New Year, New Me!

I'm sure you're snarkily commenting to yourself, "New Year? it's February." Yes. I know. February. It is well past time to say "new year" but alas, I am late. Oh, well.

It IS a new me. I can say so with confidence because I am currently on Day 4 of being unemployed and having a fabulous time! Last year I could barely make it to Day 2 without having a nervous breakdown.

For those of you who may have just stumbled upon this blog and maybe you are once again snarkily commenting to yourself "Day 4? Whoop-di-do," here's a "previously on..."  I'm a contract attorney. I work on temporary assignments. Sometimes they last for a week, sometimes months. But when I was new to this, I was in a bad place in my life and NEEDED certainty from a job. So when a day or two would pass and I wasn't already lined up for a project, I'd freak out.

Today is Day 4 and there is nothing lined up. Except for a visit to the museum tomorrow because a) I'm unemployed and have nothing better to do, 2) it's free, so why not, and C) it's hubby's day off and we rarely do stuff like that, so why not.

So what's changed? My outlook on life. Cliche. But true. I recently re-discovered Buddhism and it has changed everything for me. I am excited about learning about the teachings, the sutras. I try to apply them to my everyday life, not just my Sundays. It's hard sometimes, being a lawyer and a Buddhist. But I'm always searching for balance in that part of my life.

Mostly I am just grateful for what I have today, this moment. Today I have these beautiful golden beets that I roasted for what I hope to be a lovely beet and hummus stuffed pita dinner. Aren't they beautiful?

Roasted beets:

4 medium to large sized beets
coconut oil
dried thyme

pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
wash beets
pat dry
cut enough foil for each beet
put a small dab (1/2 tsp maybe?) of coconut oil on each beet
sprinkle dried thyme on beet and wrap beet in foil
place the beets on a baking sheet
bake in oven about an hour and a half, checking with a toothpick. toothpick should easily slide in and out of beet.
while beets are still warm but cool enough to handle the skin should easily peel off.

i will be making beet and hummus pitas with some greenery and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!

Chicago in White 2012

I am a little late getting this post up. I have found that when I am feeling good I do not have the urge to write. I need to find a way to stay motivated to write even when I am happily busy with life.

Back in August a friend and I went to the "Chicago in White" event. This is actually the second time I participated, but last year it was called Diner in Blanc. Apparently there was a small matter about whether this event was affiliated with the original Diner in Blanc that started in Paris, and the Chicago organizers changed their name. Whatevs. It's a lot of fun albeit a little bit of hard work.

If you've never heard of either of these events, I describe it as a flash mob picnic. You sign up and get assigned to a "Head of Table." This person is your coordinator of sorts. You get to pick a meeting spot, you meet up with all your wares and your date. Then after everyone gets together they announce the location. Back in 2011 it was in the Daley Plaza. 

This year it was overlooking the Chicago River at the Merchandise Mart.

The hard work comes in where you have to bring everything. I mean everything - table, chairs, tablesetting and of course, your meal and beverage.

That also means you have to carry it to your meeting spot, ride the CTA to your destination and set everything up.

That's my date, Jyothi, holding the flowers for our table decor.

But I find that's part of the charm of this event. Everyone comes with their goodies, sets up, they have a lovely dinner and then they disappear without leaving a trace. Allegedly. The rules are you take your garbage with you and dispose of it at home. But as we were leaving (both years) many a trash bag could be found overflowing the public sidewalk trash cans. Some people just can't follow the rules...well me included. Oh, I bring my trash home with me, I just break the rule that says no alcohol. I mean, come on. This is a French-inspired event. They invented having a little wine with your picnic, right? "Keep it classy, San Diego" is my motto when drinking at this event.

Just a little spread - figs and cheeses, nuts, a spinach souffle...

The signaling of the start of dinner - waving your white napkin.

Oh, did I mention everyone wears all white and the tablesetting should be all white? Hence the name...

Me and Jyothi, along with a couple of girlfriends I met from last year's DeB.

It truly is a lovely evening. I think everyone should try it once. These events can be found in other major cities. Check one out!

*****
The lesson from last year was to simplify everything from the meal to the tablesetting. There was just too much stuff. They now offer catered everything - from table and chair rental to restaurants packing up a picnic for you, but where's the fun in that?

The only food I prepared this year was the phyllo wrapped asparagus, a recipe I found on pinterest! The rest was very easy to set up -cheeses, fruits and veggies.

I changed up the recipe a bit, as I tend to do to suit my likings. I did not prepare the mayo dipping sauce and I used a parmesan inside the wrap and then spread a dill goat cheese on top.

My first time using phyllo dough - I didn't need it to look perfect so I guess that's a good thing.

Decisions, decisions, part 2

Ok, it has been awhile since I've written, but there have been a lot of things happening in my life. Small things, small changes. Most of them are on the inside, how I think, how I am trying to change the way I view my life. These small changes are adding up.

The first thing that happened was I made a choice. I've said it before. I wake up every day and decide to be happy and decide to have peace in my life. I (try) to think positive thoughts and act in positive ways and as a result I am attracting positive things. I am also trying to be as grateful as I can  for who and what I have in my life. This is a change in the way I used to think, which was a focus on what I thought I lacked in life: a better career, financial ability to buy a house and start a family. Instead I am thankful for steady, temporary work, our awesome apartment and the family and friends that are in my life right now. Right now, all I ask for is for happiness and prosperity.

We are still very much in debt and probably always will be due to my student loans. I used to worry that we would never be able to afford a house or a family or to travel the world like we want to. What silliness to worry over. What a waste of my energy. I have asked for prosperity and slowly but surely we have found financial stability. Bit by bit, we are paying off some of the debt that we recently incurred over the past few years. I just crossed off a huge debt from my "owe" column and it felt awesome. This was a debt that I had been worrying about for about 6 months. But since my change in attitude, I found ways to save up and last week I wrote that check. The funny thing is, neither me or my hubby have been working extra to save up and we weren't going without anything either. The money just seemed to be in our account after about six weeks. I asked for prosperity and we are being given what we ask for.

I will also say that both hubby and I are on a bit of a spiritual journey. This past year was a tough year for us. I had a job that I absolutely loathed and it took me a while to have the courage to leave. Right after I made that choice, my grandmother passed away. Both of us have sisters who are very ill. All of this culminated with us having a lot of questions about what do we believe about life, who are we as human beings and questioning what we believe about God. We decided to attend a Buddhist temple in our neighborhood and on Saturday mornings I am taking an introductory class. I am also reading a lot of different material on living a simple life, including a book a friend gave me as a birthday gift, Choosing Simplicity. I feel at peace and most days I have an inner joy that I haven't had in a very long time. That being said, I acknowledge that my spiritual journey is just beginning and the path is narrow.

s'more cupcakes, please!

I love to bake. I call myself "bed head betty crocker" because sometimes I wake and bake on the weekends.

Me and my beloved KitchenAid

 A few weekends ago it was my birthday and I baked myself some yummy cupcakes I found on pinterest.

Although, mine turned out a bit different from the recipe that Martha featured because I didn't use as much of the graham cracker topping on the cupcakes. The original recipe calls for the graham cracker mix on the bottom and on top of the cupcake. I eliminated the topping.

I only added the graham cracker to the bottom of the cupcake liners; not as a topping like the recipe calls for.

With half my batch I tried the cupcakes without adding chocolate on top of the graham cracker; I prefer it without the chocolate. It's not as crispy/hard on the bottom and allows for more cupcake in the liner.

Also, I don't have one of those kitchen torches so I used a different frosting that turned out similar to that "fluff" you can find in the store.

I am still very much a novice baker. I didn't get super stiff peaks with my frosting and it took longer than 7 minutes as the recipe calls for.

But I thought they tasted awesome all around. 

The recipe yielded 28 cupcakes. While I would have enjoyed eating all 28, I took them to my workplace and they disappeared almost instantaneously. Enjoy a s'mores cupcake before the summer is out! Have a great weekend! xoxo

francophile

What girl doesn't dream of Paris and the romance the city promises to bring? I have been a Paris dreamer for a very long time. I bumbled my way through 2 semesters of community college French courses where my teacher dared us to make our dreams come true. She dutifully taught us the importance of, at the very least, attempting to speak the native language wherever your travels may take you. In 2007, my dreams came true when my hubby and I spent 12 days in the city of lights. It has been my dream ever since to see and eat the rest of our way through the French countryside. A few years ago, I happily found out by looking at a picture from the family Bible (on my pop's side) that my Great-great-great-grandfather was born in France! le sigh!

To my great surprise, my hubby found this wonderful little event for us to go to on Bastille Day last weekend and we had the sweetest time.

 It is the little things in life that make me happy and hubby was so thoughtful to suggest spending our Saturday night at the Bastille Day celebration.

Of course, I had to take a pic of the one of the French Bulldogs who came to partake in the festivities.

AND! I ate my first ever (and second) macaron. YUM!

I had a pistachio and raspberry. Someday soon when the blazes of summer have cooled off a bit I would like to try my hand at this difficult yet delicate petit biscuit.

Until then, I will happily dream my way to France on Pinterest. Bon nuit mes amies! xx

slightly introverted

This past year has caused me to look inside and ask who am I and what do I have to offer, in terms of both being a professional and in terms of the relationships I have with those around me. I have high standards for what I want, again, both professionally and from my friends and family. But do I always deliver to those same standards?

I admit I am human, I have flaws, so I know I do not ALWAYS live up to the highest of standards. But I certainly try and when I know I have faulted I try to make things right.

I am currently trying to improve on certain skills. Recently in an interview I was asked the dreaded question, "What sets you apart from the many others who have applied for this position?" I hate that question. I do not puff myself up well. I hate talking about how allegedly awesome I am, how I am allegedly better than anyone else. But I know where I need to improve. For one, my writing. I know that to become a better writer it is important to read.

I am not necessarily talking about becoming a better legal writer. That is its own beast that yes, I need to improve. One of the reasons I write this blog is to improve my writing. I do not know where I will end up professionally. I often wonder if I will ever be that courtroom trial lawyer that I dream about. But in the meantime, I can at least read more often, think about styles of writing and try to become a better writer.

I recently picked up a book I haven't read since high school: Fahrenheit 451. This book reminded me the importance of reading and seeking out new ideas, new points of view. To think for ourselves is to survive in this world of instant information and entertainment.

While this post may not make the most sense (again, I am trying to improve on writing!!!) what I'm trying to say is, I've been thinking a lot about a lot of different things. I am looking for ways to improve and the first place I am going to start is by simply taking a step back and taking an objective look at myself. I want to improve my mind and I know reading and writing are good exercises. Everything else will come with time.

Thanks for reading. xoxo

playing catch up

Weekends tend to be either super busy for us or really tame. A few weekends ago we had a wedding on Friday and Sunday I went to the Pride parade with my friend.

Pride weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the summer in Chicago, which consists of a street fest, lots of events and a parade on Sunday. We used to live right next to "Boystown" where the street fest and parade are held. It was inevitable that we would hit up the street fest every year, and I always managed to make it to the parade, even if it was by myself for a little bit. But this year I was able to meet up with a friend to check out the spectacle.

Thanks to my friend Katie for letting me use her photos from the parade.

Afterwards we had an adult beverage and a feast of hummus at George Street Pub. They have an awesome patio.

Mmm. Hummus.

 One of my hot-button issues lately has been marriage equality. I am all for it. I am a straight ally, 100% supporter of gay marriage. I firmly believe that marriage equality is a civil rights issue. Our country is discriminating against an entire class of people by denying their right to marry simply because their partner is of the same sex. Talk to me all you want about beliefs and definitions of marriage. I've heard it all and I'm not impressed. This country is discriminating, and we need to stop. Period.

This past week was Independence Day. Typically we end up celebrating most "American" holidays in some fashion or another, but there is always something about them, the 4th, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, that make me a little sad or mad. What do I as a Native American have to celebrate on these holidays? They are subtle reminders that an entire population was decimated, and Natives continue to suffer the consequence of "independence" or the Americas being "discovered." This year we did not celebrate at all. I wasn't raised to feel negative about these holidays, in fact we celebrated them like most American families, but through my life experiences and education, I have certainly had a change of heart. Sometimes I wonder what I will tell my children about these holidays.

Enough serious talk. I've been practicing yoga everyday now and have never felt better about myself. And I am still on the smoothie kick. This morning I switched it up a bit after I was inspired a recipe I found on Pinterest. I didn't have a whole lot of strawberries left, so I adapted it with what I had on hand.

Sweet and Tart Start to the Morning
-one half ripe peach
-handful of frozen strawberries
-about 3 or 4 ounces of coconut milk
-2 heaping spoonfuls of greek yogurt
-2 counts pour of OJ*

pulse and blend. Enjoy!

*as you know by now, I don't measure. But I used to bartend. When you pour a liquid and count "one-one thousand," you pour an ounce, or so damn close to one you'll be impressed. Go try it!

Have a great weekend! xoxo