Did you know that a Hurricane is basically a weaker tornado? (Image Source)

My hurricane prep was minimal but practical. I purchased a few liters of evian and some cans of lentil soup at CVS. With this said, I had originally planned to go to Trader Joe’s but the line was RIDICULOUS on Friday. You would think that people were lining up for a ANTM casting.

I also went to my Core Fusion class on Saturday (09:45am class) and it was PACKED. Everyone wanted to get one last workout in before the storm. <— I will be writing my love letter to Core Fusion at a future date.

(Source)

I wonder how everyone else prepared for the Hurricane? Any good tips for future apocalyptic events ?

So why the hiatus? Well it’s a bit of laziness + a pinch of procrastination and a whole lot of work. As a recap of the past year, since I’ve left Chicago, I moved back East and started a new career path in PR. I’ve always wanted to work in PR but didn’t really have the guts to pursue the path. There are no PR related courses taught at Duke, everyone who graduates either goes to Med School, Law School or Goldman Sachs (hahaha). So with an Econ and Philosophy major in hand what’s a girl to do in PR? Well long story short, start off by working your ass off for free and trying to learn as much as you can in a short amount of time!

I have to admit that I was extremely lucky to have a support system what backed me up emotionally and financially during my journey but it’s paid off as I am now working at a great company and loving what I do!

I also have to say that I am now a vegetarian and no longer vegan! WHATTTT??? To be frank, I just did not have time to prepare vegan meals and it was impractical for me to keep that lifestyle during that time. It was the night of the Mondrian Soho‘s opening party and the entire staff had to work the event. There was no time to eat and we had to go directly from work to the event. The office ordered pizza, which I “couldn’t eat” because I was vegan. And it just was an incredibly stupid move on my part because I was extremely miserable for the whole night and thought I would pass out.

Nevertheless, since that night I started eating dairy and eggs and have been feeling much better. Will I ever start eating a vegan diet again? Very likely. But that lifestyle just does not work for me at this time.

And since I no longer cook as much (that’s NYC for ya), my blog will move towards a lifestyle based theme rather than focusing mostly on food.

And I am officially out of the closet as a Hello Kitty fanatic. My obsession has become RIDIC. I surprise even myself. Below is a picture Dave took of my latest Hello Kitty acquisition (from Valentine’s Day) of “FiFi” planking:

Please note that the nasty pattern is NOT my bedspread. I have MUCH better taste than that .

The classic black Dr. Martens boot

Never in a million years did I ever think that I’d want Dr. Martens but alas I want them now… and BAD! It is totally Jay Strut’s fault too! He wears his Docs so well!

SO DAMN FIERCE!!! (Source)

Anyways, for breakfast I had a cup of vegan coconut yogurt.

It was DELICIOUS! I loved the piña colada flavor and the bits of pineapple in it. To combat the healthiness of the yogurt, I also ate some leftover bbq chips with salsa from Dave’s visit .

Strange but tasty breakfast!

I also wanted to share with you some cute things I got over break.

Emotibuds!

I love them! So adorable!

I also purchased the renowned MAC 187 brush:

Pricey but WORTH it!

My new favorite brush!

I have used it several times already and it really speeds up my foundation application! The brush has not shed yet (fingers crossed) and is soooooo soft! I love it so much that I want to buy another one already for blush and powder application! I have cheapened out in the past and had purchased a “dupe” (the Sonia Kashuk version at Target), which I had to return because it shed so much. So my lesson was learned, don’t go cheap on a classic!

How do you feel about Dr. Martens? And what’s your favorite makeup brush?

Anywho, I just dropped Dave off at LaGuardia airport and the drive was awful and expensive!!! I can’t believe that I spent $27 on tolls and parking for a 40 minute ride: $8 George Washington Bridge + $6.50 going eastbound on the RFK Bridge + $6.50 going westbound on the RFK (YOU HAVE TO PAY BOTH WAYS ARGGGGHH) + $6 on parking (the cheapest of the fees). <= The things I do for love! I told him that next time he can fly into Newark airport where I pay $0.35 on the Garden State Parkway AND it’s about 20 miles closer!

Anyways, during his visit we did make some amazzzing food on New Year’s Eve. We needed a sugar boost to cook so I popped open the box of soy chocolate sandwiches from TJ’s.

Tiny but yummy!

Then we started to cook! We made brussels spouts and fingerling potatoes for our appetizers and vegan mac and cheese for our entrée.

I roasted the brussels sprouts and potatoes the same way. First, I halved them.

Then, I drizzled the brussel sprouts and potatoes with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil each and sprinkled them with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.

Who says brussel sprouts are gross?

Afterward, I popped them into the oven on baking sheets at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until they turned nice and crispy on the outside.

Ready to roast!

The finished product:

Simple to make and utterly delicious!

Close-up shots are entirely necessary!

YUM!

So good!

For the mac and cheese, I followed this recipe. It was AWESOME! The mac and cheese turned out PERFECT!

Right out of the oven!

Mmmm!

Even my super picky non-vegan parents loved it! I did use gluten free brown rice pasta instead of regular whole-wheat pasta so my cooking times were a bit different (but it’s not hard to adjust the recipe). I highly recommend trying this recipe for an easy to make vegan mac and cheese!

Did you make any last minute resolutions? Also, what is the WORST road you’ve ever driven on?

HAWT!

I dressed up with business in the front…

And a PAR-TAY underneath!!!

I love my sock puppet monkeys

Anyways, I’ve got to start cooking but here’s part of our haul:

Various vegan yogurts! (Can’t wait to try them all!)

Ingredients for our Mac and “Cheeze” tonight

I found the elusive truffle oil <33333

Dessert

Ingredients for our appetizers!

Oh, and My mom had purchased these dried sweet potato strips, which I am ADDICTED to!!!!

They kind of taste like dried papaya but much less sweet. You can definitely tell that they are made from sweet potatoes.

How are you celebrating tonight? Staying in or PAR-TAYing it up??? Either way, STAY SAFE and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My stint at the Duke costume shop paid off!

Tricky tricky pockets! I had to whip out the seam ripper!

Note: Why do so many new coats have the back slit sewn together and the pockets sewn shut? It was so annoying to cut them open!

Anyways, when Dave and I finally arrived to Mitsuwa, we looked around at all the Japanese snacks. Of course, I haddd to take pictures of the Hello Kitty ones!

So adorable! (Probably tastes like crap though )

After I purchased my “necessities” (I’ll show you later ), we sat down to eat!

I ordered udon noodles with sesame sauce while Dave ordered udon noodles with fried tofu skin.

The sesame noodles were heavenly!

Mmmmm!

Dave’s was good too !

The fried tofu skin

We also ate taiyaki! Taiyaki is basically a fish shaped pastry with a sweet red bean filling.

We made our fishes kiss .

We waited sooo looong for these to be made!

But it was worth it!

When we finally made our way home, I was pooped! Here’s what I purchased:

Face wash, toner and face lotion!

I love Sana products because they are very gentle, yet effective. The problem is that they are hard to find unless you live near a Japanese supermarket (you can find them online but I prefer buying beauty products in person). In addition, since I know ZERO Japanese, I had to do a lot of research about the products online before purchasing AND it still took a lot of trial and error to find the right combo for my skin.

Do you use any foreign beauty products? What brands/ products would you recommend?

Hello Kitty ready for winter!

Technically Russell found the scotch tape mini-shirt but I supplied the Hello Kitty .

Anyways, those in the Tri-state area know that we’ve been hit with “Snowpocalypse.” I don’t think it’s that bad but I also lived in Chicagoland last winter so it’s completely subjective.

Can’t get out the back door!

Snowy pool

I was in charge of shoveling the path from the back door to the gate.

I made some ginger tea afterwards. I didn’t follow a particular recipe; I just chopped up about a third cup of ginger.  Seeped it into about 4-5 cups of boiling water. Added brown sugar and let the tea simmer for about half an hour.

It really clears your head!

Now it’s confession time. I’ve only told one other person about this (the locksmith at the new office – don’t ask lol) but… I haven’t purchased Dave’s Christmas gift yet! He’s flying in tomorrow night to Philly and I am planning on purchasing his gift on Wednesday while he is off at his interview. And… I still don’t know what to get him?!?! I have been told that men like Jack Spade and Manhattan Portage “stuffs” but I am completely and utterly lost in the man-o-sphere. Help!

What did you buy for the man in your life this year??? If you are a man, what’s on your wish list?



For those who are just popping in, I’m on the East Coast now!

I was a bit down at how cold it’s been but looking at Chicagoland’s weather makes me feel much better! It’s nice not to be in the single digits .

I was also happy to participate in #fitblog chat this evening! For those who don’t know what #fitblog chat is, it’s a chat regarding health and fitness that occurs on Twitter on Tuesday nights at 9pm EST. I believe that Katy began this chat but I’m not completely sure.  Anyways, it’s a great way to meet other bloggers and to be inspired!

What are some small things that made you happy today ?

Anyways, I haven’t really had any interesting eats in the past week, but I am almost done making a recipe for steamed buns. They are perfect for bringing to work for lunch and are extremely easy to make!

Nom Nom Nom

How are your Decembers? Mine is extremely busy and chilly!

My friend Amanda had tweeted me that O’Soy had milk in it and I was seriously sad because I’d thought that I’d found my HOLY GRAIL of soy yogurts… but alas, life goes on.

Poop nuggets!

For those of you who are non-vegan but are interested in trying something tasty and new I would still highly recommend this yogurt! However, for those who are lactose intolerant or have a milk allergy, STAY AWAY! I’ll be sticking to my TJ’s soy yogurt from now on.

Anyways, I’ve been substituting snacks for meals for the past few days and I’m not quite sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. On the plus side, the snacks are relatively healthy but on the downside they aren’t exactly fresh and all that nutritious.  Here’s an example of a meal.

I ate half the Cliff Bar, the strawberry soy yogurt and half the bag of popped chips.

My fav Cliff bar flavor so far!

I think I need lunchspiration (HAHA).

During my commute I have been reading Style Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams and it’s actually quite good. The book is about learning how to write clearly and elegantly and gives a brief history about “bad writing.” Despite the dry topic, the book is extremely well written and incredibly interesting.

Bonjay +Willams = great morning combo!

One of my favorite passages so far is a quote by Michael Crichton from the New England Journal of Medicine:

It now appears that obligatory obfuscation is a firm tradition within the medical profession… [Medical writing] is a highly skilled, calculated attempt to confuse the reader….  A doctor feels he might get passed over for an assistant professorship because he wrote his papers more clearly-because he made his ideas seem too simple.

I can’t agree more! I believe this passage also applies to philosophy writers!!! Martin Heidegger, I’m lookin’ at you!!! What are you guys reading this week? Any book recommendations?