Sunday, September 30, 2012

from the jungles of thailand to the beaches of mexico

- strangers living across the US in july 2008 to some of the best of friends by november 2008

- a recent high school graduate, a college junior, a travel nurse, and a business professional in 2008, to a college senior, a civil engineer, a travel nurse, and an RN in 2012


keep reading for more of our story....

Thursday, September 27, 2012

the little things: this is the life

scene #1:
mr p and i lounging on the couch

he's got his computer out perusing video game stuff
(probably watching videos of video games... i just don't get it, but it seems to fully entertain him, i guess that's all that matters)

i've got a hot plate of freshly roasted red onions
(my new favorite snack that i will only eat at home when nobody but mr p and i are there)

the tv is turned onto a new show on the food network about eating out on the cheap
(it was featuring cleveland! so we couldn't resist)

i begin eating the onions with chopsticks, feeding one to myself, and one to mr p
(you don't need to tell us how awkward and weird we are, we already know)

mr p nonchalantly says:
"you know... this is the life"
"what? sitting on the couch having your girlfriend feed you onions"
"well.. yeah.  all of this, relaxing, doing nothing really."
"yeah... i guess it is!"

scene #2:

i'm in the shower

mr p is in the bathroom shaving or something...

mr p wanted to listen to a particular song
when it was over, i ask him to play something else

"what do you want to listen to?"
"anything you want"

next thing i know... taylor swift takes over the bathroom...

then... mr p is singing louder than her, belting out ALL the words
(now i know who he listens to on his train rides in the mornings :P)

"no, babe, THIS is the life.... you serenading taylor swift to me while i take a hot shower"

our friends tell us that we can never break up because we are so weird with each other.

...i guess they are right ;)

cheers.

p.s. on another note, who does he think he is, coming home from LA bringing me candy corn m&m's and candy corn oreos!?


he KNOWS they will last an insanely short amount of time in our apartment... bring on the sugar highs, because i can't resist eating them!! he came home sunday and the bag of m&m's are almost gone and i'm about to dig into the oreos... good thing we've eaten healthy otherwise and have gone to kickboxing 3 times this week!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

sunday funday: the color run

have you heard of the color run !?
did you run in it?
did you have a blast?

a few weeks ago (on a sunday of course, hence the post title), in the midst of our marathon travel month, we megabused it (for only $35 total for mr p and i roundtrip!) to DC to visit friends and to run the 5k color run...

we started out so fresh and so clean, clean on the crisp morning in national harbor...



...and we finished with a bang

...then danced in the party afterwards

....and ended up looking like this

it was a fun morning that's for sure :)

it wasn't SO fun getting up early after drinking lots of beer and staying up too late the night before playing sobriety test. it's a SUPER fun game that makes you do things like this...


it helps if you have fun friends :P


cheers.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Sunday (extra)-Funday


Dear Bonbon
You treated us so well at our brunch date with my mom in Cleveland.  Your modern, slightly stretched ideas of bubble and squeak and corned beef hash left us confused when they were brought to the table, thinking we had the wrong meals, however were pleasantly surprised as we dove in, practically licking our plates when we were finished.

Dear Mama P,
Thank you for making some of my favorite Vietnamese foods for when my mom came to meet you for the first time.  Nobody could get enough of the fresh summer rolls and banh seo (well, until we literally couldn't fit any more food in our tummies!)  

Dear Cleveland, 
Thanks for opening our eyes to your hidden treasures, your subtle comforts, your new motives for urban revival, and, of course, your wonderful people.

Labor Day weekend , please come around again quickly!

Cheers.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

first world problems: balsamic vinegar dilemma

we shall call the summer of 2012 "the summer of balsamic vinegars"


because 'tis the summer of mr p and i acquiring more balsamics at each food event we attended.  recently we discovered that we enjoy either balsamic and olive oil (or even JUST balsamic vinegar!) as salad dressing.  no need to worry about the mustard, the sugar, the salt and pepper, the lemon juice, the garlic.... that's way too complicated (but tastes good too when we have a chance to whip it up)

we first slimmed the recipe down to balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  we quickly realized that balsamic vinegar by itself is ALMOST as satisfying as it is mixed with oil.  on a small salad, it doesn't make a big difference, larger salads need the extra boost of richness from the oil.

so, last night i had a dilemma: which balsamic vinegar to use for dressing on my dinner salad??
(this is why mr p shouldn't leave me by myself!! i fret over the simplest things!)

i realize this is a rather silly situation.  it's a feat for some people just to stock ONE kind of balsamic vinegar in their cupboards.

i've just come to accept that fact that some people buy designer shoes and handbags, while mr p and i buy specialty vinegars, oils, cured meats, and cheeses (at least it's something we BOTH get to enjoy, right? right.)



so... fig .  i chose fig-infused balsamic vinegar.
it was chosen over black walnut, pomegranate, mango, and extra aged.

mr p left me for LA with a fridge full of fruits and veggies, so i suppose i will get to try a salad with each of the rest of the vinegars by the time he gets back... if i can eat a salad that many times in a row and NOT opt for the entire blueberry pie he ALSO left me :P

cheers!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

sick day

having a sick day is no fun...




but, thankfully i found my last stash of 44 north coffee in the freezer (ahhh so gooood!) after accepting the fact that i was going to have to settle for my "back-up" coffee (ugh... it's SO bad)

and... thankfully mr p thought i might like one of the centerpieces from the wedding he attended this weekend while i was in mexico  (can we say GORGEOUS!?)

at least enjoyed a pretty table while i enjoyed my afternoon brew (extra late! eek! won't sleep tonight!)  

also ...the fish serving plate was originally $36 from west elm ! craziness!  sometimes i get annoyed at all the "junk" email, but then some times i'm in the mood to actually look at those emails, and i get pleasant surprise sales at places that are typically WAY to expensive for my budget..

happy wednesday :)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

M.I.A. because of Mex-i-co

well... mexico AND other stuff....

(you left us for THAT long and didn't even give us a warning!?)

sorry, readers, that's what happens when i'm so on the go and my day job (aka the one that pays the bills) has me working longer hours...  what i CAN do is leave you with a few sneak peaks of where we've been the last few weeks!




if you couldn't tell from the photos, we:
-  ate and drank (a lot)
 - then i ran it all off in a 5k (ha, if ONLY a 5k would reverse a whole weekend of bad food and too many drinks)
- then i spent a weekend in paradise with far-away friends

mr p's weekend in paradise with far-away friends is going to be this weekend, which means whole house to myself, which means (crossing my fingers) catching up on a LOT of blogging!

stay tuned, my friends...

cheers!