i had to snap some pictures of penny putting on a little dance performance for me. sometimes, she can be quite the charmer. other times, she's biting my ankles, throwing up all over the floor, or knocking her food and water over in a spastic fit. good thing she's cute.
getting a stipend deposited into my bank account on the last day of each month is rough. let's just say that budgeting is not my strong suit. choosing to buy organic, whole foods makes my body happy, but not my wallet. my macaron obsession and little trips "just to look" in j.crew after work are not so helpful either. a week before pay day every month, i find myself in the same position: completely broke and lusting for things that i can't afford. ahem...
you will be mine this coming tuesday.
{i've been looking for a pair of nude pointy flats for a while now, and these ones from urban outfitters are perfect.}
{i'd like to buy the entire current collection of essie nail polishes, but this one in particular (braziliant) is my favorite.}
{i have a summer craft on the agenda involving wallpaper. i want to cover a hideous portion of drew's desk that i have to stare at every morning when i wake up, and this pattern is so lovely.}
{i've been dreaming about making this chocolate tart since i bookmarked the recipe, but i can never bring myself to cough up the money for coconut oil. must make it soon.}
despite being low on funds, last night i gave into a few things i've been lusting after lately. drew played a show with his band patina at mississippi pizza and i had my heart set on two things: pizza and ice cream. i got a whole wheat pizza with garlic & olive oil base, fresh tomatoes, feta, artichoke hearts, basil and pine nuts.
leftovers. still delicious.
patina.
after my pizza craving was satisfied, i moved on in search of ruby jewel treats, for their caramel with salted dark chocolate ice cream. our visitor, garrett, treated me (no pun intended) to a scoop and i thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
drew and garrett.
(half-eaten) cup of heaven.
though my budgeting skills leave much to be desired, i'm trying to work on only splurging when it's necessary. chocolate coconut milk tart with a hazelnut crust? completely necessary. along with the shoes. and definitely the wallpaper.
i'm attracted to all things vintage and floral, hence my love for anthropologie. i picked up the necessary items yesterday at a thrift shop, and voila! today i have a little jewelry stand.
i plan on making a few more of these for some special women in my life, namely, my grandmother. she sells antiques and vintage clothing, and i know she would adore one.
no, i did not go insane and chop off my own hair. i did what any normal woman who is sick of her hair does: gave it very little thought and ran to the nearest hairdresser before i changed my mind. my hair had grown so long that it was becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming to tame. and by tame, i mean straighten. my natural curls were starting to do strange things, leaving me resembling the love child of alanis morissette and weird al yankovick.
terrifying. after the hairdresser had washed and combed my hair out, she measured it with a ruler and realized that i had ten inches of hair to spare to donate to locks of love. she assured me that there would still be "enough" hair leftover on my head. immediately, flashbacks of the bowl cuts my dad used to make my sister and i get when we were younger flooded my brain. i grappled with the choice, pleaded that she not make me look like a little ukranian boy (bowl cut flashback), and ultimately decided to just go for it.
i survived! afterwards, i treated myself to a celebratory bite at the food carts next to the salon. i had a spicy tofu and kimchi taco from the amazing koi fusion truck and a blood orange sorbet from the oregon ice works truck for dessert.
i realize that mother's day was a week ago, but i like to be fashionably late. don't worry, i called my mom and sent a spongebob squarepants card on the big day. yes, i did say a spongebob squarepants card. my mom has never been a traditional, betty crocker mom. she wasn't in the pta, she didn't volunteer to chaperone field trips, and she'll never like sappy mother's day cards. instead, she was coming home at midnight from gigs (she was the singer in a blues band), and then getting up at the crack of dawn the next morning to run a video production company. in the spirit of mother's day, here are a few things i've learned from my mom over the years:
1. there's nothing that a glass of wine and a bag of potato chips can't fix. 2. it's okay to wear all black. every day. 3. it's also okay to wear spongebob squarepants pajamas to bed. 4. when making chocolate chip cookies, always remember to buy the slice and bake kind. lord knows it's too difficult to make them from scratch. 5. when making chocolate chip cookies, always remember to turn the oven on. 6. when making chocolate chip cookies, always remember to set a timer, or they'll burn. 7. florida is pronounced "flah-ri-dah", orange is pronounced "ah-ringe". 8. when you have two daughters who constantly make fun of your new york accent, having the ability to laugh at yourself is crucial. 9. there's no point in stressing about things out of your control. see # 1.
natasha and mom
one thing i'm still learning, and hope to possess as i mature, is my mom's selflessness and ability to put others' needs before hers. she's truly amazing (sorry, had to get a little sappy).
one thing i think my mom could learn from me: how to cook. frozen waffles and fish sticks don't really bring the words "culinary genius" to mind. like i said, she's no june cleaver. thankfully, i inherited my cooking skills from my dad.
veggie enchiladas
1 package of soft corn tortillas 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 can of corn, rinsed and drained 4 plum tomatoes 1 red onion 1 bunch cilantro 1 can enchilada sauce (red or green) 1 package shredded mexican cheese fresh lime juice 1 tbsp cumin 2 tbsp olive oil
start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. in a large bowl, combine black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, cumin, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.pour mixture onto a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until the onion is softened and the beans and corn get a bit crispy. once the mixture has been roasted, add in chopped cilantro and about half the bag of cheese. spoon mixture into tortillas, wrap tortillas and place in a lightly greased baking dish. pour enchilada sauce over tortillas, and top with the remaining cheese. bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. serve with sides of your choice: we had sliced avocado, sliced radish, extra lime, and shredded cabbage. devour these as fast as you can, then resume watching episodes of 30 rock until the wee hours of the morning (instant netflix = trouble)
shout-out to drew's mom for my adorable apron!
hope you like this post, mom. but for the safety of natasha and dad, please don't try to make these enchiladas.
i just want to listen to this song on repeat. actually, i have just been listening to this song on repeat. full volume. poor drew.
yes, that's what i've been doing instead of blogging. oh, and work, school, internships + a little bit of play. on tuesday, drew and i ducked out of work early and took a road trip to seattle. the purpose of this trip was for drew to hear a lecture given by his writing idol, richard ford. since the lecture didn't start until 7:30, i took it upon myself to make the rest of the trip about food. we arrived in seattle at 4, so we walked through pike place market, stopping at a grassy spot by the water and took a quick snooze in the sun.
as i do before every trip, i scoped out the area for the best places to eat. our first stop was this bakery for french macarons. i am completely obsessed with these little morsels of heaven. i got a chocolate and orange ganache, and a coffee one for drew. i think it's safe to say he's now a fan. choosing a dinner spot was difficult because all of the restaurants were way out of our price range. we ended up at this japanese restaurant that had an amazing happy hour menu. the food was so delicious and reasonably priced- they even had the option of brown rice sushi for health nuts like me.
after dinner, we rolled our stuffed selves a couple of blocks over to benaroya hall, which was absolutely gorgeous. richard ford gave an honest, funny, and interesting lecture on writing that captivated and charmed me. after he gave a short reading from his upcoming novel, there was a reception with wine, snacks, and a chance to speak with him in person. drew and i walked over to him and introduced ourselves. as usual, whenever i'm around anyone remotely famous, i started to sweat uncontrollably. i couldn't even imagine how drew was feeling, meeting one of his favorite authors and biggest influences. the two men discussed drew's future plans for his creative writing mfa program, and richard ford offered up valuable, genuine advice.
drew's moment of glory
the trip was definitely a success; drew left feeling high on richard ford, and i left feeling sweaty and satisfied after a day of good eats.
speaking of good eats, an enchilada recipe is on the way. most of my meals during the week consist of boring vegetarian concoctions involving tempeh or lentils that i doubt would appeal to anyone besides me. since we both have actual time to cook this weekend, enchiladas are on the menu! stay tuned.
