Sometimes I wander around my yard at home and realize that it’s not actually too bad. Well, as long as the sun is shining and the temperature is above 0 F.
I’ll be back in Vermont in just 2 weeks, after this semester is over and the stress of my final classes as an engineering major are out of the way. 2 more weeks, just 2 more weeks….then I can lounge about and look out at these views with a big mug of tea.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today I head back to Pittsburgh after spending 4 lovely days at home, doing absolutely nothing but watching TV, eating, and just lounging. It’s been wonderful.
Before Tuesday night, I hadn’t been home since June. A lot had changed in that time, let me tell you. Specifically, my mom had adopted a new child into our family.
That would be my new sibling, Kahlua. For real, my mom talks to that thing and holds it like it’s her newborn baby. Not that I’m complaining since it’s taken a little bit of her crazy attention away from me, but it’s a little weird to hear her calling the cat “Kiddo” just like she refers to one of her three human kids. The cat is pretty funny though and I’m pretty thankful that I got to play with an animal for a few days. We were never allowed to have pets in the 18 years that I lived here, but everyone seems to be enjoying the furry addition to the family.
My Wednesday was spent at the dentist’s office (excellent teeth but I’m going to need my wisdom teeth out in the near future – my dad and brother never even got wisdom teeth and I was really hoping that gene would get passed along to me, too. No such luck.) and meeting a friend for lunch at Healthy Living, the local healthy grocery store. Their seitan vindaloo and vegan minestrone soup would give Whole Food’s hot bar a good run for its money. I left that meal feeling full for hours. We even got to go for a short family hike up Mt. Philo in Charlotte. I was just mad that I forgot my camera. We were up at the summit at dusk and had an incredible view of Lake Champlain and the mountains as the sun went down and the stars came out — that’s the kind of stuff that makes me love Vermont.
Thursday was spent as a collective effort in making our feast for four. My sister is down in Panama for four weeks doing volunteer work, getting tan, and having way more fun that she should be allowed to have, so we made do with those of us left in the country. With different vegan and meat lover options, we had quite the spread.
My brother was craving some rolls, so he was in charge of making those. For a first time effort from a 14-year-old chef, they ended up looking pretty good (sadly, not vegan, but he ate 6 rolls during that dinner alone, so I guess they tasted good, too.).
I was in charge of my main vegan dish. I tried out the Fat Free Vegan’s mushroom, lentil, and wild rice timbales. They were a little reminiscent of what my mom throws into Kahlua’s food dish, but they were pretty tasty and absolutely amazing when smothered with some vegan mushroom gravy. I think I’ve eaten one in every meal since Thursday.
The rest of the meal was much of the usual Thanksgiving fare – stuffing with apples and celery, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and some vegan pumpkin pie. Spending the entire day as a family cooking, cleaning, laughing, and just being with each other was actually very nice. You know how sometimes you just want to strangle every member of your family over the holidays? I think that the fact that we hadn’t all been together in 5 months worked out for the best and meant that we were all happy and just thankful to be together and didn’t kill each other.
Yesterday my brother and I hit up South Burlington’s pathetic excuse for a mall at the not crazy hour of 8 am to take advantage of some sales. My family always shops for a needy child at Christmas time, and it had always been a tradition for me and my sister to go and buy snowpants and a few outfits for a kid, but I got to bring my brother into the tradition this year. It’s always great when you can spin your shopping addiction into being for a good cause and to spread a little holiday cheer for someone who otherwise wouldn’t have a very good holiday and I was pretty thankful I could get my brother to feel that same level of satisfaction.
I’ve also been drinking copious amounts of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea – it’s just as good as so many lovely ladies have claimed. I bought enough so that I can have some here in Vermont and bring enough to school to get me through finals.
Now I have to gather up the items of clothing that exploded out of my suitcase and figure out how to get everything back to Pittsburgh. I managed to come here with just a carry-on, and I’m hoping that my Black Friday finds (a new Vermont sweatshirt and some fabulous studded ankle boots that I’d been eyeing forever – so thankful for sales) fit with everything else. I’m also keeping an eye on the weather. I’m flying through DC tonight on my way back to Pittsburgh, and if either of my flights are delayed then getting home is going to be a problem. The 28X airport bus stops running when it gets too late and no one would be around to save me. I’d much rather save taxi money for a few fabulous holiday gifts for my family. I’ll just be thankful once I’m back in my chilly house with a big mug of tea. Scratch that – I’ll be thankful in 2 weeks when this semester and finals are over and I can focus on the holidays, my family, and delicious food. Yup, in 2 weeks I can be thankful.
Here’s to surviving the next 2 weeks!
Yesterday I spoke with my mom on the phone, and she broached that unavoidable issue: Holiday Wish Lists.
I love Christmas as much as the next girl, but when it comes down to coming up with a list of things that I really want on the spot, it’s hard. While shopping I am constantly finding things that I would love to have but don’t think I should just buy for myself, but I can never seem to remember what I found.
It is for this reason that I am going to start accumulating a list now of the items that I definitely hope to find under the tree this year.
A Moleskine Planner
Hey, I’m practical. I love my 2009 Moleskine, and it’s saved me from forgetting my homework or a meeting countless times. At $18.95, it’s not a bargain and I would love for someone to buy it for me.
Spiralizer
I am a foodie at heart, and I love my raw zucchini enough to eat it a million different ways, including thinly sliced and doused in sauce. I’ve been making due with a vegetable peeler and a knife, but this takes a million years to do and the results are just mediocre.
Instant Camera
I’ve fallen in love with the quirkiness and immediacy of instant film images, and while I know Polaroid has been making a comeback, I’d like to get something that I know to be a little more reliably produced. It was between these two. Does anyone know about them and would like to give me/my parents some guidance?
Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S Film Camera
Fuji Instax 200 Instant Film Camera
The September Issue
I haven’t seen it yet and know that I’ll want to watch it over and over again.
Blender and/or Immersion Blender
I need one of these – my life is seriously lacking in smoothies and pureed vegetables.
Anna Sheffield for Target Jewelry
I am in love with this woman’s designs. From Bing Bang to her line for Target, I want to cover my body in her pieces.
A Simple Sewing Machine
I have so many little hemming projects that I need to do, and it would take me many hours that just don’t exist to complete them all by hand. This is where a simple little sewing machine would prove to be very useful.
RagTrader Jewelry
RagTrader is a local Pittsburgh jewelry maker who makes the most darling vintage-inspired jewelry. I actually met her at an Artist’s Fair and bought one of my favorite rings ever. Her products are inexpensive and of good quality, and I really think I’ll be going to her for some of my own Christmas shopping needs.
I know it may seem a little early for Christmas, but this week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy got me in the holiday mood.
What’s on your wish list this year?
Is it possible for the weather to be too nice? I actually think so. Pittsburgh has been so sunny and warm that it’s actually pretty detrimental to my school work. I find myself wanting to spend as much time outside in the sunshine that I can’t bring myself to be cooped up in the library like I actually need to. I think my grades will actually improve quite a bit once it starts being bitterly cold and cloudy.
With that being said, I did take full advantage of that sun yesterday. I had big plans since my roommate let me borrow her car: SHOPPING TRIP.
And I know that I have a bit of a shopping problem, but today I did really well and managed to not spend too much money and only purchased necessities. Well, almost all necessities.
Can I start off by saying how wonderful driving feels? Just me, the open road, and Google maps directions. Lovely.
I may have gotten a little lost when I took the wrong street at a 5 way intersection, but I surprised myself and managed to get back to the street that I needed to through a series of twists and turns down some kind of obscure roads. Does this mean I’m becoming a Pittsburgher? Before I know it I’ll be saying ‘yinz’ and wearing a Steelers jersey on game days.
The real reason for my trip was to go to the Verizon store and see if they would replace my phone. I have insurance on it since I’ve gone through 4 phones in less than 3 years and spent waaaay too much money on replacing them. The past weekend proved to be no exception to my antics and I lost this guy in a parking lot. A very nice man returned it to me, but it was a little worse for the wear and the camera now takes pictures with a giant crack in them.
Good news: they’ll replace it. Bad news: they didn’t have it in stock so they are mailing it to me. It’s annoying because someone has to be home to sign for it (which is a major hassle with classes and work) and then I don’t know how to transfer all of my contacts. She gave me a sheet with data transfer instructions, but I think you have to pay for the service. Damn Verizon and its lack of sim cards.
I also went to Target and bought too many boxes of ZBars, Luna bars, and mini Clif bars. Now I’m set for snacking through the end of the semester. I managed to avoid buying clothes or shoes, but I did snag this watch for $13. It makes me feel awesome so I don’t have any regrets about buying it.
My next stop was Trader Joe’s where I filled up an entire shopping cart with all kinds of goodies. I bought things in multiples that I knew I would be eating a lot of: butternut squash, canned pumpkin, and apples, to name a few. I also bought a box of something that is already 40% done: peanut butter puffins!
So, so, so good.
Today it’s slightly overcast but the high is supposed to be 68 degrees. Weather, why do you torment me so?! I have work to do! Research to be done! Laundry to fold!
Am I the only one without the will power to not give in to beautiful weather? If you’re able to stay inside with your chem book, please, tell me your secret!
Have a lovely Sunday!
In my vigilant quest for inexpensive, vegan, nutritious, and easy snack ideas, I have not been very successful. Veggie Booty disappears in a single sitting, pretzels just don’t fill me up, and other chemical laden bagged treats just make me uncomfortable.
Growing up, I love, love, LOVED popcorn. My little brother was (and still is) a boy scout, so you better bet that my mom made sure that our house was fully stocked with every kind of buttery, caramel laden, and super sweet variety that his troop had to offer. But these treats were expensive and not very healthy or filling. Entire bowls of chocolate covered stuff would disappear in a matter of handfuls.
When I went vegan, I decided that I still needed to get my popcorn fix. An air popper would be an easy way out, but I am a frugal college kid who would rather spend her dough on boxed wine and American Apparel leggings, so I worked with what I had: a stove top, a non-stick pan, some cooking spray, and incredibly cheap kernels.
Once I sprayed the pan, threw in a serving of kernels to cover the bottom of the pan, and turned the heat on medium-high, it was time to let energy do its thing. Oh, and be sure to put a LID on your pan. A glass one is best, but really, common sense here people: popcorn flies. I made sure to shake it once in a while so that none of the kernels burned. Once the popping had slowed, I removed the pan from the heat and dumped my freshly popped kernels onto a plate. Why a plate? Well, that’s so you can get maximal topping distribution.
So there you have it: perfectly popped popcorn.
I would highly recommend this technique over others because it really minimized the number of kernels that didn’t get any action. There were only 4 duds in this whole batch, where as there are usually way too many to count in your typical microwave operation. And this way you get the most bang for your buck. I figured that this amount of popcorn cost 8 cents. 8 CENTS! Compare that to your bag of chips or protein bar that costs several dozen times this amount. Popcorn really has its nutritional side working for it too: at just 105 calories for an ounce of kernels, it packs 3 g of protein and 4 of fiber.
The toppings are really where you seal the deal. I’m a big fan of salt and nutritional yeast, but you could also go the sweet route and top it with cinnamon and sugar. Mix-ins like chocolate chips are always an option, too.
So what are you waiting for? Go pop some corn!
When the lovely Maggie over at My Breakfast Blog tagged me to tell the truth, I had a hard time deciding what kind of truth would be appropriate. I decided to think about it on my walk over to Shadyside to get my iPod repaired (replaced, actually – for free!) and to see if the coupons that I had been emailed would do me any good.
At some point in Gap’s brightly lit kids’ section, it hit me.
Truth: I am an impulsive shopper.
Today, I went shopping without the intention of really buying anything. I had received a 30% coupon for Gap and a 20% discount for Sephora, and being the bargain hunter that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to stock up on necessities and save money on what I would have bought for full price.
Well, once I set foot inside the already holiday blinged-out Sephora, it was all over. I grabbed the mascara that I actually needed, but then proceeded to browse and ended up with new concealer and eye shadow that I convinced myself were absolutely necessary. With the simple swipe of my parent’s credit card, the little black bag with over $50 of unplanned cosmetics was in my hand.
I proceeded to wander down Walnut St, stopping in a few other stores and not being blown away by their sale inventory, so I made my way to Gap, which was really the only other store I should have gone in to. I don’t know how much time I spent in there, how many things I picked up and really wanted, but then talked myself out of. Feeling a little guilty over my product spree, I forced myself to step away from the super marked down girls’ ballet flats. Sure, they were really cute and only $7 with the coupon, but they were really tight and I knew that I would never wear them. I have way too many items in my closet that I’ve worn maybe once, if ever, that were just impulse buys that I really wasn’t in love with.
I took a deep breath and thought about what I actually needed. While today was a ridiculously warm Pittsburgh day with a clear blue sky and temperatures in the 60s, I needed to think about the frigid winter months ahead of me. I wasn’t impressed with the women’s selection of hats and mittens, but the kids’ department had a wonderful selection and I’m lucky enough that my hands are still small enough to fit into a kids’ size L.
$10 for some lovely, practical, and much-needed mittens, and suddenly I felt that strong urge to buy, buy, buy dissipate.
I don’t miss those flats one bit, and now I know that my bank account loves me a little more for my self-control.
I don’t consider myself to be a superstitious person at ALL. I’ve broken many mirrors, walked under ladders, opened up umbrellas indoors, and yet, I seem to be doing well. Granted, my life is kind of topsy turvy, but I blame myself and a series of poor decisions and risky behaviors for the current state of my life.
However, the arrival of a Friday the 13th always makes me squirm a little bit. I can’t remember if anything especially bad has ever happened to me on this date, but I also don’t recall anything extraordinary happening either. I spend my day feeling extra cautious, waiting for something horrible to happen. But while I’ll feel a little jumpy, the rational part of me is still sure that I will wake up tomorrow morning feeling just the same as I always do on a Saturday morning – well, depending on whether or not I go out tonight.
I’m not going to carry around a lucky rabbit’s foot (I used to have one and didn’t realize that they were real rabbit feet. That scarred me for life.) or search for a four-leaf clover to make my day any better. I’m going to go with it and have just decided that whatever happens, happens.
But maybe I’ll avoid high risk activities and traffic intersections for the day.
Do you consider yourself to be superstitious?
This weekend has flown by faster than any other in my entire college career. It’s Sunday night and I’m beginning to freak out a little about where my time actually went. While I am a tad behind on my studying for tomorrow’s Chem test (and here I am doing this), I will say that every second of my crazy weekend was pretty amazing.
I kicked off my weekend with a comedy performance by TJ Miller. I had seen him in Carpoolers for the one season that it was on and absolutely loved his humor on it. So while no one else seemed to know who he was, there was a pretty good turnout at the show. My abs were hardcore sore the next day – laughing for an hour straight is a pretty amazing workout.
Saturday meant one thing and one thing only: Club Soccer. My team and I roadtripped out to Bloomsburg, PA, to play the University of Bloomsburg and Bucknell University. It took us 4.5 hours to get there, with a few navigational issues and a stop or two at Dunkin’ Donuts, so as soon as we parked the car it was time to get out there and play. We got our asses kicked by the Bloomsburg girls, but in our defense, they were all much bigger girls than we are and we had been sitting in a car for a ridiculous amount of time before sprinting our little hearts out. The Bucknell game was much more even, and while we lost by a lone goal, it was the best soccer our team has ever played. As soon as that final whistle blew, we were on the road. We had to hustle for 2 reasons: so we could get Panera for our famished tummies, and so that we could get back to Pittsburgh to get to the party that we were supposed to be throwing. After some free (well, to me at least) Panera, we made it back to campus in 3.5 hours. There may have been a little bit of speeding done, but hey, we had a party to go to.
It was actually supposed to be a Girls’ and Guys’ team mixer, but since we had these away games, it really turned into a party that we partially paid for and showed up a little late to. There were a ton of people there and it was really hard to figure out who was on a team and who just showed up randomly. As the unofficial social chair for our team, I had been in charge of partially organizing it, but I was a little bummed by the randoms that the boys invited and the lack of Skippy (Natty, Vladi, and lemonade for those you of you may not know) that we were promised. I ended up leaving and going to a completely different random dance party. A couple of bowls and episodes of Planet Earth later, I was super peaced. Being in a car for 8 hours and playing nonstop soccer for 3 takes a lot out of a girl.
I woke up this morning still kind of out of it, but Pittsburgh was being truly outstanding: the sky was blue and clear and the temperatures were in the 70s. There was no way I could hang out in my bed waiting for my brain to come back to me so I could do work, so I headed out for a little stroll.
This mirror definitely messed with my head.
Coconut Iced Coffee – who knew I’d actually want one in the middle of November?
Have you ever used one of these hand dryers? The kind that is super powerful and blow your skin all crazy? I’m kind of obsessed with them.
I’m a big fan of the game Apples to Apples, but I was a little confused when I saw this version in the grocery store. What could be so different about it? And who looks for board games at a grocery store?
So, yeah. That was my pretty much my day. I made it Panera for another dinner with my roommate – a Greek salad with no feta and a multigrain baguette did this girl good. Then I went to the library for a few hours before I threw in the towel. I am way, way, WAY tired and really don’t think I can absorb any more information about orbitals right now, so I’m going to call it a night early and cram in the morning.
How was your weekend?
I survived Halloween!
Sure, I was a little drunk when I woke up, but I nursed my hangover with a big bowl of peanut butter and banana oats, slept for 2 more hours, and then I was good to go. I had a really, really, REALLY fun night. People just get so into Halloween and really commit to having the best time ever. Can this be a biannual holiday? Or semiannual, like the Victoria’s Secret sale? Things this good should happen way more often.
I stuck to my plan of being Audrey.
It was funny – girls knew immediately who I was, most guys were clueless (one kid asked me if I was supposed to be Princess Diana…), but the boys at the absolutely ridiculously crazy CFA (fine arts here at CMU) party knew. I guess more people need to be clued in to the amazingness of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Come on people, does it get any more classic that Audrey running around New York in a little black dress? I don’t think so.
This outfit was also perfectly party-proof. My black ballet flats held up on the dance floor and on the many trips up and down the stairs to go pee yet again. I just had to laugh at the more than ridiculous girls wearing crazy platforms and minimal clothing — especially since that was kind of me in the past and I definitely learned my lesson. The sunglasses were a bit of a hazard since half of my time was spent on a dark dance floor, but they also saved my eyes from being poked out by an erratic bee’s wings.
While I tried to stay classy, I did commit a bit of a party foul: in flip cup, I got so excited to flip my Solo cup over that I forgot to chug my beer first. Beer went everywhere and I was a little embarrassed. The best part of a crazy Halloween party is that not many people will actually be able to remember my less than stellar flip.
Now I am constantly refreshing my Facebook feed to see albums from everyone’s crazy night/pretending to do my chem homework. Needless to say, reliving the night of mayhem is definitely taking precedent over my work. This is a once a year thing, though, so I’m allowing myself to procrastinate a bit.
What was the most memorable part of your Halloween?
These little gourds were a special autumn surprise courtesy of my family back in Vermont.
I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and safe night of celebrations.
My sister is being Max from Where the Wild Things Are, mostly because she can declare:
“Let The Wild Rumpus Begin!”
And so,
Let it!
