Last night while I was [...]]]> Good evening, duckies! How are you this fine Monday?  I’m feeling pretty darn fine myself, sipping tea in the comfort of my kitchen after a great day at work, a fabulous din with MVP (Mama), and a quick flash of friendly faces at home.  What made you happy today?

Last night while I was working in the kitchen, I thankfully had the foresight to whip up enough oatmeal to last me the week.  I had enough time to make steel-cut oats; it really only takes 25 minutes total, and it’s definitely worth the extra effort.

This morning I reheated a portion and topped it with warmed frozen berries, ground flax, agave and almonds. For some reason I prefer whole nuts to nut butters when I eat steel-cut oatmeal… it must be something about the nutty texture of the grains.

I said it a week ago and it still rings embarrassingly true: we need to go grocery shopping.  However, while we don’t have a lot of fresh produce, we do have ingredients that, with a little creativity, can make up a pretty good meal.

When I was living in France, I noticed that a lot of people had lentil salads for lunch or to supplement their dinners.  Lentils are high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Lunch-Break Protein Salad

• 3/4 cup canned lentils
• 1/3 cup frozen edamame, thawed
• 1 tbsp crumbled feta
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• crushed walnuts

Gently stir ingredients together.  Serves 1.

This lentil-edamame salad was all made with ingredients that had been sitting in my fridge, pantry or freezer for at least a month.  I should shop here more often!  I also brought carrots, hummus, and a honey-flavored Oikos Greek yogurt with me.

Today was my first day at work on my own, without being trained or supervised.  It was a little overwhelming, but a lot of fun.  There’s a lot of information being thrown at me, but I’m taking lots of notes, asking questions, and doing my best.

New York has a lot of hidden gems, many of which are public parks like this one.  Surrounded by office building, they have waterfalls that drown out traffic and city noise, open plazas and cafe tables for socializing, and trees to bring a little zen into your day.  I spent my lunch in on of these parks today to clear my mind and recharge.

When I got back to the office, I quickly realized one of the keys to a successful work day: a strong cup of coffee between 2:30 and 3.  I already have pretty low energy (which I’ve discussed here several times), and this little jolt of java really helped keep me going. Whatever it takes!

Throughout the day I also snacked on a Raisin Spice Heart Thrive Cake…

… and before I knew it, it was 5:45 and time to go home!  On my way out the door, I opened up a can of coconut water to hold myself through dinner.

I met my mom for dinner at our usual Japanese restaurant.

We toasted the future with hot sake…

… and shared some steamed shrimp shumai.

Anticipating lunch tomorrow, I ordered a bowl of tofu nabe (broth with vegetables, tofu, and seasoning).  I ate most of the vegetables but packed up a lot of the broth, which I will beef up and bring to work tomorrow.

When I got home, I cozied up with a mug of Gingerbread Spice tea and a sugar cookie my mom brought all the way back from Santa Fe!  The cookie did not last long

My knee is still hurting from the 15K yesterday, but the official times were finally listed! I came in at 1:33:26.  Not any kind of rank, but I’m still just proud I finished

It’s past my bedtime.  Goodnight!

Last night, after we got back from the wedding, I hunkered down to do some reading and prepare for my interviews.  All of that brain stimulation must have shot my metabolism into [...]]]> Good evening, Upper East Siders!  How are you? I’m taking a little work break to blog and catch up on my Gossip.

Last night, after we got back from the wedding, I hunkered down to do some reading and prepare for my interviews.  All of that brain stimulation must have shot my metabolism into overdrive, because only a couples hours after dinner,  my tum was a-grumblin’ something fierce! I thought I might just be thirsty, but that didn’t seem to be it.  Finally, I put down my book and headed into the kitchen to make a bowl of Kashi GoLean and Smart Start. Problem solved!

This morning, I woke up bright and early to see Ari off.  As I mentioned, he’s going Vigilante through December, and had to leave at 7:30 this morning.  I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind was already up and ready to go.  I had to be at physical therapy at 10 anyway, so I just got up and made breakfast.

Taking Jess‘s advice, I heated up half of a Trader Joe’s Berry Mango Bran Muffin, crumbled it up, and tossed in on top of 0% Fage with some warmed frozen berries and a scoop of flaxy PB.  I really like this peanut butter, by the way.   It’s both crackly and crunchy and adds great texture!

Quite the mess!

My therapy session went well… I still have a lot of tightness in pretty much each muscle in my legs, so I have to keep working on that.  Repeat after me: yoga, rolling and stretching, okay!  When I got back, I briefly chatted with the guest who is staying with us, made myself an apple-cinnamon snack, and retreated to my room to be interviewed (via phone) with the HR department for the company I’m interviewing with.

It shaped up to be one of those days where I was constantly hungry, so I made something as soon as the clock showed that it was even remotely close to lunchtime.  Ellie reminded me yesterday about the beauty of the crack wrap, so I made one with a whole wheat wrap, three-layer hummus, and a slice of Jarlsberg cheese.

I ate it with half a can of Progresso’s Fat Free Lentil soup.   This isn’t the tastiest of the canned variety, but I had a hankering for soup.  I’ll definitely be making my own in the near future!

Finished up the meal with a piece of salt water taffy for a sweet end.

I’ve been searching in vain for the seasonal Celestial Seasonings teas (like Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread)… any New Yorkers know where I can track it down?  I settled on a cup of Sweet Coconut Thai Chai, which was a good substitute…

…but it knocked me right out!  Ari caught me snoozing at 5PM when he woke me up with a phone call.  Whoops! I snacked on some carrots to perk me back up…

… then did Yoga Download‘s Hip Opening Flow #2.  I have trouble practicing yoga for more than 20 minutes when I’m not in class… does anyone have tips for staying in the moment? Turning off my phone would probably be a good start!

I heated up some leftover Coconut Barley Pilaf and made a quick salad with kale, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

Honestly, as much as I love my fancy salad dressings, I could probably make a sesame vinaigrette every night and be happy.  It’s simple, but so delicious.  I don’t even use measurements or mix anything together… the vinegar and oil just get drizzled on.

I made another quick dessert, starting with a tri-flavored chocolate sauce using Pure Dark cardamom chocolate, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips.

I added a few drops of water, microwaved the bowl for 35 seconds, then mixed in some Brown Sugar ice cream.

And thus concludes another day’s passing without having spent a single extra dollar on food.  I’m going to have to buy some fresh produce soon, as we’re running low on fruit and vegetables, but otherwise the kitchen is pretty stocked.  It’s a satisfying feeling.

Back to work… it’s going to be a late night.  Bonne nuit

On Sunday morning, Josh, Ilana, Ari & I got [...]]]> Hi there! How was your Monday?  Mine was nice… everything is going to be A-OK!  It’s like Shakespeare’s Wheel of Fortune: what goes down must go up again.  I just need a little reminding from time to time, so thanks for coming to the rescue.

On Sunday morning, Josh, Ilana, Ari & I got up and headed over to the diner for brunch.  No such luck! Not only was it packed, but there was a long wait!  Too bad, because I’d finally decided I was ready to have one of their omelets again after having burned out on them a few months ago.  Next time!  Instead, we went to Locale.   I’ve only been there for dinner before, but their menu looked pretty good.

I ordered the Baby Spinach & Goat Cheese Omelet, and asked for it to be made with egg whites and tomatoes as well.  Instead of homefries, I ordered shoe string fries.

I added ketchup, hot sauce, salt & pepper… any and all condiments, please!  In retrospect, I should have gone with a salad instead of the fries.  Since I was little, I’ve never been a huge fan of French fries (except when they’re made with sweet potatoes), and these just didn’t do it for me.  I was more than happy to share, though!

After brunch, I attempted my Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Squares.  Now, I’ve made these about six times in the past year, and Anna even blogged about them! For the second time in a row, they have not turned out.  I don’t know if it’s because I had to use regular whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour, or that I used about 1/8 cup vegetable oil with the olive oil, or what. But they were gummy and had a sort of “oatmeal-y” texture, as Ari reported.  Very frustrating, because these are pretty much my go-to treat for Fall!

Brunch filled me up for the rest of the day, but I snacked on an apple with yogurt and cinnamon around 5.  I had to eat it in another room because Ari HATES the smell of yogurt!

This open bag of pretzels also kept me company on my trips to the kitchen.

I wanted dinner to be easy and nutritious.  I baked one sweet potato and 2/3 of a block of tofu in a little olive oil and Emeril’s Original Essence at 400 for about 30 minutes.

When it was ready, I plopped half of the mixture on top of a spinach/carrot/tomato/red pepper salad with pumpkin-miso dressing.

With half a glass of the end of a bottle of wine, I ate my dinner while catching up on Grey’s.  This is what my “TV rig” looks like when I have to stream old episodes! Pretty classy.

Dessert was more light Phish Food.

Yesterday morning I woke up determined to change the pattern, get out of my rut and be productive.  I started with a good breakfast.

As soon as Sarah posted the recipe for her Microwave Pumpkin Pie, I knew I had to make one.  They only took three minutes to make…

…plus 30 more seconds to dump a container of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Vanilla Yogurt and crushed walnuts on top.

Really, this is too fast and delicious for you to miss out on.  I made it again this morning!

After breakfast, I packed up my things and took myself to Starbucks.  Goal 1: Get out of the house. Mission: Accomplished!  I got a grande skim misto with a shot of espresso, and was given a free packet of their new Via instant coffee to try out.

I always put all of the different powders (Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Chocolate) in my foam.

A little later, my eyes started to droop despite the caffeine.  I snacked on a Trek Mix bar and woke right back up!

Ari stopped by around 12:30 and we re-located to Panera so he could get lunch.  When his free WiFi expired, he ran some errands and I ate my lunch while keeping him company.  I had leftover baked tofu & sweet potatoes with black beans and red peppers.

I also had an apple…

… and, when I got home, a package of Kay’s Naturals Lemon Herb Protein Chips.  I wasn’t exactly hungry, I just felt like mindlessly snacking

These were good! They did, as usual, make me feel like Edward Cullen wouldn’t go anywhere near me, they had so much garlic…. I also always forget that one bag is 1.5 servings, not 1.  Very tricky!

Soon after, I left to accomplish Goal 2: Go to the gym.  I brought a magazine and hammered out 45 minutes (+5 minute cooldown) on the bike, arms and abs. I have physical therapy tomorrow, so I’m not going to work my legs out until the therapist tells me what to do.  The PA at the orthopedist’s office returned my call yesterday; the bone density test results showed I don’t have a problem with osteoporosis or anything like that, so I can rule it out as a cause of my injuries.  We’ll just have to keep looking!

I left the gym and headed over to Starbucks to meet my friend Lisa for tea.  She had Passion, I had Green. (Didn’t end up using the honey.)  Lisa just got hired full time after months of sending out resumés and cover letters, so I have hope!

When I got home, I followed my 5-minute meal plan and based my dinner around Trader Joe’s Lentil Rice Biryani.

I sautéed 1/3 block of tofu in olive oil and Emeril’s Original Essence, and added it to the rice.  I also steamed some green beans. Fast, easy, and just in time for Gossip Girl.

For dessert I gave Gena‘s raw banana soft serve a go.

I got a little impatient, which is why it looks a little smoother than it should… I melted Pure Dark chocolate and made a little sauce, and sprinkled cinnamon on as well. Yum!

Erin tagged Lilveggiepatch the other day as an “Over the Top” blog.  If you haven’t read Erin’s blog, “Living and Loving in LA” yet, you really should!  This lady ran her first marathon a couple weeks ago, and is a really sweet blogger I am proud to call my friend.  Here are some fun, random questions and answers…

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging
2. Your hair? Down, bangs pinned up. I need a haircut!
3. Your mother? Lunch tomorrow
4. Your father? Dinner Thursday
5. Your favorite food? Ice cream!
6. Your dream last night? Hmm.
7. Your favorite drink? Water. Vodka-soda. Wine.
8. Your dream/goal? Food. Books. Arts. Travel.
9. What room are you in? Bedroom.
10. Your hobby? Cooking, running, reading, playing.
11. Your fear? Unemployment.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Settled.
13. Where were you last night? In bed watching Heroes.
14. Something you aren’t?  Settled.
15. Muffins? Vita.
16. Wish list item? A job…
17. Where did you grow up? Manhattan.
18. Last thing you did? Made banana ice cream.
19. What are you wearing? Two shirts, a cardigan, and leggings.  It’s all about the comfy layers.
20. Your TV? Gossip Girl!
21. Your pets? Leila Chihuahua.
22. Your friends? Love them.
23. Your life? Close to perfect.
24. Your mood? A little rickety, but on the mend!
25. Missing someone? QT
27. Something you’re not wearing? Socks, a ring, a watch.  They always come off first when I get home!
28. Your favorite store? Owl’s Lab
29. Your favorite color? Never chose one…
30. When was the last time you laughed? A couple hours ago.
31. Last time you cried? Saturday.
32. Best Friend? Several. You know who you are.
33. One place that I go over and over again? Subway tunnels.
34. One person who emails me regularly? Mama.
35. Favorite place to eat? Cozy in bed or at a favorite restaurant.

Thanks again, Erin! Because I hate to choose my, everyone should feel free to answer the trivia!

For Greek yogurt lovers: Kristina from Stonyfield Farms wants me to let you know about a great coupon opportunity that’s going on on Facebook.  When you buy any two (2) containers of Oikos organic Greek yogurt, you get a coupon for $2.00! Check it out here.

Off to my internship! Have a great day

The night before last, I’d planned a really unique breakfast as I was lying [...]]]> Good morning and happy Wednesday! I can’t believe the week has flown by so fast… and I’m that much closer to being 22.  I think I’ve turned a little anti-birthday, but maybe not.  How do you feel about your birthday?

The night before last, I’d planned a really unique breakfast as I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep.  When I woke up, though, I was doubting my creative abilities and sent a frantic Tweet asking for some breakfast suggestions.  A few minutes later, though, I went with my gut, and am I glad I did! I present you with: The Fall Smoothie.

This is made with:

• homemade raw almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1/3- 1/2 cup puréed butternut squash
• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• granola for garnish

Uh-MA-zing! If you make this and don’t have almond milk you’ve made yourself, I suggest throwing in a few whole almonds for thickness and added flavor.

As usual, I puttered around for a few hours before I was ready to go for a run.  To hold myself over, I snacked on the last piece of butternut squash banana bread with a smear of peanut butter:

The run itself was uneventful, but I did have some lovely new music to keep me going.

Total distance: 4.5 miles

Total time: 43:46

Maximum heart rate: 186 (93%)

Average heart rate: 172 (86%)

Calories burned: 494

Lunch was exactly the same as dinner (hence the re-used photo). Blegh. Soup is finally all eaten up, though!

I made a pineapple spritzer using the juice that was left in the can and a little seltzer.

Both the run and lunch were starting to put me to sleep, so I brewed up some “Magic Feeling” tea that I got in Berlin (only in Germany, eh?).

I felt a little too magical, because I conked out for the next two hours.  Whoops!  When I woke up, I was ready to get cookin’.  I snacked on three chunks of energy to get me moving again…

I’ve had the ingredients to make Veganomicon‘s Corn and Edamame-Sesame Salad for a while now, and at the very last minute I decided to add some diced grape tomatoes to the mix as well.

I also whipped up SELF‘s White Bean Consommé with Almond Milk, and halved the recipe so I wouldn’t have another soup sitch like last week!

It was lacking a little something, so I “remixed” it with alfalfa sprouts, chili flakes and Bragg‘s.  Much better!

For dessert, I tried out my last new flavor of Vitamuffin, Deep Chocolate.

I crumbled it on top of a container of Trader Joe’s nonfat Organic Vanilla Greek Yogurt, and topped the whole thing with homemade almond milk. I don’t know if I’ve expressed how much I enjoy this yogurt before, but it’s amazing!  You can actually see the specs of vanilla bean.

Well I’ve literally got to run out the door so I’m not late for my internship.  Have a great Wednesday!

On Friday morning, I made one of the [...]]]> Good evening! I’m so sorry about the posting delay; I spent the weekend with older that, while it still works, is just not up to blogging speed.  No matter! Today’s will just be Doublemint style; double the pleasure, and most definitely double the fun

On Friday morning, I made one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time: Butternut Oatmeal Pie. The combination of flavors and textures really did taste like a Fall dessert!

In the bowl:

• 1/2 cup steel-cut oats, soaked overnight
• butternut squash purée
• Greek yogurt
• walnuts
• agave
• cinnamon
• nutmeg

I spent a lot of time puttering around, catching up on e-mails and cleaning.  I ended up leaving the house pretty late, so my time at the gym was minimal!  I did manage to get a total-body workout in, though: 10 minutes on the stairs, arms/lazy abs (one ab machine), and 10 minutes on the bike.  It’s very efficient, if you only have half an hour.  On the way in, I gobbled down a Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Fiberful bar.

After making myself moderately presentable, I headed uptown to meet Caitlin for lunch at Alice’s Tea Cup.

I’m a creature of habit, and always order the Light Fare: small salad, soup & bread.  I was very excited when I heard they were serving butternut squash soup… but, of course, it was made with chicken stock.  Instead I ordered the lentil soup, which bummed me out a teensy bit because a) it seems like always have lentil soup, and b) I still have a big vat of leftover lentil sitting in the fridge! But it was still good, and their bread was amazing as usual.

The warm pear + endive salad with carmelized onions and roquefort cheese was, as always, very good…

I think I’m just a little burned out on the Tea Cup. Never thought that day would come? Neither did I.  After lunch, Caitlin and I wandered around, hit up some sample sales, and wandered around trying to figure out what kind of tasty treat we were craving.  Turned out to be… nothing! We couldn’t make up our minds, which I think was because we were actually pretty full from lunch.  On my walk home, however, I stopped and bought an apple from a vendor on the street (and scored last month’s issue of SELF for $1!). Hit the spot!

A little while later I met up with Greg for dinner, and we stopped at our favorite Middle Eastern hole-in-the-wall for take-out falafel. The restaurant has undergone some ownership changes and is now lit with bright flourescents and features a Maoz-style logo.  Strange.  I ordered the falafel/hummus plate, which came with pita and about a pound of yummus.  I ate all of the falafel (which was a little cold by the time we ate it, but still good) and a piece of pita, and saved the rest of the bread and hum for later.

We then went back out for drinks and chat…

… which led to this.

I don’t even really like Ben & Jerry’s, but Peanut Butter Cookie Dough? Half-Baked Frozen Yogurt? I couldn’t say no.  I felt a little sick afterwards, to say the least… oops.

When I woke up the next morning, my mama was ready to RUN!  We fueled up with coffee, and headed out for a leisurely 2 mile walk-run.  When we got back, I dug into my hummus and pita leftovers, topping them with a microwaved egg, salt & pepper.

This was a delicious combination, and I’ll have to re-create it soon.

I also had 0% Fage, an apple and cinnamon.

Finally, my mom and I headed out to take on the day and run some errands.   On our walk downtown, we got distracted by the delicious smells coming out of Georgia’s Bake Shop and stopped inside.  I munched on a chocolate almond croissant to better fuel my shopping tasks. Scrumptiously decadent

We crossed everything off our our lists in record time, and did a stellar job shopping the sales.  On the walk home, we munched on Gala apples.

I also introduced her to chunks of energy… she was a fan!

Since I never ate a formal “lunch”,  I snacked pretty much throughout the entire day… when I was little, I followed the “six small meals” plan completely unknowingly!  I like to sample, what can I say.

We had some surprise guests for dinner (Judy and Caitlin!), so I helped my dad get dinner ready.  While we were prepping ingredients, I sipped on a glass of Black Box Wine Sauvignon Blanc.

Whenever we have company, everyone gravitates towards the kitchen!

My mom set out dried apricots, walnuts, and rosemary-baked bread sticks.

Dinner was superb.  We started with avocado halves dressed with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic, salt & pepper.

And for the main event: mango/onion/green pepper salad with chili-infused dressing, shrimp stir-fry with homemade Italian egg noodles, and steamed asparagus.

For dessert, we had fresh figs dressed in lavender honey served with Haagen-Dazs’ Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

It took a couple tries to get the ice cream right, though…notice anything funny?

The carton on the left was missing the chocolate-covered almonds, and they’re the best part!  I’ll be calling the company tomorrow.  Once, I bought a box of Oreos that were missing the cream filling!  What’s the goofiest product blunder you’ve ever come across?

Regular posting will resume tomorrow.  I hope you had a great weekend!

Breakfast yesterday was excellent.  I love to taste as [...]]]> Good afternoon, all! I hope your mornings have gone splendidly.  Mine was excellent, and I’ve already got a lot accomplished.  Like some other bloggers, I have some big news to share… not nearly as exciting as theirs, but it’s what’s best for me.  Read on!

Breakfast yesterday was excellent.  I love to taste as many things as possible, so I had my meal was both savory and sweet. I heated up an Ezekiel English muffin and topped one half with a mustard, a poached egg, and asiago cheese.  The other half had almond butter and TJ’s pumpkin butter… I think I’m going to have to stock up on this stuff!  Mmm.

While I got ready for work, I popped a loaf of butternut squash banana bread into the oven that I’d prepped the night before.  I was completely taken with Liz‘s version of this, but I was too impatient to wait for the recipe! (Rumor is that she will post it tomorrow.) Instead, I used Veganomicon‘s recipe for Lower Fat Banana Bread and mixed in half a can of Organic Butternut Squash Purée (available at Trader Joe’s).  I brought half a loaf to m boss at work, saved some for the house, and took a slice with me that I picked at throughout the day.  This baby is dense! For some reason, the squash seems to bring out the bread’s spices more than regular banana bread. My boss later sent me an email describing it as “BANANA FUDGE!” It was so good.

The day before, I’d made another Veganomicon recipe (move over, Isa!) to get me through the week: Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple.

While I didn’t make my own chili powder (I subbed in 1 tsp chili flakes) or blend half of the lentils (I prefer my soups chunky), this was divine.

I grilled up some canned pineapple slices on the George Foreman…

To make them transportable, I put two slices and a wedge of lime into a baggie.

There wasn’t too much for me to do at the office yesterday, so I left a little bit after 12.  On my way out, I noshed on two vegan carob/nut/agave “chunks of energy” that I picked up last week at the health food store.  I didn’t know if I would like them so I only got a few, but they were so good! I bought 7/$1.33, so the price is more than right.

Although I’d lugged my heavy gym bag through two boroughs, two trains and a long walk, I decided to just head uptown to my parents’ house.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve done this before!  But I’d missed my yoga class, and I was too sore from a run and cardio class to work out any other way.

When I got home, I assembled my soup.  Jim‘s got a little competition! Meet Paula.

The grilled pineapple was such a fresh twist on an old classic like lentil soup.

I loved it! I’m going to try to experiment more with sweet + savory from now on.

A little later, I snacked on a cup of Fage 0% (thanks for stocking this, Mom & Dad!) with an apple and cinnamon. Truly one of the greatest munchies around.

I decided to stay and have dinner with my parents… as my mom reminded me, I can’t remember the last time we all ate together.

Don’t you love Fall centerpieces?

Dinner was a joint effort: my dad made a fabulous Asian-inspired swordfish with basmati rice, and my mom made her famous brown sugar Brussels sprouts (just sauté cooked Brussels in butter and brown sugar).

For dessert, we split three Whole Foods petit fours three ways…

We also had squares of Côte d’Or’s dark chocolate with pistachios and sesame that my dad brought back from France.

This chocolate can be found in pretty much any supermarket and bodega in France, but don’t let that fool you! It’s AMAZING.  The chocolate is rich and smooth, and filled with the most interesting ingredients.  It’s my uncle’s favorite chocolate ever (and he’s a serious chocoholic), and my friends and I ate it all.the.time when we were in Paris.  Look how thick it is!

When I got back to my apartment, I crashed into bed, stretched my aching bones, relaxed and watched The Secret Lives of Dentists.  Has anyone seen this? What did you think? I love Hope Davis, and Campbell Scott always makes me think of Singles!

So, onto my news. I’ve tried to leave my work life at work, but, as you probably know, I work in a restaurant as a waitress.  I’ve worked at this particular place for the past three summers, starting in May after my sophmore year of college.  That first summer was probably the best: I felt exhilarated after finishing half of college, I met some really great people (through the restaurant), and Ari and I started dating.  Last year was fun as well; I’d just come back from a great semester in Paris and I was beginning to feel more like an adult.  This year, however, after having graduated, has been more of a reality check.  I wasn’t in school anymore, and this wasn’t just a “summer job.”  Because of the recession, business has been incredibly slow and I had nights where I came home with literally $1.   Customers treated me with unbelievable rudeness; there were two instances when I had to call the police.  I was working crazy hours and not getting any rest, crying myself to sleep more than I’d like to remember. (Ari has been so, so great throughout all of this; without him, I never would have been able to hold out this long.) I was expending all of my energy on a job that made me utterly miserable.  I haven’t been able to do what I love because I haven’t even had time to think about what that might be.  And, as silly as it sounds, I don’t want to turn still be working there when I turn 22.

So, last week, I informed the restaurant that I would be leaving the following week…. today is my last day. On the one hand, I feel bad about leaving the people that I’ve come to really enjoy spending time with.  On the other, I’d rather spend time with them in a stress-free setting.  This is what’s best for me.  It’s scary, because while I’m searching for a “real” job, I won’t be earning any income.  Lucky for me, my parents are amazing and are going to help out a little bit.  I will definitely be budgeting like a madwoman and putting my all into finding a job.  I don’t expect to find my dream job right away, but I know I have to get out of the service industry.  I have so much respect for the millions of people who work in service, retail, and manual labor.  I just can’t do it anymore.

On another happy note, I finally tracked down the Fuze Heroes For Hope photo Ilana and I took at the 5K Race For the Cure.

Off to go make my last day my best.  Have a great Thursday

Last night, Ari and I had the pleasure of joining fellow bloggers (out of order, sorry!) Heather, Caroline, Liz, Olga, Danielle, Katharine, Amelia, Dierdre, Diana and Marina, for dinner at [...]]]> Good evening and happy Saturday night!  The last two days have been a constant go, go, go! , so please excuse the posting delay.

Last night, Ari and I had the pleasure of joining fellow bloggers (out of order, sorry!) Heather, Caroline, Liz, Olga, Danielle, Katharine, Amelia, Dierdre, Diana and Marina, for dinner at Candle 79.

While we were chatting about food and foodies, the restaurant staff brought out an amuse bouche: curried lentil dip with onions on a homemade tortilla.  Great start to a great night!

Ari and I split the Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Cake made with seasonal vegetables, red pepper-coconut curry, apricot-date chutney, and toasted almonds.

We also ordered the Wild Mushroom-saffron Ravioli with cashew ricotta, roasted tomato-truffle sauce, sautéed broccoli raab, and crispy capers.

The Chickpea Cake was my favorite, while Ari preferred the ravioli.  Worked out perfectly!

I also stole one of Liz‘s quinoa-flax crisps, which reminded me a lot of Dr. Kracker’s.

It was such a pleasure to meet some of the ladies I’ve come to “know” so well.  Hope to see you again soon! Thanks again to Heather for organizing a fabulous evening.

After dinner, Ari and I headed down to The Living Room to see Ari’s friend John‘s band play.  On the way there, we noticed a lot of people stopping in the middle of the street, staring at the sky and taking photos.  We were afraid there was some kind of apocalyptic happening going on, but instead we just saw these crazy clouds.

After the show, we went to a really cool bar for the after-party that was, back in the day, an authentic speak-easy. Pretty cool!

Then we headed to Brooklyn for the Swine Flu party.  Unfortunately, a lot of people ended up not being able to make it, so it was a pretty small gathering.  It was still fun, though, and the decor was awesome!

Cheese and raspberries were gobbled…

Notice the N1H1 cookies! Genius, right? So genius that I had to eat two

While Ari was in a deli picking up beer, I ended up finding some good bargains.  Cheap Chobani, 1 lb of fruit salad for $1.99, and the best: about 20 medjool dates for $2.99!  I’m such a dork, but I was really excited about that.

This morning I had a strawberry Chobani yogurt, fruit salad, and a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and cinnamon.

I don’t remember ever having flavored Chobani before.  I was a little skeptical about a fruit-on-the-bottom-style Greek yogurt, but I ended up really digging it! If I can ever afford it again, I’ll be picking up the other flavors.

After breakfast, we drove to Connecticut for a surprise birthday/graduation party.  We stopped to pick up Ari’s parents at their friends’ house, and were greeted by a variety of Food Should Taste Good crackers and Sabra hummus.   I was very happy.

The lady of the house whipped us up a delicious mushroom pizza.

I had a small slice.

After our “snack,” we got back in the car to to go the party.  After arriving and saying our hellos, we made our way to the bar tent. There were coolers of red and white sangria:

Ari tapped the keg.

Over the course of the day, I had a cup of white sangria:

And a cup of red sangria.

I’m not usually a sangria person, but I wasn’t in the mood for beer.  It was actually pretty refreshing!

They were serving hot dogs, hamburgers, and lobster.  Guess what I got?!

Each mesh baggie was filled with steamed lobster, corn-on-the-cob, mussels, clams, and potatoes.

I made a huge mess, but it was amazing.

The birthday boy just graduated from dental school, so there was a red velvet “braces” cake:

There were also cute little graduation and birthday cupcakes.

The hat was too cute to pass up, so I had a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting.  (Ari was pretty enamored with the newborn baby.)

Ilana was also taken with Baby.

Beth & Abe had a blast.

The party was really fun, and it was so nice to get out of the city for the day.  Don’t get me wrong: I love New York and I can’t imagine living anywhere else, but I need a mental health break from it from time to time.

We ate around 4, so my stomach felt a little off all day.  I didn’t know if I should eat dinner, snack, or what! The perfect solution seemed to be fat free peanut butter frozen yogurt. Funny how that logic works, hmm?

All in all, it’s been a pretty great weekend. (Bonus question: how many times do I use “pretty” in this post? ) I have to be at work in less than 9 hours so I’m going to say goodnight and good luck!

Catch up with ya later, gators.