my miracles

"It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, and it is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever it is you like to do, and the holiday season—like all the other seasons—is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, and to be grateful for them." —Lemony Snicket, The Lump of Coal

fifty surprises

I've been having oatmeal 80% of all the mornings in the past four years. That's a lot of oatmeal. Lately, I've been enjoying rolled oats, cooked in water with a pinch of salt and vanilla extract, fruit-free, mixed with a dollop of plain greek yogurt, and topped with cinnamon. And I'm eager to whisk in an egg someday soon.

But no matter how I choose to prepare it, oatmeal is reliable. It always has been. How comforting it is to begin my day with a bowl that is so delicious, satisfying, healthy, and safe. Especially for me, who whole heartedly hopes there is truth in Goethe's words: "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."

A couple weeks ago, my family and I threw a party for my mom's 50th birthday. She'd only requested that we go on vacation to celebrate it (and we did) but my dad felt she deserved something more. It was my mom who first came up with le surprise. She's thoughtful and clever like that, and is so good in so many other ways, that my dad wanted to surprise her. So we did that, too. She had absolutely no idea it was coming and was thoroughly embarrassed the moment she walked into the room. Thankfully, soon after, she also had a really great time.

 

It was a successful evening, and by its end, I had a slice of cake. I don't like cake. Growing up, I always had brownies at my birthday party and avoided ice cream cake (and all other kinds, especially fancy ones) like the plague at all others. But I've recently found an appreciation for cheesecake and my soft spot for carrot cake is growing, so I've been trying a bite or two as the opportunity comes up. This was a millefoglie and it was incredible. It actually surprised me how much I enjoyed it... yet it also made perfect sense. Taking chances, being bold, and challenging what we know to be "safe", is worth it. Most things eventually turn out the way they should. And whether we expect it or not, we do enjoy lots of happy endings in this anything but easy life. There was, after all, a time when I didn't like oatmeal.

this christmas

Friday, 6pm: left my Upper East Side apartment for home. (It was dark).

Saturday, 7pm: ate ceviche with chips as an appetizer at my aunt's house.

Saturday, 8:30pm: took a family portrait in front of my cousins' tree.

Saturday 9pm: shared a bowl of posole (pre-Columbian stew with hominy, pork, chili peppers, cabbage, and hot sauce) with my mom.

Saturday, 9:30pm: devoured one and a half tamales (masa, lard, and pork/cheese wrapped in corn husks) with plenty of salsa dulce (sweet salsa).

Saturday, 9:32pm: drank a sip of atole (a corn-based beverage of indigenous origin with cinnamon and vanilla) in between each tamale bite.

Saturday, 10:30pm: took a photo with my cousins and our grandparents who are visiting from Mexico.

Saturday, 10:45pm - Sunday, 1am: played taboo with my cousins, ate peanut m&m's for dessert, received my secret santa gift (yoga pants, tanks, and The New York Times 36 Hours book), and had a very good night's sleep.

Sunday, 9am: woke up to see that Santa had indeed visited our home.

Sunday, 9:20am: ate a foundation breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and coffee.

Sunday, 9:30am: opened my first gift, the gorgeous Toy Watch I'd lusted over!

Sunday, 10am: helped my dogs, Sable (brown) and Colby (white) to their presents.

Sunday, 11:30am: reviewed my goodies from my Secret Santa, my parents, my brother and my sister... and decided I've been ridiculously good this year.

Sunday, 1pm: set up the appetizers after prepping the house for company.

Sunday, 1:30pm: greeted my grandparents, aunts, uncle, and 7 cousins.

Sunday, 3pm: entertained myself with nuts, held over hunger by eating them.

Sunday, 4pm: worked my way through the family members for that special one-on-one time I wait all year for, and the hilarious conversations that come with it.

Sunday, 5:30pm: navigated through the delicious buffet dinner my mom prepared.

Sunday, 5:34pm: enjoyed salad, escarole and beans, chicken scarpiello, roasted brussel sprouts, and bread, alongside a glass of wine.

Sunday, 6pm: decided I absolutely love spending time with my brother and sister (as usual).

Sunday, 6:30pm: exchanged gifts with my mom's family and was reminded, again, just how lucky I am to have such a generous family with great taste.

Sunday, 7pm: delighted in one three chocolate-covered  red velvet cake bites.

Sunday, 8:30pm: didn't return to the city. Instead, I helped clean up, put my lovely gifts away, and sat down to blog. And soon after publishing this, I will retire to the living room with peppermint tea, my mom, dad, brother, sister, Sable, and Colby.

Hope your holiday was just as merry and bright.

college kid meals

As you may have gathered from my last few posts, I've been eating out a lot lately. (Click here if you'd like to do so too... for free). I blame it first on the numerous holiday parties, and second on my determination to catch up with every single friend before 2012--what better way to do so than over lunch, dinner, or drinks?

Especially being that I thoroughly enjoy leftovers (true) and am not at all tight on cash after finding the perfect gift for each member of my family (false). But it's fine. In addition to festive social calendar, I've also been working overtime as The Purple Passport prepared for the launch of our guide to New York. <-Take a look!

Anyway :) point is, I've been busy... and thus relying on college staples like banana oatmeal, tuna salad, and soups that I've saved in the freezer when I'm not out. It's been grand. My meals at home, however limited, are simple, allowing me to fully appreciate the holiday meals at friend's parties and restaurants.

It also makes these next few days a little extra special. Later today, I am headed home for the Christmas holiday. I plan to lay low tonight, spend Christmas Eve at my cousin's house (on my dad's side), and help my mom host our Christmas Day afternoon dinner for her family. I am going to overindulge in more ways than one this next week, and then return to healthy, college kid meals in no time. Paired with sleep and activity, that's just how this "grown up" maintains balance... whatever that is.

plans for one wild and precious life

Having recently applied to dozens of jobs and gone on numerous interviews, I've also been pondering "my career" quite a bit. So much so that I went back to read one belated note to self, a letter I wrote to my formerly graduating self, for inspiration. Then, I picked up a book that has been sitting on my shelf since the summer of 2008: Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word. 

It had been on the Fitness Magazine giveaway table while I was interning there and looked interesting. But upon bringing it home, I decided it wasn't for me; I am not driven by money, I don't wish to be an all-powerful CEO, and I never want to be known as a bitch. With that said, thank god I gave this book a second chance. I read it in under 24 hours and now feel more empowered than ever before. I am ambitious and, considering we spend most of our lives working, I do want to make sure I am as satisfied with my career as I am excited by it. This morning, I started my day with my favorite quote and a passage from one of my new favorite books:

"I promise, there is still opportunity to contribute something new to the world. It happened the day you were born and it can happen every day thereafter."

&

"You deserve to love your work, to be as ambitious as you wish, to earn your worth and to find fulfillment. Give yourself permission to be true to your ambition, to make choices you deem appropriate without pause, without second-guessing yourself. This means you need to check in with yourself daily, tuning in to what you want in your heart of hearts, staying true to your ambition as you define it. When you build your life's work from that place of sanctuary, you'll be richly rewarded with lifelong intellectual and creative curiosity, evolving opportunities, and healthier, happier relationships with loved ones. And you will earn your worth." -Dr. D. Condren, Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word

what it really means to getaway

At the end of August, Leslie emailed me to see if I'd be interested in road tripping to Anna's. "It'd be a good excuse to get out of town before it's officially fall, and the area she lives in looks so beautiful." I, of course, loved the idea, and so we planned last weekend (a few days after it was officially fall, but it worked best for all of us).

On Friday night, Leslie met me at my apartment. First for Thai food and wine, and then to help my family and I move me out of it. The next morning we awoke bright and early in Westchester (5:40am) and with bags packed and Glo bars in tow, we hit the road for coffee, a toothbrush, and Massachusetts.

We arrived about a half an hour before noon with appetites begging for lunch. Naturally, Anna greeted us with fresh kale that needed massaging.

She also whipped up hummus and cooked pasta that would later be dressed in pesto. Leslie got to work on slicing vegetables while I took over preparing our simple kale salad. We enjoyed a lunch fit for healthy food bloggers on her front porch overlooking "the pond." I helped myself to seconds.

Afterwards, we set out on a leisurely walking/hiking tour. We spent two whole hours immersing ourselves into the beautiful wooded bliss. I couldn't have felt farther from Manhattan... in a good way, of course.

It was quite the nature hike too. We spotted mushrooms, a turtle (two photos above) and cranberry fields (directly above) most likely owned by Ocean Spray.

Once back at Anna's lovely lakefront home, we showered and rested for a while before heading out for a brief booze cruise.

And then we drove out to Rye Tavern, a new restaurant in the area that offered classic dishes influenced by the seasons and its vegetable garden.

[Appetizer: caesar, spicy dressing, croutons and shaved parmesan]

[Entrée: grilled local striped bass, lobster-tarragon vinaigrette, corn & rye vegetable succotash and roasted potatoes]

[Dessert: baked chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream, walnuts and chocolate ganache (my vote), whisky peach and brown sugar crisp with vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce (Leslie's vote)]

As simple as it sounds, my favorite part of the meal was the baked chocolate chip cookie. It was all I'd hoped it'd be and more. Everything else sounded a bit better than it was and the service was a bit insecure but such is the evolution of a new restaurant. I'd definitely go back.

The next morning we awoke from an incredibly restful sleep to fresh-brewed coffee and numerous breakfast options. We settled on banana oatmeal with cinnamon and flax-almond butter because we felt like being cliché it's what we were craving.

The rest of the day was spent in the adorable town of Plymouth, including a stop by the Mayflower, that famous rock, the historical cemetery, and a unique market:

I don't know if I could ever explain how much better I felt in those brief 48 hours. We had ventured far enough away to feel far away but not too much to make the weekend visit inconvenient. I was calm, relaxed, happy.

Top that off with a shared balsamic-glazed pizza (with spinach and mushrooms on a multigrain crust), and this may just have been one of my most pleasant weekend getaways to date. I cannot thank Anna enough for having us.