thought of the day.

i had every intention of doing an oscars party round-up this morning, and then my alarm didn't go off. le sigh. it'll have to wait until tonight. happy monday indeed!

friday, i'm in love (and still in new york!)

ah yes. dramarama over the past few days. but i made it out alive, and here's to things settling down for a while. i'm counting down the days til i'm atx-bound once again for the most wonderful time of the year... a.k.a nerd spring break a.k.a SXSW! yes, it's almost that time and i can't wait. so apart from upcoming geeky field trips and the fact that i don't have to sell my less-than-a-year-old dreamy mattress (yes, that's something that makes me skip down the sidewalk with glee), here's what else i'm loving this week.

the oscars

my absolute total fave movie of the current crop of nominees.

(via)

not gonna lie, i love me some glamorous awards show. i mean, yes, they are totally absurd. it's a room full of rich people congratulating each other on doing their jobs (over and over and over each year), but it's still fun to watch and judge from the comfort of my own couch. i'm having some friends over (had to cap it at four, as that is literally all the seating i have. ottomans included) and will be making a veritable feast of delicious munchies that will be so good, no one will be able to tell that it's all... vegan (shhhh).

extra virgin on the cooking channel

first of all, thank sweet jebus for the cooking channel. one of the (many) true joys of living on my own is having the food network on almost 24/7. it’s my favorite background noise when I’m drinking some coffee and catching up on blogs on saturday mornings. and now that the cooking channel is in my life, no more suffering through 'cooking for real' with sunny whatsherface, just because it's on. i can simply switch channels and continue to be soothed by the uninterrupted melodic listing of ingredients, accompanied by chopping, stirring and sautéeing. it's heaven. but extra virgin is much more than background noise. as in, i actually dvr it and sit down to watch the whole thing. it stars debi mazar and her totally adorable italian husband, gabriele, and they just hang out and cook and are so freaking cute, i can't even stand it. the recipes are nothing mind-blowing, but their banter is so entertaining, and gabriele's accent is completely swoon-worthy. i love this show, unapologetically. 

j.crew spring arrivals

well, the overlords at j.crew have deemed it spring, so weather, can you please cooperate so i can start wearing things like:

this

and

this

and

this

and

this.

just kidding. i feel like every season j.crew throws in some random awful outfit as a joke to see if they can get people to actually wear it. case in point? right above. yeah, no. that's not going to happen.

happy (rainy) friday!

one hand in the air for the big city.

i'm pulling a john kerry. oh yeah, reach way back for that one. i'm flip-flopping.

I'M A FLIP FLOPPER GOSHDARNIT. 

austin, i love you. i really do. for all of these reasons and more. but since i decided to quit my job, sell all my stuff and move across the country to camp out in my mom's house and figure out my life, i've had anxiety out the wazoo. sure i mean, those are all pretty anxiety-inducing decisions. even one on its own would be difficult. but being the overacheiver that i am, i went for all three at once. and i've spent the last few weeks talking myself into it. 

and i can't do it. i can't leave.

new york, you are my heart and soul. you are the love of my life. why would i move to create a new life when i have a pretty freaking awesome one right now? there's no need to search for what i already have. 

and here's the kicker. 

this whole thing got started when i got my lease renewal in the mail, and saw my rent increasing $400. yes, my rent-stabilized studio. instead of calling the building manager, i instead decided to make a move that i knew was coming eventually, even though in my heart of hearts, i knew i wasn't ready for it. and after weeks of soul-searching, i decided to stay. which led to another agonizing internal debate. stay in an overpriced room (that i do adore), or pack up and move a few blocks away for a more reasonable monthly chunk out of my paycheck. and again, i decided to stay. 

no really, the kicker is coming now. wait for it.

today, i called the building manager to ask a few questions about the lease, and at least try to negotiate the rent down. well, turns out it was a typo. 

a typo. 

my rent isn't increasing $400. it's increasing $40. 

i almost gave up my entire life because. of. a. typo. 

so here we are, back where i started a few weeks ago. i'm staying in my adorable apartment in my fantastic city. and i am so happy, i can't wipe this silly grin off my face. 

it's a concrete jungle where dreams are made of. and it's mine. for at least another year.

simple calculations.

days that begin with yoga > days that don't.

(via)

turquoise toes > boring old plain toes

flirty emails > boring old plain emails

(uh, not so much with the high-paying job, just fyi.)

(via)

new nerdy glasses > old falling-apart glasses

(that's my "i'm serious and wearing serious glasses" look)

apartments with pom-poms hanging from the ceiling > pom-pomless apartments

sunny blue skies out of my window in the morning > sad grey wintry skies

most importantly:

february 2011 > february 2010.

and that's my favorite calculation.

friday, i'm in love (#nerdalert)

was it just me or was that the longest week ever? thank god for democracy... and three day weekends to celebrate various presidents! oh also, ya know, representative government and all that jazz. but really, the true value is in this upcoming holiday. and how do i plan on spending that extra 24 hours of freedom? with an extra yoga class and some extra cooking adventures, of course. yes, my life is just that exciting. also looking forward to a surprise birthday party on saturday, and possibly a date to that party... anyways, during this ridiculously long week, here's what kept me going:

the hairpin

(via)

as a long-time regular reader of gawker and jezebel (by regular reader, i mean they were both always open on my browser, and i probably got half of all my news from them), i have struggled with their redesigns. ugh, i mean i hate them and i haven't even visited either site in a week. but that left me without my daily dose of well-curated content. enter the hairpin (and its older brother, the awl). it's my new favorite place on the interwebs. need an intro? how about rumors i've heard about anna wintour? or, might i recommend my personal favorite series, letters to the editors of women's magazines? thank goodness for finding a new mental health hq online. read it, love it, spread the word. the hairpin rocks my socks.

janelle monáe

oh hey, remember the grammys? yeah, i blocked most of them from my memory as well. but, i do have to thank the recording academy for bringing janelle monay into my life. "tightrope" is my official morning "strutting down madison avenue" song these days. oh yes, that's what i do. i'll admit it. but hello? have you heard this song? it's the jam. plus i dig her style. 

warby parker

there is literally (LITERALLY) nothing worse than shopping for glasses. it is never a pleasant experience. i always thought it was one of those things that you'd never be able to buy online - and then, enter warby parker. my new obsession. and while guys might not make passes at girls who wear glasses, i'll be channeling my inner rachel maddow and rockin' these babies when they arrive next week. oh yes. nerdy chic indeed. plus, now i can wander around brooklyn and finally look like i belong! zing. pics to come!

(via)

happy three day weekend!

i am (NOT!) a valentine's day cliche.

today i am supposed to feel sorry for myself. i'm supposed to pine after some grand romantic gesture, and wish i had a man in my life to buy me a single-stem rose or a box of drugstore chocolates. now, i'm not totally opposed to valentine's day. in fact, i totally swooned over some of the aforementioned grand romantic gestures that i heard about from my friends.

but this is the first year in a loooooong time that i've been single for this particular holiday. and guess what? i am so totally ok with it! and it's pretty awesome. let me introduce you to my dates for the evening.

and let's not forget...

(via)

so yes, this clearly makes me a cliche. wine, (vegan! raw! made with avocados! and delicious!) chocolate pudding, and trashy tv? just call me bridget jones. but the difference is that i am totally content with this evening i have planned out. and tomorrow, i get to go to yoga in the morning, head to a job that i love, in a city that i love, with friends that i love. my life is not lacking in love... yes, it is lacking in men, but i am not missing love. and this reminds me of that every day.

more than anything, this day makes me excited for what's to come in the future. because while i can totally handle sad-sack single v-days for a couple of years, i can't wait to have the valentine that i deserve. 

besides, things could always be worse: i could be one of the girls on the bachelor. god help them all.

the v word.

no, the other one. yes, that one. vegan. i never, never, ever, ever thought i could do it. i consider myself a burger connaisseur. grilled cheese is my comfort food. mac and cheese is my sunday evening go-to meal. i eat ice cream for dessert every. night. so i promise i didn't turn into a vegan for moral reasons. i mean, animals are swell, but i don't really have a problem with eating them. i understand why some people do, but it's just not something that i see as an issue.

you are adorable. but also delicious. i'm sorry.

(via)

and yet, i spent the month of january as a vegan. you see, november and december were not the "healthiest" of months. yes, there was the usual holiday indulgence, but i felt like crapola. just like i was dragging around and had no energy. so after my two weeks of yoga over christmas, i wanted a fresh start for the new year. i don't have great self-control, so i knew if i said no meat or no dairy or no cheese, then that wouldn't last very long. so i figured go big or go home! vegan for a month, how hard could it be?

i got off the plane from austin on new year's day, got home, and immediately veganized my fridge and pantry. i had been gathering recipes before, so i had an idea of what i wanted to cook, and the next day, i did a major whole foods stock up. ok, maybe i do that every week (happy place!), but i wanted to get enough staples in my kitchen that i never felt tempted when i came home late from work to just order pizza or throw some frozen cheese ravioli together.

not my fridge. but it looked just like that.

(via)

now, i'll admit, i totally fell off the wagon when i was in boston, visiting a friend over one weekend. i just never want to be "that girl" who makes a big deal of dietary restrictions... so when everyone is excited to go get bbq for dinner, i didn't have the strength to make a fuss about it. so i ate bbq. and then got back on track. no big deal.

throughout the month, i cooked some of the best food i've ever made. i still have two dozen recipes that i'm dying to go through. i ate more veggies than i thought possible. and i felt better than i ever have. so i just kept going, even once february rolled around. granted, not without a couple breaks for pizza, eggs benedict, and a burger. but i never felt like i was denying myself anything. besides, life is too short to feel like that, so if i ever reach that point, then i'll stop.

but i've made dishes that are permanently going to stay in my repertoire, vegan or not. things like:

• creamy butternut squash polenta with spicy wilted spinach
• coconut-red lentil curry 
• pasta with kale pesto and roasted butternut squash
• pumpkin tortilla soup
• baked mushroom risotto with caramelized onions

i also ate a ton of coconut milk yogurt, made soups out of veggies i'd never even heard of (kohlrabi, anyone?), discovered the beauty of almond milk in my coffee, and even baked vegan peanut butter chocolate-chip cookies.

so that's my vegan story. my tips? do research, and get a list of recipes you want to try. clean out your kitchen. don't focus on replacing your favorite foods with vegan versions - i never touched soy cheese or meatless crumbles, or any of that stuff. a lot of it is super processed, and just because it's vegan doesn't make it good for you. focus instead of eating real foods. i ate a ton of beans, greens, lentils, whole grains, and all kinds of veggies. one of the best outcomes is just being really mindful of what you're putting in your body - and that's great news, whether you eat meat or not. just do what feels right. and sometimes, this is what just feels right:

(via)

i should know. that's what i ate for dinner on thursday.

saturday morning signs.

i'll do my best to make sure that this blog doesn't become a love letter to new york city as i get ready to move away from my home for the past decade. that being said, how can your heart not skip a beat when you run into graffiti like this on a regular basis?

i run into one of these a few times a week now, all over the neighborhood. they're painted on discarded furniture, mattresses, pieces of plywood, even on the sidewalk and scaffolding. i smile every time i see one.

turns out it's the signature line of one of nyc's most famous street artists, james de la vega. check out more about him and his art here. oh, and also, become your dream. 

friday, i'm in love (ATX edition!)

woo hoo! it's been quite the week. the move to austin has been brewing for a while now, and when i got my apartment lease renewal and saw that my rent was increasing by $400 (for a STUDIO. yes, for ONE ROOM.), i took that as my kick in the pants that it's time to go. so i'm selling all my stuff and getting on a plane on april 30th to see what's waiting for me down south! i. can't. wait. my incredible, amazing job is giving me a 4 month paid sabbatical to figure out whether the move is permanent, which gives me some much-needed breathing room. my hunch is that i'll be in austin to stay, but considering how much i love.love.love nyc, it's always possible that i'll be back. so, in honor of my first move in ten years, here's what i'm loving about becoming an austin resident:

the fam.

major reason for the life upheaval. three years ago, my mom, step-dad and 9 year old brother moved to austin. two years later, my sis followed. that left me on the receiving end of saturday morning phone calls as everyone was eating breakfast tacos and on their way to kayak or hike or bike for the afternoon. color me jealous. i haven't lived closer than 2000 miles from family since i graduated high school. i can't wait to be able to go to my little bro's basketball games, sing karaoke with my sis on weekends, and go to my mom's house for dinner whenever i want. and let's not forget the menagerie of animals that come along as part of the package deal.

whole foods

my happy place. i plan on being here every damn day. even better? i won't have to lug all my amazing groceries home 70 blocks on the subway. i can put them all in a car. A CAR!!! i'm going to have a car for the first time ever!

it's the happiest place on earth!
(via)

black swan yoga

obsession. this studio feels like home. over christmas break, i challenged myself to attend 14 classes in 14 days - and i actually did it! incredible. i can't wait to practice here all. the. time. plus i'm really interested in taking their teacher training as well. anyone in austin looking for a digital strategist, copywriter, social media consultant and/or yoga teacher?

(via)

sunshine!

now, i'm really not one that hates hates hates the cold weather. i'm a fan of having four seasons, especially now that i know how to dress for it. i've been to austin in august, and it ain't pretty. that being said, it's freakin' 70 degrees there this weekend. in february. and i could totally use some more sunshine in my life after all the damn snow this year.

this will be me in february next year.
(via)

torchy's tacos
i'm a mexican food fiend. i could eat it for every meal. and austin is the holy grail. my personal fave (and frequent lunch date destination with me and my little bro) is torchy's tacos (trailer park, obvs). i've been known to make multiple visits per day when in austin, so this does not bode well for my attempt at veganism. but if i'm going down, you can be damn sure it'll be face-first in a bowl of queso.

(via)

more space. less rent.

this is usually the number one reason for escaping nyc. the RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH. and it is, but it never bothered me until now. and as i'm figuring out what my living options are in atx, i've realized that for the same amount i'm paying now for a walk-up studio in a brownstone, i can get a brand-new, swanky, one bedroom with a ginormous kitchen right downtown. SCORE!

if i lived here, i'd be home by now. and freakin' stoked about it.
(via)

y'all.

i'm moving.

april 30th. the countdown begins.

if there was a super bowl for baked goods, these would win.

over the last week, my fridge was re-stocked with some non-vegan food. for a couple of days, i was subsisting entirely on scrambled eggs and jell-o chocolate pudding. delicious, of course, and definitely NOT tired of that... nope, not at all.

but in an effort to hop back on the vegan train, i cleaned out my fridge once again, and found myself left with 2 eggs and a stick of butter. something kept me from throwing them out, and then this magazine cover sitting on my coffee table caught my eye:

(via)

what better way to get rid of those eggs and butter than to give the Best-Ever Brownies a shot? i mean, what else is there to make with those two ingredients? besides, i'm heading off to a super bowl party tonight, which means that i can donate these to the cause and ensure i don't eat the whole pan.

so here's the thing. i'm not one prone to hyperbole, but O.M.G. omg. so good. SO GOOD. put these on your to-make list STAT.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts (from Epicurious.com)

ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, chilled

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup walnut pieces

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1⁄4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

friday, i'm in love

i'm taking a page (post?) from the playbook of one of my fave bloggers - maggie over at freckled citizen - and doing a weekly rundown of things i'm digging. having spent 4 out of 7 days in bed recovering from a lack of wisdom teeth, the standard for awesomeness isn't very high this week, but here we go:

portlandia

if you haven't yet taken 30 minutes out of your life to watch an episode of portlandia, then i am sad for you. this show is ridiculous - and it stars one of my all-time faves, fred armisen. it definitely teeters a little bit on the absurd side of comedy, but if you have any sense of irony, i promise that you will love this. give it a shot! catch up on all the episodes here. still not sold? watch this without laughing:

new boots!

yes, they're as ubiquitous on the streets of manhattan this winter as piles of snow covered garbage bags, but i finally caved and bought myself a pair of hunters. why the sudden purchase? funny you should ask. turns out i had a giant gash in my old rainboots, and it took me more than one episode of soaking wet feet to even realize there could be a hole. le sigh. anyways, i love the color i got! don't see too many in this shade. and no holes means dry socks! yay!

(via)

burgers... mmm meat

so i went vegan for the month of january, and actually totally loved it. i felt great, cooked awesome food, didn't feel deprived of anything, and i think i can do it for longer than a month. however, having been on a liquid diet of soups and smoothies for the past week, all i can think about is the day when i can sink my teeth into one of these babies from shake shack... just one, and then back to being vegan-ish. and also maybe a quick trip to hill country. and then i'm back on the vegan train. yep. definitely.

(via)

mumford&sons

their song "the cave" is on constant repeat on my iPhone. listen. love.

what are you loving this week?

guess what i wear as a hat?

if you don't immediately answer, "a lentil!", then you, my friend, are missing out. it's a very cold morning and i'm on day six of an all-liquid diet post-wisdom teeth removal, and it's really the small things that are making my days enjoyable. for example: meet marcel!

aren't you in love now? you're welcome.

grown-up clothes for grown-ups.

apparently, according to most reliable sources, i am, in fact, a grown-up. and part of being a grown-up is using life lessons to make good decisions. for example, i am in the middle of my 26th winter on this planet. winter is generally cold, and yet i clung to the notion that winter clothes should put form over function. and i've basically been cold for 26 years.

case in point:

this is me in boston a few weeks ago. please don't ask me who that handsome man is standing next to me. let's focus. it's january in boston. there are 14 inches of snow on the ground. while visiting my sister from another mister, b, we got all touristy and trudged... i mean marched! along the freedom trail. it is approximately 5 degrees outside. i am wearing no hat, no gloves, and a wool coat, that while adorable (i love you, red jacket, please don't change!), is really not made for much more than show. 

i have never been colder in my life. and it's like a switch was flipped in my brain, and i came to terms with functional winter wear. it exists! and it doesn't hurt that a great bargain from lands end canvas eased the process along. i've been wanting to order something from them for a while, and after some absurd sale with free shipping and all kinds of extra percentages off, i snagged this lovely (and functional!) new jacket for all of $50.

(via)

y'all. i can't even... i just... IT IS SO WARM! i don't have to strategically bundle up with a half dozen layers just to fight off frostbite anymore. yes, i look like a marshmallow, but as a responsible, seasonally-appropriate dressed grown-up, i just don't care about that. i almost don't want winter to end... no, i take that back! please end, winter! please?

summer, can you hear me?

probably not, because oh. my. god. summer could not feel further away. not sure if you've heard, but we've had a tiny bit of snow in new york this year, and are currently waiting for SNOWMAGEDDON v.5.0 to come barreling through town and paralyze the city that never sleeps. but it's times like these that call for colorful peeks into the future, just to survive. namely? pretty pretty flowers! i couldn't have gotten through january without these babies.

(these beauts are courtesy of my loverly coworkers... i've been homebound recovering from having my wisdom teeth yanked out of my skull. more on that later.)

oh, hello there.

funny story. so i started this blog, oh, like seven million years ago. and then life got in the way. and i don't mean errands and work and social stuff. i mean real, heavy, grown-up life stuff. and i couldn't bring myself to talk about it online. so i avoided and ignored and avoided some more. but throughout it, i kept a list of things i wanted to blog about, which tells me that i could be on to something.

so i'm trying this again. a completely new me than the me that blogged for the first time last april. and of course, now i'm facing more decisions that are forcing me to put my big girl pants on. but this time, imma blog about 'em.

so as a fresh start, how's this? i got some spam in my work email account yesterday. i know, scintillating, right? i must be the only one! but stick with me here. i opened it for some reason, and this was the message inside:

Subject line: For your information.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

timely, to say the least. so let's explore, shall we?