providence, ri (and philadephia, and boston, and newark)

It seems like flights just haven't been working out for me this winter. First, this fiasco trying to get home from Madison, WI in December, and now this trip out to Providence, RI that ended up taking an extra 8 hours with a postponed job interview and a detour through Boston.

first, a red-eye flight to philly, which was fine and dandy, until they canceled my next flight out to providence bc of maintenance issues. so i spent the morning hanging out in these rocking chairs figuring out how to get to providence and then working out my interview schedule.

solution: flying to boston and then taking the train down to providence. while waiting for the train, i stopped by flour bakery for some lunch - a roasted lamb sandwich, which is basically the only thing i ever get from them other than their breakfast sandwich. it was as amazing as i remembered.

i also struck up a conversation with this biostatistician from brown university who also had his flight cancelled and was making his way down by train. he'd also gone through med school and is now applying to residency programs, which is kinda cool. i got his business card too. not sure if i'm going to contact him bc i have nothing to say, but it was nice. 

finally made it to providence. it was ridiculously cold, and i got pre-frostbite (or something) on my pinky finger just on my 10-minute walk from the amtrak station to the hotel. it still feels funny... i would have loved to explore downtown providence and done some shopping, but it was way too chilly to even think about walking around outside. this polar vortex is really cramping my style.

I ended up interviewing the next day, and heading to the airport right after. Thank goodness my return trip was smooth sailing, with a stop in newark, nj, and included a cute weimeraner. It's good to be home, where winter is is a balmy 50 degrees. 

merry christmas

No Christmas tree for us this year, since my cat loves climbing it and knocking down all the ornaments and the fake branches, so I made these DIY marquee lights out of cardboard and a string of Christmas lights to hang up instead. 

Hope you're having a relaxing day with family, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I'm making brunch for the family with my mom's new waffle maker, and then we're heading to my aunt's for dinner. Should be a good time.

I'll be back in a few days with pictures from the s'mores party I'm throwing on Friday, and a DIY s'mores kit. Here's to ending the year on a sweet note!

madison, wi

Hi friends! No link love today, because I haven't had the time to pull one together. It's definitely been a busy week. Instead, have some iPhone pics from my two-day trip to Madison, WI for a job interview. This company really spends a lot of time and effort into their recruiting process, and it was a blast. And if it all works out (and that's a HUGE if), I'll be within driving distance of Chicago and my beloved Blackhawks, which makes all this goshdarned winter cold worth it. I really hope it works out. I'm beginning to fall in love with Madison.

waiting for my flight. i swear that dude knew i was taking a picture and deliberately walked into my shot. also this picture is really green for some reason.

somewhere over minnesota. maybe wisconson. who knows. 

the wisconson state capitol. absolutely stunning.

it's not *that* cold. but really, it's not, considering that it gets below zero at its coldest. but it is the first time i've heard of freezing rain. the weather ended up turning a 7-hour trip home into a 12+ hour ordeal with tons of delays, missed connections, luckily grabbing a seat on standby to a nearby airport, and an extra stop in Salt Lake City for some emergency medical care. ay carumba. at least i made it home safely. props to all the customer service representatives that have to deal with rude customers. i can't even bear to stand next to one of those conversations, much less be on the unhappy end of it.

Well that ended up pretty rambling there at the end. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and if you're flying anywhere for the holidays, safe travels and fingers crossed for no delays!

two for today

a couple recent snaps from my instagram. happy hump day!

Ottolenghi's green pancakes with lime butter and avocado. recipe from Plenty

super awesome care package from allison. sloe gin, peach shrub, letterpress card, BNTO, apple jalapeño jam, and a bow tie for ruby. a girl could get used to this.

birthday box

I saw this birthday jar from anthropologie a little while ago, decided to make my own version for my good friend Allison's birthday. Anthro's version is cute and all, but the contents are a little underwhelming. Here's a homemade version that's simple to make but festive enough to brighten anyone's special day!

I started with a USPS small flat-rate box, and lined the inside with a gold H&M bag. I think some scrap fabric or scrapbook paper would also look swell. The box was then filled with homemade caramels, kraft paper confetti strips, a star sparkler, and a "happy birthday" garland printed on to kraft paper and strung on to baker's twine. 

I also threw together a quick card to stick on top. Now that I think about it, a balloon would totally be a great addition, too. You can also add in whatever store-bought goodies you want to send along, and scale this up to humongous sizes, if you'd like. I'll probably be returning to this "birthday box" idea over and over again in the future for all my friends! You should try it out, too.

gingery caramels

There are a couple (food-related) things that usually do not work out for me: 1. dough-y stuff and 2. caramel-y stuff. I don't know if it's the recipes I follow, or my own lack of skill, but there have been so many batches of caramel that have burnt, or seized, or what have you. It's a bit ridiculous.

But I decided to face the challenge once more, because I saw a box of ginger caramels one day at TJ Maxx (the Home Goods store seriously has the most awesome collection of things?!) and just had to make them myself.

spiced oatmeal apple carrot cake

One of the hardest things for me about creating new(-ish) recipes is probably naming them. It's just like writing the subject line of a super important email to a stranger: it needs to adequately summarize your email, but be short and interesting enough that they don't just delete it without reading. It is an ordeal, let me tell you.

nutty quinoa granola

Granola is great for cleaning out your pantry, and as the end of the year draws near, maybe it's time for some pantry organization... It's healthy, easy to make, customizable, and is pretty enough for gifts. So really, what else are you looking for?

sunrise muffins - orange pulp, dried cranberries, and nuts

It all started with Whole Foods. On the weekends, there's a dude squeezing oranges and selling fresh-squeezed OJ and it's just about the best tasting thing ever. But as most things are with Whole Foods, it's a little pricey, so my mom and I decided to make our own. Usually when I juice, I throw out the leftover pulp (I know, boo me), but this time there was so much orange pulp that it seemed a horrible waste to just get rid of it. Plus, it tastes pretty good by itself? Anyways, I decided to bake them into something, which gets us to these muffins.

two for today

chilling with ruby while cookies bake

shopping date with the parentals

college care package: winter edition

I don't usually put so many bought goods in a care package. but my brother's a special case. But he got a pretty good spread of stuff, if I do say so myself.

Here's what went in:

• granola x3
• hot cocoa (french vanilla & milk chocolate)
• fruit strips (apricot, strawberry, & wild berry)
• homemade dark chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies
• persimmons
• shout wipes (from the $1 bin at Target)
• hand warmers (also $1. we may have bought too many...)

dark chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies

My mom and I are putting together another care package for my brother, so I baked up some cookies to send along. We also found out that he has no cookie sheets (and I'm guessing any other baking pans?) where he lives, which just blew my mind. Like, whoa. But I guess I was just fantastically lucky living in a dorm with a fully stocked kitchen on each floor.

winter veggie tacos

I love tacos. Well, more accurately, I love tortillas, and everything that you can do with them. Like tacos.

I usually just sauté together whatever's in the fridge with some garlic and cumin, maybe some oregano, and stuff it into a tortilla with avocado, cheese, and cilantro. It really couldn't be easier, so I'm not giving you a recipe. This time, I had brussel sprouts, zucchini, kale, and roasted beets.

Also, we buy this weird brand of tortillas because Mission brand has really high sodium. But the brand we get tastes horrible plain, which I guess is the trade-off? But it's probably a good thing, otherwise I'd be finishing off a pack of tortillas a day. But the tortillas taste just fine with good-tasting stuff in it, so these tacos are great. And probably healthy.  Dunno, it's vegetables.

We also only buy burrito-sized tortillas, so I cut them into quarters and make two-bite tacos. Finger foods are infinitely more fun. It's been scientifically proved. Also, sometimes I like to pretend I'm a serial killer (or a surgeon, I suppose) when I'm chopping beets. I swear I'm not crazy.

two for today

A couple instagram snaps from breakfasts the past few days.

belgian waffles with persimmon, cinnamon yogurt, and maple syrup

soft-boiled egg, raspberries, and toast

happy birthday, mommy!

Mommy's birthday nineteen years ago, with me and my little brother

I can never remember how old my parents are, but thank goodness for the Chinese zodiac, because I can remember their signs. Usually I'd go all out and make a three-layer cake, but my family and I are working on eating healthier, especially cutting down added sugar, so that's unfortunately a no-go for cake. Then I thought of baked apples, but we didn't have any apples, and so that too was a no-go.

everything but the allspice

But what we did have a lot of was persimmons. Most recipes I found tend to use Hachiya persimmons, the pointier ones that you eat with a spoon when super squishy, because they're a lot sweeter. Ours weren't ripe yet, and they tend to be stringy and astringent, so I didn't want to go that route. But I did find a recipe which uses Fuyu persimmons, the flat crunchy ones, and only a little added honey, so I decided to go with baked persimmons.

beets and beet greens

For some reason, I tend to completely forget that beets exist in this world, and then I'm endlessly delighted once more when I rediscover them. It's a pretty great cycle, though, to be honest.

pomegranate oatmeal with dried blueberries and toasted nuts

Oatmeal tends to be put on hold when the warmer months come along, but I pull it out of hibernation the minute it starts getting cold. Which, in California, is around November. I'm sure everyone has their own method of making oatmeal, so this is less of a recipe and more of a toppings suggestion instead, to move you away from the butter and brown sugar and raisins that are traditionally thrown into the mix. So instead: pomegranate seeds, dried blueberries, and nuts.

I peeled this pomegranate the night before as an after-dinner snack, but it was a little too sour to eat by itself. So it got saved for the next morning to get rescued with a little maple syrup, along with some dried blueberries I found in the pantry, and some toasted nuts we always keep on hand just for this purpose of sprinkling on top of cereals, salads, etc. Being the lazy lazy person that I am, I also make my oatmeal in the microwave. It's a one-bowl process that couldn't be easier, and perfect for the coming months. I hope you enjoy.

chocolate marshmallows

Marshmallows are surprisingly simple to make, as long as you have a stand- or hand-mixer and a candy thermometer. And the results are a definite crowd-pleaser. One batch makes up a ton, but at the rate they'll get eaten, you'll be glad you made so many in the first place.

neighborly notes

They're finally done and ready to be slipped in to mailboxes. Hooray!

halloween decorations

Phew, these decorations are finally done. There's this one house on my street that goes all out every holiday, and for Halloween, they turned their home into a haunted house. I can't possibly compete with them, but my cute little decorations are enough for me. And probably much cheaper too! Perks of unemployment: free time out the wazoo to craft all these things.

(sources and some DIY instructions at the end of the post.) And without further ado...

FRONT DOOR HANGING SIGN: For the black lettering, I printed out a template for each letter, then traced it onto black butcher paper, making sure to connect all the letters so the "Trick or Treat" saying is one piece of paper. After cutting it out, I glued it on to a sheet of kraft paper, and created pockets for the dowels by folding back 1" of the kraft paper on the top and bottom and taping down the long edge. I threaded the dowels through, tied a loop of twine to the top, and added some washi tape for decoration.
DOORBELL WITCH: Idea from pinterest. I cut out the hat and cloak from black cardstock, and cut out a hole for the doorbell. The head is a foam circle I found, but cardstock will also work. The broom is made from a dowel cut down to size, and a length of kraft paper that I cut a fringe into and glued around the end of the dowel.
ORIGAMI PUMPKINS: see bottom of this post.
FRAMED SIGN: see #3 here for original sign. Frame from Aaron Brothers.
WINDOW SILHOUETTES: Ideas from here, cut from black butcher paper and taped onto windows. 100 count orange mini lights from Target for $3.50 each, and hung up with washi tape.