Sunday, February 24, 2013

sunday funday

one good thing about jet lag from being in europe?

it forces you to go to bed at the time you should go to bed and wakes you up at times you should be getting up... which means i was up before the effing sun laid in bed until there was sun outside this morning, and had nothing better to do than be productive.  with more traveling ahead this week, i had to get the things done that mr p can't do himself (ok ok, he DOES cook me dinner EVERY night, so i "guess" i'm ok with doing his laundry :P)

here's a peek at what our day looked like...

 photo fa37825b-e0d7-470e-8323-d7471b970b7f_zpse223b59f.jpg

 photo ed13cec6-c324-4fd3-aadf-5037db7d547d_zpsd533861f.jpg
guac & salsa... mr p's comment to this lunch is "i love being an adult, where chips and salsa is a perfectly acceptable meal"

 photo cae3f1c4-583f-42c9-89aa-e0b1d3d45fde_zpsaf62edcb.jpg  photo 36e7f6dc-3a55-4d9f-ac8a-cc00f9e15e76_zpsa82efdaf.jpg
finally made strawberry rhubarb jam with home-grown rhubarb from my mom's friends garden, and i've got a mild obsession with diet sunkist right now.  just call me kel mitchell.

 photo dd911b05-a17b-4d95-bfb9-619d067be39a_zps5154927f.jpg
thanks for the extra blue ball jars, mom! though we don't have a better place for them than the window sill right now, at least they are pretty to look at.

 photo 2923e5d6-4b68-4c92-a552-392eb9d5b1c1_zps6551fe63.jpg
"hey babe, put on your robe so i can take a picture of you from the back"
(that's exactly what happened 30 seconds before this photo)

 photo de75a6e4-78f1-4f69-b303-b3c9baa46195_zpsaa87003e.jpg
i'm gonna miss cozy days like this while i'm out of town for work this week....
(i'm NOT gonna miss this dry weather when it is overwith!  this whole wearing-socks-24/7-so-my-heels-stop-cracking thing sort of stinks)

cheers.


Friday, February 22, 2013

good people doing good things for the good of the people

it doesn't take a lot for me to be inspired.
in fact, i often read obscure articles or watch videos just because i'm intrigued, but it often leads to inspiration.  i like the feeling, i thrive on knowing there's something bigger, better, more feel-good, puts-me-in-my-happy-place kinds of things out there that i can strive to achieve or take a chance on...
 
this is one of those videos.
 


 
a few of the farmers of the older generation talk about how this new wave of young farmers have "romantic" dreams of living this life on the land, with the land.  i love the encouragement, the passion, the simplicity of their lifestyle.  i think we can all tip our hats at the big crop farmers for all of their hard work and quantity of food they can produce and provide for so many people...

...but it's because of these large farmers that we forget about ones like this.
ones that make good healthy food, just like it came out of your own garden.
ones that make food the way food should be made.
 
i tip my hat to them, feeling inspired after watching that film, and yearning for that simple life.
 
if you're feeling inspired too, but don't have the guts or dreams of doing the same, support your local farmers by joining a csa, finding farmers markets in your area, and supporting farm-to-table chefs who choose local food.
 
cheers!
jenn

Thursday, February 21, 2013

lessons on a late night in liverpool

well if that doesn't sound like a panic at the disco song title...


1.  good food in the UK is like finding a needle in a haystack.

2.  most UK stations stop broadcasting at midnight and start up again at 6am.
(makes it tough to get through the sleepless nights adjusting to the time change)

3.  "mind the gap" is a real phrase... and it's officially become more annoying than the infamous deep male voice on NYC's subway trains saying "stand clear of the closing doors, please"

4.  hairdryers (and subsequently the outlets for the hairdryers) in hotels are located in the desk drawer.

5.  i hate spending nights away from mr p.

6.  there are NO fat people in london.

7.  you have to turn the outlet on before your computer (that may normally take a few tries to turn on) will turn on.

8.  i miss mr p.

9.  nobody checks the tickets on the virgin trains.  my ticket from london to liverpool was 75 pounds.

10.  the internet in hotels (that you have to pay extra for) is very, VERY slow... so sorry for the lack of posts these last few days, i'm lucky enough just to get something to type, let alone bring up anything cool like pictures (that i didn't take because this is a meeting-intensive business trip)

am i as cynical as the dreary UK weather entices yet?

cheers?
jenn

Friday, February 15, 2013

what were YOU doing in the 4th grade?

remember that thing that happened to new jersey last year?
that thing that destroyed the coast?
that thing that took the homes of thousands of people?
that thing that flooded most of hoboken?
that thing that most of america watched on tv each night sitting in their comfy homes saying "oh my... that's TERRible" but soon forgot about as soon as the next breaking news happened...

 photo Peter-Coar-presents-the-Red-Cross-with-a-3335-check-222x300_zpsd98eb87d.jpg

well, this little one didn't forget about hurricane sandy.
he set out to raise money by selling bracelets.

BRACELETS , people!

he lives in jersey city in an area with high elevation, so no house-destroying happened in his neck of the woods. but what he saw on tv moved him. he wanted to help.  but, how does a 4th grader help? he went to the street and worked his butt off selling $5 bracelets. a facebook page might have helped too.

jersey city independent recently reported his story, stating he has raised $3,335!
then donated it to the american red cross

he deserves a big pat on the back, don'tcha think?

cheers to the weekend!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

year of the snake

happy lunar new year!
 
mr p and i snuck out of jersey right after nemo on saturday morning and left for ohio to celebrate lunar new year with his family ...and my mom! she came to cleveland too!
 
(i know, went to ohio AHHH-GAIN, third time this year, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you live so far away)
 
 photo 8cd206fc-fa30-48ac-8f22-c125d69ced04_zps87a5c983.jpg  photo d725bae0-358d-4e33-9c34-875e101d6291_zps0c88b858.jpg
 
 photo 00aaf3a4-1a61-4041-b5ab-243bad442ed9_zps64b8b490.jpg
 
 photo 34ac605b-4c40-4353-960c-3bc7cfe1e4b4_zpsebe4fb9b.jpg
 
 photo fdc29cb9-81b7-479f-a263-e3f4fed6eff5_zps7a167404.jpg  photo 9d4df996-dbf7-4091-bf0c-3c5f2cc03974_zpsb86c75e4.jpg
 
 photo 1fcc15c5-468e-4a7f-b135-43279f4bf065_zps52c3decf.jpg  photo a9950aba-a87f-420c-bb0d-16730e349b2d_zps23966a4d.jpg
 
 photo c2f3d791-70ae-498c-8ee3-01a19feeeff4_zps5878cda2.jpg  photo f7293fac-be83-402b-811d-f20a149c7659_zpsca8e0f79.jpg
 
 photo 45832db9-a696-414a-a518-800622877bff_zpsba2aa82f.jpg
 
 photo 3d29164a-532d-4c18-9d55-0ab1c5fcec28_zpsee67d34d.jpg  photo dc4124b6-81b3-4ba1-b30a-31aa86f28688_zps6e771e56.jpg
 
 photo 2d0c50a2-b944-44f4-917d-af80fe116b11_zps3ad604e6.jpg
 
 photo 599cb3da-c9d9-4687-ae35-f85bc58f62c8_zpsb6e941f2.jpg

 
it was a blast though. the weekend was filled with babies, baby bumps, too much food, big hugs, tall drinks, belly laughs, casino-exploring, chinese-grocery-store-exploring, pho-eating, grammy's-watching, birthday-celebrating... it was nearly perfect.
 
happy (lunar/chinese/asian) new year!
 
cheers!

Monday, February 11, 2013

it's hip to be square

 photo photo1_zps0ee70794.jpg  photo photo2_zpsebcb5a3a.jpg  photo photo3_zps449378e9.jpg  photo photo4_zps2bb27557.jpg  photo photo5_zpsfac7bca3.jpg  photo photo1_zps5c8b6ae3.jpg  photo photo2_zps9775dc9a.jpg  photo photo3_zps7e6ceb35.jpg  photo photo4_zps2e69a68c.jpg  photo photo5_zps5ce40d02.jpg  photo photo1_zps2cbb808a.jpg  photo photo2_zpsf0675488.jpg

1. homemade walnut butter made ONLY because i was too impatient to wait until i got my hands on some almonds.  pretty good, but homemade almond butter is SOOOO much better!
2. regular guac, but with mangos instead of tomatoes. perfect blend of sweet and spicy!
3. posing in the bathroom of barcade.. must have been after a shot (or two!) because that's totally not my thang.
4. 3 mcgangbangs.  yes, that's 6 $1 sammiches from mcd's (must have been after a bit more than 2 shots)
5. first snow that weekend was a dud.  now nemo? different story.
6. happy early EARLY birthday to mr p. we now have new mii's on his new wii u :)
7. the REAL snow during nemo... pretty, but delayed our weekend with family in cleveland.
8. funny story about mr p and this card from hoopla (i won't embarass him NOW though :P)
9. valentine's day card from a thoughtful friend all the way in sunny california!
10. mr p's family has some cutie patooties for sure!
9. ....just another cutie, i couldn't get enough of them this weekend!
10. pretty drive back to jersey city through the appalachians in PA :)

cheers, kiddos.


Friday, February 8, 2013

winter blues

all winter i begged for snow.
today another named storm rolls in, crippling our plans to go to ohio this weekend for asian new year.

we'll see what the morning brings, but until then, here are some photos i took on my 1-block walk back to the house from parking my car...

it "looked" like a winter wonderland, but really it is wet, slushy sleet/snow, not cold enough for my giant puffy coat, so i'm wet on the outside from the wet flakes, and wet on the inside from sweating... a hot mess i tell ya....

 photo 1a0b1692-c82d-45e1-b4fe-b5ad670ccc9d_zps422b775a.jpg
 photo d94a2c5d-cd3e-438e-9a53-ce7ec134d3ed_zpse32256cb.jpg

 photo photo3_zps7843579a.jpg

 photo 4110e0bc-1d62-4e6c-b211-49d9b8a7ca55_zpsbe4488f5.jpg

 photo 4fe01105-cc0b-4616-a368-fa82153d7096_zps922bc1b2.jpg

cheers to the weekend!

Monday, February 4, 2013

the difference: nyc birthday party

midwesterners:
"my house is only 3 bedrooms. how on EARTH are we supposed to raise a family in such a place?"

new yorkers:
"baby #2's in the oven, we gotta get out of our studio (i.e. bedroomless) apartment"

this thought came to mind while attending our friend's surprise birthday party last week in midtown. a friend with a small rather large by NYC standards apartment hosted over 30 guests for the surprise dinner party.  this meant cooking for this many in a tiny kitchen, seating for most, drinks, cake, the whole deal. after riding in rush-hour subways, personal space becomes MUCH smaller. we're totally cool with it....

our theory is that if you're with great company, you'll have a great time.

(it helped that the ceilings were a mile high, making it "feel" much more spacious)




happy birthday sonia!

cheers.