Me time

I needed a little me time this morning. I am actually getting plenty of me time lately but I guess I just needed some special me time.

This whole being alone thing is weird. I discovered not too long ago that I as a person do not need a lot of alone time. I'm basically good after my car ride home from work. That 20 minute drive with my music is allllll the time I need. By the time I walk in the door I am ready to talk and chat (yes talking and chatting are two different things) or do something so this pretty much all the time alone time is a transition. And so far a lonely one.

I have been going to amazing yoga classes after work as much as possible and that has really helped. The teachers are amazing and being in a room with like minded individuals has helped me not feel so alone. But. But I can't go to yoga every day. And. And I need to learn to be enough.

Lipstick and Economics

I have been really into wearing lipstick lately. Have you? I read somewhere a while ago that lipstick sales are a bellwether (do you like that college econ reference?) for how the economy is doing. More lipstick sales says that consumers have less confidence in the economy.... well when I started writing this post I just wanted to talk about my current lipstick habits. I didn't mean to go into discussing the economy....

Anyways... lipstick. A while ago I was rocking fuchsia lips. And I still do, and more often recently since I am man-less and don't have to worry about my man not wanting to kiss my pink lips. Maybe that is why I am wearing more lipstick lately! Epiphany! Another win for  my new normal!!

Recently I discovered Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter, de-lightful (please read in a Mary Poppins accent to get the full effect)! Smooth, vibrant and since its a butter it doesn't dry like some lipsticks do. My current fav is Raspberry Pie, but to be honest I have a bunch of colors on my christmas wish list (like Red Velvet and Sugar Plum) too.

And last but not least I am loving this Clinique one All Heart. I received a postcard in the mail for a free full size and it was such a pleasant surprise. It's a really nice pink shade that subtly darkens my natural lip color for a more everyday not wanting to make such a statement shade. Happiness.

So, tell me? How do you feel about the economy? Just kidding! But are you wearing more lipstick lately too? Am I just getting older and even more old ladyish? Do you have a go to shade that I should try?

Super

Remember when you used to make your lollipops Super Lollipops?

Yeah me too.

Hope your Tuesday is super!

Lovely, Lovely Weekend

I had a very quiet weekend. I'm having a lot of those lately. After a little Happy Hour action with some coworkers Friday evening I went home and tidied up my apartment!! Wooo Hoo! Now that is what I call a rocking Friday night! How's that for sparkling? Sparkling clean!! But in all seriousness I have been cleaning my apartment on Friday evenings a lot lately and I really like it. It preps me for my weekend and then I have a super clean apartment for the weekend where I actually get to spend time in it.

In all honesty I also had an ulterior motive to clean Friday because my Mom and our family friend were coming over Saturday morning to go for a walk. It was a chilly but beautiful morning and we stopped by a local art fair where I succeeded in getting two Christmas presents! Woot woot, check those two off my list!

And Sunday, after a fun high energy yoga session with my favorite instructor I finally hung some pictures in my hallway. They make me smile. I am ALL about things that make me smile.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?!

Wow. It's November.

One of my most favorite places.

So lots has happened since my last post.

Boyfriend and I broke up.

He moved out.

I moved out of the apartment that we lived in and into (a much cuter) one downstairs.

I visited Texas twice to see if something would work out. It didn't.

And now I am getting used to my new normal!

I haven't been single in over 2 years so this is an interesting change. There are so many wonderful ways to fill my days. Ways to bring meaning and life and fun to my days.

For one thing I have an adorable vintage apartment that needs decorating. My very own single girl apartment.

And way more time to practice yoga. I love yoga. I love how strong and empowered I feel when I practice regularly.

And more time for new adventures, my camera, my bike, my everything.

This is an interesting time in my life. I'm determined to thrive and love it. Please join me if you are interested. I promise to be posting a lot more often. :)

What I've Been Up To

So I have been a busy girl lately. Boyfriend and I are moving into a new place that was my Great-Grandmother's. The space and location are GREAT. It's current state... not so much....

Isn't the wall paper lovely?

Wow right. That wall paneling... One side of the master.

The other wall of the master

My new camera! Still learning to use it.... and the guest bath.

So Boyfriend, my Poppy and I spent alllll weekend taking care of that lovely wall paper. But first my dear friend M and her bf DW stopped by with our favorite bagels.

And this is the second time Boyfriend and I have invited M and DW over without any proper furniture first. Ha! But to be fair we haven't even moved in yet this time around!!!

So once we got to work Saturday morning... and then kept working alllllll day... the kitchen FINALLY looked like this!!!

Sorry for the fuzzy wuzzy...

Then Boyfriend and I went home (and I babysat that night for three adorable children...) and slept. We both dreamt about peel wall paper. Have you ever done it. Man oh man. At first it was cathartic. Then it just became a serious pain. For realio.

Boyfriend was much better at peeling wall paper than I am. You can totally tell where Boyfriend stripped and where I finished because of the patch work that needed to be done. We all have our hidden talents. Stripping wall paper is not mine.

Then Sunday bright and early we were back and painting this time!

Ahhh! No wallpaper!!!! :)

White!! Weeeee!

The place is still dated but so much better! I'm just imagining it as a cool Mad Men inspired pad. Dream with me please.

And we also painted the bedroom.

There is my cutie. Working away. Sigh.

 We listened to the Joe Jackson station on Pandora all day Sunday and it was so much fun. Definitely need to rock him more often. Try it. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

So much better right!?

We still have lots of work to do and hopefully I'll get some more pictures up here to share soon. Hopefully with a little "After" photo action too.

And P.S. does anyone know of someone who is in the market for an elderly accessible tub? It has a seat and is on the market. I must sell it in order to get a normal shower/tub situation. Please!!! I'm desperate to be able to soak horizontally!!!

Charming right? Help!

Yes to Love!

I think I may be one of the last people to see this but I want to share it here anyways. This is so awesome and sweet on so many levels! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how many of their friends were involved and you can just see on their faces how happy they are to be there and support the couple.

It kinda made me cry a little. Did you? :)

The Lovely District

I thought I should finally share some of my pictures from my recent trip to Washington, DC. I love that city and I especially LOVE the people that I left there when I graduated. DC will always have a wonderful warm spot in my heart. What a lovely place to explore.

My friend from college MR (also B's Boyfriend) teaches spin classes throughout the District. I had never taken a spin class or a class from a friend so I practically begged B to take one of MR's classes with me. Before the class started we "warmed up" a bit. This picture cracks me up. MR is workin' it, B is watching, the little old man in the corner is stretching (?) and I am obviously taking a picture. Good work MR. Ha.

I am so thankful for B and her closet. She pretty much dressed me for S's graduation. I LOVED this dress. (and isn't her place adorable!!)

 Way to go S!!

The lovely graduate. It was so, so, so great to see her. 

 Outfit picture: Heading to dinner Saturday night. I loved B's neighborhood Cleveland Park. It was so refreshing to walk around everywhere again. Dinner here we come.

 We went to the restaurant Medium Rare. It was a prefix menu of salad, and all you can eat fries and steak. We may have had two servings of fries and steak. It was delicious that is for sure.

On Saturday night our friend was hosting a Prom party. Note: we are all twenty-somethings. There was no underage drinking or fraternizing with minors. When I left graduation earlier in the day I told S and her family that I had this Prom party to go to that evening and as I left S's mom yelled "Have fun a Prom!" Like I was a twenty-something cougar. Nice.

B and I wore tiara's because we were Prom Queens. Ha.

Sunday we went to Eastern Market to wander. Lots of interesting things to look at. This one booth had a ton of amazing mirrors. I really wanted one but shlepping it home would have definitely been an issue.

Hi MR- nice shades.

B bought that adorable hat.

I didn't do any site seeing this trip, I only feel a little guilty about it. Just lots of fun adventures with friends. This picture of the Capitol is pretty much the only touristy part.

Blog meet Isis. B's adorable old lady cat. She is the most vocal cat I have ever met. I had full on conversations with her and no I am not crazy. When we get ready I swear she says things like "Oh girls..." and "Is that really appropriate..?" (imagine an old lady saying it...) She's funny. 

 On Monday we visited MR at work. NASA that is. And he showed us around and told us all sorts of top secret information. Not at all really but it was still neat to check out his cubicle in basically your everyday DC office building. Every office building you work in has a gift shop right? Ha.

 And last but not least on Monday night I met up with one of my best friends from College MFF. Ahh the memories of taking over the school together. hahah.

We went to Mike Isabella's restaurant Graffiato and it was delicious. And hopping when we first got there at 9:30. We ended up closing the place down (hence all the empty chairs behind me) but I swear it was packed when we first got there around 9:30 and on a Monday too. Cheers.

 I had such an amazing time in DC. Thank you again B for hosting me!!!! Till the next time!!

Goodbye Shellac, Hello Seafoam Green!

Shellac finally but the dust over the long weekend I spent camping. It looked great till I spent the weekend outdoors so I am definitely calling the adventure a success.

Now I'm obsessed with the minty Seafoam green.

Happy Wednesday!

P.S. I am having another movie date with my little and need some suggestions on a good PG movie. Thoughts?! :)

UPDATE: We watched Indian in the Cupboard and it was awesome. :)

Shellac Nails with my Bestie B!

I am definitely enjoying my time in DC!

After lunch with two of my ultimate best friends, B and I headed to get a Shellac manicure for the first time! What do you think?

I'll keep you updated on how it lasts! :)

Heading to DC!

Happily waiting in the airport for my flight to DC! I love that there is free wifi so I get to browse my fav blogs while I wait!

A Very Special Kid

I just stumbled upon the most amazing child.

I don't know if I am just a big cry baby or what but this short film about this 9 year old boy named Caine made my eyes well up with how very special he is.

I know it seems long, being 11 minutes an all, but it is so worth it to witness the magic of an imaginative child. I always thought that you can never be bored because only boring people get bored. Caine has taken that mantra to a whole new level.

I hope you enjoy this film as much as I have. Let me know if you cried too or if I'm just a big sap!! :)

P.S. My favorite part maybe how he uses calculators. Oh man what a smart boy. :)

Mojito Cookies!!

What? Two recipe posts in a row?? Really? Yeppers. And this next recipe is also a good one. 

So I have officially decided that I am a bad blogger because I never take pictures and then need my friends to remind me that I should blog about X, Y, or Z activity. Thanks friends for being good blogger buddies.

This weekend I decided to make amazing Mojito Cookies to bring over to the family Easter celebration. I'm sorry I didn't take very many pictures but I figured I should share the delicious recipe anyways. It was pretty easy- the most annoying part was definitely zesting the limes. Man I do not care for zesting. I am always afraid I am going to scrap all the skin off my fingers and it takes a really long time! Have I ever told you that I am not a patient person? So here is the recipe with some of my notes thrown in for good measure!

Ingredients:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened but still cool
1 Cup Granulated Sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling dough
1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg
1½ Cups Loosely Packed Mint Leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
2 Tablespoon Lime Zest
1½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Line2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse one cup of granulated sugar and mint leaves until the leaves have been ground down and combined with the sugar.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

I love my mixer. You are amazing dear mixer.

Cream the butter, the mint sugar, and the brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg, lime zest and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Place the ½ cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball between moistened palms, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). 

Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in the remaining sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking (after every 2 or 3 cookies).

Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and their center are just set and very lightly colored, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. You really want to pay attention to the cookies in the oven at this point. It is crucial that they come out before they get too done. You want them to be a lovely soft sugar cookie texture. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yum. And yes this recipe makes more than two cookies. These were just the cookies I brought with me to work today. Yes, I used past tense. They no longer exist in this world. YUM.

And I even got to share them with my dear friend M!! She was in town over the weekend! She currently (do you like how I refer to your current location as temporary M?!) lives up in San Fran living an awesome life and I miss her bunches and bunches!

 I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Boyfriend and I had a lovely one- we finally had our couples massage! I found it to be kinda awkward. There were toooo many people in the room (four to be exact) while I was naked for my comfort level. But Boyfriend loved it so that's good. Happy Valentine's Day to you! :)

We also met up with some friends at this boisterous rooftop beachside bar. Oh man do I feel old sometimes. Ha!

US

 

THEM

Good weekend. :)

Guest Post Risotto!

Boy do I have a treat for you today! My friend B is going to share another one of her recipes with you! It sounds delicious and she kept telling me that is it super easy and quick to make. I love that! So without further ado- here she is!

Hey everyone! I’d like to start off by thanking E for inviting me back for another guest post; I am going to share two new fun things with you today so I hope you enjoy them!

#1 My birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I got to spend it with my family and boyfriend out in Beaver Creek, Colorado, which was fabulous and fun! I love being out in the mountains, escaping the busy city life. I only checked my email once (can you believe it?) and it felt amazing!

One of my favorite gifts that I received was this purse from my boyfriend! Now I know what you are thinking, “Wow, that’s really cute! It can go from spring to summer to winter, has a nice sort of 60’s mod feel with the geometric lines and also a touch of nautical with the navy and white”  (that is what you are thinking right?). Well this bag is so much more, because form the outside it looks like just a purse, but in actuality it is a camera bag! See the inside below! It holds all my camera stuff, lens’, manual etc. and also has room for my wallet!

My boyfriend got this awesome handbag/camera bag (handcamerabag?) from Ketti Handbags (kettihandbags.com). This designer makes the bags by hand so each is slightly unique. She also only makes about 5 per week, which go on sale every Monday at 9am Pacific Time. It took my boyfriend 2 weeks to get one because you have be so quick at getting the bag into your Shopping Cart and payment in. It makes it that much more special!

#2 The second thing I am going to share with you today is my recipe for Autumn Cranberry Risotto! I like to make this on rainy, chilly days, particularly in the fall. But just the other night we had a spring chill and I felt inspired. The best part, it does not take all the time and work that regular risotto recipes do!

You will need a Deep Covered Baker for this recipe. I got one for Christmas this year and I use it ALL THE TIME! There are so many dishes you can make in it that are so fast! Rachel Ray has a great line of colored ones. I have Rachel Ray’s orange one, which matches my brightly colored kitchen.

Things you will need:

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (I like to also add in about ¼ cup of golden raisins for flavor and color)

1 medium onion

1 cup uncooked Arborio or Risotto rice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 ¾ cup chicken stock

¾ cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc)

salt and pepper

½ cup blanched slivered almonds

2 stalks of celery

3 oz cream cheese

¼ cup parsley

2 cups chicken breasts cooked and diced (I usually by a rotisserie chicken and shred 2 cups)

Steps: 
1. Combine cranberries (and golden raisins if you are using them) and 2 cups of hot water in a cereal sized bowl, set aside

2. Coarsely chop onion. Combine onion, rice and oil in a Deep Covered Baker, stir. Microwave UNCOVERED on high for 2-4 min. or until onion starts to appear translucent.

3. Add stock, wine, salt and pepper to Deep Covered Baker and microwave on high COVERED for 13 min. stirring halfway through.

 4. Meanwhile toast almonds in pan until brown.

5. Slice celery, cut cream cheese into cubes and drain cranberries.

6. Remove Baker from microwave and add chicken and celery. Microwave on high COVERED for 3-5 min. or until risotto appears to be creamy.

 7. Remove Baker from microwave. Add cream cheese and almonds; stir until cheese is fully incorporated. (add more cream cheese if it is not creamy/cheesy enough, who doesn’t love more cheese?)

8. Fold in cranberries and raisins, garnish with parsley (when I am making it for myself I don’t bother with the parsley, but when making for others, it adds some color).

9. Enjoy with some green beans (like I did) or a nice salad or asparagus!

Thanks B for sharing with us!! I think its nuts that you make this whole thing in the microwave! And I bet you don't even need a covered baker just a microwave safe bowl and lid! Neato!