Looking Ahead

Happy New Year long lost bloggies! I know I've been MIA lately...it's been tough keeping up with writing/reading blogs and I've actually considered closing up shop. No worries (for any of you still reading!), I'm not ready to do that just yet :)

Lots of changes have been taking place over here and I've been neglecting my kitchen. A lot. I've been exploring a lot of fun new restaurants, but I'm ashamed to admit that I've been Yelping more than blogging about them. Have you had a chance to check out the reviews?

I'm also trying really hard to take breaks from technology. You know, turn off the computer, TV, iPhone, etc. Sometimes you just need to do it.

So, what else has the beans been up to while neglecting the blog?

Reading

I've gotten really into reading lately. I used to read a lot as a kid (so much that I'd fall asleep with books in my bed every night) and now I find myself going through waves where I zoom through books. This recent wave has me reading a ton of fiction...which is new for me. I tend to lean more toward non-fiction (mostly memoirs), but these novels are a nice way to escape from reality.

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The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

I really enjoyed the way this book was structured. I liked that each chapter gave you a new perspective on the situation as it introduced a new character. What I did not like - I felt like it left me hanging at the end. I kinda wanted more from a couple of the characters.

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One Day by David Nicholls

It took awhile for me to get into the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. It's easy to get wrapped up in the bumpy relationship between the two main characters. Have you ever seen A Lot Like Love (if you haven't, just wait for it to come on FX or something)? That's what this book reminded me of at certain points. That and City of Angels. Random, I know.

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Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

I picked this book up at the airport after watching the o so sappy TV movie (o yes, yes I did). It was a nice sappy read, but not as moving as I had hoped. I got a little misty watching the movie and hoped that the book would have me boohooing. Notsomuch.

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

I'm only about halfway through and I really like the book so far! Not only does it explore the forbidden relationship of two teenagers during the war, but it also touches upon the strained relationship the main character Henry has with his father in 1942 and with his own son later on in life.

Traveling and Celebrating

It seemed wrong to head east for a long weekend, so I decided to spend a whole 11 days out there! My east coast tour began in Long Island for our annual family Christmas Eve celebration. Jamie drove up and we cleaned up in yankee swap:

I started out with a shake weight, but thankfully that got stolen by an unsuspecting tot and I walked away with a sandwich maker. LOVE! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted one of these? Insta hot pocket!

Christmas day was a blur, followed by a major white out!

O yes, hey snow storm! So instead of visiting friends in NYC, we stuck it out in the 'burbs and picked up some clothes for Mr. Bear

went into Lego overload

and reunited with a few friends

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Not too bad for a snow day :)

We had plans to head to NJ the next day, but woke up to just over 1 foot of snow! Eeek! Good thing I bought some galoshes and snow pants the day before ;) Hooray for snow fun!

Roads were clear the next day so we began the journey to Manassas. The 10 hour journey. That should have only taken 5.5 hours. Awesome.

The next day we explored glamorous Manassas followed by a day trip to DC (still can't believe we had to get a hotel room) and then I closed out my trip with a stop in Alexandria and Fredericksburg. Whew. Whirlwind tour! So happy to see everyone though.

Noshing

Pre-holiday week, I met up with friends and snacked at some fun spots in the city. Full reviews are on Yelp, but I'll leave you with names: Mamacita (tasty Mexican tapas), First Crush (fun wines and comfort food), Zero Zero (fancy pizza and pasta). They're worth checking out!

During the holiday week, I was determined to visit certain eateries I've been craving since I moved. On the list:

Southern style pho - I haven't found any noteworthy southern style pho yet in SF so I really wanted some Pho 75. Unfortunately that is way far from Manassas. Enter, Pho 234. It'll do.

Potbelly - I miss you Chicken Salad w/hot peppers!

Not pictured because I was just too hungry - Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Not quite EPR, but Super Chicken was Super YUMMY!

Yogging & Biking

Yeah, it's reduced to jogging. :( I'm slowly getting back into things, but I'm super cautious and it's really frustrating. Going from a minimum of 5 miles to maxing out at 2 is rough. Jamie and I did a run on the battlefield over the holiday week and it was a great change of scenery.

What I didn't expect was how exhausted I felt during the run. Ech.

Wining

Just a few new bottles:

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Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rose - I was nervous this sparkling rose would be too sweet, but it was a very nice balance of dry and sweet! I tried to find a bottle for New Year's Eve, but failed.

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Altos Malbec 2009 - Cousin brought this to Christmas Eve dinner and it was pretty good...then again, I've never really had a malbec I didn't like.

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Finca Sophenia Malbec 2008 - I really liked this one. They were pouring this as the happy hour red at Vermillion and it was pretty bold at first, but enjoyable. Definitely looking out for this one.

Appetizing

Got to cooking at Jamie's place for New Year's Eve. Lots of fun mini treats:

Wieners in blankets

Meatball Wellington (recipe courtesy of The Food in My Beard)

a bunch of mini flatbread pizzas (a bbq chicken, plain, veggie, pepperoni)

and a HOLEY CARVEL CAKE!

Happy birthday, here's a gaping hole in your ice cream cake!

How did you close out 2010/ring in the new year?

First weekend of 29

Saturday morning brought my first trip to Bikram yoga in oh, 2.5 years. Jeebus, talk about a long break.

We stopped in for an early class at the Bikram studio on Columbus in North Beach. It's a small, neat, friendly studio that offers a great intro special - unlimited classes for the first month for $29. Pretty sweet.

Lobby (off of Yelp)

Room (again, off of Yelp)

Yes, that's carpeting and french doors you see. Don't get me wrong, it was a great studio, but I was definitely spoiled by all the classes I took at Bikram Yoga Dupont - my favorite place in DC.

The Dupont studio was pretty large and it felt pretty secluded once the door was closed, plus the floors were slick mats that I like to think made it seem cleaner. Don't get me wrong, this new place was super clean...I'm just weird about carpet.

After a couple minutes, I got over the whole carpet thing and got back into the yoga zone. Bikram has been the only type of yoga I've actually enjoyed and look forward to practicing. I think part of it is due to the fact that you do the same 26 poses in the same exact order each time. Not only do you know what to expect, but it's easy to notice progress. Also, there's no denying I love sweating. The more sweat, the better. ;p

Since it had been so long since my last class, I decided to take it super easy and not do certain poses. OMG, still pretty rough...but I felt so great afterward.

So great and SO hungry. I made a spicy oat bowl for breakfast (not so pretty) with eggs, spinach, canadian bacon, cheddar and chili garlic paste. I think the chili garlic paste and cheddar made it extra yummy. I may or may not have followed it up with a slice of birthday cake...

Eh, seemed appropriate ;)

After a very productive morning, we headed out to the East Bay for some pool time. Much needed pool time.

Couldn't have asked for better weather - not too hot, slight breeze. I didn't know this, but apparently there's a good 10 degree temperature difference once you leave the city. I like it!

We sat down for a late lunch poolside and I went with a Chicken Salad on Sourdough (I can never say no to a chicken salad sammich).

It was pretty good, maybe a little too mayo-ey for my taste and the bread tasted more like white bread than sourdough, but it was a great poolside treat. Can I call a sammich a treat? haha.

We eventually made our way back into the city and started working on dinner. There were a ton of taco leftovers from Friday so it was taco night again! Well, for me it was nacho and taco salad night:

Innovative reuse of ingredients! I do love me some taco salad!

This morning I decided to close out the weekend right with a nice, easy, long-ish run. I haven't really done more than 3 or 4 miles at a time since the injury and I've been craving a long run like no one's business. I started mapping out a route when I realized I had no idea what I was doing. Then, I got the brilliant idea to search for the Nike Women's Marathon course map. It was, after all, the race that brought me here for the first time :)

I originally mapped out an 8 mile course, but I cut it down to 5 since about halfway through I realized I should have carried my water bottle and maybe a gel if I wanted to go further. I took the run super slow since I didn't want to aggravate the achilles and ended up running 5.03 miles in about 53 minutes. Not too shabby.

My run basically took me from somewhere a little before Mile 1 of the marathon course to just past Mile 4 before I turned around. The weather was absolutely perfect and I was psyched to have a camera on hand this time. One thing that will always stick out from my first marathon was the first super steep hill I came across early on in the race that I huffed and puffed and shuffled up. It was totally worth it in the end because of the phenomenal views - there were actually people stopping and taking pictures.

Three years later, I was finally able to snap a photo! Of course, to get there, I had to hoof it up this monster

It also winds around, but I thought it was worth it. Of course every uphill is followed by a downhill, or flatness

As I ran through Fort Mason, I got another case of the warm and fuzzies as I remembered running through in 2007. I kept thinking about how nervous I was back then and how I felt throughout the course - I feel like so much has changed since then! Not only am I now living in the city I told myself I wanted to live in back then, but that hill wasn't as horrible as I originally thought it was. Also, I told myself back then that I'd only do one marathon and here I am about to start training for number 4!

I took a leisurely walk back to the apartment by way of the famous Lombard Street

And yes, I joined the throngs of tourists stopped in the middle of the street...momentarily. :)

Since I got home around lunchtime, I made a pitstop at Caffe Capriccio for some lunchtime reading and snacking. This time I tried a lunch item - Roasted Chicken & Bacon Salad (romaine lettuce, roma tomato, toasted croutons and creamy poppy dressing)

Awesome. Loved the poppy dressing (found out they use this) and they didn't over-dress the salad either. Just the right amount and everything was chopped into easy to eat pieces!

To wash it all down, I had some water (duh) and a large cup of White Orchard Mighty Tea

I loved the fun teabag (it wasn't paper) and it was a nice subtle peachy/melony tasting tea!

How's that for a picture-loaded post? :) Hope everyone had a great weekend!

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too...just kidding.

It IS my blog's birthday, though :)

A year ago today, after a month or so of marinating on the whole idea, I decided to take the plunge and start a blog. A few friends had suggested I blog about my cooking adventures but I was always hesitant since I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to read what I wrote. I sat down and knew I wanted to write about the three things I loved the most - cooking/eating, running and traveling. I figured it would be a great way to remember things and if people read my blog, awesome. If they didn't, not a big deal.

Who knew I'd find so many people near and far with similar interests? Who knew that a year later, I'd be blogging from a completely different city with a very different life plan mapped out? I certainly didn't expect it.

There have been some huge changes (living arrangements, jobs, etc.)

And I've swapped out these views (the views I've had for the past 10 years...memories!)

For these (so much exploring to do!)

And who knows what the next year will bring...

I hope y'all keep reading to find out :)

Toodles, DC.

Greetings from San Francisco! My last couple of days in DC were pretty frantic so I wasn't able to post as planned. Yes, I did leave some things for the absolute last minute and when V came to pick me up at 4, I was still trying to cram stuff into my luggage. Yeeh! Since the whole weekend went by so quickly, here's a brief recap:

Thursday

The very last piece of mail I received at my DC address (sad!) was a package from my sister that included these goodies:

A 2010 Zagat for San Francisco, a street map, and a fun Frommer's book of 24 walks in San Francisco. These will definitely come in handy!

Friday

Storage unit trips, g'bye lunch at the office, more storage unit trips, work at the store. Busy, busy bees! My dad and I were able to crank out a lot more than originally planned so there were only a few more items that V and old roomie had to help out with the next day. YAY! For dinner, I introduced my parents to Fresh Med in Cleveland Park.

Since I was working until 8, we rocked the delivery and did some classy dining on the floor, on couch cushions, with plastic utensils. AWESOME.

My parents split the Lamb Shish Kabab Platter (Grilled tender cubes of marinated lamb, served with hommos, house salad and rice. Served with pita.) and I went with the Chicken Platter (Grilled tender cubes of marinated boneless chicken, served with hommos, house salad and rice. Served with pita.). The hummus was a little thicker than usual, but still tasty.

A couple notes...

1) They take a really REALLY long time to deliver and the food usually ends up being room temperature to cold by the time you get it. I recommend eating there or picking it up.

2) Coworkers swear by the Steak and Cheese Sandwich (Fresh sliced philly steak served with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion and mayo.). I've never had it, purely out of principle. It's a Mediterranean restaurant...STEAK & CHEESE? Mreh?! Someone else check it out and report back. I insist.

Saturday

No rest! We started early and had some help from V and old roomie to knock out the second to last storage unit trip. We filled that puppy to the brim! Yup, apparently Jamie and I have enough stuff to fill a 5'x10' unit. WTF?!

Afterward, my parents and I took an adventure to the Comcast drop off spot in Northeast DC. That place is not easy to find. Not at all. Once we got there, we had at least an hour of waiting in line. Apparently Saturday around 1pm is when everyone in the District takes a trip to Comcast to pay their bills and ask random questions. OMG. I wanted to scream "YOU CAN ASK THESE QUESTIONS ON THE PHONE OR ONLINE!" Yes, I have a hard time being patient.

Clearly it was a late lunch sort of day and I decided to take my parents to Eastern Market. We did a quick walk through of the South Hall Market and sat down for a bite at Market Lunch. My parents each got the Fresh Cod Platter (two battered and fried pieces of cod, cole slaw and a side of fried green tomatoes) and I sampled the North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich

and an order of Fried Green Tomatoes.

The sandwich was massive, but delightfully tangy and spicy. I love a good vinegary BBQ! This was my first fried green tomato experience and I kinda liked them. They were a little thicker than I expected (about 1/2" thick?)...I was thinking they would be thin tomato slices a la the kind you'd find on a burger. Anyone a fried green tomato guru??

Overall, it was a fun lunch experiment. I was bummed that most of the menu items were deep fried (did I mention I needed a food detox after all this on the go eating?) and pretty expensive in my opinion (I think it came out to $40 for the 3 of us?). I also thought there was too much BBQ in relation to my bread. I'm just saying...

After a quick jaunt through the outdoor market and a trip to Jamie's mom's house, we came back for more packing and some resting. I needed a time out so I sat on a pillow and made this fun setup:

Not really sure why I thought we could watch TV on a 13" monitor. HA. I eventually started packing again with a couple breaks to watch episodes of Glee. Yes, I know I'm way late to the party, but I kept hearing about this Madonna episode from friends so I figured I'd check it out. I love the snark and subtlety!

Sunday

While my parents were at church, I rushed to pull a last minute storage unit batch together. How do we have so much stuff?? We stopped at Cosi in Friendship Heights for breakfast on our way back from the storage unit. I haven't had Cosi breakfast in a long time and it turns out my mom has a thing for Cosi since she went to one with my sister (I guess there aren't any near my parents' house).

I tried one of their new Breakfast Wraps

The Spinach Florentine (eggs, spinach, Swiss & artichoke spread wrapped inside a warm wheat tortilla) was screaming my name and I'm pretty sure it's because it had spinach in its name.

It was ok...kinda lacking in the flavor. I poured almost half of the pepper shaker on my wrap because it needed something. I'm not even sure where that artichoke spread went. Eh. Probably won't get that again.

When my parents left, my apartment looked like this:

And the bedroom still had my bed AND clothes in it. Bad news. It was not easy to find motivation to sort and pack my clothes. Instead, I procrastinated (because I'm so good at it) and watched some Glee, listened to my Adios DC Playlist and did some random packing.

Too bad my playlist included songs like these that just oozed memories:

Concrete Schoolyard - Jurassic 5

Born Slippy - Underworld

Sandstorm - Darude

Scarlet Begonias - Sublime

Out There and Back - Paul van Dyk

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service

Talk Shows on Mute - Incubus

You Were Mine - Dixie Chicks

Crush on You - Lil' Kim

Cafe Del Mar - Paul Oakenfold

Each of these songs, and the rest on my 2 CD set, remind me of people, places and events. Do any songs trigger vivid memories for you?

Low productivity. Shame on me.

I did dinner at Great Wall Szechuan House with friends and old roomie. Perfect end to the weekend and my time in DC. We ate family style, as usual, and split some Baby Bok Choy (for my green veg requirement), Ma La Double Cooked Pork, Ma La Mapo Tofu and Chicken with Black Bean Sauce. Since we tend to be repeat offenders, you can see pics here. Just know the baby bok choy isn't on the menu, but worth getting. The chicken was tasty, but the texture was a little too slimy.

Stay tuned for my first day in SF!