9PM: I’m making bacon, apple butter, onion grilled cheese

I should really be packing for my trip to Virginia tomorrow, but instead I’m sitting here blogging about this orgasmic sandwich I just made. Like, it was so good I couldn’t keep this secret to myself. 

To be honest, I’ve been meaning to make this all week, but as my schedule tends to get, I don’t typically have time to make dinner. I’m working on this. 

Anyways, here’s the details: Bacon, fresh sliced bread, french butter (because I’m fancy), onions, cheddar, and the SECRET INGREDIENT: My mom’s homemade apple butter. 

I’m going to let the photos do the rest of the talking, as making this is pretty self-explanatory.

Try to keep the drool at a minimum.

 

finally putting details together

I’ve just resigned my lease, the first time I’ve ever done that in my three years here in New York City. Apartment #3 is finally getting some TLC and turning into a home. I still have some work to do, but my desk/work area is off to a good start (despite the nonlevel eye chart ;)). 

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^Having this area neat and organized make me want to sit here and CREATE. Such a good feeling. 

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^That camera took some of my baby photos (right, mom?). It needs a few minor repairs, but I want to get it back in working order and take some photos of my own on it. 

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^My Warby Parker’s finally have a home! Having had worn glasses since I was 4, they’ve become more than just a “have to wear” they’re an essential accessory. I don’t feel like myself with out them; and I love that. 

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^ I used to work with my dear friend/fellow cheese lover, RJ. One day I wrote “Hello!” in the middle of a stack of post-it notes on his desk and a few months later, he finally found it and responded with a, “Hi there!” Working with him was always the best part of my day and I felt like this post-it summed up all the silliness we had together. 

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^This is Emma. We went to high school, college, and even had our first job together. She’s a dear, dear friend. One time in high school I did a photo shoot with her for my film photography class. The photo framed here is one of the outtakes, but I love that it’s not perfect or poised, but carefree and fun. 

A few details:
-Adventure is Out There print

-Clock, Ikea

-Photo ledge, Ikea

-Desk lamp, Ikea

-Clear frame, Crate & Barrel

odd numbers have been good to me

Today I’m 27! Taking a quick look down memory lane, it looks like my odd years have been some of my best in terms of celebrations. 

Either way, early 20s, mid 20s, and late 20s, i’ve been 
blessed all the way around. 

23. DC: late night dancing (and McDonalds Milkshakes, apparently)
Me and Em, 2!

25. (rang in the big 2-5 at a Diner in NYC)
25!!

27. (inaugurated my late 20’s on a farm in Connecticut) 27!

Social networking is superficial

bombtune:

We connect. We share. We comment and like often without telling why. We do all this digitally while avoiding real world conversations.

Social networking is more or less “superficial.” It allows everyone to feel like their own celebrity, shouting to the world in self-praise and proclaiming expertise but rarely justifying it.

Just because you can be heard doesn’t mean you actually have something important to say or show.

The world still demands authenticity, less sharing and more doing. Actions always speak louder than words. Quality of work is scarce and therefore really noticeable if you get it right.

Prove your worth by actually doing something that others care about.

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The world still demands authenticity, less sharing and more doing. Actions always speak louder than words. Quality of work is scarce and therefore really noticeable if you get it right.

Prove your worth by actually doing something that others care about.


This part really stuck out to me, and I’m still churning it around in my mind. Time is a big factor in all of this — something I’m still trying to get right. 

Home at The Grovewood for the last bit of President’s Day weekend. Of all the houses I’ve lived in, this one is my favorite. Perhaps not my favorite location (it’s hard to compare when you’ve lived in Hawaii and Germany), but I think I know this house best. The creak of the porch when coming home late at night and trying not to wake anyone up, the chill of the hardwood floors in my bedroom in the winter, the feeling that you always have to run up the basement stairs for fear of boogie monsters (yes, even at this age). Though my connotation of “home” has always been sort of loose and somewhat slight, as long as my parents live here, I’ll be happy to call The Grovewood home. 
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Home at The Grovewood for the last bit of President’s Day weekend.

Of all the houses I’ve lived in, this one is my favorite. Perhaps not my favorite location (it’s hard to compare when you’ve lived in Hawaii and Germany), but I think I know this house best.

The creak of the porch when coming home late at night and trying not to wake anyone up, the chill of the hardwood floors in my bedroom in the winter, the feeling that you always have to run up the basement stairs for fear of boogie monsters (yes, even at this age).

Though my connotation of “home” has always been sort of loose and somewhat slight, as long as my parents live here, I’ll be happy to call The Grovewood home. 

twenty-twelve in three parts

The past year unfolded in three key sections: 

Putting acceptance by others above everything else: There were a lot situations where I put my desire to be accepted, wanted, understood and liked by others before myself, my values, my feelings and my goals. Absolutely loathing my job at the time had a really huge impact on this — I was miserable 5 days a week for at least 12 hours per day and looked for anything to distract me from it. It goes without saying that living life like this doesn’t get you anywhere very fast, leading me to the next phase of 2012…

Self-awareness and the growing struggle to juggle two worlds: In March I got a new job (which I really, really like) and my demeanor began to change. I didn’t feel constant anxiety, I didn’t dread going to work, and I started to feel a greater sense of balance. Because I wasn’t consumed and wrapped up in a terrible work situation and constantly miserable, my desire/need for distraction and acceptance started to fade. Shortly after getting a new job, I also moved into my own apartment, giving me an even greater sense of confidence, accomplishment, and freedom. Moving from a 10 x 7 room sans closet, a window that faced a brick wall, and a roommate’s boyfriend that was always over to a true one-bedroom in my favorite neighborhood made a big difference. Between March and August I started to really hone in on how certain situations and people impacted my life and grew increasingly aware of what and who I wanted to be. With this, I had to take a look at who I needed in and out of my life to make this a reality, which lead to the third phase of 2012. 

Reevaluating, letting go and being alone: Having increasingly become aware of what/who I wanted and didn’t want to be a part of my life, I made some major edits to my life. I said “no” to social situations that I knew would be unfulfilling and cause me to feel tension between what and who I wanted to be a part of my life. Some of it I choose deliberately, some of it happened to be chosen for me. I saw a very good friend abandon me when I needed them most, but I gained some really amazing relationships with people who I never thought I’d be close with. For months leading up to this part of the year, I was praying that I’d find clarity and strength to forge a path of my own, and almost like clockwork, it happened. Instead of resisting the change and clinging to what I knew for the sake of comfort, I started spending more time alone, more nights and in, and when I did go out, I spent my time with people who inspired me, motivated me, and pushed me to grow. 

So, instead of spending New Years Eve in one of the city’s 1000000 bars with people I felt lackluster about, I rang in 2013 at a three and a half hour concert featuring Coldplay and Jay-Z. 

By myself. And it was awesome. 

2012 was full of a lot of ups and downs and I wanted to start this new year free of disappointment and let-down. A full-on, energy filled concert with some of the best entertainers was the obvious opportunity. 


Laugh || Think || See || v. 3

Laugh.

Just when you thought the best Christmas song couldn’t get better…it did. 

Think.

There is now more deserted office space in Lower Manhattan because of Hurricane Sandy than there are offices in many cities. Mobile boilers line the streets. Portable generators are stacked to the curbs. Ventilation tubes coil around scaffolds, snake above sidewalks, quiver and pulse. It is as if bodies had been turned inside out, exposing the hearts, lungs and organs that are normally internal. Of course, these devices keep the buildings running in some limited ways. Still, 15 million to 18 million square feet of space is unusable, about as much as exists in any condition whatsoever in cities like Miami, Phoenix and San Diego.

NYT - Empty Offices Seem Poised to Remain So for Months

Hurricane Sandy has left a LOT of work to do in lower Manhattan. Lots of the East Village bounced back fairly quickly, but lower Manhattan is facing a mix of complicated problems — from flooding damage, telecom outages (still), and leasing complications of tenants and offices that have been displaced.  The worst news? It could take as long as May to get things back to normal. 

See.

I participated in Help Portrait again this year, and I just can’t explain in words what kind of blessing it is go serve our neighbors in such a way. There’s something insanely special about helping people capture their beauty or a special moment in a single shot. 

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