Eat

Because I haven't had the time to play around and figure this thing out, I'll have to title this what I hope will eventually become links on this page pertaining to different topics. First off, let me introduce you to my constant companion at home...Bodum.

He's like a pet, he (it looks more like a boy than a girl, right?) gives me comfort during a cloudy, gloomy day in. He never fails to make me happy. I have to wash him everyday. haha. Okay, okay, I'll stop. I must say, I never thought I'd end up making my own coffee in my lifetime with a Starbucks on every corner but surprisingly, my coffee tastes good...and that says a lot since I thought I could never make coffee. It's rich, not bitter, very full. Ok, I have to confess...I am using Starbucks organic coffee but it was a gift (thanks M!) but once I finish it, I'm going to scope out places to buy coffee and I will share them with you. I do have one in mind but I don't want to peruse in there and not buy anything. I want to become a coffee connoisseur....and a wine connoisseur- too many things to do!

So I wanted to share this recipe with you if you enjoy baking. I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to find the magazine source online but can't find it. I got it from a women's health magazine but they're amazing. I made about 4 batches in a 3 week period last month thanks to E&E. My favorite is the chocolate chunk. Yum. I know you might be hesitant with little butter, no milk or oil but they're scrumptious AND healthy. Come on, doesn't this look da-lish?

Dark chocolate chunk with craisins and walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven at 350
Combine butter, sugars, vanilla, egg white
Mix in dry ingredients
Mix in “add-on’s”
Spoon onto aluminum covered baking sheet
Bake for 15 min.

BASIC RECIPE
1 ¼ all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla

Add-on variations:

Cherry Almond-Chocolate Chunk
BASIC +
½ c. dried cherries (or cranberries)
4 oz. bittersweet chopped chocolate
½ c. almonds (or choice of any nut)

Linzer Thumbprints
BASIC +
¼ c. flour
½ c. toasted chopped hazelnuts (toast at 350 for 6 minutes)
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt

Directions 1-4
5. Roll dough into balls
6. Make thumb indentation
7. Fill with ¼ tsp. of seedless jam or preserves

Ginger-Molasses
BASIC +
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 oz chopped crystallized ginger
2 tsp. molasses

Visit

the New Museum in Nolita for it's free ticket night and Get Weird showcase (small admission fee) which they're hosting once a month. Go upstairs and of course it's all stark, white walls which could feel like a psychiatric ward...but with great expressions of art all around you. It's like Tate Modern's kid sister. There was this amazing wall mural which was my favorite. From afar, what looked like pink petals were actually pink pigs up close. I know. So anyway, Get Weird night presented Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Telepathe. Not bad. I mean, it IS titled Experimental and Freaky Jams. Overall very entertaining.

P.S. So, I'm not allowed to read People till March 23 but I did read a headline somewhere, Congrats to J.Lo and Marc on the birth of their twins!

Brooklyn- that's what's up

As I get used to the prices in NYC to be entertained, I checked out the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM Cafe) on Saturday, which was FREE, and was quite impressed with the event. Nice venue, pretty people, good music and drinks galore = wateringhole for unexpected fun. Thanks to J for the pics.

Brooklyn natives Miss Fairchild were energetic and playful. I unfortunately had to duck out and missed the White Rabbits but have no fear, they played my fave song on Dave Letterman months ago.

And finally, speaking of unexpected...I volunteered in Ghana back in September for a couple of months and in November my friend and I went to Kakum National Park. We ended up befriending this lawyer guy while we were swinging around in the trees. He ended up going on a private walking tour with us and I feel bad saying this but he was socially awkward, wasn't very "nature-y" and said the weirdest comments. Later that night with our friends, who were hosting a uni dorm party, guess who shows up...yup. We found out he was talking trash about us earlier in the evening, how we were really scared about the killer ants (yes, our tour guide made us RUN through the army of ants) and how we were saying ridiculous comments. Oh NO YOU DIDN'T. Anyway, I figure I'd never see him in my lifetime. OH, it gets better. Just take a wild guess who I saw on Saturday at the BAM Cafe? The lawyer guy, by himself, wearing his glasses, drink in hand. After wondering if I was delusional and then coming back to reality, I of course immediately texted my friend to tell her the insane story. Only in New York.

Fresh Start

I keep asking myself why I didn't start this years ago. And now I'm thinking how can I possibly summarize my recent adventures in a blog post? Basically I've been working and traveling abroad for the past couple of years and I've been wanting to share my advice, thoughts and stories with friends. I feel like I've done quite a lot for a mid-twenty something, ready to pinch myself awake from a dream but no, it was all real. By no means am I calling myself a life expert but I really want people to live life to its fullest. My main blog will deal with life's amusing adventures and commenting on current events. As I mentioned above, I am easily entertained, so I'll also be sharing different topics with you, mostly pertaining to New York City since I recently moved up here. Finally, I am not an expert at this tech stuff so you'll have to bear with me as I learn along the way.