the good life

I sense winter. Yesterday, as I was taking a walk through the park, I inhaled, deeply, and felt the cool air sweep into my body. The trees are losing their leaves, my wool coat has taken precedence in my wardrobe. It's not freezing yet, just cool, and it felt good. It's comforting to know that quiet snow and ridiculous winds (courtesy of Syracuse, NY) are only weeks away. I prefer the in-between seasons usually, but I appreciate the change right about now.

I'm such a nature buff ;). It makes me smile, though, to know that I'm in as good of a place to notice such things... I think I've finally readjusted. I'm currently reading the Geography of Bliss and it's really quite wonderful for happiness through a cultural perspective. Looking forward to reviewing it!  My attitude and my efforts in my classes have improved. My relationships with my friends have deepened. I even find myself "going out" more often, enjoying being a senior. 

Last Tuesday night, for example, I went to out to dinner with the girls. We had no more of a special occasion than being together, right before Thanksgiving, and were dying to go to Phoebe's.

To continue with our spontaneity ;) we also ordered drinks upon our arrival. One got a Blue Moon, another cranberry juice with seltzer (she's obviously the crazy one), a glass of wine for me, and a very strong Rum & Coke for my roommate.

We talked and talked and talked and each helped ourselves to a piece of rosemary bread with homemade butter. This stuff is out of the world, honestly, best bread I have had in a long time!

Phoebe's has such a warm atmosphere and an exquisite menu. It took me a while to choose what I wanted! Everything sounded so delicious. Eventually, however, I ordered the seared scallops from the appetizer section as my meal. It sounded like it would be the perfect portion to fill me up since I wasn't actually that hungry. Well, in case you didn't realize, micro greens does not equate a salad. Yep, I didn't realize it either.

Even if I wasn't at my utmost appetite capacity this small serving could never have filled me up. Luckily, my roommate is very generous and doesn't eat vegetables (trust me, I'm working on it). 

I loaded up on her roasted brussels sprouts and pan-seared mushrooms. By the way did I mention that those scallops are stacked on a slice of homemade pumpkin bread? Oh yummy ;).

To continue our girls night, we went back to Liana's apartment to bake cookies. Don't these look like we made them from scratch? Ha, that's funny. We did a quick supermarket run to buy dough and I discovered the amazing products from the Immaculate Baking Co. Their motto? Bake well, be creative, have fun and give back. And their Chocolate Chunk cookie dough  that is all organic and made with whole ingredient made scrumptious little treats.

We brought the cookies back to the house and then joined the crowd at Faegan's for the world beer tour. I think I can happily live this life :)... at least for the remaining 180 days 'til graduation.

P.S. Ready for the holiday festivities? Join the Bloggie Secret Santa today, before it's too late!