Beyond The Stoop - Life in Jersey City: obsessions

Showing posts with label obsessions. Show all posts

Monday, November 24, 2014

binge listening

even though we just finished an 8-hour to ohio and back, gosh am i excited for the holidays this year! seeing family and friends (even in the saddest of times) never gets old, even if it means driving 11 hours to get there.

last week we had the unfortunate news that one of our good friends lost a parent. unexpectedly, we dropped our weekend plans to drive to ohio for the funeral. the road ahead for their family will be emotionally rough, but we were fortunate enough to bring some love and smiles to them in such a rough time. that's what friends are for, right?

on our drive, we started listening to this podcast that i actually wasn't very excited about. our friends came over for dinner last week and told us about this podcast called 'cereal' . they were so into it they couldn't help but talk over top of each other in excitement and couldn't get their words out fast enough (i later realized it was 'serial ,' not 'cereal' haha). murder mysteries are just not my thing (and i certainly didn't think that 'binge listening' would be either), but after listening for, oh, about 5 minutes i was already hooked. so much that we are 100% caught up already. yep, we listened to all 9 episodes. if it wasn't for starting it late into the drive TO ohio, we would have listened to it all in 1 sitting. fortunately for us, we got to listen to the last 6 episodes in 1 shot on the way home. the most enticing thing about the podcasts is that they are nearly live. the investigation is happening NOW.

serial is brought to us from the producers of This American Life , for FREE. there's really no reason to NOT try it right? i mean, there's only so much music i can listen to before i just tune it out. this was the perfect roadtrip time-passer! now, if only we could find something similar for our next upcoming roadtrip!! (this american life, maybe? has anyone listened to it before?)

any suggestions for podcasts (or any other roadtrip time-passers) are definitely welcomed ;)

cheers!
jenn

p.s. for kicks, a photo of where we were LAST year at thanksgiving. no turkey in sight, but it was worth the trade for 1 year to have crystal clear blue waters and white sand in our toes!

photo DSC05294_zpse9e2c5ed.jpg

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

obsession: parenthood (the show)

what sort of show ENDS a season in JANUARY!?

the only show i watch, apparently.

clearly i'm upset.

i mean, i rarely watch anything worth watching on television.

usually, the small amount of time it's on, we watch reruns of whatever-food-network-or-HGTV-show-that's-on, but don't REALLY pay attention to it.

via

anyways, parenthood.
it's about the bravermans, a family (of families) in the bay area, each at different stages of familyhood, each with their own issues, but always seem to get it together when it comes to being one big family. the closest i can compare to, is brother and sisters (but way better, of course!) there are a ton of storylines, though, because the family is so big... i guess it's sort of like a prime-time soap opera, but with better actors and more humor. i'm sure you might recognize many of the faces in the photo above, it's filled with famous actors (like lauren graham , aka lorelai gilmore , she plays a very similar role in this show) ...and wikipedia even went to far as to creating a family tree to keep track of them all, for those of you newbies ;)

photo parenthoodfamilytree_zps9f2ac5c0.jpg

via

i have this rule where i don't let ANY television show dictate my nightly events.
(it's a good thing parenthood is on Hulu for free)
tonight i've got plans in the city, so, inevitably, i have to miss it...
(biting my tongue for making that rule)

i guess i have to stay clear of where my mouse takes me on the internets so i don't get a spoiler!

if you haven't watched the show before, there's lots of time to get caught of on all 4 seasons before it starts again next fall :)

cheers!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

jenn styled: oxfords

i know i'm practically the last one to jump on the style of wearing oxfords, but right now i can't help but to try to pair these with everything i own.

so far so good, because i've worn them everyday since saturday. with salmon pants, with leggings (shown, while waiting for a subway train), with black tights and a short lacy dress (same one from the last jenn styled! it was my NYE dress too), yesterday out and about in my pj's, and today with jeggings and a green silky top. plus these ones were a "trial" pair, at only $20 from papaya. when i wear them to pieces (it will be a sad, sad day) i might invest in a more durable, well-made pair.

how do you wear yours?
what do you think about oxfords? i feel like you either love 'em or hate 'em...
(obviously i'm a lover!)

cheers!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

new obsession: yogurt and granola

not just ANY granola.

THIS granola.

well.. it's not really "granola", but it does have oatmeal, nuts, agave, and dried fruit though. i guess it's sort of like granola, but in bar form, and uncooked. yes, UN cooked. which means you can throw it together in literally 10 minutes. i've gotten so good at making it lately that i almost turn it into a game seeing how quickly i can make it.

one of the nicest things about it is that since you don't have to "bake" anything, the quantities of all of the ingredients (and even the list of ingredients too) are left to debate. someone might like 3 times as much cinnamon, or maybe you want to substitute some of the agave for maple syrup (hint: this is a GOOD idea!)

but back to the yogurt. crumbling up this granola and putting it on some vanilla greek yogurt is pretty much heaven. i usually don't necessarily "look foward" to eating breakfast, i just eat because i'm hungry. but this is one of those meals where i think about it all the way to work, then eat it as soon as i sit down (instead of waiting til 9am or 10am like i usually do).

besides taste, though, why is it so good?

1. granola (not the yogurt) is vegan and gluten-free (if you make sure to buy gluten-free oats)

2. it is the perfect topping for ice cream too! or, if you make your own ice cream, layer the oats with the ice cream (high five to mr p for thinking of this trick! see it here)

3. it makes a lot, so you get to eat it ALL week for breakfast!

anyways, you just have to try it! then tell me what you think of apartment therapy's version, and what you would do differently! here's what WE do differently:

half sunflower seed butter, half skippy natural creamy peanut butter

sub 1/4 of the agave with real maple syrup

all dried cranberries instead of whatever dried fruit is in it (we get huge bags of it at BJ's for super cheap)

peanuts, almonds, or walnuts instead of the nuts in the list. we ALWAYS have these on hand (again, because we can get giant containers of them at BJ's for super cheap)

extra cinnamon to taste. i don't know how much i really put in, but i know it's WAY more than it calls for!

cheers to great breakfasts!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

new obsession: army of 3

dear ingrid,

i think you've topped yourself again.

army of 3 is SO FUN .

so fun.

and now, i'm obsessed .

i may or may not have listened to your newly posted video 3 times straight.

love,

j+h

to the rest of you, just watch:

cheers.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

new obsession: maple-mustard glaze (or sauce)

best way to switch up your standard pork chop or chicken breast?

....maple and mustard sauce!!

WHOLE GRAIN mustard, that is.

last night we baked bone-in chicken breasts (only $1.49/pound!!) rubbed in chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, olive oil, and salt, then topped with the maple-mustard sauce after slicing and serving the chicken.

it's sweet, it's a tiny-bit tangy (not like regular mustard though, since it's whole grain and basically just seeds and juice).

Maple-Mustard Sauce/Glaze

2 parts real maple syrup

1 part whole-grain mustard

Glaze: Mix together and brush or drizzle on baked pork chops or baked chicken breast about 10 minutes before finished baking

Sauce: Mix together and drizzle over served meat (and, if you're like me, keep some nearby in a small dish to dip each bite into the sauce!)

what's your favorite pork chop or chicken breast topping? i'd love to hear from you!

toodles.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

New Obsession: The Sweet Potato

i know i know, you're probably thinking "sweet potatoes? really? what's so new about sweet potatoes?"

nothing. it's just that i never liked them before, always had my 5-year-old tastebuds telling me they were gross, so i never ate them. i tried them with my (nearly) 25-year-old tastebuds, and loved them! end of story.

(well kind of)

mr p and i tried making a sweet potato soup a few months back and ~~it was~~ ~~AWFUL!~~ i mean, it just didn't suit our tastebuds. i managed to eat my first portion, but mr p couldn't even make it halfway through without saying he can't eat the rest, and ate something else for dinner. (see!! even WE make bad recipes sometimes!) so, i still had it in my mind it was totally because of the sweet potatoes.

last weekend when we went to philly and ate at sabrina's, my meal came with sweet potato fries (yay! good for detox plan) and i actually liked them.. scratch that... i LOVED them!! who woulda thought?

so last night when i decided to make (our own version of) bubble and squeak, i split it between two pans, and made mr p's with regular russet potatoes, and mine with sweet potatoes. sooo good! it was the first time i had made it in a while, and we definitely used too much butter and oil, but i think i will stick to having sweet potatoes in mine... and i think i will be eating them MUCH more often!

(well... why did you like them now but not a few months ago or when you were little??)

mr p explained it to me like this:
savory is for dinner, sweet is for dessert. don't mix the two.

he's totally right! i had only had them prepared sickeningly sweet (ugh, like paula deens recipe for sweet potato bake here... check out the ratio of potatoes to sugar and butter... makes me nauseous!! ) when there's almost a 1:1 ratio between the sweet potatoes and the sugar and butter, there's something wrong!! even the soup we tried had some maple syrup in it... sweet potatoes are sweet enough!! zero sugar needs to be added to it to be tasty!! ...or... zero sugar should be added for a dish to be a part of a meal instead of a dessert.

my point is, sweet potatoes are delicious when just baked and eaten plain. or turned into fries just like regular potatoes. or fried into a hash sort of like bubble and squeak. just like regular potatoes!

(ok ok, so now you like them. what's the big deal? why do you WANT to substitute them for regular potatoes??)

i always heard they were good for you, but i didn't know why. so last night during dinner i looked it up here, but here's a quick breakdown. just 1 cup has:

- 7 grams of fiber (need 25-ish a day)
- 4 grams of protein
- 769% daily vitamin A
- 65% daily vitamin C
- 8% daily calcium
- 8% daily iron

craziness!!

(at least we had some roasted broccoli to go with this hearty meal to feel like we were still getting some greens!!)

once we perfect the art of the right about of butter and oil for bubble and squeak, we will share the recipe. until then, my friends, i urge you to try using sweet potatoes in a dish that normally calls for regular potatoes (nothing different), and let me know what you think!!!

toodles.
j&h

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