the little things: a sammich and a sweet

in january we lost one of the nicest, kindest people i know.

everyone who knew him would say the same thing.

...and today would have been his 29th birthday.

from the big heart of his mom, at least 29 random acts of kindness we carried out in his honor.

each day i walk through the streets of new york city, whether it's 5:45am and i'm racing to catch my train to boston, or it's friday night rush hour, i see homeless people everywhere.  sleeping at a storefront,   walking through the warm halls of penn station, i even saw one man this past monday who had a stroller stacked to the brim of belongings NOT belonging to a baby.  i wanted to be mad at him, thinking he probably stole it.  but i couldn't stay mad, because that's all he had.  moms who have it all push full strollers around the city with big smiles on their faces, then bring them back home where they may have even more strollers.  but for this man, the stroller WAS his home.

tonight i decided to go to whole foods, pick up a nutritious sammich (and a justin's peanut butter cup because everyone loves something sweet), walked out of the store destined to give the brown bag of goodies to the first homeless person i saw.  this is the wealthiest neighborhood in boston.  although i kept my eyes peeled, i expected to walk at least a mile to the park (the only place i have EVER seen anyone who looked homeless in boston).

little did i know, though i only had to walk about 3 blocks before finding an elderly aftrican american woman asking for change in a cup.

she totally caught me off guard, but before i had a chance to think "how about a sammich instead" burst out of my mouth.

a genuine "thank you" and her open arms for a hug put a big 'old lump in my throat.

a hug and a "have a good night" later and my job was complete.

maybe you think that buying a sammich for a homeless person is cliche (walking through the store trying to find a good sammich felt like it too, but i couldn't think of something more creative). but lemme tell you, i didn't feel an ounce of cliche after doing it...

i can't think of a better way to remember tyson, by doing something that makes me feel good inside :)

see you on the flip side, tyson! 

and happy birthday.

cheers.

here comes the...

here comes the...

 

 

most beautiful wedding i think I've ever been to!

 

 

the perfect California weather MIGHT have had a little bit to do with it (and you know, that beautiful bride too :P).  it was just warm enough while the sun was out, sunny blue skies, just cool enough for the OUTSIDE RECEPTION for dancing-without-sweating in the evening....

 

big high fives to the newlyweds! we love you guys!

 

you might have seen the bride here, or here.  she's a good friend i met during a trip to asia almost 5 years ago (so are the other two girls in most of the photos!) we hardly get to see each other, as we're split up between the east coast, west coast, and in between, but after spending 2 months with each other way back then, we know we are the best travel buds, and when we see each other it's like no time has passed.  we are so glad we got to celebration vi's big day with the 4 of us all together!  none of them had met mr p during any of our visits, so it was nice to see that he fits right in with our little group :)

 



 

congrats huy and vi :)

 

cheers.

 

p.s. if you're in the LA area and need a photographer, the groom is your guy!  check out his work here.
p.p.s. remember to follow me on facebook, instagram, and bloglovin!

music that makes you smile

a little scene from last week went like this:

 

"hey babe, you need to listen to this new song I just heard"

"ok i'm working now, i'll listen to it later..."

 

"later" comes when my boss goes out to grab lunch, but apparently it only takes 2 minutes to go downstairs and grab some au bon pain because he walks in just as i have this song blaring on my computer...

 

"sorry boss, (mr p) told me to listen to this song"

"oh yeah? ....i guess that's good? ...that he sends you songs?"

 

(phew, he's only confused, that's ok, as long as he's not upset)

(afterall, i do work long hours, through my lunch, 4 hours from home)

 

anyways, if you haven't heard of a fine frenzy, here's an awesome intro, courtesy of mr p's awesome skill of finding music that makes you smile:

 



via

 

how's that for a tuesday?

 

does anyone else want to put this song on a boombox, strap it to the handlebars of your bike, and ride through central park?

no?

just me?

 

(gosh i miss being home)

 

cheers.

 

it's hip to be square

#1. 10 monitors for 3 people. weird.

#2. breakfast burrito for you, strawberry banana smoothie for me

#3. a peak outside my kitchen window.  not too shabby

#4. boston marathon bombing memorial before Boylston opened again

#5. last day with my mom, drinking good beer at the iron monkey

#6. so... i discovered brow color. where have i BEEN!?

#7. new 'hood.  with a big steep hill.  next fall my calves won't even be able to fit into fat-calf boots.

#8. i want that hideaway. if only i had a few million dollars.

#9. mom got artsy-fartsy at the bar

#10. lenny and his soufflé experiment.  not a spec left of mine. you would have licked your dish too

#11. asparagus soup from a beautiful mess.  this will be a staple in my away-from-mr-p-diet.

#12. Tehehe. rice and nori pandas at the sushi counter at whole foods.

#13. I've seen Christmas lights in trees, and i see cherry blossoms.  but lights IN the blossoms!? (sigh)

cheers to the weekend! 

today is my friday, heading to see a beautiful friend marry her one and only this weekend in sunny California!  first stop, though, is the happiest place on earth :)

p.s. follow me on instagram (@beyondthestoop) and pinterest!

too good to NOT share

the weather is perfect.

the flowers are blooming.

it's already MAY.

summer is just around the corner...

  

so why on earth would you make SOUP!?

 

(um, because it's my favorite food, that's why...)

 

...and because I recently saw this recipe on a beautiful mess.

 

...and because asparagus is in season

 

...AND because I was simply intrigued at the idea of a "creamy" asparagus soup.

 

after putting everything in the pot, I took a shower, let it simmer, came back out, tasted the broth and immediately thought "what on earth am I doing, it's already 10:30 at night, i'm making a terrible soup, and i don't have another option for food"  ....don't let this fool you.  after you let it cool and get that stuff in the blender, the flavor explodes.... add a pinch of salt if you need to, squeeze a bit of lemon into it, and plop a dollop of plain greek yogurt on it and you will be impressed.

 

while asparagus is still cheap and in season, I encourage you to go try the recipe!

 



 

do it.

now.

simple asparagus soup.

you won't be disappointed.

 

cheers!

 

p.s. those speckles in the soup are black rice.  I forgot to get a potato, whole foods was closed, and I had some cooked rice in the fridge.  though it's still delicious, it would totally be better with the potato that's listed :P