Exposed Brick Walls

I know I should complete a real post.
One about NYE fashion and what fun adventures I'll be having.

Unfortunately. I'll be working. Serving up Shrimp and Lobster.
Fun.Fun.
I'm hoping to rake in the cash though and start 2012 off on a better, less broke, note.


So seeing as how I just finished work tonight and have to get some chores done before bedtime and work tomorrow, I thought I would post briefly about one of my favorite obsessions =

Exposed Brick Walls

I would sacrifice a lot in an apartment (or future home) if I could just have an exposed brick wall. 

In the kitchen

In the living room

In the bedroom

Heck, even in the bathroom!

A.N.Y.W.H.E.R.E.

So join me in my obsession and fantasize about having these rooms in your life...

A Very Merry Christmas

Simply want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

I am so blessed by those around me and am grateful for the wonderful people in my life.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Pinterest and Cooking

I have a Christmas Party tonight.
A work Christmas Party.
Which means more drinking than eating.
But I'm stubborn and will use any excuse to cook
So today (courtesy of pinterest) I'm cooking:

Chili

Balsamic Green Beans and Mushrooms

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip

YUM.

I've already posted the recipe for the CHILI

and I have a pre-prepped blend for the Spinach and Artichoke Dip

                       (Get the goods in Galena, Illinios. They don't have a website currently)

BALSAMIC GREEN BEANS AND MUSHROOMS

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

Happy Cooking!

Visitor Alert

My Mother.

My Best Friend.

I couldn't have asked for a better mother. Seriously. She is the most incredible woman I know. If someday I find myself with children, I can only hope that I will sacrifice as much as she did for me. I know it wasn't always easy, but she did a phenomenal job.

Everything I am today, I owe to her.

She taught me to love. to show patience. to understand people. to know yourself. to show forgiveness. to give grace, even when it's undeserved. 

And how to get a little crazy from time to time.

She's not just a great mother,

she's an astounding human being.

I'm just so lucky to call her mom.

And my best friend.

AND SHE'S COMING TO VISIT TOMORROW.

I'm a very happy girl.

And my apartment is the cleanest it's been in quite a while :)

3 Generations.
Love these two women.

Our 2ND time skydiving.
This time was for my 21st birthday.

 Our semi-matching tattoos.

Her's says "Mother" in Hebrew

Mine says "Daughter" in Hebrew

Best College Grad Present EVER.

All my love

and then some. 

Winter Goodies

Shame on me.

I forgot how much I adore cooking and baking.
Seriously. I adore it.

Whenever finals would stress me out, you could, without fail, find me in the kitchen.
Then came June 2011, where I believed I had no working stove.
For. Six. Months.

Since having my stove "fixed", I have been eager to get back in the kitchen.
After work last night, I rushed to the grocery store and gathered ingredients for:

Chili
Stuffed Mushrooms
Gluten-Free Cornbread
Gluten-Free Banana Bread  (Mom's allergic to gluten [and is coming into town on THURS!])
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy Molasses Cookies

Then I hurried home and started cooking like a mad woman (with the genius, Florence, playing in the background!)


Chili first!


Recipe HERE!

I am incapable of following any recipe exactly. It's the inner foodie in me :)
I cut the recipe in half to start with.
Then I used half regular Italian Sausage, half Hot Italian Sausage
Also used half spicy chili beans, half black beans
and 1/4 of the called for onion.

I have to say,
I'm pretty impressed with the outcome.
I let it simmer for over three hours and it turned out like a dream.
Even the boy thought it was fantastic.
I'll definitely be keeping this recipe around, with the added changes, of course!

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

The recipe is HERE!

These tasted AMAZING in the pre-cooked stage.
I used 1 tsp Vanilla and 1/2 tsp Almond
And a handful of cherry soaked dried cranberries to spice it up.

Unfortunately, I'm still learning the temperature change of my stove and I burned the first batch.
The second batch survived, but the oven was cooking the top before the middle even started to cook.
Baking might be a problem in this oven. I'm sure I'll work out the kinks in no time though!

If you're a fan of Chili, please please please try this recipe!

I promise you'll love it.

And please feel free to share any Chili recipes of your own!

I would love to give them a shot and let you know what I think!

Ready for some Laughter?

Since I moved into my new apartment in June,
I haven't had a working stove.
I mean, I HAVE a stove, it just didn't work.

I put in one maintenance request
no one came.
And I'm ashamed to say that due to the busyness of my life,
and the fact that I live alone,
I didn't worry about it.

Soooo
I've been without a stove for 6 months now.
And damn it, I want to bake Christmas goodies.
This morning, while nannying,
I decided enough was enough
and put in another maintenance request.

I arrive home to see a little yellow note from my maintenance man
"Breaker for stove was flipped off"

Awesome.
Humiliating, actually.

I pretty much live by the motto:
"I can do anything boys can do"
Ummm, except turn my stove on, I guess.
I have lived without a stove for SIX months because my breaker was in the wrong position.
Alright, pride, you just got checked.


I can only imagine what that maintenance man thinks of me.

At least I have shelves and shelves lined with excellent choices in books and DVDs.
I do have some redeeming qualities, even on my not-so-hot days :)

Total absence of humor renders life impossible.

Me Time

Precious, precious Me Time.

How I take thee for granted all too often.

My life is...busy.
I have four jobs and a relationship.
I still struggle to make ends meet and I'm pretty sure I'm currently behind on at least 3 bills.

So Me Time gets pushed aside. A LOT.


So night's like these, where I come home from one job, light my holiday scented candles,
turn on a steady flow of artists like: Florence + the machine, Elle Goulding, Mumford&Sons, Jessica Lee Mayfield, Adele, The Avett Brothers, etc.
are beautiful gifts of serenity.

As I said, my life is busy
and I struggle to pay all my bills.
Did I mention, I struggle to pay my bills?

That being the case,
I often feel stressed out.
Much more than I would like.
I mean, let's be honest,
by nature, I'm wound up pretty tight.
I can be a perfectionist, a control freak, an overachiever (the list goes on)
but I try to keep myself from stressing.
Stress is like a poison that seeps through your veins and into your attitude.
It affects the ones we care about most,
as we often take it out on our loved ones.

I'm a big believer/fan of loving on people,
so the last thing I want to to is to burden another person
by saying something harsh or uncalled for.

Moral of the Story?

When life leaves me stressing,

it's normally because I've been neglecting Me Time.

I wish I was one of those "always peaceful/centered" people

BUT I'm one of those "continuously remind myself to chill out" people.

And all in all,

I like who I am.

And I adore the people around me.

BUT

I can't always be around them.

I need my space, my thoughts, my journal, and my candles

to remind me of my center

my balance

my life.

Me Time is crucial to my survival.

And whenever I start to become annoyed by those around me,

I am aware that it is not the others that have the problem,

but myself,

and (most likely) my lack of Me Time.

So here's a cheer to Me Time.

EXACTLY what I needed this week.

Without knowing what I am and Why I am here,

Life is impossible

-Leo Tolstoy

P.S. Missing California and the Ocean today...

When you least expect it...

To be fair,  I haven't shared many wacky things in my life.

But my last Friday night was a nice reminder that MY life,

is  never boring. Ever.

Let's flash to Friday night.

The boy and I both finished our jobs fairly early.

He was first cut, and the night was slow.

I was handing out surveys instead of the usual serving.

After our [not so pleasant] Thursday night,

I was kind of hoping for a quiet night in.

BUT the boy wanted to go downtown,

so I caved,

as I usually do :)

So we arrive at Sneaky Pete's 

(yes, I am aware of what the name sounds like)

and basically, that's exactly what the bar is like.

Completely sketch.

But it has great dancing, which is what we're all about.

Our other friends were already there.

D-ruuunk.

"Great" I thought to myself.

"Time to catch up."

But I just wasn't quite feeling it.

And stuck to a few drinks over the hours we were there.

Flash to bar close,

I'm sober.

Everyone else is...not.

A friend of mine slips on a spilled drink and falls flat on her ass.

As I bend down to help her up,

I hear some random lady, whom none of us have ever even SEEN,

heckling my friend.

Calling her all sorts of vile words and telling her to "go home" and "you're done",

you know, plus a bazillion cuss words.

There's one thing to understand about me.

I'm loyal.

and I'm protective as HELL over my friends.

Feel free to insult me,

and I'll chalk it up to your unhappiness and insecurity.

BUT insult my friends, and it's another story.

However, I'm sober, and my logical mind knows not to pick a fight.

So instead, as I help my friend up, I turn my neck and face to see the random lady,

still hurling verbal insults at my friend and I say

"Listen, We've ALL been there, ok."

This.

is the moment everything changes.

The woman stands up,

starts screaming (yes, screaming) 

as she charges, 

FULL SPEED AHEAD

at me.

Shocked and confused,

I try to back up,

but she already has her hand around my neck, squeezing hard.

She pushes her weight forward,

causing me to fall beneath her,

and I can feel the back of my head

snap

against the wooden pillar.

Within .5 seconds, 

5 bouncers grabbed her and whipped her outside.

I stand up dazed as everyone looks on with concern.

My first reaction?

"Where's my wristlet?!"

ha.

I knew that the most important thing at the moment 

was NOT losing my ID and credit card.

Needless to say, we left immediately

and hopped in a taxi back to my apartment.

I still have an enormous lump on the back of my head

and a sore wrist/ankle/neck

but I am alive and well.

All I can think of is how angry that lady must be inside,

and of how damaged she must be to react so intensely 

to someone she's never met, who didn't say anything mean.

It's gonna make a great story for the grandkids someday

but in the mean time,

It caused me to reflect a bit.

First:

Trust your instincts

I didn't feel good about going out

and I should have stayed in, obviously.

Second:

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it

I didn't provoke the woman, but whatever she reacted like I had.

We are all guilty of overreacting in our lives

(though I hope none of you charge people's throats on a daily basis[or ever])

We must learn how to provide grace and understanding

when those around us can not see their over reaction clearly.

And we must be conscious of ourselves

reminding our minds the difference between emotions and reality.

The only person in control of your emotions is YOU

and you are the only variable in life you can control.

Just yourself.

No one else.

So before you try to change others,

find a way to better yourself.

You may find that you are much happier and peaceful,

even with chaos around you.

Third:

Don't underestimate those around you. Be prepared for anything.

I would have never thought someone would react that way.

But what I forgot is that we are all unique.

We all have our own set of weaknesses

and our own set of buttons to be pressed.

You never know when you might press someone's button on accident.

As a wise man once said:

Love All, Trust Few.

Thanksgiving: New York Style (Part 3)

Saturday Morning:

Well, as always, we had grand plans of waking up early and getting a move on into the city.

But seeing as how we went to bed at 6:30am

and I've been fighting a nasty cold for the last month

(Thanks multiple nanny jobs)

We slept in a bit and headed into the city around 1pm.

I'm a big fan of walking.

Like, taking the stairs instead of the escalator, elevator, etc.

so we arrived at Penn Station

and walked approx. 20 blocks north to Central Park.

(we ended up walking about 55 blocks total that day. i win.)

I adore Central Park.

Having majored in City Planning,

I have a soft spot for city parks.

I'm a city girl at heart- always have been,

but I grew up in a small town,

and sometimes I crave the silence only nature can provide.

City parks can give a piece of that.

Central Park.

^ Meet Clementine ^

After Central Park, we met up with the Boy's mom and friend

made a quick stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral 

Then it was off to Chelsea Market.

My personal opinion?

A bit contrived.

It was a neat place, but it felt like the whole space was trying to hard.

Like a hipster wannabe

(and trust me, living in MN I have plenty of experience with hipster wannabes)

We ventured up to the 

The High Line Park

and then down to the Chelsea Piers.

Next stop?

Picking up the Boy's Aunt.

She lives in the Village,

where Friends was filmed

and blocks away from Brooke Shields and Sarah Jessica Parker.

New York is funny like that.

We went Little Italy 

(or what's left of it!)

ate some spectacular dinner

met up with the Boy's Uncle

Grabbed desert and coffee at a small cafe'

and then had a little night cap at a small bar

I also had an intriguing conversation with the Boy's Aunt 

about City youngsters and breaking poverty cycles

When we all got back to the hotel 

(around 1am)

we pretty much went straight to bed.

Exhaustion and our hangovers had got the best of us. 

 The above building was designed by the same architect that designed the

Weisman Art Center on the U of MN campus.

Guess who??

Sunday Morning: 

We actually woke up at a decent time!

And jumped on the LIRR,

navigated the subway system into Brooklyn

and then walked back into Manhattan via the 

Brooklyn Bridge.

It was glorious.

After the Brooklyn Bridge,
we walked to the site of the new Trade Tower,
which you can see being constructed in the picture above!
I was hoping the Memorial Site would be finished
but it was not.

So instead we made a quick stop at Saint Paul's church:
The oldest public structure in NYC in continuous use
and also where people started many spontaneous memorials after 9/11.
It was moving to see notes, pictures, posters, etc
from those who has lost loved ones and those sharing their sympathies.

The boy desperately wanted to check out Chinatown,
so we walked (have I mentioned how much I love walking?)
north to Chinatown and stopped in a small deli to get a sandwhich.
We didn't have much time before we had to hop on the subway back to Penn Station to catch our train
But, we did find some neat little streets.

Sadly, Chinatown was our last adventure in NYC.
We boarded the LIRR back to Queens and drove to the airport to catch our flight.
As we flew over the sparkling city lights,
I silently vowed that I would be back sooner rather than later.
And with my mother this time,
as she has never been in her 53 years of life.
She and I are so much alike,
and I know she would adore the city [almost] as much as I do.

The boy and I received an open invite from his Aunt,
to come and stay with her whenever we wanted.
 I warned her to be careful what she said,
because I have every intention of taking her up on the offer.


Beautiful NYC,
I will see you soon.