Back to School...The Final Edition!

So......it's my last semester of college. My friends and I are on a very real denial kick which entails a lot of actions that are preceded by "well, only four months left, so...". It's very liberating. Remarkably, we have managed to work out every day (we'll see how long that lasts) and our athleticism in the gym has most certainly parlayed into our nighttime habits as well. We have mastered midnight jogs, table dancing, and all other manners of ridiculous behavior that one should absolutely not partake in mere months before they enter the world of adulthood. I haven't cooked up anything delicious YET this semester except for a quinoa stir fry which lacked any real flavor base (prior to the Sriracha that was poured on it by my dinner guest) but which sophomore boys from down the hall reported to me smelled "awesome". While the dinner was sub par, it involved some tasty sauteed spinach, jalapeno chicken sausage, and caramelized onions which could be enhanced greatly with some tweaking. I'll work on it and get back to ya.

In the meantime, thought I'd share three things that are bouncing around in my brain right now that do not involve my thesis, which is taking up ALL most of my thoughts right now. I cannot promise they are not all food related. As you can see. By number one.

1. My lightened up taco salad.

I made this over my winter break on one of my many three day health kicks that was subsequently destroyed by holiday food binges. It was DELICIOUS though and totally satisfying without any of the "bad stuff" in traditional taco salads, or tacos for that matter. Chips + sour cream do not a healthy meal make. Swap out beef with grilled salmon, shredded cheese with shredded carrots, and sour cream for cottage cheese. Salsa and lemon juice with a dash of olive oil is dressing enough, and creates a flavorful addition to the dish. Add chili powder, green onions, chopped cherry tomatoes, and some avocado wedges to finish! I also helped myself to two crunched up blue corn tortilla chips. Sorry I'm not sorry.

2. My to do list. 

It's incredibly upsetting to me that my to do list does not look more like this, but alas. Amidst searching for jobs and working on my thesis, I have had to come up with a decent solution to organization, which has never been my strong point. I'm definitely one of those last minute people, in a big way....so keeping productive to do lists falls somewhere between walking outside in this Polar Vortex cold and retaking the SATs on my scale of enjoyment. However, I've found that the simple trick of adding things to your to do list THAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE creates a sense of success and productivity without having to add another un-done task. I simply write down what I've already done and then cross it off. #bingo

3. Regrets from Break

-Really wishing I had tried this place while I was home. Miracle of Science in my hometown of Cambridge, MA boasts so many cool menu items and drinks. Next time!

-Really upset that a time machine has not showed up to magically transport me back to the days, a year ago, when Bologna, Italy with all its wonders-culinary and otherwise-was my everyday reality.

Swear I'm doing an Italy post soon that is very food related. And it will be amazing.

Stay tuned!

Sundaze

Sundays in college are lazy, hungover, generally low key days that I always try and make productive but almost never succeed in doing so. This used to stress me out during my freshman year because I always felt like there was something I needed to be doing, but could never quite crawl out of bed for. Somehow homework always went unfinished, gym sneakers making puppy eyes at me from the closet, and I almost never remembered to call my grandma. However, as college has progressed, I have come to embrace Sundays for what they are, and I now realize I have precious few left before The Real World commences next year (AHHHHHHH) so here are a few of my favorite Sunday things!

1. My friend's new puppy. We have the great fortune of hosting this little lady for a week before she gets picked up by her rightful owner, my friend's older sister. She is a cavapoo and there are few things more enjoyable on a lazy Sunday than lying in the grass watching this chick roll around and learn to use her back legs.

2. Fun expensive hangover cure drinks. This was my newest foray into one of my favorite Sunday activities, finding new and fun ways to cure my hangovers. Coconut water still tastes like the stuff at the bottom of the dishwasher for me. I liked this, but I definitely will continue to can't spend $6 on it.

3. Explorations. Since lying down is probably my #1 Sunday activity, I was absolutely thrilled to be able to do that in this setting all summer while living on Martha's Vineyard. I would literally wake up, lie in bed for an hour, grumble about how much effort it took to put on my bathing suit, walk five minutes to the beach, and lie on my towel for hours. Soooo nice.

4. BRUNCH. This is absolutely vital duh everyone knows there is nothing better than Sunday brunch. I love this lox and bagel combo and capers make a great accessory. My friends and I have been known to spend hooouuuuurs at brunch and never ever regret it.

What are your Sunday habits?? Please do not even tell me if it includes working, homework, chores, etc. JK! not really.

The Lilly Pulitzer Salad [Spinach, Strawberries, Mozzarella, and Balsamic]

I have some issues/anxieties with salads. I am definitely one of those college girls who will talk your ear off about how I "would totally eat anything, I mean, ANYTHING!!! on a salad!!!!!" whilst ordering a hamburger, but I have stress about this hypocrisy because it really is true. If you slapped that patty on a salad with cherry tomatoes, a little flavorful cheese, some cornichons, and a great mustard vinaigrette? You bet I'd eat it AND be just as happy and way less full than eating the full burger. But sometimes all the switcheroos and custom orders at a restaurant feel a little pushy and I have a weird fear of waiters defacing my food if I'm rude to them. (you never know!!!) so anyways, while sticking to the anything-on-a-salad girl mantra is difficult at a restaurant, I'm actually pretty good at adhering to it at home. I make it a priority on any grocery list to buy a gigantic family sized bag of spinach. I'm lucky to have been one of those weirdos children who enjoyed spinach to the point of asking for it with a dash of olive oil, sea salt and minced garlic, so having it raw in a salad is right up my alley. Also, raw spinach is a really pretty color of green and looks great in pictures. In order to diminish my salad anxiety, I try to choose two or three ingredients and one dressing that pair well together, and then get it goin'. You never want to be that girl who puts fruit, crunchy asian noodles (which for the record, I loathe) olives, cheese, and anchovies in the same salad with heinous blue cheese dressing. SO bad. Do less. Instead, simplicity without being boring is key. Here's one of my favorite creations, which I have aptly named the Lilly Pulitzer salad because it is pink and green and I want a new one every day.

For this masterpiece (there I said it)...

• 2 cups spinach, ripped up and washed to minimize toughness and make bites smaller.
• 8 ripe/somewhat soft strawberries (the softness soaks up the dressing and tastes amazing with the cheese)
• Buffalo mozzarella in water. Gently, with your hands, make small chunks of the cheese and put it on at the last second.
• 2 parts olive oil one part balsamic vinaigrette. Can't go wrong with this, and balsamic and strawberries are definitely winning cutest couple this year.

This salad tastes amazing, satisfies every salt/sweet/sour/ craving you're having, and pairs well with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Then again, I think everything pairs well with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Make this tonight and then tell me your favorite salad!

Quarantined

Happy Humpday people. I woke up this morning with a horrendous cold (think the guy in the Nyquil ads) so I dragged myself to my two classes and am now snuggled so deeply inside my bed I don't think I'll ever get out. Thank whatever Gods there may be that we have a day off in our sorority recruitment process, or I would probably be scaring hordes of younger girls away tonight with my terrifying croaky voice and gross amount of tissue use. Anyway, I bought myself my favorite sick snacks (V8, cranberry juice, and a bag of pretzels so spicy that they are surpassing my original intent of clearing my sinuses and instead making me weep like a child) and I will probably be spending most of the afternoon here. While I would like to be one of those people who can be obediently sick and just laze around in bed all day watching Friends, I actually have what I believe to be a truly shocking undocumented case of ADD. Even in my current zombie state, I can watch no more than two episodes of something without needing a new activity. Luckily, I'm a big reader. As an English major, I find myself spending the majority of September-May reading thick scholarly texts and critical literary reviews, or classical novels. Don't get me wrong-I love my major and can even read such assignments with enthusiasm and/or joy. (Joy might be pushing it.) But I always find myself missing my summertime pleasure reading during the year. So as policy, I always try to bring a few good books that have nothing to do with my classes to crack open on the rare night that I have neither homework nor a wine glass being shoved at me by my professors/friends respectively. (but wouldn't it be so nice if your professors handed you a glass of wine!?) anyways. I've tried to work my small collection into my decor this year as well, since I find books to be some of the best decorations in a room. They are colorful, take up a good amount of space, and best of all-you can take them down and read them. I've arranged them with some pictures and trinkets as you can see, and I find they really brighten up my space.

I go through books way too quickly, so I try to keep a fresh arrangement. "This is Water", by David Foster Wallace, (far right, small white one) is one of my all time favorites and I take it with me wherever I go. I've read it a million times (it's a convocation speech given before his untimely death) and it's great to flip through or read a section of when you're feeling uninspired. "Orange is the New Black" by Piper Kerman, about a white collar woman who spends a year in prison, is what I'm currently devouring. The Netflix show by the same title is allegedly great, but I haven't seen it yet. Leave it to the English major to read the book first. "New York Diaries", edited by Teresa Carpenter, is a collection of diary entries from people living in New York City from the 1600s-present. I haven't gotten to it yet but I can't wait. "The Art of Fielding", by Chad Harbach, is the big kahuna book I'm very slowly making my way through. It would take about twelve pages to explain the whole thing, but definitely worth reading, and not bad for learning a few tips and tricks about baseball as well. Finally, Anna Quindlen's "Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake" is one I tossed into my bag just before leaving home, and to be honest I haven't even read the back cover yet, but I'm excited and would love to hear suggestions!

Bottom line: books make great fodder for decoration, reading (Duh) and for when you've heard Ross' whiny voice one too many times during your sick day.

Travel Tuesday

Now that I'm back at college in rural Pennsylvania, where Red Robin is considered gourmet and local style has not evolved past 1998 (I'm looking at you, floor length red and yellow checkered jumper on display in the window of the store across from my house), I find myself missing the pick-up-and-go feeling of living abroad in Italy. My friends and I experienced some of the most amazing places and people during our travels in Italy, and there was nothing more liberating than packing up for the weekend and jetting off to Prague, London, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, Paris, Florence, Sicily, Milan, etc. The phrase "jetting off" sounds glam but Ryanair is anything but (think three hour hungover flights with constant PA announcements for scratchcards, and first time Italian fliers taking selfies all over the place). But no matter how annoying the journey got, the destinations were pretty much always amazing. Undoubtedly, this blog will probably feature places I visited alot, including tips for traveling on a student budget. While we tried to stay frugal most of the time, we treated ourselves to splurging when it was the best way to experience a place. Tuscany in particular. You can't really "do" wine tasting, amazing countryside views, and out of this world eating on a student budget in Tuscany. It just ain't right. We stayed at an amazing refurbished monastery about two hours from Siena, and it was the perfect relaxing, traditional Italian experience.

 The next day, we did an incredible wine tasting at a nearby vineyard. Lucky for us, our study abroad program took the bill for that, but we enjoyed fancying ourselves wine connoisseurs, and were pleased to drink something other than wine in a bag. This pic was taken pre-vino to show the yummy food pairings they offered. Tuscany was truly decadent, and we all felt like divas, which is the only way to feel.

While Tuscany was a dish definitely best served on the $$ side to truly experience the amazing pleasures of food, wine, and comfort, I did muster up some frugal tips as pointers for anyone considering a trip there!

• Go with a group. I can't imagine how expensive it would be to travel Tuscany with just one friend or a couple friends. Lodging in a villa is usually easier if you split costs, and it's more fun to travel around the gorgeous countryside with a big group anyways!
• At a vineyard, do the wine tasting instead of buying a bottle or case of wine! It's cheaper, you get a bit of food with it so you don't have to buy lunch, and let's be honest: we college students don't REALLY need to begin our wine collections just yet. Write down the names of the wines you love and keep them in the back of your mind for when you can start a collection.
• Recreate a wine tasting with your friends! Sure, you won't be gazing out upon rolling fields or hearing regional Italian spoken by hott vineyard farmhands, but getting some friends together for a couple bottles of your favorite wine (the $13 bottle, not the $65....cheers to Yellowtail always) and some cheese is always fun no matter what the setting.

Enjoy these pics and join me in my intense wanderlust today. What are your favorite places to recall on this Travel Tuesday? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thursday Thought Process

Something I've realized after being a student for the past seventeen years (just counted that for the first time...on my fingers...) is that I have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to the end of the week. I don't mean to be self deprecating, because I have the ability to focus very passionately on a range of subjects including a friend's boyfriend's inability to text her back within the hour or, say, my senior seminar, which scares me more than sharks and commands my wide-eyed attention each week. However, when it comes to mundane end-of-week tasks such as my hour and fifteen minute morning class or deciding between hot or iced coffee (Went with iced, duh), I just start to lose steam by the time Thursday rolls around. On Mondays you can find me prancing around my room color coordinating outfits and picking out the perfect jewelry, but by Thursday, I consider it a GREAT success if I brush my teeth hair.

THUS, making sure I eat healthy after hump day is important, and planning ahead is ideal. Enter: the Thursday salad bowl. By the end of the week, groceries have dwindled a bit and most of the good stuff is gone (cheezits, Chobani, pepper jack...I'm looking at you). So you're faced with the remnants. However, don't fret! All these leftover ingredients are dying to hang out in your Thursday salad bowl. You can literally throw whatever you have left in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few spices (I'm a big fan of fresh basil, a bit of garlic salt, lemon juice, and paprika). For this particular bowl, I only used my remaining mushrooms because my red peppers were frankly wilting, and that's gross. I chopped up some carrots, the last of my cherry tomatoes, and put it all over arugula. I opened up a can of tuna and put that on as well. While canned tuna is not exactly gourmet or fresh seafood, it is a good way to get some protein and tastes 10X more fresh without mayonnaise. I finished it off with some balsamic.

 While my ideal Thursday meal probably looks more like this:

I have neither the patience nor $$ by Thursday to create steak frites...for lunch. Lezbehonest, I never have the $$ for that. That's what parents weekend is for. And it's probably for the best, because the Thursday Salad Bowl is tasty, filling, and super easy. Also, don't be fooled by by running sneaker in the photo. My Thursday workout is a sad, bizarre looking walk-run that can barely be defined as exercise. I didn't have the energy to crop the picture.