As I waited for the elevator in my apartment this afternoon, a little boy (probably around 4 years old) and his mom came up. This conversation was too good not to share...
Boy: Why are we going upstairs, too?
Mom: Because that's where Nick lives
Boy: I knew that
Mom: Then why did you ask?
The little boy then proceeds to explain how when there's a fire it's better to take the stairs than the elevator. Smart kid.
Then once we're in the elevator...
Boy: Brrr, I'm cold!
Mom: Well, I told you to put your sweater on.
Boy: No, it's warm in here.
Then as I got off the elevator...
Boy: Is she leaving?
Mom: Does she look like she's leaving?
Repeat the last conversation in various versions as I walk down the hall. Too. Funny.
Kids just say the darndest things! What made this even better? He was wearing a fedora!!! And for those of you that may somehow magically remember this, this was a different little kid than the 4-year-old, fedora-wearing cutie that I saw when I first moved in. So many little people in fedoras saying hilarious things! OMG I can't handle the cuteness!!!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This St. Patrick's Day I decided to host a few friends and take on some pretty awesome culinary adventures. Here's how it all turned out...
(Maybe next time I should take some more artsy close-ups. Oh well...)
If you'd like the full recipe just let me know (or you can be really fancy and check out my Pinterest. Self-marketing, woo!). Everything's from scratch so it's a bit of work, but SO WORTH IT.
After the cupcakes were done I may or may not have sat in the middle of the kitchen floor, completely wiped. Fighting off the last bits of a cold + not enough sleep + likely dehydration and low blood sugar = cooking exhaustion. But I was not to be defeated! There was more to be done.
After some lunch, a shower break, and some Gatorade, it was time for......
Mission two: Corned beef and cabbage. I'd never actually made this traditional dish before, but it was about time I gave it a shot. I had to make a double batch, so I ended up doing one with a point cut brisket and the other with a flat cut brisket. You can make the meal with either, but I had heard so many different opinions on which was better that I just decided to try both. I figured the whole meal would go one of two ways. It would either
1. Go above and beyond in scrumptious deliciousness
OR
2. Turn out to be a Bridget Jones-style disaster and somehow turn blue.
Luckily, it turned out to be the former. It even got rave reviews from all my guests. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by just how delectable it turned out. The flat cut was awesome, but I think general consensus was that the cheaper point cut was even better (more fat = more flavor). I also took some advice from one of my friends and flipped each brisket part of the way through cooking for better flavor, and I'm guessing that made a big difference in the positive results. I didn't get a picture of the point cut, but here's a sample of the tasty flat cut:
(Yes I promise there was cabbage as well, it was just in a different dish)
Take all that combined with a few drinks, Boondock Saints, and most importantly some great friends, and you've got a really great St. Patrick's Day :)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Cooking is My Anti-Drug
I always get really annoyed when people post things on the internet to draw negative attention to themselves. The typical "Woe is me" Facebook status, the vague "This is the worst day ever" tweet...and just to throw in a high school flashback, the paragraph-long away messages on AIM ranting on about how terrible life is and how we're so emo (we all did it. It's OK, we can just admit it and move on). I tell you this so that you don't take the following paragraphs the wrong way. I am not an internet ranter, but I have to tell you a bit about my sudden bad mood this afternoon so that you can have a better appreciation for the happy ending to my story.
I've been in a pretty good mood lately; my typical perky and bubbly self, successfully annoying my friend and coworker with my peppiness. But we all have our moments, and for whatever reason, as I was walking from the metro back to my apartment after work today, a little thought popped into my head that made me feel a bit out of sorts. That of course lead to another thought, and then another, and another, until a swirl of negative emotion had engulfed me like a venus fly trap and I had to keep myself from collapsing in a ball of tears on the side of Rockville Pike. I won't torture you all with what the thoughts were because 1. I hate internet rants 2. I PROMISE it's nothing serious 3. it's actually all very silly and 4. this swirl of emotion was most likely fueled in large part by PMS.
Still, fast-forwarding about an hour and a half to when I had finished my errands, I found myself back in my apartment, curled up on my bed, wallowing in self-pity. I still hadn't eaten dinner, had more to get done, and I wondered how I would ever get out of this funk or feel happiness again. I figured I would just lie there, soaking up my misery, and forget about dinner for the night.....
......wait a second. Pause and rewind. I hadn't eaten dinner. Suddenly the light of truth washed over me and a glimmer of hope had returned! When I don't have food in my system, any bad mood gets exponentially worsened to the point where it probably makes my future husband quiver in fear already, and we haven't even met yet (maybe he gets an innate feeling of dread/terror that he can't trace the source of but knows he should be afraid). So I figured it would probably be a good idea to get up and get some food. I would just heat up some Stouffer's mac 'n' cheese, chill for a few moments, then casually go back to trying to figure out my life.
But then suddenly, another idea: Don't be silly, Heather. You should actually cook something. Cooking makes you happy! That's right...cooking DOES make me happy! Not only can it be oddly calming, but it would also give me something else to focus on and think about. I decided to go for it. I didn't have many bare ingredients to work with, but I had just the right ones to make a quick and easy meal. I even got to toss vegetables in the frying pan (I'm practicing a new skill)! Sure enough, I was already feeling a little better as I started to make my veggie and egg scramble, then felt much better as I sat down to eat it (while watching an episode of Band of Brothers). It was a very simple meal to make, but it was just what I needed.
So the moral of the story is - cooking is my anti-drug. I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner, especially given the fact that yesterday I excitedly accepted the challenge to prep and bake cookies in just over an hour (a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed AND successfully completed. I know, I'm a baller). I know that some nights I'll just be too tired to cook and will let myself curl up with an insta-dinner and a glass of wine, but I think I should really try to take my stress out in the kitchen more often. I love cooking, and it turns out it's one of the many things that helps keep me sane. And all my loved ones should love it, too, since they 1. occasionally get to reap the benefits in the form of free food and 2. get a break from having to deal with my insanity. I think that means it's time to have more cooking adventures...Bon apetit!
Ron Burgundy pic from http://losingweightinthecity.com/2012/05/serious-reach-the-beach-withdrawal/
Spongebob pic from http://awordsmithsbrainworks.com/2012/01/22/an-undefined-number-of-reasons-in-no-particular-order-about-why-i-envy-spongebob-squarepants/
Cooking with wine pic from http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi04M2MyZjY1ZmY0NzQ1MTBk
I've been in a pretty good mood lately; my typical perky and bubbly self, successfully annoying my friend and coworker with my peppiness. But we all have our moments, and for whatever reason, as I was walking from the metro back to my apartment after work today, a little thought popped into my head that made me feel a bit out of sorts. That of course lead to another thought, and then another, and another, until a swirl of negative emotion had engulfed me like a venus fly trap and I had to keep myself from collapsing in a ball of tears on the side of Rockville Pike. I won't torture you all with what the thoughts were because 1. I hate internet rants 2. I PROMISE it's nothing serious 3. it's actually all very silly and 4. this swirl of emotion was most likely fueled in large part by PMS.
Still, fast-forwarding about an hour and a half to when I had finished my errands, I found myself back in my apartment, curled up on my bed, wallowing in self-pity. I still hadn't eaten dinner, had more to get done, and I wondered how I would ever get out of this funk or feel happiness again. I figured I would just lie there, soaking up my misery, and forget about dinner for the night.....
......wait a second. Pause and rewind. I hadn't eaten dinner. Suddenly the light of truth washed over me and a glimmer of hope had returned! When I don't have food in my system, any bad mood gets exponentially worsened to the point where it probably makes my future husband quiver in fear already, and we haven't even met yet (maybe he gets an innate feeling of dread/terror that he can't trace the source of but knows he should be afraid). So I figured it would probably be a good idea to get up and get some food. I would just heat up some Stouffer's mac 'n' cheese, chill for a few moments, then casually go back to trying to figure out my life.
But then suddenly, another idea: Don't be silly, Heather. You should actually cook something. Cooking makes you happy! That's right...cooking DOES make me happy! Not only can it be oddly calming, but it would also give me something else to focus on and think about. I decided to go for it. I didn't have many bare ingredients to work with, but I had just the right ones to make a quick and easy meal. I even got to toss vegetables in the frying pan (I'm practicing a new skill)! Sure enough, I was already feeling a little better as I started to make my veggie and egg scramble, then felt much better as I sat down to eat it (while watching an episode of Band of Brothers). It was a very simple meal to make, but it was just what I needed.
(Cooking makes me almost as happy as Spongebob flipping Krabby Patties. Almost.)
So the moral of the story is - cooking is my anti-drug. I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner, especially given the fact that yesterday I excitedly accepted the challenge to prep and bake cookies in just over an hour (a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed AND successfully completed. I know, I'm a baller). I know that some nights I'll just be too tired to cook and will let myself curl up with an insta-dinner and a glass of wine, but I think I should really try to take my stress out in the kitchen more often. I love cooking, and it turns out it's one of the many things that helps keep me sane. And all my loved ones should love it, too, since they 1. occasionally get to reap the benefits in the form of free food and 2. get a break from having to deal with my insanity. I think that means it's time to have more cooking adventures...Bon apetit!
(I just couldn't resist putting this one in here)
Ron Burgundy pic from http://losingweightinthecity.com/2012/05/serious-reach-the-beach-withdrawal/
Spongebob pic from http://awordsmithsbrainworks.com/2012/01/22/an-undefined-number-of-reasons-in-no-particular-order-about-why-i-envy-spongebob-squarepants/
Cooking with wine pic from http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi04M2MyZjY1ZmY0NzQ1MTBk
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Embracing My Inner Old Person
I would like to introduce you all to a friend of mine:
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This is my shopping cart. Yes, I have an old lady shopping cart at age 23. And I think it's awesome! I haven't come up with a name for it yet, since I'm apparently not creative at all when it comes to making up names for anything (watch out, future offspring). But Shopping Cart makes my life so much easier! If I don't have a car to go grocery shopping, it's a life saver. Even if I do have the car, Shopping Cart will still help me carry everything upstairs. Still think I'm weird? Let me see YOU lug four bags of groceries (including a gallon of milk) across a parking lot full of maniacs, then play Frogger crossing Rockville Pike, then walk back to your apartment, go up the elevator 11 flights, and around the corner to the very end of the hall. I bet you would wish you had Shopping Cart with you, too.
And that is the only part of my life that even slightly resembles being an old person..........
Okay, who am I kidding? There are actually several parts of my life that make my loved ones wonder, and sometimes make myself wonder, if I am actually 90 years old.
As many of you know, I'm a pretty active person. I love being on the move, trying new things, being around people, and I'm finally getting some semblance of a social life back now that I'm living on my own. I'm even starting the process (yes, it's turning out to be a bit of a process) of signing up for Events and Adventures, the singles activity slash dating club (well hello, Future Husband, you look rather dashing in your hiking/kayaking/skydiving/happy hour attire). But I'm all about balance in life, and sometimes you just need to take a little break from all the crazy hustle and bustle. For me, sometimes that means doing things ever-so-slightly differently than the average 23-year old.
Take right now, for example. As I write this post (actually, as I've written just about all of my posts), my Pandora station of choice is the Frank Sinatra station. I LOVE Frank Sinatra and all those crooners from back in the day. There's even a Frank Sinatra station that normally plays in the lobby of my apartment building, making it incredibly difficult to leave for work in the mornings. Instead I just want to curl up with a book in the comfy chairs in the lounge and bask in those wonderful sounds.
I also love drinking tea in the evenings. I'm drinking a cup right now in fact, a scrumptiously soothing cup of Earl Grey tea. And yes, for those that are going to point out the obvious, I realize that this blog is called Heather's Coffee Break and not Tea Break. Get over it. If I actually managed to write in the morning I would be drinking coffee. I love them both!
That's not so bad, right? Frank Sinatra and tea? I actually know several people that enjoy both of those things!
But wait, there's more...
Sometimes I would love to just be sitting in a rocking chair, on a porch, overlooking some gorgeous landscape, wrapped in a blanket AND sipping tea (or coffee). Any one of these could totally be me when I'm actually an old person:
And aside from relaxing, what about my mini panic attacks when I'm up past 11 on a work night? It's ok to worry about that, right, getting a good night's sleep? Totally normal...
I feel like I could go on and on, but 11 PM is approaching faster and faster and I'm already starting to get a little antsy. But let's face it, there's a part of me that's just an old person at heart. But you know what? I'm totally OK with that. I have fun in life, but I enjoy my down time as well. So rather than trying to fight my inner old person, I'm just going laugh at it and embrace it.
Side note for my worrisome loved ones: I promise I don't actually play Frogger on Rockville Pike. I'm a good girl and use the crosswalk (although let's be real, even that can be like Frogger sometimes)!!!
Side note 2: when I did an image search on Google for a clock showing 11:00, all of the pictures that came up were showing other times. Really, Google? Really?
Frank Sinatra photo from imdb.com.
Tea photo from http://www.loosetealeaf.com/blog/
Rocking chair cartoons from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/r/rocking_chair.asp
.JPG)
This is my shopping cart. Yes, I have an old lady shopping cart at age 23. And I think it's awesome! I haven't come up with a name for it yet, since I'm apparently not creative at all when it comes to making up names for anything (watch out, future offspring). But Shopping Cart makes my life so much easier! If I don't have a car to go grocery shopping, it's a life saver. Even if I do have the car, Shopping Cart will still help me carry everything upstairs. Still think I'm weird? Let me see YOU lug four bags of groceries (including a gallon of milk) across a parking lot full of maniacs, then play Frogger crossing Rockville Pike, then walk back to your apartment, go up the elevator 11 flights, and around the corner to the very end of the hall. I bet you would wish you had Shopping Cart with you, too.
And that is the only part of my life that even slightly resembles being an old person..........
Okay, who am I kidding? There are actually several parts of my life that make my loved ones wonder, and sometimes make myself wonder, if I am actually 90 years old.
As many of you know, I'm a pretty active person. I love being on the move, trying new things, being around people, and I'm finally getting some semblance of a social life back now that I'm living on my own. I'm even starting the process (yes, it's turning out to be a bit of a process) of signing up for Events and Adventures, the singles activity slash dating club (well hello, Future Husband, you look rather dashing in your hiking/kayaking/skydiving/happy hour attire). But I'm all about balance in life, and sometimes you just need to take a little break from all the crazy hustle and bustle. For me, sometimes that means doing things ever-so-slightly differently than the average 23-year old.
Take right now, for example. As I write this post (actually, as I've written just about all of my posts), my Pandora station of choice is the Frank Sinatra station. I LOVE Frank Sinatra and all those crooners from back in the day. There's even a Frank Sinatra station that normally plays in the lobby of my apartment building, making it incredibly difficult to leave for work in the mornings. Instead I just want to curl up with a book in the comfy chairs in the lounge and bask in those wonderful sounds.
I also love drinking tea in the evenings. I'm drinking a cup right now in fact, a scrumptiously soothing cup of Earl Grey tea. And yes, for those that are going to point out the obvious, I realize that this blog is called Heather's Coffee Break and not Tea Break. Get over it. If I actually managed to write in the morning I would be drinking coffee. I love them both!
That's not so bad, right? Frank Sinatra and tea? I actually know several people that enjoy both of those things!
But wait, there's more...
Sometimes I would love to just be sitting in a rocking chair, on a porch, overlooking some gorgeous landscape, wrapped in a blanket AND sipping tea (or coffee). Any one of these could totally be me when I'm actually an old person:
And aside from relaxing, what about my mini panic attacks when I'm up past 11 on a work night? It's ok to worry about that, right, getting a good night's sleep? Totally normal...
I feel like I could go on and on, but 11 PM is approaching faster and faster and I'm already starting to get a little antsy. But let's face it, there's a part of me that's just an old person at heart. But you know what? I'm totally OK with that. I have fun in life, but I enjoy my down time as well. So rather than trying to fight my inner old person, I'm just going laugh at it and embrace it.
Side note for my worrisome loved ones: I promise I don't actually play Frogger on Rockville Pike. I'm a good girl and use the crosswalk (although let's be real, even that can be like Frogger sometimes)!!!
Side note 2: when I did an image search on Google for a clock showing 11:00, all of the pictures that came up were showing other times. Really, Google? Really?
Frank Sinatra photo from imdb.com.
Tea photo from http://www.loosetealeaf.com/blog/
Rocking chair cartoons from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/r/rocking_chair.asp
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
A Weekend of Epicness
Gahh I have so many awesome things to write about from the last few days...but I don't have any time!! My deadline of Tuesday night is quickly dwindling away, and I'm just now starting to write at 10:30 PM! Is this what happens when life gets busy again? My blog has to suffer??? Oh well, hopefully I'll get better about managing my time and schedule better for the next post, but for now I'll just have to do my best writing as quickly as possible so that I can actually get a good night's sleep.
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In a way, my weekend started on Thursday night. Thirsty Thursdays, wooo!!! Yeahhh, no. Not really. My Thursday was a bajillion million zillion times better than that....
I GOT TO SEE MUMFORD AND SONS LIVE IN CONCERT!!!!!
I went with Dad, Kathy, and my friend Katie Purple, and I don't think there are enough words to properly capture how epic that show was. We were all completely blown away. Awesome and amazing were the two main words that kept coming out of my mouth but they didn't do the show nearly enough justice. I think my high energy and continuously enormous smile throughout the entire the next day, despite the fact that I was running on 4 hours of sleep and had to endure the day at work, spoke much more. Mumford and Sons are absolutely incredible performers, highly entertaining, and even better live than on their albums...and their albums are pretty darn good. We had awesome center seats and for part of the encore they came back to this little platform that was RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!! One of the band members even waved at me!! I haven't been to many concerts, but this is by far the best one I've been to and it made my dad's top 3 list. Such an amazing night.
Friday night I went from a loud concert hall to silence...literally. I drove to Upper Marlboro for my very first "silent" retreat. Why do I put that in quotations you may ask? Well, a few of us may have decided to talk a bit when we were back in our rooms. Did they really expect an all-women's retreat to be completely silent? But I have to say, having the majority of the weekend in silence was actually really nice. It was exactly what I needed to take a step back from my hectic life and give God more of the attention He deserves. Getting to talk to the girls occasionally was nice, too, and I think we managed to keep it at a nice balance.
There were two particularly funny things from the retreat, though. 1. The "thing to do" was to get tea or coffee. It was so cold this weekend that we couldn't really walk around without freezing to death, we couldn't talk, and most of our activities involved sitting. You wanted something to do, you got tea. 2. As soon as an all-women's silent retreat ends, it gets VERY loud. 30 women who haven't been talking all weekend need to get as much speech in as they can!!
In all seriousness, though, I wish I had more time to write about this retreat and give it the attention it deserves. It truly was very beautiful, and even though I was hesitant about a silent retreat in the beginning, I'm very glad I went. I was also pleasantly surprised that several of the other women there were around my age, and I'm so glad I got the chance to meet them and hope we can all keep in touch [sadly no pictures for this part of the weekend, though :( ].
And finally, tonight. It's not exactly the weekend anymore since it's...well, Tuesday...and since I had to go back to work today (womp womp). But something exciting did happen...I finally made stuffed peppers for the first time and they were AMAZING!!! It was sort of a spontaneous decision while I was in the grocery store, but I'm so glad I went with it...despite the fact that I didn't eat dinner until almost 9:00 PM. I haven't been cooking anything besides quickie meals lately and I missed real cooking, so tonight was the night. My roommate Carolyn and I enjoyed dinner and a glass of wine and it was oh so yummy. Feast your eyes on this glorious-ness:
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NOMS.
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