Veterans and basketball

Happy Veterans Day! I think I've mentioned Honor Flight Network on my blog before, but here is the link again if anyone is interested in checking out this non-profit that sends veterans (with a preference to WWII vets first) for free to Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials.

Thank you Granddad, Grandpa, and Papa Grant for serving!


I am so excited that the Tar Heels were chosen to play the Carrier Classic game tonight in San Diego. What an honor. I know the team will represent UNC well tonight. I am so ready for some college basketball!

GO HEELS!

Oscar Wilde Thursday

It's been a while... say, several months. But... I'm just going to move forward like it's another typical Oscar Wilde Thursday.

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

That is pretty much what law school is like.

Yeahhh, that's where I've been, by the way. I am a 1L now, and I love love love it. However, I can sometimes recite the Statue of Frauds before I completely understand it. (That's a bad example... I totally get SOF.)

I have been doing a lot of textbook reading since August and a lot of case briefing and outlining. But... I MISS WRITING! And my LRA (Legal Reasoning and Analysis) class is soooo not cutting it.

So I'm back.

Things I hope to write about: 

• Law school (duhhh, that's my life now)

Days BEFORE law school even started

• My crazy puppy who I adore

RILEY!

• Football (I'm the only girl in my fantasy football league - talk about pressure - GEAUX SAINTS!!)
• Books I am pumped to read over break
• Carolina basketball and how my boyfriend and I are a house divided on college basketball (yes, he is a Dook fan)

The only photo I have of him wearing a Duke hat

• Delicious food I finally can enjoy over my break, including new Durham & Raleigh restaurants
• Running... how I miss thee... 

Asheville Citizen-Times half marathon: Sept. 17, 2011

• Anything else!

Best Sunday deal

You should go to Whole Foods on Sunday and pick up a rotisserie chicken for $5.99. (I went for the herbed crust, but there are other flavors.) 


Then, go to the deli section and pick up a container of potato salad (retails at $8.99). But you're going to get those potatoes for free because then you find the WF periodical on one of the many racks around the store and tear out a coupon for the free side you get when you purchase a chicken.


To complete your meal, pick up a container of organic greens and salad dressing. I've personally had the ranch and balsamic vinaigrette flavors, and both are great. I think these will run you about $5.99 (I buy the big thing of greens) and $3.29, respectively.

Take it all home and enjoy immediately. Continue to pick on your chicken, potatoes and salad as long as it lasts you in the week! Best meal (with leftovers) for less than $20.

My first quiche

I'd been thinking of making a quiche for a while. I had a full carton of eggs that hadn't been opened, so I wanted to get rid of a lot of eggs at once. I'm not really a big egg person. Sometimes I do crave them for breakfast (or dinner), but it's rare. Quiche seems to be the exception for me. 

My mom makes a delicious quiche, which is maybe why I put off trying to cook my own for so long. Hers is based on Linda McCartney's recipe in World of Vegetarian Cooking (an amazing cookbook you should own whether you're vegetarian or not). I hope Sir Paul McCartney still eats things mentioned in it. :)

I'm not exactly sure what my mom does with her recipe, but here's what I did to make this delicious dinner (that will turn into lunch and dinner tomorrow, too):

Ingredients:
1 cooked pie crust (I used a frozen one I bought at Trader Joe's)
½ onion, chopped
Handful of frozen mixed peppers (or any veggie you want)
4 extra-large free range eggs
1½ cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella, gruyere and cheddar from TJ's)
Sea salt and black pepper
2/3 cup almond milk


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sauté onion and veggies.
Whisk eggs and fold in onion, veggies and cheese. 
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the milk. Pour it all into your pie shell and bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Peace, love and Mel

Melissa and Ryan are getting married TOMORROW!! I cannot wait. I freaking love this girl and am so happy for them!

A night out in Shanghai, China (2007)

But... what I have been waiting for is to share her wedding invitations on the blog because they are the most gorgeous things to have ever graced my mailbox.

Note the peace signs in both photos and the wedding invitation.

If you want to read more about the designer and how these invitations Mel & Ryan picked are eco-friendly (yay!), check out the Mink Letterpress blog.

Food served in a star plate makes it taste that much better

Last Friday, my dinner at Five Star was served in an actual ceramic star plate. 


The last time I ate there, my food was merely served in a black bowl. Psh.


This was way cooler. Maybe five stars cooler -- Oh yeah, I went there, haha. I was also not the only one in the restaurant taking photos of these plates. There were iPhones and flashes galore, so I wonder if it's a pretty new thing for them? Regardless, it was a good decision on whoever's part.

Pictured: Chicken lo mein. It's so yummy, but it's even better if you ask for a side of hot sauce. And even better than that if you eat your leftovers with even more hot sauce and you wash it down with a ginger flavored Izze. (More about this delicious natural sparkling juice in another post.)

Why "Zits" is a great comic

Copyright 2011 ZITS Partnership. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.

Note the last aka top hat. UNC is always on top.

Artsplosure!

Saturday was Artsplosure again in downtown Raleigh. I love seeing artists from North Carolina (and other areas in the South) with their booths set up all around Moore Square.

When I walked through the center of Moore Square, I saw a collection of painted trash cans. I immediately recognized the one that was done by artist Keith Norval. I have been a fan of his for probably as long as I have lived in Raleigh and first saw his work in Artspace. His characters are fun animals with bright colors, which is right up my alley.

Keith Norval's can-vas

Anyways, I found out more about this movement in Wake County and it's called 86 it: Respect the can. Many artists (86, actually, I think) painted cans and they're going to be distributed around Raleigh. It's supposed to attract people (aka litterers) to the cans. I really hope they put one on Hargett Street by the bars near my building. You cannot imagine how many cigarette butts I see on the ground every day.

Respect the can.

After seeing Norval's work, we decided to walk to his studio in Artspace. Outside, is the (temporary - they paint over them every couple months) mural he painted. Enjoy!

Keith Norval's mural

Don't forget to hydrate

I have quite the collection of water bottles, and as you can see (since they're all in my drying rack), I do use them all!

This is just a friendly reminder to drink water all day long. I've luckily never had a problem with drinking water. I really do love it more than anything. 


I don't know anymore what the "recommended" amount of ounces/day is, but just drink a lot like this: Fill a bottle. Drink it dry. Repeat.


Yes, you will start to take more bathroom trips, but who cares? Getting up for a short walk is good for you too!

Oscar Wilde Thursday

"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it." -Oscar Wilde

I am a little overwhelmed by my magazine "to read" pile... I may have to attempt to make a dent in it this weekend so I can recycle them and start a new pile!

Adventures of Riley

I love being outside. I love eating outside and napping outside (in the sun by a pool) and reading outside. I loved it in middle school when teachers took class outside. One thing I'd never done, though, was spend the night outside in a tent. In the woods.


So last Sunday, we went camping! J grew up camping and had all the gear and knowledge, so all we had to do was pick a day and buy some food and go.


We chose a campsite in W.B. Umstead State Park. We had our pick because about a week in advance, no one else had booked a site! (There are 28, I think, and were probably about 6 other groups camping. We ended up switching sites because we saw a vacant one we liked better.)


Shopping for a trip (even just a one-nighter) is one of my favorite things. I love having all the things you "need" for a special activity. Mostly what we had to buy, as I said, was food. For two people (and a puppy) for one night, we probably went a little overboard, but it was so much fun picking out what we wanted. I wish I'd taken a photo, but we had a cooler of dry goods and a cooler for things to be refrigerated.


Anyways, we got to our site and set up shop. I took a photo of the before but forgot the after!





As soon as that was done, we got to cooking because we didn't want to lose sunlight. We brought ground bison meat to grill burgers, asparagus, green beans and red potatoes. (We forgot butter, so we ended up adding cheese to the potatoes and mashing them so they wouldn't just be plain!). We also forgot mustard, actually, but the bison was so fresh and delicious and smoky we didn't have anything with it other than white onion, garlic (mixed in the patty) and the bun. Yup, that's how good the Whole Foods ground bison is. Go get yourself a half a pound. S'more were obviously consumed after dinner.

Riley was such a good camper. She loved it all and spent a lot of time sleeping in the dirt and leaves chewing on a stick. Tent sleeping? No problem. We were lucky our "neighbors" let us have some thick padding pieces to sleep on because the blowup mattress didn't fit in the tent (I didn't think it would!) and the ground would have been hard otherwise.





The next day was sunny and not too hot. We made breakfast (yogurt parfaits) and took down camp. It was kind of crazy to spend hours putting up a camp and then taking it apart less than 24 hours later, but we wanted to get everything cleaned up and packed before our hike.


The trail we did was 2.75 miles and the trailhead was at the bottom of the campgrounds, so it was a no-brainer to pick that trail. It was a good one with a stream at the beginning where Riley played around.

Adventure dog!

Things we saw on the trail: Too many frogs to count, a black snake, two snappy dachshunds, one adorable yellow lab, someone's leftover Easter egg hunt (about 10 of them still filled with candy and homemade "coupons") that we left there in case they were doing it later... 

That's it! I was exhausted at the end of the day, but it was really fun and a great way for me to be introduced to camping. We have plans for a longer trip in the mountains, so now I won't feel as overwhelmed for that. Mission: Accomplished.

Happy Earth Day!

I'm pretty Earth-focused every day, but it's fun to have a day dedicated to loving and serving the Earth. I hope some people choose to continue doing the things they do once a year (coffee in a reusable mug, for example) as often as they can.


I just downloaded a cool app for my iPhone called Locavore. It's normally $2.99, and it tells you what's in season in your state and where you can buy local food and share recipes, but today it's FREE!

Here's also a fun video (made by the talented Russell) from Mother Nature Network to celebrate Earth Day.

Oscar Wilde Thursday

"I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do - the day after."  

-Oscar Wilde 

I felt like I was playing catch-up all day. Even with this post... I just made it (Thursday post) with an hour to spare. 

I made a green monster

I've been making smoothies since eighth grade. My brother and I would come home from school and make a strawberry smoothie (frozen strawberries, banana, o.j.) and have a piece of rye toast while we watched TV.

Over the years, I've expanded my smoothie repertoire... peaches, mangoes, kiwis, any fruit really is up for a blend. I started adding protein powder and soymilk (organic only!) so I could make post-workout recovery shakes. I'd read about adding spinach for a vitamin boost (and again more recently from my friend Melanie's blog) but just never did it... until today! It's true that it really doesn't change the flavor at all.

I never measure anything, so just eyeball it as you toss this all in your blender:

-- Frozen mango chunks (a handful or so)

-- Organic low-fat yogurt (a couple spoonfuls)

-- Organic frozen spinach (a handful or a couple shakes out of the bag)

-- Orange juice (I pour until I'm covering all the frozen stuff in the blender)

-- Whey protein powder (Half a scoop)

-- Candied ginger (one chunk for me... the pieces I have a pretty big)

Blend and enjoy! I tend to eat smoothies with a spoon so it takes longer and I feel more like I'm eating something.

It's not even that green! Maybe I'll do more spinach next time.

Note: I only use organic dairy products because I don't trust whatever hormones are put in the other stuff, but you can use whatever kind of yogurt you want. I also only use organic soymilk and I do not recommend using any non-organic soymilk (or tofu) due to the GMOs in non-organic soybeans. I also use organic spinach because it's one of the foods you should buy organic if you can, but obviously you don't have to.

10 minute recipe

I think I'll call this: Smokey Hash with Eggs


Ingredients:
1 small sweet potato
1/4 15 oz. can black-eyed peas
1-2 eggs
Goat cheese (optional)
Salt
Pepper
English muffin (optional)


To make a long story short, I had a can of black-eyed peas that were smoked and they were supposed to go into a fresh salsa with balsamic vinegar, so I knew that would not work out at all. I didn't want to throw them away, so I thought of what else I could make with smokey beans.


I rummaged through my cabinet and found some sweet potatoes I bought from the farmer's market late last summer(!!). Good thing potatoes are meant to be stored in pantries over the winter. I steamed one of the sweet potatoes and then mashed it. I added the black-eyed peas and mashed them all up too. I tried to get it crispy in the pan with some butter.


I put the mashed part on a plate and mixed in a couple dollops of goat cheese. I made a fried egg to go on top, but you could totally do this with scrambled eggs if you prefer. I sprinkled on some sea salt and cracked some fresh pepper over the top and served with an English muffin. 


If you want, you can add salsa to this for more veggies! And it's great for breakfast and/or dinner.


I wish I'd taken a photo, but I didn't... but when I make it again, I will!

Oscar Wilde Thursday

I cannot believe it's Thursday already... and that it's been a week since I last posted! I've been pretty busy and now I'm super tired so I'll make this quick.


Normally I post an Oscar Wilde quote hoping it sets the tone for my day or something. This time (since the day is almost over), I've found one to describe my day:

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." -O.W.

I wrote some checks to pay my taxes today. 'Nough said. I'm exaggerating here a bit (I'm pretty aware of what I'm spending) but... it may be time to do a little budgeting.

 

 

My favorite Christopher Robin quote

Pretty much whenever it rains, I hear the voice of Christopher Robin (yes, from Winnie the Pooh) in my ear.

He says, "Tut tut. Looks like rain."

Christopher Robin and his bff, Pooh Bear.

I think this is the Christopher Robin from the TV show.

I love rainy days when I can stay inside but have my screen door open so I can listen to the rain fall.

Spring tricked me

I shouldn't be surprised. That's half the fun of spring, right? Sunshine and then rain? Well, I don't mind the rain, but the 40 degree temperatures are not flying with me anymore. I've put away my winter clothes, and I refuse to get them out again!


For the past several days I've been curled up in bed or on my sofa trying to fight away a sore throat and cough. Riley looks at me every time I start hacking. I wouldn't say it's a look of concern. It's a look that says, Stop making that awful noise. You're disrupting my nap and hurting my ears!


I was so antsy to get outside that I did my Monday night nOg run last night. I was supposed to celebrate marathon success with a running club friend, and I didn't want to wait another week to get to see her. Those 3 miles were so fun and energizing, but they definitely didn't make my throat feel better. In fact, I've been sneezing like crazy today, so I think the heavy breathing outside got a bunch of pollen up in my head.


Excuse me while I go shake my fist at spring.

Spring Awakening

I totally missed the first day of spring a couple days ago! So I'll celebrate today with this Oscar Wilde quote:

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." 

Something about that makes me think of the coming of this great season. Spring totally brings me joy and happiness as the sun shines longer, and I can comfortably sit outside in a T-shirt, jeans and flip-flops without getting too hot so I can soak up some Vitamin D (with sunscreen... most of the time!). At this point, winter leaving also makes me happy!

Two weekends ago, the musical Spring Awakening came to Raleigh. I was lucky enough to win tickets from the nOg Running Club I've mentioned. I'd heard about this show years ago (and really wanted to go when it came through Atlanta while I was still living there), but I honestly knew very little about it besides the fact that the Broadway production (which won several Tony awards) starred Glee's Lea Michele... that's why Jon Groff played the special Glee guest role as Jesse... Lea and he were lovers in the show.


Anyways, I was blown away by the music (by Duncan Sheik - remember him and "Barely Breathing") and especially the lighting and the set! It was only in town for Friday and Saturday nights, and we went on a Friday, and I was a little disappointed that there were so few people in the theater.


My two guesses as to why that was:
1. No advertising. I had no idea this show was in town, so if I hadn't won tickets four days before, it would have come and gone, and I'd have never known.
2. It's got some adult content... but so does Rent and that definitely sold out many shows in Raleigh.


Here's a clip I found of the original Broadway cast performing three mash-ups from the show for the Tony awards in 2007.





Again... I'm so happy spring has sprung!

26.2 miles: Check!

I ran my first marathon Sunday morning. It was the Tobacco Road Marathon, and 20 of those miles were on the American Tobacco Trail, which meant it was very flat! I think I chose a good first marathon to attempt because any major inclines would have just added to my frustration.


I wrote up a full race report on my running blog in case any readers are interested in checking that out. I should let you know that it's pretty honest about everything that happened during time it took me to complete the course (5:06:42). Everyone on that site (Runner's World) can relate to all things running, so we're all pretty frank. So anyways. There's your warning.


I'm so thankful for my family and friends who came out to support me at the finish as well as my friends who sent me texts and messages with their well wishes. I really appreciated those good thoughts!!


Here are some photos from the race:

Trying not to show my pre-race jitters!

Finally the finish.

Last couple steps.

26.2

Wanting everything and nothing.

J, me, J.

BROTHER! :D Did I mention he ran a half marathon PR??

J & me

I'd say another marathon is definitely in my future... at some point... 

Boylan Bridge beer flights and best in the Triangle?

For the month of March, I've been voting in the Triangle Arts & Entertainment's poll for what I think is the "Best Brew in the Triangle." For the most part, I pick Big Boss Brewing Company because I love a lot of their beers (Blanco Diablo, Aces & Ates and Brown Betty, to name a few) and they also host cool parties at their brewery (such as the "Who's Your Paddy?" gathering I went to last night). They get a bunch of food trucks, such as the delicious Klausie's Pizza, to park in their lot and have bands playing in the warehouse and have the taps pouring out $3.50 pints. It's a good time.


There are 14 breweries listed on the poll, and I think I've tried 9 of them (but most I don't remember what I thought about their beers and only 3 of those 9 have I had recently). The leader in the poll is Aviator, and while I've only had 2 of their beers and I really really liked them, I want to try more before I vote them the best. Though I'm not really convinced I think it's the best, I do really like the beers from the Boylan Bridge Brewpub. I've voted for them a couple times, too, just to put them on the board.


Speaking of the BBB, I had a LivingSocial deal, which included a free flight of their beers, and I took advantage of it with J yesterday for lunch because the weather was nice enough to sit outside (and I know their porch will soon explode with people, especially on the weekends).

Beer flights

What we ordered: Crab Dip and Bacon Wrapped BBQ Shrimp to start. The dip was our favorite out of the two starters and is something I'd order again. J went with the Spicy Chicken Philly he already knew he really liked, and I tried their $5 sandwich of the day, which was fried catfish. I of course had to trade chips for sweet potato fries because they are so good there, and they serve them in a little paper bag, which is just too cute.

Fried catfish sandwich

If you want to vote for your favorite Triangle beer, the poll closes March 31. You can vote once a day!

Luck of the Irish

This holiday always makes me think of my grandma, Ruth, who (according to my mom) loved playing up her Irish side on March 17. I kind of like to do the same thing. I love the color green and pinching people who don't wear green today... so look out if you see me!


I'm also going to throw in an Oscar Wilde quote since it is Thursday. This feels like something that could be said in Ireland:

"Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." 

--Oscar Wilde

Other Irish things I love:

• Books: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (a great memoir)
• Movies: The Boondock Saints and The Departed (ones about Irish people in Boston)
• Drinks: Guinness (Fun fact: It really is good for you! Low calories and high protein!)

• Music: The Dropkick Murphys (also featured on The Departed soundtrack)

Let your light shine

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Maryanne Williamson, used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech 

nOg Run Club

Monday night might be my new favorite thing!


Months ago I heard about a running club that met every week at the Irish pub Tir na nOg (where the race I ran two weekends ago was). I've seen runners wearing run club shirts at local races and read about the club on my local running store's e-newsletter, but I never actually got my stuff together to go.

Anyways, two Mondays ago I finally buckled down and went with my friend Jen. I feel like taking that first step to doing something can be so difficult sometimes (even when the thing you're wanting to do is so easy) but once you do it once, you open the floodgates.


Last night I went back without Jen (sadly she had to work) but metup with three other people. We went on a nice 3 mile run (even nicer with the daylight savings time in our favor for an evening run) and then played trivia while enjoying the $1 pasta & salad and beer specials.


While our team didn't win, we were actually right in the middle of the pack, so there's much room for improvement while also not thinking too badly about ourselves, haha. There were  a lot of St. Patrick's Day questions that nobody knew, so maybe a week when it's more general we'd have a better chance.


Regardless of how we do in trivia, I'm so excited to be a member of an actual running club now! Eight more runs and I get that free club shirt, too.

Oscar Wilde Thursday and committing to the walk

"For who, being loved, is poor?"
-Oscar Wilde

Last night I committed to joining the team of a friend to raise money for the SPCA of Wake County. The SPCA recently decided to become a No-Kill shelter, which of course requires more money to keep animals alive until they are adopted.

My mom keeps reminding me that I am totally a dog person (this is when I was freaking out the first two days after I adopted my pup). Before we got our family dog in fifth grade, I would volunteer at our local animal shelter by playing with the dogs. Even when we did have our dog and I moved to North Carolina in high school, I still occasionally volunteered at this SPCA I'm now raising money for.


The shelter where I got Riley (the Animal Protection Society of Durham) doesn't have the funds to be a No-Kill shelter. It takes $250 to support the life of an animal for 2 weeks, which is the amount the 3K Dog Walk is asking each participant to try to raise.


I hope you will consider donating to this cause, or if you're in the Raleigh area, please consider joining our team April 16 for the dog walk downtown! I've heard it's a really fun time.


Go here to visit my fundraising page and/or join the team. Animal lovers unite!

Riley says: Help support us in the 3K Dog Walk!