More kitchen disasters

Remember back when i exploded boiling tomato sauce all over my face and kitchen?? well abe and i decided it would be a good idea to attempt home made tomato sauce again with turkey meatballs. i make these meatballs all the time, like once a month. my brain was feeling a little fuzzy today... like it does on most sundays. i put my meatballs in the oven, and i flipped them, and then i checked the temperature. i was like: man these are cooking a lot slower than they usually do. i should have known at that very moment that i was an Idiot. i was loafing around waiting for them, i even did a few arm exercises with my exercise bands. later i went back to check on the meatballs and i got out the digital thermometer because i thought: surely they must be done by now. abe was standing over my shoulder stirring his sauce, and he's looking at my thermometer with a meatball hanging off of it and he's like: those aren't even close, and i'm like: I know!! and then he took the thermometer with the hanging meatball off and pressed the Celsius/Fahrenheit button... my meatballs were at 194 degrees Fahrenheit. i'm an IDIOT!! oh my god, that's worthy of an OMG. sometimes i think about how much my brain has lost in the past 3 years and honestly, it's really disintegrating fast. i should think about taking a class or something beyond my Nintendo DS Brain Age. i'm not sure they let idiots into grad. classes though. that's not even the only stupid thing i did today. i was trying to shut the bedroom door on my exercise band and it has a little thing you stick into the side of the door where the hinges are...so i do it, and i keep shutting the door and it's not closing, so i just keep adjusting the stupid band and it still doesn't shut. probably 5 minutes later abe is like: what are you doing! and so i reluctantly ask for help, and he's like: let me guess, there's a sock in door? he was right. we keep a sock at the door so it won't shut during the night to get better air circulation. and i just don't even think about it anymore, it's just a part of the furniture. well people, the sock was the reason my door would not shut. today would be a bad day for standardized testing, or giving advice.

Highland Kitchen

this restaurant is on highland ave outside of davis square in somerville. it's well off walking distance, but they do have parking out back. we'd been meaning to go here for months and for some reason we just never got around to it until now. i really wish that i hadn't been so lazy, this place was worth the 5 minute drive. they have an extensive drink and beer menu, i got the bar harbor blueberry ale and abe got some BBC ale. we started with a couple appetizers: scallops and calamari with a smokey tomato sauce. i would say they were pretty typical. nothing special really. and then for the main entree, abe got one of the specials: flank steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli rabe. it was pretty good, better than average, we'll give his entree a B. i chose the cheeseburger with jack cheese and caramelized onions with fries. It. Was. Heaven. honestly, i hardly ever order burgers because i'm not a big fan of ground red meat, but it was the first thing on the menu to tickle my fancy so i went with my gut reaction. i've never had a burger so tender, so perfectly cooked, and so juicy delicious. i was eating it so slowly so that i could really enjoy it as long as possible. the burger was perfection, it was the kind of burger you'd write home about. it will be the shining burger that i will compare all others to in the future. i actually took a picture of me eating the last bite but it was too grainy, but just the effort to do this should illustrate the feelings i had for the meal. all these things give my cheeseburger an A+. if that colorful praise of the cheeseburger isn't enough, then let me tell you the prices at this place. Moderate-Cheap. 4 beers, 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts = $89.00 that's really affordable in horrible economic times. i forgot to talk about the dessert. abe got bread pudding and i got chocolate cake with ice cream, the bread pudding was fantastic. i would say that the chocolate cake was pretty good, but after tasting the bread pudding it just didn't compare. i can't wait to go back here. a couple tips: get there early, it's very small and all the tables are really close together so get ready to listen to other people's conversations (abe hates this more than anything), also if you are an early bird you will get great parking behind the building. the crowd here is very interesting: hipsters, professors, families, hip 30 year old friends, and me.

Food A

Ambiance B

More on the turkey

you know when you're just used to having certain things on holidays with your family?  and then you do a holiday with another family and you're kind of thrown off by the food situation?  abe's family had lots of food of course, but it was very different to me.  first of all, they assigned us each a dish to make during the day while waiting for the turkey.  i'm used to showing up and being fed so it was a little bit more work.  there was a turkey, mashed potatos, carrots, green beans, glazed carrots, yams and sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and a side salad.  the funny part is that i've never had a glazed carrot before in my life but that was assigned to us to make.  i think they turned out ok, people ate them.  at my family thanksgiving we have the standard foods: turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, salad, and for some unknown reason we also have a lasagna... i know that sounds like of strange, but i'm just used to having it and then we have atleast 8 pies.  At least that many because we all have separate favorites and since there's not exactly a ton of us, all our needs can be met.  my dad's favorite is lemon meringue (totally not thanksgiving-ish), my favorite is blueberry, my mom likes apple, everyone like pumpkin, and generally the rule is to fit as many pieces onto one dessert plate as possible.  it's kind of disgusting.  honestly, i can't wait for the day that i get to host my first holiday meal.  this probably won't happen till we have our first house in a couple years, but it will eventually happen and then i can serve the dishes that i like to eat : )  i can selfishly serve my favorites!

Yes it's over!

we made it home from NY in one piece.  i slept most of the way and i guess the baby was screaming that entire part but i was out cold.  it was a very long holiday and i think everyone is happy to be home.  i don't really feel like giving a play by play of the holiday so i'll just leave you with one of the nephews, he's adorable:

one of my bridesmaids got engaged over the holiday!  that's some pretty exciting news for our group of friends, it will be nice to have some company (sorry, this is the most recent photo i have...i think it's really funny though).

i can't wait to get our christmas tree....

Happy thanksgiving!

Happy turkey day from the Hudson valley. This was a picture we took in a machine at chuck e cheese's last night. The news anchors look a lot different here in ny than they do in boston. That's been the most hilarious part of my trip so far. The turkey is coming soon!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

On the road

We are heading to new York for turkey day. 4 adults and 1 baby in a Prius. Let's see how long it takes is to get there. After getting on the pike there is already traffic so we're only going 30 mph. When we do finally arrive our reward is going to be a visit to chuck E cheese to meet the rest of abe's family.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Check this out

Abe got me a Nintendo DS! jealous??  well i would be, i've been wanting one for months and months. i'm super excited about it.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What's in that box?

it's my bridsemaid and flower girl gifts!!  i know, how crazy.  i saw them, wanted them, and  i looked and looked everywhere around here and i couldn't find them.  so i called the company direct and now i have them all individually wrapped and ready to give out...in June!  have i mentioned how bad i am at keeping my own secrets?  i'm totally the worst.  i feel almost incapable of keeping my own business to myself.  

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Platinum and bologna

i'm not sure what my problem is but i Really dislike awards shows, and i feel kind of bad because i think that most people really enjoy them.  i think that musicians and and actors make an exorbitant amount of money as it is, yes it's based on talent and vision and creative spirit and whatever.  However, i don't believe in throwing a multi-million dollar award show to recognize their latest platinum album or blockbuster hit.  it's one of those things that i just cannot stomach to see on TV.  if it were for broadway or for something much more creative and a lot less lucrative i could probably appreciate that a great deal more.  i might in fact watch that.  

today i got up early and raced to the grocery store to buy things for our annual Fakesgiving (more on that later), and i was there with my little rolling basket (that abe thinks looks Retarded) at the deli counter.  This picture below is taken from a previous outing:

there was a man beside me trying to figure out what the most inexpensive deli meat was today to buy.  my heart really sank, i felt so horrible for him because his internal debate seemed to really weigh very heavily.  in the end he was able to buy one full pound of beef bologna for $2.99 a pound.  to me that price is unfounded, and i'm really glad he was able to find something so inexpensive.  after that i had to go to the fish counter to get shrimp for shrimp cocktail and i actually felt guilty for buying shrimp on sale for $5.99 a pound.  

And that little bologna story is the reason that i think awards shows are done for the purpose of celebrity more than anything else.  it's the fashion, the who's who, and who made the most money this year.  when people are making millions and wearing thousand dollar shoes and a elderly man can only afford $2.99 per pound bologna, it makes me think that perhaps priorities are all wrong here.  

Twilight Movie!

Guys, if you haven't seen this movie yet and you plan on it, then you might not to read any further...

I saw Twilight today.  the day after opening night because i just had to know it was tearing me apart!  going into it i really thought...the book is always better than the movie so i'm not going to expect much.  and i thought, well robert pattinson doesn't look like the edward i had in mind, he's just not handsome enough.  and i thought that kristen stewart just wasn't plain enough, she was too interesting looking.  but whatever, my casting opinions really hold no weight.  abe and i were the only people there over 16 except for a row of old 40 year olds behind us.  they giggled and laughed and talked all through the movie and laughed at all the cheesy parts, so it was very good according to them.  i thought it fell really flat in a few parts like the action sequences and the special effects really weren't at all special and too much of the story was cut out.  but i was totally thrilled with Carlisle and how just perfect he was and Jacob and how perfect he was and Charlie too.  i think there is so much potential for the next movies, this one was just an introduction to the story really... but i will say that after 30 minutes of the movie, Edward became devastatingly attractive to me...but it took awhile.  suddenly i was really enjoying his style and his look and his unruly hair.  it took awhile for the whole story to really come together.  the opening is just so slow and pretty painful, but i really do think it's worth seeing and the next ones can only get better.  and just think this movie was made for teen agers, so actually i'm sure it was super awesome to them and i'm just being nit picky.  XO Edward!

Also, when you see the movie you'll see the preview to the next Harry Potter movie.  it looks fantastic of course!  it made all the other previews look terrible, but actually they were terrible.  

Panda's Suggested Gifts

'Tis the season to find gifts for loved ones and those you feel pressured to buy for. i've compiled a list of suggestions for people who might be walking blind into the battlefield and who need a little help. these gifts certainly aren't for everyone, but they could be for your people:

First up, the VioLight UV light toothbrush sanitizer in a cute compact egg shape. Kills 99.9% of germs on your toothbrush. $29.95 i wouldn't get this for just anyone. i would get this for people who are afraid of germs, who like oral hygiene and who might be a little neurotic.

Envirosax Mikado reuseable tote bags in a set of 5 for shopping, groceries, general stuff, whatever. they fold up to be nice and small to just keep in your bag or in the car for when you need them. i love the patterns, really fun and modern. they'll last forever. $37.95

Abe would like to put this on everyone's gift list this year. he really wants someone to read it so that he can stop saying to people, "hey have you read the secret?... you should." he's serious, he wants someone else to read it and report back. in a nutshell, this is a new-age self help book that preaches that the power of positive thinking can get you through cancer, unemployment, and poverty. -- i think. i have not read this book, so maybe you should, and then report back. $13.00 on amazon.

Lindeman's Framboise Belgian Peche Beer. i walked into Whole Foods and walked out with this awesome beer. it's really light, really fruity, and tastes Nothing like a beer. chicks will love this stuff, they will buy it by the case. it sparkles, and it comes in more than just Peach but i can't speak to those. buy a few and bring them to a holiday party, it's like crack. $10 for a good sized bottle.

The Wii Fit! I guess this is another chick gift. but seriously if your chick has a wii, then she will love this. i hear it's awesome and if your girl ate too many pieces of pie then this could be a not so subtle way to help her out in a fun way. this is a better gift than say a gym membership, atleast this Sounds like a game. $119.99Marie-Helene de Taillac ring. they come in almost all gemstones possible, and in perfect shapes and more organic shapes. i think they're just so gorgeous, i love the simplicity and the tone of the gold. someday i will own one of these. $3,130 at Twist Online and i've seen them in person at Barney's (super long drawn out Sigh).

A subscription to GOOD magazine. i know print is dying out and practically the walking dead, but i think this one is well worth it. somehow we got issues of this in the mail and i have no idea why or how, but i really enjoyed them and i eventually even subscribed. this magazine is trying to make the world a better place, and who doesn't want to be just a little better?

if none of these gifts get you going try:

http://www.uncommongoods.com/ for lots of quirky gifts, http://www.moma.org/ the museum of modern art gift shop, http://www.adinadesign.com/ Adina Reyter simple and modern jewelry done well and affordable

Happy Shopping!!

The pinky toe

abe broke his pinky toe (according to him).  he stubbed it on one of our mini coffee tables and then did a silent scream and crazy chicken dance for atleast 5 minutes.  there is a purple line that goes up his toe - i'm so sorry for the giant picture, but we need evidence of it in case we decide to sue somebody for letting this tragedy happen.  i obviously don't think that he broke his pinky toe, and really how important can that one little toe be...it's not an ankle or a leg or anything.  i've never broken a bone in my life (twice i've hairline fractures) so i'm not really sure how it would feel, but i'm thinking that 2 days later if it doesn't hurt...then it's not broken.

What the fug?

Some things in life change unexpectedly. I used to be very photogenic and now I'm very much not. I look at pictures now and think: dear lord is that really what I look like? Well I guess yes I really do look like that and I really wasn't helping myself out at all. Last night we got to see our engagement photos. Let's just say I'm not happy. The pictures are nicely done but the people in them look horrible! In my opinion we took 1 good photo out of 100. Just 1. And neither of us are even smiling in it. Ugh! I can't even show them. That's how bad we look.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Idiot!

today was both a real headache and a blessing in disguise.  i was able to call someone an Idiot right to his face and it was really very rewarding, i felt like 1 million dollars afterwards because i've just always wanted to say that to this particular person (he's been deserving it!).  hours later, i still feel like the Queen mostly because i got it off my chest, he wasn't offended, and his dad thought it was Hilarious.

the most horrifying thing said this week was by abe.  he said: we should start having kids.  i said: why??  response:  so you aren't bored all the time.  the thought of children is starting to settle in with me and i know that someday i do want kids but certainly not today or tomorrow or within the next year.  i want 2 dogs, a house, a honeymoon, a roadtrip, and a trip to europe before i have any kids at all.  i really do fear that once kids arrive that my opportunities for experiences diminish.  yeah of course we could take kids on vacations and to europe, but would much rather do it without kids and with disposable income as a part of my life before the kids happen.  saying that makes me nervous.  however, when i do have a kid, i probably won't laugh if someone calls him or her an idiot.

Self control

Yesterday abe gave me a $100 gift card to saks that he got from cashing in his Hilton points. This morning I immediately started looking for the perfect gift to myself. After a few moments of retail price loathing I realized that the only things that I'm dying for have to do with the wedding and honeymoon. So my practical self (I never let her out) has decided to save the gift card to combine it with gift money from Christmas and my birthday and then I will be able to afford really awesome designer shoes for almost free to match my gown. Or I could pile up all the gift money and buy lots of Tory burch if I don't find the perfect shoes there. This is a really mature decision that is just about as much fun as a blood test at the doctors. Let's see how long this goes.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Groundhog Day and more

i read a ton of celebrity gossip today and all of it had to touch on the deep thoughts of miss britney spears.  i love her, and when she makes her come back i will be at her concert blogging all about it.  recently she did some kind of video and she says that her life is like Groundhog Day.  i really do think that 80% of the population feels that way.  i know i do.  5 days a week, i wake up and go to work, come home, make dinner and watch tv before bed.  saturdays i do something, usually nothing to write home about, and on sundays i grocery shop.  groundhog day happens, it's called a daily routine.  isn't that why people go on vacations?  to "get away from it all".  today i had lunch with a friend i haven't seen in six months, he got home from ireland not too long ago.  it was really great to see him, he's someone who makes me feel sane/insane.  basically he's someone who will always remind me of who i really am, and that's nice.  plus, he knows how much i love those chacareros.  

thanksgiving this year is going to be spent in upstate new york at abe's oldest sister's house.  we're worried about driving there if it snows.  we're traveling with 2 others and a baby, so this isn't typical driving for us. the best part is that we're going to Chuck E Cheese the night we arrive!!  i've never been there before, i'm pretty excited.  i really don't like a plethora of screaming children but i don't think it will be all that busy being the night before thanksgiving.  it's been years since i last played skee ball and i'm going to make up for those lost years while holding a piece of chuck e cheese pizza!  i'm going to win abe a plastic back scratcher.

You're missed

i spent a lot of time with myself today.  i enjoy a nice day to myself just as much as the next person but normally i try and find lots of things to get done that i can't ever get done with abe around like taking a yoga class or painting my toe nails or something.  i went to Target Greatlands and to Old Navy for the friends and family sale.  don't worry, i barely spent any money!  as the day went on i became more and more wedged into the couch.  i missed cleo today, i got so lonely and i missed having someone to talk to.  i love laughing at tv shows, it feels so good to be that entertained by something, but it's a lot less funny when i'm the only person in the room listening to my own laugh.  when abe is traveling and i go for days without much social interaction i can start to go a little crazy.  like today i bought christmas wrapping paper.  and i knowingly marched into target so that i could buy it, that was my purpose for the visit.  that is only a little nutty, but it's still not sane since it's only november.  but speaking of christmas, i did finish my christmas list for my mom that she asked me for on november 1st.  we're early birds.  but i heard from my friend that she already got her christmas present from her mom, i believe it's actually already installed in her car.  she got an electric car starter, i thought that was so funny. like surprise, it's not christmas but guess what your present is ready for morning use!  her mom is an early bird too i guess.  good thing we always catch the worm.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

27 Dresses

i never thought i'd ever say this but i watched 27 dresses and i thought it was adorable.  i really liked it.  normally i find katherine heigl to be impossible to find entertaining but this movie might have changed my mind.  and having james marsden in the movie did not hurt it one bit, he's really really good looking.  there were so many hideous dresses, i could not pick my favorite.  it was like awful taste exploded into her closet.  it was a totally cutesy wedding movie with all the cheese topping, and i loved it anyways.  i think i was actually pretty touched by the love story as well, and i'm never touched by movies!

The Looking Glass

Getting back to my post on the fold-up bed real quickly:  apparently this is called a Murphy Bed.  and my friends made it pretty clear i might be the only person in the world who has never seen one before.  i really do find this hard to believe, but the girls say it's nuts and i should know what this is and it's not just on tv.  i won't believe them until i see for myself.

so we went to a "go green" bridal expo tonight in south boston.  it was really kind of funny because my caterer and dj were both there, i'm not sure how a dj can really be "green" but he is.  and my caterer is fully organic, and i kind of knew that they were but i didn't choose them just based on that fact.  most people were really nice, they offered samples and sign ups, but there was this one company.  one man owned both a photography company and a tux rental company and the tux sales guy was trying to get me to put down $10 in order to get free engagement pics and $50 gas card and like all these other strange freebies.  i said no thanks and he was so rude to me.  so rude.  and might i say he was missing a few teeth, i was Not impressed with that sad 30something.  but everything else was great, we even got to test a photo booth.  they're really expensive, way more expensive than i thought, so i am going to nix that from my daydreaming.  $2,000 for 5 hours!  ouch.  

after the expo, we went to Blue Wave in fort point.  if you don't know what fort point is, it's on the cusp of the financial district and south boston.  suddenly a new district appeared and i never even knew it had a name.  anyways, this was a very strange place.  it looks normal, but it was far from it.  this neighborhood is heavy on the irish, yet somehow 75% of the people who came in were black.  we were fine with this, it's just not an average night out in southie.  then we saw some kid who looked just like Steve from sex and the city!  and it turns out he was gay.  so now we're sitting practically in the middle of the bar with gay guys to our right and black guys to our left.  southie, i'm so impressed, such diversity!!  for some reason a good amount of dudes were wearing blue tooth headsets, like who were they expecting calls from at 11pm in a bar?  and then the dancing!  a dj showed up and there was a little dance floor which we were totally in the way of, and there was some dancing, there was some really bad dancing we're talking finger snapping and carleton moves and bunny hopping.  i have no idea what they were doing, but it must have been dancing of some sort.  it was so funny.  and really, this does not even describe how weird things became.   there were girls wearing shirts as dresses, there was a huge man standing guard in front of a closet sized room, a cheap lock box being carried around, an old fashioned camera, alligator shoes, and so much more.  words cannot describe tonight's experience, it was just beyond imagination.  i think i'd like to go back to this place another friday night and see if it's really so Alice in Wonderland as it was tonight.

food on the brain

i've been craving a big fluffy waffle smothered in maple syrup for a week now.  a week!!  it doesn't have to be the perfect waffle, but it can't be frozen, it needs to be belgian.  if i remember back correctly to college when you could make them yourself in the cafeteria with the waffle thingy, i remember they made me sick, so i don't know why i'm craving it so badly.  95% of the time i crave salty, so this is a bit strange to be wanting something really sweet.  i've been eating all our halloween candy to try and satiate this thing, but it's not working in the least bit.  a butterfinger isn't exactly a waffle.  i also had a hot chocolate yesterday, i pretty much have 1 a year so i guess that was it.  

speaking of salty, today in the Metro there was a brief article on potato chips and the various flavors around the world.  in canada they have a fries and gravy flavor.  the US has a crab flavored chip, and in japan they have a duck flavor!  it's all just so exciting, there's so many possibilities.  i remember in thailand they had seaweed flavored chips and shrimp flavored.  they were not so good, but it was still very interesting.  man i love chips, i could eat them all day long.

sometimes my life really does get this uninteresting so that my brain is completely consumed with food cravings because when i let it do that i'm also allowing myself to steer clear of more looming subjects:  money, work, honeymoon, the infrequent ant invasion, disorganization, and feeling like a fat cow.  it's not that i'm trying to be completely insane, sometimes i just really need it.  

space saver

this may look like a regular bed to you, but no, it actually folds back up into the wall and tucks away so the room becomes big enough to walk around in.  apparently this makes hotel rooms in brazil dirt cheap.  i was actually pretty tickled when i heard about this and had abe take a picture.  i really thought fold up beds were only on tv.  

The snore

I'm highly sensitive to noise.  i'm seriously crazy about it.  in college i put those felt stickers which go on the bottoms of bar stools, i'm sure you know them...yeah i put those on our kitchen cabinets because i couldn't stand the sound of them slamming all the time.  my poor room mates.  this actually happened again when abe and i first moved in together, i had him do the same exact thing to the cabinets because the sound was killing me and i wanted to jump up and slap him in the face when i heard that noise.  i'm nuts, i know it's just how it is.

so i was sitting here in bed enjoying the end of my book (see below post) and suddenly there was this strange noise, and it was in a pattern.  what in the world... my building is brand new, the walls should be pretty thick or decently thick anyways.  sometimes we can hear our neighbor fighting with his wife, and it is hilarious!  but they must be really screaming or be right next to the wall we're huddling at listening through.  so the noise, the noise is someone here snoring super loudly.  loud enough for me to hear through a wall or a ceiling.  once i figured out the sound i prayed for it to stop (just like the Duggars would do), and it did (God answered me).  but then it came back!!!  and stopped..... and 10 minutes later it came back.  he must be sleeping on his couch, why won't someone wake him up!  this makes me want to tear my hair out.  i should probably just go to bed earlier to avoid this because i can't exactly go leave him a little note about his earth shattering snoring that just gets louder and louder.

The Host

If you liked the Twilight series you might also enjoy this book by Stephanie Meyer.  it's long.  it's one of those books where you feel a great bit of accomplishment when you finish the last page but lugging it to and from work to read on the train almost breaks your back.  this is an adult book, so it's not as fast of a read as Twilight, and it's more involved sci-fi.  it was a fun read, very interesting, and i think i almost cried.  Almost, but i totally didn't.  by the middle of the book i became very attached to the main characters.  i liked it a lot, but i'm pretty sad because i don't have a book in waiting.  when i don't have a book in waiting i tend to do stupid things with my free time like bite at my cuticles and watch bad tv.  i'm going to need a new book fast.

Tough times

In a bad economy the first thing to go is starbucks for me. The second thing to go is unnecessary cab rides or paying for parking. The third thing is pedicures. I'm suddenly feeling a big money crunch trying to budget a honeymoon and still pay for our pricey rent and then buying wedding things like our bands. I would like to say a raise is just around the corner but its not, the bad economy took my raise away and with it my dreams for lots of disposable income. Sigh. But guess what! I'm the new owner of lauracho.com! So after we get married and I change my name ill try and move my blog over there or do something with it anyways. I can't believe it wasn't taken.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mini Ben & Jerry's

how cute are these little things!!  it's a tiny little ben & jerry's ice cream and it comes with a miniature spoon.  i placed the blackberry for size, and then i had abe hold it to show how tiny it really was as my model.  he loved it so much he had two (mine and his), and he thinks that actually 2 is just the right amount.  buyer beware, these appeal to chicks but they're not any more nutritious than a regular sized one, it's just cuter looking.

Beacon Street Tavern - Brookline

we decided to try something new and our friend dave, who is a chef, brought us to the Beacon Street Tavern.  i Loved it.  i loved that we didn't have to wait at 8pm on a saturday night for dinner.  i started with the Autumn salad which wasn't really anything to write home about (arugula, sunflower seeds, sweet peas) and then i got the pork chops.  i always get pork chops if they are on the menu, my mouth just starts to water when i read any description of them.  so these ones had some apple marmalade stuff over the chops  and that was all over mac and cheese.  it was really great comfort food, exactly what my stomach was searching for.  the pork was like 2 inches thick and probably the most juicy pork chop i've had lately.  everything on the menu was under $23 which was nice to see and i'd actually pay a lot more for my meal.  their fries are really good too, nice and crispy and shoestring sized, they come in a little paper baggie which is cute.  abe and dave got a couple of manhattans and abe swears it was the best manhattan he's ever had.  their beer selection is really wide and the specialty cocktails are numerous...but they're still $9.50 which to me is more of a boston priced cocktail and it wasn't exactly huge.  the cocktails were directed towards men, in my opinion, everything had a whiskey or a gin or a strong strong woody flavoring.  none of them sounded in the least bit appetizing to me, but the boys loved them.  i had a Chimay.  we stayed here all night, and it did fill up as the night went on and when we left it was pretty crowded.  i'm not sure i'd be in love with this place unless i had a comfy seat, but i was still really happy with it and i'd love to go back.

Food   A-

Parking  B-

Christmas??

my mom wants my christmas list already.  and as expected she wants me to keep it down this year, and i'm like: yeah that's no problem.  and then i go to write up my list.... and i can't think of anything that i want except for mega big expensive things!!  wtf is wrong with me.  i know what it is, i have everything that i want except for the unattainable things like: 

a bezel set diamond tennis bracelet

.5 carat diamond earrings

bezel set diamond pendant necklace

a blue cocktail ring

the perfect boots

pearls

all of these are totally like big big gifts that normally come with an anniversary or celebration of some sort, and i've done nothing worth celebrating lately!  so moving on.

and then all the smaller things i can think that i want are kind of ridiculous:

nintendo DS lite with games

a hamster in a wheel

more house plants

considering it's only november 8th i think i can probably keep thinking a little bit.

My cleanse

I started a cleanse this week. Its really not very intense at all- the rules are just to stay away from whites like dairy, flour, white rice, pasta, starches, sugar etc. I just need to stick to lean proteins and veggies and snack on almonds and green tea if I get hungry although I haven't really felt hungry yet. I started it on Sunday but the first two days were for just getting into it slowly and yesterday was my first full day. Sunday and monday I just tried to cut my whites and starches in half and Tuesday and today are all out. So far so good. I feel really good already and I feel a lot less bloated which I like. The idea is for me to get out all the processed stuff so that my body can be cleaner and be able to function better overall. I am a really healthy person with low cholesterol and low blood pressure but I am very weak when it comes to my eating habits. I tend to take the easy way out and use a lot of white rice and pasta for dinner because its both easy and comforting. I also eat a good amount of lean cuisines and lean pockets, which are full of artificial ingredients, and I often indulge in an afternoon diet Pepsi. This is all bad. And so I'm ridding myself of that stuff and so far so good. I hope to go till monday and the re-evaluate and see if I should go another week.  


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Is that you?

i'm sitting here watching the election night coverage eating chewy candies like i'm watching a movie or something, it's so strange.  i feel like an entirely different person.  anyways, being from massachusetts we get inundated by both mass and new hampshire commercials when people run for office.  this year almost all the mass seats were uncontested so there were hardly any commercials and instead a new hampshire commercial was on every 5 minutes.  Jeanne Shaheen vs. John Sununu.  perhaps two of the worst names Ever to hear repeatedly for months, and all i could do was shout with delight when John Sununu did Not win because i just can't hear his name on tv ever again. Su-Nu-Nu!!  

i feel really lucky that abe and i really saw eye to eye with this year's election from the presidential ballot to the questions.  i read an article on the today show online about a couple who broke up over this election.  i mean it's a pretty big one, but like seriously?    

also today, our wedding photographer released a couple of our engagement photos that were taken a couple weeks ago.  it was 45 degrees, we could not feel our toes, feet, or faces, and we were racing the clock for daylight.  i did not feel in the least bit relaxed, and so i give you 1 of the previews:

this is only one out of many, so we're kind of hoping that others come out better than this one.  the photography skills are fantastic because we chose a very skilled photographer of course, but we just don't feel that we look like ourselves and that is our own fault.  once the rest are released i have no doubt that we'll both find a few pictures that we can deem Perfection.  it's just not this one, but i bet my mom would say "I love this one! you guys look great!!"  but we're very very particular people.

Voting day should be a holiday

This was my first time voting at the polls in person. The last election was done by a mail in vote since I was in college. The experience was a really good one. I really felt like I had done a good thing even if I had to wait an hour to do so. I think everyone should vote its our duty. I was so disappointed when I learned that a friend not only wasnt going to vote but she isn't even registered and she is no spring chicken! She has missed a few elections.



I didn't expect the process to be so technologically challenged. I also didn't expect to not need to prove who I was. And then finally I thought it was strange that the guy checking me out after voting was so strict. He said: I have a sticker for you but you need to take it from me. I was kind of like oh really and what if I don't Mr?



I'm glad I went before work. I heard it will only get worse after 5 when work let's out. There is an article on boston.com about Cambridge having lots of problems losing registered voters somehow. People who are registered showed up this morning to vote but they had no record of them in all of the districts. I saw it happen this morning at my polls too. Nothing like angry people at 8 am hollaring at the line about it. I wonder how much this will effect things. They did claim that they worked it out but I have a hard time believing that those votes will end up counting for anything and they are just trying to keep people calm.



If you haven't voted yet there is still time!







Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

At the polls

I'm in the longest line ever to vote in my district. It has to be 200 people deep and it stretches so far down the road that everyone standing behind me is getting frustrated and leaving to try again after work. I wish I had dressed warmer!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Hunger Games

i've been really into young adult reading lately.  it started with the Twilight series which i found gripping beyond words and i'm just dying for the movie to come out!  so after i finished the series i was at a complete loss for books that seemed at all worth my time.  so i went to stephanie meyer's website just to look around and she mentioned that in her spare time she read this book The Hunger Games and couldn't put it down.  i wasn't really all that interested, but i've been really bored lately so i figured i'd try it out... and then i read it in 2 days.  it's young adult, coming of age, somewhat sci-fi futuristic, but mostly it's about war and the effects on the future and children.  it was really disturbing, and i just had to know how it ended once i started it.  i'm not sure if i'd recommend this to everyone, there is a lot of suffering and manipulation, but sometimes you need the good with the bad.  this is my nerdiest post yet.

Elephant!

In Duluth. Who knew they lived there?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Halloween is OVER.

we had the worst halloween costumes in the history of our halloweens.  it was embarrassing! abe wore a shirt that said Wingman, and he was a wingman.  then he cut me out an eyemask and i have no idea what i was.... and neither of us were a superhero or a villian.  everyone else had some really involved costumes.  

Banana Man

Drunk Man

i forget the technical name of this costume, but i believe it was Dirty Sanchez however you can't really see the "dirty" part.

This is...disturbing.  this is a man and a woman, and i'm saving everyone from seeing the man's face in drag.  they are Scissor Sisters i think or they are Super Lesbians, i forget which.  the guy's legs looked better than most women's that was also really disturbing, and the worst part is how much he enjoyed being a woman....

so anyways we're at this party in Medfield, which is really far away and in the woods, and everyone is hanging out indoors and out by a fire and then this dude comes in dressed up with a wierd mask on (it was something from donnie darko).  he just kept walking around and through the party but not really stopping and talking to anyone.  so finally the hostess was called over and everyone was like: there's a man here and nobody knows who he is.  so she tries to find out but to no avail.  it kind of came to a little bit of a head because now everyone was really kind of freaked out and a little nervous.  one of the guys tried to rip his mask off, and see who he really was, but then he just kind of left.  everyone forgot about it, and then it turns out that it was a neighbor of the house we were at.  he came back like an hour later in regular clothing, we were pretty relieved, or i was....the woods there are really dark and scary and who knows who'll just come out of them, it's like a horror movie that i don't want to be a part of.