lot of praying. I could go on a new adventure somewhere else in the world/country, or go back to New York. For now though a break was needed and I'm content to enjoy where I'm at and treasure the time I have with my family :)
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Monday, July 1, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Springtime Smoothie
Hello all!
It's been a long time between postings... again :( I apologize. Time is just flying though! Can you believe it's already May?? I have a few fun updates to give then have a refreshing and delicious smoothie recipe to share in celebration of the fantastic sunny weather that most of the country is experiencing, on and off at least.
Exciting news! I got my first (big) freelancing job last week! Redoing the site for an actor/comedian/musician who I'd met eons ago (as in during the summer) and just got into contact with me again asking if I'd still be interested in the job. Of course! I'm super excited for this chance not only because it's, like, a job but because New York is FULL of actors and dancers and bands and singers who will need sites at some point in their career and if I can get started and into that niche now... fantastic!
I met with the guy today (that sounds unprofessional... my client?) and got a starting plan and outline figured out, now I just need to buckle down and get to work! Which is really what I should be doing instead of blogging... but it's been too long since I've posted... so here I am :)
I went to pilates again on Monday. It was a rainy day, the type where you were too warm with a coat on but chilly without one. I woke up and wasn't sure I'd been going but after a perky text from Summer (having her as both my friend and my instructor works great for accountability!) I knew the class would be well worth the money and trip. Sure enough, it was a great time with Ebony and I being the only students that day. It was great with just two, although there's so much talk now in the restaurant about the classes I expect it to be blown up with people next time. Afterwards we went out for frozen yogurt, which may have cancelled out the workout, but was absolutely delicious!
It's been a long time between postings... again :( I apologize. Time is just flying though! Can you believe it's already May?? I have a few fun updates to give then have a refreshing and delicious smoothie recipe to share in celebration of the fantastic sunny weather that most of the country is experiencing, on and off at least.
Exciting news! I got my first (big) freelancing job last week! Redoing the site for an actor/comedian/musician who I'd met eons ago (as in during the summer) and just got into contact with me again asking if I'd still be interested in the job. Of course! I'm super excited for this chance not only because it's, like, a job but because New York is FULL of actors and dancers and bands and singers who will need sites at some point in their career and if I can get started and into that niche now... fantastic!
I met with the guy today (that sounds unprofessional... my client?) and got a starting plan and outline figured out, now I just need to buckle down and get to work! Which is really what I should be doing instead of blogging... but it's been too long since I've posted... so here I am :)
I went to pilates again on Monday. It was a rainy day, the type where you were too warm with a coat on but chilly without one. I woke up and wasn't sure I'd been going but after a perky text from Summer (having her as both my friend and my instructor works great for accountability!) I knew the class would be well worth the money and trip. Sure enough, it was a great time with Ebony and I being the only students that day. It was great with just two, although there's so much talk now in the restaurant about the classes I expect it to be blown up with people next time. Afterwards we went out for frozen yogurt, which may have cancelled out the workout, but was absolutely delicious!
I have some big events coming up that I'm also really looking forward to. Next weekend, one of my closest friends from college is coming for a visit. One of the choirs from our college is coming out to perform at Carnegie Hall and she's coming out with them. Her dad is head of alumni relations and often travels with the choir, which works out really well for us not only in that she's able to come with them as well, but we get to tag along with them for a Broadway show and to watch their Carnegie Hall performance. Some sweet bonuses in addition to seeing my lovely Kara :)
The next weekend is my aunt's wedding so I'll be going home for that, just for a few days. I'm happy to be going back already though.
Now for this smoothie. It stemmed from a random seeming assortment of fruits I had lying around and turned into a lovely combination. This is a very sweet smoothie, I'll warn, but also refreshing light. To turn down the sweet, you could use water as the base and add some lemon juice, rather than the pre-made lemonade. I think it's a great springtime smoothie, since it's not tropical, and is aesthetically pleasing even before being blended up. It's perfect for sipping on while you're reading a book in the back yard to sneak in some outside-time.
Grearberry Smoothie
(Grape, pear, strawberry)
1/2 cup prepared lemonade
6-7 strawberries
1/2 cup green grapes
4 oz Dole fruit cup of pears, drained (or about 1/3 cup chopped pears)
Place all ingredients in your blender in the order they're listed. Blend until smooth. You could also add ice if you prefer a slushier or colder smoothie. Pour into a pretty glass and enjoy in the sunshine! Or on a rainy day when you wish there was sunshine...
**I have a single-serving sized blender which is super handy since I'm just one person :) Just don't get thrown off by the blender being full of liquid and thinking this recipe makes a ton of drinkage. It seems to be right around 16 ounces.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Pilates and Burritos
Does it cancel out the good if you eat a burrito right after a Pilates class? I hope not!
I get in such a health conscious mood when the weather turns nice -- like it's been doing lately! The sunshine and warm days inspire me to exercise and eat healthier and drink lots of smoothies!! (I still enjoy a good ol Salted Caramel Cupcake though...)
Today I tried Pilates for the first time ever. My friend Summer, a server at Hill Country, teaches Pilates and set it up so that HCers could go in once a week for a group class. Today was the first one and even though only 3 of us were there, I think it was very successful!
It was a small enough group that we could still get one-on-one attention from Summer which was great and we could all easily go out for Mexican afterwards :)
The biggest difference I noticed between Pilates and many other forms of exercise is how much you have to focus on various muscles and body parts as you're working out. It will definitely take some getting used to, but I really enjoyed Pilates and hope to return in the next few Mondays!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Love Us Some Hummus
I love hummus.
I first tried it while in college. One of my more health-conscious friends had it to snack on, or for when meals at the caf just weren't up to par. At first I wasn't quite sure about it, and my room mate agreed. I don't remember what we even tried it on, crackers of some sort maybe? However, later that evening, we found ourselves returning for another try. And thus it began. We soon bought our own container of roasted red bell pepper hummus at Wal-Mart to keep in our mini fridge, sneaking potato bread from the caf to eat it with.
When I was home for the summer between that freshman and sophomore year, I remember telling my mom about my newfound love for hummus and asking her to buy some for them to try. She wasn't too keen on the idea and suggested I try making it myself. So I found a recipe and whipped it up. Excitedly pairing it with Wheat Thins and carrots at suppertime and eager for my parents to try and love it as well.
Well. To put it lightly -- it was awful. I'd added waayyyyy to much garlic powder and it wasn't very creamy. Just thick and lumpy and spicy, garlic-spicy.
Disappointed, I decided I'd have to find a recipe that was a little lighter on the garlic and a little more reliable before trying to re-introduce my parents to hummus.
Back at college, another friend was bragging up her mom's hummus recipe which she made for all family gatherings. I begged for the recipe and got it over text when I was home for Fall Break. Unfortunately, it called for tahini which neither my mom or I had never heard of and couldn't find anywhere among the spices. So I tucked the recipe away and the can of garbonzo beans my mom had bought along with the first recipe, just waiting to miraculously find some tahini somewhere.
Fast-forward 1 1/2ish years and here I am in New York City. I learned that tahini is not a spice but a paste made from sesame seeds. I scoured the aisles of my local grocery store as well as any store I happened to wander into that sold groceries. Surely here in New York, tahini would be a common household good, right? Wrong. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked by the spices, I checked by the peanut butter and various nut and seed butters, I searched up and down the racks in the exotic or specific-culture food aisles. Nothing. Well lots of other stuff. Sunflower Seed Paste and Duck Sauce and Caribbean Jerk Chicken Rub, but no tahini, no sesame seed paste.
As I mentioned in my last post (Playing Catch-Up), last weekend I went to my friend Mindy's dance gala. Before heading to work, my friend Selina and I wanted to grab some lunch in the area and Mindy suggested Bread and Honey, a deli and market on 8th Avenue. After getting a BLT to go, I was wandering the aisles in search of the beverage aisle and low and behold, in the first aisle I walked down, my eyes fell upon jars of tahini, right there by the peanut butter. Imagine that. Just for kicks, I also checked if they sold rice noodles, something else I haven't been able to find but want to use for homemade Pad Thai -- sure enough, they had those too!
I didn't get either item that day since I was on my way to work, but happened upon another Bread and Honey, closer to my job, the very next day and found that they also stocked tahini (though no rice noodles) that was actually cheaper than at the other location. I'd call that Fate.
I did find it funny: tahini must not be a big seller there -- the girl ringing me up had no idea what it was and didn't quite understand that it went into hummus.
Finally, I could make this infamous hummus! And boy was I excited.
To start, I'd like to say that I don't have a food processor so I used a blender to make mine. If you have a food processor, use it! It's completely possible to make hummus in a blender, but it definitely involved a little extra work of stopping the blender to push the beans down. Many, many... many times. But in the end, this hummus was totally worth it! I also halved the recipe (hence some of the funny measurements) because it's just for me, not a family get-together. Lastly, I didn't have bulbs of garlic so I used garlic powder. The original recipe would have called for 1 1/2 cloves of garlic + 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
This recipe is for a basic "original" hummus, but I think you could easily add red peppers, roasted garlic, olives, or whatever additives you like :)
I first tried it while in college. One of my more health-conscious friends had it to snack on, or for when meals at the caf just weren't up to par. At first I wasn't quite sure about it, and my room mate agreed. I don't remember what we even tried it on, crackers of some sort maybe? However, later that evening, we found ourselves returning for another try. And thus it began. We soon bought our own container of roasted red bell pepper hummus at Wal-Mart to keep in our mini fridge, sneaking potato bread from the caf to eat it with.
When I was home for the summer between that freshman and sophomore year, I remember telling my mom about my newfound love for hummus and asking her to buy some for them to try. She wasn't too keen on the idea and suggested I try making it myself. So I found a recipe and whipped it up. Excitedly pairing it with Wheat Thins and carrots at suppertime and eager for my parents to try and love it as well.
Well. To put it lightly -- it was awful. I'd added waayyyyy to much garlic powder and it wasn't very creamy. Just thick and lumpy and spicy, garlic-spicy.
Disappointed, I decided I'd have to find a recipe that was a little lighter on the garlic and a little more reliable before trying to re-introduce my parents to hummus.
Back at college, another friend was bragging up her mom's hummus recipe which she made for all family gatherings. I begged for the recipe and got it over text when I was home for Fall Break. Unfortunately, it called for tahini which neither my mom or I had never heard of and couldn't find anywhere among the spices. So I tucked the recipe away and the can of garbonzo beans my mom had bought along with the first recipe, just waiting to miraculously find some tahini somewhere.
Fast-forward 1 1/2ish years and here I am in New York City. I learned that tahini is not a spice but a paste made from sesame seeds. I scoured the aisles of my local grocery store as well as any store I happened to wander into that sold groceries. Surely here in New York, tahini would be a common household good, right? Wrong. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked by the spices, I checked by the peanut butter and various nut and seed butters, I searched up and down the racks in the exotic or specific-culture food aisles. Nothing. Well lots of other stuff. Sunflower Seed Paste and Duck Sauce and Caribbean Jerk Chicken Rub, but no tahini, no sesame seed paste.
As I mentioned in my last post (Playing Catch-Up), last weekend I went to my friend Mindy's dance gala. Before heading to work, my friend Selina and I wanted to grab some lunch in the area and Mindy suggested Bread and Honey, a deli and market on 8th Avenue. After getting a BLT to go, I was wandering the aisles in search of the beverage aisle and low and behold, in the first aisle I walked down, my eyes fell upon jars of tahini, right there by the peanut butter. Imagine that. Just for kicks, I also checked if they sold rice noodles, something else I haven't been able to find but want to use for homemade Pad Thai -- sure enough, they had those too!
I didn't get either item that day since I was on my way to work, but happened upon another Bread and Honey, closer to my job, the very next day and found that they also stocked tahini (though no rice noodles) that was actually cheaper than at the other location. I'd call that Fate.
I did find it funny: tahini must not be a big seller there -- the girl ringing me up had no idea what it was and didn't quite understand that it went into hummus.
Finally, I could make this infamous hummus! And boy was I excited.
To start, I'd like to say that I don't have a food processor so I used a blender to make mine. If you have a food processor, use it! It's completely possible to make hummus in a blender, but it definitely involved a little extra work of stopping the blender to push the beans down. Many, many... many times. But in the end, this hummus was totally worth it! I also halved the recipe (hence some of the funny measurements) because it's just for me, not a family get-together. Lastly, I didn't have bulbs of garlic so I used garlic powder. The original recipe would have called for 1 1/2 cloves of garlic + 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
This recipe is for a basic "original" hummus, but I think you could easily add red peppers, roasted garlic, olives, or whatever additives you like :)
Jan's Original Hummus
1 15 oz can garbonzo beans, drained reserve the juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon + 5 shakes garlic powder
1/4 + 1/8 cup tahini
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
Add all ingredients to a food processor (or in my case, a blender. But, as I said, a food processor would be much easier). Blend the ingredients until smooth and add 1/4 a cup of the reserved bean juice for thinning. Add another 1/8 of a cup until you get the consistency you want.
**Using the blender, I had to add the 1/4 cup bean juice from the start so that it would all blend together and I thought that gave it a good consistency. I also had to stop the blender and push the beans down or stir it up with a spatula multiple times so be prepared for that if using a blender.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Playing Catch-Up
Hello my friends!!
I know, I know, it's been too long. At first it was because nothing that interesting was happening (well except for a spray tan that left me darker than I've ever been in my life...) but don't worry, after nearly a month, I have plenty of fun happenings to report :)
I went home to Ohio for a week over Easter which was wonderful! Except for the part where I had a major cold... which quickly became laryngitis. Oh, then I had to get my wisdom teeth all removed :/ It's alright though, I'm just glad that I was home for all of that and could be taken care of by my sweet parents.
Ohio was filled with family events, church, ice cream dates with my sister, recovery, amazing home cooked meals, and a little thrift shopping. But I did, for the first time, actually miss the city and especially my friends here.
Back in New York, I jumped right back into work at Hill Country. Arriving on a Thursday afternoon (after many delays and what ended up being a 16-hour bus trip) and heading into work that night.
Last weekend I felt like I was living at HC. After working there 8 months I finally had my New Hire Orientation (a 3 1/2 hour event, it did include pastries from our sister restaurant so that made it worth it). It wouldn't have been so delayed except the last orientation was scheduled on the same day Hurricane Sandy rolled into town...
I'd taken my laptop into Manhattan and got to relax at the wonderful Birch Coffee, a new favorite spot of mine, between orientation and the time I actually went into work.
Friday morning, there was a semi-secret concert by Brad Paisley at HC. NashFM, the first country radio station in NYC has been hosting a few little events in our downstairs area and let me tell you, when I picked up the phone my first day back from Easter to hear a guest wanting to make reservations for after the Brad Paisley concert, I got pretty excited! I woke up early and headed into HC once again, and got to watch Mr. Paisley live and up close, playing for just a couple hundred people, packed into the club level of HC. What a great perk of my job, no?
I had another fun, cultural experience on Saturday. My friend Mindy is part of the company at Elisa Monte Dance which had their 32nd Anniversary Season Gala last weekend. After some schedule shuffling, Selina and I, as well as some other HCers who we saw there, were able to go out and support our girl! It was an awesome show.
I'd never been to a dance gala like that or seen much modern dance. I was in awe of the grace and synchronization of the dancers as well as the abilities and endurance of a well-trained human body. My dance repertoire is mostly fun and I hadn't experienced pieces that held so much emotion and stirred up feelings like these did.
My latest new experience was last night -- I went to my first Broadway show!! My high school always has a senior trip to NYC (I didn't actually go on the trip my senior year, having gone to France the summer before and not having the money for both. Oh well, I thought, NYC is close enough to Ohio, I know I'll make it there someday... Little did I know that 3 years later I'd be living here!) and lucky for me, one of the chaperons is not a fan of the Broadway show part of the trip, and gave me his ticket! Yay!
Yesterday morning I found out there were two tickets up for grabs if I could find a friend who wanted to join me, so I called on Samantha who also had never been to a Broadway show! I have to admit I was a little skeptical of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Out the Lights on Broadway... I mean, it's action-packed Spider-Man! And what, now he's gonna sing? But it was great! It took me a bit to get into it but by the end I was loving and very impressed with the stunts and special effects. They stayed true to the comic book nature of the story as well as bringing in the musicality and choreography of Broadway.
It was a nice night (loving this warm, spring weather!!) and we kept it true to New York form. Grabbing dessert at Roxy Delicatessen in Times Square before hitting up the Broadway show then finishing the night by meeting up with Selina for supper (at 11 o'clock at night... we run on a different time schedule than most) in Koreatown.
I hope your last few weeks have been just as delightfully eventful as mine! And I'll really try to do better at consistency... TTFN :)
I know, I know, it's been too long. At first it was because nothing that interesting was happening (well except for a spray tan that left me darker than I've ever been in my life...) but don't worry, after nearly a month, I have plenty of fun happenings to report :)
I went home to Ohio for a week over Easter which was wonderful! Except for the part where I had a major cold... which quickly became laryngitis. Oh, then I had to get my wisdom teeth all removed :/ It's alright though, I'm just glad that I was home for all of that and could be taken care of by my sweet parents.
Ohio was filled with family events, church, ice cream dates with my sister, recovery, amazing home cooked meals, and a little thrift shopping. But I did, for the first time, actually miss the city and especially my friends here.
Back in New York, I jumped right back into work at Hill Country. Arriving on a Thursday afternoon (after many delays and what ended up being a 16-hour bus trip) and heading into work that night.
Last weekend I felt like I was living at HC. After working there 8 months I finally had my New Hire Orientation (a 3 1/2 hour event, it did include pastries from our sister restaurant so that made it worth it). It wouldn't have been so delayed except the last orientation was scheduled on the same day Hurricane Sandy rolled into town...
I'd taken my laptop into Manhattan and got to relax at the wonderful Birch Coffee, a new favorite spot of mine, between orientation and the time I actually went into work.
Friday morning, there was a semi-secret concert by Brad Paisley at HC. NashFM, the first country radio station in NYC has been hosting a few little events in our downstairs area and let me tell you, when I picked up the phone my first day back from Easter to hear a guest wanting to make reservations for after the Brad Paisley concert, I got pretty excited! I woke up early and headed into HC once again, and got to watch Mr. Paisley live and up close, playing for just a couple hundred people, packed into the club level of HC. What a great perk of my job, no?
I had another fun, cultural experience on Saturday. My friend Mindy is part of the company at Elisa Monte Dance which had their 32nd Anniversary Season Gala last weekend. After some schedule shuffling, Selina and I, as well as some other HCers who we saw there, were able to go out and support our girl! It was an awesome show.
I'd never been to a dance gala like that or seen much modern dance. I was in awe of the grace and synchronization of the dancers as well as the abilities and endurance of a well-trained human body. My dance repertoire is mostly fun and I hadn't experienced pieces that held so much emotion and stirred up feelings like these did.
My latest new experience was last night -- I went to my first Broadway show!! My high school always has a senior trip to NYC (I didn't actually go on the trip my senior year, having gone to France the summer before and not having the money for both. Oh well, I thought, NYC is close enough to Ohio, I know I'll make it there someday... Little did I know that 3 years later I'd be living here!) and lucky for me, one of the chaperons is not a fan of the Broadway show part of the trip, and gave me his ticket! Yay!
Yesterday morning I found out there were two tickets up for grabs if I could find a friend who wanted to join me, so I called on Samantha who also had never been to a Broadway show! I have to admit I was a little skeptical of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Out the Lights on Broadway... I mean, it's action-packed Spider-Man! And what, now he's gonna sing? But it was great! It took me a bit to get into it but by the end I was loving and very impressed with the stunts and special effects. They stayed true to the comic book nature of the story as well as bringing in the musicality and choreography of Broadway.
It was a nice night (loving this warm, spring weather!!) and we kept it true to New York form. Grabbing dessert at Roxy Delicatessen in Times Square before hitting up the Broadway show then finishing the night by meeting up with Selina for supper (at 11 o'clock at night... we run on a different time schedule than most) in Koreatown.
I hope your last few weeks have been just as delightfully eventful as mine! And I'll really try to do better at consistency... TTFN :)
Friday, March 22, 2013
Happy Friday :)
I'm heading home to Ohio for a week over Easter and I couldn't be much more excited!! I've made a list of all the foods I want while I'm there, have appointments made, tickets bought, list of things I need to take there and bring back with me, lists of what I've just gotta do while I'm there..
Today I stocked up on some travel-snack-junk food (buy one, get one free mini boxes of Cheez-It and Oreos, say what?!) I also went to the library and stocked up on new books for the trip as well as my time at home since I'll probably be getting my wisdom teeth taken out and have plenty of down time. All I need is one of those travel neck pillows (something I've been wanting for the last couple years and need to just hurry up and buy!) and I'll be all set!
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy New York and all it offers :) Tonight I'm going out for a late supper with a friend. I said I was craving mac n cheese and she suggested a couple places that specialize in and only serve mac n cheese, because stuff like that happens in the city! (Hehe, it still kindof amazes and ahhs me). And later meeting up with some friends at a ping pong lounge place.. Should be a fun night :)
Today I stocked up on some travel-snack-junk food (buy one, get one free mini boxes of Cheez-It and Oreos, say what?!) I also went to the library and stocked up on new books for the trip as well as my time at home since I'll probably be getting my wisdom teeth taken out and have plenty of down time. All I need is one of those travel neck pillows (something I've been wanting for the last couple years and need to just hurry up and buy!) and I'll be all set!
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy New York and all it offers :) Tonight I'm going out for a late supper with a friend. I said I was craving mac n cheese and she suggested a couple places that specialize in and only serve mac n cheese, because stuff like that happens in the city! (Hehe, it still kindof amazes and ahhs me). And later meeting up with some friends at a ping pong lounge place.. Should be a fun night :)
Friday, February 15, 2013
Guide to Letting Go
I'm sad about my time at WeSell ending, but not bitter or hurt. I understand the reasoning and am still hopeful for a position there in the future. I'm very thankful for the opportunity, the friends I made and all of the skills and knowledge I acquired there.
That being said, after I left my internship for the last time yesterday, I headed to Hill Country where I was surrounded with comforting, supportive friends. I decided to let myself be sad last night but really my night was pretty great.
Here is how I let go last night:
That being said, after I left my internship for the last time yesterday, I headed to Hill Country where I was surrounded with comforting, supportive friends. I decided to let myself be sad last night but really my night was pretty great.
Here is how I let go last night:
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Snow, Cafeteria, and Singles Awareness Day
Hello all!
It was a snowy weekend here in NYC, we got about a foot up in my area of the Bronx. I'm not a fan of snow or cold weather in general. But I do feel that if it's going to be freezing cold it should at least have the decency to snow as well. And snow is pretty. I'm always in favor of a good photo op and walking to the subway Friday night after work provided just that. It's a nice walk anyway, right by the Flatiron Building and through Madison Square Park, and with snow coating everything and more coming down it was lovely.
Last night I made banana muffins to take into WeSell today. We had a huge discussion last week about muffins versus cupcakes and what was the definition of a "plain muffin." It was very inspiring. In the sense that it made me want to make some delicious banana muffins which I must say wowed the office and brought everyone together like only food can do :)
Tomorrow is the day of truth. I'm supposed to finally have my evaluation and find out where this internship is leading. I've been there almost 4 1/2 months and am a little anxious about it all but will be happy to have a definite answer, whether good or bad. Wish me luck!
Oh, and since it's after midnight Happy Valentine's Day! Or Singles Awareness Day as I secretly like to refer to it as ;)
XO Ash
It was a snowy weekend here in NYC, we got about a foot up in my area of the Bronx. I'm not a fan of snow or cold weather in general. But I do feel that if it's going to be freezing cold it should at least have the decency to snow as well. And snow is pretty. I'm always in favor of a good photo op and walking to the subway Friday night after work provided just that. It's a nice walk anyway, right by the Flatiron Building and through Madison Square Park, and with snow coating everything and more coming down it was lovely.
Monday, I went out for supper with a friend from HC for a birthday celebration! My birthday was at the end of January and she wanted to take me out so we went to Cafeteria in Chelsea. I hadn't been before and it was de-lish!
Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese Spring Rolls, Spicy Pork Meatball Sliders, and White Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding to finish it off! A-mazing!
Last night I made banana muffins to take into WeSell today. We had a huge discussion last week about muffins versus cupcakes and what was the definition of a "plain muffin." It was very inspiring. In the sense that it made me want to make some delicious banana muffins which I must say wowed the office and brought everyone together like only food can do :)
Tomorrow is the day of truth. I'm supposed to finally have my evaluation and find out where this internship is leading. I've been there almost 4 1/2 months and am a little anxious about it all but will be happy to have a definite answer, whether good or bad. Wish me luck!
Oh, and since it's after midnight Happy Valentine's Day! Or Singles Awareness Day as I secretly like to refer to it as ;)
XO Ash
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Gangnam Style at Hesston
This is where I went to college! A hilarious version of PSY's Gangnam style put on by staff, faculty, and students around campus. Oh how I miss these guys :)
Friday, January 18, 2013
I'm a Paid Artist!
Hello all!
I've had some excitement this week starting with friends visiting this weekend. As usual, we had crazy-full days but had some awesome experiences! From strolling through Central Park to eating noodles from a street vendor in Chinatown, from walking on the beach at Coney Island to having a drunk guy ask to sit with my friend and telling her he just wanted to bite her... it was a classic NYC experience :)
It was great to see my friend from college again as well as meet new friends and make memories. We watched Pitch Perfect every night and listened to its soundtrack every morning - I hadn't seen it before and I'm now obsessed! Overall it was a lovely weekend and I couldn't have asked for better house guests :)
It's so fun to have extra people around! Having visitors helps me remember how fun and exciting this city I'm living in can be!
In other news, I am now a paid artist! In college, I had drawn a picture of a sunflower in a storm which actually turned out pretty good. One of my professors saw it and said it would be prefect for an award he sends out in the winter and wondered if I'd be interested in selling him the rights (he offered to buy the drawing also but I couldn't bear to part with it just yet). I said of course and today in the mail I received a sample of the award as well as a check.
It's so exciting to have your work out there, even if drawing isn't my forte or target area. I do still love it and it feels awesome to have something I've created be recognized and appreciated. And worth money :) I feel honored to have been asked to offer up my work and feel so blessed for the opportunity. And am as excited as ever to see what else God has in store for me!
I've had some excitement this week starting with friends visiting this weekend. As usual, we had crazy-full days but had some awesome experiences! From strolling through Central Park to eating noodles from a street vendor in Chinatown, from walking on the beach at Coney Island to having a drunk guy ask to sit with my friend and telling her he just wanted to bite her... it was a classic NYC experience :)
It was great to see my friend from college again as well as meet new friends and make memories. We watched Pitch Perfect every night and listened to its soundtrack every morning - I hadn't seen it before and I'm now obsessed! Overall it was a lovely weekend and I couldn't have asked for better house guests :)
It's so fun to have extra people around! Having visitors helps me remember how fun and exciting this city I'm living in can be!
In other news, I am now a paid artist! In college, I had drawn a picture of a sunflower in a storm which actually turned out pretty good. One of my professors saw it and said it would be prefect for an award he sends out in the winter and wondered if I'd be interested in selling him the rights (he offered to buy the drawing also but I couldn't bear to part with it just yet). I said of course and today in the mail I received a sample of the award as well as a check.
It's so exciting to have your work out there, even if drawing isn't my forte or target area. I do still love it and it feels awesome to have something I've created be recognized and appreciated. And worth money :) I feel honored to have been asked to offer up my work and feel so blessed for the opportunity. And am as excited as ever to see what else God has in store for me!
Friday, January 4, 2013
My Year in Review
Happy New Year everyone!
I love journaling.
Usually.
Sometimes, I get really distracted and can't write, no matter how many awesome things I have to say. I'll literally just sit, pen in hand, and stare into space, usually thinking through the words I want to write but my hand can't keep up with my mind and the words are lost....
But usually journaling is very therapeutic for me. It's how I put my thoughts together and record memories. And one of the best rewards is going back through old journals and remembering fun or hard times and seeing how God pulled me through situations that seemed earth-shattering at the time.
Some days I like to pull out an old journal and flip through to see what I was doing on that date (or around that date...) one year ago. At the end of the year, I like to flip through my journal from the past year and see how my thinking has changed or look at all the things I went through, all the fun times I had, and how things ended up. Plus, there are so many beautiful journals out there, how could you not want to write and fill it's pages?!
I usually go through one journal a year but this year was a big year for me and I went through two! Since it was such a big year I wanted to share some of the big adventures :) and hopefully encourage you to look over your year!
2012
January: Felt real old, like an actual grown-up, turning 20!
Spent my birthday on a college visit :P but with one of my besties!
Visited home twice!
Got my first internship at Doric Concrete Vaults (designing tombstones ;)
February: Hmm lots of ups and downs in that month....
March: Spring Break! at home... it was fun though!
Dressed as Tinker Bell for Pick-a-Date
Played Cobweb (rocker fairy!) in Hesston's 80's style Midsummer Night's Dream
April: When the schedule became - class, lay out, Sonic :)
Was offered internship in Brooklyn at Resource
May: Got my helix triple pierced
Graduated from Hesston
Said goodbye to all my friends :(
June: Becca graduated!
Visited New York City for the first time.... and moved there 2 weeks later :)
Road trip to Iowa! For Jodi's wedding
Started web design internship at Resource Magazine
July: Celebrated the 4th on the roof with popcorn and chocolate covered strawberries
Used my days off to visit free museums and attractions
Saw Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Had my first visitors! Gingeriches
Boob Auction...
August: Started working at Hill Country BBQ Market as a hostess
Visit from Wendy!
Moved Becca to college
September: Decided to move back to Ohio at Thanksgiving.... yeah that didn't actually happen
Internship at Resource ended
Visit from EMUers
October: Started graphic design internship at WeSell.com
Extra time = gone (working every day)
Hurricane Sandy
November: Granny passed away - went home
Emily's wedding in Indy
Thanksgiving at Hesston!
First Black Friday shopping experience
December: Worked 60 hours every week
Home for one week at Christmas
Visitors! Mom, Dad, Becca, Grandpa
My resolution: Start a new adventure :)
I love journaling.
Usually.
Sometimes, I get really distracted and can't write, no matter how many awesome things I have to say. I'll literally just sit, pen in hand, and stare into space, usually thinking through the words I want to write but my hand can't keep up with my mind and the words are lost....
But usually journaling is very therapeutic for me. It's how I put my thoughts together and record memories. And one of the best rewards is going back through old journals and remembering fun or hard times and seeing how God pulled me through situations that seemed earth-shattering at the time.
Some days I like to pull out an old journal and flip through to see what I was doing on that date (or around that date...) one year ago. At the end of the year, I like to flip through my journal from the past year and see how my thinking has changed or look at all the things I went through, all the fun times I had, and how things ended up. Plus, there are so many beautiful journals out there, how could you not want to write and fill it's pages?!
I usually go through one journal a year but this year was a big year for me and I went through two! Since it was such a big year I wanted to share some of the big adventures :) and hopefully encourage you to look over your year!
2012
January: Felt real old, like an actual grown-up, turning 20!
Spent my birthday on a college visit :P but with one of my besties!
Visited home twice!
Got my first internship at Doric Concrete Vaults (designing tombstones ;)
February: Hmm lots of ups and downs in that month....
March: Spring Break! at home... it was fun though!
Dressed as Tinker Bell for Pick-a-Date
Played Cobweb (rocker fairy!) in Hesston's 80's style Midsummer Night's Dream
April: When the schedule became - class, lay out, Sonic :)
Was offered internship in Brooklyn at Resource
May: Got my helix triple pierced
Graduated from Hesston
Said goodbye to all my friends :(
June: Becca graduated!
Visited New York City for the first time.... and moved there 2 weeks later :)
Road trip to Iowa! For Jodi's wedding
Started web design internship at Resource Magazine
July: Celebrated the 4th on the roof with popcorn and chocolate covered strawberries
Used my days off to visit free museums and attractions
Saw Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Had my first visitors! Gingeriches
Boob Auction...
August: Started working at Hill Country BBQ Market as a hostess
Visit from Wendy!
Moved Becca to college
September: Decided to move back to Ohio at Thanksgiving.... yeah that didn't actually happen
Internship at Resource ended
Visit from EMUers
October: Started graphic design internship at WeSell.com
Extra time = gone (working every day)
Hurricane Sandy
November: Granny passed away - went home
Emily's wedding in Indy
Thanksgiving at Hesston!
First Black Friday shopping experience
December: Worked 60 hours every week
Home for one week at Christmas
Visitors! Mom, Dad, Becca, Grandpa
My resolution: Start a new adventure :)
Friday, November 2, 2012
Fun and Freedom
I saw a pic that my friend Alanah posted on her Facebook wall with this quote on it and loved it! Inspired, I created my own version to be my Facebook cover photo. Hope you like it!
See the full size on my Facebook page.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A Post with Lots of Pictures of Yummy Food
Sorry all! I know I've been really bad about posting lately. I worked 57 hours last week and had a lot of late nights which resulted in my time at home going towards cleaning or doing laundry or trying to plan out how I'm getting places for the holidays, rather than to writing blog posts. I even missed Mug Monday :/ I didn't get home from the office until around 11 and I'm pretty sure all I could do at that point was eat a Salted Caramel Cupcake I'd brought home from Hill Country over the weekend and called it good hehe.
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| Mmmm rich, gooey caramel |
I had a good weekend, mostly just worked at Hill Country but I did go out for brunch on Friday with a friend from Resource. We went to a French Cafe that's pretty new and had some yummy frittatas.
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| Tea, bread, and frittata |
It was really fun to catch up with her and see how things are going at Resource, as well as get a copy of the Fall issue which actually has my name in it! She lives in Williamsburg so I met her there and had my first Williamsburg experience. Except it was raining so it wasn't the full experience of that hipster mecca. Don't worry though, I'll be back to visit her again and have a better report :)
Other highlights from the weekend... I knocked out a few Pinterest projects including cleaning the tray in my toaster oven and trying out what I'm dubbing the most painful mask in the world. It seemed like such a great idea and I was told later in the day that I looked "gorgeous! Did you do something different? To your face or hair or something?" So I guess it was worth something. But wow, I was nearly in tears peeling that thing off. If I use it again I would not put it on my entire face. Be warned!!
Oh! After brunch I stopped by this Italian Bakery that's really near my subway stop home and totally delicious! A treat for the Bronx, I must say. My dad got us pastries from there for breakfast one morning when my parents were moving me out here and he was exploring the area. I've been meaning to go back but waiting on money and finally felt like I could spurge a little. This is what I got there:
It was delicious and a nice sweet treat since my brunch had been so savory.
In case you can't tell, I really like taking pictures of my food :)
Monday, October 1, 2012
Weekend Visits and Apple Upside Down Cake
Hey All!
It seems like forever since I've posted. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I've had a lot of excitement the last few days! Over the weekend, a couple of my friends going to school in Virginia drove up for a visit. They brought a guy friend who had two friends from Germany who were on holiday in NYC. It was a fun weekend of seeing old friends as well as making new ones!
We packed a ton of stuff into Saturday: Central Park, Times Square, lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Grand Central Station, snacks from Crumbs bakery, Staten Island Ferry, Little Italy, supper at Puglia's, the Brooklyn Bridge... And that's not even including all the extra things we saw/did on the way to those places--street performers, street fairs, we even stumbled across the Pagan Pride Day gathering in Battery Park!
It was a busy, wonderful day followed by a relaxing Sunday brunch at Argo Tea on 58th Street, before they headed back to college.
I'll talk more about the other exciting stuff tomorrow! Because tonight, it's Mug Monday.
Inspired by the fall weather and the fact that I was going to have guests, I bought a bag of locally grown, gala apples and yum! My inspiration has carried through to finding tasty fall recipes using these apples.
Today I'd like to share a recipe I found for Coffee Cup Upside Down Cake. This recipe originally came from The Wichita Eagle (which made me like it all the more as I went to college 45 minutes from Wichita) and appeared in an article featuring four mug recipes, all of which look pretty delicious.
When I think of Upside Down Cake, I always think of pineapple but I thought that using apple would be a nice tribute to fall and that, likewise, the caramel-y topping would pay a nice tribute to the apples :) I was not disappointed.
It seems like forever since I've posted. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I've had a lot of excitement the last few days! Over the weekend, a couple of my friends going to school in Virginia drove up for a visit. They brought a guy friend who had two friends from Germany who were on holiday in NYC. It was a fun weekend of seeing old friends as well as making new ones!
We packed a ton of stuff into Saturday: Central Park, Times Square, lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Grand Central Station, snacks from Crumbs bakery, Staten Island Ferry, Little Italy, supper at Puglia's, the Brooklyn Bridge... And that's not even including all the extra things we saw/did on the way to those places--street performers, street fairs, we even stumbled across the Pagan Pride Day gathering in Battery Park!
 |
| Getting a great view of the Manhattan nighttime skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge |
I'll talk more about the other exciting stuff tomorrow! Because tonight, it's Mug Monday.
Inspired by the fall weather and the fact that I was going to have guests, I bought a bag of locally grown, gala apples and yum! My inspiration has carried through to finding tasty fall recipes using these apples.
Today I'd like to share a recipe I found for Coffee Cup Upside Down Cake. This recipe originally came from The Wichita Eagle (which made me like it all the more as I went to college 45 minutes from Wichita) and appeared in an article featuring four mug recipes, all of which look pretty delicious.
When I think of Upside Down Cake, I always think of pineapple but I thought that using apple would be a nice tribute to fall and that, likewise, the caramel-y topping would pay a nice tribute to the apples :) I was not disappointed.
Apple Upside Down Mug Cake
2 Tablespoons butter, divided
3 Tablespoons brown sugar, divided
1/2 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
Few drops vanilla
1/4 cup flour + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder + 2 shakes salt
(or 1/4 cup self-rising flour)
2 pinches cinnamon
Lay apple slices, 1 tablespoon of the butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar in the bottom of a coffee mug. Microwave for 1 minute. Using a fork, mix remaining butter with sugar until creamy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Add flour and cinnamon and stir until smooth.
Swirl the coffee mug to coat all the apples with the sugary butter mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour batter into cup and microwave for 1 minute or until the cake is done.
If you want to actually see the apples and prettiness of this cake, take a small plate and place it upside down on the top of the mug. Holding the plate to the mug, flip them over so that the cake falls onto the plate, apples up.
Yum! Happy Fall, happy Monday, happy baking, happy eating :)
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