C'est bon

I woke up dreaming about bechamel sauce. Mark told me he had dreams about cooking. 

We went and saw "The Hundred-Foot Journey" last night. France and gastronomy, two of my absolute favorite things. I was absolutely captivated and smitten the entire time. If you haven't seen it and are looking for a happy-go-lucky, fun, makes-you-feel-good cinematic charmer, this is it. Helen Mirren is brilliant. You'll love her character. And I currently have a woman-crush on Charlotte Le Bon and aspire to dress just like her character. Really, I just wish I were French, and I told Mark my dream of all dreams would be to live in a stone cottage in France. He replied, "I know." *sigh* I can't wait to watch this movie again. I even had an omelette that I tried to jazz up for breakfast (you'll get it when you see the movie).

My mom left on Monday and I came home and went back to painting. Thank goodness for my mom. Her visit came at theee perfect time. She came in, saw the house, and told me what to do. I had and have tons of ideas zipping around in my brain (can we say overwhelming?) but I needed someone with experience (it also helps that our taste is similar) to help me organize, critique, tweak, and make my ideas happen. I think I almost cried when my mom said, "let's paint your room!" So we did. And now, I am in love with our bedroom. It's cheery, dreamy, cozy, pretty. Oh I just love it! The second floor isn't very big; it only has the master bedroom, the master bathroom, and attic space. But, it's so neat. I feel like the second floor is its only little apartment, just missing a kitchenette. We still have to hang a few things so it's not perfect but here is one before and after picture. 

Before: 

Though this dark red color works because the room gets a lot of light, I don't like having an almost dried blood-colored room you know? And there's already a bedroom downstairs that is this color. Come on man, there are way too much colors in this world to have 2 bedrooms the same. Non.

 After

Much better, don't you think? 

I am so in love with it. We also ended up painting the ceiling, the trim, the baseboards, the doors, and the windows (because they didn't look so good). It looks so much better. Crisp, clean, and ooooh so cozy. 

More pictures to come and now I have a nice long list of painting to do. Mostly touch ups and I think it'll make me love this house so much more. 

Switching topics. Can we talk about friends? 

I don't know if I've turned into an introvert or what but I think that making friends as an adult is a tad more difficult than back in school days. Long gone are the days of bonding over Nancy Drew books, N'SYNC, same classes, sports, dreaded teachers, nail polish obsessions, etc. Plus, I find Mark and I are kind of in an awkward stage of life because we're married with no kids so that kind of wedges us out of some circles. Not that we feel shunned or excluded because we don't. Plus, I'm currently partially employed but not working quite yet so I am not really meeting anyone tons of people except at church. Although, Mark and I scoped out the young couples with no kids and the young couples with one or two kids and thank the stars there are some here!!! Now how to approach without appearing overzealous? It's a struggle I tell ya! A struggle! And a ridiculous one at that.  

Well, as luck would have it, I made a friend. AND we live on the same street. AND she's so cool!! I pretty much tried not to act like a gleeful third grader but after we exchanged numbers I couldn't help but act like one when I told (or exclaimed, cried out excitedly, beamed) Mark, "I MADE A FRIEND!" We went running this morning and it was glorious. Not so much the running because, well, running up hills when you've been running at or near sea level for the past 3 years, AND trying to talk (animatedly), AND being slightly out of shape, makes for a nice challenge but it. was. GREAT! Yay for friends! 

Then, after finally receiving a piece of official mail to prove I now live in Washington, I rode my bike to the library and got myself a library card!!! Our neighborhood is amazing. Tree-lined, quiet streets and the weather is crisp and very fall-like today. GLORIOUS. These library workers are either going to love me or hate me because I requested a lot of books today. Also I borrowed "The Hundred-Foot Journey" because I heard it was better than the movie and since I am so infatuated with the movie, I think I'm going to love it! Plus I got a few more books...and they may or may not be related to France/cuisine/cooking and the like. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have books to read (and probably a few more to request...heeheehee)! 

Guess Who This Is?

I have a confession. Usually when I get a call from an unknown number, my curiosity meter goes off the charts and I have to answer because I have to know who it is. I'm so intrigued! Today I had a call from a Maryland number...huh? I almost ignored it but then remembered my pal Amy is home in Delaware and maybe she was calling from a cell number or something....I don't know but I thought I had better answer it. BOY am I EVER so glad that I did! It was my brother, who is currently out serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Communication is pretty strict/limited so the missionaries can focus on their mission; they are only allowed to call their family twice a year, Mother's Day and Christmas. Well, I answered this Maryland number and recognized instantly that it was Dane but I was so confused. Why was he calling me? Well, I guess it sometimes pays to have your parents out of the country so I got the privilege of being the one he called. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! And let me tell you, actually I can't. I can't tell you. But I can sure try to convey how much I adore my brother. He's a stud. I adore him to bits and pieces. LOVE him. He's my twin, 6 years my junior and one of my very best friends. We got to Skype for over an hour while I tried to email and text my mom, stepdad and brother who are currently in London. Fortunately I finally got in touch with them so he did get to chat with them too.

Hard at work while we Skyped. Gosh I love my brother!

Now. Let's backtrack a little. Last weekend was gloomy, crummy, and rainy. To be honest I kind of liked it because I was really tired and liked having the excuse to stay in. So what do I do when I am home bound?? I bake!!!!

I tried out a new pretzel recipe! DELISH! 

Rosemary sea salt pretzels. I will definitely be making these again! 

(Erinn and Stephanie, if you are reading this, these take substantially less time than the pretzels we made...but that was a blast and totally worth it!)

I decided to try out macaroons for the first time. 

Clearly I'm a rookie but they tasted really good.

Last Saturday night I went over to Amy's apartment with the goal to rearrange her living room. Bonus! I had Jimmy John's subs for the first time. It was good but let me tell you, it didn't have a thing on KHOP (Kingston House of Pizza). After about 30 minutes of moving her furniture all over the room, we finally got it right. We are VERY pleased with it! And another bonus!!! I learned how to use the panorama on my iPhone! 

Then on Sunday I decided to make homemade nutter butters. Holy catscans these are good. If you like peanut butter, these are for you. This isn't a very good picture so don't judge too harshly; I had already wrapped the good ones up and didn't feel like getting them out. 

Wednesday I went to dinner with a friend to a local burger joint that is supposed to be really good in honor of National Burger Month. It was SO good. I got the Surf 'n Turf which had spicy shrimp on it. You better believe I ate all 7oz. But don't worry, I practically starved myself the entire day to prepare for this. Well worth it friends, well worth it. 

Yesterday I booked our (that is, Scotty and I) flight how to New England in June. Scotty is moving back home to live with my brother and sister-in-law. You know what that means? Practicing in the dreaded carry-on bag. Poor Scotty. I hate it just as much as he does. 

I popped into the grocery store yesterday on the way home from work because I saw they had a sale on strawberries so, naturally, had to have some! They were beautiful!!! And tasted wicked good, which I was delighted by because the last bunch I bought were not so great. I got 3 pounds, probably ate at least half of a pound while I chopped these up to freeze. I plan on making banana strawberry ice cream with...bananas and strawberries. Seriously. That's all. Amy showed me because she made banana/peanut butter ice cream in her food processor and it was to die for. Thank you Pinterest. 

And finally, Happy Mom's Day!

And They Will Live Happily Ever After

The festivities of June 2012 have nearly concluded. 

Let's recap, shall we?

Week One: Dane's graduation

The beaming grad. Yay!

Madre and Me

Week Two: Mom and Dan's wedding in California

Awww the cute love birds! 

My *parents*!

Week Three: Heath and Emma's wedding in Washington (state)

This is my fav ^

My brothers right before Heath left to help with the final wedding preparations. 

I love my brothers. 

Dane and I dressed and ready to go!
I secretly hated that dress. Bad decision on my part.

Nick and Heath: childhood best friends

Nick flew all the way from NH to attend Heath's wedding. If that isn't the epitome of a best friend, I just don't know what is. 

Week Four: Scotty arrives...on Tuesday!!!! T-minus 2 days

I got off the plane yesterday and headed straight to the pet supply store to get a leash, a proper walking harness, food and water bowls, and some starter treats. I am SO EXCITED!!! I got off the phone with our neighbors who are sending him off tomorrow morning and they gave me an excellent report. He's ready! 

I am so excited for my little "luce"!

Now. Today is Sunday and I'm jet-lagged upon jet-lag so I was feeling very lazy. But then I remembered that I have to make some good rolls for Wednesday because I'm teaching my church's young women youth group how to make a quick, yummy roll (because we're talking about our divine rolls...haha, get it??! Sorry, couldn't pass that one up!) and to do that I needed a good, easy recipe. I thought I found one a few weeks ago, buuuuut I wasn't satisfied. I was about to give up the hunt when I spotted a homemade French roll recipe.

 French bread? 

Say no more. 

Done and done.So I read the recipe (easy) and off I went!

DIVINE.

I pulled them out of the oven and didn't even wait for them to cool. I popped one steaming hot piece in my mouth. Crunch!, followed by a tender, chewy inside. I put a little buttah on it and oooooooooooh my lantus I was in heaven. So I had another. And then polished off a third and told myself that was enough. 

DIVINE rolls indeed! 

Like Mother Like Daughter...Potentially

So, I was e-mailing my mom a little today at work and she commented on my last post. It was sweet. I mean who doesn't love a little encouragement and positive feedback from their mom? I surely do. Then she said something that, had I been eating something  I probably would have choked. I'm pretty sure this is what I looked like:

Pic from here

She said judging from the amazing treats I've been making and blogging about, "you are destined to surpass me in baking skills." 

SAY WHAAAAAAAAAT?! 

That's some pretty dang high praise there, especially from my mom. Well, baking happens to run in the family and I've quite a passion and love for food so there's hope that I might enter her realm of talent. She's got a couple of decades of experience on me but I'll make my own mark in the world of baking. Cool. I felt pretty dang spiffy the rest of the day. Thanks Mom. 

And, aha, come June I, Gabe, will be privy to the secret brownie recipe my mom has spent years concocting. The original deal was I wouldn't get it until I was married but seeing as at the rate I'm going, she might have Alzheimer's and forget the recipe, I'm getting it in June. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!! And now I won't have to pester her every month to please send me a whole batch of brownies. And no I'm not sharing it with anyone. But I might bake some for you!

Now, have you swept the floor lately? Painted something with a paintbrush? Well, the ends of my hair look like a broom. HORRID. I mean horrid. I know what you're thinking: get your hair trimmed. I am! I am! Tomorrow. Growing curly hair out is a process, a multi-year process. I'm trying to grow my hair out to as long (and as healthy) as it was in high school but ohmylantus it is a process. Grow, trim, grow, trim, grow, trim. All in the name of a healthy mane. Jeepers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, America's Best Dance Crew is on and, well, I'm a huge fan so I'm off to watch, be inspired, and learn a few new sweeeet tricks and moves to bust out on the floor the next time I dance the night away. Peace out. 

Holy Packages Batman!

I love getting packages. 

Sometimes I think that's why I shop online....because of the anticipation of a package!!!!

This package was expected because my mom told me she was sending it with my LBD (little black dress...yay!!!) AND real vanilla and perfume (I love hand-me-down perfumes from my mom!) and some mail (bills and boring work stuff, bummer).

AND ginormous cookies. The size of my hand.

DELICIOUS to the last bite. Look at how thick that guy is!!! Chewy, meaty, and ooooooooooooooh so yummy. Yes, I ate one. Immediately. 

So good. SO, SO, SO good.

Do you ever have moments where you think of something and start giggling aloud, sometimes uncontrollably, maybe even when you are alone? I do. All of the time. In my apt, in my car, in my office, walking somewhere. I enjoy it. I like laughing, what can I say? Well, today was no exception. Story time...


Let's back track for a quick sec. Back in my intern days, I went to see a patient who was very hard of hearing. VERY. Immediately I associate this with a tad bit of awkwardness because that means I have to yell my questions and you know, sometimes I have to ask some rather uncomfortable questions (mostly about bowel movements...yeah...fun) so the thought of having to YELL it is not very thrilling. And---sorry I'm busting up just typing this---I remember yelling, "SO, I HEAR YOU LIKE LIME JELLO??," and so the patient and I had a yelling discussion about this. It was awkward especially since when I came out of the room, one of the other interns, Caitlin, was sitting down the hall and proceeded to text page me, "SO, I HEAR YOU LIKE LIME JELLO?" It's been quite the joke ever since and even a year later, I still laugh aloud about it. Caitlin does too. I texted her about it today because I went to see a darling 89-year old woman today who is very hard of hearing and yup, I had to YELL RIGHT IN HER EAR. She was sassy and feisty and I loved it. Fortunately I didn't have to yell at her to ask her about her bowels; she told me all about it on her own. Old people love to talk about that stuff, well, at least most of my patients do. It's true. Seriously. Anyway. I'm pretty sure the entire floor heard our conversation, which was actually quite funny but I couldn't help but think of my lime jello lady back in Tucson and bust up laughing sporadically, all day. Good times.


Story #2. I speak French, sort of. I have a patient who, when he found out I spoke French, starting speaking in French to me. It was cool and super sweet but, he just had a stroke so his speech is a tad slurred and what it amounted to was me getting a shower of spit in the face. And don't worry, his sister was sitting there so I couldn't exactly start wiping it away because I didn't want to make him feel bad. But I also had to try very hard not to start laughing because I'm sure anyone looking over at us (we were in the dining room waiting for his lunch) would have probably starting giggling watching the rookie dietitian getting spit in the face trying to understand and reply in French. Ah, good times. Good times. I love my job. And, I love old people (I don't care if that's PC, if you're old, you're old. Embrace it. Indulge in it. And use it to your advantage! Hello!, discounts everywhere and electric carts at the grocery store! I have to break my femur to use those!!!). I didn't think I'd enjoy the geriatric population, but I do. I love 'em.

Happy Friday!!!

P.S. In remorseful news, remember how I told you I was going on my first business trip to Atlanta? Yeah ok, not thrilled about it anymore. It's the blimey same weekend that I was going to Utah to see my friend Dan, who got us tickets to the Jazz-Kings game to see Jimmer play. I'm TICKED. And CRUSHED. CRUSHED!!!! Utah...vacation...old friends...Jimmer...basketball. Need I say more?!?! But Dan and I have decided I will just have to come to Utah later this year in which case we will do something cool in UT and then road trip to San Fran. I'm PUMPED!!!!!

Moms are great

But mine is exceptional.

I had a message on my phone today from my mom. It sounded urgent and went a little something like this:
"Gabe, call me as soon as you get this. Call me at work. Well, I'll be in meeting but call me and leave a message. Or, actually, call my cell and leave me a message. Or, well, call me at home around 5." So after a minute long message of trying to figure out when and where to get a hold of my mom, without the slightest indication of why, I was a little panicked. My mom is pretty level-headed and this sounded urgent, with a dash of frantic.


Well, I called her at work, called her cell, texted her and finally called got a hold of her on her way home.


Now back up for a sec....[cruel isn't it?]


I'm moving to South Carolina. I'm tickled. Except, the reality of the situation has sunk in and I am bipolar about some days: some days I'm tickled and others I'm down right sad and nervous. I'm leaving New England. Boston. My favorite book store in Newburyport. My village. My room. My ward. My friends. Portsmouth. Petey's. LAGOs. I'm happy. Don't get me wrong, but it's a whirlpool of emotions. I do not know a soul down there and that's scary. Exciting, but scary and a little intimidating. Normal, of course, but it's a lot to handle on top of the MOUNDS of paperwork I have to complete for this job. And around the holidays. Geez. Who knew being hired would require so much paperwork??? Jeepers.


I digress.


The situation was as such that I planned to drive myself down there since my apartment is furnished and I have a week to play with to get situated so I can virtually handle it all by myself.....right? 


Wrong.


I freaked. FREAKED. I need my mom. So, I told my mom that I'm her kid and even though I'm 24 and have done this sort of thing before, it is her duty as my mother to come with me and make sure that I am all set. It was actually really funny because when I freak out and my mom tries to tell me a story of when she was my age and drove across the country herself...blah...blah...blah...I kindly remind her that a) this is different; b) I'm her kid; c) I'm not her; and d) It's her duty, and it's just amusing. Because there's a lot of giggling and looks from my mom saying Gabe, REALLY? And me sending her looks that say MOOOOOM PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?!??!?! COME ON!!!! Then I shook her shoulders and begged, begged her to just come with me and make sure I'm ok. Really I just need her to help me move my stuff in, look around and say, Gabe, everything is going to be just fine (I need this [often] from time to time), and give me a hug and I'll be fine. I may be 24, stubborn, and independent, but I will forever need my mom.  


So fast forward...

My mom found a flight and she wanted to book it stat. So my mom is coming. I will be ok. My mom is coming with me. All will be right.

Cider Dougnuts and Leaf-Peeping

My mom and I decided to head north to see the leaves in Vermont because it's peak season for them. On our way we had to stop for fresh cider doughnuts. I love New England country stores and apple season. The smell of apples is delish! The smell of hot cider doughtnuts....AMBROSIA.

It was so neat to watch they are made!

Yum!

We got a dozen and each had 2 immediately. SO. GOOD. How we made it home and still had some for my brother, I don't know. 

Leaf-peeping was kind of a bust because the leaves haven't turned yet! I don't know it's because of the oddly warm weather we've had and then rain that plucked a lot of leaves off the trees but the colors weren't as vivid as I was hoping. But it was still really pretty. Rolling hills that looked like carpets and vibrant trees along the way. It was still grand. 

We stopped in Woodstock, yes that Woodstock. THE Woodstock. We were on the hunt for...you guessed it! Something sweet! We were on a mission to find macaroons made my Sandra Bullock's sister who is a baker in this area. She sells her macaroons locally and we both follow her blog. Well we went into the cute general store that is supposed to carry them but alas, no luck. The town is really cute though so we didn't mind at all. Very New Englandly.

Yay for fall!!!

Adventures of G & T

I had a couple of days off so the Madre and I went off on another adventure (with lots of pictures!)

Day 1: The South End and Back Bay of Boston

Now this was a grand day because even though I was in Boston, I have never ventured into and really explored the South End so I didn't feel like I was in the city. It was spectacular. I am MADLY IN LOVE with this city. Street after street of brownstones, odds and ends, fun little shops, cafes, restaurants, laundry mats, bakeries, clothing stores. *sigh* Incredible.


I was in heaven.

I stopped talking for a bit and my mom asked if something was wrong. I was just so delighted and lost in day dreams of living in one of the chic brownstones that I had gone quiet. I mean can you imagine this as your home??

And this is your backyard?
But I have to tell you that the first reason we decided to go into the city this time, aside from our love for the city and having never explored this part of Boston, was to visit Flour.

You see my mom purchased this fabulous cook book and the owner has three bakeries in Boston and the treats look scrumptious, of course, so naturally we had to go see for ourselves. I know, you're seeing a pattern here aren't you? Bakery goods/ice cream/goodies and adventures. Yes, that's correct. We will drive just about anywhere to taste test a good bakery item. We like to compare to other bakeries and to our own recipes. Thus far, no one has come close to trumping my mom's Celestial Brownies. I doubt anyone ever will. I digress. Flour was quaint, charming, and had a fabulous ambiance.
We were starving when we got there and decided to order lunch before we loaded up on the goodies to bring home and try. I got a portabella mushroom, mozzarella, tomato, pesto panini, which was outstanding. Oh my lantus I will recreate this delectable masterpiece because it was perfect. The mushrooms added just the right amount of savory.
Madre got a curry tuna with sprouts, golden raisins, carrots, lettuce, on whole wheat. AH-MAZING. We will be having this for Sunday lunch. I'm pretty excited. We're on a curry kick right now. A dash of curry on baked vegets (that's veggies) is delicious and it's good with slow-cooked chicken too. Give it a try...
Having satisfied our hunger and sweet teeth (we got 7 different cookies, a huge brownie, an oreo cookie, and a fat chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting), we cruised the residentials on foot.
Many of the streets had small beautiful gardens in the middle, which separated the street traffic (cool!) with fountains, benches, and little paths.
Some brownstone residents did a wonderful job with their small gardens, some not so much. Either way, it was neat to see gardens in the city!

Is this not one of the cutest pictures you have ever seen? We passed this girl and all of the sudden I realized she had a toy on a string, this is an old-school toy!!! So I turned right around, grabbed my camera and the little darling looked back just in time for me to snap a shot.
And of course we had to take a stroll over to one of my most favorite sections of town:
But really, our second reason for going into the city was to seek out this frozen yogurt place near Kenmore Square. We stumbled upon it a few years ago before or after a Red Sox game and have been meaning to go back ever since. We were afraid it wouldn't be there, but don't you worry...

It was!!!!!!!!!!! It's called Cafe 472. We HIGHLYHIGHLYHIGHLY recommend it. You choose chocolate or vanilla frozen yogurt as your base and then choose your mix-ins. It's comparable to Hogi Yogi (which is a west coast thing I believe), except this place is about 100x better. Madre got chocolate with raspberries and coconut. I got vanilla with oatmeal cookie and chocolate chips. Bliss!

Day 2: Kayaking in Great Bay (Newmarket, NH) and Ogunquit, ME

Madre and I made some great purchases a few years ago: inflatable kayaks. I know, it sounds weird but they are wonderful. They are easily portable, very sturdy, and very fun to have. Today we took them to the Great Bay, which really is a huge harbor that eventually empties out into the Atlantic. It's gorgeous.
It was quite the arm workout trying to get back in, fighting the tide, which was going out, but well worth it. It was a perfect day-perfect temperature, the water was pretty warm and gorgeous, we saw lots of birds (seagulls' cries are one of my favorite sounds ever--except in Salt Lake because that's just a cruel teaser!), and had a jolly time. And hey-I even got some more freckles!

For you mom, "TOES!!!"

And to end our day, we headed up to Ogunquit, ME to pay a visit to the Village Food Market for....some more Dolcelinos ice cream sandwiches! We even brought a cooler so we could stock up and store them in the freezer at home but...they only had 3 left when we got there so we snatched them and ate one in the car. I forgot to take pictures because I was SO hungry. We split the ginger/lemon cookie. Mmmmm just as good as the first one.

Grand adventures!

On a side note, can I just tell you how VERYEXCITEDIAM that it's almost September. Why, you ask? Well, that means it's almost AUTUMN and friends, I have waited 6 years to be back in New England for this season. I predict a photo frenzy so prepare yourselves, lots of gushing about how beautiful it is, a mosaic of colors really, and more adventures, probably up North and into Vermont. I. cannot. wait.